How to use First and Then Visuals

August 5, 2022June 11, 2026 AutismadeLeave a comment

Children with SPED can sometimes find a classroom a bit confusing and can quickly become distressed with all the changes that are taking place around the room. My job is to help keep them calm and cope with what is happening. Sometimes I use visual supports to prepare and explain what is happening next.

I have found the “First and Then” Strategy a visual way of understanding what is expected throughout the day and a simple start to scheduling. As part of my structured teaching environment I use this simple timetable with individual work and in class activities.

Before starting a task and after a motivator assessment my young learners are offered a selection of visual reinforcers to choose from, this icon is placed in the “Then” side of the board.

And I place the icon of the task to be completed on the “First” side of the board. While teaching this strategy for the first few times I use quick errorless tasks and partially prompt my student if they become distressed.

Once established, my student will learn to follow the first activity independently and transfer to the next activity shown.

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Creating a Calm Down Corner, Tips & Tools

June 11, 2022June 26, 2026 AutismadeLeave a comment

I’ve been creating behavior supports for my classroom and I particularly love the calm down resources that iv finally put together. The system works great especially for children that needs to calm themselves and rely on clear visual instruction to help process what they need to do.

So I started with a sign, a “Calm down” sign … before I even put together a selection of fidgets! A couple of cheap fidget toys that I knew my kids would love and the first part of my kit was done. Then I sorted out a corner of my room with a beanbag on the floor and a little book shelf for privacy, I kept it very plain and simple with just the calm down tools on hand… WOW it looks great, and my kids love it!

Next I wanted to gave my kids a chance to take a break before things got to tricky, so I made these colourful break cards and purchased a sand timer. I added Velcro to the break board and attached it to the side of the bookcase, a good place to put the break card, I thought, before they grab a timer and sitting down. I knew this skill would take a bit of practice but was surprised at how quickly I saw results… its well worth the effort.

In a crises a visual choice of nice, peaceful activities would help to distract for a moment until we could sort out what was wanted.

And my all time favourite support! (already established) that always seems to work and get the little learner back on track is the REWARD BOARD and MENU CARD!

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FUNCTIONS OF BEHAVIOR

April 14, 2022August 12, 2023 AutismadeLeave a comment

Tips For Special Ed Teachers

The four functions of behavior are, Sensory, Escape, Attention and Tangible. Effective intervention involves identifying the function of a behavior and incorporating strategies to replace it.

Attention – if the student is pinching you to gain attention, then teach her to request attention appropriately with e.g. visuals such as “will you play with me” icon.

ESCAPE – if she’s hitting her head to avoid a task, teach her to request “help” or a “break” with a timer.

Tangible – crying while in a cue to get lunch, teach her to “wait”

Sensory – biting her hand, then teach her to request a “chewy toy”.

When planning these new skills always remember that the replacement behavior must serve the same function as the one displayed.

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SENSORY SIMULATION – Offer opportunities for bouncing on a large ball or trampoline, spinning, squeezing sensory balls, chewy toys, sand play, water play, banging a drum.

ATTENTION SEEKING – Give non verbal students a voice with visuals to request time with a favourite person, play games or work together. Model with hand over hand instructions to tap your arm and get your attention in structured sessions.

AVOIDANCE – Teach students to request a “break”, “help”, Give a choice of what to work for with a Token Reward system. Motivate with a choice of reinforcers and keep them fresh and handy.

Plan fun activities, maybe short to start with. Tailor learning with individual interest in mind.

TANGIBLE – Redirect to requesting items using visuals or voice, Use “First and Then” strategy and schedules. Token Economy with a reinforcer of their choice should incorporate their favourite items and snacks.

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Improve the most Challenging Behavior

March 12, 2022February 20, 2023 AutismadeLeave a comment

Being proactive is the key to avoiding a meltdown in your classroom, but you’ll need to know your students motivators, behaviors and triggers first!

Improving the most challenging behavior can be a challenge on its own ! Finding a strategy that suits individual needs can have you pulling your hair out.

Before I begin to implement any strategy I give each student a motivator assessment, keeping a note of the highest reinforcers to help them replace particular behaviors for positive ones.

When a behavior does arise, I remind the student of what went wrong with visuals which allows them a choice of what would have been a better approach in that situation. Using a “How did you feel? What did you do? What should you do next time? strategy, students are able to point and reflect what should have happened.

Once established, Positive Behavior must be managed with a consistent approach to maintain these new learnt skills.

A Simple token board in my opinion is the life saver in my classroom. I always accompany this strategy with a reward choice board, where I give my student a choice from his rewards….. (the ones he’d chosen in the motivator assessment) at the beginning of an activity. The number of tokens I use with these boards are 3, 5, 10, to use with different abilities and are given during tasks, then exchanged for the motivator.

I use Token System during all teaching and learning throughout the day!

For more information on behavior tools you can visit my TPT Store where you will find many more strategies, tips and tools!

How to Use Social Narratives for Behavior Management

February 5, 2022May 11, 2026 AutismadeLeave a comment

Social narratives are always available in my calm down area! I keep them on the book shelf ready to remind my young learners how to respond in difficult social situations. This type of visual guide describes social interactions helps with understanding social skills and cues that they might of missed.

Social supports help my young learners understand how to behave or respond in particular situations by using visuals to describe various social interactions, situations, behaviours, and skills.

The main goal of a Social narrative is to share social information that describes how to behave in them instances.

Reading these stories, one to one and as a whole class lesson has enabled me to reinforce these important social skills. I’ve displayed a poster on classroom rules as a quick reminder and added supporting activities to generalise learning.

“Class Rules and “Inside voice,” are the ones I often read within a class lesson, usually when a reminder is needed on how behavior affects the class and disrupts others.