“Learning for Life”

Autism Spectrum Educational Supports

For Mainstream Classrooms

This handbook outlines an eclectic approach to best practice in delivering

structured educational programs for students on the autism spectrum.

19 - 39 Landy Road, Jacana VIC 3047 Phone 9309 6258 Fax 93096426

Jacana.school@edumail.vic.gov.au http://www.jacanaschoolforautism.vic.edu.au

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Contents Page

A Note from the JSA Autism Coach Page 3

NWVR Autism Connect Program Page 4

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder – quick reference poster Page 5

The Autism Basics: Dyad of Impairments Page 6

The Autism Basics: The Triad of Neurology Page 7

The Autism Basics: The Impact of the Dyad of Impairments and Triad of Neurology in the Everyday Classroom

Page 8

A letter to the Teacher from a Student with Autism Page 9

Top tips for: Communicating with Students on the Autism Spectrum Page 10

Visual Learning Page 11

How to implement: Structures across the day Page 12

What is a schedule? Page 13

Individual Work Schedules for Pre-Reading Students Page 14

Individual Work Schedules for Students with Limited Reading Skills Page 15

Individual Work Schedules for Students with Reading Skills Page 16

Developing Your Own Student Structured Schedules Page 17

Transition Schedules Page 18

Choice Boards Page 19

Motivation Strategies in Work Sessions Page 20

Build in Movement Breaks Page 21

Materials and Tasks Page 22

Prompting Hierarchies Page 23

The ‘One More Minute’ Strategy Page 24

The ‘1st and Then’ Strategy Page 25

Use of the ‘Finish Box’ in work sessions Page 26

The Not Available Strategy Page 27

Noise Thermometers Page 28

Turn Taking Page 29 - 33

Requesting for ‘Help’ Page 34

Responding to ‘Wait’ Page 35

Requesting a Break Page 36 – 37

Make a Deal Page 38 – 39

Reward Systems Page 40

References and acknowledgments Page 41

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A Note from the JSA Autism Coach It is with great pleasure that we are able to provide our community documented strategies to support our students with autism in a range of educational settings, especially as we move into an era as the Education State here in Victoria, with a strong focus in implementing the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO). We aim to develop our Communities of Practice (CoP) and share our knowledge in the specialist area of autism to support our colleagues, for targeted and specific best practice autism education supports that can be used in all settings. This will assist our students to manage themselves, interact positively in their relationships with others, and understand the world in which they live to act effectively in the wider community as lifelong learners. JSA is happy to support our network of schools through CoP to support our local and collective capacity to support students with autism in our community. Professional learning, support and advice to support whole school learning within the areas of the current North West Region (NWR) Powerful Learning Project initiative. We are open to having staff visit our classrooms and to discuss how the strategies observed could be adapted to the mainstream setting to support students with autism in all of our schools. The NWR Autism Connect Program is another valuable resource that has a hub consultant operating out of Jacana School for Autism. If you are currently working at a school within this region, please see information on the following page to access individualised support for your school, ranging from specific individualised classroom support to whole school professional learning targeted to meet your school’s needs. The Autism Connect Hub Consultant can cover all areas of autism knowledge and educational supports, ranging from ‘what is autism’ to ‘how can I understand and meet the individual needs of students in my mainstream class’, to ‘how can we become an autism friendly school’. They are able to meet with you to determine your focus and needs to then provide targeted specific supports. At JSA the Autism Coach has provided tailored individual support to JSA staff to build their capacity to support students since the commencement of the role in 2015. These strategies were documented initially in the 2016 JSA Autism Spectrum Education Handbook. Due to its success within the JSA community, we have recreated this handbook with adaptations in this edition for application in a mainstream classroom environment. Strategies need to be explicitly taught to students, and with consistency in delivery, these support will assist you to support the needs of those with autism in your classrooms. We welcome any feedback to this handbook and hope that you have found it a useful resource in your teaching journey.

Elizabeth Smith Autism Coach – Jacana School for Autism smith.elizabeth.a@edumail.vic.gov.au

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What is... Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Social Communication and Social Interaction

Behaviour, Interests and Activities

The Positive Partnerships initiative is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training through the Helping Children with Autism Package. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government or the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.

For more information about ASD, contact Amaze T: 1300 308 699 E: info@amaze.org.au W: www.amaze.org.au

Repetitive behaviours

• May repeat the same action over and over e.g. lining up objects or watching the same movie repeatedly

Restrictive interests

•

Repetitive body movements

•

•

May have an intense interest in one topic (e.g. trains) May have a topic of interest that is unusual (e.g. gluesticks) May have an unusual level of interest in a topic (they think/ talk about it all the time)

•

Under- or over-responsive senses

• May have unusual reactions to what they see, hear, smell, touch or taste etc

Prefers structure and routine •

•

May dipslay echolalia (repeating words or phrases) May display hand- flapping, spinning, rocking etc

•

May not like surprises or change Needs to be prepared and supported to try new things

Finds two-way conversations difficult Needs help to interact with others Seems uninterested

• Hello how are you? Hello how

are you?

•

May find it difficult to start, maintain, or end a conversation May find it hard to stay on topic

• •

•

May prefer to be alone May want to join in but not know how May find it difficult to form and maintain social relationships

• •

Needs help with communication Difficulty reading social cues or situations

May avoid eye contact May not respond to name

• May appear to be in their own world

•

•

May have delayed or limited speech Tends to interpret language literally May have a large vocabularly but struggle with social use of language

•

• •

May find it hard to read body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice May need help to understand what behaviour is appropriate in different environments

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition. People with ASD may display some of the characteristics in the two main areas below:

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The Autism Basics

Dyad of Impairments

The Autism Spectrum is defined by core deficits referred to as the Dyad of Impairments. Please note

that previous to May 2013, this was known as the Triad of Impairments, so literature pre and post

this date will refer to these respectively. People on the spectrum vary in the degree of impairment

in these areas, and so everyone will present in a unique position on the spectrum. Regardless of

this, the impairments are identified in people on the spectrum, and to varying degrees for different

individuals. These are as follows:

Impairment in Social Imagination (Play skills)

Fixated interest

Restricted & repetitive behaviours and rituals

Inability for flexibility of thought and social imagination

Significant rigidity in social imagination

Sensory behaviours

Hyper (over sensitive) and hypo (under sensitive) to sensory input from external factors

Inability to process the senses coming in can lead to ‘sensory based behaviours’ such as rocking, clapping, humming, flicking, spinning etc. (note these behaviours can also be used by person as self calming and regulating strategies)

Note: The following two areas are now considered inseparable, hence changing the previous Triad of Impairments into the newly refined Dyad of Impairments (DSMV May 2013) Impairments in Social Interactions

Pragmatics (understanding the social rules) in interacting in conversations, games etc.

