Writing prompts supply needed assistance that guides autistic students step-by-step through the writing process. The prompts break down tasks into manageable components while allowing creative freedom. Students get to write about topics they enjoy in formats that play to their strengths. Prompt-based writing exercises build confidence as students experience success. With practice, autistic students can blossom into talented, expressive writers.
Tailor Prompts to Specific Interests
One effective strategy is to tailor writing prompts to each student’s special interests. Many autistic students have passions they love learning and talking about, whether it’s trains, animals, space, or dolls. Crafting prompts using their favorite topics is a great way to spark engagement and ideas.
For example, if you have a student who loves cats, you could ask them to write a story about the adventures of their imaginary pet cat. Or if dinosaurs are their interest, they could describe what it might have been like to see real dinosaurs. Tying prompts into existing passions gives autistic students a sense of excitement and expertise to draw from. It allows them to infuse their writing with their deep knowledge and enthusiasm.
The key is to get to know each student and what specific topics fascinate them. Find ways to incorporate those interests into customized prompts that speak directly to that individual child. This targeted approach will make writing more rewarding and enjoyable.
Provide Structure
Children with autism often benefit from structure and clear expectations. Open-ended writing prompts can sometimes induce anxiety if the student feels overwhelmed by too many options. Consider providing more structured prompts that give the child guidance and a template to follow. For example, use story starters that provide the beginning of a story that the student can build on.
Graphic organizers are another useful tool to provide a framework. Give the student a sequence chart or story map to fill out that guides them step-by-step through the writing process. Sentence starters can also assist students who have trouble getting started or knowing what to write next. Provide the first part of the sentence that they can build on, such as “My favorite thing to do at recess is…” or “One time I felt happy when…”
The goal is to make the prompt detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity but open-ended enough to allow creativity and individual expression. Find a balance between too much structure and not enough by tailoring prompts to the child’s current abilities. Provide more scaffolding for students who need it, and gradually remove support as skills improve. With the right amount of guidance, writing prompts can build confidence in young authors on the autism spectrum.
Focus on Sensory Details
Prompts that encourage students to describe sensory experiences can be helpful for autistic students who may have sensory processing differences. Getting students to focus on the sights, sounds, textures, smells, and tastes around them in their writing can aid with sensory integration challenges.
For example, prompts could ask students to describe a setting using vivid sensory imagery. “Imagine you’re walking through a bustling market. What do you see? What do you hear? What smells and tastes can you detect?” This gets students focusing on their senses and translating those observations into descriptive writing.
Other sensory-focused prompts could ask students to write about their favorite food, focusing on its taste, texture, appearance, and smell. Or students could write about experiencing a storm, detailing the sounds of thunder, the sensation of rain or wind, changes in light and smell, etc.
The key is crafting prompts that get autistic students engaging with sensory experiences and then expressing those experiences through vivid, sensory-rich descriptive writing. This not only helps students practice writing skills but also aids with sensory integration challenges common among autistic individuals.
Encourage Imagination
Imaginative writing allows autistic students to step outside themselves and explore new perspectives. Prompts that encourage imagination can be highly engaging for autistic students. Consider suggesting imaginative stories such as:
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Tell a fantasy or science fiction story involving magic, superpowers, space travel, mythical creatures, or advanced technology. What characters, settings, and plots can they imagine?
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Personify an object. Imagine that a household object like a spoon or toothbrush comes to life. What would it say, think, and do? This allows the student to imagine the perspective of an inanimate object.
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Rewrite a fairy tale or legend in a new setting or from another character’s perspective. How would the Three Little Pigs fare on Mars? What if the Big Bad Wolf told his side of the story?
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Imagine traveling to a new period. What would it be like to go back to medieval times, ancient Egypt, or the Jurassic period? What would they see, hear, taste, and experience in that time?
Giving autistic students imaginative prompts like these allows them to flex their creative muscles. Tapping into imagination provides an outlet for self-expression and builds critical thinking skills.
Practice Social Skills
Writing prompts can help autistic students practice important social skills like perspective-taking and interpreting social cues. Here are some ideas for social skills prompts:
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Provide a scenario where a character misreads a social cue, like sarcasm or body language. Ask the student to explain what the cue was and what it meant.
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Describe a situation where two characters have a disagreement or conflict. Prompt the student to write dialogue showing how the characters resolve it respectfully.
