Regional Autism Advisory Council of

Southwest Ohio (RAAC-SWO)

RAAC Training Committee 2011

The Basics of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Training Series

Training Series Modules

Module One: Autism Defined, Autism Prevalence and Primary Characteristics

Module Two: Physical Characteristics of Autism

Module Three: Cognition and Learning in Autism

Module Four: Getting the Student Ready to Learn

Module Five: Structuring the Classroom Environment

Module Six: Using Reinforcement in the Classroom

Training Series Modules

Module Seven: Autism and Sensory Differences

Module Eight: Sensory in the Classroom

Module Nine: Communication and Autism

Module Ten: Communication in the Classroom

Module Eleven: Behavior Challenges and Autism

Module Twelve: Understanding Behavior in Students with Autism

Training Series ModulesModule Thirteen: Social Skills in the School

Environment

Module Fourteen: Functional Behavior Assessment

Module Fifteen: Working Together as a Team

Module Sixteen: Autism and Leisure Skills to Teach

Module Seventeen: Special Issues of Adolescence

Module Eighteen: Safety and Autism

Module Nineteen: Special Issues: High School, Transition, and Job Readiness

Training Series ModulesModule Twenty: Asperger Syndrome: Managing

and Organizing the Environment

Module Twenty-One: Asperger Syndrome: Addressing Social Skills

When arranging a classroom environment for a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder one

must consider 3 things:

1. Physical Structure2. Visual Supports3. Work Systems

Big Idea

The way an environment is

organized and laid out is one of the most

important factors for success in the

classroom.

Physical Structure

Physical structure should be considered in any environment the student with autism is going to be in, including: classrooms, hallways, lunch room, recess, locker/cubby areas.

The furniture, desks, and carpet areas are arranged in a way that the student knows where an area begins and where it ends.

The arrangement of the room should decrease auditory and visual stimulation.

Materials should be organized and stored not in view of the students.

Physical Structure in Different Environments

Visual SupportsVisual supports are a way to take what

a student hears and put it into picture/word form.

Visual supports should be portable (able be carried or moved) so that they can travel with the student if necessary.

Visual supports should not be taken away or utilized only sometimes.

Visual supports are more than just putting labels on various items.

Reasons to UseVisual Supports

Improves predictability (student knows what is coming next)

Provides clear expectations (what work, how much work, when am I finished)

Promotes independence

Creates structure to environments that are often confusing

Reduces anxiety

Reduces behavioral difficulties

Establishes trust

Use as a contract (do this work, then you get this reward)

Examples of Visual Supports

Visual Schedules (picture, words, calendar)

Group SchedulesDirectionsLabelsFirst/Then Board

Visual SchedulesThe goal of a visual schedule is for

the student to INDEPENDENTLY move from activity to activity, or classroom to classroom within the school day.

Schedules need to be portable and easy to use.

They should not be taken away. The schedule can be made using

objects, pictures, words, whatever works best for the student

Big Idea

Students, even those with High Functioning Autism or Asperger

Syndrome, may always need some form of a visual schedule

in order to be successful.

Examples of Visual Schedules

Written Schedule. The student checks off the activity as the school day progresses.

Picture schedule. The student takes the picture and matches it to the same picture in the area the activity

will be taking place.

Group Schedules Communicates to

students what activities will occur during group time and what will happen when group is finished (wait chair icon)

Directions Decreases need for

verbal directions.

Increases independence.

First / Then BoardsConsider this familiar

scene…

The teacher wants student to complete assigned work.

The student wants to play a computer game.

Solution: Provide a first/then board that communicates to the student the ‘work’ they have to do, then the reward they get.

Visual Supports Visual supports are a way to solve

problems.

Ask yourself the following questions:

What do you hear yourself saying over and over?

What do you hear students asking you over and over?

Where is the student breaking down?

The answers to these questions lead you toward where visual supports should be implemented.

Big Idea

“If you’ve told a child a thousand times and he still does not

understand, then it is not the child who is the slow learner.”

Attributed to Walter Barbee

Work SystemsWork systems provide clear and predictable

routines.

Work systems increase engagement and on task behavior.

Work systems promote independence.

Work systems provide opportunities for students to practice skills that have already been TAUGHT to them.

Work systems can be utilized to practice academic skills, daily living skills, recreation skills, and leisure skills.

Work Systems

Work systems can be utilized in multiple environments including the classroom, lunch room, gym, office, community, and home.

Work systems contain activities the student already knows how to do on their own.

Work systems can be utilized to practice academic skills, leisure skills, daily living skills, and recreational skills.

The goal of work systems is for the student to complete the activities with no adult assistance.

Work Systems

Work systems are organized from left to right.

Work systems answer the following questions:What is the work to be done?How much work?When am I finished?What do I do when I am finished?

Big Idea

The main purpose of a work system is to develop a way that the student completes a task independent of an

adult’s assistance.