Preparing Paraeducators to Assist Students with Autism

The Autism Spectrum
Disorders Academy

Paraeducator Training Resources
180 Cook St. #111
Denver, CO 80206
303-871-0832
ptr-nancy@comcast.net
www.paratrainingresources.com

©Paraeducator Training Resources, Inc. 2009

A Child with Autism …

“If you’ve seen one child with autism,
you’ve seen one child with autism.”

– Brenda Smith-Myles

2


Autism Spectrum Disorders
Overview

Module A: Overview and History of Autism
1. Myths vs. facts
2. History and definitions
3. Common characteristics
4. Research-based interventions

Module B: Communication
1. Speech, language, and communication
2. Communication deficits
3. Supporting communication
4. No-tech, low-tech, and high-tech communication
systems
5. Demonstrate a communication device

3


Overview - Continued

Module C:Visual Supports
Why visual supports?
1.
2. Functions of visual supports
3. Illustrate a variety of visual supports
4. How visual supports are used with students
5. Making visual supports

Module D: Structured Teaching
1. Key features of structured teaching
2. Physical structures
3. Work systems
4. Prompting hierarchy
5. Discrete trial instruction, errorless learning,
data collection

4


Overview - Continued

Module E: Social Skills
Social skills in naturalistic settings
1.
2. Joint action routines
3. Social stories, rule cards, Power cards
4. Pivotal Response Training

5


Questions to Be Addressed in
Module A

 What is autism?
• What are the myths and facts about
autism?
• How has autism been identified
throughout the years?
• What labels are associated with the
autism spectrum?
• What causes autism?
• What are the common characteristics of
autism?
• What are research-based interventions
for ASD?

6


Myths vs. Facts

1. … eye contact
2. … touched
3. … all flap hands or look through
fingers
4. … challenges across environments
5. … don’t communicate
6. … want friendships, don’t know how
7. … can’t learn
8. … genius / savant
9. … don’t have feelings
10. … contagious
11. … affectionate
12. … marry, have children, and friends

7


Myth vs. Fact - Continued

13. … are all boys
14. … could act “normal”
15. … have difficulty with social skills
16. … like same things as other people
17. … right treatments yield “normalcy”
18. … can live productive lives as adults
19. … will outgrow it
20. … families deserve pity
21. … have a “normal” person inside
22. … danger to society
23. … obsessive interests and rituals
24. … violent

8


Headline History of Autism

1940s
• Roots in medicine and psychiatry
• Emphasis on description
• Not much happens in schools

 1970’s
• First special education law passes
• Emphasis on “Childfind”
• Deinstitutionalization
• Schools gear up

1980s
• More research on autism
• Education gets a “heads-up”
• Mainstreaming is the buzz word 9


Headline History of Autism

1990s
• Autism label is listed as a disability
• Numbers increase drastically
• Inclusion is the new IDEA!

2000s
• Use of scientifically researched
practices
• Education is a proven intervention
• Teaching methods emphasize
students’ strengths
• Numbers continue to grow

10


What’s in a Label?

• Autism
• Asperger Syndrome
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not
Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) / Atypical
Autism
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Rhett Syndrome

11


Relationship Among Autism
Spectrum Disorders
- adapted from Lord & Risi (2000)

Asperger

Syndrome

Autism
Childhood

Disintegrativ
e Disorder

Rhett
Syndrome

Pervasive Developmental Disorder
– Not Otherwise Specified

PDD-NOS

Overlapping circles represent that symptoms overlap although the disorders
do not. Autism appears in the center, other disorders extend in decreasing
severity and in decreasing number of domains affected.

12


Diagnosing Autism Spectrum
Disorders

• Difficult to diagnose

• Atypical development in young children
may be related to other things
• No blood tests
• No DNA markers known yet
• Extensive observation is necessary
• There are so many differences in
children with ASD - don’t all have the
same characteristics or behaviors

13


Study Group Directions

• Look at handout H9 – Study Group
Assignments to see which
interventions or practices your group
will read about.
• Identify one or two of the most
important characteristics of the
intervention or practice.
• Find the rating the intervention has
been given and try to understand why
it received this label, based on the
information you are provided.
• Be ready to explain to your “Home
Group” why it was given that rating.

14


Jigsaw Directions

Step 1: Home
Group

Step 2: Study
Step 3: Back to Home
Pairs
Group

Step 4: Whole Group Debrief

15


Module B

• What is communication?

