CLICK HERE FOR THIS INFORMATION IN ANEASY TO PRINT PDF. FILE Success for Inclusion

Successful Strategies for Inclusion Classrooms for Children with Autism

When challenging behaviors occur work and discuss situations as a team

Why is he/she doing this?  Are the expectations clear?  Are the demands realistic?

Is the environment appropriately structured?

Are strategies in place to increase predictability (especially for transitions)

Communication

Slow down        Avoid sarcasm              Be sensitive to the child’s attempt to communicate

Keep facial expressions and gestures simple and clear

Give child time to respond         Simplify your language Give one instruction at a time not a sequence

Provide models of what to say

Be specific: clear beginning – middle – end

Prompting Techniques

Prompts ensure correct responding in order that reinforcement may be administered.

Verbal- Gestural- Positional-

Structure

The environment should be set up and organized so the student

Establish clear boundaries(tape, carpets, mats, dividers)

Minimize visual/auditory distractions (Avoid sensory overload)

Change things in the environment that may cause stress

Maintain structure and consistent routines

Proactively plan

 Look around for answers

Find the motivators and determine communication message of behavior by collecting data and reviewing that data

 Social Stories

Social stories provide an individual with accurate information about social situations that they may find difficult or confusing.

Social Stories attempt to give individuals perspective/understanding.

Parents as Partners

Parents’ concerns and perspectives should actively help to shape educational planning

 Staff—Student Fit Things to consider

Ability to work and communicate with families

Teaming abilities

Tolerance for consultants

Willingness to learn and take ideas from others

Ability to integrate various techniques and strategies

Willingness to change strategies when something is not working

Amount of flexibility in understanding variations in student performance

Level of structure and routine inherit in teaching style

Ability to handle stress

In General:

What is needed is a combination of an understanding of Autism and good classroom practice.

Click here for article: sel advoc

Click here: 179

This is a brief overview of the challenges of giftedness and Asperger’s disorder: aspergersgiftedness

Very helpful when some understanding is needed by teams.

Here is a group of activities for conducting a self-esteem group. This could be used for students with high functioning ASD/ Asperger’s syndrome. Click here :Elementary_Self_Esteem

I like the possibilities of a preliminary assessment such as this one for Pervasive Developmental Disorder site can be found here:  http://www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html It is easy to use and gives an early view  if further assessment should be conducted.

Further research in validity and reliability needs to be done in this area of online assessment but as a free preliminary tool to begin discussion, it is excellent.

Identifying feelings                                  

Click the faces below to get your copy:                              

Every student has a place on the board. Go around the circle and have the students pick how they feel today and place it under their name.  Then you  can assist in helping say the feeling, making a choice and even have them share  that feeling with a neighbor next to them.   Put a spinner on this wheel and see who can identify what feeling the spinner lands on : FileE FeelingWheel                                      

 Credit for this resource to : Lentini, R., Vaughn, B. J., & Fox, L. (2005).  

1.A schedule and what the plan for the day is.  Click  here for a copy of the schedule . Here is another example of a teacher schedule. daily-schedule                 

 2. Students data sheetsthat staff will keep data on for the day on.  Click here for the IEP data collection  document                

3. A copy of 7 ways to prompt is laminated and taped  to the back of the clipboard. For a copy click here                

4.  An Antecedent Behavior Consequence (ABC) data form if any behavioral events occur.   For a copy click here       On occasion I have also used a frequency data collection form like this          

The routine is important and communication amongst all team members is essential and everyone must know where to go and when.

 click here: VISUAL SCHEDULE  from

Lentini, R., Vaughn, B. J., & Fox, L. (2005).  Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior. Tampa, Florida: University of South Florida, Early Intervention Positive Behavior Support

 I currently am employed as a  full time  Behavior Specialist  in  St. Augustine, Florida.  I am in supervision for certification as a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA),  with hopes for completion by the summer of 2010.I have worked several  years as a school wide elementary school guidance counselor and as a  pre kindergarten classroom teacher for children with autism.  Prior to joining the school system I worked several years in a residential treatment  setting for children with severe behavioral disorders. I hold a Masters degree in Educational counseling and a Bacheors degree in Psychology.  I am in my fourth year as a Professional Crisis Management trainer ( www.PCMA.com)  and  have trained all of the  teachers  that are currently using PCM throughout our school district.

