Good to see many of you over the last week or so. We had a couple of GREAT team meetings last Friday, including one which fully included our student in the meeting, who demonstrated her usual grace and enjoyment of being surrounded by many of you.
On Friday, I used an analogy of us being guides to move in a direction for and with our students... like a train leaving a station. We can take our time moving, we can support getting on, bringing luggage, ensuring understanding, etc.... but ultimately, the train is (you are) moving in a deliberate direction, a sequence, a schedule for the day which is full of wonderful adventures. You can show your student the way and how to enjoy the view, the stops, the excitement, what there is to learn.
This quote (below) was posted today by an autism group on Facebook and I thought it was perfectly fitting for this analogy:
Bottomline, we are not worried about speed at Synergy. We wish to spotlight the role we have with our students, as guides. We wish to show them they can learn, grow, challenge themselves, and be inspired by the world and by you, their guide. One way we're currently targeting this trust in you as guides is to NOT speed up, hurry up, or rush but to continue to CONNECT FIRST. Then use your schedule for the day (however you offer that visually or verbally) to then move to the first activity. Then continue guiding according to the schedule or sequence of the day or time together, stringing together activities as much as you can, until you or your student indicate needing a break for sensory, exercise, snack, etc. Demonstrate and stay true to the sequence of the day together. For someone struggling with the environment being a bit chaotic or overwhelming, having a trusted person who gently yet confidently guides the way to see the sequence of things, could be such a relief and window in for learning in so many new ways!
So let's capitalize on the sequencing concept this next week and have fun with it!
I'll post more later but think about all the exciting sequences in every day life that we find so essential to our living:
Counting
The Alphabet
Planting seeds to grow
Taking items out to play with or manipulate, then putting them away
Writing our name
Starting a game, playing, then ending the game when someone wins (or there is a resolution)
Story lines!
Getting dressed
Brushing teeth
And so many more!!! Have fun with the theme.... focuses are on:
1. Connect first and whenever needed for regulation and engagement
2. Sequencing through the daily schedule
3. Sequencing in general, in life, in chores, in leisure....
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns~
Barb
I am so happy to report that I have received some great feedback that you do not need me to be changing the theme each week or even every other week! This has been a bit overwhelming for you in trying to keep up... let alone have your student come along with you on the concepts and themes. The last thing I want to be doing is speeding you up. I truly believe in slowing down to make progress more meaningful and long lasting. Hooray!
So, please continue with the Engagement Theme of Connect 1st. This is so incredibly crucial in starting your day AND when you notice a disconnect between you. Learning just simply does not seem to happen if your student's mind is not engaged with you as his or her guide.
Here are a couple-few additional and fun pumpkin/Halloween theme activities and sites with activities that I think would be great opportunities for engaging and connecting with many students with and without autism... just to get your imagination going....
Miscellaneous art projects
http://amomwithalessonplan.com/easy-halloween-decorations/
I will be posting videos specific to students with whom I am working on their own private sites, to make the Fall and Engagement theme come to life even more. However, if you are reading this and are not involved with direct support, do consider contacting me to see if you would like me to review videos and consult with you regarding truly connecting with your child or student with autism.
Welcome to another week of guiding with Synergy. In this theme, we will be focusing on one very important social-engagement technique while having a bit of Fall fun with pumpkins.
The concept I would like for you to pour your attention into this next week is the CONNECT 1ST concept. This concept is crucial for so many reasons with all children but especially those on the autism spectrum.
We are finding repeatedly in the current neuroscience research that sensory information (sight, hearing, touch, etc) are all potentially either coming in at the same time at the same level of intensity and/or they are even fused together (seeing color when hearing something is called Synesthesia, for example) in autism. Imagine, just for a moment, trying to learn a new language in a foreign country to you, when you have all of your senses combined and similar intensity. You are awash with words that are not familiar, colors, tastes, loud-abrupt noises that you were not sure are dangerous or mundane. Trying to figure out "bathroom" or "cup" would be near impossible with the level of multiple inputs coming into your system as your anxiety rises. Someone comes at you yelling, screaming at you to "sit down," so you do. You are scared, feel alone, and your anxiety rises even though you outwardly feel you must remain seated as the person demanded.
However, imagine now, that someone comes out of that fog of sensory over-stimulation, to calmly touch your arm, while smiling and being obviously gentle and kind in their movements, and leads you quietly to the side of a busy street, while holding a visual symbol of something you really wanted/needed in that moment (e.g., "coffee" in my case). That person helps you navigate and learn the word "coffee" just by connecting one on one with you, decreasing the extraneous information's priorities, and guiding your focus to him and the item/activity. Your anxiety eases knowing someone understands you. Your anxiety eases now that you have at least one word solid that you can use. Your confidence rises and your curiosity about this new place returns. However, you do not wish to go back to the middle of that crowd where the people were yelling at you to sit down, even if their intent was to offer you coffee after you sit and comply dutifully. You wish to find out more about that calm, kind, and informative guide who understood you and your need for connection for learning the new language.
Connecting 1st video examples
I am posting 3 different video clips of a father truly connecting first with his son before speaking and before engaging in the next activity. This guide touches, he is quiet, he is calm. He waits for his son to shift his attention to him and their interaction before continuing.
Connecting 1st to start your day or session together
Many of you have instructions to use a full 20 minutes to connect first before you engage in your daily school routine. If you are new on the scene (e.g., walking in to start your school time with a student, coming home after work, or simply after a break), take the time to truly connect with your student or child before anything else happens. This is significantly more important than ANY compliance and/or activity you could start. Without engagement, you have no true guidance. You only have compliance.
