Structured TEACCH

Treatment and Education of

Autistic and related
Communication Handicapped
Children
Blanche McKenna
Autism Specialist

Physical Structure
Physical structure refers to the actual
layout or surroundings of a person's
environment, such as a classroom, home,
or group home.
The physical boundaries are clearly
defined and usually include activities
like: work, play, snack, music, and
transitioning.

In a classroom setting these

areas may include:

Small group work area

Independent work area
1:1 work area
Play/recreation/leisure area
Sensory motor area
Break area.

Physical structure break center

Scheduling
A schedule or planner is set up which
indicates what the person is supposed
to do and when it is supposed to happen.
From the next activity all the way to a
day or week are clearly shown to the
person through words, photographs,
objects, drawings, or whatever medium
is easiest for the person to retain.

Beginning schedule

Object schedule

Written/picture schedule

Work System

The work system tells the person what is

expected of him/her during an activity, how
much is supposed to be completed, and whats
next after the activity is completed.
The goal is to teach the person to work
independently.
The work system is also organized in such a way
that the person has little or no difficulty
figuring out what to do. For example, the
activity or task should be performed from top
to bottom or from left to right.

Work System
This refers to the systematic and
organized presentation of
tasks/materials in order for
students to learn to work
independently, without adult
directions/prompts

Work Systems address 4

questions
What is the work to be done? What
is the nature of the task? (e.g.,
sorting by colors; adding/subtracting 2
digit numbers, making a sandwich,
brushing teeth, etc.).

How much work? Visually represent

to the student exactly how much
work is to be done.

If the student is to cut out only 10 soup can

labels, don't give him a whole stack and
expect him to independently count and/or
understand that he is to cut out only 10 soup
can labels, for the task to be considered
complete.
Seeing the whole stack of labels - even if told
that he is going to cut only ten - can cause a
child with autism a great deal of frustration
and anxiety in not being able to understand
exactly how much work to complete.

When am I finished?
The student needs to independently
recognize when he is finished with a
task/activity.
The task itself may define this, or the
use of timers or visual cues, such as a red
dot, to indicate where to stop on a
particular worksheet, has proven
effective.

What comes next?

Items such as reinforcers, highly desired
activities, break times or free choice are
highly motivating toward task completion.
In some cases, being "all done" with the
task motivates the child enough to
complete it.
Always check schedule

Routine
A routine is a Task Analysis. In the
TEACCH method, the most functional
skill for autistic individuals is a routine
which involves checking one's schedule
and following the established work
system.
This routine can then be used
throughout the person's lifetime and in
multiple situations.

Visual structure
Visual structure refers to visually-based cues
regarding organization, clarification, and
instructions to assist the person in
understanding what is expected of him/her.
For example, a visual structure may involve
using colored containers to assist the person
in sorting colored materials into various
groups or displaying an example (jig) of a
stamped envelope when the person is asked to
place stamps on envelopes.

The schedule tells you where

to go
The work system tells
you what to do