Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is it appropriate to work on categorization strategies with children and youth with autism at all ability levels?
A: Yes. For beginners you may start by focusing on visual discrimination, matching identical objects, matching identical pictures, understanding names of objects (concept of word), sorting groups of objects into identical sets, sorting groups of pictures into identical sets, sorting group of objects by one feature (size, color, shape, etc.). For individuals who are at a higher level, activities become less concrete and more abstract. For example, a political science student might group states by whether they voted Republican or Democratic in the most recent election!

Q: How can I help develop categorization skills in daily life?
A: For example, while driving in the car with a child with ASD, you may:

• look for license plates from a given state
• look for places where you buy food, clothing, or banks
• look for and count red cars, or a particular kind of car
• look for white houses/two-story houses/houses with porches
• listen for slow songs versus fast songs on the radio.
• look for and find things that start with the letter A, then B, then C, and so on, throughout the alphabet
• play "I Spy," taking turns describing a person, place or thing by its characteristics
• take turns naming items in a given category

Q: My son doesn’t seem to understand how to categorize. What should I do?
A: Back up! Reconsider the early skills mentioned in the beginning of this module. Is he able to visually discriminate between objects? Can he match objects/pictures? Is he able to sort a group of objects into two identical sets? Does he understand the words for the names of the objects? He may need more practice with a variety of activities on a skill before going on to the next level of activity. Remember, start with the concrete and move on to the abstract.

Q: The student I am working with seems to have a good understanding of categorization strategies. Should I continue to work on that with him?
A: Yes. Categorization is a process that students use to organize their thoughts, learn new language concepts and solve problems. Provide opportunities throughout the day that focus on applying and generalizing what your student has learned. Understanding categorization skills can be a basis for developing higher-order thinking skills. There is no limit to the opportunities to apply and refine these strategies!

Q: I can think of lots of academic activities, but what about ideas for teaching social skills through categorization?
A: One idea is to incorporate the use of photographs of people with clear facial expressions indicating a variety of emotions. Teach the students how to recognize the meaning of these facial expressions and have them sort the photos into groups. Another activity is to have a small-group discussion about the characteristics of friends versus strangers. Having students generate a list of what describes a friend versus a stranger is a valuable visual tool. Body language can be categorized as well. Through role playing, watching videos, and looking at photos, students can learn to recognize the meaning of nonverbal signals. Appropriate prosocial behaviors at home versus at school can be another topic for categorization of social skills. Given examples of behaviors typical of students from their age group, the students would be guided to decide whether these behaviors would be appropriate for school, home, or both.