Title: Providing Intentional Instruction to Children with Autism in Inclusive Settings
1Providing Intentional Instruction to Children
with Autism in Inclusive Settings
- Ilene Schwartz
- University of Washington
- Ilene_at_uw.edu
2Autism is a collection of overlapping groups of
symptoms that vary from child to childSiegel,
1996, p.301
3There is no one right way to educate children
with autism
4Three important questions
- What are you going to teach?
- How are you going to teach those skills and
behaviors? - How will you know that your teaching has been
effective?
5Educating Children with Autism
- National Research Council, 2001
- Report was developed at OSEPs request
6Characteristics of Effective Programs
- Entry into program as soon as ASD is seriously
considered - Active programming 25 hours a week, year round
- Small group and 11 programming
- Family component
- Low student/teacher ratios (no more than 2
children with ASD per adult in classroom - Program evaluation and assessment
7Content of Programs should include
- Social skills
- Expressive, receptive, and non verbal
communication skills - Functional communication system
- Engagement and flexibility in developmentally
appropriate activities - Fine and gross motor skills
8Content (continued)
- Cognitive skills, including play
- Replacement of problem behaviors with socially
acceptable alternatives - Independent organizational skills and other
behaviors that support participation in general
education settings
9Components of an Effective Program(Dawson
Osterling, 1997)
- Appropriate curriculum including attending,
imitation, communication, play, and social
interaction. - Highly supportive teaching environment and
generalization strategies. - Predictability and routine.
- Functional approach to challenging behavior.
- Transition support
- Family involvement
10Project DATA (Developmentally Appropriate
Treatment for Autism)
11Child-focused Instructional Strategies
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
12Building Blocds
CFIS
Few children
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Some Children
Curriculum Modifications
All Children
High Quality EC Program
13Structural Base to Effective Programs
- Functional objectives and meaningful activities
- Frequent reinforcement and effective motivational
systems - Functional communication systems
- Behavior intervention system
14- The Building Blocks model provides a set of
educational practices designed to help teachers
do a more effective job of including and teaching
young children with disabilities and other
special needs in early childhood classrooms and
settings.
15Why Building Blocks?
- To understand how teachers and teams create early
childhood classrooms that enable all children to
participate, interact and learn important and
valued outcomes. - To understand what practices work in everyday
classrooms.
16What is the instructional sequence
- A-B-C
- S-R-S
- Instruction-Response-Consequence
17A Discrete Trial
- Instruction
- Prompt (if necessary)
- Childs Response
- Consequences
- Inter-trial Interval
-
18A Discrete Trial
Instruction or Discrimitive Stimulus (SD)
Antecedent
Prompt if necessary
Childs Response
Behavior
Consequence
Consequence
Inter-trial Interval
19Teaching Loop
- Alerting
- Instruction
- Child Response
- Feedback
20- What does inclusion mean?
- What does it mean for a young child to be
successful in an early childhood classroom?
21- What does inclusion mean?
- Individuals define inclusion differently.
- Inclusion is about belonging and participating in
a diverse society.
- What does it mean for a young child to be
successful in an early childhood classroom? - Sense of belonging
- Genuine child learning
- Opportunities to build friendships
22- Using the Building Blocks model can help all
children participate, learn, and thrive in their
preschool classrooms. - Based on the work of the Early Childhood Research
Institute on Inclusion.
23The foundation
- Quality Early Childhood Program
24- Safe
- Engaging
- Responsive
- Culturally and linguistically relevant
25Use an Activity Matrix to
- Plan for specialized instruction
- Assess individual needs in classroom setting
- Plan when data collection will occur
- Plan activities and materials necessary for
incidental teaching or embedded instruction
(wheels on the bus) (what is it big circle)
26Activity Matrix -- Individual
Comm. Social Motor Adapt.
Circle
Snack
Free Choice
27Activity Matrix -- Class
Caleb Sophie Mile Adam
Circle
Snack
Free Choice
28Matrix of Support
Time/ Activity Support Needed Behavior and Comments
Reading Indep. 1 2 3
Math Needs written dir. 1 2 3
Journal Out of class SLP 1 2 3
Recess Library 1 2 3
29Staffing Matrix
Time/ Activity Objective Who?
Reading comprehension Classroom teacher
Math Addition Walk to math
Journal Ind. work motivaider
Recess Social int. Para prof
30Curriculum Modifications Adaptations
- Quality Early Childhood Program
31- Teachers and other members of the team make
modifications to activities, routines, and
learning areas in order to include children with
special needs and to enhance their participation.
