Originales Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
C. C. Gándara Rossi Implementing TEACCH educational
intervention principles and communication
strategies for persons with autism
Charlotte TEACCH Center Intern/
Practicante en el TEACCH
Center de Charlotte
Resumen
The main focus of this article is to provide with a
general idea of the TEACCH (Treatment and Educa-
tion of Autistic and related Communication- handi-
capped CHildren) approach to educational inter-
vention in communication with persons that have
an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The first part
reviews necessary concepts to understand the
TEACCH philosophy about communication in
Autism, referring mainly to explaining communi-
cation not as speech, but as exchange of informa-
tion. This idea gives importance to assessment and
development of communication systems based pri-
marily on nonverbal communication. Then the edu-
cational intervention principles of TEACCH are
briefly explained, they follow this important guide-
line: search for a way to enable the person to
understand the world and be independent and
functional in it.
A third part introduces to Structured Teaching as
the principal way TEACCH approaches intervention,
and how it responds to the characteristics of
Autism. Later, a brief mention on how Structured
Teaching addresses communication issues with
structuring the environment and ensuring genera-
lization of acquired skills. A fifth part explains the
important role that careful ongoing assessment
plays to establish an effective intervention plan,
specially because the scattered development pat-
tern of skills in Autism makes it challenging to set
functional and realistic educational goals.
Finally, the components of Structured Teaching are
explained, followed by further exploration of com-
Correspondencia:
Carmen Carolina Gándara Rossi
3023 Colony Road, Charlotte,
28211 NC. EE.UU.
Correo electrónico:
carmen.gandara@gmail.com
25
Copyright 2007 AELFA y
Grupo Ars XXI de Comunicación, S.L.
ISSN: 0214-4603
munication systems. A way to achieve indepen-
dence is to structure the environment for the stu-
dent, and to improve his skills to function in it. This
is mainly the purpose of Structured Teaching which
translates into using schedules, work and commu-
nication systems, and educational visual and mani-
pulative activities, developmentally appropriate for
the person with ASD and for his speech and com-
munication level.
Key words: Autism, ASD, communication, educational intervention, «Structu-
red Teaching», TEACCH.
Principios y estrategias de intervención
educativa en comunicación para personas
con autismo: TEACCH
El objetivo principal de este artículo es dar una idea
general sobre la intervención educativa en comuni-
cación de personas con un trastorno del espectro
autista (TEA) desde el enfoque del programa
TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and
related Communication- handicapped CHildren). El
primer apartado revisa algunos conceptos necesar-
ios para entender la filosofía del TEACCH sobre la
comunicación en el Autismo, refiriéndose principal-
mente a explicar como ésta no es puramente
lenguaje, sino un intercambio de información, y la
importancia que esto le da a la evaluación y puesta
en marcha de sistemas de comunicación basados
principalmente en comunicación no-verbal.
Seguidamente, se da una breve explicación de los
principios de intervención educativa establecidos
por el TEACCH, cuya pauta más relevante es la
búsqueda de una manera que capacite a la persona
con autismo para entender el mundo y ser indepen-
diente funcionando en él.
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 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
Un tercer apartado es dedicado a introducir la
Enseñanza Estructurada como la manera central de
intervención del TEACCH, y cómo ésta responde a las
características del Autismo. Después, se hace una
breve mención a la manera en que la Enseñanza
Estructurada aborda problemas de comunicación
organizando el ambiente y asegurando la general-
ización de las habilidades adquiridas. En un quinto
apartado se explica el importante papel que juega
una evaluación cuidadosa y continuada en el
establecimiento de un plan de intervención efectivo,
especialmente porque el patrón disperso de desarrollo
de habilidades en el Autismo dificulta el establec-
imiento de objetivos educativos realistas y fun-
cionales.
Finalmente, los componentes de la Enseñanza
Estructurada son expuestos, seguidos por la expli-
cación de los sistemas de comunicación. Una man-
era de alcanzar la independencia deseada es estruc-
turando el ambiente para el estudiante, y formando
sus habilidades para que pueda desenvolverse en
él. Este es el objetivo principal de la Enseñanza
Estructurada a través de la utilización de agendas,
sistemas de trabajo y de comunicación, así como
de actividades educativas visuales y manipulativas,
que respondan al nivel de desarrollo de la persona
con autismo y a sus posibilidades de habla y comu-
nicación.
Palabras clave: Autismo, comunicación, intervención educativa, «Ense-
ñanza Estructurada», TEA, TEACCH.
Throughout this article it will be referred to
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Autism indiffe-
rently, understanding Autism as a lifelong neurologi-
cally-based developmental disorder that affects the
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
communication, social, adaptive and behavioral
aspects of the person, impairing his or her percep-
tion and interaction with the environment.
