Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/20186
Teaching students with autism LEFT: Frances Chavez helps student Nishtha rake at Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel. INSET: Nishtha works on a project. noises, bright lights and strangers. She con- stantly asks her students to be “flexible” when something unexpected happens, like visitors. If they are incapable at the moment, she directs them to a “safe spot” in the class- room to regroup. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, after small- group instruction, students take a bus to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botani- cal Garden and rake leaves. For many, getting out in the world is the best part of school. They enjoy the repetitive motions of raking. Sometimes they gather up leaves in the pro- cess and sometimes they don’t. “Wonderful job,” Chavez calls out again and again. “I’m so proud of you.” Students with au- Students in Frances Chavez’s class- room begin their school day by go- ing to their cubbies and organizing their belongings. On the white board is a minute-by-minute schedule for the rest of the day. Her students are still learning to tell time. But like clockwork, some can sense if some- thing’s off schedule by just a minute or two. “Students with autism need structure,” ex- The Puzzle of Autism The NEA is offering a free online workshop to share strategies to improve education for students with autism. The 90-minute video gives educators and parents the information they need to identify the characteristics of autism and suggests techniques to work successfully with children who have the disability. The video workshop is based on a guide booklet, “The Puzzle of Autism,” a collaborative effort among NEA, the Autism Society of America, the American Speech- Language Hearing Association, and the National Association of School Psychologists. The workshop is presented by two special education experts and includes PowerPoint presentations, handouts and other resources. To view the free workshop, visit ondemand. neaacademy.org. To view “The Puzzle of Autism,” visit www.nea.org/assets/ docs/autismpuzzle.pdf. plains Chavez, a special education teacher for students with moderate to severe disabilities at Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel. “They need a structured classroom and a structured setting. They really like having a routine.” Her special day class students, most of whom have autism, are unsettled by loud tism need to hear praise often, says Chavez, even if they don’t react emo- tionally to it. They also need “modeling” of behavior, and need to receive “primary rein- forcements” or rewards for a job well done. “In the past we used food,” says the Los Angeles County Education Association member. “We don’t encourage that anymore because it’s not healthy. We’d rather use some- thing more appropriate and find out what they are willing to work for. It might be some- thing like looking at a book or using the com- puter. For example: ‘If you finish these addition problems, I’ll let you use the com- puter for 10 minutes.’” Learning is easier for students with autism if a teacher gives one- or two-step directions, suggests Chavez. “Everything has to be con- crete and sometimes in simple terms that maybe even a kindergartner would under- stand. There has to be constant ‘redirecting’ to keep the child focused. They become frus- trated if they are not getting small doses of success.” 16 California Educator | NOVEMBER 2010