Special education teachers can be taught to use applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques in the classroom.
Many teachers have very little training on evidence-based practices for children with autism. This paper describes a model program that was designed to train current teachers of children with autism. The program was intense and lasted for five days in the summer. All but one of the nine teachers in the study learned the teaching methods taught in the training. The teachers were followed in the classroom for up to six months to see if they used their training.
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The Effective Steps to Closing the School Year
May 1, 2009 by AnonymousEnd the Year with Action!
Teachers & Parents still have a big job ahead of them. This last month of school needs to be used to wrap up all of your hard work effectively. Here is a plan that will assist in a smooth Fall transition:
Write down everything that HAS & HAS NOT worked for the child in the school setting. Teaching strategies, behavior strategies and other modifications/accommodations need to all be considered.
Prioritize goals and needs for summer program. Whether the student will be in ESY through the school system, a community program or at home playing in the yard, now is the time to work with the team to prioritize what can happen in the 10 weeks of summer!
Thank your team! Teachers need to thank parents and other team members and parents should do the same in return. Don't forget to include the special ed director, yep, she's part of the team too and NEVER get's the cutie end of the year teacher gifts anymore!
With facts in writing, priorities made and thank you's in order - you are bound to have a great summer to rejuvenate for an intensive fall with new beginnings!
Catherine Whitcher, M.Ed
Precision Education, Inc. Founder
Nationwide Special Education Consultant
Communication/ teaching methods
Oct 12, 2007 by AnonymousIs it possible for non verbal autistics or those limited verbally to be educated at the same level as their peers ? Is communication possible? I say "Yes" to both. For years I've played the "guessing game" wondering what my son wanted,needed or felt at times has been quite an undertaking. As I began searching for a way to provide him with a functional means of communication I grew more and more frustrated. For the last 8yrs I have held a constant vigil. My son will communicate ..one day.
Just to know even the simplest thing like "what's your favorite color?" or " what would you like to eat?" "Are you happy ?" are things that I yearned to know .Oh,how we take so many things for granted.
Just less than a year ago we started learning a method called RPM(Rapid Prompting Method) RPM has brought something to my son's life that no other therapy or method has..the ability to independently communicate.
He has amazed us all with his keen academic skills and demonstrated that he in fact can learn and comprehend at the same level as his NT peers.He has also shown us that he has a wonderful imagination (writes stories of his own) and a compassionate heart. My dreams for him are more grand than I could have ever imagined before. Believe in your child and don't give up,that's what they want and need the most from u.
For info on RPM -www.halo-soma.org
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Sep 18, 2007 by dankohnFrom Catherine Whitcher, M.Ed, Precision Education
First, let me remind the Precision Education Community that I was a special education teacher. I have the utmost respect for teachers. They show up everyday to teach children and deal with the political system. I also admit that I violated my student's rights, I BROKE THE LAW!
I never read a student's IEP from front to back. I rarely charted goal progress. I only glanced at modifications that needed to be done. I was told by my administration to "watch out" for a problem parent whose child was assigned to my classroom. Sure enough, the problem parent called and asked for a meeting before school started. The mom drilled me on teaching strategies, charting and reporting. The curriculum had to be explained to her and the aides had to have training. My world was turned upside down.
I discussed the conversation with the administrator. She told me that I had to comply with the Mom's requests because in the IEP it was written to communicate everything she had been asking. What? Wait a minute, if this IEP was written with accountability- what were the other ones written like?
So I spent the weekend reading all my students IEP's and found out that this child's IEP really wasn't written much different than the others. The difference was that this Mom knew what was in her child's IEP and how her child's education should be executed. Armed with this newfound knowledge, I took it upon myself to initiate the same types of meetings with the parents of all my students.
Parents were amazed at how much information I was giving them and how I wanted them to be involved. Goals were not only being met, but exceeded and IEP's needed to be rewritten by December. My administrator walked into the room a few months later and my entire class was sitting at their desks. A reading exercise was on the overhead and the aides were engaged in assuring the lesson was adapted to each level as I directed from the front of the class. It was an unexplainable experience to have my superior stand speechless at the progress that was made simply by me doing my job according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
I ran into the parent who turned my world upside down last summer. I told her this story and she had no idea that she had such an impact on not only her son's education, but also on me as a professional and the other students who passed through my classroom. I went from an average teacher violating student rights, to a proud teacher of successful students all because of a parent who knew her son's rights and had the strength to become a proactive member of her child's education team.
Copyright 2007 Precision Education
(May be reprinted with permission)
Catherine Whitcher, M.Ed, founder of Precision Education, Inc. holds multiple special education teaching certificates, has been featured on AutismOne radio show, published in The Autism Perspective and is Co-Author of Asperger's: The Positive Side. She is a member of the National Association of Special Education Teachers and Co-founder of the non-profit Disability Community Solutions.
Proud sister of a successful man with Down Syndrome, Ms. Whitcher's dynamic teaching within the classroom led her to her life-long passion of bringing education teams together for student achievement. For over 10 years, Precision Education, a special education consulting firm has been focused on maximizing special education results for students, parents & teachers. The development of Back to Future IEP Planning TM, exclusively presented by Precision Education, has led to students with exceptional learning needs meeting their potential and exceeding expectations. Precision Education represents a parent focused, school friendly, child-centered approach to success.
800.432.0170 www.PrecisionEducation.com
Stock market trading tool
Feb 28, 2007 by AnonymousSorry. We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. Help me! Help to find sites on the: Stock market trading tool. I found only this - stock day trading course. Mom talk biz one on one business coaching. Dedicated to stimulating the use of the montessori teaching approach in private and public schools. THX :confused:, Nishan from Lithuania.