It’s Here!!!!

Ok, it’s ALMOST here! I’ve been dying to get my hands on The Autism Helper’s new Social Skills Curriculum. It’s being released soon and I wanted to give you a sneak peek of what’s in the curriculum, how I’m prepping to use it and how I plan to use it in my classroom.

Prep

Whenever I get new curriculum, I always take the time to prep the materials so I’ll be ready to pull them as I need them. I’ve found over the years that when you invest in a new resouce the amount of effort I put in up front to prep the resource the more likely it is to succeed. I keep all of my curriculums in binders and Social Skills is no different. I start by printing everything that comes with the curriculum. Data sheets, lesson plans, pre and post tests, student pages, visuals, home engagement notes and adapted books are all printed and put in the binder in order that I’ll use them. I then put the cover page in the front of the binder and make a spine label that says the curriculum and level so it’s easy to spot and use.

New Resources

One of the most exciting parts of this curriculum are the new resources that come with the curriculum. There are parent/guardian notes that serve as a source of family engagement to help keep parents/guardians informed as to what skills are being learned in the classroom. The adapted books are a great way to provide an interactive activity and work on the social skill. The visuals are absolutely amazing and the prefect resource to use in the classroom and would be a great resource for parents to use at home, too!

Goals

One of my favorite componets of The Autism Helper’s Curriculums is how data driven they are. Each unit comes with pre and post tests that measure progress. Additional data sheets are given to measure daily work or group work. The rubrics are easy to follow, measure and interpret. The curriculum even gives extra resources and links for books, games and videos to support each unit. The lesson plan format is easy to follow and IEP goals are easy to align and measure.

I’ve been looking for a social skills curriculum for a long time that helps my student become more independent. I want students to be able to protest! I want them to know how to communicate that they want to play with peers, take turns and how to interpret body language. I want them to say if they are uncomfortable or don’t want to do something. I want them to be confident and independent enough they don’t rely on adults on the playground to solve problems with peers and understand more complex concepts like personal space. I’m excited to start using this curriculum and see the growth in my students.