And Autism PROJECT ACCESS 1 Project ACCESS MO-CASE FALL - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Academically Able And Autism

PROJECT ACCESS

Project ACCESS MO-CASE FALL CONFERENCE 2017

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CONNECTING TO: ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

(AND RELATED DISABILITIES)

Shannon Locke, M.S., CCC-SLP Terri Carrington, M.A., CCC-SLP Autism Resource Specialist Associate Director ShannonLocke@MissouriState.edu TCarrington@MissouriState.edu (417) 836-5751 (417) 836-4080

MSU/MO-DESE Project ACCESS Visit us @ www.ProjectACCESS.MissouriState.edu

Project ACCESS Staff and Contact Information

Joanie Armstrong, MS, LPC Director joanarmstrong@missouristate.edu 417-836-6657 (office) 417-836-6916 (desk) 866-481-3841 (toll free) Melissa Ringer, BS in Ed.; Program Coordinator Mringer@missouristate.edu 417-836-6657 (office) 866-481-3841 toll free

Project ACCESS Staff and Contact Information, cont.

Tina Neal, Data Collection & Marketing Specialist TinaNeal@missouristate.edu 417-836-6657(office) 866-481-3841(toll free) Mike Garton, Instructional Technology Support Specialist MikeGarton@missouristate.edu 417-836-6657 (office) 866-481-3841 (toll free)

Learner outcomes:

• 1. The learner will understand the impact of autism on educational

performance and preparing for post-secondary life beyond the academic skills needed to ‘make the grade’.

• 2. The learner will gain specific strategies to identify, assess needs,

and support the learning of students with autism receiving minimal to no special education minutes.

Who are these students?

Jim is an amazing math student. He outperforms all of his classmates. However, he is close to

• failing. He appears to put no effort into anything but math.

Kaylee’s grades are OK and has no behavior problems, but she doesn’t really participate in school activities. She flies “under the radar.” Teachers don’t realize she is very depressed.

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Dustin wants a girlfriend in the worst way. He, however doesn’t know what to say to the girls in his school. When he tried to talk to a girl, he said the wrong thing, and ended up in the principal’s office, and the girl’s parents were threatening to file a harassment charge.

And Why Does it Matter?

Many students may never meet eligibility for an IEP or 504 given their academic and testing strength. But these are the very students who are at great risk for social, emotional and academic problems.

• Michelle Garcia Winner

Youth with intellectual or developmental disorders, such as autism, are at greater risk of mental health problems.

• Youth Mental Health First Aid

54% of adults with ASD had at least one mental health condition (Drexel, 2017)

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Why does it matter? (cont.)

Individuals with “soft skills” such as good social skills, sociability, good work habits and conscientiousness, as well as those who participate in extra curricular activities are more likely to make more money, be employed, and attain higher levels of education than those with good grades and high standardized test scores.

• Quoted from a TASH PowerPoint (TASH.org international leader in disability

advocacy)

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2017 National Autism Indicators Report: Drexel University Developmental Disability Services and Outcomes in Adulthood

How Are Adolescents & Adults With ASD Doing?

• 2 years post-HS, over 66% not employed or

enrolled in Vocational or Post-Secondary Ed.

• Paid, community-based employment was LEAST

common outcome for adults w ASD! Only 14% held a job for pay

• Worse than ANY other disability group
• Advocacy & professional support is critical

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Not too good 

Jean Blosser, EdD, CCC-SLP Creative Strategies for Special Education JBlosser23@gmail.com ASHA Online Conference: Communication Interventions for Adolescents and Adults with Autism

Complex Challenges, Complex Needs

• Transition to post-secondary education & vocational experiences are difficult

– Limitations in executive functioning – Lacking social skills, communication, & insights – Barriers to accessing the curriculum – Reduced attention to tasks – Decreased self-perception, self-regulation – Difficulty with perspective-taking – High levels of frustration & anxiety – Problems with meaningful work experiences

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What Do Employers Want?

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ATTRIBUTE % OF RESPONDENTS Leadership 80.1% Ability to work in a team 78.9% Communication skills (written) 70.2% Problem-solving skills 70.2% Communication skills (verbal) 68.9% Strong work ethic 68.9% Initiative 65.8% Analytical/quantitative skills 62.7% Flexibility/adaptability 60.9% Technical skills 59.6%

~ Source: Job Outlook 2016, National Association of Colleges and Employers

What Do Employers Want (cont.)?