Significant challenges in initiating, responding to and maintaining interactions, such as beginning and finishing conversations

Ego-centric behaviours (a lot about self, not aware of others)

Eye contact/body positioning often turned away

Problems in developing joint attention

Turn taking

Proximity to the communication partner Impairments Social Communication

Language ability can range from no language to intelligent conversation on specific topics within the same individual

A non-verbal student is defined as not having spontaneous functional language

Difficulty understanding and processing verbal information (receptive language - input)

Difficulty in developing expressive language (output), and so there is a significant delay in language in the early years, for example some students who do go on to independent verbal communication may not speak till 3-4 years old

Impaired language skill does not mean they don’t understand – be careful not to assume level of understanding

People with Autism are ‘Visual Thinkers’

Lack of body language

Monotonous tones

Unaware of own volume control

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The Autism Basics

The Triad of Neurology

Theory of Mind Theory of Mind is the fundamental human ability to “Mind Read”. Impairment in theory of mind is a key feature of autism. From approximately the age of 4, typically developing children develop the ability to understand that other people have thoughts, beliefs, intentions and desires of their own; that they have their own minds, and we are not all connected with one shared mind.

Implications of impaired Theory of Mind:

Difficulty in understanding that others are thinking and feeling something different to themselves

Difficulty in understanding that other people’s feelings, thoughts and beliefs impact how they behave

Challenges in developing the concept of ‘self’ and ‘others’

Lack of ‘self’ awareness results in challenges in developing personal episodic memories and therefore recalling personal experiences

Executive Function The Executive Function is a theorised cognitive system in psychology operating from the frontal lobe of the brain. It explains some of the impairments found in autism.

Implications of impaired Executive Function:

• Difficulty in planning and organisation (including initiation) • Challenges in level of impulse control (can be very impulsive) • Inhibition of dominant but incorrect responses (may know the correct response, but will

provide you with a preferred response) • Difficulty in ‘Set maintenance’ also known as the ‘maintenance of attention’ on one set of

stimuli or a task for a prolonged period (difficulty in maintaining focus/attention) • Impaired flexibility of thought and action (rigidity)

Central Coherence We refer to a ‘weak’ Central Coherence rather than an, ‘impaired’ one. Central Coherence is the ability to draw information together to give meaning to context. Implications of weak Central Coherence:

• Failure to grasp whole picture • Concentrates on details – if details change so does the whole picture • Difficulty with identifying which details are important • Difficulty with generalising • Difficulty with sequencing • Inability to see relationship between different information • Failure to understand meaning between events and connect them to make

consistent patterns • Difficulties constructing high level meaning behind events

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The Autism Basics

The Impact of the Dyad of Impairments and Triad of Neurology

in the Everyday Classroom

Learning profiles of students with autism may present with the following:

Academic inconsistencies

Spiked profile – high level of skill in particular areas/interests

Strengths in logical areas i.e. Maths/computers

Focus on details rather than interrelationships

Difficulty with generalisation

Difficulty with higher order cognitive function e.g. planning, organisation

Restrictive range of interest

Obsessions

Perseverations

Motivation in certain topics of interest

Emotional vulnerability

Difficulties in understanding own and others feelings

Inappropriate responses

Poor concentration

Distractibility and off task behaviours

Sensory issues

Difficulty with change, including routines, personal changes (like puberty) and changes in classroom arrangements

Impaired social understanding, including a lack of understanding in social situations, lack of appropriate social skills, and difficulty with eye gaze

For all of these reasons, specific autism friendly structures in place in the classroom, including the environment, presentation of work, how we give instructions and support our students can have a significant impact, including in the following areas:

Supporting sensory processing difficulties in the classroom

Supporting organisational skills in the classroom to manage work tasks

Supporting the reduction on reliance on verbal prompts or cues

Supporting the reduction of stress/anxiety as a result of the demands of the educational setting

When we are able to develop a positive relationship, provide a classroom that is structured and organised to meet the individual’s needs of the student with autism, and provide an educational program tailored to those individual needs, we are able make a difference. These strategies and supports based on best practice in the field of educational supports for people with autism are outlined in this handbook, starting with a letter to the teacher from a student with autism.

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A letter to the Teacher from a Student with Autism

Taken and adapted from Jacana School for Autism’s TEACHING AND LEARNING PEDAGOGY (2016)

Dear Teacher,

As a student with autism in your classroom, I have an expectation that you will:

Develop a positive relationship with me:

See me first – my autism does not define who I am

Talk to me in a respectful and calm manner

Know my learning style and how I learn best

Know what topics or activities motivate me

Set clear boundaries so that I know how to work and play with others in a friendly way

Do not speak about me to others in front of me

Tell me what I need to do, not what not to do – this is especially important to me

Provide me with a classroom that is structured and organised:

With clear expectations for me to follow

That has a defined start and finish to activities

So that my activities and materials are presented in a way I am able to organise and manage them

With clearly defined working areas

With limited distractions including, visual, auditory and movement when I am working and in my immediate work space at my table, without mess clutter around my work space

Provide me with an educational program that:

Allows me to communicate when I am upset, to tell you that I may need a break, some movement, or a quiet space to help me regulate my behaviour and emotions

Allows time for me to process your verbal and visual instructions

Meets my individual needs (cognitive, sensory and communicative) and increases my skills

Ensures my learning activities are at my developmental level

Builds in the recommendations of my therapist

Builds my independence to allow me to manage myself as an individual in relation to others.

Provide this for me, and you can have an expectation that I will learn from what you teach me, I will develop and grow, even thrive, and I will learn to understand the world in which I live, to act effectively in the wider community as a lifelong learner.