The Autism Society of North Carolina considers
that an «Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to
a group of developmental disabilities—including
classic autism, pervasive developmental disorder-
not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger’s
Syndrome—that affect a person’s ability to unders-
tand what they see, hear, and otherwise sense. It is
a brain disorder that impacts communication, social
interaction, and behavior. Individuals with ASD
typically have difficulty understanding verbal and
174
nonverbal communication and learning appropriate
ways of relating to other people, objects, and
events. No two people with ASD are the same. As its
name implies, ASD is a spectrum disorder that
affects individuals differently and with varying
degrees of severity. Additionally, ASD is often found
in combination with other disabilities» (Autism
Society of North Carolina, 2004-2007).
The focus of this article is to expose the educa-
tional intervention principles and a sample of strate-
gies which the TEACCH program uses to address com-
munication concerns. Primary attention will be given
to the Structured Teaching model, being the TEACCH
way to approach individualized attention to the per-
son´s autism. The aim will be specifically to mention
strategies for developing functional communication,
and occasional related issues.
Before stating the intervention principles of
educational intervention, necessary concepts and
guidelines on TEACCH´s approach to educational
intervention on communication will be described.
Characteristics of Autism will then be addressed in
direct relation to communication and differences in
thinking, as a base on which to build an explana-
tion of Structured Teaching. Afterwards, commu-
nication in Autism and Structured Teaching, will
be explored followed by a note about assessment as
an important part of intervention. Finally, the com-
ponents of Structured Teaching, some strategies
widely used by the program, and the communica-
tion systems will be described.
Structured Teaching responds to a philosophy of
attending to the clients’ needs and reducing anxiety
and frustration, increasing their independence by
structuring their environment and taking into
account their strengths to build on their skills.
Preliminary Ideas
To be familiar with intervention on language from
TEACCH´s standpoint, we have to keep in mind at
least two basic concepts: 1) Communication is any
exchange of information between two persons, so to
communicate is not necessarily to use speech. 2)
Initiation is a big issue for a person with autism so we
have to set the environment to motivate the student
to communicate.
Furthermore, a speech therapist might find
enlightening to know that only 7 % of communi-
26
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
cation are words, the remaining 55% is body lan-
guage, and 38% tone of voice (Weiner & Mehra-
bian, 1968). A child with autism might be very ver-
bal and talkative but might not be informing
the interlocutor about functional relevant things,
and might not even make any sense of what he
himself is saying. The language might be pure
immediate or delayed echolalia or be a way of
releasing anxiety. Therefore TEACCH bets for deve-
loping a functional communication system and
not primarily or even at all, verbal speech. The
focus is not as much on the form of the language
as on making the communicative skills the child
has functional. This includes, for example, pro-
minent use of visual cues, using echolalia (if pre-
sent) as a base for functional speech, and not
necessarily forcing eye contact but teaching stra-
tegies to make it seem social so the student can
focus on understanding the content of what is
being said.
Key to solve initiation problems is to set up the
environment for the person with autism to initiate
communication interchanges more easily and in a
more structured predictable way. A person with
ASD often does not have the necessary awareness
or motivation for starting a communicative inter-
action, and therefore is very likely to have difficul-
ties relating to other people or even getting his
needs met. Research supports the idea of problems
with initiation, finding a person with autism as
having more difficulty understanding social and
emotional information, than a typically developing
person. This has been described by Baron-Cohen,
Leslie, and Firth (1985; 1989) as lack of «theory of
mind» and, according to Sigman (1994), it leads to
impairment in shared meaning, communicative
intent and reciprocal interaction. These, at the same
time, drift into problems with joint social attention,
social attachment, shared understanding, taking
turns, maintaining conversational topics and inter-
preting social cues as tone, rhythm of voice, facial
expression and gestures (Schopler, Mesibov & Hear-
sey,1995, p. 245)
It is also important to realize that understanding
is a complex process, and it is complex to assess its
functioning and the quality of the reception of infor-
mation a certain person has. Understanding does not
only refer to picking up and responding to environ-
mental stimuli. Current research found that, while
typical children used gaze and joint attention to
27
follow social actions, focusing on the face (eyes,
mouth) of the speaker, individuals with autism sta-
red at mouth and clothing, and their gaze was erra-
tic (Klin, Jones, Schultz, &Volkmar, 2003), losing envi-
ronmental and social information. For professionals
to say someone understands properly, the person
must respond accordingly to the stimuli relevant in
that moment for that situation, in an appropriate
way. This is why assessment has a very big role in
intervention in the TEACCH program, and why the
TEACCH philosophy tries not to make assumptions of
what the student does or does not understand, unless
they can verify it, and if in doubt they try to start
teaching from a level they are sure he will unders-
tand.
