Keeping Your Student Organized in High School

                One of the biggest challenges I face when working with students with Asperger's disorder, is how to teach them to be organized. The inside of their backpacks are a black hole of wadded up papers, old snacks, broken pens, unsharpened pencils, Bey Blades, and comic books.

What to do about that?

     You need to come up with a system that is easy to remember and that works for you. As you model the system, your student will eventually catch on. One of my favorite techniques is color coding (Everything!). Get a Trapper Keeper type large zip up binder. Get a different color divider for each school subject. Then, get a folder and zipper pouch in those same colors. Put everything in the binder in class order. Use those same colors for the same subjects each year. For example, English will always be green, electives will always be blue, etc.
     Teach the system to the teachers and to the students. This doesn't solve the world's problems, but it does make finding that all important field trip permission slip a lot easier!
     What are some organizational strategies that have worked for you and your student?

Summer = Chaos

Many people on the Autism Spectrum prefer to have a consistent and predictable schedule. I know I certainly feel this way, and I am considered neuro-typical. I definitely want to know what is going to happen each day when I wake up and to have the events of the day noted on my calendar well in advance.

 So what happens to students on the spectrum (and all the rest of the kids!) when school is out and all routine is thrown out? Chaos.  Meltdowns.    Tears.   Tantrums.


 I have heard from parents this summer how they and their child can not wait for school to start! Instead of counting down the days until school is in session, there are  ways to make your life more pleasant. 


1)Start by creating a schedule for each week the week before. This will give you time to go over the schedule with your child, make a visual schedule, or enter the activities into their iPod or electronic calendar.

2)Try to make the schedule fairly consistent from week to week. For example make Mondays always a swim day, Tuesdays library day, Wednesdays picnic day, Thursdays museum day, and Fridays play date day.

3) Set a summer bedtime and wake up time. This will keep the kids on a regular schedule for sleep, which in general is helpful to everyone.

4) Provide healthy meals and snacks. In the summer it is easy to get off track and allow kids too many treats and fast foods. Stick to their normal foods and meal times.

All of these tips can make summer better (or at least bearable!) and also help significantly with the transition back to school.

Check back soon for back to school transition tips!

The Dynavox

     This week I received a loaner Dynavox to do a trial test with one of my students who is mostly non verbal. Before today he mostly only communicated about girls. He would utter "hot" when a girl walked by or make a sizzling sound or whistle. Sometimes he would try to communicate about the rodeo by saying "yeehaw". He has been a puzzle all year. It is hard to tell how much a student really understands at times when he is nonverbal. I was very interested to see how he would respondto the communication device. Earlier this year I downloaded the "Tap to Talk" app to my phone, and he was quick to figure out how to use it.
      The first activity we did today involved him requesting to watch rodeo video clips using a custom made page on the Dynavox. He loved the rodeo page. He instantly began commenting on the videos and was so excited! I then let him play around with the device and explore on his own. He found the keyboard option and began typing. He can not read very well or spell consistently. We have been working this year on sight words and on Hooked on Phonics. It must be working! He typed "Go See Dog The B" and pressed the talk option. At first I was confused. I was like, "What dog is he talking about?". Then I typed "bounty hunter "and pressed talk. The student jumped up and ran to the computer. It was like a major connection had been made. He figured out that he could ask for what he wanted and communicate those thoughts. It was amazing. I let him watch a Bounty Hunter clip, then added a page to the Dynavox about the show.
    I hope that this enthusiasm for communication continues. It was awesome to see him make the connection needed to communicate. However, the costs of this device is outrageous, and the process to get one is rigorous. Medicare pays $7,000 for this type of device. Parents have to fill out lots of paperwork and go through an exhausting process that can take many months to years. So even if this trial is successful and it is determined that this student will benefit from a device, it could be a calendar year or more before he actually receives one of his own, if he is approved. There has to be a better way. Are Ipods and Ipads as effective for communicating as the Dynavox and other devices? What successes have you had?

Who is Johnny Cash?

