Autism Team 2011-2012 School Year Purpose: The mission of the J.T. Barber’s Autism team is to build and maintain a school-wide collaborative network to fully and appropriately support our students with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

Autism Team Members Pamela Holloway- Administration Brenda McGee- School Psychologist Julie Ormond- Speech/Language Pathologist Meredith Pait- Occupational Therapist Melissa Koos- Regular Education Teacher Sue Brumbaugh- Regular Education Teacher Danielle Pawliw- EC Teacher K-2 Ashley Frailey- EC Teacher 3-5

Autism Tidbit: September Start the School Year Off Right! Have clear expectations for the students with Autism. When a student with Autism has a predictable routine, it can eliminate anxiety, avoid undesirable behaviors and prevent “meltdowns”.

Important Reminders: Visual Schedules: Post a daily schedule on your board and try to stay as close to the schedule as possible. For individual students, use “first”, “then” or numbered checklists. Timers: Give the students time to transition. Using a timer for activities lets a student know how much time they have to complete an activity. Five minute warnings are also helpful to prepare the student for the next activity.

Something to think about… When writing IEP goals, we state the behaviors we want the students to exhibit, NOT the behaviors we want them to stop. This should be kept in mind when giving directions. State what you want the student to do instead of what you want the student NOT to do. Students are likely to remember the LAST thing we say when given directions.

Something to think about… Do not RUN vs. Please WALK Do not STAND UP vs. Please SIT DOWN Always give directions or correct a student with Autism using the DESIRABLE BEHAVIOR. Some students do not read social cues and may not understand why a behavior was unacceptable. Explain what they did that was undesirable (negative) and what they should have done (positive) instead.

One last tidbit…. ALWAYS use concrete language when giving instructions to a student with Autism. Idioms, similes and metaphors are very abstract and difficult for a student to understand. When teaching figurative language as part of the curriculum, keep in mind that some students may need further explanation or different examples than the other children.

Questions?? Concerns?? You can email or touch base with any team member. The member will notify the team of the concern. The team will meet to discuss the concern and determine the best practices needed to find a solution The team will work with you to give suggestions and resources to problem solve.