Familiarizing Students (and Staff! And Parents!) With a Core Vocabulary

I wanted to share some simple worksheets I created for students, staff, and parents to familiarize themselves a bit more with the core vocabulary on the students’ AAC devices. I recently had parent-teacher conferences and, with most of my students using AAC, I stressed that the student needs to use the device at home as well as at school.

After the parents protested by explaining that they didn’t need to use it at home because they can understand the student without it, I emphasized the importance of preparing them for the adult service world and that the student had the right to be understood by more people! I also appealed to the parents’ hearts, explaining that I knew without a doubt that all of the students had more to say than they were currently able to with their vocalizations and/or devices. We can all improve!

After hearing that, all parents agreed that they need to incorporate the AAC device more at home. The biggest concern, however, was that the parent had no idea how to use the device or where anything was. I had one parent explain that when he is trying to show his son where an item is, he always just opened the keyboard and typed the word out. This was frustrating to the student, who had poor spelling ability, and prevented the parent from learning to navigate the vocabulary.

I showed the parents the ‘Find Word’ feature that is available in many of the WordPower vocabularies and also assured the parents that you need to learn how the vocabularies are set up and, when you get the gist of the organization method, it will get a lot easier!

I do a lot of activities in the classroom to help students and staff better know their way around their core vocabularies. These activities cannot stand in isolation—students will also need to be explicitly taught through modeling and other structured activities what the words mean and how to use them functionally. However, they do meet the goal of helping people learn where to find words quickly and how the system is organized. Whenever I complete activities like these in the classroom, I send them home as “homework” for parents to complete as well!

These worksheets are organized as scavenger hunts. The first scavenger hunt is focused on categories and the second is focused more on simple grammar. You can download the worksheets in PDF format here: AAC scavenger hunts

Happy hunting!

Addressing Annoying Behavior in the Classroom

This year I don’t have to deal with too many aggressive behaviors. This is a relief, although I realize that aggression is often part of the job when you teach students with classic autism. This year, the behavior that I have to manage is less aggressive and more annoying.

Now, sit down and try to write a social story about how you shouldn’t be annoying. You can’t. It’s impossible. There are an infinite number of ways to annoy anyone and the things that tickle the “I’m annoyed” center in the brain are different for different people.

I have one student in particular in mind as I write this post (I’ll call him Brian), and he breaks my heart. He breaks my heart because Brian can be oh-so-annoying but he is also the most social kid in my class. He adores his classmates and his typical peers and he wants so badly to have friends. Unfortunately, his social skills are atrocious.

He believes that if he is having fun, then everyone else is having fun. If he is laughing, then the other person must be enjoying the activity just as much as he is. As Brian kicks the bathroom door, he looks around at his peer as he laughs hysterically as if to say, ‘Aren’t we all having a blast?’. He presses the “Stop” button every chance he gets on another student’s AAC device because that student laughed. Once. In September.

These behaviors are attention-seeking in nature but he is genuine in his effort to establish a connection with peers and staff members. This makes it all the more difficult to see Brian continually face negative consequences (time outs, etc.) for these social efforts. It doesn’t seem to be true that he enjoys negative attention just as much as positive attention. In fact, he will often shut down for hours if he feels like he is ‘in trouble.’ He just doesn’t know the rules for establishing positive social connections.

I knew that I was missing an important piece in teaching this student to be more positively social, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Most of my students have classic autism and managing an excess of social enthusiasm isn’t a common problem of mine.

Again, I had already attempted to write a social story about how Brian shouldn’t be annoying, and hadn’t had much luck. ‘Annoying’ is too hard to clearly define and is much too negative. My wheels were still spinning with ideas to shape Brian’s behavior when I reached my Structured Teaching PLC meeting.

At the meeting, two of my coworkers, Becky (@edgeSLP) and Charity, shared a strategy they had successfully implemented with other students. They had broken down Michelle Garcia Winner’s work in Think Social (2005) in order to teach students with moderate-significant cognitive impairments how their behavior affects others.

