the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The University has a Division for the Treatment and Education of Autistic and other Communication Handicapped Children know as TEACCH. In their program, the parents of children act as collaborators and co-therapists in the treatment of their children's autism and their children's education. The goal of the TEACCH program is to train autistic individuals to function independently and to operate within the integrated community as much as possible by the time they reach adulthood (Mesibov & Shea, 1996, p. 343). To accomplish this goal the TEACCH program uses a structured teaching environment within the classroom. This entails physical organization, schedules, individual work systems, and routines to help make learning new concepts more understandable and comfortable to the children (Strickland, Marcus, Mesibov & Hogan, 1996, p. 656). In the physical organization of the classroom the primary consideration is given to maintaining visual spaces, enclosing spaces dedicated to specific activities, and limiting distractions. Schedules and routines are used to enable the children to understand what is happening around them and to enable them to predict the next activity. These techniques help the student to accept his environment and allow learning to take place in a non-threatening way. In general, the basic structure of a class taught by TEACCH principles can be used by special education instructors to enhance the learning ability of autistic individuals.
Many of the goals set for autistic children deal with social interaction and behavior. Inappropriate behavior often leads to isolation of the student by peers and society. The inappropriate social behaviors exhibited by autistic individuals may contribute to their difficulties in communicating and socializing with peers. It is hard to make friends when other children tease, and avoid social interaction (Ozonoff & Miller, 1995, p...