One of my students in the elementary math methods class who’s in the SPED program has been working with a deaf child who is also believed to be autistic. I made this to help teach the child to count:
The idea would be to teach the child the signs for “count”, the numerals, and for “how many?” I’m thinking here of simulating the experience of hearing children to the extent possible, but it would be more sort of all-at-once with the number signs and the numerals both on the board. To indicate that putting objects on the board, one per hole, and showing the signs for each as you put it in (“count”), and then asking “how many?” (with the sign, of course) and then answering the question with the sign of the last full hole, would be modeling the counting “word” (sign) sequence, one to one correspondence, and cardinality all at the same time.
I have no idea how well it would/will work. For this child, a lot would depend on whether or not s/he will focus on the task at all–being autistic, that’s an open question. But I shall fantasize that some child, at some point in time, will be helped to learn to count and understand numbers as quantities, with the help of this board.
Addofio 