Autism Teaching Tip #3

Tip #3:

NOW AND NEXT

• Kids with autism can’t always process cues from their environment to understand what they are expected to be doing in that moment or setting.
• It’s important for them to have a visual cue telling them, “This is what we are doing now.”
• It’s equally important for them to then have a visual cue telling them, “We are done with this activity/task, this is what we are doing next.”

Autism Teaching Tip #2

Tip #2:

A Predictable Routine is Important

• Kids with autism do best when provided with a predictable routine.  It helps them make sense of what is expected of them.
• Always let them know visually what is happening NOW, and what will be happening NEXT.
• A daily visual schedule is SUPER important, even if you think the child “already knows” their routine.  That visual prompt is an additional support that helps them process what is expected.
• Any change in the schedule should be made ahead of time; for this reason, having a schedule that can be easily modified is helpful.

Autism Teaching Tips- Tip #1

With the increased prevalence of autism today and the tendency toward inclusion, I am running into a lot of questions from regular education teachers and paras regarding how to go about teaching kids with autism.  I do have my masters in autism spectrum disorders, so I often get asked these types of questions, and so I have put together some tips to consider when working with kids with autism.  I plan to post various tips over the course of the next several days.

Autism is a Social Communication Disorder

• If you can’t find a way to effectively communicate with your student in a way that makes sense to him/her, learning can not take place.
• Kids with autism require adaptive communication.  Even when kids are verbal, there are likely deficits in their communication skills that require additional supports/intervention.
• Kids with autism are visual, concrete learners.
• Learn to see your student’s behavior as a means of communication.  Their behavior is telling you something.  You can’t change or influence a child’s behavior if you don’t know the source or what’s causing it.

Sensory Processing Disorder is Central to Autism

• Kids with autism can not adequately process (make sense of) the sensations that they are experiencing within their environment or body.
• Their central nervous systems may be easily overwhelmed by sights, sounds, smells, touches or movement, causing them to over react or become upset.
• Their central nervous system may not take in sensory information adequately, so the child may seem to be “seeking” sensory experiences (touching things, chewing on things, moving a lot or playing rough).

That being said... TIP #1:

VISUALS, VISUALS, VISUALS

• Always teach to the VISUAL strengths of the child.  Kids with autism process visual information more readily.
• It is difficult for kids with autism to process verbal information/directions (so just telling them may not be adequate).
• Giving visual cues and visual instruction makes sense to their brain.  **This is why visual cues are so important to use when instructing and communicating with your student.

Halloween Pumpkin Game

Here's a fun game for Halloween:  Roll a Pumpkin

For this game, you will need:

• blank paper
• markers/crayons
• dice 
• this free printable:  http://happyhomefairy.com/roll-a-pumpkin-free-printable/

My students loved this game- you can work on rolling the dice (takes some coordination), drawing skills (visual motor integration), counting the circles on the dice (math and 1:1 correspondence), spatial awareness and motor planning (where/how to place the parts on the pumpkin), sequencing the steps to a task, etc.  

After we finished our pumpkins, I sent a copy of the game and our finished pumpkin pictures home with the student so that they could have parents or siblings help them play it at home, or they could teach someone at home how to play as well.  

This is "Slash," one of my student's pumpkins- note the "guitar and
amplifier" that he added for an accessory!

Individual Tactile Boards

Credits to Bonnie Pedersen, resource room teacher extraordinaire at one of the schools that I go to for this idea:  individual tactile boards.  Mrs. Pedersen and I share a non verbal student who has limited play skills and very few interests that keep him motivated.  As a result, he doesn't often explore his environment.  He does, however, like to feel different things and different textures.  Hanging up individual tactile boards on a wall encourages exploration of different textures and the environment, encourages reaching and eye hand coordination and movement toward a preferred activity, to name a few.

• Buy some inexpensive frames at the dollar store, and remove the glass.
• Find various textures to hot glue inside the frames.  Vary the textures: smooth, rough, bumpy, shiny, sparkly, vary the colors, etc.

• Mount the frames to the wall using Command velcro picture hanging strips.  Once the strips are up, you will be able to move the frames around because the strips are universal.

Change the configuration on occasion so that you can start to identify what textures your student tends to prefer (ie: does he/she always seem to find the fleece frame, no matter where it is located?)

You can then find other fleece items that might be of interest to him/her, or put fleece on a switch to encourage him/her to touch it to activate it, etc.  You may remember a previous post regarding a DIY tactile board, and you can find it again here: http://fabulousfriendsot.blogspot.com/search?q=tactile+board

What's Up With Today's Kids??

Here is a great post from Occupational Therapist Victoria Prooday's blog regarding why kids today are always "bored," are unable to "wait" for anything, and are so easily frustrated with school and social situations.  Very much worth your time to read:

http://yourot.com/parenting-club/2016/5/16/why-our-children-are-so-bored-at-school-cant-wait-and-get-so-easily-frustrated

End of the School Year Party!

We are celebrating the end of another school year!  What better to do with our students than to celebrate the end of another year completed and to recognize all of their hard work~  cue Pinterest for some cute party ideas...
(you can find the "kool summer" print out to download here:  http://www.thecraftedsparrow.com/2012/05/have-kool-summer-end-of-year-goodbye.html

End of the year treats for our students~ so cute!  A very inexpensive treat if you have lots of students to buy for, and the kids loved them!  Who doesn't like freezer pops?
http://www.theclassroomcreative.com/2013/06/end-of-the-school-year-student-gift-ideas/

Snacks and a summer theme~  we used sand buckets and shovels for our serving bowls ($.97 at Wal Mart), and had juice pouches and waters for drinks. The kids helped themselves by scooping their own snacks from the buckets.

For my partners and I, it's also the end of an era, as a large piece of our special education unit is separating from the main unit.  That means that some of our awesome staff is staying with the large city school district, and some are staying with the original special education unit (I am staying with the original unit, so that means I will be serving rural schools in our area, and leaving the city schools after 18+ years with them as part of my caseload).  This was my partner Denise and me on our last day together in the city's public school system~ she's the best!

Denise and I at Dakota Elementary

Happy Summer to all~  I will be updating my blog on occasion, working at ESY for summer school for several hours a week and hopefully be using a lot of my time for some peace and healing after a really tough school year following the loss of my oldest child in October.  Have a great summer vacation and hope to see some of you in the fall!