After listening to an overview of how Becky and Charity implemented a system with some of their students, I used their ideas and inspiration to complete the following:

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1. Identify behaviors—For about a week, I kept a chart on the door to our classroom with two columns labeled ‘Stop’ and ‘Go.’ As we moved through our regular days, classroom staff (paraprofessionals, related service staff, etc.) filled the chart with behaviors we wanted to see stop and other behaviors we wanted to see more of. For one example, with Brian we wanted to see Brian do less door-slamming and more door-holding for other people. After the week was up, we had a significant list of things we wanted Brian to stop and other behaviors we wanted to see more of. It seemed to me that a week was a good length of time to identify behaviors—remember, most of these behaviors weren’t significant enough to warrant a true functional behavior assessment. They were just things that were irritating and were harder to pin down.
2. Condense behaviors—After we collaboratively created a list of ‘Stop’ and ‘Go’ behaviors, I condensed them down by grouping similar behaviors together and scrapping the behaviors that I didn’t think were very important or I thought would be impossible to extinguish. For example, touching/grabbing things that didn’t belong to the student were defined as one behavior rather than identifying each thing the student touched/grabbed. I scrapped the behavior of Brian approaching kids he doesn’t know in the hallway and making a funny face—it is too difficult to control how peers react (they mostly laugh, thus reinforcing the behavior) and I didn’t think we would be successful with stopping that one.
3. Sort Behaviors (Stop and Go)—Next, I used Boardmaker software to create an activity in which Brian sorted his behaviors into Stop and Go categories. I worked 1:1 with him during this activity, describing each behavior as we worked. Brian did fairly well the first time, but made 1-2 errors. We worked on this task together several times until he had mastered sorting the behaviors into ‘Stop’ and ‘Go’ categories.
   

   Sorting ‘stop’ and ‘go’ behaviors. Created using Boardmaker software.

4. Create contingency maps—Once Brian understood the language and symbols I was using to describe the behaviors, I worked 1:1 with him to create contingency maps addressing the behaviors. I always tried to work on both a Stop map and a Go map during one session, and some maps addressed several related behaviors. I wanted Brian to see that were things that bothered others but there are just as many alternatives that would make other people happy and want to spend more time with him. During these sessions, Brian would occasionally get pretty down on himself. I could tell that it caused him some distress to see that some of his actions might make other people feel sad or not want to spend time with him.
5. Video model the contingency maps—Optional. I’m not doing this with Brian, but I can see how this would be a valuable teaching tool for students with autism.
6. Use teachable moments—At every opportunity, label the behavior, review the maps, and emphasize how others are feeling at those moments. Have typical peers and staff members exaggerate their reactions so their emotions are clear to the student. Review the contingency map if time/space allows. Sometimes Brian needs to take five minutes alone if he feels like he is being particularly hilarious in order to calm down before the review of the contingency map becomes meaningful. We emphasize to Brian that this is not a punishment, but he just needs to calm his body down so he is ready to listen and learn.

I have already seen positive changes in Brian’s behavior after implementing these strategies. In fact, Brian came in this morning and independently studied his behavior maps before getting started on his morning work. The maps are organized in a binder that travels with Brian throughout his day. We are praising the heck out of him whenever he does one of his ‘Go’ behaviors and choosing to teach rather than reprimand when he uses a ‘Stop’ behavior.

This has taken a lot of time, but I think overall it has been well worth it. I think we are addressing the root of his social problems rather than making him follow rules he doesn’t understand and that only apply in the classroom setting.

Thanks for reading! Please share other strategies you have used to help address student behavior that is related to social deficits!

Mid-Year Check-up

Sometimes, as the school year starts rolling, you can find yourself getting stuck in routines rather than continuously improving your practice. I find that a mid-year check-up, akin to getting a physical, is helpful in order to break up the monotony and get ‘back on track’ after winter break! Below is my check-up–Think about your own answers and use them to make a few changes during the second part of the school year! I think you will be glad you did.

