Happy Sunday!
   While you are sipping your coffee today, check out the last day of Build A Bundle on http://www.teachersnotebook.com/bts2013/buildabundle.  Sale ends today! You still have a few hours to get my lessons and activities for 50% off!  Look at my widget and if you have had your eye on something, today is the day to purchase it and build your own bundle of my products and/or other great education lessons.  Click the link above, click on special education and look for lessons from Autism Classroom Creations. You pick and choose and make it what you need.
   Thanks so much for looking!  We are almost up to 100 likes on our Facebook page. Stop by and like us today at http://www.facebook.com/AutismClassroomCreations
    Here is a sample of what you will find:

   

Have a fabulous week!!!!

~Jenna

   

Welcome Back!!!

Hi everyone!
   The school year is in full swing where I teach and we have been back in the classroom for a full week!  It was full of energy, kids anxious to learn, and lots of new faces as well as familiar ones. I was lucky enough to "loop up" with my students from the previous year. Looping gives the teacher an advantage that we know the kids, the goals, their needs, the needs of the parents, and the students strengths and weaknesses. Setting up the room was much easier this year as I thought about the learning style of each student.
    My students on the autism spectrum like structure and after several tweaks last year, I was happy to see that we could start the year in a bit of "comfortable" change. Some minor changes were made with desk placements. However, they were made with the needs of the student in mind. For instance, I have one student who required a study area away from other students. Last year it was further from the front. But she excels at helping the other students and likes feeling like a teachers helper. I moved her desk closer to mine and gave her the title of peer helper. She loved it and I can see the advantage of having her near me as well as giving her more independence to help others.
   I have a new listing  on www.teachersnotebook.com called Welcome Back! Sailing Back to School!  All About Me!  It is a great first week back to school activity. It is an opportunity to get to know your students and for them to tell you about their summer. There is also an emergency section for the parents and info for you. My students really enjoyed it. Have your camera ready for great picture opportunities.
   Speaking of your camera....if you have the opportunity to attend the meet and greet or sneak a peak or whatever they call it in  your area, take your camera. If you have a child on the spectrum that needs to know when change is coming, ask the new teacher or teachers if you can take their picture. It may help the student transition to the new year with the new face. Take a picture of the room without other students in it, the hall, the library, bus lanes, etc. Get permission if you need to and remember to respect the privacy of the other students but not taking pictures of them. But enjoy this time with your child and help them make a photo book with new images of their day. Dollar Tree sells great little photos books to put them it.

SALE!!!!
   Lastly, I wanted to let you in on a back to school sale that will allow you to purchase my items at a largely discounted price and Build A Bundle. The sale will begin on Aug. 13. Build-a-Bundle allows customers to handpick items they want and need. This makes good sense (and saves cents) because buyers choose the resources that best address their classroom requirements. The new Build-a-Bundle feature will be available to members starting on August 13. Tuesday, August 13th at 12:00am CST.  www.teachersnotebook.com

Here is to a wonderful school year!!!!

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to check out the Build A Bundle on Aug. 13!

Everyone Needs A Vacation

    I was fortunate enough to take a much needed break this summer and just returned from a great week at the beach. Many of us plan or try and take some sort of break from the everyday rush and noises of life. Our responsibilities such as our families, jobs, and life in general can leave us wanting to escape to a place where life slows down, the sounds of traffic go away, the alarm clock can be turned off, and we can focus on our health and relaxing. But what if you couldn't turn off the "noise"?  What if you couldn't escape the rush of life you felt around you or go to a place where life slowed down? This is the something that many adults and children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) are unable to do on a daily basis or at any time at all. It is often referred to as sensory overload.
 Sound, sight, and touch can often cause individuals with ASD to react in way that to others look like "bad behaviors."  However, we have to remember that every behavior has a function. I was reminded of this while I was at the beach. I was very relaxed and enjoying the sound of the surf, and I noticed a mom talking to a young girl who was probably around 13 years old. She was sitting on the sand and letting the waves rush over her legs as she played repeatedly with the sand beneath her hands. The mom was telling the young girl to "stand up, it was time to go." The young girl continued to play in the sand and not respond to the mom.  My daughter who has been part of the generation of Autism Awareness and always learning from the kids I teach, asked if I thought  the young girl might have Autism. "She may."  Just as we walked past, the quick thinking mom grabbed a bucket, put the wet sand in it and placed the girls hand in the bucket. the girl transferred the repetitive movement to the bucket and eventually went with her mom. How awesome that nature created a sensory playground for this young lady and that her mom had learned how to keep her daughter engaged in the activity.  She wasn't ignoring mom, she had just found a way to relax and she did not want to leave her spot. How many of us can relate to that.
   I recently watched a show with a young lady named  Carly Fleischmann who was diagnosed with Autism when she was very young.  She is non verbal but communicates by spelling and typing on a computer. She is an amazing young lady. She mentioned that many of us doodle on paper when we are bored. She may flap her hands or rock because she is bored. We may move to another room when noise is loud while she may cover her ears. In other words, look at the action, what came before it, what is the behavior, and what is the consequence following the behavior.  If covering your ears removes a noise the behavior will be reinforced and most likely be repeated. How often do we as mom's find a spot to hide from the kids when we are on the phone...you know what I'm talking about :) If it works, and the kids can't find your "hiding" spot, aren't you more likely to return to that spot?  Yes, you know what I am talking about. Lol!
  But this is more serious. Remember the next time your student or your child is behaving in a manner that may not make sense to you, look at the behavior, try and find what the function of the behavior is, and how you or something else is reinforcing the behavior. EVERY behavior has a function. What you can do is help make the function of the behavior age appropriate and if the behavior is inappropriate or unwanted at the moment, find a way to replace it with an appropriate behavior that gives the child same function. It's not easy and takes practice, but I think the mom at the beach had it down.
   If you are interested in reading about Carly, here is the link:  http://carlysvoice.com/home/aboutcarly/.
Here is a link to a free download I have on TpT that may work as well. I have had a lot of success with it and it is portable and non invasive. The Behavior Badge Card, is a visual support for students with behavioral needs, such as those with Autism. Take a look and if you like it, follow me for updates on more creations for the home and classroom. 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Behavior-Badge-Card-for-Special-Education-Autism-EBD-MOID-466816

