For many learners with autism, transitions are the toughest part of schooling. Moving from classroom to classroom or teacher to teacher can be stressful enough, but moving from building to building is almost always a process filled with anxiety and trepidation. These strategies are designed to prepare the learner with autism for a new school or a new schooling experience (e.g., an inclusive classroom) and can be used days or months before the student arrives in the inclusive school or classroom. These strategies can also be used throughout the school year.
School Preview
Many students with autism will profit from seeing, experiencing, and learning about the school before they show up on the first day. This is an effective strategy for students who are changing schools or for those who will be going to a certain classroom for the first time. A student can pre-view the school using many different tools. Some learners might appreciate a videotape of the school and its rooms, complete with short interviews with his new teachers (e.g., “Hi, I'm Ms. Thiel and I'm going to be your fifth-grade teacher. This year you will study the fifty states, long division, and biology.). Other students like to tour the school themselves and meet teachers face to face before school officially starts. Still others may want to hear siblings, parents, or friends tell them about the school. Students may also be interested in reviewing brochures of the school, school newsletters from the previous year, and/or the school's website (if one exists).
Surveys
Before the year begins or during the first few days of school, many teachers ask students and their families to complete a survey. The purpose of this tool is to help the teacher become more personally acquainted with students and to make an immediate connection with families. Some teachers may choose to administer different surveys to students and parents while other teachers may design a survey that families and students complete together. While a survey would undoubtedly help a teacher learn more about his student with autism, many teachers choose to use surveys with every student in the class.
When considering using a survey, teachers will want to focus on learning styles, interests, needs, strengths or even on student ideas for the classroom. Although questions will vary by age group, possible questions include:
• How do you learn best?
• What hobbies do you have?
• What scares or upsets you?
• What kind of expertise do you have (e.g., skateboarding, karate, collecting bugs, drawing)?
• What do you need to be comfortable in my classroom?
• What do you want to learn this year?
• What is your least favorite part of the school day?
• What is your favorite part of the school day?
If one or more students cannot write, the teacher, parent or support person can allow learners to submit visual surveys. Students might draw pictures, create a collage, or submit photographs, a videotape or audiotape in response to the survey questions.
Routines and Schedules
Some students will profit from the development and implementation of written schedules, picture calendars, or the use of a daily planner. As one of my former students explained to me: “School is very stimulating and a lot of noises and disorganization for me. So I need to get used to new places and have a schedule”. Teachers should talk often to students about how time will be used in the classroom. They should also try to give students with autism as much warning as possible when they are going to alter the class schedule or when a substitute will be teaching the class.
All students in a given classroom may benefit from knowing more about the schedule. Having information about what content will be taught and what activities will take place in any given day or week can help any student become a better planner and time manager. Teachers can make going over the daily schedule a regular part of the daily routine in any classroom; even taking a few seconds to review this information can make a difference in the learning of some students.
Personal Portfolio
Students who have unique needs and abilities may want to introduce themselves to a teacher through the use of a portfolio. Portfolios may include photographs, artwork, writing or schoolwork samples, lists of favorite things, or even video or audiotapes.
A portfolio can be an especially helpful tool for students who do not speak or use a reliable communication system. I worked with one young man, J.D., to assemble a portfolio he would use as he transitioned from high school to the work place. This young man did not speak and those who met him for the first time often struggled to connect with him. When his teachers first accompanied him to his new school, J.D.'s peers began asking them questions about him: Did he understand them? Did he have any interests? Why did he flap his arms like that?
The teachers decided that J.D. needed a way to represent himself so that they didn't need to serve as his voice and liaison. In order to facilitate this process the teachers worked with J.D. to create a portfolio that he could use to introduce himself to new people and to interact with those he already knew. J.D.'s portfolio included:
• Four pages of photographs (J.D. with family and friends; snapshots of him playing soccer at a community park; J.D. working with peers on a biology experiment, vacation photos from the Rock and Roll Museum in Ohio)
• A short “resume” outlining some of the classes he took in middle school
• A list of his favorite movies and compact discs
• A “Learning About Autism” pamphlet J.D. got at a conference
• A glossy picture of the Green Bay Packers, J.D.'s favorite football team
Portfolios can be in paper, audio, or video form, formal or informal, a few pages or dozens of pages, include only current information and artifacts or serve as a cumulative record of the student's life. One student I know keeps his formal portfolio at home and carries a four-page paper condensed copy with him at all times.
Plan in Reverse
Planning in reverse is most useful when working with students who need the most unique supports. Planning in reverse means looking first at “what works” and building from there, instead of looking at typical school day and asking “How will he fit in to the day or schedule as it exists?” We should think of the student's strengths, preferences, and abilities and build from there. Upon beginning the process of planning backwards first ask yourself:
• In what contexts, school situations or setting is the student successful?
• When does the student perform well?
• What opportunities does the student have to present their knowledge or understanding of age appropriate curricular materials?
• When does the student successfully interact with peers in natural, meaningful ways?
I first used the planning backwards strategy with a student named Andee. Andee was in first grade and when he came to be my student, he had never before been in a general education classroom? The adjustment to a new school seemed challenging for Andee. He didn't seem to feel comfortable sitting in his desk and needed a lot of movement throughout the day. On several occasions, he bolted from his classroom, opened the outside door, ran to the swing set on the playground, and rocked himself back and forth on his favorite swing. While we attempted to gently introduce him to the other students and show him the neat learning materials his classmates were using but he was not able to remain in his classroom for more than eight or nine minutes at a time.
Instead of forcing Andee to sit in his desk and manipulate materials like the other students, we sat down with his daily schedule and considered how we could plan his day in a way that would make him feel secure and help him to learn. Instead of starting with the schedule of the first graders, we started planning with Andee's strengths and preferences in mind. We know he needed movement and, therefore, was delighted every Monday when his class went to physical education class. We also knew that he loved music and the music teacher and that he had experienced success with her. Clearly Andee also needed playground time; he seemed to depend on his swing for daily doses of “reorganizing”.
With all of this information in mind, we started planning for him while considering the activities where he experienced success. We consulted with the physical education teacher and he agreed that Andee could come to physical education with every first-grade class. Then we contacted the music teacher and she agreed that Andee could come to music with all of the first grade classes. While Andee had to miss some second-grade content in order to attend these extra classes, his team agreed that since Andee was still being included with peers, this adapatation to his schedule was acceptable. He was still receiving instruction appropriate for a second-grader and getting more opportunities to practice skills needed in music education. We also agreed that Andee should get some extended recess time, so he was allowed to leave lunch early with a few friends to join the kindergarten classes for their recess. Andee and his friends served as “play leaders” for the younger students introducing them to new games and helping students play cooperatively with each other.
While it was our goal to slowly increase the time Andee was spending participating in the traditional schedule of the first grade class as a team we realized that this would take time and our goal was to find a schedule and routine where Andee would be successful. The increased movement he experienced in P.E. as well as the extra time in music class allowed Andee to develop routine success throughout his school day. As a team we decided that over the course of the school year we would work to make sure Andee spent an increased amount of time he spent with his first-grade class but that this would be done carefully so that Andee would continue to have opportunities to experience success at school while he learned new skills and explored new environments.
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