• How are speech, language, and
communication related to one another?

• What problems with communication are
sometimes evident in students with ASD?

• What can a paraeducator do to support
communication?

• How can paraeducators assist students
who use unaided (no-tech), and aided
(low-tech and high-tech) systems?

16


What Is Communication?

Communication is when someone sends a message
to another person and the message is received
and understood.

Everyone Communicates!
• Communication is not just speech.

• Communication may occur through
behavior, signs, gestures, pictures, body
language, symbols, vocalizations, etc.

• Communication often relies on
language

• Language is a system of symbols and
rules that govern the use of the
symbols to convey meaning.

17


Communication Problems
Associated with ASD

• Limited inclination to share
enjoyment, interests, or
achievements with other people

• Primary purposes for
communication tend to be:
• requests (get someone to do something)
• protests (get someone / something to
stop)

18


Communication and
Behavior

• Lack of other communication system– few words,
symbols, signs, or meaningful gestures – may
result in behaviors we see as problematic

• Adults need to understand behavior –look deeper
to understand the communication that is occurring

• Behaviors may communicate:
• Frustration
• Fear or other emotional upset
• Discomfort – need to escape noise, light,
sensory irritation
• Boredom
• Physical needs – thirst, hunger, bathroom
• Protest
• A request
• Many other things….

19


Communication Deficits in
Students with Autism

Major Deficits
1. The capacity for joint attention
2. The capacity for symbol use
3. Verbal communication
4. Nonverbal communication

Prizant, Schuler, Wetherby, & Rydell, 1997

20


Support communication

 Everyone communicates
 Communicate with students
 Expect them to respond

 Focus on positive aspects of what they
can do
 Encourage communication with peers
 Let the other kids experiment with a variety of
ways to communicate
 Create communication opportunities

 Be a supportive communication partner
 Eye contact
 Your volume and tone of voice
 Listening & watching
 Other avenues

 Be an interpreter
21


Echolalia is…

• A literal repetition of others’ speech
either
• Immediately (immediate echolalia)
• May / may not include understanding of
the meaning of the message

• Later (delayed echolalia)
• Reflects an ineffective attempt to connect
language meaning with an event

• May be equivalent to a single word, or
longer utterance

22


Functions of Echolalia

• Some research suggests that echolalia
may be an early but productive, stage of
language development
• It may be a language learning strategy –
eventually leading to more efficient
communication
• It may be child’s best effort to
communicate
• We should honor the effort, try to
understand the intent and help the child
move forward in language development

23


Assisting Students with
Echolalia

 Adults can assist a student who is using
echolalia to communicate

 Step 1: try to understand the
communicative intent

 Step 2: provide supports that help
him/her get his/her message across

24


Echolalia Activity Directions:

 To learn some ways to support
students who are echolalic
 form groups of about 5 people
 assemble the puzzle pieces in your
set
 when you make a match, stop for a
moment, read aloud, and discuss the
suggested way to assist
 Before you go on to the next piece,
stop and discuss how you see
yourself using this suggestion with
students you know.

25


No-Tech / Unaided
Communication Systems

• American Sign Language (ASL)
• Learn 8 signs for common needs:
• All done – finished
• Pizza
• Work
• Drink
• Bathroom
• Sad
• More
• Cookie

• Signed Exact English (SEE)
• “Home Signs”
• gestures made up by the student

• Supporting a student that uses ASL,
SEE, “Home Signs” or gestures
26


Aided Communication Systems
(Low-Tech)

 Involves objects or pictures

 Involves storage of objects or
pictures

 Involves displaying objects or
pictures for communication
purposes

27


A Picture-Based
Communication Approach

 Two adults are often involved at the start,
each in a different role
 No verbal prompts
 Present one picture at a time
 Do not plan to do it all in one session –
plan many sessions across the day
 Use different items paired with
corresponding symbols or pictures in
different sessions
 Modify the picture or symbol to match
motor skills of student
 Two teaching methods:
 Backward Chaining
 Two-Person Prompting
28


Monitoring Progress
Date Trial Pick Up Reach Picture Type of
Release the
Picture toward or Activity
picture or
or communicati Object
object to the
Object on partner Used
communicati
with picture on partner
or object in
hand
1 1:1
2 1:1
3 1:1
4 1:1
5 1:1
6 1:1
7 1:1
8 1:1
9 1:1
10 1:1

Key: + = Independent ; FP=Full Physical Prompt;
PP=Partial Physical Prompt
29


High Tech, Assistive, Alternative
and Augmentative
Communication Devices

Name of Why a student How Strengths /
Device would use this it works Limitations
kind of device

30


Questions to be answered in
Module C

 What are visual supports?
 What do they do?
 Why should a student use visual
supports?
 Which ones make sense for students
with ASD?
 How do I get them or make them?
 How do I use them?