In order to understand intervention from the
TEACCH approach, we have to address a major con-
cept that helps understand what Autism is. While
Autism is not truly a culture, because it is not lear-
ned, it manifests as one, as it involves a particular
way of understanding and acting in a world. This is
referred as the Culture of Autism. Therefore the role
of the teacher, therapist or parent is to serve as an
interpreter who understands both cultures and can
translate the rules of a non-autistic world, so that
the student can successfully function in it (Mesi-
bov, Shea & Schopler, 2005). From this follows the
basic goal of Structured Teaching: teach skills to
function in our world departing from their own
strengths, and for that the environment has to be
made more comprehensible (Schopler, Mesibov &
Hearsey, 1995)
The communication difficulties a person with
ASD has are very impairing for leading an indepen-
dent life, and can cause high anxiety levels and
frustration for the students and their caregivers.
If we provide a set structure to communicate, we
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
can prevent outbursts of anxiety and help on
behavior management, as well as assure a level of
comfort and fulfillment for the student and his
caregivers.
The mentioned differences due to Autism are
based on the thinking, learning, social and lan-
guage particularities as a result of different brain
functioning and therefore, perception and proces-
sing of information. It is important to be aware of
these differences and how they manifest, in order
to make intervention effective, and to better
understand and genuinely get to know each stu-
dent with ASD.
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 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
Educational Principles of TEACCH
The most important goal TEACCH has (Schopler,
Mesibov & Hearsey, 1995) is to improve each indivi-
dual’s adaptation by a) helping improve his skills, b)
modifying and structuring the environmentto
accommodate to autism deficits. This is called
«mutual accommodation» in TEACCH terminology.
To help the person with autism achieve indepen-
dence and adaptation we must consider that indivi-
dualized diagnostic evaluation and assessment
are needed. The instruments for evaluating and asses-
sing used by TEACCH, amongst others, inclu-
de: CARS (Schopler, Reichler & Rocher Renner, 1988),
PEP-3 (Schopler, Lansing, Reichler & Marcus, 2004),
and informal observations and caregiver reports.
After assessment, we look to educate by providing
Structured Teaching adjusted to the developmental
level of the autistic individuals at home, school, or work
place. The basic goals of structured teaching are: a)
increase and maximize independence and reduce need
for correction, b) prevent behavior problems.
An important characteristic of TEACCH´s philo-
sophy is to consider parents as co-therapists. Educa-
ting parents is key to intervention because they know
their child better than anyone, and are positively
motivated to advocate for their well-being. It is also
the best way to generalize skills. Always remember
to teach the student skills useful for parents.
The TEACCH educational principles are basically
(Mesibov, Shea & Schopler, 2005): work from the stu-
dent´s strengths and interests so that learning can
be functional, make careful and ongoing assessment
a priority, help the students understand the meaning
of the world without assuming automatic understan-
ding, be empathetic, structure the environment, and
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
consider negative behavior as lack of understanding
or being overwhelmed by the environment rather
than noncompliance.
To have a clear view of why Structured Teaching is
valid for intervention, explanation of characteristics
of Autism that most directly affect communication,
will now take place.
Autism Characteristics as Basis of Structured
Teaching
Differences in thinking and learning will be spe-
cifically addressed (Mesibov, Shea & Schopler, 2005).
176
We must take into consideration the difficulty a per-
son with ASD has in understanding the underlying
meaning and imposing specific meaning to experien-
ces, as well as the lack of skill for functionally priori-
tizing and assessing their environment. These stu-
dents typically focus on details and on visual cues.
Distractibility also plays a role, both from internal and
external stimuli.
Concrete thinking, understood as the difficulty
with symbolic and abstract thinking and literal
understanding of their environment, plus the diffi-
culty with generalization of experiences and proce-
dures to different settings; lead to an unusual rule
governed life which can be taken in as a strength for
concrete teaching, but is troublesome in everyday
changes. Flexibility is dealt within Structured Tea-
ching by introducing change systematically in sche-
dules, so that the student can get used to it and
expect changes to take place in his day.
Furthermore, the way a person with ASD organi-
zes and combines ideas and steps is impacted by dif-
ficulty multitasking, poor analysis and synthesis skills,
and difficulty understanding the relationship bet-
ween steps (Mesibov, Shea & Schopler, 2005). Added
to these differences are the need for more proces-
sing time and the tendency for visual and prompt
dependence. These benefice from structure helping
students understand when, how, what, why they do
whatever we ask them to do.
The preceding description is not exhaustive with
respect to Autism characteristics, but provides a pic-
ture of the impact of Autism on communication.
Nonetheless TEACCH has a philosophy of understan-
ding (by researching) and describing in detail the
Autism characteristics as a way to identify with
clients and respond to their needs. Therefore, in order
to effectively serve the communication needs of
clients with autism, we must have an understanding
of their unique communication strengths and weak-
nesses.