Kind Regards,

Your Student

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Top tips for:

Communicating with Students on the Autism Spectrum

1. Use clear short sentences when giving information

2. Give time to process and answer

3. Use visuals (preferred learning style) 4. Rephrase when needed (if not understood) 5. Avoid overwhelming with too much information or your physical presence

6. Do not force eye contact (once gained trust you can gently encourage over time)

7. Create a quiet time/place for interactions

8. If students are becoming anxious or stressed, provide some quiet time/time out

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Visual Learning

People with autism have a preference for visual learning. This means that they are able to take in and process visual information with greater ease and clarity. They can find information presented in an oral manner challenging to process. This doesn’t always mean that information needs to be presented in picture form; in fact printed text is also considered as a visual support. For students who are not yet able to access the written word, picture based visuals are used. The program Boardmaker is a highly valuable resource, and most commonly used worldwide, and is easy to navigate, create and present the information you need with pictures.

https://www.boardmakeronline.com/

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How to implement:

Structures across the day The Basics:

A high level of structure is required in all sessions across the day to support students with autism, this handbook will document specifically what that means and what it can look like in your classroom

Schedules should be used to depict information visually to provide students with this high level of structure – this will be detailed later in the handbook

Keep in mind this simple mantra: engagement reduces behaviour

This includes not just structured class/work sessions, but also structured meal times, play times and reward times

There is no such thing as ‘down time’ for a student with autism in our schools – even rewards and play time need to be highly structured to support the development and understanding of social skills and interactions

The Playground: For many students with autism the open space of the playground, lack of structured tasks and social interactions can present many challenges for playground time – it can be overwhelming and students may feel anxious or stressed. Playground time must be structured to support teaching specific play skills and appropriate social interaction.

Give the students concrete choices about playground time activities, such as a ball game, climbing equipment, or library time before you go outside

Create a lunch time schedule of activities, each running for a short time (such as 10 minutes each) breaking up the session

Allocate an area of the yard for quiet time - if some students prefer to take a book or activity out to the playground, allow them to do this and use it in the designated area

Explicitly teach and facilitate playground games and appropriate use of equipment – model this in teaching sessions before expecting students to access equipment and games independently

Teach the students strategies to respond to unwanted attention appropriately, such as walking away, going to the teacher, or a designated ‘safe spot’

Use social stories to teach appropriate playground behaviours* * A social story is short story of no more than 10 sentences that depicts a social skill that a student is having difficulties with, such as how to engage with others or activities at play time. It depicts the situation and provides a number of solutions/options and the social expectation to explicitly teach what the students’ needs to do to manage themselves and interact with others in that social setting. Pictures can be added to support the visual learning styles. For more information around social scripts and social stories, please refer to http://carolgraysocialstories.com/social-stories/ Regular PD sessions on Social Stories are also available from various locations, and usually Speech Pathologists, Educational Psychologists, Autism Connect (DET NW Region only) or your local Autism School can assist in writing social scripts and stories.

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What is a schedule?

The Basics

A schedule is a sequence of tasks/events

A schedule is represented vertically because vertical discrimination is acquired before left to

right sequencing

Schedules should be presented in a clear space free from additional visual distractions

Schedules provide a clear outline of what is expected of the student, and therefore supports

the executive functioning of students, assisting them to follow directions, predict what

happens next, develop a general concept of time and reduce anxiety

Schedules should always be completed – not completing them will reduce the students trust

in the system, that can lead to increased anxiety and stress, resulting in unpredictable and

challenging behaviour

If a change in schedule is required, staff must ensure that this is clearly communicated to

students

A whole class visual schedule should be provided - an example in a mainstream classroom

would be a class timetable on display in the room for students to reference

Individual schedules should be provided throughout the day when individualised work task

or activities are presented

Think of it this way – it’s simply a check list of what needs to be done.

The following pages will outline the use of a variety of schedules that can be used throughout

the day.

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How to Present

Individual Work Schedules for Pre-Reading Students

The Basics:

When students are not yet able to read words, a picture schedule can support them

Schedules have between 2 to 5 items on them – this is so that the student is not

overwhelmed by what is required

There needs to be a clear correlation between the item on the schedule and the activity

The last item is a highly preferred activity for the individual student - their ‘motivator’ – this

will assist in motivating students to complete the work tasks to be awarded their preferred

item

As students work through the activities, they can tick or cross off each item, this will help in

learning self-management skills as well as supporting their executive function

Tasks should be given a clear finish, when this is not possible, open ended tasks should be

supported with the use of a timer to provide a finish to the activity

Always allow time to finish the schedule

Schedules can be presented in many different ways, as long as they follow the outline above

Example:

How to Present

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Individual Work Schedules for Students with Limited Reading Skills

The Basics:

When students are able to read words without pictures, they can start to transition to a

written schedule

This process may involve a schedule with a mixture of words and pictures as the student

acquires new language and comprehension skills at different times

When new words are learnt, replace them on the schedule with written text

Schedules have between 2 to 5 items on them – this is so that the student is not

overwhelmed by what is required

There needs to be a clear correlation between the item on the schedule and the activity

The last item is a highly preferred activity for the individual student - their ‘motivator’ – this

will assist in motivating students to complete the work tasks to be awarded their preferred

item

As students work through the activities, they can tick or cross off each item, this will help in

learning self-management skills as well as supporting their executive function

Tasks should be given a clear finish, when this is not possible, open ended tasks should be

supported with the use of a timer to provide a finish to the activity

Always allow time to finish the schedule

Schedules can be presented in many different ways, as long as they follow the outline above

Example:

Counting

Dot to Dot

Reading

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How to Present

Individual Work Schedules for Students with Reading Skills

The Basics:

Schedules have between 2 to 5 items on them – this is so that the student is not

overwhelmed by what is required

There needs to be a clear correlation between the item on the schedule and the activity

The last item is a highly preferred activity for the individual student - their ‘motivator’ – this

will assist in motivating students to complete the work tasks to be awarded their preferred

item

As students work through the activities, they can tick or cross off each item, this will help in

learning self-management skills as well as support their executive function

Tasks should be given a clear finish, when this is not possible, open ended tasks should be

supported with the use of a timer to provide a finish to the activity

Always allow time to finish the schedule

Schedules can be presented in many different ways, as long as they follow the outline above

Example:

You may already provide this level of instruction to students, however having it written on an individual schedule, or on the classroom whiteboard if the instruction applies to all, will support students with autism to recall and process the information as needed throughout the session. It can be challenging to hold multiple instructions in the mind and recall them when needed, especially over a period of time.

