In a perfect world, we would teach students that are emotionally stable, cope with many challenges in a socially acceptable way, have control over their words and bodies, cognitively equal in all subjects, and essentially boring. However, we do not teach in a perfect world, surprise (*sarcasm implied, heavily). Our classrooms are becoming more and more diverse and it is up to us to keep up with all of the changes. I could totally get up on a stack of soap boxes right now about diet, technology, chemicals, early identification, more education among the professionals, and so on. But instead of proving my side of a very complex argument with as many sides as there are opinions, I will show you how I am meeting the needs of students.
The following cards were made for a child with high functioning autism, asperger's syndrome. This child struggles with high levels of anxiety. Please know that the social stories were not made for a first grader, but could easily be adapted for one of my kiddos. I have learned that more often than not, anxiety plays a huge part in the thought processes of our students. Social stories and
The Incredible 5 Point Scale check in are methods for reducing anxiety and stating expectations in a given situation. I laminated and put them on a key chain for this child.
This one actually has the black squares attached under the black and white squares. (Sorry I don't have the finished product pictured) With each breath, the child places the removable square on to the black square. By the time the last (white) square is place, the pending meltdown should be reduced significantly. Counting, deep breaths, and the physical movement of the squares helps to take the child's mind off of the trigger to the meltdown.
I am very intrigued by the adaptive classroom and I am wondering where God will take this desire of mine professionally. I really enjoyed creating these and I would love to hear if you have had experience teaching children with autism.
