Tag Archives: special education

Ready Set Play! Strategies for Modifying Games

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In continuing our celebration of Autism Awareness Month, we’d like to share with you another article from our very own Sam Blanco, BCBA on how to modify games for learners with autism.  Sam focuses on helping educators and parents understand how to thoughtfully integrate games, toys, and technology for students with autism and other developmental delays, and here she presents a few simple, yet effective, ways of adapting every day games and toys to meet the needs to students on the spectrum.

Ready Set Play! Strategies for Modifying Games
by Sam Blanco, BCBA

Choosing games for learners with autism can be quite challenging, especially when your goal is to provide social opportunities through playing games with peers or siblings. Sometimes you find a game that you think your learner will find highly motivated, only to discover there are aspects of the game that make your learner lose interest quickly. Here are a few tips to help modify games to meet the needs of your individual learner.

One of the easiest and best modifications you can make is to shorten the duration of an activity. Most of the games and activities you will find on this website take 10-15 minutes. For longer activities, I will set a timer and let the learner know that the game will last for 10 minutes (or less, depending on the learner) or allow the learner to choose the duration of the game. Also, though it may feel unnatural, (especially if your learner is engaging with you when he/she rarely does) I try to end the activity when the learner’s interest is at its peak. This will make the learner more likely to request or be interested in the activity in the future.

If the game is too difficult for the learner, you can do some of the steps for your learner. For example, for some of my early learners, I will complete one or more steps in the game Roll & Play. Some of my learners struggle with grasping the cards between their index finger and thumb. I can pick up the card for them, and then continue with the game. This allows us to maintain a quick pace in the game, maintain the learner’s interest, and continue the focus on the skills presented in the game. It’s important to remember that just because you are completing some of the steps, it does not make the game less valuable. Usually, I am practicing grasping objects in other activities and will eventually introduce it into the game, but I want to maintain focus on only 1 to 2 skills when I am teaching through games. Otherwise, the game can become very slow and less motivating for the learner.

Another easy modification is to simply remove some parts of the game. S’Match is a fantastic memory game that helps learners match items based on three components: shape, color, and number. For some learners, I remove the spinner so that I can introduce the game with just two components. I’ll either verbally tell the learner “This time, we’re matching by color,” or I’ll have a textual cue. This way, I can focus on the skills of matching, while making the game easier for learners who might struggle with the skill of remembering three different components of each picture in the memory game. Once my learner has mastered the game with matching by two components, I introduce the spinner and matching along all three components. (There are also games I play with my learners that just involve the spinner, which you can find here.)

Increase your expectations as quickly as possible. For each of my learners, I typically have two categories of games: Emerging and Mastered. With emerging games, the learner still requires modifications, but I am trying to fade those modifications and increase expectations as quickly as possible while still maintaining the learner’s interest and motivation to play the game. With mastered games, the learner is able to play the game as designed with peers or siblings and I can focus on social goals instead of game-related goals.

Games provide a wide array of opportunities to teach academic, non-cognitive, and social skills. Modifications such as those listed above can open up these opportunities for your learner in age-appropriate and fun ways.

Sam Blanco is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals, by organizing resources in an easy-to-use way that also directly connects to data collection and increasing progress in learners with autism. She is the lead contractor for Theatre Development Fund’s Autism Theatre Initiative, working to modify Broadway shows such as The Lion King and Spiderman. She also provides workshops for professionals and parents about assessment, managing difficult behaviors, verbal behavior, and using games and technology effectively in teaching practices. You can follow Sam on Twitter: @SamBlancoBCBA.

Pick of the Week: “Fitting In and Having Fun” Vol. 4: High School Life

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There are many behaviors that high school students are expected to recognize and display. Students need to be aware of these implicit expectations in order to make good choices, become more independent, and form healthy relationships. This week only, we are offering a 15% discount off of the video modeling program “Fitting In and Having Fun”, Vol. 4: High School Life to help your high school student improve their social awareness. Enter BLOGFITN2* at checkout to apply these savings to your online order.

