Categories with Favorite Characters

Disney Category - Boys vs. Girls

Categories are always a key part when it comes to language skills. I haven't found a kid yet that doesn't enjoy Disney movies. Over the past few years I have been collecting Disney Play sets. I now use these while working on language. For students who are learning categories this becomes a fun activity. I have them sort these in many different ways - refer to the pictures for examples. The students think they are playing when in reality they are learning some valuable skills. I also love these toys because I can get so much language from my students. When I am working with students with language needs I pull out my Disney toys. They can work on requesting more toys. We can play with the figures together building joint interactions. We can work on building simple language words/phrases such as Tigger bounces say "bounce" I know that the play sets cost money, for me they were well worth the investment. If you do not have the funds another idea is to print pictures on card stock of the students favorite characters from movies, books, tv remember to laminate. Use the pictures in the same way as the figures.

Disney Category - Animals vs. People

Disney Category - Movie Sort

Disney Category - Land Animal vs. Water Animal

Positive Behavioral Supports

Visual Behavioral Supports

This is my behavioral system I have used in a classroom for years with students with a variety of ability levels. Below you will find a link for the visual cues. I purchased library pockets, wrote the students name on each pocket, then the kids added stickers. Each year we have a theme. This particular year was the ocean so the stickers are all from Finding Nemo. Then I laminated each pocket and made it so the pockets could open again use either an exacto knife or small sharp scissors. Each pocket has 4 pieces of laminated colored construction paper cut to a 3x5 size. The colors are green, yellow, red, and black. 

Everyday the students began their day with a green card. This meant their behavior was good. Then if they broke a rule all I had to say was "go pull a card" this meant they had to place the next color in front which is yellow. Yellow is simply a warning, to help them remember to follow the rules. Now if they changed their behavior and worked hard I would tell them to change their card back to green. However when they continued to misbehave they would pull another card. This would result in a red card and required them to fill out a "cool down card" (explained below). Even from a red card they could earn their way back to green, so there was always something to work towards. The final color in this system is black and this meant that they did not change their behavior and now the cool down card would be sent home and required a parent signature.

For those students who always stay on green I wanted to add an incentive to keep them motivated. I added stars to our behavioral system. When a student shared, played well with others, worked hard, etc. I would say go place a star by your pocket. Then at the end of the school day we would have a small reinforcement for each star the child earned. This ranged from stickers, small treats, extra play time, and more. At the beginning of each year I gave out "star prizes" every day to get the kiddos motivated. As they became motivated I moved to a random reinforcement schedule (at least 1 time per week). Now if a child had earned a star or 2 and then they had to pull a card they lost their stars. This behavior system was powerful. I have taught students with significant behaviors and for the most part, all students stay on a green card all day, and earn stars. I don't consider myself a pushover teacher either. I expect my kids to work hard, play hard, and learn lots. The fact that they can control their behaviors, earn positive rewards is incredible. 

Cool Down Card - Behavior Support

The Cool Down Card gives your students a little time to think about what they have done. I have used this cool down card for students with a variety of ability levels. My students that are lower functioning I have them tell me their answers for each question. If they have the capability to write I write their answers with a yellow highlighter and then they trace the writing. If the student cannot write I write the answers for them. My students that are higher functioning I have them fill the paper out on their own. This process allows the student time to cool down, process what they did wrong, and then rejoin the class.

On a side note my classroom walls are covered in carpet so everything is stuck up with Velcro.

 Cool Down Card
Visual Behavioral Supports

iPod Touch Case

Griffin Military iPod Case

I work with many kiddos with disabilities. The iPod touch and iPad have been an excellent avenue for improving augmentative communication. I like using the app called Proloquo2go. I have a new girl with autism that I wanted to try using an ipod touch. She however dislikes carrying things (unless she wants to carry the item such as anything green, squishy, smelly, etc). I have been searching for a good durable case for and ipod touch. I found the Griffin Military Duty Case. This case has a hard plastic shell, with a clear overlay on the screen and then a thick durable rubber over the top along with a belt clip. This is an excellent case. The girl I was working with liked using the ipod touch however she still didn't want to carry it around with her. Luckily, she showed me what I needed to do. I had just purchased these coil keyrings for another project and she picked up the green on and wrapped it around her wrist. I quickly realized that this would help her carry her "voice" around with her. Sure enough we attached the keyring to the belt clip and off she went, wearing the ipod touch on her wrist. This seems like a great solution so far. I am not sure how long the keyring will hold out but for now it has been an excellent option.   



