I want to talk about some easy set-up independent centers for an autism classroom!
In any autism classroom, independent skills are essential to teach and practice. My classroom has four independent centers and I absolutely love watching my primary-aged students work at these centers! Three of my centers are super easy to set up and low cost, too!
Why Independent Centers?
It is my goal for my students to live up to their potential, have fulfilling lives, and maybe even live independently and have a job. In order to do that, they need to be able to have independent skills. I know, it’s crazy that I’m thinking about their adult life while they are in kindergarten, but NOW is the time to teach them so many skills, especially independence.
Lately, I have been short-staffed in my classroom. This is hard because my students have so much to learn and I just can’t spend the time I need to with them but I make up for it by teaching them independent skills. To off-set the short staffing, I have to have four independent centers in my classroom:
- Digital e-books or books (easy set-up)
- Digital Boom Cards – done on a Chromebook or iPad (easy set-up)
- Play/leisure center (easy set-up)
- Task box center (not easy set-up initially but amazing)
Digital E-books or Books
This is a super easy set-up independent center that I use every day in my classroom. For this center, I utilize epic books website and app. For this center, students use the iPad. Some students do not like the e-book option so I set out a few bins of books and rotate those weekly so students have the option to look at books as well.
The epic app is free for teachers and allows me to create an account for each of my students. I am able to set their reading level and check their comprehension rate as well. In addition, I love that this app has a “Read to Me” option for my students who are not reading yet.
Finally, there is a “Videos” area of this app and I turn this off so that my students are actually looking at books rather than videos.
Boom Cards
Another super easy set-up independent center is Boom Cards. I first discovered Boom Cards during distance learning when I was teaching remotely. These are amazing and while I admittedly spent A LOT of my own money on them, I didn’t just want these to be forgotten or go to waste, so I created an independent center with them.
If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know I love TAH Easy Matching Weekly Workbooks. Thanks to The Autism Helper, they have also made these digital, which are perfect for my learners. Some of my students use a Chromebook and others use an iPad for this center. All of my students have a mini schedule and Boom Cards visual for this center. You can read more about this amazing center in my blog post, How to Use Digital Easy Matching Weekly Workbooks.
Play/Leisure
Having a play/leisure center in my classroom is essential. This center is very easy to set up as an independent center. I collected some used toys from my son as well as anyone getting rid of their child’s toys. Then, I covered the area using a flat sheet and some magnets stuck to metal bookshelves and added some puck lights to create a calming space that wasn’t too overstimulating. The purpose of the area was to be comfortable and calming, so I also purchased a rug from Target and added some comfy seating and sensory items in my play area.
Some students choose to play or draw on an easel while others choose to just relax and calm themselves. The key to this center is to only put out a few choices at a time and add play expectation visuals. Since this is also a leisure center, if I have students who are reluctant to stay in the center, I let them play on an iPad.
Here are some of my favorite items for my play center:
Task Box Center
My final independent center is my task box center. This is not one of my easy-setup independent centers as it does take a bit of initial prep however, once set up, it’s pretty easy to keep going! You can read more about this center in my blog post, Michelle’s Classroom Tour: Task Box Center.
What are your thoughts on independent centers? Do you utilize them in your classroom? I would love to hear about your independent centers! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about my independent centers and I will get back to you.
Thanks for reading!
- Independent Centers: My Classroom Lifesaver - May 5, 2025
- Autism Acceptance Week: An Opportunity to Learn and Celebrate - April 7, 2025
- Three Types of Visual Supports - March 18, 2025
6 Responses
I love how you have your classroom set up! For centers, I do rotations with similar centers. However, I do math during our math time. How do you have your centers set up as far as timing? Also, could you share your daily schedule? I am trying some things differently for next school year. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Do you do these centres at the same time and have rotation system or are they offered throughout the day?
Also, do you have a blog about the whole day schedule and routine? Do you use centres all day?
Thank you!
Hi Melissa! These centers are done at the same time through a rotation system. My centers are 15 minutes each and I have a total of six centers. I do not have a blog about my whole day schedule and routine yet, but I have a YouTube video that walks through my morning centers. I do a mixture of centers and whole group throughout the day. So, for example, we do morning meeting in the morning, break out into four centers, have snack and recess, whole group again, two more centers, lunch and recess, quiet time (independent Chromebooks, drawing, or iPad), whole group, and four more centers. I can work on a blog in the future for my whole schedule! Here is a link to my YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV9zYVTgPuw&t=70s
Hi Che! Thank you so much! My centers are 15 minutes long and students work on a targeted skill during that center (ELA, Math, Independent, Play). I will work on a full blog post on my daily schedule but for now, here is how I have it structured: Breakfast, morning meeting, four centers, snack and recess, whole group again, two centers, lunch and recess, quiet time (independent Chromebooks, drawing, or iPad), whole group, four more centers, then pack up and go home. Let me know if you have any more questions!
I saw your a couple of your Youtube videos. I will be doing a 12:1:1 next year with most children with autism and mostly are non verbal. Your classroom looks amazing. What are your rules you go over during morning meeting time? I am starting to get the supplies to put together the task boxes. Where did you get your ideas for those? I don’t want to have to reinvent the wheel if I don’t have to. Thanks again for sharing!
Thank you! So excited for you! My rules are:
Quiet voices
Ready hands
Sit in chair
Listening ears
No crying
Shoes on
Stay with teachers
No biting
My rules are based on students in my classroom. I have a runner so we have the stay with your teachers rule. I also have a student who bites. The shoes-on rule depends on the independence level of my students. I made that rule because we were losing a lot of time during transitions helping all of my students put their shoes back on.
I love task boxes! I save all of my coffee creamer bottles and stock up on little items in the target dollar spot typically over summer. Walmart also has amazing manipulatives like buttons, Pom Pom balls, and colored craft sticks in their crafting section. Also check dollar stores in their craft section too.
I originally took my ideas from the TEACCH method and then once I learned the method I created boxes with materials I had on hand. I also use resources from The Autism Helper’s work task system as well as Especially Education’s Made for Me Literacy and Made for Me Math as they incorporate task boxes and file folders in their units. Please let me know if you have any other questions for me!