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It’s almost the end of summer and most parents are looking forward to the routine the new school year will provide, and teachers are busy getting classrooms and lessons ready for the new school year. The start of a new school year can also mean more stress for all involved – the student, the educator and the parent. But there are ways to keep stress to a minimum for a new and hopefully successful new school year.
Autism College hopes to help this year by offering you a one hour free Q & A with Visiting Professor, Dana Pulde, a Special Education Teacher, moderated by Chantal Sicile-Kira. Both Dana and Chantal are looking forward to answering your questions and giving tips to educators on how to prepare the classroom, and to parents on how to prepare yourself and your child for the start of a successful new school year! Whether your child is fully included or in a special day class there are ways to prepare and alleviate some of the stress of the transition from summer to school, especially when there are teachers new to your child or teenager.
Join Chantal and Dana for the free interactive Q & A on Thursday, August 16 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm PST (9:00pm to 10:00 EST).
To submit your questions, go here.
Dana Pulde has been working in the field of special education for a little over a decade. She began as a paraprofessional working in homes with families using Applied Behavior Analysis to help students with autism. She resumed her studies to continue her professional growth receiving a moderate/severe teaching credential and masters in autism and she has completed her supervision hours to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She began her teaching career working at a non-public school serving students with IEPs where she was responsible for developing student programs, creating and implementing Behavior Intervention Plans, Collecting and analyzing data, and creating/modifying materials to meet student needs and support academic growth. She has continued her career as a supervisor for families of children with special needs by developing home programs and providing ongoing staff and parent training; as a teacher in a public school; and is currently working with an advocate making sure students receive a quality life and education through optimum support and offers of FAPE.
Chantal Sicile-Kira is the founder of AutismCollege.com and the author of five books on autism, the latest being A Full Life with Autism: From Learning to Forming Relationships to Achieving Independence (co-authored with her son, Jeremy). Chantal’s first practical experience with autism was at Fairview State Hospital, teaching self-help and community living skills to severely developmentally disabled and autistic adolescents in preparation for their de-institutionalization. Chantal has served on the California Senate Select Committee on Autism & Related Disorders, and was appointed to serve as Co-Chair, South Counties Autism Regional Taskforce. Her son, Jeremy, graduated from high school at age 22 with a 3.78 GPA despite being severely impacted by autism.
By the end of the summer, most of us parents are happy to see summer end knowing our ASD children will have routine and a schedule back in their lives (and so will we). But we dread the stress related to the start of a new school year. There are ways to lessen the stress and help prepare both your child and the teacher for a new and hopefully successful new school year.
Autism College hopes to help this year by offering you a two hour free Q & A with Visiting Professor, Dr. Peter Faustino, school psychologist, moderated by Chantal Sicile-Kira. Both Dr. Faustino and Chantal have written on the topic and are looking forward to answering your questions and giving you tips to prepare your child, yourself, and the teacher for the start of a successful new school year! Whether your child is fully included or in a special day class there are ways to prepare and alleviate some of the stress of the transition from summer to school, especially when there are teachers new to your child or teenager.
Join Dr. Faustino and Chantal on Monday, August 22, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00pm PST on the topic : Tips for Reducing the Back to School Stress for Children with Autism, Parents and Educators.
Dr. Peter Faustino has been working as a school psychologist for more than 12 years. He is currently the President of the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP). NYASP – the state affiliate of NASP (www.naspweb.org) – serves children, their families, and the school community by promoting psychological well-being, excellence in education, and sensitivity to diversity through best practices in school psychology. Dr. Faustino joined the Bedford Central School District in 2003 to work at the Fox Lane Middle School. Dr. Faustino also maintains a private practice with the Developmental Assessment and Intervention Center (DAIC) in Bedford Hills, NY. He presents frequently at national conferences, schools, and parent organizations.
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This was first published as a blog post on my Psychology Today blog on September 9, 2010, but the information is still still relevant today.
Often junior high and high school teachers have teenagers with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) included in their classrooms, and are not given much in the way of useful information. Here I hope to provide a few practical tips that may be helpful to educators with no practical knowledge about students on the spectrum.
Parents, you may wish to print this out to give to your child’s teacher, or send them the link. There are only a few tips here, but usually teachers are receptive so practical information that may help them to understand and reach their student.
Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism (HFA) is often described as an ‘invisible disability’ because students on the spectrum do not look different frorm most students. Most teachers expect them to act like everyone else, but often the student gets in trouble for behaving in a way that seems rude, disruptive or non-compliant. A diagnosis of Asperger’s or HFA is based on challenges in the areas of communication, and social relationships, as well as what appears to be an obsession or passion for a particular area of interest.