This video modeling DVD follows a teen named Jon as he learns to navigate high school by becoming more aware of the unspoken rules his teachers and peers expect him to know. The DVD includes the TD Social Skills exclusive “What they’re thinking” insight windows to help students realize the impact of their behavior on others. Actual high school peer mentors who offer advice on how to solve teen problems are also featured. “Springboard to discussion” questions explore each topic further to help students to better understand and improve social exchanges.

Watch the video below for a preview!

Fitting In and Having Fun, Volume 4: High School LifeThe social situations reviewed on this DVD are:

  • Getting Organized
  • Classroom Protocol
  • Sharing Conversations
  • Staying Calm to Problem-Solve
  • Showing Empathy
  • Manners Count
  • Dealing With Stress
  • Embarrassing Situations
  • Falling Head Over Heels

This week only, save 15% on your order of “Fitting In and Having Fun”, Vol. 4: High School Life by using the promotional code BLOGFITN2* at checkout!

*Offer is valid until November 5, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the promo code at checkout!

“Ability vs. Disability” by Gary Shulman

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It is important to remind ourselves as parents and providers of children with special needs of the little joys and pride we take in the skills and passions our children display. We recently received a moving anecdote from Special Needs Consultant and Trainer Gary Shulman about Matthew, whose six years of life has touched so many around him despite his label of being a disabled child. Please take a moment to read his story, for we do believe that “behind every child with a label of disability is a child with ability to be cherished, praised, and supported.”

Ability vs. Disability

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.
shulman.gary@yahoo.com
Special Needs Consultant and Trainer

April, 2013

During my more than 24 years as Program Director of Social Services and Training Coordinator for Resources for Children with Special Needs and now as a private consultant and trainer, I have had the great pleasure of asking thousands of parents of children with disabilities to tell me about their children’s talents, skills, abilities and passions. Very often that question has been met with astonishment, “Someone is actually asking me to accentuate the positive as the old song says!” What a concept! My heart has always been warmed and my soul and spirit uplifted by the myriad responses that gleefully utter from the lips of these proud parents: “Susan is a gifted musician-she hears a song once then sits down and figures it out on the piano”, “My son swims like a fish!” “Thomas has memorized the entire subway system-he is passionate about trains.”, “Hector always greets me with a hug and seems to know when I am feeling down-he brightens up my life.” …and on and on. My response is to have everyone in the room praise and applaud these positive stories of hope, joy and delight. We of course also move on to discussing the needs, wants, wishes and dreams.

I often tell the story of an “angel” who blessed this world by the name of Matthew. When Matthew was born, the doctor who had obviously not been through any sensitivity training, felt compelled to tell the new parents the bad news that after conducting genetic testing, Matthew was determined to have a very rare condition called I-Cell Disease. “So what does that mean?-when can we bring Matthew home to enjoy and love him?” The doctor proceeded to elucidate that Matthew should not be brought home but rather institutionalized! He then felt compelled to share that Matthew’s immunological system would over the course of 5 or 6 years, destroy all organs in Matthews tiny body. “Why put yourself through such misery-he will never grow or develop. Needless to say these spiritual, caring, loving dedicated parents took Matthew home and received Medicaid under the Medicaid Waiver program to meet many of his complex medical needs. He was enrolled in Early Intervention where his miraculous and talented Occupational Therapist Ilaine, only saw the potential skills, talents and strengths. Matthew learned to happily feed himself, walk with a walker, sing, dance and love……..oh how this child gave and received love. He was pure love. This beautiful child positively affected ever human being who was fortunate enough to have the joy of knowing this angel on earth. I made him pancakes during one visit and he stopped eating for a moment, turned his steroid filled, barely moving body, to face me so he could tell me, “Hey Gary! These are delicious!” Matthew by the way had a photographic memory and could tell you every player in the Yankee dugout, give you directions to Grandma’s house and direct you to all food items in the supermarket.