Structured Teaching for Communication
To make communication possible, (Belinchón,
Rivière & Igoa, 1992) in terms of a functional con-
versation, two basic structures are necessary (apart
from the anatomical and physiological structures):
first to have basic psychological processes functio-
ning correctly, which include attention and
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 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
memory for the pragmatic and communicative
competence, and perception and expression by ges-
tures for the paralinguistic competence; and
second a correct language structure and form. All
of these are impacted in a person that has autism,
and lead to issues that have to be addressed in edu-
cational intervention.
Structured Teaching can help with intervention by
adapting the environment in a way that diminishes
distracters, and by providing cues and visual remin-
ders that among other functions address memory
problems. The TEACCH program, at the same time
helps the student use the language he or she has in as
functional a way as possible. It also helps make non-
verbal gestures understandable by explaining them,
and helping the student use them to enable learning
and independence. Language´s structure and form is
addressed by creating an individualized communica-
tion system that is functional for the student as well
as for the caregivers, and can be generalized to dif-
ferent settings.
In regard to this last issue of generalization,
Edward Carr (1985, p.43) refers to research on diffe-
rent methods for assisting the person with autism to
use learned skills, in as many settings as possible. The
Multiple Exemplar Training has been found most
effective; the training procedure is to have the stu-
dent learn the same skills with the same methods in
different settings, guided by different adults and on
different tasks. It is then demonstrated that the stu-
dent will more easily work with new situations not
involved in the initial training. «The data reveals sig-
nificant success in generalizing language instruction
tasks (Carr, 1982; Frisch & Schumaker, 1974; Lutzker
& Sherman, 1974; Shumaker & Serman, 1970; Ste-
vens-Long & Ramussen, 1974), across adults (Carr &
Kologinsky, 1983; Garcia, 1974; Stokes, Baer, & Jack-
son, 1974) and across settings (Carr & Kologinsky,
1983; Griffiths & Craighead, 1972; Handelman,
1979)».
The TEACCH program achieves generalization by
educating parents and professionals on their strate-
gies. Communication and consistency across care-
givers and professionals are necessary. This way to
educate, of course, is a relatively lengthy process.
It initially involves one to one training of a skill
that has been assessed and is either almost maste-
red or emerging, in one familiar setting. Training is
then extended to different settings, adults and
tasks.
29
Assessment as a Key to Intervention
Before explaining the components of Structured
Teaching, we need to understand the procedures for
assessment and development of individualized tea-
ching programs that TEACCH has established (Scho-
pler, Leansing, & Waters, 1983). This specific way of
assessing is important because a student with autism
has certain characteristics that make regular deve-
lopmental and general achievement evaluation ins-
truments inadequate for getting a good picture of
the student´s skills, given the big role language and
perception plays in these regular instruments.
TEACCH structures educational intervention framed
in the following three basic steps:
«1. A developmental assessment is made of the
child´s skills and deficits in various areas of learning
function.
2. On the basis of this assessment, teaching strate-
gies are determined in order to achieve both short-
term objectives and long-range teaching goals.
3. These objectives are implemented with indivi-
dualized educational programs and specific tea-
ching activities” (Schopler, Lansing, & Waters, 1983,
p.vii)
Assessment is important in the TEACCH curricu-
lum because of the variability of skills amongst
clients and the difficulty in evaluating degree and
quality of understanding and functionality of speech.
Systematic evaluation of different skills in various
developmental areas is part of assessment and
TEACCH grades them by level of performance in three
levels: pass, emerge, fail; the outcomes are then gea-
red to set educational goals. (Schopler & Mesibov,
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
1985)
Research has shown that language acquisition in
Autism is asynchronous, and various aspects of lan-
guage function at different levels and are based on
different underlying skills. We also know that a con-
siderable number of students with autism have diffi-
culty reporting events and communicate only after
prompt. (Watson, 1985, p.190)
These difficulties, added to the impact of the limi-
ted ability to understand nonverbal communication
(gestures, expressions, social cues) and to the particu-
lar way that a child with autism develops language,
make it difficult to judge the right way to start set-
ting goals.
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 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
It is not appropriate to set an objective for edu-
cational intervention for a child with autism based
only on his or her chronological or developmental
age, skills in children with autism develop in atypical
patterns and are scattered. Therefore, assessment
must be careful, ongoing and based on concrete skills
(Menyuk & Quill, 1985).
A typically developing child´s first words are gene-
rally related to experiential or social personal situa-
tions (e.g. bye-bye, dirty), and their language goes
through certain stages from literal «labeling» of
objects and situations to abstract understanding and
expression (stages of specificity, overgeneralization,
differentiation, generalization, multiple meaning of
language). However, research has found that a person
with autism’s first words are typically nouns and
inanimate objects (food, colors, numbers), and their
language develops through the stages in an unusual
way (Menyuk & Quill, 1985). Some people with ASD
are likely to stay in the specificity stage and most
have problems with semantics and functional cate-
gorization.