Here are some tips that may help the school year go a little easier for you and your student on the spectrum:
* It’s a good idea to have a hard copy of the homework assignment to hand to your students on the spectrum, because most of them are mono-channel, meaning they have only one other processing channels (auditory or visual) working effectively at one time. This means they cannot look at the assignment on the board, write it down and still be able to focus on what you are saying. By the time they have finished copying down the assignment, they have missed your intro to that day’s lesson. This mono-channel aspect makes it hard for a student to multi-task, and by only requiring him/her to do one thing at a time, it will be much easier for the student to be focused on the day’s lesson.
* The student with Asperger’s or HFA usually takes things literally – this is part of the communication challenge. For example, if you address the class by saying “Please turn to page 12,” expecting the students to start doing the work on that page, the Aspie student may turn to page 12, and then just sit there, awaiting further instruction. Meanwhile, you may think he is being a smart-aleck, but I assure you, he is not. You need to say “Please turn to page 12 and write the answers to question 1-5 in your notebook.”
* This taking things literally means that also the student may not understand all the nuances of language or social customs, what we call ‘hidden curriculum.’ Think of what it is like as a foreigner in a new land and how they need to be explained the local customs- that is what it is like for a person on the spectrum.
* Students on the spectrum are often described as being obsessed with a particular topic or subject, for example, space travel, buildings, certain types of music, transportation. Actually, being passionate about a topic shows an interest in learning. If you know what your student is passionate about, you can relate your lessons or subject in some way to his area of interest and your student will excel.
* Many students on the spectrum are overly sensitive to noise and crowds, making transition times between classrooms difficult. By allowing the student to arrive or leave a few minutes early or late, you will make it much easier for that student to arrive to class less stressed, and ready to focus on the lesson.
Students with Asperger’s Syndrome or HFA are usually very bright and eager to learn. Hopefully these tips will help the year be a more productive one for you and your student.
Recently I have been neglecting Autism College because I’ve been busy writing book #5: A Full Life With Autism: From Learning to Forming Relationships to Achieving Independence. This book, co-authored with my son, Jeremy, is all about creating a life for a young person with autism. It’s a practical guide – like all my other books- but is really driven by my son’s goals and dreams for his future. At 22, he has many of the same aspirations as any young man, and as his mom (read: biggest advocate) I feel it is my duty to help him create the life he wants to live.
Now that the manuscript is done, I can get back to Autism College; back to creating a site with practical information and training you can use. First step: getting more articles in the free library (those will be in over the next few weeks) and creating some courses on autism and the teens years, plus the transition to adulthood. Doing the research to write A Full Life has given me lots of new information and tips, and I look forward to sharing them with you.
Meanwhile, Autism College will present a free live Q & A on Monday, August 22, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00pm PST with Dr. Peter Faustino, school psychologist, which I will be moderating. The topic will be “Tips for Reducing the Back to School Stress for Children with Autism, Parents and Educators.”
More information to follow soon!
Here’s a column I wrote for the Examiner.com and still useful for this new school year!
Aug 27 Holy Moly – can you believe the summer break is just about over?? In last week’s column, Back to School : How to prepare your teen, tips for preparing your teen on the spectrum for the new school year were discussed. In this column, some ideas on how parents can best be prepared for the new school year are covered. These tips are from both the “Back to School Guide” put together by A2Z Educational Advocates based in Pacific Palisades, and from my book “Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum.”
In my next column, some strategies to help general education teachers who have students on the spectrum included in their class will be shared.
It’s that time of the year again – school is starting up again soon, along with our hopes and expectations for a positive learning experience for our teens. Some maybe returning to the same school; others may be moving from middle school up to high school, or changing from high school to a transition program; others may only be changing classrooms or teachers. Whatever the situation, any type of transition or change can be stressful for a teen on the spectrum. The start of a new school year can also be stressful for parents and teachers.
I first posted this article on the Examiner.com last August (2009), but it is still useful information so I am reposting now.
On August 15th,2009, I presented at the annual “Back to School” Autism / Asperger conference in Pasadena and had the opportunity to refresh my memory on some good readiness skills for the start of the new school year. A2Z Educational Advocates based in Pacific Palisades had some good tips to share in a “Back to School Guide” they were handing out. Following are some tips from both the “Back to School Guide” and from my book Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum to help the transition go smoothly for your teen or student:
In my next column, tips on how to make the transition back to school easier for parents and teachers will be discussed.