Griffin Military Case with Coil Writst Chain

Articulation Card Games

I have made flash cards for working on articulation. However after running through the same flash cards time and time again the kids are not as engaged. I decided to make a second set of flash cards so that there are 2 of everything. Then we play games like "Go Fish" This helps them engage. Every time they request a card they must pronounce the picture correctly. This is also something they can play with a peer or family members. I now have sets of cards that work on sounds like /k/. In each deck of cards you will find words and pictures that work on beginning, ending, and middle sound of /k/.

Soft and Comfy

Minky Quilt Pattern ~ Soft and Comfy

This year for Christmas I made my sister a soft and comfy blanket. Squiggy always has a little blanket on her lap to keep her warm. I picked out Minky fabric and Soft and Comfy fabric for the front. Then I cut 5" squares and 2 1/2" squares. The pattern I designed on my computer. The back is a Satin back flannel.

This type of blanket has so many sensory feels from bumpy, to smooth, to fluffy, and silky. These blankets are excellent for kids with sensory needs especially kids with autism.

Tracking Device

This suggestion came from a friend of mine. She has a son with autism he is non-verbal. One of the mom's biggest fears is regarding her son wandering off. After looking into all the many tracking devices out there this mom realized how small a parameter they monitored. The devices were also very expensive. Her solution was to buy and inexpensive Sprint phone with GPS monitoring. She then made a vest that is light weight and comfortable. The vest is zipped up the back so her son cannot take the vest off and the phone is placed in a pocket in the vest. This has helped to put her mind at ease.  

Initiating Conversation

You know when you are working with a kid that is so independent they don't have to initiate conversation because they can meet all of their own needs. Well that is when a little sabotage is necessary. For kids that are younger and may not possess the best fine motor skills you can simply place desired items in a clear plastic container that they cannot open independently. This way they will have to ask for help from another individual. If the child is nonverbal then I also attach an image either a photograph or picture representation on the container so that they can bring the picture to someone thereby initiating an interaction. Now when you are working with those more tricky kids that are willing to climb onto of the refrigerator to get their favorite cookies down or can open any container you have tried that is when you have to become more tricky too. One thing that works well are prescription bottles with locking lids. The bottles are slightly see threw and then I color the lid so that is doesn't look as much like a prescription bottle. I then place things like toy cars, Squinkies (which I don't understand the craze for but the kids do love them), treats, and other favorite items in the bottles. Another thing you can try is locking up the cupboard that has the desired items such as favorite treats and toys. Then place pictures of all the items on the door so the child knows what is inside. They can then tell you or bring you the picture of the item wanted thereby initiating conversation.

Switches

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to try voice output for a child that is non-verbal/less-verbal, I suggest looking at Learning Resources. They now make a small switch called "Talk Point" These are tiny and only cost around $7.00. I just purchased a set of 7. They are easy to record with 10 seconds of recording time. You could use these switches for so many things. One thing I enjoy is using a switch that goes between home and school where the parents and teachers can record a brief message that the child shares when he/she arrives at school and at home. This is a way to say, "I did ....at school or home" The switches could be mounted on a wall using Velcro or other adhesive. Oh so many uses.

Clicker

This is a bit of a random idea however I have seen success with the strategy. Kids with disabilities, specifically autism have great difficulty reading facial expressions and vocal intonations. One of the reasons that these things are so challenging is because every face is different and we all control our facial muscles differently. Even with the same person like the child's mother providing praise or reprimand her face and intonation will change depending on many factors. Imagine for a minute that you have a full nights rest, eaten a great breakfast, and overall are having a good day. Well when you praise your child I bet the energy level and emotion is more energetic. Now let's say that your child kept you up all night, you are exhausted, you haven't had a moment to yourself but your child did something well I bet your praise will be much less energetic. How is a child, that has difficulty determining facial expressions and vocal intonations supposed to understand if what they just did was correct or incorrect? What I am suggesting is to use a sound device such as a "Dog Clicker" Every time the child produces a correct response from things like following a verbal direction, using the bathroom, looking you in the eyes, reading, etc. you provide the verbal praise but in addition to that you also add the click of the "clicker" The reason for this is because over time with paired associations the child will realize that the click that always sounds the same no matter what the circumstance = positive. Then with the help of the click the child will begin to learn that your words and facial expressions also mean positive. When the child does something inappropriate try to keep your voice monotone, lacking facial expressions, and no clicker so this should help them distinguish between a desired response and undesirable. Some nice features with using a clicker over other sound options include portability. You can attach the clicker to your wrist, wear it around your neck, or simply keep it in your pocket.