31


What are visual supports?
• Things you can see, for example…
• You!
• use gestures / body movements to communicate
meaning.
• smile and frown
• nod your head
• shake your head side to side
• hold out your hand
• Point
• hold objects up for someone else to see
• Environmental cues!
• Pictures, posters, photos, books, labels, signs,
objects, logos
• Things you make to address student
needs!
• Schedules
• Calendars
• Choice boards
• Rule charts
• Lists
• Instructions 32
• Behavior cues


What Do Visual Supports Do
For Students with ASD?

• Provide information
• Establish the rules for behavior
• Give directions
• Illustrate what their choices are
• Prepare students for what comes next
• Show what will happen later
• Demonstrate how classes or activities
will begin and end
• Help students get through the day
without adults telling them every step

33


Show & Tell Questions:

• Why would a student use this kind of
visual support?
• How does it work?
• What are the limitations and strengths of
this type of visual support?
• How did the student first learn to use the
device?

34


Notes Page for Activity 3.1

Examples
AS3.1a
• This is an example of___________________________
• A student would use this to______________________
• The limitations and strengths are__________________
• To teach a student to use this, I would_____________

AS3.1aa
• This is an example of___________________________
• A student would use this to______________________
• The limitations and strengths are__________________
• To teach a student to use this, I would_____________

 See Handouts for additional space to write about
examples of visual supports

35


Teaching Students to Use their
Visual Supports

1. Introduce
2. Demonstrate
3. Act it out
4. Video
5. Prompt (but not too much)
6. Use it in multiple settings
7. Signs that it is working:
 Fewer tantrums
 You repeat your directions less
 Child initiates actions
 Child uses more positive social behaviors
 You feel less stressed
 Student feels less stressed
 The day goes better overall
Others notice that you’re smiling more

Maybe more…..

36


Making Visual Supports

• What kinds of visual supports are
necessary?
• When do you make them?
• Where do you get the materials?
• Develop a relationship with Velcro!
• Use real objects
• Use pictures
• Organization
• Lamination
• Simplicity

37


Questions Addressed in
Module D

• What is structured teaching?
• How can I create structure in
unstructured situations?
• How do I navigate among the levels of
prompting and assistance?
• How do I teach students using discrete
trial methods?
• What is errorless learning?
• How do I document a student’s progress
on lessons taught through structured
approaches?

38


Structured Teaching
• An intervention philosophy or approach
• Developed by TEACCH at the University of North
Carolina
• Allows for numerous instructional methods (e.g.
picture exchange techniques, sensory integration
strategies, music/rhythm interventions, discrete trial)
• 3 Key features:
• Structures the physical environment
• Incorporates visual instruction, visual
organization, and visual clarity in tasks
• Employs systematic teaching methods, to:
• make it easier to learn
• decrease confusion/anxiety
• provide positive behavioral supports
• Considers a student’s special interests
• Relies on data to make or change programming
• Increases independent functioning in many
environments
39


Jig for Table Setting

40


Physical Structure
• Depends on student needs and environment
• Needs vary
• Some environments provide substantial structure
• Some environments provide little structure
• Fading
• Physical Structures:
• Define where that environment begins and ends
• Clarify what happens in that location
• Protect the “space” needs
• Provide a safe place for belongings
• Reduce outside noise
• Limit visual distractions
• Reduce internal distractions
• Room Design
• Provides specific places for activities
• Affects performance of tasks
• Separates materials for specific functions
41


Visual Schedule Example

42


Grid Paper

43


Example of a Work System

1. Question: What work?
Answer: Rug Rats, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc.
2. Question: How Much Work?
Answer: 4 things.
3. Question: How do I know I’m making progress?
Answer: Take cards off and match to
corresponding folders that contain work.
4. Question: What happens next?
Answer: Name card tells me to check my schedule.
44


