The classroom is a very social place. In the age of standards focusing on understanding processes, much of our curriculum requires students to collaborate to determine answers to problems. One of the areas where students with autism and other social challenges struggle is when they are asked to work in small groups. They often will take one of two approaches. …
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We’ll call it Tuesday’s Tips and Tricks….for lack of a better approach. I think this one came from my friend Abby originally. In classrooms for autism and other special needs, we use ALOT of visuals and we try to get the students to use them for schedules, participation and communication. This means our morning meetings and other group activities typically…
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As you may have figured out, I LOVE file folder games. I think it is great that they are self-contained, you can store all the pieces together, and they are perfect for independent work systems because with Velcro, they stay together so you can check them when it’s finished. However, the one snag I always ran into was how to…
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Setting up structured work systems correctly can be the difference between busy work and teaching meaningful independence. Independent work systems are an evidence-based practice for students with autism, but they are very helpful for any student who needs some structure to be able to work on his or her own. Reasons that they could be used in your classroom can be…
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Ever have a student who has difficulty differentiating pictures and then realize how many pictures we try to use to communicate with the student (for his receptive understanding)? If he can’t differentiate, or match pictures, for instance, how can he use a picture schedule to complete a structured work system. Same issue with students who are visually impaired on the…
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