An exploration of the benefits of small strategies to improve independence for an autistic child with ADHD in a Year 5 maths lesson

Jo Mead, 1:1 Teaching Assistant, Hayes Primary School, UK The role of a 1:1 teaching assistant (TA), while supporting the teacher’s pedagogical role, is to enable students to access teaching, facilitating inclusion whilst aiming for independence. This project set out to explore ways in which to improve one child’s inclination towards – and ability to demonstrate – independence in his maths lessons.  Background Oliver (pseudonym), a nine-year-old child with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in a mainstream primary school, rarely started tasks unprompted and tended to copy his neighbour’s work. Often not engaged in lessons, he seldom showed signs of independent thinking. Difficulties with speech and language, a short attention span and social communication difficulties may all have been impacting his access to whole-class teaching, contributing to low self-confidence and difficulty engaging in lessons. According to Bandura (1986), self-efficacy