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ATTRIBUTE % OF RESPONDENTS Interpersonal skills (relates well to others) 58.4% Computer skills 55.3% Detail-oriented 52.8% Organizational ability 48.4% Friendly/outgoing personality 35.4% Strategic planning skills 26.7% Creativity 23.6% Tactfulness 20.5%

~ Source: Job Outlook 2016, National Association of Colleges and Employers

Ensuring Independence & Academic Success = more than academics

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We MUST Teach Social Competence & Executive Functioning to achieve Independence

Key Educational Outcomes

• Develop independent individuals
• Develop contributing/engaged members of

society

• Foster happy, self-regulated adults
• Develop individuals that know how to learn

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2017 National Autism Indicators Report: Drexel University Developmental Disability Services and Outcomes in Adulthood

How are Adolescents and Adults with ASD doing in terms of INDEPENDENCE?

Living Arrangements: 49% Lived with parents or other relatives.

Of these, 81% had been there over 5 years.

Independence and Rights: 53% Had a court-appointed guardian on a limited or fulltime basis. Not too good 

Eligibility? Consider these!

• High IQ/Low Academic Performance
• Disorganized; can’t keep track of assignments or belongings
• Poor social skills, inappropriate with others, withdrawn, no friends,

does not interpret nonverbals, does not work well in small group assignments

• Excels at special interest area, but disinterested in other non-

restrictive areas, unable to perform at the best of his/her ability unless a special interest topic

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Eligibility? Consider these!

• In trouble at school, mostly for minor infractions
• Other medical conditions affect academic performance or

engagement, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, seizure disorder, etc.

• Demonstrates signs of depression or anxiety disorder
• May have difficulty self-regulating to be able to learn, has sensory

differences that impede learning readiness

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Eligibility Review:

Once you have autism, you always have autism! History is included when initially determining and re-evaluating for the autism category… The QUESTION is…Does it negatively impact the students’ learning?

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FREE Checklist: Social Competency

http://ncautismteam.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/file/view/pragmatic-protocol-prutting-and- kirchner.doc “Prutting Pragmatic Protocol” Adapted from Prutting & Kirchner: Pragmatic Aspects of Language (1987) Made available by UNC-CH https://fineartscomm.lamar.edu/_files/documents/speech- hearing/prutting_checklist_article.pdf Original Article with attached protocol. SEE HANDOUT!

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COMMUNICATIVE ACT

DEFINITION

ALWAYS APPROPRIATE SOMETIMES APPROPRIATE

ABSENT

NO OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE

EXAMPLES/COMMENTS

VERBAL ACTS Speech Acts  Speech act pair analysis

The ability to take both speaker and listener role appropriate to the context

 Variety of speech acts

The variety of speech acts or what one can do with language such as comment, assert, request, promise, and so forth

Topic  Selection

The selection of a topic appropriate to the multidimensional aspects of context

 Introduction

Introduction of a new topic in the discourse

 Maintenance

Coherent maintenance of topic across the discourse

 Change

Change of topic in the discourse

Turn Taking  Initiation

Initiation of speech acts

 Response

Responding as a listener to speech acts

 Repair / revision

The ability to repair a conversation when a breakdown occurs, and the ability to ask for a repair when misunderstanding or ambiguity has occurred

The Social Thinking Dynamic Assessment Protocol

Means of identifying and quantifying real-life social cognitive/social language

• Better understanding of the student's pragmatic language skills and social

interactive functioning

• Identifies ability to apply social knowledge to the academic curriculum
• Gives teachers and others an understanding of the "unseen" challenges the

student grapples with on a daily basis that affect learning and ability to benefit from educational programming.

• Michelle Garcia Winner

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Key Elements to Teach

Soft Skills: Social Competence Executive Functioning Central Coherence Theory of Mind Self-management

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Key Elements to Teach

Develop Soft Skills Social Competence Executive Functioning Central Coherence Theory of Mind Self-management

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What are Soft Skills?

“Skills, abilities, and traits that pertain to personality, attitude, and behavior rather than to formal

• r technical knowledge.”

~Moss and Tilly, 2001

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Soft Skills Include…

Communication (oral and written) Enthusiasm & Attitude (initiative) Teamwork/Collaboration Work ethic/self-motivation/dependability/honesty Problem solving & Critical thinking - questioning Leadership/influencing Adaptability/flexibility (ability to work under pressure) Creativity & Innovation (resourcefulness) Organization & Time management Attention to detail Interpersonal skills

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Soft Skills Do NOT Include…

Math Reading/Decoding Spelling History Science Computer skills, Programming Physics, Biology, Chemistry Statistics, Finance, Accounting Job-specific Technical knowledge

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“Hard skills vs. Soft skills – difference and importance”

by, Lei Han

“Hard skills” like math have rules that are always the same. Successful Soft skills change depending on:

• one’s emotional state,
• external circumstance,
• the people involved.

