Re: At Home Total Autism Support

[Guest guest]

Does this mean that you are no longer teaching in the school system?

To: sList Sent: Wed, October 20, 2010 11:00:52 AMSubject: At Home Total Autism Support

My name is Ward Slater. I have 30 plus years working in the Dade County Public School System. I have always worked with children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. I am a 2010 Miami Dade County, "Teacher of the Year." I have a Master's Degree in Special Education, and two Specialist's certifications in Guidance and Counseling and School Psychology. I am looking to work with children and families by giving support at your home. I am skilled in all areas of Behavior Management, Social Skills Training, Self Help Skills, and Communication Skills using the PECS system. The use of communication cards will allow your child to communicate their needs through the use of picture symbols. For example, if we put a small picture of juice on your refrigerator, your child will learn to hand you a picture card, thus c

ommunicating their desire for juice, instead of displaying any tantrum behaviors, or just pulling things out of the refrigerator. The use of picture symbols will allow your child to start communicating their needs in a way you will understand. I am skilled in the use of the Boardmaker Program, and I will teach you how to use these picture symbols in various rooms of your house. I will make up picture schedules in order to help your child to follow a routine or schedule, which is the most successful way of training communication skills. I have many rating scales, which will pinpoint areas of needs, and will focus on reinforcing positive behaviors. I have used several Targeted Life Skill Training Programs. They cover needed skill areas Life Skills, Community Living, Domestic and Household Skills, Vocational Skills, and Functional Academics. I have used several other programs and specific academic and vocational type

activities, to help in teaching Survival Signs, Community Helpers, and all areas of Pre-Readiness and Academic Skills for school success.

Behavioral Issues are often a great area of concern for parents and guardians. I will be able to explain to you about what we call the FAB (Functional Analysis of Behavior) and the BIP (Behavioral Intervention Plan), and will write these plans with you. They should be part of your child's IEP at school, and I will give you all of the check sheets, for you to visually see which areas of behavior are of the greatest concern and need, in order to help your child display more positive behaviors, thus decreasing, "Meltdowns" and "Acting Out Behaviors". Once we target the areas and behaviors which concern you the most, we can work on a program of reinforcement techniques. The use of computer time and favorite computer programs is often a powerful reinforcer for children. I have many computer type games and computer stories, which hold a child's attention, and can be used to reinforce positive behaviors and

experiences within the home.

Another area which is often of concern to parents is practicing social skills within the community. It is often difficult when a parent tries to take a child to the mall or other places to shop. For many years, I have been involved in what we call, "Community Based Instruction", with the school system. I would take a group of students to malls, grocery stores, parks, and other community environments. Many parents have told me that it is a real challenge to take their children shopping, because of comments and looks of concern from other people in the community. I work on having the child stay with the group, use pictures to predict what activities we are doing at the mall, and useful skills such as using the food court for reinforcement of positive behaviors, while out in the community. I address those odd stares and looks from others, in a positive way, by explaining briefly about a child's behavior.

I use phrases such as, "The children are not misbehaving, they have Autism", and "Just because a child is non-verbal, does not mean that they have nothing to communicate. Community Based Instruction has make it possible for parents to take their children to places which they had never been able to before, with success and pride.

The writing of your child's IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) is vital to success at school. There should be very specific strengths, needs, and other areas of assessment, before an IEP can be written. This process is done on an annual basis. I have written many many IEP's, and will guide you through the entire process, to insure that your child receives all needed services, including Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, and other related services. I will be pleased to attend with you your yearly IEP meeting, to serve as an advocate for you and your child. Often, teachers write very general and generic goals and objectives, which do not specifically address a child's individual strengths and needs, in all areas of the IEP, such as Communication Skills, Self Help, Daily Living, Behavioral Areas, Writing, Pre-Readiness Skills, and other child specific areas of need. As parents, you have

the right to have your child assessed each year in academic and behavioral areas. Your child's IEP should be very specific, and each goal is updated several times each year. All of the IEP goals must be met on a yearly basis. A goal written as, Your child will increase skills in math, is not child specific. The goal should be written as, "Given a sample of numbers from 1-10, the child will be able to identify specific numbers, 7 out of 10 times. Another sample goal is for students to discriminate pictures of everyday items. I have many sets of picture cards, which I will work on with your child. An IEP goal will be written as, "When presented with 2 or 3 picture cards of common household items, the child will be able to discriminate specific items on 7 out of 10 presentations. In Dade County, we generally use 70% as mastery. It is known that children have a difficulty in what we call generalizing.

This means that your child may identify an item within the home, but will not recognize the same item out of context, if it is a different color, shape, or size. I will help your child to start to learn to generalize items in various environments and settings. Survival Words both inside and outside are often difficult, such as the sign for bathroom. Some places use picture symbols for things like "Bathroom". Sometimes there is a picture of a man or woman on a bathroom door. Other times only words like, "Men" and "Women" are used. I will work on Survival Words and Pictures with your child. Using a public bathroom is often difficult for a child with Autism. I can help you with a picture routine for using the bathroom, washing hands, and other common and daily functions. Children with Autism may not respond to words like, "Go to the bathroom", but by using a picture symbol chart, your child will

meet with success, when these opportunities present themselves.

Changes in routine are another difficult area for children with Autism. One key to meeting with success is to, "Pre-Teach" skills. I am skilled in using the TEAACH method of classroom management. Children with Autism should be moving to various stations within the classroom, and should be using a picture or written schedule throughout the school day. Children should know, "What activities are to take place during the school day", and "When are these various activities to take place," There should be a picture schedule in place in your child's classroom. I will be glad to make a classroom visitation and observation, and present suggestions to teachers regarding the daily schedule, even if the schedule changes for one reason or another. Many children will become anxious and frustrated when a teacher says, "Time for P.E.", but by using a picture schedule at school, the child knows what to

expect at any point of the school day. The child may use a daily picture schedule, to identify what activities will take place on a particular day, and a way for the children to visually see when an activity has been completed, as well as which activity is next. By creating and using picture cards, your child's schedule will be both visual, as well as your child seeing what activity is next. I often use picture cards attached to a velcro tape, to identify activities throughout the child's day. When an activity is completed, the child simply turns the picture over, or puts the picture card in a completed or finished envelope. Another thing which I have found to be very successful is for the teacher to use a simple check list of positive behaviors, such as staying on task, completing assignments, working cooperatively in a group, putting back materials when they have completed an activity, behaving appropriately, and working

independently. I have created a checklist which takes only a few minutes to fill out on a daily basis, and put this weekly check-list in a Communication Notebook. It is sent home everyday for parents to see. The teacher may write only a few sentences each day, but by checking this Communication Book, parents are aware of exactly how their children worked each and every day at school. All of the parents of my children have told me that this is an excellent way for them to know about how their child's day went. Many of the parents also write back to me in order to let me know how the child's afternoon and evening went. A simple comment like, "My child did not sleep well", or "My child has been up since 4:00 A.M. alerts the classroom teacher to be aware of various behaviors which may present themselves at school the next day. The Communication Book also serves as a great diary which the parents can use

throughout the school year, to identify both positive behaviors and skills, as well as skills and behaviors which need attention in the future. It helps to serve as a permanent record for you to share with other people which your children will work with both inside and outside of the school environment.

Please contact me at wardslater@... for any additional information regarding my support services, and to schedule a meeting with your child and family.

I look forward to working with your child and family. Ward Slater