With the collaboration of my Fall 2019 SPED 561 Foundations of Autism class, we created this FREE resource for teachers. We want to promote inclusion and provide 20 current and helpful tips for including students in the mainstream class. These tips are support suggestions that have worked for us for students with autism spectrum disorder.
This resource is a pdf doc. for you to download with suggestions crated by my graduate class SPED 561.
Our intention is to share this resource widely with teachers and therapists. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ASD-Sensory-accommodationssupports-tracker-4994260
*Ensure you have consulted with the student’s Occupational Therapist (OT) and case manager for specific sensory supports. This resource is a general list of suggestions to try.
Attending an IEP meeting as a parent can be overwhelming and intimidating. At every meeting, parents have a chance to give input. As a teacher, I have seen parents who on the spot, are not able to express their child’s strengths and challenges.
The graphic organizer I created helps parents plan ahead of time what they want to share. The document includes a section to write in strengths, concerns and remedies.
Teachers can give this form to parents to fill out before the IEP meeting to help them organize their thoughts.
What are some ways you have shared your concerns with the child’s IEP team meeting?
“behavioral strategies used to assist students with autism spectrum disorder in monitoring their own behaviors and administering their own rewards.”
Laura J. Hall
This is a personal application of a behavior change tactic that produce a desired change in behaviors.
Student with ASD are able to monitor their own progress with acquiring new skills and decrease problem behaviors with self-management systems. From a young age, self-management strategies are an important part of encouraging independence. It is also an evidence based strategy.
Self-management allows students with autism who typically have poorly developed self-management skills to participate in the development and implementation of their own behavior management.
Students are being instructed to:
(a) observe specific aspects of their own behavior
(b) provide an objective recording of the occurrence or non-occurrence of the observed behavior.
The student is in charge of determining if they engaged in a specific behavior. Research shows “the activity of focusing attention on one’s own behavior and the self-recoding of these observations can have a positive relative effect on the behavior being monitored.”
There are certain steps that have been outlined that I will share here:
(source-The Best Practice Guide to Assessment And Intervention For Autism Spectrum Disorder In Schools 2nd edition by Lee A. Wilkinson)
All people live with some level of stress and anxiety but when anxiety gets in the way of daily functioning in school, it becomes a problem. The incredible 5 point scale is a tool to support students with autism who experience anxiety.
Kari Dunn Buron created the incredible 5 point scale. She created this strategy based on many years of working with students who experience autism. This author is committed to positive support for all students. She is passionate about teaching the skills needed for social success.
“More than any other issue for children with anxiety, loss of emotional control can lead to removal from the general education classroom to a more restrictive educational environment equipped to deal with behavior challenges.”
When My Worries Get Too Big- Karrie Dunn Buron
Here is a link to the website to find all of her products. https://www.5pointscale.com. To Learn more about the calming sequence featured in this book please read my last post http://behavior-boot-camp-teach-calming-sequence
If you use the incredible 5 point scale please leave a comment telling us your thoughts…
This picture is an example of a calming sequence.
All people live with some level of stress and anxiety but when anxiety gets in the way of daily functioning in school, then it becomes a problem.
“More than any other issue for children with anxiety, loss of emotional control can lead to removal from the general education classroom to a more restrictive educational environment equipped to deal with behavior challenges.”
-When My Worries Get Too Big- Carrie Dunn Buron
Here is a link to Carrie Dunn Buron’s book that I reference in the YouTube video:
Words are important! They hold meaning! Words have the ability to lift people up to promote and celebrate them and also have the potential to alienate and marginalize people. We must choose our words carefully so we don’t unintentionally get into a deficit mindsets with our students.
Condition First Language: This is when you put the condition first when speaking about people who have disabilities. An example of this is: A blind child
Person First Language: Put the child/person first before the condition. An example of this is: A child who is visually impaired (blind). Think of children with disabilities as children first.
Children with disabilities have a wide variety of skills. Some children with disabilities may be gifted in some areas. It is not helpful to think of any group of disabilities as a homogenous group.
Focus on what students can do to create a strength based approach. Before an IEP meeting, create a list of the child’s strengths to start the meeting with. What is an IEP?
Exceptions: The Deaf population typically refers to themselves as Deaf because they have a stand alone language (American Sign Language). They use the capital D in the word Deaf as well. Recently people with autism have been sharing their desire to be called autistic because they acknowledge that although they are not neuro-typical. They are proud of who they are and want to acknowledge their autism.
Check with the individual: It is always best practice to check with the individual to see what langauge they prefer. When you are in a school, defer to using person first langauge unless told otherwise.
Students with autism or other special needs, who have an Individual Education Plan (I.E.P) or 504 plan, will have a section in the plan detailing accommodations and/or modifications. The student’s IEP or 504 team will determine what these accommodation or modifications will be and it is the responsibility of the classroom teacher (and other members of the team) to follow through on the plan in class. To learn more about an IEP check out my link What is an IEP?
The Law:
Students with IEPs qualify under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Public Law No. 94-142
- Laws require that students who have special needs have equal access to educational opportunities.
- Equal access to general education curriculum
- Schools are required to make reasonable accommodations for students identified as having a disability