• Academic Supports for College Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Advice from Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Teachers Regarding Literacy Instruction
• Advice for Peer Tutors
• Applying the Ziggurat and CAPS Model in Your School District
• Aspects of Support for Learning
• A Young Adult's Guide to Deep Breathing as a Relaxation Technique: A Personalized Fact Sheet
• Can Schedule Usage Training Include Elements of Literacy Instruction?
• Clean Up Your Act! Creating an Organized Classroom Environment for Students on the Spectrum.
• Change is Good! Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum when Introducing Novelty
• Classroom Choreography: The Art of Scheduling Staff and Students
• Complexities of Instructional Support
• Creating a Circle of Support
• Critical Features of Early Intervention: Merging Best Practices
• Developing Long Term Relationships Between School and Parents
• Early Intervention for Young Children on the Autism spectrum: Parent’s Perspective
• Educating Students with Autism: Are There Differences in Placement?
• Establishing Long Term Goals: What Are We Hoping to Achieve
• For General Education Teachers: Helpful Questions to Ask About Students with ASD
• Get Engaged: Designing Instructional Activities to Help Students Stay On-Task
• "Ham It Up and Get It Cookin!!" Thoughts From Dr. Greenspan
• Home-School Communication
• "I Can Do It Myself!" Using Work Systems to Build Independence in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
• “I Wake Up for MY Dream!” Personal Futures Planning Circles of Support, MAPS and PATH
• Life After High School...So Now What
• Literacy Resources
• Lovaas Revisited: Should We Have Ever Left?
• Making the Most of Morning Meeting
• Motivating Students Who Have Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Moving from Preschool to Kindergarten: Planning for a Successful Transition and New Relationships
• Peer Support Programs
• Promoting the Educational Success of Students with Autism: The Role of the Parent-Staff Relationship
• Planning for Successful Transitions Across Grade Levels
• Practical Steps to Writing Individualized Education Program (IEP) Goals: And Writing Them Well
• Practical Recommendations for Utilizing a Range of Instructional Approaches in General Education Settings
• Recognizing Different Types of Readers with ASD
• Reframing Our Thinking and Getting to Know the Child
• Restricted Repertoires in Autism and What We Can Do About It
• School Cultures that Support Students Across the Autism Spectrum
• Service Learning: Something to Think About
• Supporting Staff Using Coaching Model
• Supporting Students with Asperger's Syndrome
• Teaching Students Who Are Low-Functioning: Who Are They and What Should We Teach?
• Theory of Mind in Autism: Development, Implications, and Intervention
• There is No Place Called Inclusion
• The Road to Post-Secondary Education: Questions to Consider
• Tips for Teaching High-Functioning People with Autism
• Tips to Consider When Including a Student with ASD in Art, Music, or Physical Education
• Transition: Preparing for a Lifetime
• Transition to Middle School
• Transition Time: Helping Individuals on the Autism Spectrum Move Successfully from One Activity to Another
• Understanding the Design and Power of a Personal Schedule
• Using Visual Schedules: A Guide for Parents
• Who Are We Working for Anyway? Avoiding Personal Agendas at Meetings to Better Support Individuals Across the Autism Spectrum
• Structured Teaching Strategies: A Series
• Growing Up Together
• How to Open A Combination Lock/Locker
• Supporting Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders Through Postsecondary Transition
  • Predictors of Positive Transition
  • Tips for Writing Transition IEP Goals
  • Employment or College?
  • Timeline for Supporting an Individual with ASD Through Transition

Reframing Our Thinking and Getting to Know the Child

Contributed by Kim Davis

Supporting any individual with an autism spectrum disorder should be a team effort. One person cannot do it alone. The team should consist of many individuals from school and home working together. Everyone has a different relationship with the individual and can add different perspectives and ideas. There is no one right way to do this. Open minds and communication are some of the best tools to bring to each meeting.

One way to begin supporting someone is to get to know who he or she is, and to understand his or her strong points. Many times when teams meet, challenges or deficits are very clear to everyone. However, not enough time is spent looking at the positive aspects of the individual. It can be very useful to see each individual as a whole person and not just focus on the challenging aspects. Each individual has positive aspects that can be utilized in their education and life. As a team, there are two lists to create. The first list should be about the student’s strengths, preferences and interests. The second list should include fearful or frustrating situations. Each team member should contribute what he or she is able. The list will grow and change as the student changes.

These lists can provide guidance in how to engage the student in academic activities. For example, if the student is interested in trains, she/he can read about trains, do math involving trains, draw trains, sing songs about trains, or play games involving trains. The interest areas can be built into many activities and will help her/him stay focused and engaged. Temple Grandin often says that we should take the ‘interest areas and broaden them out’.

Look at the day to see what the balance may be between the two lists. Is she/he engaged in more fearful or frustrating activities or are her/his strengths, interests, and preferences worked into the day to bolster the areas that need improvement? If there are more fearful or frustrating engagements, behaviors may reflect those feelings. Try to incorporate as many strengths, interests, and preferences into the day and use them to teach skills that may be needed in the future.

There are two additional lists that would be useful for the team to create in order to get a more complete picture of the student. These lists address areas needing more support and learning, and learning styles and strategies. Once again, if the team spends time in a meeting creating these lists, it will become clearer to everyone what the priorities are for the student. They would reflect ideas from both home and school should be incorporated into the Individualized Education Program (IEP). For example:

Once you have completed the first four lists, it is time to use that information to create learning situations for the student. The Lists can become integral aspects of the planning and implementation of activities that can enhance the student’s learning.

First, establish goals and objectives that are important for the student. It may be wise to begin thinking ‘long term’ when choosing goals, objectives, or activities. For example, being able to sit and work for 15-30 minutes can be a school related and, ultimately, a work related skill. Remember that many of the important goals for the child will not be academic!!!

Next, look at the list of strengths, interests and preferences to see if anything from the list can be used to help the student work toward his or her goals. Using the student’s strengths, interests, and preferences to support his or her learning will increase the motivation to learn. The best way to gain skills is to make the activity interesting and meaningful by utilizing the activities the student enjoys. Everyone is more motivated to work when the task is meaningful to him or her! If it is boring or dull, it is less inviting to do the work.

Along with inserting strengths, interests and preferences into the curriculum, create ways to decrease the fears and frustrations of the student. If anxiety, confusion, and stress can be reduced, it will be easier to learn. As fears are reduced and activities become more interesting, skills will be gained.

Finally, as a team discuss what instructional strategies work best. This may include examining the physical setting. Does the student need a specific work seat that is free from distractions?

Think about noise, visual distraction, smells, or the temperature issues that may be challenging.

Next think about instructional issues. Does the student work best with cues? How does written work need to be adapted? How close should an assistant be while working? Once again, this list can be modified as time passes to maintain a current listing of strategies that everyone might utilize.

This method of getting to know an individual and working as a team can help alleviate some of the stress for everyone involved. Teamwork can be challenging in itself, but if the team remembers that the meeting and lists are about the individual with autism and not about personal egos, progress can be achieved. Truly listening to one another and knowing that each team member has information that is valuable to share is crucial. Success is great positive reinforcement for everyone and can happen by reframing our thinking about meetings as well as about each individual with an autism spectrum disorder.

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Davis, K. (2003). Reframing our thinking and getting to know the child. The Reporter, 8(3), 22-27.