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Lei Han – Soft Skills Newsletter

Stanford engineer, Wharton MBA |15+ years of business experience |A top career success expert |Passionate about helping you use soft skills to work smart

Teaching Soft Skills

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Soft Skills Through the lens of UDL:

Universal Design for Learning

• Take time to get to know your students.
• Talk openly and ask your students.
• Try to step out of your preferred method of teaching
• (or your personal comfort zone).
• Use a variety of instructional approaches.
• (help learners be more flexible in their learning).

REMEMBER – one size does not fit all.

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Incorporate Universal Design for Learning strategies:

• Multiple modalities
• Use technology
• Offer student “do-overs”
• Step by step instructions
• Student-led activities
• Feedback in multiple forms
• Have students collaborate
• Have students contact you to ask questions
• Strengths-based learning

What COULD you do differently?

• Shift your goal for current achieved Hard skills/activities to focus on a soft skill.
• Block/Lego example, … ….
• Teach classroom curriculum standards through role play.
• Video modeling, scripting, comic strips, plays, act out social stories
• Facilitate group problem solving in the classroom, rather than direct instruction.
• Create ways for students to evaluate and keep data
• n their own performance.
• Set up real world, interactive contexts to practice

hard skills.

• Lemonade Stand example,

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Begin with the End in Mind

Goal for Engagement? then learning environment must increase meaning & multi partners Goal for Independence? then be careful to scaffold to independence quickly

Social Communication cornerstone of both!

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Key Elements to Teach

Soft Skills Social Competence Executive Functioning Central Coherence Theory of Mind Self-management

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√

Social Communication The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.

• Peter Drucker

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Social Competence vs. Social Skills

Social Skills = Behavioral training of discrete skills

Social Competence = Social Knowledge + Context

Social Knowledge Both Comprehension Use

• 1. Linguistic aspects – WHAT you say: meaning of the words, verbal message
• 2. Paralinguistic – HOW you say it: speech characteristics, prosody
• 3. Extralinguistic – HOW you convey it: Nonverbal components

Context = Speaker’s condition + Listener’s condition + Environment

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Social Thinking

Strong language, reasonable to high cognition Does well on standardized tests Yet, lacks competencies to succeed in a group learning setting

• Michelle Garcia Winner
• www.socialthinking.com

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Poor social/communication competencies

• Struggle developing social skills commensurate with their peers.
• Related weaknesses in the ability to work as part of a group
• Weakness in interpreting intentions and motives in literature
• Weaknesses in understanding perspective of others
• Struggle to problem-solve or self-advocate
• Social learning is critical for developing competencies that prepare students for post-

secondary endeavors

• Michelle Garcia Winnier
• www.socialthinking.com

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Weak Interactive Social Communicator

May appear OK at first glance, especially to adults Peers may view as subtly awkward and odd These students

• Lack perception of the subtleties of social cues
• May be neurologically less aware of facial expressions, body language and

gestures

• As nuanced demands of social communication increase, the discrepancy in

the perception of the peer group also increases

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• Consider 4 Living Domains

No IEP? Strategies through Regular Ed

After School Clubs (helpful with trained adult assisting) Theater classes and groups (give the theater teacher some insight) FACs Class Lunch Bunch Counselor Led Group Distribute Information to Teachers, Coaches, etc.

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Here are a few strategies to try.

• Social Thinking Curriculum
• Social Stories
• Video Modeling
• Develop Perspective Taking Skills
• Work within the natural environment
• The Incredible 5 Point Scale

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I Say, You Say (Audet)

A game for social discourse/conversation:

• Note cards with various pragmatic functions
• I say, I ask, I add, I feel, I acknowledge, I disagree, etc.
• Social topic, scene, or situation is presented
• Conversation evolves through the developing contribution that fits

the pragmatic function

No rigid adherence to a single topic, rather real-time flow of a conversation.

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Key Elements to Teach

Soft Skills Social Competence Executive Functioning Central Coherence Theory of Mind Self-management

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√ √

Executive Functioning (EF)

The term comes from neuroscience literature, and refers to the brain-based skills required for humans to execute, or perform, tasks. EF deficit is not a medical diagnosis or an education disability category and is not connected in any way to intelligence.