Hope everyone had a Terrific Tuesday!!!!
~Jenna

 


   

Generalization~

Middle of the week thought:  Generalization

Wonderful Wednesday everyone! Even though it is summer, my teacher brain is not totally on vacation. How can it be?  Where I teach, we will start back to school in August and pre-planning will start in the end of July! Way earlier than when we were kids, but then again, it keeps their learning moving right along.

Summer is perhaps one of the best times of year for generalization of newly learned or already mastered skills. What do I mean by generalization?  It is when you take the skills out of the classroom and make sure the student is able to do the same skill with the same level of independence in other environments with other "instructors".  Parents, siblings, neighbors, grocery store clerks, grandparents, etc are all instructors. People your child comes across in the everyday environment serve as natural instructors. Learning a new skill for a child with ASD or any child is awesome. But if they can not do the same skill across settings, people, and different situations, it is not truly mastered. For example:  Your student/child can "point to a certain vegetable on a book page but upon going to the grocery store or seeing it in the pantry, the actual item does not get the same reaction and can not be recognized.

 Summer is the perfect opportunity to look at your child's IFSP, IEP, or goals you are working on at home, and head out to set that generalization mastery into action.  Take it slow. Going out for many with ASD is a challenge itself. For one of my closest friends, it means finding the same shoes, the same hair clip, the same favored object (of the moment), or they are not even going out the door. But a trip to the grocery store for hands on generalization is often a fun way to keep your child engaged. My son had an extreme phonological awareness issue when he was 2 due to reoccurring ear infections. I used to take a picture book to the store and he and I would match up the items to the pictures. Some of those veggies in open markets and whole food stores could get him giggling and the reinforcement he got from them were priceless. He is much older now and still remembers those "silly" trips, but he learned a lot without realizing it at the time. If going to the store is too much for now, take a trip to the veggie drawer in the fridge. That is generalization too :)

The key again is: start small.  Generalization can be done in many ways. The goal is that the new skill is mastered across people and settings.

What is your favorite way to help your child/student generalize a new skill?

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hi all!

   I posed a question on  http://www.facebook.com/AutismClassroomCreations:  What skills do you want your child to learn or remain at mastery this summer? I would love to hear.  There is so much going on during the school year and now here we are in summer. Some of you may not be out just yet and you may be dreading the never ending task of keeping the kids occupied, involved in learning, and keeping the skills they struggled with for so long and finally learned. What now?    

   I need some summer inspiration.  I love to create new materials and I have a few ideas.  But I would love to hear from you. 

  This is how I think:  Where do you go?  What do you need for your child to be successful?  What are your concerns in the community? How can we make those things into an easy, portable, idea, that is reinforcing.  Can't wait to hear from everyone!  Have a fabulous Friday!

FREEBIE!
    Good morning!  Teachers love freebies and I thought it would be a great way share a sample of my work and start this Marvelous Monday!
    I have had people ask how to us this in a larger class. It can be laminated and put on a students desk as well. I only needed it  for one student at the time when I created it so it worked well on my lanyard. However, I have used it with larger groups and it works just as well. Enjoy!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Behavior-Badge-Card-for-Special-Education-Autism-EBD-MOID-466816

A Day in the life of a teacher, mother, grad student, author, and one more thing and one more thing....

Welcome to my blog!
Sometimes, I take on too many activities. Sometimes, I am the one whose hand constantly goes up to volunteer and take on the projects no one else does.  But if you are teacher, mom, or parent of a child with autism, I think you would agree that we all do this at times because if we don't, who will?

Today, I am starting my newest venture.....blogging. Why?  Well, if you know me, you know I love to write and talk :) I am also blessed to have a job that I absolutely love. I am a teacher.  I teach children with intellectual disabilities and children on the autism spectrum.  No two days are the same and I wouldn't trade it for the world! I want to share my classroom creations and things I find along the way that parents have told me work in helping their child be successful.

While teaching, I am also in graduate school. 18 years after graduating, a wonderful marriage, and 3 great kids, I am back in school to complete a goal I started a long time ago.  I am going for my Master's of Science in Special Education with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders - is there anything else :)
I graduated and started a career in NY working with children with Autism and I am now in the south raising my own children, happily married to my best friend, and teaching children with special needs who love to learn. So much has changed in the past 18 years when it comes to children and adults with autism that I am fortunate to be in this program to help keep up with the latest research.

I have recently started my own shops on several teacher sites to share my creations and lessons with other teachers. It is an awesome new way for teachers in this digital age to share their hard work and maybe add a few extra dollars to make up for furlough days and the never ending problem of underpaid teaching...but that is another blog for another day.

I would love for you to join me on my Facebook page for updates and new information at http://www.facebook.com/AutismClassroomCreations

If you would like to check out my lessons and newest social stories, please follow me at:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jenna-Leopard ,  http://www.teachersnotebook.com/shop/Jkaitie
or  http://autismeducators.com/

Well, I have been hiding on the back porch for a little while now and I hear the sound of milk being spilled and children running through the kitchen screaming, "Get it before Mom comes in!" Time to put my mom hat back on :) Thanks for visiting! Welcome!