Right click and save: mark-sundberg-concurrent-importance-of-mands

Center for Autism and Related Disabilities: http://card-usf.fmhi.usf.edu/online_training.asp

Absolutely a must for the  elementary classroom or perfect to send home with parents as an example of what individual ABA work looks like and how they can do it easily at home. www.jacobslessons.com It is extremely easy to operate and should be in your classroom favorites. Perfect for a classroom aide to use with a student.

Jim Wright has taken them and converted them into a quick movie file you can open and show the entire class how much time is left on a taskSeveral to chose from  right here: www.interventioncentral.com/timers.php

 This is a free site for online games for self esteem building http://selfesteemgames.mcgill.ca/games/index.htm

 This is a nice collection of games for students who may be new to working with a computer. It provides a nice collection of games that are easy to operate and introduce the student to the mouse and getting interaction from the computer when you move the mouse. http://autismgames.googlepages.com/home

 http://avenscorner.com/Games.aspx

A wealth of powerpoints and other information for elementary school teachers check them out right here: http://www.pppst.com/

Check it out right here:http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/

http://freeology.com/worksheet_creator/math/ will create a work sheet that can be printed……….the student can also fill it out online…..and hit score….good for parents to practice at home without screaming or tears and good for teachers to show mastery….it avoids the paper and pencil portion that may be difficult for some students…..and if a teacher would like to print it as documentation they can do that too……

Behavior momentum works well for children with Autism. It can be an effective tool for transitioning to new areas or for introducing a difficult work task. I always think of it like this>…

“Two  you know and 1 you don’t”  I use to help  describe to people the  technique of behavioral momentum. I will present 2 activities that are short that the child should be able to do with 80% accuracy or better and then after they are successful with those 2 I will quickly ask the child to perform an activity that may be new or may be difficult for them…….but…..because they have done  so well with the first 2 tasks they will feel very confident to attempt this third.  thus….I have presented  ”2 you know and 1 you don’t”

here is an example I may ask a child to pick up a dropped item and praise…..then quickly give a high five….. then give the prompt to touch the table then praise again quickly ( I am building momentum) and then give the cue  line up for lunch…..(2 you know and one you don’t). You are creating a positive momentum for behavior…take a look athe handout from Utah LRBI….they have more like this if you are interested…. take a look here

These are 2 of the most imprtant concepts at home and in school when teaching any new behavior.

 Watch this easy to watch video presentation

by Jim Ball BCBA entitled; Teaching a Skill Thru Shaping and Chaining. 

 http://www.talkautism.com/Components/Video/Video.aspx?v=2.

Planning in Reverse
Planning in reverse is most useful when working with students who need the most unique supports. Planning in reverse means looking first at “what works” and building from there, instead of looking at typical school day and asking “How will he fit in to the day or schedule as it exists?” We should think of the student’s strengths, preferences, and abilities and build from there.

Upon beginning the process of planning backwards first ask yourself:
• In what contexts, school situations or setting is the student successful?
• When does the student perform well?
• What opportunities does the student have to present their knowledge or understanding of age appropriate curricular materials?
• When does the student successfully interact with peers in natural, meaningful ways?

Original source: http://www.paulakluth.com/articles/transitions.html

http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/index.htm

This is an excellent site for learning some basic signs: http://www.lifeprint.com/index.htm. I have used this site often to create pictures of the signs that a student uses so that the team all knows and uses the sames signs as in the home.