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Executive Functioning Skills Include:

Here is a list of specific soft skills that make up EF in their order of developmental emergence:

1. Response inhibition; controlling impulses; and self-monitoring 2. Working memory 3. Emotional control, including social control 4. Sustained attention and focusing 5. Task initiation 6. Planning / prioritization 7. Sequencing / organization 8. Time management 9. Goal-directed persistence

• 10. Flexibility
• 11. Metacognition (thinking about thinking, recognizing what you already know and don’t know)

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Go to https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning- issues/key-executive-functioning-skills-explained

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Prioritizing What to Teach:

Teaching Emotional Regulation Applying the SCERTS Framework to Identify Priorities

Conversation Partner Stage = Conversational speakers/More sophisticated language use

Priority skills to Teach -

• Metacognitive executive functioning (self talk, etc.)
• Language to request assistance (precursor to self-advocacy)
• Conventional sensory motor (teach replacement mannerisms)

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Indiana University Bloomington

Indiana Resource Center for Autism

A deficit in executive functioning means that children with ASD may struggle in the following areas:

• 1. Planning ahead, preparing for the next activity
• 2. Keeping things organized
• 3. Following multi-step directions
• 4. Combining information from several sources to problem solve

Linking Theories to Practice: Exploring Theory of Mind, Weak Central Cohesion, and Executive Functioning in ASD Contributed by Anna Merrill, MSEd, Graduate Assistant

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https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/linking-theories-to-practice

One more perspective: EF  Life Skills

Life Skills all involve what researchers call “executive functions of the brain”—functions that take place in the prefrontal cortex and that weave together social, emotional and intellectual capacities, enabling us to use what we know in pursuit of our goals. Typically, learning and teaching have focused on the content that children need to learn, but there has been much less attention to Life Skills. Galinsky found that this must not be an either/ or. Children need both content and Life Skills.

The Seven Essential Life Skills are: 1. Focus and Self Control – 2. Perspective Taking 3. Communicating 4. Making Connections 5. Critical 6. Taking on Challenges 7. Self-Directed, Engaged Learning – Lifelong learners are able to change as the world changes in order to reach their full potential.

ELLEN GALINSKY Expert in Work/Life Balance President and Co-Founder, Families and Work Institute Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs

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EF strategies from

IU-Bloomington

Requires a lot of environmental support including:

• daily planners
• checklists
• homework logs between teachers and parents to keep

kids organized and to support homework completion

• posted schedule at home &/or in the classroom
• allow extra time for students to process directions
• supply directions one step at a time or repeat

directions as needed

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Books with More Information: (Recommened by IU-Bloomington) Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simply Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Targetby Lauren Kenworthy and Laura Anthony Executive Function “Dysfunction”– Strategies for Educators and Parents by Rebecca A. Moyes The Impulsive, Disorganized Child: Solutions for Parenting Kids with Executive Functioning Difficulties by James W. Forgan and Mary Anne Riche

How to TEACH EF skills?

Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child describes EF with Self-regulation through 3 types of brain function:

• 1. working memory
• 2. mental flexibility
• 3. self-control

“adults can facilitate the development of a child’s EF skills by establishing routines, modeling social behavior, and creating and maintaining supportive, reliable relationships.”

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Check it out !

On organization: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning- disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/4-ways-kids-use-organization-skills-to-learn On working memory: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning- disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/5-ways-kids-use-working-memory-to-learn On mental flexibility: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning- disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/6-ways-kids-use-flexible-thinking-to-learn More on self-control or self-monitoring in self-regulation section…

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Modifying the environment, (i.e., TEACCH):

• Reduces anxiety

– Modulates stimulation/sensory challenges – Reduces confusion by providing clear expectations – Organizes space/environment

• Increases meaning

– Clarifies and develops connections – Reduces confusion and improves organization

• Develops self-efficacy

– Need to feel competent – Independence – Acceptance

Recommendations to support EF for learning and accessing the curriculum by, Jennifer Collier

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Visual Supports

• Visual schedule/routine

– Anticipate change – Frees up working memory – Facilitates independence

• Social stories
• Behavior reminders

– 5-point scale

• Analog clocks

– Span of time More Recommendations to support EF for learning and accessing the curriculum by, Jennifer Collier

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How will you know when you are successful?

• Soft Skills goals for accountability
• SCERTS: Transactional supports
• Project ACCESS Program evaluation
• Student outcomes
• Post-secondary employment & sustainability success
• Data collection
• By students self-evaluation and self-reinforcement
• By staff

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