Today was chaotic, much like any day, especially a Monday. On Mondays we are the "C" schedule, which confuses all my kiddos (and me) so a few of them usually start the morning off in a panic. Then a few paraprofessionals were absent, which sent a few more into stress mode. However, by lunch time we had things pretty much under control....well at least for like 20 minutes. Then a student ran in screaming that he,"was pissed off and wasn't going back in that crazy teacher's class. Ever. He was done." Ok. Got it. At the same time another student turned over a chair, which made another student scream. Ok. Chair turned up right. Scream stopped. Upset student now calmly listening to music. Then in walks Sam dressed completely in black- black slacks, buttoned up black shirt, and black dress shoes. His hair, also black was slicked back and he was speaking in a British accent. He has a thing with accents. Anyway, amidst the chaos in the the rest of the room he was seemingly charming and cheerful. I commented that he looked nice and was like Johnny Cash. He became frustrated with me, because he didn't know who Johnny Cash was. I hurried to Google him so Sam could see, but he had to get to lunch.He left the room a bit frustrated, but still his British English. So, our day continued much the same as the morning with a few more out bursts followed by some social skills lessons, handwriting practice (which no one likes), and a visit from a Dynavox rep.
 By the afternoon while waiting for the buses Sam's curiosity about "The Man in Black" had returned. He begged me(in accent) to look up Johnny Cash on my phone. However, I could not get a signal at all on my phone. Then the bus arrived, and he had still not been able to see Johnny Cash. Though, he will have to wait until tomorrow to realize the awesomeness of "Ring of Fire", Sam's British accent and Cash curiosity brightened my day. Sometimes it is the little things, the little moments that make my day. Tomorrow the first thing I plan to do when I see him is show him who Johnny Cash is. I am hoping that he can use his voice and accent talent to sing us some tunes, Cash style.

What hour is it?

    We have been back in school for three days after having a two week break. I have heard the questions, "What hour is it?" and "Where should I be now?" about three thousand times. There are several reasons these questions have been asked, but the main one is that we have an insane A,B,C block schedule. What does this mean? It means that my students stay confused even during normal weeks about where they are supposed to be (I am usually confused also). So on Mondays we go to all 8 classes and the classes are about 40 minutes each, but on Tuesday and Thursday we have 1st,3rd,5th, and 7th hours and the classes about about 90 minutes long and then on Wednesdays and Fridays we have 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th hour classes, except if it is short week, which then changes the whole thing yet again. Oh and we have advisory on Mondays and sometimes on Tuesdays. Confused yet? Me too. So we came back from break on a Wednesday, but we were on C schedule instead of B. Whatever. Don't ask me where you are supposed to be I have no idea. Why do I have no idea? Well, we also started a new semester on Wednesday, so everyone schedules changed, which means that the neat, organized schedule binder I made last semester is now totally obsolete. Wait... I know I can look up their schedules on the computer. Nope. Computer system is down. Super. This means that I have no clue where the kids are supposed to be or who is supposed to be in my class. Awesome!
Well we managed to make it through three days. Eventually (two days later) the computer system began working correctly. However, will any of us ever figure out this block schedule? Probably not. Students on the spectrum generally crave consistency and like to know what to expect. This constant changing of the schedule just heightens their worry and anxiety. Hopefully one day I will have a say so in the bell schedule. Until then, I will continue to be asked "What hour is it?" each day, no matter how many schedule charts I hang up or how many personal schedules I color code.

What can we do to help Autism awareness in 2012?

There are little things that we can all do to help raise Autism and developmental disability awareness this year. Here is a list I have made, what other ideas do you have?

1. Be kind to people with disabilities. Smile and speak to them as you would anyone else.

2. Fundraise for a cause such as Autism Speaks. April is Autism Awareness month and many local and national organizations have walks and events.

3. Become a mentor or friend to someone with Autism. Your local Autism society or advocacy group can help pair you with someone.

4. Spread the word about Autism and the need for further research through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

5. Volunteer at a local school or organization and work with students on the spectrum. You will love them!


-School Starts back this week. Remember that all of these schedule changes can be stressful for all of us, especially those on the spectrum. Help your child by making a social story explaining the changes and a visual schedule to follow the first few days back to school for a smooth transition.

Happy New Year!