good teaching solutions and examples of triggers

[Guest guest]

Pam,This really helps. I am hoping that others contribute and I am making a table of triggers and pre-emptive activities to use in my mainstream classroom and to share with other teachers. I was at a conference for world language teachers in November and part of my presentation was on “non-diagnosed Asperger-like” students and over 200 teachers tried to enter the room designed for 100 participants. Many teachers are interested in figuring out how to help these students who don’t come with IEPs as well as those that do. Teachers who tell me “then he said this – what do I do” are disappointed when I tell them that it all started before school began, they need to set up their classroom right to avoid the situation. I am asking this community for those kinds of ideas and supports for me to include. Many of the needed activities just come under good teaching for everyone. For example, for years I have been training teachers about #7 from your list. [ 7) Being left out. Letting the kids pick partners is a mess the AS kid is often left out.] In the beginning of the school year I read “Tacky the Penguin” to my student – about the odd bird saving the day. I tell a few of my own classroom stories of ‘odd bird’ student saving the day. I explain that every Monday students will receive a new partner and it is totally by chance and I give detailed explanations of how to respond to whomever is your partner. I train teachers how to make partner cards – say 31 students are in my class. There are 30 paired index cards (aunt with aunt, uncle with uncle) and the 31st card says you are lucky and can join any group at the end. They choose a card from face down and can’t look at them until I give the command. I line up the boys on one side and girls on the other and quickly determine partners – no time for swapping cards. It works. Everyone works with everyone. Substitute teachers tell me how lucky I am that my students all get along so well.Maybe it is luck, or probably how I set up the class. So I am asking the community for more triggers and suggestions on what has worked well to prevent the triggers from having undesirable consequences. Any help on or off list would be appreciated and of course I’ll post our solutions for you to share with other teachers. Thanks,EC Bernardwww.ecbernard.orgTriggers: 1) Proding the student to transition faster, it is betterto let them start getting ready sooner than the others. Or helpthem get organized.2) Change in routine, you need to talk about the changeahead of time.3) Sustaining focus on boring tasks are very difficultfor AS kids, if you know this is a problem they areusually given breaks (they may want to read alittle, orget up). 4) Sarcastic comments or threats trigger anxiety/anger.For example, do your work or you will lose recess (this is a change in schedule that they will react to).5) Any kind of criticism may trigger an argument. You want to use positive reinforcement strategies.6) Teachers/Parents need to focus on one or two behaviors theywant to work on and that is it. They want to teach the behavior they want and praise any small steps.The problem is often that the expectations forbehavior change are too high. If the kid wasmore typical and could do better, they would not have a DX in the first place. There reasoning skills are often good, butemotional regulation is not. So they overreact very veryquickly. Even if they don't act out they often are very anxious about life in general.7) Being left out. Letting the kids pick partners is a mess the AS kid is often left out. 8) Any work that involves social perspective needsto be explicitly taught. Often there are problems in reading comprehension and writing.9) Organization is a mess, they need help. Pam Dear ne, I am a Spanish Teacher striving to learn how to better serve my diagnosed and non-diagnosed students. I don't have any answers for you although I clearly support your advocating for your son to have the best IEP possible and then to have it followed. (cyber hug to fight the good fight) To make me a better teacher, can you further explain what you wrote below? " They claimed it was but then didn't even know his triggers when I asked. So how could they be implementing it?.....During the short times that she was there she observed on several occasions where the teacher and the aid clearly argued with my son and literally come down to his 13 year old Asperger/ADHD level. " I'd like to know, if you don't mind, what are some of the triggers and what should a teacher do? Again, I'm not a special education teacher, but I do want to better understand and include better strategies in my teaching practice. I am always relieved when a student has an IEP - it means others have figured out what to do and will give me guidelines and information and that there is support in place. However, each year I encounter students who present in a similar fashion as my students with AS but whose parents become very defensive and insist their child isn't different and thus I have no supports to turn to in managing this student. I teach 7th grade and some of these students could cope with one elementary school teacher all day but in middle school, the changing classes spotlights the child's differences. So if I had a few examples of some triggers and how to handle them, it may make it easier for me to use that lens to see triggers in others. I have read The Explosive Child and it opened my eyes, but now I would really appreciate any triggers and suggestions on what a teacher should do when observing the triggers, especially for middle and high school students. If anyone else wants to add to this thread, I'd be most appreciative. Thank you E.C. Bernard www.ecbernard.org