Social Skill Autopsies: A Strategy to Promote and Develop Social Competencies

By: Rick Lavoie (2005)

The Social Skill Autopsy has five basic and separate stages:

1. Ask the child to explain what happened. You will want to have him start at the beginning, if possible. However, some children give a more accurate and complete accounting of an incident if encouraged to begin with the climax of the event and work backwards. Don’t interrupt or be judgmental. You want his clear recollections.
2. Ask the child to identify the mistake that he made . This is an important and interesting part of the Autopsy process. Many times, the child will be unable to determine when and where the error occurred or his interpretation is inaccurate.Tom initially felt that borrowing the toothpaste was his error. It wasn’t. Had I merely punished Tom (“Give Chip three dollars for a new tube of toothpaste”), Tom would have erroneously felt that his mistake involved borrowing the toothpaste.Often, a child will get in trouble with an authority figure, but the child will have no idea what he has done wrong. “I got in trouble at practice today.” “What did you do?” “I dunno. But I got the coach mad!”How can a child stop repeating a social error if he is unable to determine or understand what the error is?
3. Assist the child in determining the actual social error that he made . Discuss the error and alternate social responses. At this point in the discussion, the adult should avoid using the word should. (“You should have waited your turn,” “You shouldn’t have asked the principal if he wears a toupee.”) Rather, use the word could: “You could have asked if you could take your turn next because Mom was coming to pick you up early,” “You could have asked the principal about his new car or complimented his ties.” This strategy underscores the concept that children have options in social situations.
4. The scenario is the part of the process wherein the adult creates a brief social story that has the same basic moral or goal as the social faux pas.The scenario should have the same basic solution as the incident. It should require the child to generate a response to the fabricated situation that demonstrates his ability to generalize and apply the target skill.
5. Social homework is strongly recommended by SyracuseUniversity psychologist Arnold Goldstein as a strategy to ensure the mastery and application of the target skill. This step requires the child to use the target skill in another setting and report back to the adult when this had been done. This technique causes the child to seek out opportunities to apply the social skill that he has learned. In the toothpaste scenario, I assigned Tom the task of using the skill of appropriate borrowing. A few days later, he excitedly told me that the dormitory counselor had lent him her large snowman mug when the dorm students had cocoa on a wintry night. As Tom was rinsing out the mug, another student asked if he could borrow it. Tom told him that he was not at liberty to lend the mug, but encouraged his dormmate to ask the counselor if he could use it. Tom’s application of the “borrowing concept” demonstrated that he is well on his way to mastering this skill.

Here is my adobe document created to use to write out the social situation. When completed, save them for documentation of a strategy used to address social skills.  Click here

Children respond very well to this strategy, and, if it is correctly applied, they do not view the technique as a scolding or a reprimand. On the contrary, they come to view the Autopsy as an intriguing and effective strategy designed to improve their social competence.

Remember the Autopsy is:

• a supportive, structured, constructive strategy to foster social competence
• a problem-solving technique
• an opportunity for the child to participate actively in the process
• conducted by any significant adult in the child’s environment (teacher, parent, bus driver)
• conducted in a familiar, realistic, and natural setting
• most effective when conducted immediately after the social error

It is not:

• a punishment or scolding
• an investigation to assign blame
• controlled/conducted exclusively by an adult
• a one-time “cure” for teaching the targeted social skill

 Helping Children Handle Conflict and Control Anger

Click here 785 for pdf file

PDf file click here: CSEFEL anger article

This site will give you a nice lessons for teaching conflict resolution in the classroom 

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/classroom-discipline/resource/3038.html?detoured=1

reinforcer-document1 from www.interventioncentral.com

Click here: 100 Rewards from 

A very helpful pdf  file to give ideas and strategies to assist with toilet training : Toilet Training Children with Deaf blindness

I  found this article written by a parent to be  well written with some good suggestionsfor getting through a child’s haircut. Read it here: 20-parent-tips

The description from the site says,
“Wanda Brown is the mother of an autistic child who has gone through a whole range of experiences to get his hair cut regularly. Through trial and error she has gone from a situation where her son needed two people to help manage his meltdown/tantrums when having his hair cut, to him now accepting his hair cuts as part of his regular grooming routine. So you can share Wanda’s success by learning exactly what she tried and what she recommends. And using it the next time your child needs a hair cut.”

This is a free site to make student flash cards online for printing or better yet to use live online, for studnets to use , post to your site , share with parents all  with fun interactive games. Check out my colllection of cards, as I prepare for behavior analysis certification exam:

http://quizlet.com/621421/behavior-analysis-flash-cards/

20. Make yourself , your teaching areas reinforcing first and then begin to introduce the work. Take your time and build relationship and the child will be more likely to produce work down the road. This step may take time.

