Sorry, Not Sorry
During a lunch conversation with a friend the other day I was reminded that typical adults and children need to be aware of individuals with autism just as much as kids with autism need to be taught to function in the world around them. It goes both ways. We get...
Planning Ahead for Next School Year
With the school year winding down, you must reflect on all those great things your students were able to accomplish this year and rethink that Pinterest fail that didn’t go like you hoped. Start planning for next school year to lighten your load when it comes time to...
Ollie’s Year in Review
I figured it was time for a follow up on The Autism Helper’s star member and favorite doggo, Ollie! For those of you that missed my first blog post, Ollie is my loyal pup who I was lucky enough to get therapy certified. This school year was his first year as a working...
ESY Set-Up
Calling All ESY Teachers! Call me crazy, but I can't wait for ESY! We have some pretty spectacular things planned and I can't wait to learn with my students. I've slowly started gathering materials and getting set up. I'm lucky that ESY will be in my classroom this...
My Sensory Life: Touch
I often find it interesting to think about the complexity and design of the human body. Each of your fingertips has over 3,000 tactile receptors that send a message to our brain almost instantaneously to help us interpret the texture of a surface, temperature, and...
Michelle’s Classroom Tour: Math Center
I’m so excited to talk about my math center instruction! For starters, my classroom is a TK-1st grade autism classroom. I structure our day with six different centers, which makes for a nicely structured environment. My centers include various subjects such as...
Practice Life Centers
Community-based instruction is an awesome opportunity for students ready to leave their school site and practice their independent skills in a variety of real-life settings. But, what about your students who need more than the typical classroom environment but are not...
Easy Matching Workbooks with Young Learners
As an Infants & Toddlers special education teacher, I feel so privileged to work as the frontline of young learners first experience with skill acquisition. I really do get to see where it all begins! I love using child-led play, daily routines, and structured...
How To Teach Rule Following
Rules and routines are a large part of classroom functioning. Management of the classroom and instructional control come from clear and concise definitions of rules. Creating rules as a group or individually does not always have to be a lecturing style. Teaching and...
Focus on Five: Giving Students Feedback
Sometimes, towards the end of the school year, student behaviors can increase. Maybe bad habits have formed, students know the end of the year is close or maybe even they are just developing age-appropriate rebellious behaviors as they are getting older. Whatever the...
5 Ways to Incorporate Fine Motor Skills into Task Card Activities
As a school-based OT, I am always looking for ways to embed motor and sensory opportunities into academic activities. Task card activities can be a quick and easy way to work on a variety of skills. The Autism Helper has a wide variety of options, including the Life...
Preparing for ESY
The hustle and bustle of preparing for the end of the school year can be overwhelming. Now, add in planning and prepping for the extended school year, and you just added another item to your to-do list. Preparing for the extended school year can be simple and easy...
ESY Tips and Tricks
First thing’s first, congrats on making it to the month of May! I can’t tell if this school year has gone in the blink of an eye or has taken all of eternity; regardless, take a moment to commend yourself for getting here. Being a teacher is hard and you deserve to...
Keeping Up With End of Year Activities
It's Crunch Time There's nothing like the end of year crunch. Starting around mid-April, I start to feel the pressure of the end of the year creep up on me. Between balancing 3 different grade levels, field trips, special activities, parents coming in for special...
Structured Morning Meeting
I am so excited to talk about and share my classroom’s structured morning meeting! My structured morning meeting is easily my favorite part of my day. During my structured morning meeting, my class focuses on skills such as calendar, weather, academic, and social...