There is no miraculous ending here — Matthew died after 6 glorious years on earth. Six years of love and joy. Six years of enhancing the lives of everyone who was fortunate enough to have known this miraculous child. At his funeral were all the friends, neighbors, family members and admirers whose lives had been touched by this angel of humanity. The doctor who had diagnosed Matthew of course was not present. His memory lives on in every workshop I conduct. His parents graced me with a gift that I will always cherish. Knowing that Matthew would soon be leaving this world, they had him record anything that he wanted to say to those people in his life whom he cared for. Sitting on my dresser is a small photo book with Matthew’s picture in it. There is a button in that photo-book. When you press that button, Matthew’s sweet voice can be heard saying, “Hello Gary-I love you!” His spirit helps to motivate all parents of children with disabilities who have been told by “professionals” what their children would never be able to do. Just as the Bumblebee should not fly according to scientists, yet does (because nobody has ever told the bumblebee he can’t fly) so too will all children with disabilities continue to FLY as long as we continue to recognize that behind every label of disability there is a human being with abilities, talents, skills and passions…………………..and love to give and receive. We must never take the hope away!

Behind every child with a label of disability is a child with ability to be cherished, praised and supported.

 

Pick of the Week: New Building & Patterning Puzzle Games

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We’re in absolute love with these new wooden puzzle games. How to describe all of the skills these three new games address? Each one is a beautiful wooden puzzle that comes with a booklet of patterns that  the player must recreate. They range from simple to challenging, even for the most experienced builders. Each game stretches a player’s logical thinking skills, develops spatial reasoning and problem solving skills. All of the feedback we’ve received tells us that your kids won’t notice any of that – they’ll be having too much fun playing.

For the teachers out there, if you have a student that isn’t interested in blocks but is crazy for cars or captivated by castles, these are the games for you! Each puzzle has a clear beginning, middle and end so they require less support, making them ideal for centers, activity schedules and independent play.

 

Smart Car

This is a truckload of fun that evolves with a child’s growing and expanding skill set. The four included pieces produce 48 unique shapes and patterns! Younger players will love playing with the adorable block pieces and creating their own models while older players will be stimulated by the challenge of building a car to match the puzzle design booklet. Recommended ages 3 and up.

 


Bill & Betty Bricks

Little builders will have their work cut out for them as they create constructions using these brightly colored wooden blocks and figurines. Bill and Betty need to have their feet on the building at all times to supervise the work – and provide an added challenge. For students who love to build but resist incorporating figurines into play, Bill & Betty Bricks is a great solution. By pairing construction with characters and making them an inherent part of the game, players will receive a gentle introduction to the world of imaginative play. There are more than 60 challenges in the included booklet that range from simple to “wizard-level” so players of all ages will be engaged and motivated. Recommended ages 5 and up.


Castle Logix

The challenge of this beautiful 3-D wooden puzzle is to assemble the blocks and towers into one of the castle designs in the booklet. From simple puzzles for inexperienced builders to complex puzzles that will challenge skilled architects, Castle Logix is designed to stretch a player’s logical thinking skills and develop spatial reasoning abilities. It includes seven durable wooden castle pieces and a full-color, illustrated booklet with 48 multi-level puzzle challenges. Recommended for puzzlers ages 5 and up.

 

 

This week only, save 15% on these versatile new games by entering the Promo Code BLOGBCT9 at checkout.

*Offer expires on March 26, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Pick of the Week: Know the Code at School & Social Standards at School

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With the school year in full swing now, social skills can be a challenge in any classroom. This week’s pick helps students know the social code and standards expected at school by providing visual cues and checklists to help them both understand and regulate their own behavior.