32Importance of Participation or Engagement
- Quality of early care settings is associated with
child outcomes - Higher quality settings are associated with
better outcomes - Higher quality child care programs produce higher
levels of child engagement (Raspa, McWilliam,
Ridley, 2001) - Engagement mediates the relationship between
quality and other reported child outcomes
33Curriculum Modifications Adaptations
- Environmental Arrangement
- Materials Modification
- Simplify the Activity
- Special Equipment
- Peer Support
- Adult Support
- Child Preferences
- Invisible Support
34- Environmental
- Arrangement
35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
43Embedded Learning Opportunities
- Teachers create short teaching episodes within
ongoing classroom activities and routines. - Teaching episodes focus on a childs individual
learning objective.
44Strengthening Teachers
- Specialized instruction is an important component
of inclusion (ECRII, 1998) - Participation in a community-based or general
education is not enough. The individual needs of
children with disabilities must be addressed. - Specialized instruction can be delivered through
a variety of effective strategies, many of which
can be embedded in the ongoing classroom
activities.
45- Adequate support is necessary to make inclusive
environments work (ECRII, 1998). - Support includes training, personnel, materials,
planning time, and ongoing consultation or
coaching. - Support can be delivered in different ways and
each person involved in inclusion may have unique
needs.
46- Teacher and team must be able to deliver special
instruction for children who need it. - The consulting teacher must be able to provide
help to the classroom team. - Teachers and consulting teachers need methods
that are effective, acceptable, and feasible.
47Advantages of ELO
- Minimal changes to classroom activities
- Motivation to participate and learn should be
enhanced - Skills are used in natural contexts
- Skills are used with a variety of people and
materials
48Research Findings
- Embedded instruction is effective for teaching a
variety of valued skills to young children (e.g.,
Horn et al., 2000). - A variety of instructional strategies have been
embedded effectively (e.g., McBride Schwartz,
2003). - Embedded instruction seems to enhance
generalization (e.g., Wolery et al., 2002).
49Research Findings contd
- Teachers assess embedded instruction favorably
(e.g., Horn et al., 2000). - Teachers differ in the extent to which they can
apply embedded instruction within their
activities and classrooms (e.g., Filla et al.,
1999). - Preservice teachers can learn and use embedded
instruction in their field experience placements
(e.g., Sandall Davis, 2004)
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51ELO Basic Steps
- Clarify learning objective and determine
criterion - Gather baseline
- Use activity matrix to determine when and where
instruction can take place - Design instructional interaction
- Implement instruction
- Keep track of the amount of instruction
- Probe child progress
52Child-focused Instructional Strategies
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
53Child Focused Instructional Strategies
- Unique learning objective
- Requires more systematic or more intensive
instruction
54Instruction is not the same as opportunity
55Instruction is
- Planned
- Tied to an outcome
- Provides feedback on performance
- Is evaluated for its effectiveness
- Responses are obligatory
56CFIS Basic Steps
- Clarify learning objective and determine
criterion - Gather baseline
- Use activity matrix to determine when and where
instruction can take place - Design instructional interaction
- Implement instruction
- Keep track of the amount of instruction
- Probe child progress
- Use good instructions, good prompts, and good
reinforcement strategies
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58Lets plan activities for the following
- Communication
- Early Literacy
- Fine Motor
- Social Interaction
- Work with at least one other person and identify
two activities in which you can embed instruction
on these goal
59Data Collection
- Monitoring the effects of instruction requires
some form of systematic documentation. - Collecting data helps interventionists
- accurately gauge about childrens progress
- decide how to change programs
- Data should be collected regularly on all of the
high-priority objectives of each child.
60Why collect data?
- To understand
- To communicate
- To demonstrate
- To improve our practice
- To stay in compliance
61Selecting/Creating a data sheet
- What questions are you asking?
- Will these data answer those questions?
- Do these data address the IFSP/IEP objective?
- Will this format fit into classroom activities?
- Does this make sense to team members?
- How will you summarize the data?
- How will you analyze/use the data?
62Evaluating Data
- Is the child making progress?
- Summarize data in meaningful way
- Graphing
- Determine what the data are telling you
- Make instructional decision based on information
63Using Data to Make Decisions
- Use data patterns to inform your decisions about
what to change - Program is working
- Task is too difficult
- Student can perform some but not all tasks
- There appears to be a compliance problem
- The student is ready for fluency training
- The child has mastered the program
64Data Sheet Resources
- Polyxo.com
- Circleofinclusion.org
65Questions?