Hi, Welcome to Ask the Expert. I'm Selena Layden, the Assistant Director for Training at VCU-
ACE. Today I have with me, Stefanie Paul who is one of our Training and Technical Assistance 
Associates. Today we're going to be talking about preschool. Stefanie, can you tell us a little bit 
about what preschool can look like for students with ASD?

Sure, preschool for students with ASD will look a lot like typical preschools. They will have a lot 
of the same elements. One of the things that we would like to see or that would be incorporated, 
would be to individualize. So, it's always important to look at each individual student and what 
they will need within that preschool setting. Another area that you might see for a student with 
ASD would be that the environment is structured in a way that so that that student can be 
successful and also help to promote skills. So, some of those skills that we would want to 
incorporate within that preschool would be the social and communication skills. Making sure that 
the environment really allows those opportunities within the preschool day for the student to 
communicate with their peers. 

So, why is it important for students with ASD to have those preschool experiences?

Well, we know that preschoolers with ASD will need many more learning opportunities than their 
typical peers. And so, we want to provide that at an early age. So, the younger that a student 
can come in and work on those skills, the better off. Some of the research shows that they will, 
like I said, need many more opportunities and so we would want to be able to work on those 
foundational skills that they will need from kindergarten throughout their years of schooling. 

Great, so what are some tips that we could give preschool teachers who work with students with 
ASD? 

Well a few tips would be, first of all, providing that structure that I talked about. Really making 
sure that you set up your environment within the preschool to help promote learning and 
success. So, that may be visual supports and making sure that visual supports are differentiated 
and in place for students that need those in various aspects of the day. And then another tip that 
I would say is really critical would be to make sure that learning opportunities for social and 
social communication are taking place throughout the day. So really planning for, and setting up 
those opportunities, not just assuming that they might take place incidentally would be another 
tip for preschool. 

Well, thank you for this great information. For more information on this and other topics, please 
visit our website at www.vcuautismcenter.org. Thank You.