Are You a New Special Education Teacher? CEC is Looking for You!

I'd love to participate in this opportunity from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), but I've been teaching one year too long! Here is the information if any of our readers are interested:

Attention new teachers: CEC wants to hear from you!

Careers in special education are incredibly rewarding . . . but CEC knows that those first few years in the classroom can be quite challenging, too. What do you hope to accomplish and what problems will you face as you begin to work with students with exceptionalities? There will certainly be ups and downs — and we want to hear about it all.

CEC is seeking members with three or fewer years’ experience to write about the 2009-10 school year for Reality 101, CEC’s flagship blog. This blog “diary” will act as a sounding board where readers will get to know you, offer advice, and share their own stories.

Our new bloggers will be treated to complimentary copies of some of our most valuable publications for beginning special educators. They will also have the option to receive a FREE one-year CEC membership or a gift certificate to the CEC Store.

Visit CEC’s Web site ( http://www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutCEC/Communities/Blog/Bloggers_Wanted.htm ) for more information and the application form. Candidates must e-mail CEC by Aug. 7, 2009, in order to be considered.

Have more than a few years under your belt? Then pass this opportunity along to a friend or colleague who you think would make a great blogger on "Reality 101."

Autism How-To Articles

Articles include:

How to Teach Handwashing to Students with Autism

How to Introduce a Token Reward System to Students with Autism

How to Teach Young Kids About Autism

How to Teach a Student with Autism to Imitate Your Actions

And more!

Read all of the articles at: http://www.ehow.com/members/nicole22-articles.html

All articles written by Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed., Autism Specialist and Editor of www.PositivelyAutism.com

Holiday Sales on Autism Products

Different Roads to Learning is offering 15% off everything in their store from November 26, 2008 through December 3, 2008. They sell a wide variety of materials primarily designed for ABA programs. http://www.difflearn.com/

Natural Learning Concepts is also having a Black Friday Sale on various gifts and gift sets for kids, parents, and teachers. http://www.nlconcepts.com/

Please post a comment if you know if any more!

Thank you and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"I am truly blessed to work in the field of autism....I’ve learned about diversity and found that it’s 'okay' to be different because, in our own special ways, we all are." - Jim Ball, Ed.D, BCBA

Sincerely,

Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.

P.S. Please help us keep Positively Autism a free service by making any of your Amazon.com purchases through our website. There is a link on the main page of www.PositivelyAutism.com or use this link to view the Black Friday Sale items from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=384082011&tag=positivelyaut-20. Thank you for your support!

Reader Question: Reading/Writing Issues Associated with Autism?

I had a reader e-mail me a question about her son with Autism. She said that he can read flash cards, but not from a book. He can trace, but not write. She asked if these characteristics are part of having autism.

The short answer is not necessarily. The characteristics of Autism that are used to diagnose the condition are found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. These characteristics include "impairment in social interaction," "impairments in communication," and "restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior."

I have taught students with Autism of all skill levels, and no two are ever the same. It seems very possible that because of learning challenges, possibly due to communication problems associated with Autism, a student could have those characteristics.

It is difficult to say without knowing the child, but here are some things I might do for this student. If he can trace, have him trace words. Put a picture of each word he traces with the word, so he can learn what the word means. This may also help with reading and reading comprehension. You can print free tracable words at this website: http://www.mymoondrops.com/info/spelling.html . A work task like this one may also be benficial: http://www.positivelyautism.com/task_spelling01.gif


References: DSM IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/overview_diagnostic_criteria.htm)

Autism Teacher Tip: Look for ELL Resources

I was shopping today at the Lakeshore Learning Store looking for materials for my students. I looked at the section of products for English Language Learners (ELLs), and found some great resources for my students with Autism. I purchased two bingo games: Emotions bingo and Action Words bingo. The games included bingo cards and single picture cards that contained a picture and the written corresponding word. It was a great deal because you could use them as both flash cards and as a game for less than the price of most flash card sets that I've seen specifically designed for students with Autism.

Have you found any great resources in the English Language Learner section of your local teacher supply stores? Let us know!

Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.

Halloween Resources for Kids with Autism

At a clinic I work with, our kids participated in a "Trick or Treat" by going around to the different offices within our building dressed in costumes. The kids had fun, and I thought this was a good practice for what would acutally happen on Halloween. They knocked on the doors, said "Trick or Treat" (with as much prompting as needed), and said "Thank You" and "Happy Halloween" after getting their treat. We didn't do this, but for some kids having a picture or sign language sign available for them to show (instead of speaking) might be helpful. Some of the offices purposefully did not have any candy or toys, just so the kids could be prepared for this to happen too.

Here are some other resources that I've found online to help families prepare for Halloween.

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Halloween_Tips

http://autism.about.com/b/2008/10/17/halloween-on-the-autism-spectrum.htm

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/halloween/bb/halloweenhelp.htm

I hope you have a wonderful Fall season,

Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.

Asperger's Syndrome DVD for College Professors

Exciting news! A new DVD, "Understanding Asperger Syndrome: A Professor’s Guide" is now available from The Organization for Autism Research (OAR). The DVD is twelve minutes long, and provides an introduction to Asperger's Syndrome for college professors, teaching assistants, and other college personel. The DVD features the president of OAR, Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., as well as several individuals with Asperger's discussing topics including reasonable college classroom accommodations and what it is like to be an adult with Asperger's. The video is avilable to download at OAR's website: http://www.researchautism.org/resources/AspergerDVDSeries.asp. The organization also reports that the video will be avilable on YouTube, as well as DVD format.