This initial connection can be similar to the video but instead of following with starting your schedule immediately or starting your next activity, it means engaging in a simple back and forth "conversation" without words. You might say "hi" and then s/he says "hi." Then you say "nice shirt" and then s/he looks down and touches his/her shirt. Then you point to your shirt and say "mine's green." Then you shift to playing a fist bump back and forth game or passing something back and forth between you or simply sitting and leaning forward then leaning back in a partnership for a few minutes while you smile back and forth. This is true relationship building. This is the basis of guiding successfully. This is trust building.
Connecting 1st within an activity
So this use of "connect 1st" refers to the moments when you can see that your student or child is less engaged with you. Maybe there was something that happened outside that took your student's attention away or maybe the activity is pretty engaging and you both have gotten a little lost in the moment. Consider taking the time to re-engage and not say a word without shifting attention to one another using the above techniques. It will enhance your interactions significantly to take a few moments to ensure engagement by connecting vs. allowing your words and guidance to go wasted because one of you is no longer connected and engaged.
PUMPKIN THEME!
Oh how exciting pumpkins can be for a teacher. There are so many books, messy, sensory, science, and active games associated with pumpkins! Go wild! Have fun! Here are a few ideas:
5 Little Pumpkins song, book, games, and art work
-counting goals, turn taking, reading high frequency words, and more!
Messy pumpkin carving
-problem solve how to do each step from cutting the top to what you will use to scoop the goop!
Pumpkin patch or grocery store
-if you can go to the pumpkin patch (or grocery store), selecting just the right pumpkin then carrying said pumpkin is great for exercise and sensory integration (heavy work!)
The great pumpkin - Charlie Brown
-this is just one book that is a classic you can pick up to bring the theme to life.
Cookie Cutter pumpkins (mallet and cookie cutters)
-Just saw this one... consider using metal or hard cookie cutters placed on the outside of a pumpkin then hammering (or use a mallet) to cut through the pumpkin's skin for that shape. This sure beats using a sharp knife! Let me know if this works!!!
Have fun and do let me know if you have any questions and/or concerns.
Being a very athletic child, myself, I turned to coaching well into my early 30's. These early experiences gave me an appreciation for the importance of exercise in general while ensuring my intrigue with the impacts of exercise with those on the autism spectrum. When working with children with autism, it seems clear that many are full of energy while also being very strong and agile.
When I was just starting out in the field of autism, in 1985, it was my dream to
own a big center with a running track all the way around it with many
options for all kinds of exercise. It was obvious to me then and even
more obvious now, the importance of exercise in the lives of many people
with autism.
Studies indicate the importance of exercise in the reduction of self
injurious behaviors, aggression, and improvements of attention in
autism. Find an article from Autism Research Institute's Stephen M.
Edelson HERE. Beaverton, Oregon's own, Karla Fischer, also indicates how helpful exercise has been for her. And under the "anxiety" section of Temple Grandin's Frequently Asked Questions (and answers from her), she lists exercise as key to her lifestyle.
Ryan Lockard of Specialty Athletic Training has been paving the way right here in the Portland Metro area for integrating exercise into the lives of those with autism and other disabilities. He is supporting several students served also by Synergy Autism Center.
Please take the time with this theme (and beyond) to not only integrate exercise in your
daily routine with your student, but also to find a way to talk about it
with him or her. Use visuals, books, games, and other materials you know are successful for communicating with your student.
Our goal is to help your student develop an understanding of the importance of exercise for his or her body while pushing to new levels of exertion.
Not only is the physical exercise important but the concept of challenging oneself slightly beyond where one thought possible.... is priceless and a key learning for life.
Ideas for integrating exercise and social engagement practice: Start small.Short exercises engaging your student's larger muscles AND celebrating your guide/student relationship will be the most successful initial integration, in many ways.
These first exercises were recommended by Ryan Lockard and integrated by me, into 2 student's daily home instruction routines. Add these in every 20 minutes to an hour.... take a short break right there within your school day to try these full body and socially engaging activities. These both employ the partnership of "same time, same role," which is often challenging for those one the autism spectrum, as it requires coordinating one's movements with someone else's in real time. Keep it slow, deliberate, supported and remember to bring your student to the edge plus just a little more without allowing them to go fully over that edge. However, remember, too, that if you don't occasionally go over that edge, your student is not learning at the rate they probably can with you....because you may be overcompensating....
a. Squats: Position chairs facing each other. Hold each others hands or arms. Stand up together at the same time, and sit down again at the same time. This provides both exercise AND practice with social engagement practice of moving in unison with someone else. Ways to make fun and more understandable: chant, count, and/or sing in a rhythm that matches your movements. b. Step Ups: Find a step or other sturdy and raised surface. Stand side by side. Ensure touch that is either holding hands or your guiding across shoulders. If your student is sensitive to touch and can hold something between you, that may also support the physical connection between you that is important for visually and physically coordinating movements. Recommendation: A step that is NOT associated with stairs going up or down to another location is preferable. It can be confusing to someone learning language who is taking information in visually to start to go up stairs and then have to go back down that first stair and repeat. You may be met with frustration which can be eliminated if the step is visually only one that can be stepped up onto then off.
I have searched the internet for videos for these... let's make some and post them here (with permissions!)
Have fun integrating exercise all of you!
Barb Avila bavilaconsulting@gmail.com