Know the Code at School Social Skills Cards illustrate 50 social skills in typical school scenarios. Each card shows a skill with a relevant photo, lists five sequential steps to accomplish the skill and suggests a talking point. The cards are great for games and role plays at an elementary or middle school level.

Social Standards at School  is comprised of fifty-three social skills that are involved in a typical school day. From waking up in the morning to going to sleep at night, this guide is a great resource for working with higher functioning children. The book covers skills such as getting ready for school, classroom behavior, transitions, peer relationships and common etiquette. Each skill provides teacher guidelines and a student self-monitoring page. Each of the skills is then broken down into five steps and contains guidelines which include an objective with five benchmarks, problem-solving checklist and a script for teachers to follow when reviewing the skills with students. Self-monitoring pages help students keep track of their social progress. By using this concise record keeping system, users can integrate the teaching of social skills into IEP’s.

This week, help your students develop their social skills independently and save 15% on Know the Code at School and Social Standards at School by entering the Promo Code BLOGSS12 at checkout.

 *Offer expires on October 2, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Building Early Reading and Language Skills in Children with Autism: A Guest Post by Joan Green

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This week, we’re thrilled to share a guest post by our friend and colleague, Joan Green. Joan has taught special education in California for 20 years and was even selected as the Special Education Teacher of the Year in 1997. As a member of an Autism Task Force, she co-authored a certification of competency for teaching children with autism. Based on her years of experience in the classroom, she developed a series of Interactive Reading Books designed to build language and literacy in your learners. These books have been incredibly popular over the years and we thought you all might enjoy learning a bit more about how and why they were created and how she implemented them with her students. Joan’s Interactive Reading Books are all available as this week’s Pick of the Week at a 15% discount. Just enter the promo code BLOGIRB7 at checkout.

 

I taught special education in Los Angeles schools for 20 years. In the beginning I had children with a variety of disabilities including Down syndrome, Williams Syndrome, Kabuki Syndrome and other developmental delays. During this time the students with autism were in specific autism programs and not in my class. After a few years I began teaching Early Childhood Special Education and began getting children with autism in my program.  These children are often diagnosed between 2 and 3 years of age and begin early intervention services. Once the child turns three and they begin public school it is important that teachers know the strategies that are helpful to children with autism. I began going to seminars on Teacch, Floortime, PECS, PRT, and ABA and read many books written by respected individuals who had worked with children with autism. I learned that visual strategies were very important and helpful for these children and incorporated the strategies I had learned and provided visual information throughout my classroom.

All of my students were either non-verbal or language delayed and I began using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) with all of my students. Picture Exchange Communication does not require that children speak; giving a picture card to someone is their communication. If, however, a child did have some speech, I wanted to hear it. If they could use one word utterances, I wanted two, if they used two words, I wanted three. I began putting sentence strips around my room that the children would bring to me to request objects or activities. All the interesting new materials were put within sight, but out of reach. On top of the cabinet could be a new truck and the sentence strip attached to the cabinet reading, “I want truck please.” Children would bring me the strip and if they had expressive language we would “read” the strip together and they would get the truck to play with. When they were done the truck would go back to the top of the cabinet. I used a Visual Schedule to help the children understand their day, what was going to be happening and if there were any changes in expected activities.

I found that when given the visual cue of a picture, the children were beginning to speak and label more than they had before. When the children began increasing their vocabulary by using pictures and sentence strips I thought to myself, “If they can read a sentence, then they can read a book. What is a book but a bunch of sentences?” and this is how the idea of Interactive Reading Books came into being.

 Children with autism are often taught using a method called Applied Behavior Analysis. There is a sequence of activities that are used to help the children acquire language where they match, identify and then label pictures. I utilized this strategy and developed a book called What Color Is It? where the children matched pictures of objects and colors, then identified and labeled them and finally they were to be sequenced into sentence order and read in sentence form. The children would practice reading the sentences with the pictures and finally read the sentences without any picture cues. Since some children with autism are good at memorization, I made put the books on rings so the sentence order could be changed to help determine if the child was reading or had memorized  the sentence order.

