Autism: No Two Days the Same

I think it is safe to say, that with Autism, there is never the same day twice. Repetitive motions and actions maybe, but reactions and interactions (unless trained) not so much. If you followed my blog "An Inclusive Community" a few weeks back, I was speaking about "training" the community to work with our students and kids with ASD and helping them learn to adjust their ways to the students instead of our students and kids always adapting to others.

So, we returned to our regular grocery store where we met our new cashier on our last visit. Remember the one who did everything possible to rush us through "his" line?  I was determined to make this trip step two and try once again to go to his line and have the kids practice their purchases and at the same time, reiterate to him that we were here. I wanted him to learn "our" ways in "his" line and let's make this relationship work. Well, of course, he was not there this Friday and my plans to make this gentlemen an inclusive participant in society was not going to happen that day. However, I must say it was nice to have our regular happy cashier Elisabeth help my kids. It is amazing to watch her as she as learned in the last two years to prompt the kids who do not speak with eye contact to say hi to her by remembering their names and telling each one hello and wait for a response. She also has the kids count back the change she gives them and asks if it matches the screen and helps them work through it. This woman is an incredible cashier but an even more incredible teacher. The students respond to her and she responds to them. Social deficits are one of the three core deficit areas of Autism. How wonderful that Ms. Elisabeth knows nothing about Autism, but she knows that interacting with her customers is important, no matter what their ability. So, okay, Ms. Elisabeth is not the norm but I do believe we have come a long way. Human interaction itself is depleting in a world where technology takes us to a keyboard, we text our feelings, or spend our relationships in "U there?" and "BRB". Yet, when we take time to interact with those around us so much more happens.

I am not giving up on the cashier (I'll call him "Joe") that was not there today, who clearly needs to be trained on the social interactions of proper customer service. He will be back one Friday when we come to shop. But, for now I walk away with the satisfaction that my students have made a connection with a very important person in their community who they will see with their parents when they go out in the community that belongs to them.

One of my new parents makes a trip once a month to their old city about 15 miles away just to go to the old grocery store where they used to live.  She told me it made her son feel very good about going out in the community and he loves to go there. Who doesn't want to go where we feel we belong. But then again, sometimes with autism we know that is not the case.  Theory of mind does not lend itself to let some of those with ASD  be able to relate to others and what others are feeling.  However, that should not stop us from trying to make the next trip somewhere the students can belong.

So, I do not know what tomorrow will be like in my classroom, or what next Friday will be like at the grocery store. However, I do know that I will continue to do my best and help the students connect with the community. I also believe that I will go to Ms. Elisabeth and tell her thank you for making our students feel welcome. Thank you Ms. Elisabeth! You are awesome!

Comments Encouraged :)

Do you have a Ms. Elisabeth in your community that helps make your child or students with ASD feel connected?

~Have a wonderful week!

Lesson Ideas for Life Skills

Happy Sunday everyone!  As we get ready for the rush of the new week here are some ideas for lessons in your classrooms:

Cooking lessons:
Pick a kid family recipe for a healthy snack. Have the kids pick out the correct measuring utensils needed for amounts in the recipe. If you can pre plan, get the items or send a note home to the parents requesting a snack help. Everyone can bring in an item and you can make a snack one day this week.

If your kids are new to cooking activings, Autism Classroom Creations has two unique teaching tools to help younger and older students are various levels of learning.


Cooking with Class is a lesson filled with measurement jigs. It is a great jig for those working with students in special education. The jig can be used for cooking lessons, math lessons, and reading lessons. Once printed out, glue to a file folder, and laminate. Students can use a dry erase marker or a fun bingo marker that can wiped away and the sheet reused as they keep track of how many cups, teaspoons and tablespoons are needed in a recipe. Increased independence of measurement and cooking skills are obtained and data can be easily tracked. Have fun! Can be used with any recipes.
Check it out today!
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cooking-Measurement-Jig-for-Special-Education-Autism-467028



If you are not ready to cook this week, you can check out the unit on Measurement Math in the Kitchen.  This has been a popular tool.
Guided Math Lesson Measurements in the Kitchen Great for Special Education Students of all levels. Great measurement reinforcement. Fun and user friendly. *Learning Focused Lesson Plan included *Printable worksheets to reinforce matching the correct measuring tool with the recipe. *Recipe template for internet web search. Use different recipes the kids can choose and use the template for adding generalization to the lesson. *Measurement Math Bingo - Bingo cards and Call cards to reinforce the skill in small group and summarize the learning material.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Measurement-Math-In-the-Kitchen-Life-Skills-Unit-Special-Education-649013

See what other teachers are saying:

On  September 15, 2013,  Ann Schmidt (TpT Seller) said:

Great for life skills!

On  August 25, 2013,  mrsoltmann said:

I can't wait to use this in my classroom. Thanks!

Check it out today for yourself and have a great week!  Happy cooking!!!!

The Inclusive Community

Hi everyone!  Where I teach in the south, it is now day two of Fall break!  I know, many of you just got back into the classroom and are wondering what in the world I am talking about. Well, here we go to school six weeks in and 1 week off until the summer and then the kids get eight and teachers get about six. It is like having year round school with several breaks built in. I really like it as a teacher because the kids get a little break after having to go back on August the first. I also like it because it gives me time to look at my students goals and reflect on what I want them to learn and what their needs are at this time.

Ironically, as I sit and reflect on the activities and learning in my classroom, my mind keeps going out into the community where my students work, live, and play. Many people do not realize it, but the community is my biggest classroom! Generalization of skills becomes reality at its best.  My high school students have the opportunity to participate in real on the job training in store locations that you and I visit all of the time. In fact, every Friday, my students run a grocery service for the teachers at our school. Teachers have the opportunity to order subs from the deli and send us a list of small items that they need picked up.  My students collect the money and lists and together we head to the grocery store for some real life skills training. It is awesome!  My students practice locating items, comparison shopping, making change, writing checks, ordering from the deli, and simple steps in the grocery store such as getting the shopping cart and moving out of the way of the next person coming into the store.