19.  Find the child’s motivators and utilize preferred reinforcement as soon as you can .

18. Determine communication message of behavior by collecting data today. The longer a teacher waits to start taking the data the harder the behavior will likely be to change

17. Understand children may not be able to do whatever else can do……so look for a part they can do…. (Example, may not be able to complete all hand movements of a song as fast as everyone else…..so have the student do the 1 hand motion that they CAN …..And have teacher and class reinforce.

16. Structure: The environment should be set up and organized so the student understands and can see where different activities take place.  Establish clear boundaries(tape, carpets, mats, dividers)Minimize visual/auditory distractions(Avoid sensory overload) Unclutter your classroom today.

15. Consider teacher and student fit: Teacher should have the following: Ability to work and communicate with families. Tolerance for consultants, willingness to learn and take ideas from others, ability to integrate various techniques and strategies, willingness to change strategies when something is not working, have an mount of flexibility in understanding variations in student performance and the ability to handle stress

14. Proactively plan and change things in the environment that may cause stress

13. Maintain structure and consistent routines

12. Be aware of the various ways to prompt. 

11. Work as a team and ask questions like: Why is he/she doing this? Are the expectations clear? Are the demands realistic? Are the student’s sensory needs being met? Is the environment appropriately structured? Are strategies in place to increase predictability (especially for transitions)?

10. Change the environment that may cause stress (chairs, posters, speakers, peers)

9. Slow down pace of giving directions/activities

8. Simplify your language

7. Be sensitive to communication attempts and give the child time to respond

6. Keep facial expressions and gestures simple and clear

5. Give one instruction at a time not a sequence

4. Provide models of what to say

3. Be specific: clear beginning – middle – end to activities

2. If they can’t say what you want …let them point to what you want

1. What is needed is a combination of willingness to understand autism and good classroom practice. 

  10 Things The Student with Autism Wishes You Knew   

(..and it makes sense for other kids too!) By Ellen Notbohm  

   Another great resource is this Pdf file to read click here:autism-10-things 

This  pdf file has a wealth of information regarding Asperger’s Syndrome and Giftedness. It gives very good strategies and is written in aneasy to read format. A must for anyone working with these children.  

Visual Impairments and Autism. http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/vmi/index.htm  

This  pdf file aspergersgiftedness has a wealth of information regarding Asperger’s Syndrome and Giftedness. It gives very good strategies and is written in aneasy to read format. A must for anyone working with these children. 

 Credit to: Challenges for Gifted Children with Asperger’s Disorder NAGC 11/11/05 1Ed Amend, Psy.D. dramend@amendpsych.com Pat Schuler, Ph.D., NCC gpjs@berk.com 

Linda Albert surveyed dozens of teachers, asking them what methods have backfired for them. Here they are as she has presented them in her book A Teacher’s Guide to Cooperative Discipline, (American Guidance Service, 1989). After 27 years in elementary and middle school classrooms, I can honestly say I have tried most of these techniques. Linda is right. They may work a few times, but not over the long haul. Techniques that backfire include:        

·       raising my voice/yelling  

·      saying “I’m the boss here”  

·      insisting on having the last word  

·      using tense body language, such as rigid posture or clenched hands  

·      using degrading, insulting, humiliating, or embarrassing put-downs  

·      using sarcasm  

·      attacking the student’s character  

·      acting superior  

·      using physical force  

·      drawing unrelated persons into the conflict  

·      having a double standard — making students do what I say, not what I do  

·      insisting that I am right  

·      preaching·      making assumptions·      backing the student into a corner·      pleading or bribing·      bringing up unrelated events·      generalizing about students by making remarks such as “All you kids are the same”·      making unsubstantiated accusations·      holding a grudge·      nagging·      throwing a temper tantrum·      mimicking the student·      making comparisons with siblings or other students·      commanding, demanding, dominatin·      rewarding the student  

I was asked one year about classroom rules, and was suprprised to find that many classes don’t feel the need to post them…which was surprising to me. Teachers felt the student just knew what to do…..and I suppose the found out if they broke a rule…..  