Daniel’s list

Read pages 7 and 8

Answer questions 1 to 4 in workbook

Show teacher and discuss answers

Walk to office to deliver message to Mary and return to class Quiet reading – book of choice from class library (15 minutes)

In this example, the student needs

regular movement breaks during class to

support his sensory needs and remain

calm and engaged, so a movement break

in the form of an office job is built in

This student enjoys quiet reading, so this

is a great motivator / reward built into

his schedule to assist him in being

successful and working through the tasks

to gain that reward

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Freedom to:

Developing Your Own Student Structured Schedules

The Basics:

You are able to develop your own style and presentation of a schedule for students

This may be a schedule template that is used all the time, or as simple as a blank piece of paper that a list is written on, and the student places this in their pocket for reference as needed

If your student is working at this level, however you develop the schedule, it must include the following structures:

o A sequence of tasks/events

o Represented vertically, like a list

o Presented clearly without excessive information or additional items on the page

o Students are to be taught to refer to the schedules throughout the day to support

engagement and transition, as well as the executive functioning

o If a change in schedule is required, staff must ensure that this is clearly

communicated to students

o Students can work with the teacher or aide (under the direction of the teacher) to

use the template or write their own schedule as agreed with the teacher

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How to use:

Transition Schedules

The Basics:

A transition schedule tells us where to go as opposed to the different type of work schedules that tell us what to do

Especially in school environments where students transition to different rooms, such as in the secondary model, a transition schedule can support students to:

o Know where to go o When to transition o Assist in reducing anxiety in students who find transitioning around the school

independently as a daily challenge o Assist in self-management and organisation, that due to the impaired executive

function, is a challenging task

This information does not necessarily need to be presented on a different schedule, it can be incorporated into the student’s school diary, iPad, iPhone or laptop that may be carried class to class

If a change in schedule is required, staff must ensure that this is clearly communicated to the student, and the adjustment is made on the students copy of the schedule

Think of it this way – it’s simply a detailed timetable, but you cannot depend on the student writing this out themselves, as this can be a challenging task due to the impaired executive function, you need to ensure that it is done for them

Explicitly teach the student to refer to it for support in transitioning, such as checking it at the end of each session before moving to the next

Example:

Anthony’s Timetable for Mondays

Time Session Location

8:50 – 9:00 Home Group Room 5 in H Block

9:00 – 9:50 Science Room 7 in S Block

9:50 – 10:40 Maths Room 1 in M Block

10:40 – 11:00 Recess Canteen or Oval

11:00 – 11:50 English (double session) Room 3 in E Block

11:50 – 12:40

12:40 – 1:30 Lunch Canteen, Library or Computer Club

1:30 – 2:20 Drama Hall

2:20 – 2:50 Study Group Library

2:50 – 3:00 Home Group Room 5 in H Block

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How to use:

Choice Boards The Basics

A choice board can be another way to schedule activities and choices

It can be challenging for students with autism to make meaningful choices, and so this needs

to be explicitly taught, and students need to be provided opportunities to make and express

choices in their daily lives

Choices provided can be manipulated by teachers to ensure choices are meaningful, such as

providing a highly motivating choice verses a known disliked choice

Choice boards can be provided to structure sessions

Choice boards can be provided and presented in many ways, as long as they have absolute

visual clarity

For example: Here a teacher has set up a choice board for quiet time activities for a group of

students not able to read. Choices are provided and students take their photo and put it under the

chosen activity, before commencing the activity.

In a mainstream class for students able to read, a list can be placed on the board of the choices available for the whole class to refer to, whether this be within a class activity or at other times, like inside play times when it is raining

Proving this type of information visually to the whole class or the individual student will help in processing this information, knowing what activities are available, and assist in setting clear expectations

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How to use:

Motivation Strategies in Work Sessions The Basics

The use of the work schedules are structured to motivate students to move through their

schedules to obtain their final motivator, however we still need to provide highly engaging

tasks to keep students motivated and engaged in learning throughout the work session

This helps students not to rush through tasks simply to obtain the final reward

We aim to build reward, self-satisfaction and pride in the achievement of all work tasks –

these are often naturally occurring for neurotypical students, and need to be more actively

instilled in our students with autism

Building individualised work around student interests and motivators for a significant

amount of work tasks where possible can assist greatly

For example:

o If a student’s interest is in gardening, maths concepts (such as measurement, shape,

colour, size, patterns, counting, sorting, time, calendars, equations etc.) can be built

and taught around individualised activities that use plants, flowers, vegetables,

seasons, growth; nature etc. as the theme

o If a student’s interest is in trains, the same concepts can be taught using train tracks,

stations, platforms, tunnels, steam trains, diesel trains, electric trains, different

public transport train systems around the world, time tables and ticketing etc. as the

theme

These same concepts can be applied across all curriculum areas by using the students

motivators and interest to individuals’ curriculum where possible

This will assist in keeping a high motivation and engagement in the learning activities

throughout sessions

Keep in mind the appropriateness of the activities in relation to age, the general student’s

capacity and the broader social context

When it is not possible to do this given the curriculum content, another idea could be to

provide time as a reward or motivator, so when tasks are done, students can have allocated

time to put together projects and presentations to share with the class around their topic of

interest

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How to:

Build in Movement Breaks The Basics: A majority of individuals with autism also have a sensory processing issue

“Studies by the SPD Foundation suggest that more than three-quarters of children with autistic spectrum disorders have significant symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder”

Movement breaks assist in supporting sensory input into the central nervous system and can help calm and regulate students, allowing increased learning or readiness to learn to take place after movement

Movement also generally assists in relieving anxiety, which is prevalent in autism

Daily programming must include regular movement breaks such as exercise sessions, playground sessions, and specific movement based activities as recommended by occupational therapists for individual students

Movement breaks are to be built into scheduled work sessions depending on the student’s individual sensory needs

Tasks can be built around physical input to further support students Examples in the general classroom for all students:

Start the session with some form of student lead movement – such as Simon Says

Direct the class to participate in quick movement breaks between sessions, such as 20 star jumps or running on the spot for 90 seconds

