If you are a teacher in special education, you are always looking for activities to improve social skills in Autism classrooms especially. If you work with students who have Autism, then social skills deficits are always an issue that need specific instruction.
I Work at School- A Social Story Book
Using Social Stories in the Classroom I love using social stories. So many of the students I work with in the classroom really benefit from… Read More »Using Social Stories
You take your students out on a Community Based Trip and they… well, they stick out. You work in the classroom all the time to get your students to interact in socially appropriate ways, but it’s just not sticking when you get out in public. What can you do?
I was in a classroom a few years ago and the student was like the ball in a pinball machine! He was up and moving during my entire observation. There were moments where he could be cajoled into sitting and attending to a task, but they were few (very few), far between, and super short. The teacher looked at me needing help. Her job had become an exhausting workout.
I left and came back the next day with a few ideas and some fidget toys. Guess what… it helped.
Every year when I sat down with one of my favorite students to get ready for her IEP meeting, we had nearly the same conversation…
Me: So Katie, what do you want to do when you graduate.
Katie: I want to deliver babies.
Me: That means being a doctor. You would have to go to college for a long time to do that.
Katie: That’s okay. I like school.
Me. Katie, you can’t read and don’t like to write. It may be hard to get into medical school and graduate.
Katie: I guess so.
Me: Is there another job might like?
Katie: Yes! I want to deliver babies!
Me: *Sigh*
Me: Hi Bobby!
Bobby: Hi Mrs. Noodle.
Me: How are you today?
Bobby: I’m not touching my balls!
Me: Um? Good Job!?!
So, needless to say, this really happened.
Functional Versus Academic SkillsWe work hard with our students on academics and learning… and we also work with them on building functional and vocational skills in hopes they will be able to get and keep a job someday.
Here is the truth of the matter.
Even if they are part of the less than 10% of students with low incidence disabilities that are gainfully employed, many of them will struggle to keep a job. And the two main reasons low-incidence disability students (like Autism) cannot keep a job is because they have poor hygiene or they have poor social skills.
I had to post this one- I was in a classroom with a student who was working on their fruit vocabulary and the teacher asked if… Read More »Fruit Vocabulary Book and Repeated Reader