Everyone likes to know the boundaries ……as adults if we go to a seminar they give us an agenda…and they break it down by time….it helps us to know what to expect from the day.I look at classroom rules the same way……let the students know ahead of time what you expect…..Be sure to post them clearly where everyone can see them…years ago I was in a classroom for kindergartenes that had the rules posted up by the clock….( kind of hard to see when you are 3 feet tall, can’t read and are 6 years old)I wrote these rules based on the information from the Tough Kids Workshop…they are clear, short, fair and positive…. take a look athe book if you have it or look over your rules and see how they sound…If they sound negative or have the word “Don’t” in them ….they are less likely to be followed …..so .you may want to consider a new set of rules…  

Classroom Rules

1. Use appropriate school language

2. Raise your hand and wait for turn to speak

 3. Keep hands and feet to your self

 4. Ask for permission to leave the room

I remember as a student having to complete worksheets….I realize their worth ……I really do………but it seems that too many teachers are relying on them as the heart and soul of their day and then ……..when they  have behavior problems in their class they fail to see the connection.between the 2.    I can tell you this …..some teachers like ….I mean really like their worksheets…….so we try and compromise…….this site below might be the compromise we have all been looking for…..

It will create a work sheet that can be printed……….but the student can also fill it out on line…..and hit score….good for parents to practice at home without screaming or tears and good for teachers to show mastery….it avoids the paper and pencil portion that may be difficult for some students…..and if a teacher would like to print it as documentation they can do that too……

.It has several different functions to chose from ….check it out……….http://freeology.com/worksheet_creator/math/

 This is a question I get often….every scenario and situation is different but here are some basic ideas….

1. Survey the situation first and decide if where they have flopped is safe. If it is not safe then physically assist that student to a safe area the best you can. Even if it is a just a few feet out of the way that is ok……but we want the student to be safe first.

2. Always have the look and tone of calmness as if you do this kind of thing every day. If you handle this situation well you most likely will not be doing this every day.  Providing any  more attention than is necessary and the behavior will be harder to break……… so  stay calm.

3. Take control of the area and cut off others from coming in an talking/coaxing/scolding the child. This also provides additional attention. Don’t be afraid to say, “thank you for your help but we have this under control right now.” If you have lookers on (staff or passing classes) and a crowd has formed….move them on in the nicest possible way…..but attention has to be minimized.

4. Short brief and to the point in a firm voice. Cut your words down and be brief with what you want the student to do. “Stand up and walk with me” as opposed to “this is not the behavior we are expecting from you …….this is very upsetting…….”

Keep emotions out and directions clear……for more on good directions click here

5. If you have other students with you…..reinforce them for any an all on task behavior….any behavior should be reinforced immediately so that other students don’t lose attention for being ON task. So happily reinforce verbally or pats on the back …..whatever you can do to let the others know that they are doing well……this will also turn your attention away from the child who has flopped.

6. When that student follows any part of any direction that you give them during this time……reinforce……what ever it is… find something to reinforce and build back up to compliance……don’t wait for full 100 percent compliance for reinforcement….as you may not get it……if they pick up a shoe to put on…….reinforce verbally “you are making a good choice” …..whatever behavior they display that is on task in some way reinforce that small step to compliance…..

I  found this article written by a parent to be  well written with some good suggestionsfor getting through a child’s haircut. Read it here: 20-parent-tips

The description from the site says,
“Wanda Brown is the mother of an autistic child who has gone through a whole range of experiences to get his hair cut regularly. Through trial and error she has gone from a situation where her son needed two people to help manage his meltdown/tantrums when having his hair cut, to him now accepting his hair cuts as part of his regular grooming routine. So you can share Wanda’s success by learning exactly what she tried and what she recommends. And using it the next time your child needs a hair cut.”

 busbehaviorideas pdf. file

 This is a pdf I wrote called 7-ways-to-prompt

It is based on verbal behavior training and is intended as a starting point for teachers to think about their prompting and use of other means besides verbal prompts. Take a look and ask questions. A video will acompany this post in the coming weeks as I think it is an important concept.

This document is intended for small classrooms where data collection is most needed on IEP goals.

