Charlotte Mason Methods for
Students with Autism and
Asperger’s Syndrome
Presented by
Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.
Autism Specialist, The Flint Academy
About Charlotte Mason
• The Charlotte Mason educational method places
emphasis on developing a natural love of learning in
children, and providing them with a high-quality
education to stimulate the mind. It has been described
as leading students to a self-education.
• Charlotte Mason advocated the study of core subjects
(math, science, reading, etc.) as well as the humanities
of literature, poetry, music, and art. She believed that
children should study these subjects in an authentic
way: through exploring nature, reading personal
narratives of history, looking at actual works of art, etc.
• Some specific elements of the Charlotte Mason
educational method are described in the following
presentation, with recommendations to accommodate
students with autism.
Characteristics of Autism
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Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing instead of words
Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason; showing distress for reasons not
apparent to others
Preference to being alone
Tantrums
Difficulty in mixing with others
Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
Little or no eye contact
Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
Spinning objects
Intense attachment to objects
Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
No real fears of danger
Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
Uneven gross/fine motor skills
Non-responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range
Reference: Autism Society of America
Characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome
• Problems with social skills: Children with Asperger's syndrome generally
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have difficulty interacting with others and often are awkward in social
situations.
Unusual preoccupations or rituals: A child with Asperger's syndrome may
develop rituals that he or she refuses to alter, such as getting dressed in a
specific order.
Communication difficulties: People with Asperger's syndrome may not make
eye contact when speaking with someone. They may have trouble using
facial expressions and gestures, and understanding body language. They
also tend to have problems understanding language in context, including
use of idioms and slang.
Specific interests: A child with Asperger's syndrome may develop an intense
interest in a few areas, such as sports schedules, weather or maps.
Coordination: The movements of some children with Asperger's syndrome
may seem clumsy or awkward.
Skilled or talented: Many children with Asperger's syndrome are
exceptionally talented or skilled in a particular area, such as music or math.
Reference: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/mental-health-aspergers-syndrome
Literature and Poetry
• Children should be exposed to quality literature
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and poetry from a young age.
Children should read full, unabridged versions so
that they can experience the original beauty and
quality of the language.
The focus is on enjoying poetry, rather than
“studying” it.
Literature and poetry should be integrated into
all school subjects.
Literature and Poetry Accommodations
• Use illustrated editions of poetry books.
• Use relevant clip art or photos to
accompany written or read-aloud poems.
• Review definitions of any difficult or
confusing words before reading the poem.
• Review meaning of any idioms,
metaphors, or slang terms before reading
the poem.
Handwriting
• The study of handwriting begins when students
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learn to copy letters. Charlotte Mason preferred
that a student complete a few neat and correctly
formed letters at a time, rather than a lengthy
handwriting page that leaves the student tired
and the handwriting sloppy at the end.
For older students, handwriting can be practiced
by copying book passages or poetry into a
personal copy notebook.
Handwriting Accommodations
• Use tracing sheets (such as
http://www.mymoondrops.com/info/spelling.html),
• Place a copy of the passage to be written close
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to or on a student’s desk rather than on the
board at the front of a classroom,
Allow students to copy passages about a topic of
interest (airplanes, astronomy, trains, etc.).
Make sure that students are practicing correct
letter and number formation in early learning, as
these habits are very hard to break after they
have been learned.
Science
• Children should be taken outside daily to observe and
experience nature.
• The teacher or parent should ask children to describe
something nearby (such as plants, animals, or insects).
Teachers and parents should also model this for children
by describing things in nature to them.
• Children should be taken on nature walks and permitted
to observe with minimal direction from adults.
• Children keep nature notebooks, which may include
records of a child’s observations, sketches, records of
weather or temperature, nature poems, and pressed
flowers.
Science Accommodations
• Allow students to record information in their nature
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journal of science elements that are particularly
interesting to them (you can relate trains, weather, and
other interests to science topics),
Frequently model descriptions of items in nature starting
with just one or two descriptions at first (“the butterfly is
orange and it flies”). You could make cards with pictures
and this sentence to review and practice before the child
makes descriptions on his or her own, take photos
during nature walks and outings to use when discussing
the events later or to post in nature notebooks.