Do a random call within sessions to stop work, do 20 wall push ups (where you stand near the wall and then lean against it and do push ups)

Animal walks around the (primary/early years) classroom – bear walks, frog jumps, elephant walks etc.

o Please ensure that the activity is age / classroom appropriate Examples within individual schedules:

Student walks to the office (or any other location) to deliver a message

Student walks to the office (or any other location) to deliver an item – such as return a book to the library, deliver photocopies to another classroom, or collect and deliver the lunch orders

Student completes a ‘heavy work’ activity such as moving paper from the office to the photocopier

Student walks to the drinking fountains for a drink or goes to the toilet o Please ensure that the activity is appropriate for individual students and support

such as an aide is able to travel with the student(s) if needed Examples in the playground:

Climbing frame / monkey bars

Walking laps

Running laps

Sporting activities / games

Swing

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How to present:

Materials and Tasks The Basics:

Materials and tasks should be neat and well organised

As students with autism have significant difficulties in Executive Functioning, work and materials must be prepared to support students to manage and organise their own materials and build independence in this skill

Only the materials required for that work session should be present at the time, all other

materials can be stored elsewhere, like in a work tub or on the floor next to the students

desk

Work tasks should be clearly linked to the schedule, there should be no question in the

students mind in relation to the task on the schedule and the materials at the table

If the link between the scheduled item and the task are not explicit and visually easily

identifiable, then the materials can be labelled with a corresponding visual / label as shown

on the schedule to support the explicit link

If you are teaching students to initiate requests or manage additional generic materials for

work such as pens, pencils, glue, scissors etc., then these materials can be stored elsewhere

in the room and the student must be explicitly taught to ask for these items, otherwise they

can be provided in a pencil case in the tub with other work materials. Keep in mind that

initiating conversations, organisation, planning and management are inherently difficult for

someone with autism and are key deficits, which is why these skills need to be explicitly

taught in our classrooms. Generalising skills is also significantly challenging, so these specific

requests and skills need to be practiced in a range of environments for generalisation to take

place

All work tasks should have a high level of structure including a clear beginning, middle and

end

When a clear end is not evident, a timer or a finish / stop symbol can be located at the end

of the work to be completed – this is a good strategy to employ when students are working

in workbooks with multiple pages

Materials should be presented with instructions within the task if the task itself is not explicit

in nature (like completing a full worksheet) so that the students and the staff working with

them have a clear idea of what to do with each task and the materials

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How to use:

Prompting Hierarchies The Basics

Prompting is a strategy used to assist the students in becoming as independent as possible

There is as systematic way to fade prompts

The concern with providing a high level of prompts is that students can become “prompt dependent”, which will reduce their ability and capacity to build independence

Prompts are described as the following:

Indirect Verbal Prompts: Ask a question that makes the student think about the next step, such as “what’s next?” or “where does it go?”

Direct Verbal Prompts: The student can do the task after being told exactly what

to do, e.g. “you need to…”

Gesture Prompts: Indicate with a motion what the student needs to do, e.g. pointing, facial expression or a physical movement

Modelling Prompts: Provide a model (what you want the student to do or say)

for the student to copy

Partial Physical Prompts*: A less intrusive physical prompt which provides minimal physical assistance, such as a tap on the elbow to pick up an object

Full Physical Prompts*: ‘Hand over Hand’ (also known as ‘coactive’) assistance

to complete a task * Note: When providing partial or full physical assistance the support should be silent, as if acting as ‘shadow’. If the student attends to the physical prompter, they should not respond and look away – no reinforcement should be provided.

There are many complexities to the various models of prompting hierarchies and how they work, however in a mainstream context these will be less relevant due to specific clientele in this setting

For this reason and the application in a mainstream setting, it’s best to follow a few simple rules in relation to using prompts:

Prompts are put in as a very short term support to assist students

The more prompts you put in, the more difficult it becomes to fade these out

Always use the least amount of prompts required and be thinking about fading prompts and moving towards independence

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How to use:

The ‘One More Minute’ Strategy The Basics

The ‘One More Minute’ strategy is used to support transitions form one activity to another

Once the strategy has been in place consistently, students learn the different cues that tell

them how long they have before the transition

Even as adults, if someone came up to us and directed to us that we needed to transition

immediately, it can be challenging to manage. Often we need one more minute to manage

ourselves, whether that be to finish our cup of tea, read the last part of the paragraph, or

gather our thoughts and get ready to transition

Begin by stating ‘One more minute, then it’s time for (state the next activity)’

Initially, students with higher support needs may need a visual (as seen below) however,

used often enough the verbal schedule is quickly learnt by students

Progressively work through the different stages listed above/seen in the visual

Use the exact language provided each time and vary your timing depending on the needs of

the students. Allow processing time (to comprehend and accept the direction) and time for

tasks to be completed so that students can progress smoothly to the next task - this will help

the students learn the language of the script for future reference, and know what is

expected of them

At each stage, if you are using the visual support, add a token to support the progression

Example of verbal delivery:

One more minute, then it’s time for work Not long now Nearly time Time to finish – pack away Time for work

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The visual support can be easily faded for students who may have needed it initially, once the verbal script has been learnt, which is why it is important to deliver it with the same use of language each time

How to use:

The ‘1st and Then’ Strategy The Basics

The ‘1st and Then’ strategy is used to support transitions and low level behaviour. It is also

used to provide clear, structured and minimal information to assist in these transitions with

a focus on the reinforcer

Examples:

The key to successful transitions is around providing a high level of structure and simplicity

with the expectation which is provided through the ‘1st and Then’ visual or verbal script, with

a focus on the reinforcer (the ‘then’)

Approach the student to get their attention, and ensure they are listening

Show them or talk to them about the next available reinforcer (such as bubbles/playground

in the examples above) “Would you like some time in the playground? I know you love going

on the swing in the playground”

Engage the student with labelling the reinforcer and focusing on this for a moment

When they show interest, signal to the ‘1st’ visual and read the visual or provide the verbal

script, “first work, then playground”

Allow time to process, gauge this on individual student needs before repeating if required

A reinforcer/motivator The desired action, activity or

transition goal

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The visual support can be easily faded for students who may have needed it initially, once

the verbal script has been learnt, which is why it is important to deliver it with the same use

of language each time

How to teach:

