instruction

Supporting Special Needs Students Online

Six tips for supporting special needs students online learning as a parent. Get some ideas on how to help your child with a disability as we all hunker down for the long haul of distance and online learning.

Autism Classroom Resources

Monthly Themed Autism Classroom Resources Looking for monthly themed Autism Classroom Resources for early elementary and special ed classes that target essential skills, are consistent… Read More »Autism Classroom Resources

When it comes to setting up your classroom and lessons to give them the best education, here are some strategies for teaching students with an intellectual disability.

Teaching Students with an Intellectual Disability

Teaching Students with an Intellectual Disability If you teach in a mixed ability self contained classroom, you will have at least one or two students… Read More »Teaching Students with an Intellectual Disability

6 Mistakes Teacher in Autism Units Make from Noodle Nook

6 Mistakes Autism Unit Teachers and Paras Make

Working with students in self-contained settings or those with severe or multiple disabilities is hard. I see the same teacher mistakes in special education classrooms over and over. Teachers and paraeducators don’t realize the consequences. I would actually argue that these 6 teacher mistakes are signs of poor classroom management and ineffective teaching of special education students.

Do you do any of these? STOP!

If you stop these 6 mistakes in the classroom, your special education students will be the better for it- I promise!

6 Mistakes Teacher in Autism Units Make from NoodleNook1

6 Mistakes Autism Unit Teachers and Paras Make…

Fix #1: Stop Talking So Much!

Learned Helplessness in Students With Disabilities

I will never, never forget a community trip with students to Taco Bell back in the day. My two paraeducators and I took about 10 severely disabled students out to eat. It took some time to get everyone through the line and I will never forget helping my favorite student, Cameron. I helped him get his food and walked him to a table. There were two more students I had to get through the line, so I left him to wait until I could come back and help him open his packages, cut up his food, and help feed him (because of limited mobility due to his severe Cerebral Palsy). I went back to the line and returned to him about 4 minutes later… and he was eating.

Learned Helplessness in Students with Disabilities

I asked my para team if they had helped him. Both said no. I looked at Cameron.
“Who opened that for you?” He looked at me and laughed.
“I did,” he said.

My mouth dropped open. He has opened his taco and was eating- he had even opened up a packet of hot sauce and poured it on… and here we were opening everything and even feeding him!

Happy Holidays from NoodleNook

Happy Holidays from NoodleNook!

Roller Coaster

Whenever we come back from Thanksgiving it feels like a frantic roller coaster to the Holiday Break. There is just so much to do- and little has to do with instruction! There is paperwork to finish, activities for the holidays, and then campus things like exams and report cards… And you know what happens (not to you because you’re a rockstar)? Sometimes teachers just stop teaching.

I know, I know… what?!?

So how do you manage the Roller Coaster and have a bit of a break before your break.