Math
• Teach students concrete before abstract: use
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manipulatives, including counters, blocks, and
other objects to model concepts.
Use narration to assess a student’s
comprehension of the material: “Tell me what
you know about ___________ (concept).”
Focus on real experiences: use real money when
possible, weigh and measure actual objects, etc.
Use short lessons: 15 – 20 minutes for
elementary students, 30 – 45 minutes for junior
high and high school students.
Math Accommodations
• Many of these math methods do not need
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modification.
Using manipulatives for visual support and to
build concrete understanding will often be very
helpful.
Using real objects and money is also beneficial
to promote generalization of skills.
Prompt as needed when teaching, and then fade
out the prompts.
Art and Music
• Expose children to classical music and quality artwork.
• Use actual-sized prints of the pictures, not textbooks
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with small copies of the pictures.
Children study a piece of art for 10 – 15 minutes,
attempt to copy the painting by the classical artist, and
then at another time try to draw it from memory.
Encourage children to draw favorite reading passages.
Use high-quality art materials.
Play classical music during art reproduction, sketching,
and nature study times.
Art and Music Accommodations
• The website Enchanted Learning
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(www.enchantedlearning.com) has coloring
sheets of many famous paintings that could be
used for students who may have difficulty
copying the paintings from memory.
Classical music could be played for students
while they are engaging in a favorite play
activity so that they can enjoy the music and
associate it with a fun activity.
Social Studies
• Children should use books, plays, poems,
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essays, and paintings to study history (first
person accounts are preferred to textbooks).
Children should study the history of their own
nation, as well as other nations. They should
compare what was happening in various nations
at the same times in history.
Travel books can be used for the teaching of
geography.
Before beginning the study of maps, students
should practice the concept by making a map of
their rooms.
Social Studies Accommodations
• Use lots of pictures (of historical figures, places, and
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countries),
Look for illustrated editions of any poetry or literature that
you will use. Another option is to use clip art or graphics to
make your own illustrations for poetry or story passages,
To expand on the pre-map study activities, make a map of a
child's bedroom, a room in the home, or classroom, with a
place marked on the map. Hide something fun in that
location, and have the student use the map to find it
(prompting as needed). This could later be done with a map
of the entire school or home.
To begin teaching with "real" maps: make a map of the
United States (or your home country) that shows important
places to the student (such as locations where relatives live,
favorite places such as Six Flags or DisneyLand).
Citizenship and Behavior
• Lessons about proper behavior can be learned
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through reading of literature (Aesop’s Fables and
Bible stories are good options).
Charlotte Mason emphasized the development of
habits, stating that once developed, the students
will continue the habit. It is recommended to
develop a few habits at a time, rather than a
long list of “rules” to follow.
Citizenship and Behavior
Accommodations
• Priming and Social Stories: prepare students in advance
for expectations of behavior during social situations and
special events.
– In advance, teach calming techniques such as counting to ten,
taking deep breaths, excusing yourself from the situation.
• Recognize appropriate behavior: many students with
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Autism may not know what behavior is appropriate.
Punishment of negative behavior does not tell the
student what he or she should do instead.
Teach specific social skills: provide direction instruction
for social skills that may come naturally to other
students.
Links to Helpful Resources
• Best Autism Websites for Teachers:
http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/Best_Autism_Sites_for_Teachers
• Positively Autism Newsletter and Resources:
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http://www.positivelyautism.com/
Paula Kluth’s Autism Website:
http://www.paulakluth.com/autism.html
AutismSpot: http://www.autismspot.com/
Social Skills for Middle/High School Students:
http://www.cccoe.net/social/skillslist.htm
Social Stories:
http://www.thegraycenter.org/socialstories.cfm
Social Skills for Middle/High School Students:
http://www.cccoe.net/social/skillslist.htm
Contact Information
• School Phone: 817-277-0620
• E-mail: Nicole@PositivelyAutism.com