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What is going RIGHT? The data collection piece for independent work is going very well. I am also pleased with the amount of 1:1 time that I get with each student per day. I had to make a few adjustments when a new student moved in, but I still get a substantial amount of 1:1 time with each student every week.

What definitely NEEDS to be ‘fixed’? I’m not sure how meaningful reading group always is. I need to get in to the books earlier so I can script comments and questions for students/assistants to use when interacting with text. This way, students will be able to work more on communication goals at this station. Additionally, I can use other sources to supplement the reading material from the Unique Learning System to make sure it is relevant to my students.

Are there any easy fixes that you can make? Now is the time! I need to update the computer schedule. One student is never getting to his email because he is on a job site on the day/time that it is on his schedule. Another student received a new computer program mid-year, and the program has yet to make it on the computer schedule. These are easy fixes to make!

Have you been doing anything the SAME for all students? Warning! Warning! I had very similar schedules for all students because each student could access it with independence. I neglected to recognize that a few students are ready for an ‘upgrade’ to a more advanced style schedule now that they are excellent readers (and, more importantly, comprehenders) of schedule words. Another important reason to ‘upgrade’ to written schedules is because they are easier to make and will be more likely to be used once the student leaves the high school. I will have two students transition to written schedules.

Have you been doing anything individually for each student that can be streamlined? I have been making individual data sheets for each student. I need to keep thinking about whether or not I can make effective data sheets that can be used more generally. I try to design my data sheets very carefully to allow for ease of data collection. Most, if not all, data sheets consist of filling in a blank or two and then circling criteria or writing pluses/minuses. A little more work on the front end, even if it means doing them individually, might be worth the time and effort it saves with routine data collection.

Assess your schedule for ‘regular classroom maintenance.’ Does anything need to be changed? I need to update some of the computer programs more regularly. Right now it is on my schedule to update each program each week, but this is often the first thing that falls through the cracks as I get busier. I need to make this more of a priority.

Does anything need to be moved/repaired/replaced? Front row microphones haven’t worked all year, one of the netbooks won’t connect to the internet, reinforcers in Discrete Trial Trainer aren’t working properly, and the cords behind my computers look straight from a National Lampoon movie.  I can handle some of these, and I need to request that others in the building handle the rest. All are somewhat easy fixes!

How are students doing in unstructured times? What can you do to help? Students have been doing fairly well in their lunch period. All students have been eating in the cafeteria with typical students—a fairly big deal when you realize how busy and chaotic the cafeteria can be. Some students struggle behaviorally in PE, but I hesitate to intervene here because the PE teacher typically likes to work through these issues herself.

I intentionally unstructured a chunk of time in the morning, between unloading the buses and starting our homeroom routine in order to work on independent leisure skills. Some students have embraced it, but one particular student is still really struggling. He constantly goes to staff members for attention or bothers other students rather than interacting with a leisure activity. He is a really social kid and would rather hang out with others than play by himself—unfortunately his social skills are very poor and it usually looks like he is terrorizing others rather than attempting to be friendly. I need to find more motivating independent leisure activities for him as well as teach him more appropriate ways to be a good friend to other students.

What is nagging at you that you have no control over? Now is the time to let it go! There are a few school staff members that really dote on our students and truly enjoy them—but tend to treat them like babies rather than the high school-ers that they are. This usually happens in the hallways or in the cafeteria—and I have no control over it! Second semester, I will let it go!

Are you taking care of yourself outside of work? What do you do that you enjoy? Can you make room in your schedule for more activities you enjoy? I generally take pretty good care of myself. I work out daily—usually running with my dog or playing basketball. I also enjoy reading, playing guitar, cooking, hiking, and blogging. Now that I have started coaching basketball, I realize that I haven’t made as much time for some of these things as I could. Second semester, I will make choices to read or practice the guitar more often, instead of filling spare moments with TV or addictive phone apps (darn you, Candy Crush Saga). I also have been thinking about writing a novel—who knows if I could, but I would like to make time to try!