As cited by Menyuk and Quill (1985), a study done
with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Water-
house & Fein, 1982) found that when having diffi-
culty retrieving the correct word, while typical chil-
dren substitute a word or phrase for its function (e.g.
«to bang on the wall» for hammer) or by the gesture
of pretend usage of the object, children with autism
say a related word (pin for nail), proving that these
clients categorize by perceptual similarities or fixed
routines rather than on functional attributes (Men-
yuk & Quill, 1985). These findings are relevant to sup-
porting TEACCH´s communication curriculum first
goal: to enhance the ability to communicate in
everyday situations, not necessarily to emphasize
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
correct use of language.
When assessing communication, these informa-
tion becomes relevant because, as Autism is a deve-
lopmental disorder, we look for educational objecti-
ves that are developmentally appropriate to the
specific child, recognizing that he will not follow a
typical developmental sequence (Menyuk & Quill,
1985). It is important to work from existing skills,
rather than create completely new behaviors. In this
sense, TEACCH does not have a set curriculum; it is
individualized for each student.
Communication assessment is multidimensional,
and «TEACCH´s curriculum includes 5 dimensions to
observe: a) Functions or purposes of communication
178
(e.g., requesting, commenting, expressing feelings); b)
Contexts or situations in which communication
occurs (e.g., place, people, activities involved); c)
Categories of meaning or semantic categories that
student expresses (e.g., talks about objects, actions);
d) Specific words that are used; and e) Form that
communication takes, whether it is a nonverbal
system of gestures, pictures, etc., or a verbal
system…» (Menyuk & Quill, 1985. pp.191)
Assessment is directly applicable towards inter-
vention, underlining the importance of teaching one
skill at a time, and working on one dimension for
each goal.
Following the example described by Menyuk &
Quill, if «the teacher wishes to teach a new word, it
should be one that is in the same semantic category
as one the student already knows, can be used for a
communicative function the student already expres-
ses, is taught in a form the student already uses, and
is taught in a context in which the student already
knows how to communicate». (Menyuk & Quill,1985,
p.197)
Components of Structured Teaching
Throughout the explanation of the components of
Structured Teaching (Mesibov, Shea, & Schopler,
2005) examples of how a speech therapist can use
structure in their private practice will be described, to
make it more familiar and applicable. Reference to
some strategies widely used by TEACCH for specific
issues throughout the description, will help the rea-
der better their understanding of the TEACCH edu-
cational intervention style. Please keep in mind that
addressing to these strategies is because of the rele-
vance they can have to educational intervention in
communication, and other issues of no less impor-
tance are left out.
1. Physical Organization.
This refers to the way you arrange the physical
environment, the furniture and materials to make it
meaningful. It translates into fixing the setting with
clear, physical and visual boundaries to add meaning
and minimize distractions. It enables the student to
focus his attention and efforts on the task. A way to
achieve this is by putting visual barriers (like placing
the student facing the wall, and putting two pieces
30
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM

of furniture to block visibility on each side of their

working table) and developing teaching areas (transi-
tion, group, break/play, snack, independent work,
music, art, etc). From the TEACCH approach, all new
skills are taught one to one.
The transition areas are especially widely used in
Structured Teaching for those students who have
problems changing activities, which is a very com-
mon characteristic of Autism. These areas have the
schedule and permit the student to orient to change.
As an illustrative example of physical organiza-
tion, for a professional of speech therapy that works Figura 1 Independent area clearly organized to
with students that have autism (furthermore, stu- minimize distracters with physical
dents with other handicaps can also benefit from structure.
Structured Teaching), it can be recommended to set © 2007 Division TEACCH.
specific areas. For example a place for working one to
one, like a corner of the room where the therapist is
sitting with his back to the wall and the child is sit-
ting across the table facing the therapist. The thera- There are different types of schedules, used accor-
pist should make sure he reduces decoration on the ding to the developmental level a student has (Fern,
walls as much as possible, the windows should have 1999). If the student has marked impairment in cog-
blinders, he can have easy-to-set-up dividers that nitive abstraction, it is advisable to start with using
minimize distracters in the environment as much as objects as visual cues that will be used in an activity
possible and needed by the student. (e.g. a towel for washing hands), or can be put in
Another pointer would be to have the break/play relation with certain activity (e.g. an empty cracker
area separated from the work area, so as to highlight bag to indicate snack time), this is referred to as Pic-
the difference of work VS play, and to use it as a rein- ture Communication/ Exchange System. This system
force and clarifier of what he is to do in different set- was developed by Andrew Bondy and Lori Frost from
tings. Play area should be away from exits where the the Delaware Autistic Program.
child can wander off and should be a visually limited
space.