Discrete Trial Terms
• Cause-effect learning vs. observational
learning
• Discrete trial instructional method
• Stimulus
• Discriminative stimulus
• Prompting stimulus
• Verbal prompting
• Modeling
• Physical prompting
• Gestural prompting
• Positional prompting
• Response
• Reinforcing stimulus
• Inter-trial interval
• Generalization 45


Data Sheet B

46


Word Splash

Response

St i m us
ul

47


Module E

• What types of social skills need to be
taught to students with ASD?
• How can I embed social skills into daily
classroom routines?
• How do I create and use social stories?
• How do I pair the student’s special
interests with social skills to make the
skills more appealing?
• How do I create and use social scripts
and power cards?
• How do I keep data on the student’s use
of social skills?
48


Social Skills
• • Difficulties include:
•
•
•
• May not be motivated by social reinforcement
• LEAP identifies five key social skills to teach
young children with ASD:
1. Getting your friend’s attention
2. Sharing – e.g. giving a toy
3. Sharing – e.g. requesting a toy
4. Play organizer – e.g. let’s play zoo, you be zookeeper
5. Giving a compliment
• These are not all of the social skills that a student
needs to know, but they:
• Are a good foundation
• Are critical life skills
• Are important predictors of future success
• As important to teach as academics
• Build on strengths to encourage children with ASD to
socialize

49


Age-Equivalent Example of
LEAP Social Skills – Older Students

50


Other Social Skills Students
May Need
Preschool
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Elementary School
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Middle School
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

High School
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. 51


How Do I Include Social Skills into
Classroom Routines?

52


Principles of Social Stories

Social Stories:
• Don’t work with every student.
• When they do work, they really work!
• Help students understand social
situations.
• Include four types of sentences:
1. Descriptive
2. Perspective
3. Directive
4. Affirmative

53


Do’s and Don'ts of Social
Stories

Do:
• Keep it simple.
• Choose one social situation per story.
• Choose something that is difficult for student.
• Write it from the child’s perspective.
• Keep it positive.
• Include pictures to illustrate the words.
• Read the story at a teachable moment.
• Provide repeated exposure to the story.
• When a problematic situation occurs, remind
student what to do using words from the story.
Avoid:
• Trying to do more than one situation in a story.
• A lot of “bossy” statements.
• Negative statements.
Adapted from Carol Gray’s Social Stories and from Autism Inspiration;
http://www.autisminspiration.com

54


Special Interests

• Special interests can be:
• An object
• A subject

• Students with ASD tend to have interests
that are different from their peers:
• in focus (pictures of bowling balls)
• in intensity (they ALWAYS have to play with
or want to talk about Thomas the Tank
Engine)

• Including special interests increases
• Success
• Motivation
• Engagement 55


How Do I Create and Use
Social Scripts and Power Cards?

Social Scripts:
• Can be written using the child’s favorite
cartoon character or movie star as the main
character of the story.
• Can be written in the form of directions for
what to do in social situations.
• Can be used to teach a specific skill.

Power Cards:
• Small card that gives the key points of
navigating a difficult social situation.
• Include a picture or mention of the child’s
special interest.
• Students carry the cards with them and use
them to remind themselves of what to do in a
given situation.

56


Documenting Use of Social
Skills

• Data should inform WHAT is
taught.
• Data help us know HOW we
should teach social skills by
showing us what worked most
effectively in the past.
• Data help us know WHEN the
skill is mastered and, therefore,
WHEN we can move on.

57


Accepting Item

58


Cooperative Play
Name: Caesar

Objective: Caesar will play build a tower that is 8 blocks in height by taking turns with a peer during block center
Criteria: 8 blocks in height, 2 minute duration, 3/5 times across 3 trials

Date Prompting Minutes Date Prompting Minutes Date Prompting Minutes
1/3 I G/V PP FP R 0 I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R
1/5 I G/V PP FP R 0 I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R
1/7 I G/V PP FP R 30 secs. I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R
1/9 I G/V PP FP R 1 minute I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R
1/11 I G/V PP FP R 1 minute I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R
I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R I G/V PP FP R
Key: I = Independent G/V = Gestural/ Verbal PP = Partial Physical Assistance FP = Full Partial Assistance R = Refusal
59


Sharing

60

Preparing Paraeducators to Assist Students with Autism

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