02
Feb
2013
Structure at School
Not only does behavior communicate, so does physical structure. I often ask my training participants what they thought was going to happen during my workshop when they first walked into the training room. I wanted to know what they could surmise about the training just by looking at the physical structure of the room. Without saying a single word, the following is what they could assume: 1. A presentation was going to […]
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02
Feb
2013
Communication
As a speech/language pathologist, I have a strong belief that every student has a basic right to a communication system. I have learned that if a student does not have a constructive way to communicate he/she will still communicate through behavior. I have worked with severe students who were able to develop a communication system with minimal skills in movement and vocalizations. For example, four years ago, I walked into […]
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30
Jan
2013
Structure At Home
Structure communicates in the home just as it does in the classroom. What does the physical structure in your home communicate to your child with special needs? If, for example, it’s wide open, you are communicating to your child that it’s ok to run around, climb and throw things just like you do outside. Is it visually clear what is supposed to happen in various spaces of your rooms? The […]
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30
Jan
2013
The Top 5 Things You Need To Know About Behavior
The top 5 things you need to know about behavior. There is always a function/reason for behavior. When a student is displaying a behavior, you need to tap into the possible reasons causing the behavior. Students initiate and continue behaviors because they are getting something out of it. What they are getting falls into one or more of the categories listed below. Power and Control www.phillystudentsummit.com/listing/ Avoidance or Escape Attention […]
Read moreWhen They Don’t Know What To Say, Give’em a Script! Remember the story about Cyrano de Bergerac? A handsome young suitor wants to court a lady he is interested in, but does not have the words to express his thoughts and feelings. He engages the services of the large nosed de Bergerac who happens to possess the gift of elegant expression. de Bergerac hides himself as he pours out his […]
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22
Jan
2013
Hit A Button, Have A Conversation
If you have a non-verbal student with limited physical abilities, yet he/she can activate a voice output device (VOD), then don’t limit that student to a life of one word or single phrase responses! For these students, I am in love with the voice output device from Able Net called the Step x Step. It is a simple device that looks like a very large button. It’s easy to program […]
Read moreThink about it, if Behavior Communicates and you’re getting aggressive behavior from a student who is verbal, that means he/she is trying to communicate something they don’t have the words for. You and I have verbal skills yet how often do we have to clarify or even apologize for something that was not said properly? Exactly. So it’s not a stretch to imagine that our verbal students with autism who […]
Read moreTop Fifteen Gotta Have Books for Students with Autism There are so many incredible resources out there now that can help us with our kids on the autism spectrum. How do you know where to start and what to read? I asked the secretary, who is in charge of our lending library for our five school district special education cooperative, to compile a list of the books and materials that […]
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01
Jan
2013
Best Practices for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Happy New Year! As you welcome in 2013 I want you to be aware of what the National Professional Development Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders considers their top 24 Evidence Based Practices for students with autism. They are as follows: Antecedent-Based Intervention (ABI) Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) Differential Reinforcement Discrete Trial Training (DTT) Extinction Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA) Functional Communication Training (FCT) Naturalistic Intervention visa signature card Parent Implemented Intervention […]
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29
Dec
2012
Need a new schedule for the New Year?
Have you ever just wished you could see someone else’s class schedule to get some ideas of how to organize your own? On my Resource page I have given you just that! I’ve posted four schedules for you to check out. These are actual schedules used by teachers that I coach (hence the names blacked out). I thought you might like to see both a staff schedule and individual schedules […]
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