Tag: Visuals for Autism

Making Classroom Rules into exciting learning experiences

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With the right tools and strategies, you can turn classroom expectations into engaging and fun activity that promotes social-emotional skills and builds a strong community.

One way to achieve this is through a sorting card game, designed to help students differentiate between good and poor behaviors.

In this blog, you can see how I’ve created this activity to use for classroom behavior management, so explore the benefits of using this game as a tool for creating a positive learning environment.

This simple activity will help your students sort out the good and poor behaviors for the classroom expectations you want to see everyday

This hands-on activity is how teaching classroom rules can be a joyful and an engaging experience at your independent stations and work centers, that’s once laminated can be practised over and over again.

Dive and promote positive classroom management and behavior, all while building a strong class community. Get ready to make this learning exciting for both you and your students!”

Tips on How to use Help card Visuals!

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Struggling with Communication? Discover how help cards can help your students with their Emotional Intelligence!

For kids in special education, expressing their needs and seeking help can be a daunting task. However, there is a simple yet effective tool that can greatly improve their communication skills – visual cues. Lets explore the importance of effective communication for children with special needs and how the use of a visual aid, such as the help card, can greatly benefit them.

Discover how we can support and empower these children to express themselves and seek the help they need.

In this post, we will explore the importance of effective communication and how you can use visual aids, such as help cards, that can greatly benefit our kids in the classroom.

Using Help cards with symbols My 5 tips


1. Help your young learner to realise when they need to use the Help Card, usually before they get too frustrated or loose concentration. Set up a situation in which they will need help, show them the help card and place it where they can easily reach it.

2. Point to the help card and tell them, “This is your help card. You can use it if you need help.” When your student starts to show behaviors, You say “If you are getting upset, use your help card to tell me you need help.”

3. Immediately allow the student to take the help symbol and make up his sentence, or allow the student to use the help card and follow the visual instructions.” I found that self regulating visuals on the bottom of the card is a fantastic way of reminding your student what they need to do when they need help.

4. Requesting is an important part of teaching the student to trust and use the visual support, once they are consistently asking for help, or making up a sentence strip, you may begin to generalise situations, locations and with different staff, while practicing this critical skill.

5. The added visuals at the bottom of each card has been a big help with reminding students to what they can do and how to express it.

Resource links

I need Help- Visual strategies

Visual Support Cards

Visual keyring supports

Classroom support cards

Effective Behavior Management Tips for Special Ed Teachers

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Are you tired of spending your day as a teacher constantly battling disruptive student behaviors! Well, you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll provide you with some handy ideas for behavior management in your Special Ed Classroom!

As educators we understand the importance of creating an inclusive and positive learning environment for our students, particularly those with Special Needs. So with this logical flow of ideas, lets dive in and explore some creative and effective strategies for Behavior Management you can use.

1. Token Rewards

Token Rewards – A powerful method of strengthening new skills, the tokens are a way of reinforcing positive behavior and rewarding students for completing tasks, they then trade the tokens for desired activities or items they choose beforehand.

QUICK TIP – I use this board when I start teaching the Token Reward strategy, its a classroom resource that I can adapt with motivator choices that’s adapted for individual needs.

2. Critical Communication Cards

Critical Communication Cards – To teach new skills such as requesting “break please”, “help” and “wait” self -management strategies.

QUICK TIP – I place them on the edge of tables to remind students on their choices.

3. Self Regulation Tools

Self regulation tools – I’ve made tools individually accessible for my students to use in a handy little booklet.

QUICK TIP – I bind then as a book and keep them on hand for self management, each one tailored to individual needs that help them to self-regulate.

4. First and Then Strategies

First and Then – By using this strategy my students know what they must complete before having what they want, it also provides structure in their behaviour support plans.

QUICK TIP – If my students are finding it difficult to stay on track, I use the first and then strategy to remind them of what they are working for before they can get the item or activity they want.

5. Calm Down Corner

Calm Down Area – Sort out a corner of the 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.

QUICK TIP – Have a visual choice board ready with pictures of nice, peaceful activities that would help to distract from upset and some visual calm down tools to practice.

6. Classroom Posters

Posters – Visual Support reminders to Teach essential emotional regulation techniques and set them up in calm areas, display class rules and social skills posters in easy to see areas.

QUICK TIP – Print and display posters around the classroom or in a calm down area, use them to remind students of your classroom behavior expectations.

Find more Resources see below

Reward Systems

Self Regulation

Bundles

All TPT Resources

Visual Behavior Support Folder – Token Rewards Tools, schedules, First & Then,

Visual Supports: Token Reward System/First & Then – Strategies for Special Ed

Classroom Behavior Management Strategies: First, Next and Then Tools

Token Reward folder: Visual support tools with “first & then” Behavior Strategy

First, Next and Then table Schedule Templates with Visual Supports

First Then boards and Help cards: Autism visual supports

Visual Supports:”First, next, then” with Token Rewards Systems

Using Errorless Resources to build new skills

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Have you ever heard of errorless learning? if not, your not alone! When I first came across this approach I was skeptical. How can learning take place without errors? But when I delved deeper I discovered that errorless learning activities can be a valuable resource in Special Ed Classrooms.

Imagine tasks that don’t have a wrong answer and only successful completion, sounds like a dream, but its a reality for many students.

In this article we will explore the concepts of errorless learning and its benefits for students with Special needs. We will also look at the different skills that can be developed though these activities and the types of tasks that can be used.

Learning Objectives

These type of tasks not only improve student task routines and promote independent completion as well as teaching them to work from left to right. but also helps to build their confidence and fine motor skills. Students can practice using their pincer grip to manipulate the visuals to give the answers.

Skills

Recognise items

Fine motor grip

Build independent work skills

learn to work left to right

Gain confidence and work independently

Folder Games

These Errorless folder games can be seasonal or linked to topics and basic learning skills for independent stations

Adapted Books

Errorless adapted books can be applied to almost any subject and enable students to join in with stories and reading skills.

Task Cards

Errorless Task cards can be taught at independent stations and in fine motor skill sessions.

Setting up Behavior Resources & Visual Directions in the Classroom

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As a Teacher you know you need to have a well stocked toolbox!  But for a Special Ed teacher this is especially true in order to run a successful classroom.

Students with such diverse needs will need more specialised resources to support their learning. In this article I would like to share with you a handful of essential tools that I’ve discovered, created and have helped with behavior management in my Special Ed classroom.

10 resources I find the most useful in my classroom for you to check out

  1. Calm Down check in / Social-Emotional learning, Posters and coping tools
  2. Classroom Behavior Management Tools | Reward charts, First and Then, schedules)
  3. Visual Direction | Cue card instructions
  4. Editable Visual Schedules
  5. Token Reward Boards a Positive Reinforcement System for Autism/Special Ed
  6. Classroom Support Cards | Classroom Behavior Management | Special Education
  7. Classroom Support Visuals on a Ring | Behavior Management
  8. Behavior Support Pack – Token Boards, Choice cards and How are you feeling?
  9. Editable Schedules for Classroom Management
  10. Socials Skill Stories for Classroom Behavior Management

5 FREE resources for you to download and try

  1. Help me calm down | Free Poster
  2. 2 Free Classroom Management Posters for Back to School
  3. Reward Boards – Free Token Economy for Behavior Management
  4. How are you feeling Emoji Free cards
  5. FREE – Good Choice, Bad Choice Activity Boards

It is important to remember that these resources are not just tools, but opportunities to empower and uplift students, and an opportunity for you to explore and implement them in your own classroom.