It is important to consider that the developmen-
tal level of the student with ASD will make it neces-
sary to vary the approach to physical organization.
The areas in which to divide a setting will be diffe-
rent from a child to an adult, the furniture must
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186

adapt to their needs. The physical structure may be

faded or adjusted as students learn to function
more independently. «Individualization occurs
through the process of reassessment and restructu-
ring» (Faherty, 1998, p.1)

2. Schedules.
A schedule is a visual instruction that tells which
activity will take place and in what order, this
allows the student to know and expect the occu-
rrence of events. It can be comparable to an agenda Figura 2 Schedules in transition area. Note that
of what is going to happen throughout the day. one of the visual cues is marked out as to
help with prevision of a change in the day.
They are usually arranged from left to right and © 2007 Division TEACCH.
from top to bottom.
31 179
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
Through exchanging pictures and obtaining an
object, the child develops symbolic thought. This type
of approach to communication serves the important
purpose of helping with initiation and interaction,
with least verbal exchange (Fern, 1999). So it takes
into account the relative visual and concreteness
strengths the student with autism has, to enable
functional communication.
The second type of schedule uses pictures and
photographs as a transition cue, and holds the
advantage of being more «portable» but the student
has to be able to understand the picture as meaning-
ful and representative of certain event. A step higher
is the written and icon type of schedule, which inclu-
des a list of things with the visual representation of
them at the side. And at last the plain written sche-
dule, which is very effective for higher functioning
persons with autism.
The way the student uses it is by removing the
relevant object or picture, or marking out the written
words corresponding to the activity they are about to
undertake. After this the student matches or puts the
cue on a finished box in the corresponding activity
area, in the case of the object and picture (Fern,
1999). When the student is done, he returns to his
schedule (most of the students have a cue for
remembering to check their schedule).
The students can eventually go on a higher abs-
traction level if they are ready, but remember that
the target is for the communication to be functio-
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
Figura 3 Leisure area separated from work area
by physical structure, to help the
student know what is expected of him in
each place.
© 2007 Division TEACCH.
180
nal, not necessarily better in form. Within the sche-
dules we must alternate types and degrees of activi-
ties.
Now, the way to individualize the schedules is to
assess according to each person the type of visual cue
(object, picture, written, combination), the length of
the schedule (short activity transition schedule, first-
then schedule to focus on what they are working
now to get to the next activity, part day, full day), the
way the student gets to his schedule (it can be
brought to him, we could give him a visual cue to
indicate it was time to get to his schedule or a verbal
cue), the way they manipulate it (carry the object
from the schedule to the activity area or put it in a
box or paper pocket for this purpose, turn over the
picture, cross off what they are about to do, or when
they are done with the activity). The therapist can
personalize it according to the person’s interests (e.g.
Lion King decorations on schedule if that is a specific
interest).
After reviewing the types of schedules it could be
recommended for a professional that works with
patients with autism to have some standard, already
made materials to assess and restructure a tentative
schedule for his clients. These added to the set areas
mentioned earlier in physical organization can make
a difference in approaching communication issues.
Needless to say, and according to research (Scho-
pler, Brehm, Kinsbourne, & Reichler, 1971), students
with ASD respond better to a most structured class,
than to permissiveness. So a way to be ready to have
your private practice to work with a lower functio-
ning child with autism would be to have basic objects
that respond to activities that would take place in a
session. The visual object cues could be organized in a
plastic pocket shoe holder or tagged with Velcro (e.g.
a cup for snack, a car for play, a block for one to one
teaching, a card for independent work). Or have the
same cues in pictures organized in a determined
sequence, or just a simple piece of paper with a list
for higher functioning students with autism.
A great possibility schedules hold is to educate on
flexibility and coping with change. You can introduce
systematically a cue for a change in the schedule
every day, and explain it to the student so that he
learns that things can vary, be comfortable with it
and gather ways to cope with difficult situations
without being overwhelmed. A way to introduce
these changes is to have, for object schedules, an
additional pocket where we introduce something dif-
32
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
A B
Figura 4 Schedules. 4.a) Part day object schedule stating that fist they will eat, then they will work and last they will
play. 4.b) Part day picture and written schedule. 4.c) Whole day symbol schedule.
© 2007 Division TEACCH.
ferent every day. For picture schedules we could put
an additional piece of Velcro beside the one that
holds the activities for the day, and put something
different instead of the regular activity. And for writ-
ten schedules we can color code differently the acti-
vity that will change every day, and write aside what
we will work on instead. We have to train the student
to recognize these markers.