My group consists of myself, my paraprofessional, and a combined 6-8 students from two classes. The students range in abilities from mild to moderate intellectual disabilities to various places on the autism spectrum. The ages range from 15-21.  We shop in a middle to upper class neighborhood where most of the students live. In the past, in other districts, I have taken up to 13 students.  I love it! The more, the merrier! We break in to two groups, divide the shopping lists, and conquer the store. Yeah, yeah, I make it sound like it is no big deal...actually it's not. All of those behaviors, all of the goals, all of those practice money sheets we repeatedly do over and over in the classroom, come to life. The student who grabs things when walking gets to push the cart to keep his hands occupied. The student who is my strong reader but has a hard time following directions becomes the "leader" of the group and helps other students find the correct item. The student who likes to ask a million questions is the student who has the task of finding a store worker and asking for help finding an item. It works.

The biggest obstacle that remains is getting others to see how awesome we are. Indeed, we have come a long way in inclusion in the classrooms. The students of today are familiar with the students who come to their class in a wheelchair, or who may have a paraprofessional to help them with writing or reading, or who may have behaviors that they have learned to ignore.  They have been together since kindergarten. Going out into the community, while better, still raises it's ugly head to ignorance every now and then.  Most people mean well, will smile, and say hello to the students. Most of the cashiers knew us and were excited that we had returned from summer break. But then there was that one cashier, who we have never had. Our favorite lady cashiers were running long lines so we did what generalization says to do; we moved on to a similar situation, moved lines, and got a new cashier. I also had a new student who had never made a purchase.  As the student made her way to the cashier, and  placed her items on the counter, my grocery cart holder became restless. My other student put a few extra groceries that did not belong on the counter in front of the cashier. The line behind us seem to grow. I could tell by the cashiers face he was not happy we were in "his" line. I could feel the tension as he waited for one of my students to take the money out of her envelope to hand to him. I do not  think I have ever seen anyone take the money so quick, not count it back, and rush to the next customer (still us).  The amazing thing was the people behind us. The customers who would wait patiently, smile, and tell us to take our time. One of them even told the cashier "Let them take their time. They are fine. We can wait."  The cashier finally stepped back and waited for each coin to go back into the envelope we had for each order. When we had completed our last purchase, he looked at me and I happily said, "We will see you next week, same time, same place." I read his name tag and told the students to tell him we'll see him next week. Will I go through his line again?  Absolutely! Will he be a little more patient?  Let's hope. Did my students notice his rushed manners or lack thereof? Probably not. Becoming an inclusive community means training the community about our students needs. When we are out there as teachers working with students to generalize to various situations, we also have a responsibility to teach the community and  prompt them to get involved. People first, disability to abilities, and a place for all is my goal. What's yours?

Website Review

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I am currently enrolled in a graduate program and working on my master's in special education with an emphasis on autism spectrum disorders. I love learning and sharing and my blog is just the place to that. 

 I reviewed www.firstsigns.org for my autism website review assignment.  The primary goal of this website is to educate parents and professionals about autism and related disorders because of the rise of developmental disorders and the need for early detection. The target audiences include parents, early childhood educators, and health care professionals.  The importance of early detection is imperative to this audience so that early intervention can begin as soon as possible due to its incredibly positive effect on the quality of life for the child and caregivers.  

An important aspect of any website is easy navigation. The website includes tabs that direct the target audience to screening, diagnoses, treatments, and concerns about a child. I believe these are all areas we want to run to for answers when anything seems “not exactly right.”  Websites have so much information on anything and everything. It has a nice way to narrow down what you are looking for within tabs and then further  are other areas of concern a parent or caregiver might need. I really liked the tab on “concerns about a child” which  gives a milestone checklist to refer to as well as a “red flag” checklist.  All of these can be printed prior to going to a pediatric visit for a concerned parent and it can be brought to the physician’s attention. Establishing an open communication between a parent/caregiver and the physician or teacher seems to be easier if everyone is looking at the same thing.  The website encourages parents to trust their instincts and if they feel something is not right to talk to a professional about it. It is not overwhelming since it is laid out in outline form. Anyone can find the information needed easily and then go back to it as needed.

      Another great part of the website is the ASD video glossary.  You have to register to use it, but it gives the view a look at some of the commonly used treatments and interventions in action.  The glossary of terms takes the viewer to over 200 terms that help the caregiver, parent, teacher, health care provider, etc. visually see the sometimes subtle differences in typical and delayed development of young children.  It is a nice way to privately look at concerns and  view the behaviors and concerns in action.  Sometimes new parents have no other children to compare typical development to and this is a great way to do it.

      If I was a parent of two year old who was exhibiting little to no communication or social interaction, the website  does provide information on what to when going to your child’s provider.  However, it was not the easiest part of the website.   There is a broad list of websites that can take you many places but some would seem a little more overwhelming as far as a direct action after the doctor. As with any website, everyone needs to air on the side of caution as it is hard to filter out what is true and what is solid correct information. It seems it would always be best to seek the advice of the child’s physician after looking at what milestones are delayed and together decide the next step to take.

      Overall, I found the website very informative. It is a great place to start when anyone working with a child has any concerns about typical development versus delayed development. It gives caregivers, parents, teachers, and health care providers a better understanding of  autism spectrum disorders in infants and children.

 Check it out! If there are other websites you have found helpful for children with ASD, please share. Thanks so much!

Have a great day!