Use of the ‘Finish Box’ in work sessions The Basics

Teaching use of the ‘Finish Box’ especially in the initial early years, supports the Executive Function of students when learning to manage their own work tubs and materials

Having a Finish Box on the table in front of the student, can help remove the task completely from their possession once finished, making it easier to manage their remaining materials for the next work item on their schedule

Using the Finish Box also gives a sense of achievement and success to the students and in different situations may also assist in relieving anxiety about a particular task they may be completing

Once we have initially taught the use of the Finish Box and the student develops an understanding of the concept, and this can also assist in supporting its use across different situations in the day to assist in completing activities and transitioning successfully

Finish boxes of all shapes and sizes can be presented differently, but they all traditionally use the black and white race car checker flag pattern

Initially place a Finish Box on the table where the student can see it

As the student finishes a task, support the student to place the item in the Finish Box. The level of support required to do so can be referenced in the “How to use: Prompting Hierarchies” documented earlier in this handbook

Once an item is in the finish box, it cannot be removed/reused in that session

For higher ability students, using the concept is the same without an actual ‘finish box’ physical prompt – simply explicitly teach them to put things away when they are finished, such as in their desk/tub/bag

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How to implement:

The Not Available Strategy The Basics

Sometimes students can not have access to an item or space when desired

Saying “no” to a student with autism can have a negative outcome resulting in challenging behaviours

In the mind of a student with autism, “no” is often viewed with finality and indicates that the desired item is never available to them

For these reasons, we use the not available strategy

We use the following symbol to represent not available, although the verbal cue of ‘not available’ is adequate for most mainstream students:

When a student requests or seeks out an item that you do not wish to, or are unable to

provide at the time, simply indicate to the students that the item (including physical item,

location, person, etc.) is “not available”

If appropriate in the situation, indicate when the item will be made available, such as “it’s

not available now, but if you complete your schedule you can have it then” or “It’s not

available now, we can come back at 2:30pm when it is available”

If this results in continued challenging behaviour, you can incorporate the deal strategy as

outlined in this handbook under ‘How to Make a Deal’, for example “It’s not available now,

would you like to make a deal so you can work for it?”

If needed, the not available visual can be placed over the item or on the door of the location

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How to implement:

Noise Thermometers The Basics

The use of classroom noise thermometers are a well-known teaching strategy to support students to self assess their collective volume in the classroom, and think about the impact it has on the class

This strategy can easily be adapted to support classrooms and individuals

A common visual used for individuals includes the Inside Outside Noise Thermometer

This is placed on the students table and used to remind them of their voice level across the day

When using this, staff will need to model what an ‘inside voice’ sounds like, as well as labelling the students voice as an ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ voice to explicitly teach the difference

A five point system, such as the following example is also common practice:

5

Yelling Outside Voice

4

Loud Outside Voice

3

Inside Voice

2

Whisper Inside Voice

1

Quiet Inside Voice

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Noise thermometers can be developed for individual rooms by teachers, in conjunction with students if they choose to do so, and can assist not only those with autism, but all students, to learn to manage themselves as a collective

How to teach:

Turn Taking The Basics

Turn taking is a social skill that often needs to be explicitly taught for people with autism.

There are a range of visuals and strategies to support teaching turn taking. Please note, all

of the methods listed are described with reference to visuals, however these visuals can be

removed as soon as they are assessed to be no longer needed, or taught without the use of

visuals depending on the ability of your student. These methods include:

Method 1: one to one turn taking (adult and student)

Use the ‘turn’ card

Using a turn taking game/activity, the turn card is moved between parties - the person who

holds the card is having their turn

Initially teach this concept with one student and adult

Once this is established, increase the people in the activity, and rotate the turn card in a

systematic circular motion throughout the group

Cards can be removed once students no longer require support

Method 2: one to one turn taking (student to student)

Use the method listed in step 1, remove the adult support and support two students to take

turns using the card as previously modelled

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At this stage you would only be providing gestural or verbal support, working towards

students being able to turn take with the use of these card independently, exchanging it

with each other at the end of their turn

Increase the number of students in the group, supporting them to rotate the use of the turn

card in a systematic circular manner throughout the group

Cards can be removed once students no longer require support

Method 3: small group presentation of turn taking

Use the ‘turn’ card to create a group visual (such as that seen in the example below)

During the activity, continue to refer to the turn visual, labelling who’s turn it is, and

referring to whose turn it is next

For example: “it’s Emma’s turn. After Emma is Greg, then Dorothy and Jeff” – pointing to

the photos as you proceed

To proceed to student led use of the card, slowly remove adult verbal and gestural support

while supporting students to learn how to refer to and use the chart

A finish strip may be placed on the back of the card (like on mini schedules) to indicate when

turns are finished if no more turns are to follow

Next:

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Cards can be removed once students no longer require support

Method 4: large group presentation of turn taking

Use the ‘turn’ cards to create a group visual (such as that seen in the example below)

During the activity, continue to refer to the turn visual, labelling who’s turn it is, and

referring to whose turn it is next

For example: “It’s Dorothy’s turn. After Dorothy is Greg, then Lachlan, them Emma….” (and

so forth) – pointing to the photos as you proceed

To proceed to student led use of the card, slowly remove adult verbal and gestural support

while supporting students to learn how to refer to and use the chart

A finish strip may be placed on the back of the card (like on mini schedules) to indicate when

turns are finished if no more turns are to follow

Cards can be removed once students no longer require support

Next:

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Method 5: large group presentation of turn taking

The ‘my turn/your turn’ flip cards

This is another extension of the base practice outlined in methods 1 – 4, students should

have well established prerequisite skills in turn taking, including the ability to turn take and

then you may move on to method 5

This method focuses on social engagement, exchange and connectedness

A single copy of the flip card is provided to the pair/group for the turn taking session

The student holding the card initially places the card with the ‘my turn’ face up on the desk

in front of them and has their turn

Once the turn is complete the student picks up the card and passes it to the other person

saying ‘your turn’ (or indicating this by the exchange itself)

The next student accepts the card, placing it on the table with the ‘my turn’ side up and the

process is repeated

Having an understanding of pronouns and their use is important before using this method

