Make a daily schedule to follow. Children with autism learn best with structure. In drafting a schedule, include breaks in the day so that the students pause; focusing on different subjects and practicing non-autistic behaviors is hard work and can be mentally and physically tiring.
Teach the students vocabulary. Many autistic children are visual learners, finding nouns the easiest to learn. To build a vocabulary for reading and writing with an autistic learner, use flash cards with photos. Make sure the word and the photo are on the same side of the page --- it's not about guessing what the answer is, but teaching the student to associate the image with the written word.
Give short directions. Students with autism have difficulty remembering long, verbal instructions. Any assignments over three steps long must be written down for the student to reference.
Utilize fixations as motivation for learning. Rather than viewing a student's fixations as a hurdle to overcome, use them within the lesson plans. If a student is interested in boats, for example, work that into the lesson plan by having him write a story about boats.
Begin writing lessons on the computer. Motor skills can be challenging for autistic students, and frustration can make learning more difficult. Utilizing computers can be helpful in teaching autistic students to write because typing is often easier than writing for these students. Start with more time on the computer at first, punctuating the lesson plan with handwriting to keep the student motivated.
Use discussions as a prompt for writing. Verbalize the sentence structure with the student first, so that his or her thought is fully fleshed out before attempting writing. Some students may need you to write out the sentence for them to copy first, before they are ready to write on their own. Writing thoughts down directly will take a good amount of time and practice.