Using the students’ IEP goals, I began creating books that taught the skills they needed. Reading color words and number words are kindergarten goals so What Color Is It? and How Many? were two of our first books. We followed up with Things I Do At Home and I Go to School which included the vocabulary and visual schedule of activities that are performed in their home and school environments. All of the children in my class and many children in special education have speech goals on their IEP and therefore all our Interactive Reading Books were created to be helpful in reaching speech and language goals. We now have 18 titles and many cover more advanced language skills, such as idioms, functions, social behavior and more.

 

The full list of titles appears below. Remember, this week only, save 15% on all of Joan Green’s Interactive Reading Books by entering the Promo Code BLOGIRB7 at checkout.

 Action!
How Do I Feel?
How Many?
Things I Do at Home
I Go To School
What Color Is It?
Sounds Good to Me! An Interactive Reading Book with Phonucs and the Alphabet
The Ups and Downs of Opposites
What Do I Do? Appropriate School Behaviors
What Do I Say? Appropriate Social Responses
What’s It For? Function and Categorizing
Meet the Word Family
Show Me A Sign: An Interactive Reading Book About Safety Signs
What Do They Really Mean? An Interactive Reading Book About Idioms

*Offer expires on September 26, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

 

Pick of the Week: Verbal Behavior Targets

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As the school year rapidly approaches, many of you teachers out there will have your hands full with assessments, IEP development and planning, all in addition to the excitement of getting to know your new students. Verbal Behavior Targets: A Tool to Teach Mands, Tacts & Intraverbals can save you tons of time and energy by providing you with comprehensive word lists that can be used for both assessment and teaching. This is a vital resource for anyone teaching language to a student with Autism or speech and language delays.  The book consists of words and word combination lists categorized by word families covering nouns including people, places, events and things inside and outside plus verbs, adjectives, adverbs, verbs plus nouns, nouns plus nouns, fill in the blanks, verb tense, receptive instruction, categories, features, functions and topics for conversation.

This week only, you can save 15% on Verbal Behavior Targets by entering the Promo Code BLOGVBT9 at checkout.

As one reviewer in Wisconsin puts it: “Special education programs are now an integral part of every public school system in the country. Among the student populations for which these programs are purposed are those students who suffer from language delays, most especially the growing number of children diagnosed with various forms of autism. Now classroom instructors and special education support staff working with these children can have access to a vital resource with “Verbal Behavior Targets: A Tool To Teach Mands, Tacts And Intraverbals”, written by Diana Luckevich, an experienced data analyst with expertise in computerization applications in education. With a particular focus on autistic learners, “Verbal Behavior Targets” includes word lists and word combinations categorized by word families; accessible tools for children who are ESL learners; who have Down syndrome; who are autistic; or who are experiencing language delays; and/or are dealing with developmental disabilities. “Verbal Behavior Targets” also features common, functional and relevant language goals suitable for any child who is learning word skills. Enhanced with additional spaces and worksheets for teachers and involved parents to customize and track language for an individual child, “Verbal Behavior Targets” is an especially recommended addition for special education curriculum reference libraries and classroom lesson planning supplements.”

*Offer expires on August 14, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Pick of the Week: Getting Our Hands Ready Preschool Prep Kit

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This kit prepares children for school by providing active, goal-directed play. Getting Our Hands Ready contains 10 playful games to establish good habits for learning handwriting and promoting proper grasp of pencils. Each item is specifically developed to improve fine motor coordination and the guidebook contains a series of multisensory activities to build the small muscles in hands and fingers. The kit comes with dough stampers, mini crayons, Mr. Crunch and other exclusive pieces.