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Method 6: Board game and circular presentation of turn taking

This is another extension of the base practice outlined in methods 1 – 4, students should

have well established prerequisite skills in turn taking, including the ability to turn take and

then you may move on to method 6

This method focuses on social engagement, exchange and connectedness

Teachers can design a circle template, such as the example above, and place the students’

photos around the visual as needed

Initially the teacher will need to explicitly teach turn taking in a circular motion, as would

naturally happen with a board game

The next student accepts the card placing it on the table with the ‘my turn’ side up and the

process is repeated

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How to teach:

Requesting for ‘Help’ The Basics

As the concept of ‘help’ is hard to picture, we use a specific visual for students

Below is the visual we use at our school, however any visual can be created/used in any setting, as long as it is consistently used across the whole environment, so year to year for students who need this support, there is consistency in the approach

To initially teach help, we must control the situations in which a student will need/want to ask for help:

o Set up a situation involving a preferred item which the student will require help with, for example give the student a motivating item visible in a container they cannot open

o When the student appears to have difficulty with the item, or he tries to give it back, a silent physical prompter working from behind assists the student to give the ‘help’ icon to the communicative partner

o As soon as the communicative partner receives the symbol, say “oh, I’ll help you with that” – or something to that effect, and they help the student

o Repeat the scenario using a variety of ways to enable a request for help o Teach this ‘lesson’ in a variety of environments with a variety of people and

troublesome items requiring ‘help’ o Fade the physical prompt over time

When teaching students with a higher cognitive capacity, still use the same approach initially, but you may explain to them appropriate to their understanding, when, where and how to ask for help, and refrain from using the visual. A further social story can support this concept.

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How to teach:

Responding to ‘Wait’ The Basics

All students occasionally have difficulty waiting

As the concept of ‘wait’ is hard to picture, we use a specific visual

To initially teach wait, we must control access to the reinforcer and the time the student must wait

Step 1: o Arrange a lesson during which the student requests a desired item o Show them the ‘wait’ symbol and ask them to ‘wait’ (or refrain from the visual if

appropriate to the students ability) o Wait 2-3 seconds and say ‘great waiting’ and give them the desired object o Continue this type of training across the day in a range of settings, including waiting

for environmental events, such as for the door to open or to access a different location, building the time waiting up to 20-30 seconds over time

Step 2: o As adults if we have to wait an extended time, we often occupy ourselves in other

ways and so it is reasonable to expect that our students would want this too o Once the student can wait for 20-30 seconds, you can start to give them an item or

redirect them to extend the wait period o This item should not be the item requested, or a highly desired item, just something

to keep them busy over the waiting period o Over several weeks increase the wait time to a minute, then to 2, 3, 4 minutes etc.,

gradually increasing the wait time – keep in mind the students age in determining the length of the wait time

o Once the wait time is over a minute, you can add a visual cue (such as a timer counting down) to assist the student in knowing how long the wait time is if there are continued challenges

o Always follow through with providing the item/action related to what they were waiting for

Important to note:

If the student is not successful in the ‘wait’ lesson, do not reinforce this by providing what they were waiting for, instead change the activity and try again later

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A ‘Wait Box’ with a range of fidgets/activities/worksheets can be prepared and on hand for Stage 2, once we have told the student to wait we can offer an activity from the ‘Wait Box’ if needed

When teaching students with a higher cognitive capacity, still use the same approach initially, but you may explain to them appropriate to their understanding, strategies to pass the time if they must wait, and refrain from using the visual. How to teach:

Requesting a Break The Basics:

A student needing a break will display inappropriate behaviours to escape an activity, the

activity may be too difficult, have low reinforcers/rewards, high demands or be boring

In these cases, we can teach a student to ‘request a break’ before behaviours escalate,

rather than respond to a prompt provided by us to ‘take a break’

A student requesting a break will return to the same activity, even if the activity is then

modified

It is a break from the activity, not an avenue to escape or avoid the activity

The aim is to teach students to request a break before inappropriate behaviour takes place

rather than in response to behaviour

Use the yellow ‘break’ card symbol (or any other school based symbol, like a ‘yellow card’)

Taking a break involves spending time in a demand free environment

Designate a specific break area in the classroom and furnish it with a clearly defined space to

sit such as a chair, beanbag or mat and provide a timer in the space

Place a yellow ‘break’ card symbol in the area

When teaching to request a break, set the timer for 2 minutes to teach the student to

respond to the timer when the break is over, rather than responding to the adults

instruction to return

Step 1 – initiating a request for a break:

Create a controlled situation from which the student will want a break

The moment the student begins to behave inappropriately, and before the behaviour

escalates, a physical prompter will work from behind to silently physically prompt the

student to pick up the ‘break’ icon and exchange it with the communicative partner

The communicative partner responds with “yes, you can take a break” and escorts the

student to the break area

Physically prompt the student to set the timer to 2 minutes

Once the timer goes off, approach the student and signal the next reinforcer – “you working

for the ‘X’ on your schedule/deal card, so we will finish the work and then you can have the

‘X’” – Do not indicate that they must go back to work before signalling the reinforcer

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If the student leaves the break area before the timer, take this as an indication the break is

finished

Once returning to the task, they can ask for another break if needed

The physical prompter fades support quickly over time

Teach the student to start/stop the timer on their own

Students can learn the entire break sequence independently!

