PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Maddi is 7 years old and in a year 1/2 composite class. She has Autism Spectrum Disorder, a mild intellectual disability and ontological problems. I chose Maddi because I built a rapport with her during placement which developed from my role a part-time teacher’s aide. I also found her clever in particular areas and I was curious to find out more.

From my observations and meeting and talking to her family, Maddi enjoys playing with animals, books, puzzles, and especially colouring and drawing, in which she displays talent. She thoroughly enjoys circle time when it consists of nursery rhymes, action songs, puppets and interactive books and stories. She has been working towards the Victorian Curriculum achievement standards for Foundation this year. Her June 2006 report for Mathematics, for example, shows she is progressing towards her goals (NB Her final report was not ready at the time of submitting this assessment).

Similarly, her Literacy report is positive, and with new goals and expectations.

But her learning priorities are largely driven by the impact of her disability on her learning and class participation. Because she has delayed expressive and receptive communication skills, she requires clear, one-step instructions with extra prompting to stay focused on a task. She can communicate her basic needs and wants with familiar adults but she is currently delevoping better expressive communication. Maddi has sound gross motor control and fine motor skills. She currently uses a dynamic tripod grasp when using a pencil and can operate scissors, basic zips and Velcro independently. She is a social little girl who enjoys being around others but is still developing the basic social skills to support this interaction. Thus, the Priority Learning Domains in her Individual learning plan, determined by her teachers, paediatrician, occupational therapist and her parents are her personal and social capabilities: self-care, communication and behaviour. Goals developed from these are short-term and long-term.

In the classroom, Maddi’s learning needs are met by directly addressing her strengths and weakness, and her learning style.

Maddi likes her environment to be calm and quiet. She will often put her fingers in her ears if there is a noise she doesn’t like or the environment around her is too loud. She needs a structured routine, repetition, gestures and visuals to be able to focus on tasks. She enjoys learning using visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, social and interpersonal strategies.

Strategies that work well for her teacher, Ashley Jones (2016) include:

Always keep your language simple and concrete. Get your point across in as few words as possible.

Teach specific social rules/skills, such as turn-taking and social distance.
Give fewer choices.
If you ask a question or give an instruction and are greeted with a blank stare, reword your sentence.
Avoid using sarcasm and idioms. You will be taken literally,
Use her name first when speaking directly to her.
Incentive: her love of colouring in and drawing is allowed at the end of a task.
Expectations need to be understood.. For example, a child may not understand what it means to be considerate. Using simple language such as "We will use kind words when we talk to others" may be easier for the child to understand.
Use a visual schedule along with visual reminders:

Mrs Jones is a follower of Sue Larkey and the strategies she outlines in her book Making it a Success: Teaching and Behaviour Support Strategies for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Mrs Jones admits initially it was a challenge teaching Maddi, and so even the simplest of lists, like the 10 most common causes of sensory meltdowns, was a great preventative measure. Sensory breaks are something that have benefitted the whole class. Mrs Jones has learnt how to redirect Maddi to a calming activity, or even send her on an errand or be her helper.

If I were to develop Maddi’s learning if I were her teacher, I would focus more on the learning and instruction. And also build on inclusion and collaboration. I think we can all benefit from one another; Students “benefit from their experiences with students with ASD, developing a compassion for and an understanding of children with special needs. Their self-esteem is boosted by the positive role they take in helping a friend with autism learn” (Autism Society of America, 2015).

I have learnt through my studies and from my mentors that it’s important to provide students with a range of options for demonstrating what they know and can do (Tomlinson, 2000). Products should have clear, challenging, and specified criteria for success, based both on grade level expectation and individual student need. I want Maddi to be happy and fulfilled at school, so differentiating to encourage self-efficacy and being a master in their “field” would be my aim. To do so, I would like to implement, and work on these strategies:

Give Maddi access to an individual work area for when she needs it. This could help other students too when needing time out.
Teach what "finished" means, and help student understand when something is finished. Many of Maddi’s tasks remain uncompleted. So, break down large assignments into manageable parts.
Use various means of presentation – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, tactile, etc. Keep in mind that many students with autism tend to process information much better visually than verbally.
Try to link work to the student’s interests, ie drawing, animals.
Mix high probability tasks (easier tasks) with lower probability tasks (more difficult tasks).
Explore computer-based learning. Maddi has shown affinity with IT during maths rotations. She works well on the computer, head phones on, working her way through Mathletics.
When using worksheets, highlight directions and number the steps to complete tasks. Navigation is not easy.
Explain the purpose of all activities.
Provide rubrics or rules with due dates for each part of a multi-step or multi-part assignment.
Use peer buddies. Maddi has some wonderful support from her peers in the classroom but I think it needs to be extended from jumping in and doing the work for her, to a deeper level. Ways to foster this now, and as Maddi progresses through school, include collaborative discussion teams, class-wide peer tutoring, book discussions and Jigsaws, where grouping depends on diversity of gender, ethnicity, race and ability. (Aronson, 2016).

I would also collaborate, seek out certain professionals in the school that can provide services to students with autism; the Integration Co-ordinator, for example. Speech therapists will help me more specific ways to improve Maddi’s ability to communicate and interact with others, and help me assess our improvements. Likewise an occupational therapist will help with motor skills and find ways to modify tasks.

I would also support activities or actions that can be done at home to support shared goals, like:

Continue to ask Maddison “who, what and where” questions about familiar topics and books.
Encourage her to greet familiar people and ask them how they are.
Encourage her to take turns during conversations with familiar people.

Above all, as a teacher, I would want all my students, Maddi included, to be happy and fulfilled at school, so differentiating to encourage self-efficacy and being a master in their “field” is my aim. I am inspired by Sir Ken Robinson when he speaks of revolutionising education by changing from a mechanical process to one that is more organic, like farming, allowing students to flourish. We need to feed the spirit of all students and recognise that talents and aptitudes are diverse.

REFERENCES:

Aronson, E. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.jigsaw.org/#overview

Autism Society of America, 2015). http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6692

Inclusion strategies for students with autism spectrum disorders. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6692

Robinson, K. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution/transcript?language=en

Tomlinson, C.A. (2000). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. Moorabbin: Hawker Brownlow Education.