This week, save 15% on the Getting Our Hands Ready Kit. We’re even going to extend the discount to the other two kits in the series: Snip, Glue & Grow Kit as well as the double kit Following Directions & ABC’s and Simple Shapes Kit. To redeem your savings on any of these three kits, enter the Promo Code BLOGHWGK at checkout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Offer expires on February 21, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Tell Me About It! Sweepstakes – Win A Free Copy of Our New App!

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 Different Roads to Learning is thrilled to offer you the chance to win a free copy of our latest iPhone/iPad App for teaching language to students with Autism or speech and language delays: Tell Me About It! Learning Language by Receptive Function, Feature & Category. This special offer ends on February 17, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST.

 Tell Me About It! teaches the label, category, function, and features of more than 235 language targets over 6 levels of incremental difficulty with over 1000 unique testable attributes. The presentation of each language target conforms to an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) discrete trial program, with reinforcement provided by a token economy system. Once the user collects the given number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable 5-10 second animation clip of the token character.

 Tell Me About It! provides a self-contained discrete trial program that error corrects and provides direct reinforcement to the student while collecting and synthesizing data for up to 10 students. There is a Student Report Card in the format of a data sheet that displays data for each student, with an option to email the results.

For complete details on our sweepstakes and to enter, click here! 

Currently, our new app Tell Me About It!is being sold in the iTunes store for $9.99. You have the chance to win it for free by entering our Sweepstakes!

 To learn more about Tell Me About It!, visit the store in iTunes by clicking here! 

 

Building Language for Your Child with Autism: A Guest Series by Angela Nelson

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This week, we’re pleased to introduce a series of posts by Angela Nelson on building language in children with autism. As the creator of the acclaimed Language Builder Picture Noun Card Set, Angela received her BA and JD from UCLA where she studied and practiced behavior psychology under Dr. Ivar Lovaas. She has been creating autism and special needs curriculum products since 1997.

Emerging Language and Building Vocabulary

Language development varies from child to child, and there are wide ranges of expected “normal” language development in young children. If you have specific concerns about the pace of your child’s language development, you should definitely discuss this with your health care professional. However, for reference sake, by the age of two a child is expected to be able to:

  • Follow simple commands or instructions
  • Point to an object or picture when it is named for him or her
  • Recognize names of familiar objects, body parts and familiar faces
  • Repeat words spoken by others
  • Use simple phrases and 2 – 4 word sentences by 18 – 24 months

As we all know, there is no “typical” child with autism. Children on the Autism Spectrum may meet some of these objectives, all of these objectives, or none of these objectives. The goal is to identify your child’s specific language deficits (the areas you see them falling behind) and takes steps to help them catch up.

The first stages of language development, as described above, involve listening to words, imitating words, and building a basic vocabulary. In your child’s education program you may have heard professionals use terms like Receptive Language, Echolalia, Modeling, Matching, or Expressive Language. Don’t let these terms of art intimidate you. Really, they still just mean… listening to words, imitating words, and building a basic vocabulary. 

Encouraging Emerging Language Skills

A most basic step in typical language development is imitation. Many parents are surprised to learn that the parent imitating the child is almost as important as the child imitating the parent! When a 12 month old child looks at his or her mother and says “mamamama,” the mother almost instinctively replies back, “that’s right ‘mama.’” This feedback reinforces the child’s vocalization and encourages them to keep on chatting. Although children with autism may have delayed onset of this type of behavior, or may have some setbacks along the way; it is important to remember to continue to imitate vocalizations with your child to encourage verbal behavior.

Imitation will also provide the first steps in the formation of words for your child. This time I mean your child imitating you! While you are hoping to hear your child imitating full words, remember, this starts with imitating vowels, consonants and syllables. If you say “aaaaa” and your child responds back with “aaaaa,” this is a cause for celebration. You are one step closer to your child saying “apple” than you were before they could (or would) imitate your vocalization. Eventually, modeling words will become the way you build your child’s expressive vocabulary!

Check back this week for from Angela on Matching Objects andPictures as a Precursor to Language.