It is a simple word document where the teacher can take the goals from the IEP and input into the first column and maintain data on the goals through out the week.

This data can be saved and then graphed or charted for IEP meetings. It is a written document that can assist parents and teachers  in understanding what  the child’s current level is towarad those goals and where more work will need to be done. click save as: iep-data2

Click here: Lining up feet

Powerpoints for Identifying coins and Safety Signs and Hand Washing          

Right click and save right here: identifying-coins          

Safety signs in Powerpoint format Right click and save target as: Safety Signs

Test Taking Strategies powerpoint

I wish I could claim this powerpoint as my own… but I can’t …….it is very good, filled with useful information and fun….

Use it as a full classroom lesson…..it has fun sound effects so have your speakers on…

 If you are interested in more powerpoints like this for your class leave comment below and I will see what  I can do

This is a free site for online games for self esteem building http://selfesteemgames.mcgill.ca/games/index.htm

3.

Point systems are a great way to give students feedback on their behavior as well as to help them achieve goals.

If you need to complete an individual behavior chart for a child then this is a nice site with a free collection for primary elementary school teachers. There are a variety of choices and styles.
Great for kids with attention difficulties!
Take a look:
http://www.freebehaviorcharts.com/charts/

Here are the steps:

1. Pinpoint a behavior: Select one or 2 behaviors with a long term goal of behavior change. This goal should be agreed upon by the student and families should be involved as well. By creating a team of home and school approach you increase the chances of your programs success.

 2. Select your token or point system: A great resource for creating point systems is right here http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/tbrc/tbrc.phpThis site gives you well written goals with perfectly set up point sheets. 

3. Select Reinforcer : I like to use reinforcers that are already in the classroom. This is a real nice reinforcer survey that I created from jimwrightonline.com I like it because it use reinforcers or priviledges that you already have in your classroom for free. Click here: Reinforcer Survey

4. Set the  cost to gain the reinforcer : Obtainable first and build ……at the end of the week receives reward generally has not been successful in progams that I have observed. End of the day or at the end of the work period …more immediate

5. Implement the program: Run it and review it…but don’t give up if you don’t get immediate results…..some behaviors have been in place for a significant amount of time and will need time to change Finally read this pdf. On Token Economy it will give you easy to follow guidelines.

General suggestion I have is to have someone else look over your program and search for loop holes or areas where it may not be successful. Now that it has been in place and some success has been shown we now want to:

Fade physical tokens to points

Pair points with praise

Fade the system to certain times

Move to more natural reinforcers

Simple check list to evaluate your school’s point system:

point-system-eval-tool

This is a great site for full videos discussing autism fairly from all angles and sides. Check it out here: http://www.autismmedia.org/index.html

 A fantastic site by Cindy Golden. Cindy was formerly a school psychologist and is currently a special education administrator. Her site has wonderful ideas, pictures, and freebies! Worth taking the time to explore.http://omaccontact.blogspot.com/ 

www.tinsnips.org/index.html  

Building Blox – Task ideas and free materials from Building Blox (make sure you scroll all the way down to page to see all of the free materials).

File Folder Games for Students with Autism Free ABA Resources – Some free printable materials for ABA programs including data sheets, picture schedule templates, reinforcement systems, and sample activities. ABA: Christina Burk – Great free articles about ABA teaching methods.

www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/aboutourclass.html

Positively Autism  – An autism newsletter with free lesson plans, flash cards, games, data sheets, and more. Articles include ABA, lesson modifications, inclusion, field trips, college resources, and transition.

Polyxo – A great site with lots of articles and information about teaching children with Autism. Also includes some printable resources and data sheets. This is a great site for full videos discussing autism fairly from all angles and sides.

Picture Set Database -

Database of free pictures for PECS or schedules http://www.preschoolfun.com/pages/teacch%20work%20jobs.htm This website provides assistance in understanding how to help child with visual impairments and autism.

It is clearly written and provides brief strategies. http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/vmi/index.htm

Do 2 Learn – A great websites for educational materials and activities. Some materials are free and include tracing sheets, fine motor activities, games, songs, and PECS.

 http://www.specialed.us/autism/index2.htm