If the student engages in inappropriate behaviour before asking for a break, then do not

prompt them to take a break – as this will then teach they can escape a task by acting

inappropriately

Make sure the student can ask for breaks in a range of environments to transfer the skill

Step 2: Limiting breaks

Once the student is independently initiating a request for breaks, and taking them

appropriately, consider placing limitations on breaks

Options for limiting include:

o Allowing a specific number of breaks per activity

o Allowing a specific number of breaks per day

o Visually signal how may breaks can be taken by providing them with access to that

number of break cards

To determine how many breaks to provide, collect data over a number of 5-10 days

Once you have assessed how many breaks the student takes, then provide them with that

number of break cards plus one

Over time gradually reduce the number of break cards available by reducing the number one

at a time

Important to note:

Requesting a break is different to needing a sensory/movement break – ensure the correct

strategy is used for the appropriate situation

Often private Occupational Therapists have made recommendations around sensory or

movement breaks – check with the parents to see if any are in place and if you can build

them into the school day

Sometimes tasks may need to be altered to ensure they are engaging, interesting and

motivating – however teaching to request a break is still a valuable strategy

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How to:

Make a Deal

The Basics:

Deals can be effective behaviour management tools in the classroom

When used effectively, deals can reduce behavioural problems, keep attention focused and assist students to work for rewards

Deals or deal cards should not be in place all of the time as a reward system, it is an additional/higher level support to be used sparingly when needed

Other students in the class may want to access the deal strategy if observed to be in place for a student with autism, and if this is appropriate then that’s fine, otherwise you may need to explain to the others students in the class that we all have individual needs, and strategies such as these are in place to support those individual needs of the other students

Deals can be initiated for two reasons:

1. Having planned a task that you know the student will find challenging (such as writing) initiate a deal before you go into the task to support a successful work session. Determine the number of tokens required by the difficulty of the task, so for a new task you may need a 1-2 token card and for a familiar task you may build up to using a 5 token card. Each token in this is awarded specifically for the task (e.g. in this example writing).

2. When a student begins to come off task and behaviours start to escalate, but are still bubbling away but have the capacity to become potentially challenging, initiate a deal with the student. Use language such as “I can see this is hard for you, do you need to make a deal so we can help you through this?” Adapt language to support individual student comprehension levels. Each token in this is awarded specifically for reengaging, such as 1. Sit on your chair - award token. 2. Complete one activity - award token. 3. Pack away - award token.

Make the contract visual by using an “I am working for” card

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Have the student choose an item they would like to work for, noting that deals must be either time limited e.g. 5 – 10 minutes, or have a natural finish. Once this is in place you can set out the contract rules – this needs to be clear and concise. Use straightforward terms that can be easily understood. Include specifically how much work/what work needs to be done, what behaviours or actions are expected, and what reward will be awarded when the student gets “paid” (the student chooses this item). Teachers take a token off the back of the card and give it to the student, stating what the token is awarded for, and gives it to the student to place on the card.

Honour the deal. If the agreement is not honoured at each step of the way, trust is immediately broken and often behaviour problems develops. Once you’ve set up a deal, stick to it.

When the student has been awarded all of the tokens (tokens are never removed or taken away), he/she can ‘cash it in’ by exchanging it with you to obtain the reward. Students take the tokens off the card and literally exchange the tokens for the physical item. The tokens act as money.

Avoid setting yourself and the student up for failure. Make sure the deal is easily attainable by the student to get them back on track in a positive framework. Deals should be completed over a short period of time, no longer than a single work session up to a maximum 30 minutes. Multiple deals can easily be made over the course of a session if required.

If the student at some point along the way decides to change the item they are working for, then they can choose to make the deal void and strike a new deal and start again, having to earn all of the tokens required.

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How to implement:

Reward Systems The Basics

Students should be rewarded for explicit positive behaviours, such completing work, listening, building new skills, following school rules etc.

Awarding tokens should be immediate and specific e.g. “Josh, I like how you are sitting still, listening and ready for work, well done Josh, you can have a star”

Tokens must never be removed or threatened to be removed or a reward threatened to be withheld

Rewards can also be built into work sessions, such as “when you finish your schedule, you can have a star” - in this case a star may be placed at the end of the schedule as a visual reminder

There must always be some tokens awarded unpredictably/spontaneously – this will assist students in managing their own behaviour more consistently

Reward charts can be designed to support general behaviour, or targeted to focus on one specific behaviour

Some common reward systems

The Star System –students chose a motivating item from a selection provided. When they have obtained all 5 stars throughout the day, they can have the item at the specified time.

The High Rewards Token System – this system provides a more frequent higher reward system for students that may need additional motivation and rewards to get through the day. When students have obtained the number of required tokens (these could be stars or other motivating theme/interest based tokens) they receive the reward immediately. This system should limit the time on the reward to 5 minutes, and be rewarded multiple times as day, as needed

The Coin System – coins are awarded throughout the day, with varying values based on the behaviour displayed. During a specified time, students ‘cash in’ their money to buy certain rewards. Rewards with higher perceived values by the students like the computer or iPads have a higher cost, where cheaper rewards may include things like quiet reading, bike riding or social games

Reward partnerships with home – partnerships with the home can be easily formed to

support student engagement at school, such as a reward system where each token awarded

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at school represents 5 minutes of reward time at home, such as screen time rewards like

watching TV or time on the iPad or computer

Important to note:

Deals may be used at any time in addition to the classroom regular reward system

Deals are not to be confused with reward systems

Deals are not to be used daily as a support strategy, and they only remain effective if used

infrequently when needed, not as an everyday support

Mainstream Handbook created and compiled from adaption of JSA’s school based handbook by:

Elizabeth Smith Autism Coach - Jacana School for Autism For more information and feedback please contact smith.elizabeth.a@edumail.vic.gov.au Autism Spectrum Educational Supports For Mainstream Classrooms First Edition (2017) Endorsed by Corinne Pupillo –

Principal of Jacana School for Autism.

Other titles available from Jacana School for Autism: Autism Spectrum Educational Supports for Home This outlines the same strategies outlined in this handbook, modified for the home, along with additional home based positive behaviour supports. Created and compiled by Elizabeth Smith - Autism Coach

Autism Spectrum Educational Handbook 2017 This outlines expected practice for classrooms at Jacana School for Autism. Created and compiled by Elizabeth Smith - Autism Coach

References:

Local and historical practices on site at Jacana School for Autism, 19-39 Landy Rd., Jacana 3073 - (previously Northern

School for Autism (Jacana Campus) 2006 - 2011 and a unit of Western Autistic at Jacana Primary School prior to that)

The Picture Exchange Communication System Training Manual (second edition) Frost and Bondy www.pecs.com

www.learninglinks.org.au

www.amaze.org.au

www.positivepartnerships.com.au

http://spdfoundation.net/otherdisorders.html

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https://myautismspecialist.wordpress.com/tag/prompt-hierarchy/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94aW1AfDug8

http://carolgraysocialstories.com/social-stories/

https://www.boardmakeronline.com/

https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/content/what-autism

Top tips for: Communicating with Students on the Autism Spectrum - Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94aW1AfDug8