Schedules are great communication tools and
help the student organize and be aware of what is
going to happen. An also important outcome of edu-
cating people with ASD to use schedules, is that they
develop necessary skills to function in adult life, like
following instructions as independently as possible,
and work in an orderly manner (Schopler, Mesibov &
Hearsey, 1995). Schedules also make up for the pro-
blems of impaired memory, organization and time
usage, difficulties with receptive language, increase
self motivation towards working routines, and pre-
vent the therapist or caregiver to have to repeat steps
of procedures over and over.
Schedules are a component of the way TEACCH
approaches behavior management, aiding to prevent
behaviors, by decreasing the level of anxiety in the
33
C
student that controls what is going on in his environ-
ment. Other strategies used to help communication
and deal with behaviors are taking frequent breaks
from what is hard for the student, physical exercise,
reducing sensory stimulation, and encouraging com-
munication.
Only as a brief citation, and to give the reader a
better idea of the TEACCH way of intervention, men-
tion will be made of some standard strategies used
in behavior management and to explain difficult sce-
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
narios or situations for the student with ASD to
understand: apart from the prevention, it is impor-
tant to remember during behavior not to use exces-
sive language and reduce the risk of injury; after the
behavior, communicate verbally and visually to edu-
cate on coping skills and understanding the core of
the behavior. The Emotion Meter and the Decision
Zone are strategies used with higher functioning stu-
dents, as well as Carol Grays´ Comic Strips and Social
Stories, or Kari Buron Dunn´s Incredible 5-Point Scale
which explain situations through drawings or written
word. In the case of the Emotion Meter and the
Incredible 5-point Scale we educate on what the
emotional/ physical manifestations are and how to
181
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
recognize the edge to a meltdown (e.g. first I feel
anxious and my throat feels funny, then I get really
hot and my chest feels so pressured, and then I start
screaming to block everything out) and teach them
to relax (Faherty, 2000).
3. Work systems.
Work systems are intended to give the student a
strategy to complete the work that needs to be done
independently. When constructing a work system you
have to clarify to the student: how much work he
needs to do, what work, when he will be finished and
what happens after that (Mesibov, Shea & Schopler,
2005).
At times people confuse schedule with work
system, the first tells the student what general activi-
ties he is going to do throughout the day and in what
sequence, the work system tells the student what he
is going to do when he gets to each activity or work
area.
To individualize a work system the therapist can
use different visual cues (moving tasks to a finished
box, matching the cue from the task to the work
system, or by a list of written steps or activities), the
organization can also vary (the work system can be
set from top to bottom or from left to right). We also
have to make it clear and teach the student how to
manipulate the work system (e.g. the student can
place a task or card in a finish place, or mark off from
a written list the activities he is working on). An
important thing to keep in mind is to include a tran-
sition cue that responds to a personal motivation or
interest for bringing him back after he is done with
independent work, to the schedule and indicating to
the student what happens next.
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
(Insert image 5)
To illustrate what has been described in a very
simple example, we could say that Mike, a low
functioning 12 year-old with ASD could have an
object schedule in which the therapist gave him a
car (his personal restricted interest) as a cue to
check his schedule. The schedule is only part day;
cues are organized on a standing piece of carton
(to help catch the eye) from top to bottom and are:
one to one work, play time, bathroom, independent
work and snack, bathroom, structured play, lunch.
The cues are objects tagged with Velcro to the car-
ton; they are put in a basket on the right of the
schedule after checking the schedule each time.
182
Mike´s cue for independent work is a block that he
puts in a can on the bookshelf beside the indepen-
dent work table. On the table Mike finds his work
system, it is a row of five (tells Mike how much
work he has to do) big colored Lagos on top of
which he will gradually fit a block the same color
placed in front of each basket containing an acti-
vity (tells what material to use for the independent
work), as he goes along making them. These baskets
are placed in a bookshelf beside the table. Mike
grabs a Lego in front of a basket, matches it on the
table, makes the sorting activity, and puts it in a
finished basket to the right of the table (tells him
when he is done, because there are no more activi-
ties on the book shelf).
On a therapist office you can have a similar set-
ting for teaching a desired independent skill (e.g.
matching letters). As you can see, structure and
physical organization speaks for itself, and helps to
make communication processes easier for both par-
ties.
Work Systems are very useful for teaching inde-
pendence in self care skills, like brushing teeth, was-
hing plates, doing laundry, etc.
4. Task organization
Physical structure and organization is very impor-
tant to take advantage of the visual strengths and
teach students to look for visual relevant information
in the task.
Tasks must be visually organized, management
of space and containers are used to focus atten-
tion and limit the materials. To make the informa-
tion clear we can use labeling, color coding, high-
lighting, and limit the quantity of materials laid
out. Additionally, visual instructions give the stu-
dent cues to putting together separate parts of the
task in a determined sequence. A way to achieve
this is having picture or written instructions, or a
sample of the product.