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Share a scenario where someone feels excluded from a group. Ask the student to write about how the person feels and what the group could do to be more inclusive.
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Create prompts around recognizing facial expressions and linking them to emotions. “You see your friend make a face while eating something. What emotion were they likely feeling and why?”
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Give a prompt about starting a conversation with someone new. Have the student write a sample dialogue that shows good listening skills and asking questions to get to know the other person.
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Provide prompts about compromising when preferences differ. “You and your friend both want to do different activities. How can you agree?”
Writing social narratives and scenarios can help autistic students practice perspective-taking, social cues, relationships, dialogue, and important interpersonal skills. Keep prompts concise while giving enough context and detail to spark their creativity.
Personal Narratives
Personal narratives provide students with autism the opportunity to write about their own experiences, memories, and opinions. This gives them a chance to express themselves and be heard.
Writing prompts that encourage autistic students to write about personal topics allow them to share their voices. Some personal narrative prompts could include:
- Write about your favorite memory from childhood
- Describe what makes you happy
- Tell me about your special interest and what you love about it
- What is your dream vacation and why?
- If you could have any superpower, what would you choose and why?
Personal narrative prompts give students a way to share their inner thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. This can help build self-esteem and confidence. Teachers should encourage creativity and self-expression, and emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers in personal narrative writing.
The opportunity for self-disclosure can help students make sense of their lives. Personal narrative prompts provide a judgment-free space for autistic students to process their experiences through writing. This can be beneficial for their social-emotional growth and development.
Visual Prompts
Using visual prompts can be an effective way to stimulate writing for students with autism. Pictures, photos, artwork, and other visuals can be less intimidating than a blank page and help generate ideas.
Try providing students with a selection of pictures, photos, or illustrations to choose from. Let them pick an image that interests them to use as a prompt for writing. Print out the visual so they can reference it as needed. Encourage students to describe what they see, make up a story about the picture, or imagine themselves as part of the scene.
You can also have students bring in their photos to write about. They may enjoy describing a family vacation, telling a story about a pet, or recounting a special event or activity. Having a personal connection to the picture can make the writing process more meaningful.
Visual schedules using images or icons can also help provide structure for writing. Break down the steps of the writing process with matching visuals, like a pencil for brainstorming, a notebook for drafting, and an edited page for revising. The sequence of pictures serves as a guide for completing their work.
Illustrating their stories can further aid students with autism. Have them draw scenes from their narrative or sketch the characters they describe. The images help cement the ideas and details. Students can also label parts of their illustrations with descriptive words and phrases.
Experiment to find which types of visual prompts work best. With the right approach, images provide an effective tool to stimulate students’ imaginations and get them to write.
Keep it Short
Writing prompts for students with autism should generally be kept brief and focused, rather than long, open-ended essays. Short writing exercises can be less overwhelming and stressful.
Some ideas for short prompts include:
- Write a 1-2 paragraph story about your favorite toy or interest
- Describe your morning routine in 5 sentences
- Write a poem about your pet using rhyming words
- Explain how to make your favorite food in 10 steps
- Write a letter to your sibling telling them something you appreciate about them
The key is to make the prompts very specific, modeled after real-world writing tasks like instructions or letters. This provides helpful structure while allowing creative expression within concise limits. Teachers can also provide examples for students to model their work after. Brief, structured prompts allow students with autism to practice writing skills in a low-pressure way.
Provide Models
Many students with autism are visual learners who benefit from seeing examples of good writing. Providing models can help them understand the end goal of the writing prompt.
When giving a prompt that asks students to write a story, provide a sample story that models effective storytelling techniques. Share a short story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Point out literary devices like metaphors, dialogue, and descriptive language.
For essay writing prompts, show a sample essay that introduces a thesis in the opening paragraph. Highlight how the thesis is supported with evidence in the body paragraphs. Note transition words and other organizational techniques.
If the prompt is for a poem, include an example poem with rhyme, rhythm, imagery, and figurative language. Explain how the poem conveys emotion and invites the reader into a scene.
By showing students high-quality samples in the required genre, they can use these models to inspire their writing. The visual format helps them conceptualize what the end product should look like. This allows them to better understand abstract prompt instructions. With clear examples, students with autism can better grasp the purpose of the writing prompt.
