In this episode of Autism Academy 360, Lisa Hollady discusses the powerful role visuals play in both our everyday lives and the classroom. From driving directions to restaurant menus, visuals help guide us through various tasks without overwhelming us. Lisa emphasizes how visuals can support students with Autism and benefit all learners by creating independence and reducing frustration from verbal overload.

Episode Highlights:

• Visuals help navigate everyday tasks like driving, shopping, and ordering food.
• Over-reliance on verbal directions in the classroom can overwhelm students, leading to frustration and negative behaviors.
• Classroom visuals such as labeled materials, turn-in bins, and task lists promote independence and reduce the need for constant reminders.
• Visual supports can also streamline home routines, with an example of how a bedtime visual schedule drastically reduced negative behavior.

In this episode, we chat about Behavior Skills Training (BST) and its critical role in equipping educational teams to effectively support students with autism. BST is broken down into four key components: Instruction, Modeling, Rehearsal, and Feedback. We start by explaining the significance of BST in developing and maintaining effective teaching strategies. The Instruction phase is highlighted for its importance in providing clear and concise directions, using visuals, and demonstrating materials. The Modeling phase emphasizes showing specific behaviors or techniques with either students or adults.

Next, the Rehearsal phase is defined as the opportunity for team members to practice new skills, with suggestions for creating these practice opportunities. The Feedback phase is discussed for its crucial role in offering constructive and supportive feedback to improve performance. We also address common challenges teams might face, such as time constraints and comfort levels, and provide solutions to these issues. The episode concludes with a summary of the key points, reiterating the importance of each BST phase in fostering a well-trained, cohesive educational team.

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Episode summary: In this episode of Autism Academy 360, Lisa Hollady delves into the importance and implementation of visual supports in special education classrooms. Visual supports play a crucial role in enhancing communication, easing transitions, and creating a smoother daily routine for students. Lisa outlines the benefits of visual supports, particularly for students with Autism, and offers practical tips for effectively using visuals in the classroom. From setting up daily schedules to using choice boards, this episode provides actionable strategies for educators to increase student independence and reduce classroom challenges.

Episode Highlights:

• Benefits of Visual Supports: Visual aids improve communication, provide structure, and help manage transitions, leading to a smoother school day for students with and without disabilities.
• Importance for Autism: Visual supports are especially beneficial for students with Autism. They help decrease transition difficulties, increase independence, and reduce auditory clutter, which can enhance overall classroom behavior and communication.
• Practical Implementation Tips: Lisa shares actionable tips for using visual supports, including starting with a daily schedule, using generic visuals for crises, and providing visual choices to give students a sense of control.
• Supporting Specials with Visuals: Using visual schedules and step-by-step boards during specials like art, music, and PE can help students navigate these challenging transitions and activities more effectively.

Resources Mentioned:

• Task Box Visual Labels for Independent Work Stations
• Visual Schedules
• Visual Aids
• Token Boards

In this episode, we share five essential behavior tips to help teachers support students with autism at the start of the school year. The first tip is to pair yourself with positive reinforcement, a strategy discussed in depth in episode 9. Getting to know the child is the second tip, emphasizing the importance of conducting preference assessments, spending time with the student, and communicating with their parents. The third tip advises against overwhelming students with too many directions and activities at once, recommending a simple and gradual approach with regular breaks.

The fourth tip stresses the importance of using visual aids from day one. Teachers are encouraged to have visual schedules ready and to model their use, rather than waiting to see what the students might need. The final tip is to reinforce good behavior immediately, whether through a token economy, verbal praise, or allowing students to earn rewards. This positive reinforcement should be tailored to each student and evolve throughout the year, but it must begin on the first day.

Resources Mentioned:

• Token Boards
• Visual Schedules
• Visual directions

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 9

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In this episode of Autism Academy 360, host Lisa Hollady explores the importance of establishing effective classroom routines to support students with autism in the general education setting. Lisa discusses how routines can enhance independence, and time management skills, and provide a sense of structure. She offers practical tips for creating and maintaining successful routines, emphasizes the need for visual supports, and provides examples of routines that can be implemented throughout the school day to minimize disruptions and enhance learning.

Resources Mentioned:

• Visual Aids

In this episode, we speak with Jenna, a mother whose son Connor has autism. Jenna shares her family's journey, the challenges they faced after Connor's diagnosis, and their experiences with the education system. Jenna discusses Connor's diagnosis, the initial challenges, and how they found support. She shares her interactions with the education system, highlighting effective strategies and approaches that have helped Connor. Jenna offers practical advice for teachers working with children with autism for the first time, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between school and home to create a consistent environment.

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In this episode of Autism Academy 360, host Lisa Holladay delves into the importance and implementation of independent work systems (IWS) in special education classrooms. These structured systems, such as the three-drawer bin system and task boxes, are designed to help students with special needs become more self-reliant by providing visual cues and prompts.

Lisa shares practical steps for selecting appropriate tasks, utilizing visual supports, and collecting data to monitor progress. She emphasizes the transformative impact of these systems on classroom dynamics and offers free resources to help educators get started, including a one-hour training and a starter kit. Whether you are a brand new teacher or a seasoned veteran, IWS can be a huge game-changer in your classroom!

Resources Mentioned:

• A free one-hour training on how to start implementing independent work systems.
• A free Starter Kit for implementing task boxes in your classroom.

In this episode of Autism Academy 360, Abby takes on the topic of token boards, an effective tool for motivating and managing behavior in autistic students but also a controversial one.

First, we define token boards and explain their basic concept. This is where confusion comes in, so we are going to talk about what they actually are.

Then we address common concerns and provide counterarguments. We first will cover the very valid concern that is the over-reliance on extrinsic rewards. Another common argument is the complexity and time-consuming setup and implementation. Lastly, the concern of inequity and fairness is addressed and talked about how to make them fair in your classroom.

Finally, Abby will discuss how to implement token boards effectively. The implementation sometimes causes these systems to completely break down which is why she is here to help prevent that.

Episode Highlights:

• What token boards are
• Arguments of why not to use them & counterpoints
• Implementation tips

Resources Mentioned:

• Free token boards
• Behavior Contracts & Charts editable

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• Lisa at @chalkboard_superhero
• Abby at @mrs_moes_modifications

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• Abby’s at Mrs. Moes Speducators
• Lisa’s at Special Education Superheroes

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