TEACCH is known for some of the educational
intervention materials used: the shoe box tasks and
the folder tasks are big for working on developing a
wide variety of independent working skills (for more
information on tasks see Task Galore: Eckenrode,
Fennell & Hearsey, 2005). The key to success on these
tasks is precisely organization as a way of communi-
cating what is expected from the student.
Task organization also achieves attention focus by
highlighting the relevant parts of the task and their
34
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
Figura 5 Independent work area with a matching-
Legos work system. The student takes
the matching Lego and puts it on the
corresponding one on the table, does the
activity, puts it in the finished box and
goes on to the next. The work, its
quantity, order and what is expected
from the student is clearly stated by the
visual structure.
© 2007 Division TEACCH.
relationship, avoids error or multiple trials because of
clarity of task, and limits the information given by
blocking out the unnecessary, it also reduces sensory
distracters (Mesibov, Shea, & Schopler, 2005).
Visual task organization is similar to a plan or
jig, where the steps are clearly stated by the task
layout.
To make Structured Teaching effective, the stu-
dent has to manage certain routines, so as to work in
a sequence knowing that first he has to do something
and only after that, he will get to the next activity. He
has to know how to check his schedule and what he
will achieve with that, he also needs to know how to
follow his work system, and how to work activities
form left to right and from top to bottom (Schopler,
Mesibov, & Hearsey,1995).
Communication Systems
A communication system consists of visual cues
from which the child with ASD chooses. By learning
to handle the cues he will communicate his needs,
wants and thoughts. The student will have access to
all the cues in an organized manner in the Communi-
cation Board (Fern, 1999). Here he will find the visual
cue that represents the activity or object he wants,
35
and bring it to the interlocutor who immediately res-
ponds accordingly to the request.
The first step towards communication is asses-
sing at what level of communication the student
might be, and choosing the way he is going to
communicate: by objects, pictures or signs. The use
of these is not arbitrary, the pictures might be dif-
ficult to handle because of fine motor difficulties,
or might not be of interest to the student; sign lan-
guage is not very frequently used by students with
ASD because of the problems of imitation motor
planning, but it can make a difference if the stu-
dent can manage a couple of signs to get his needs
met (Fern, 1999).
In assessing language(Mesibov, Shea, & Schopler,
2005), very basic markers are to work out how or
what system the child can use to communicate inde-
pendently (type of visual cue that is adequate for
him), where the child needs to communicate (set-
tings), what the child wants to communicate
(request, refusal, getting attention, commenting,
giving information, seeking information, expressing
feelings, social routines).
Subsequently you have to teach him to direct his
requests to someone that can help him. Making com-
municative intents intentional is vital to addressing
communication effectiveness; this can be attained by
putting presses, like arranging the environment so
that the student can not get what he needs on his
own but has to ask for it (Mesibov, Shea, & Schopler,
2005).
Once the relation between object/picture/sign and
meaning is made, they can help the student unders-
tand the choices he has, what is going to happen,
the past and the future, his feelings and other´s fee-
lings, how to do things independently, how to act in
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
difficult situations (Fern, 1999). Once the child has
learned the meaning of several visual helpers, we can
make a Choice Board (which has visual cues only
around one area of choice, e.g. games or food), from
where he can choose what he wants to transmit or
request. Be sure to have on the Choice Board only the
items that are available.
The therapist has to be aware of going slowly and
reassessing. He should try to involve as many caregi-
vers and settings as possible in the utilization of the
Communication System that has shown to be effec-
tive with that particular child. He also has to make
sure it is motivating, visual, meaningful and part of a
routine (Fern, 1999).
183
 GÁNDARA ROSSI IMPLEMENTING TEACCH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PERSONS
WITH AUTISM
Figura 6 Task for a lower functioning person with
ASD. The student takes each block and
puts it in the can. The lid prevents the
student from taking the block out again.
It is visually clear and organized.
© 2007 Division TEACCH.
Conclusions
Structured Teaching approaches communication-
based interventions by attempting to develop some
degree of initiation and interaction through functio-
nal system of exchanging information, even if it is
not verbal. TEACCH attempts to understand the stu-
dent with autism and, based on an ongoing careful
skill assessment, sets goals according to their
strengths, and emphasizing the need for indepen-
Rev Logop Fon Audiol 2007, Vol. 27, No. 4, 173-186
Figura 7 Functional task. The student has to put
the cap to each bottle and then put it in
the box. The containers organize and
limit the space where the student has to
look for the materials.
© 2007 Division TEACCH.
184
dence and acquisition of functional skills for unders-
tanding and living in the world.
The development of a functional communication
system is high priority in the TEACCH curriculum,
mainly because it leads into a better understanding
of the world from the standpoint of the person with
ASD, reduces anxiety, helps control the environment,
and enables learning and fulfillment of the person.
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