Station Teaching Model

There are many different obstacles autism spectrum individuals have to overcome in their daily lives; social insecurities, eye contact, appropriate spatial awareness etc. But in most cases, their biggest hurdle is mostly their communication skills; it’s been shown that communication impairment is at the heart of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that children with ASD can show a wide range of communication skills as discussed by Agius and Vance (2015). According to Agius and Vance, there is up to a 30% positive diagnosis of children with ASD who will forever remain nonverbal (no consistent verbal communication). With such a high percentage of ASD children it is recommended that their communication and learning needs are to be addressed by using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), it has been shown as an effective intervention that addresses individuals with ASD and their learning and communication needs (Ogletree, Morrow-Odom, & Westling, 2015). PECS has helped children and young adults with ASD communicate with those around them; their teachers, peers, parents etc.

“Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me…Be my advocate, be my friend, and we’ll see just how far we can go” –Ellen Botbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew.

I have taken on the role of behavioral interventionist on a case, for a six-month term, where my responsibilities consisted of providing individualized therapy treatment to children with difficulties in communication, repetitive behavior, social interactions and problems with behavior. In addition, I also provided parents with skills training to reinforce knowledge of what was implemented throughout the six-month progress. Further, as part of the parent skills training, I provided positive feedback to ensure parents were learning the proper skills needed to communicate effectively with their child using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). On the other hand, I plan to continue volunteering at the Autism Clinic at (UTRGV) to gain more clinical experience and also in search of helping more families. On a personal level, I have seen my loved ones’ struggle with dual diagnosis and it has motivated me to learn more in order to help other individuals with

The article entitled “Smooth Transitions: Helping Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder Navigate the School Day” written by Kara Hume, Melissa Sreckovic, Kate Snyder, and Christina R. Carnahan discusses an intervention plan for a fifth grader named Sara, who has autism spectrum disorder, in a general education classroom. In this classroom, there are two teachers that use the co-teaching model in order to reach the needs of the students with and without disabilities. Sara, who is on grade level academically, was showing several behavioral issues. She was not actively involving herself in the lessons, or talking to other students in the classroom. It was also noted that she would end up crying very frequently at different times throughout the day. Other behaviors included putting her head down on her desk and not responding what being asked a question or addressed in general. They observed the times of day that she displayed these behaviors and noticed that it was during the times of the day when transitions occurred. Her behaviors began to disrupt her learning due to time that it took to redirect her and get her back on task.

Our first speaker for SW 325 The Helping Professional in Health Settings class was Sharon Boudreaux. Sharon has a Master of Arts in Teaching of special education. She focused on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for teaching children with autism and other forms of developmental setbacks. Sharon is currently the Director of Education Outreach at the Autism Center of North Mississippi (ACNM). The ACNM, which Sharon helped in creating and growing, provides educational and behavioral services to families and schools to help support children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, learning difficulties, and challenging behaviors. The ACNM offers a multitude of services. Such services may include parent counseling, skill assessments, ABA therapy, services for schools, and parent and teacher training.

Secondly, we have we with the District Autism Team (Lisa and I are both part of the team). In these meetings we have learned different strategies and resources that we can use when working with students with Autism. We learned the important components of a BIP (what it should look like and include). We have

She has played an active role in developing community based experiences for the students and connecting them with outside agencies for additional support. She is always willing to learn new programs or instructional strategies to best meet the needs of her students. Amy seeks help and assistance when needed. Amy’s commitment to education is evident even in the summer when she provides instruction to a group of middle school school students with Autism.

At the autism conference that was held on April 12, 2017, Slippery Rock University provided a few different speakers to talk about different aspects of autism. Ms. Rebecca Klaw was the keynote, and she focused her topic on steps to inclusion through the lifespan. Dr. Jan Singletary focused her topic on sensory issues and inclusion. Dr. Rishi Parikh focused his topic on social anxiety and inclusion. Following these speakers, we had a panel of self-advocates and family members speaking about their personal experiences on autism.

To be an effective special educator, one must possess knowledge of several, various disabilities and also knows how they can affect children so differently. For instance, there is an increasing rate of children being diagnosed with Autism; as a result educators need to be familiar with the characteristics associated with the disease. Symptoms and how severe they may be can vary from child to child, but all autism disorders affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others. According to Gina Kemp, Jeanne Segal, and Deborah Cutter, specialists in learning disorders and disabilites, most children with Autism will not be able to communicate with the world around them. They have poor social skills, avoid eye contact, and tend to choose self play over group interaction (Cutter, Kemp, & Segal). A special educator needs to know how to interact with these children to have any hope of abiding by the standards of the NCLB. There is no known cause for Autism, therefore, it is important for any special educator to continue in their research in order to successfully educate these children.

144). Some other techniques for improving the learning experience of students with autism are structured teaching, speech and language therapy, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy. Keeping a structured and predictable schedule is imperative when instructing a child with autism. The child will also, most likely, need some specialized classes in speech as well as instruction in appropriate social interaction, as one symptom of autism is a lack of comprehension of social norms. Educators need to keep in close contact with the team responsible for the student’s educational plan and diagnostic write-up to ensure that there are no large gaps in the educational programs suggested and the ones being applied.

There has been an increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism or other autism spectrum disorders. It is likely as an educator that you will have at least one child with this diagnosis in your classroom. This paper explores some of the methods used to teach autistic children.

Based on the video, the concept of Facilitated Communication for individuals diagnosed with autism or mental retardation was seen as an innovative medical advancement during the early 1990s (APA.org) as it allowed individuals to use a letter board in order to address their ideas and thoughts with the assistance of a facilitator. The treatment program was seen as revolutionary in many ways as it allowed people to see autistic individuals as having posses the same level of knowledge and intelligence (APA.org). Furthermore, the new method allowed autistic students to participate in classes and regular schoolwork with their peers. Facilitated communication was seen as a significant progression within methodical research. However, many researchers

As an educator in the 21st Century, we must try to be prepared and do the legwork prior to the start of the course. We should identify all of our assistive needs of our learners and try to be ready and prepared for it, especially now that our Autism ratio went up again. Therefore, we must prepare as much as we can on multiple fronts with an alternative plan just in case we run into a surprise and things does not function as we had planned. Things could go wrong, technical issues, network and other similar issues from both the learner’s side and the instructor’s side. We must be very familiar with the course content, objectives, materials, and course timeline. We should try to study our student’s portfolio as much as possible in order to build a solid communication relationship and provide assurance for their safety and our education’s

This article discusses whether or not special education teachers, as well as general education teachers, are prepared to teach students with autism. According to the article, autism is ranks at the sixth most commonly classified disability in the United States. There is a very wide spectrum for autism which include disorders like Asperger’s and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). 1 out of 150 American children will be born with autism (Autism Society of America, NDb).

Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of many developmental disabilities that affect students learning. In fact, in the United States, Autism is the fastest-growing severe developmental disorder (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Also, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is 1 in 68 children and the prevalence in boys is 1 in 42 children (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Furthermore, Autism Spectrum Disorders also affects the way a child learns and over the years, several teaching strategies have been developed to help teachers to effectively educate students with Autism. Research has also been conducted to develop and test new teaching strategies for Autism and continues in playing an important role in the education of students with Autism.