Temple Grandin is a renown icon in the Autism Field. She has a PHD in Animal Science and was diagnosed with Autism as a very young child. In this specific video she discusses how many students diagnosed with Autism think and view the world. She is an extremely helpful resource as she understands what its like to be in my students shoes. Its important to grasp how students might be thinking or viewing something to better understand their reactions to their environment. In Hopes to better understand why we might see certain behaviors spike at certain points. Furthermore how to address or prevent them from happening.
-I am a Special Educator Serving students with Autism
This is an awesome resource for teachers, parents or anyone working with students with Autism. It provides helpful tips, challenges, and treatment and therapy options for these students. I like to reference it as it covers a lot of information on behaviors and how to handle them. It is applicable for any age pre-k though adulthood.
-I am a special Educator serving students in the Autism Program.
This brief article discusses the importance of Summer Programs to help lessen the learning gap that happens over the summer. It also mentions the challenges of creating and/or keeping these programs but shows how beneficial they can be.
I remember taking a summer math course when entering middle school. It was fun even though math is not a strong suite of mine. It definitely set me up for success in middle school math.
This article had a very interesting view on summer programs. Every year during the annual review for IEP/504 meetings, the team will decide if a student qualifies for our extended school year (ESY) summer program. Students are only recommended if we determine there will be a great regression for a student during the break. Although many students would benefit from this, students in our autism program are mostly placed in ESY. This year, we are looking into having a "family night" where parents can learn about skills/strategies they can work on over the summer in order to help their student from regressing during the summer. While some parents may work with their child over the summer, the reality is those students who really need it, will not work over the summer. I am hoping more counties will create more programs to help all learners during the summer months.
This article mentions how much of student learning is forgotten over the summer because of the gap in the school year. This article also mentions the difference in socio-economic levels and how student from higher incomes are more likely to participate in summer activities that encourage learning. Whereas students from low incomes are often spending the summer at home with limited activities.
By using handheld technology tools, autistic students are given a learning boost and a social one.This supports students with learning needs because they can use it to communicate.