Tips for supporting students to attend and listen
in the classroom
One of the common developmental differences some parents first notice in their young child
with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is limited interest in others and the absence of joint
attention (sharing of information with others via pointing, telling, showing and giving). Some
young children with ASD, for example, have been thought to have a hearing impairment due to
their inability to attend to their communication partner.
Some students with ASD may benefit from explicit teaching and changes to their learning
environment to support them to attend to others. For example:

Ensure you have the student’s attention before giving any whole class or individual
instructions.

Say the student’s name first to gain attention before giving spoken instructions.

Consider the sensory environment. Classrooms that are visually busy or noisy can be
overwhelming and very distracting. The student may be unable to effectively and efficiently
block out competing noise or visual information. Manipulate the environment to minimise
busy distractions such as extra noise (mats, pads on chair leg bottoms), hanging displays,
glare (curtains, posters) and movement (use barriers to block out).

Explicitly teach the prompts the student needs to attend to. For example, “When I say ‘Prep
B’ you need to stop work and listen to my words” or “When the bell rings you need to stop
playing and walk to the covered area”.

Use visual, auditory or routine cues such as a specific song, standing on the ‘talking mat’ to
indicate it is time to focus on the teacher, or cue cards to teach students how to listen to
whole class instructions.

Develop routines for placing preferred objects or work which may be distracting in a safe
place (a box or folder beside, under or on the desk) while the student listens. The box may
be progressively moved further out of the student’s sight (e.g. towards the bag area) as the
student starts to understand the rules regarding access to the items (i.e. when work is
finished).

Remember that ‘paying attention’ may look different in a student with ASD. Some students
find it difficult to give eye contact and may attend more effectively when they are able to
access ‘fidget toys’ such as manipulating adhesive tack or a stress ball.

Look for opportunities to develop, expand and include interactions which are specifically
motivating to the student (tickles, chase games, jokes and routines with a specific person, an
adult helping with a motivating task). This builds rapport (increasing motivation) and
supports the student to develop the skills to attend to others.

Consider embedding regular movement breaks into the student’s class schedule as a means
of ‘waking up’ the student’s nervous system so they are more able to attend.

More information regarding the role of sensory processing in attending, listening and
learning may be found in the following tip sheet: Tips for understanding and addressing
sensory processing difficulties for students with ASD.