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Author Spot Light:  Training for Paraprofessionals to Work with Students Identified with an Autism Spectrum DisorderInstructional Evaluation - Discussion List INTRODUCTION There was a young man walking down a deserted beach just before dawn. In the distance he saw a frail old man. As he approached the old man, he saw him picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. The young man gazed in wonder as the old man again and again threw the small starfish from the sand into the water. He asked, “Old man, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?” The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. “But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish!” exclaimed the young man. “How can you make any difference?” The old man looked down at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said, “I make a difference to this one.” (Starfish Specialty Press: http://www.starfishpress.com ) Like this story, you are going to make a difference in student’s lives one at a time. Throughout this module you will be requested to write down questions and reflect on information. It would be helpful to get a notebook to use as a journal. First, take a minute to make a list of facts you know about autism, what you want to know, and a third column to fill in at the end of this module of what you have learned.
Currently there are four males for every one female diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As a result, in this module we refer to all students as being male. This is to help make the reading of the module simpler. The alternative would be to say him/her or he/she which can be cumbersome. We fully realize that some of the students you work with will be female. All of the information applies to girls also.
Section 1: Understanding the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Accessing Resources As a paraprofessional, think of yourself as someone to be called upon to interpret how the student understands, perceives and interprets the world. In order to understand the student best, it is essential to learn about the characteristics of ASD. Go to module #32 “Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder” to learn about ASD. This module was created by the Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Dr. Cathy Pratt. See Module #32: ./ideal/modules/32/narrative.php/a> There are free resources online about ASD and about being a paraprofessional. One of the sites is the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA) at www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca This is a great resource to download short articles on educational programming, social skills, sensory, behavior, and other types of programming. Also, sign up for the free newsletter that is distributed three times a year through the Indiana Resource Center for Autism. A subscription form is located on the IRCA website. IRCA is one of seven centers at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC). One of the centers is a library called Center for Disability Information and Referral (CeDir). CeDir is a lending library. You can check out books and videos for four weeks at a time. The use of CeDir is available to anyone interested in learning new information about students or adults with disabilities. Contact CeDir via phone at 1-812-855-9693 or via their website at www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir . The final resources that provide helpful information for you as a paraprofessional are the National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals and the National Education Association (NEA). Sign up for the free newsletter from the National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals via phone at 1-435-797-7272 or via website at www.nrcpara.org. The National Education Association has a booklet called Get Educated: Paraprofessionals that can be accessed via the web at http://www.nea.org/esphome/profdev/educated-para.html . There are people within your building, district, and/or cooperative that should be available to answer questions and give you support as you learn how to educate individuals on the autism spectrum. The majority of school districts have a team of people that have attended the Autism Team Training presented by the Indiana Resource Center for Autism. In many districts, there is an autism consultant/leader/coach who has been assigned. Look on the IRCA website at www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca for the contact person in your school district or cooperative that can provide additional resources, including books and videos on autism spectrum disorders. Find out if there are training events available in your district, or classrooms that you may visit to obtain ideas on how to work with individual students. Ask the following:
Step 2: Beginning Your Job If you are a new paraprofessional, you will need general information about the school to which you are assigned. Below are questions that you can ask to help with your orientation to the new school:
Once hired for your position, there will be questions that you should ask to clarify your role and responsibilities with the school district?
Most of the training you will receive is on the job training. It is imperative to begin to interpret the student’s language, social cues, sensory needs, and calming techniques. Hopefully, the teacher that you are working with will use modeling and coaching to help teach you the strategies that work best for the student(s) in the classroom. If they do not, request them to do so. Using this approach, teachers will model appropriate methods, approaches, and adaptations for the student. Then they will ask you to copy what was just shown in order for them to watch you and to provide feedback immediately. Another way of modeling is to describe what is going on and why. For instance, the teacher could explain, “Elijah is out of his seat because he is looking at the calendar for today’s date.” This helps you understand that there is a reason for him to be out of his seat; don’t react. As new skills are acquired, the teacher may use the technique of coaching to guide you through a specific task or to help with specific skills. This may happen by the teacher sitting near you to whisper ideas or write notes on different ways to approach the situation. This will provide you immediate feedback on your teaching style to support the student’s learning style. Ask clarifying questions from your journal that you have jotted down. Also, it is important to have an open mind, positive attitude and willingness to try new ideas.
Section 3: Learning About the IEP In the beginning, you
should spend time getting to know the student(s) with whom you will be working.
Every student in special education has an individualized education program (IEP).
The IEP describes the student’s strengths, ability levels, needs, and goals and
objectives that need to be accomplished each school year. The IEP is a document
that has been created by the teacher, administrator, parent, and related service
providers, including the occupational therapist, and speech and language
clinician. When possible, the student may be involved also. When you read the file, you must sign your name on the file folder stating what you looked at and the purpose; Only the people that have direct contact with the student can obtain this information; and You can discuss the student with the teacher or school personnel that are supporting you but NEVER use the student’s name in public or discuss his life with anyone you know outside of school. Treat this confidential information as if he was your own child or grandchild.
It may be helpful to obtain copies of various parts of the student’s IEP to have in a folder of your own to keep at school. The pages that would be important are: 1) information about the student’s present level of performance; 2) goals and objectives that will form the substance of what you work on with a student; 3) accommodations and adaptations that need to be in place to help the student be successful; and 4) any behavior plans. Think of the IEP as a working plan or an outline of lesson plans to be completed throughout the school year. Check with the teacher that you are working with to agree on a way to gain access to the student’s IEP information. Ask him/her to explain each part of the IEP so that you will understand the content. An important role that you will play related to the IEP is data collection. You will most likely be asked to collect data on the student’s progress on goals and objectives. The special education teacher will have the data forms for you to note the student’s progress on his goals and objectives. Think of yourself as an extension of the special education teacher to help report the student’s performance. By law, the teacher must show the student’s progress and needs. This information is then shared with the parents.
Section 4: Collaboration Between Professionals and Paraprofessionals Within your job as a paraprofessional you may be required to provide support not only to the student, but also to the teachers. Teachers may need your assistance in preparing instructional materials, grading assignments, or preparing assignments. As a result, it is imperative that you build a relationship with all of the staff that works with the student. You will need to develop trust and respect between the staff and yourself. Think of your role as a balancing act. You don’t want to walk into a teacher’s classroom with all of the answers and start telling everyone what to do nor do you want to stand in the back of the room and wait until staff gives you a direction. If staff needs to tell you what to do every step of the way, you will be viewed as more responsibility for them. Talk with teachers on their expectations for you while in their classroom whether it is in a special or general education classroom. Communication is essential. Developing this balance is delicate and will take time, but will be worth the successes for the student in the long run. Take a minute to write down any questions you have (in your journal) from this section to talk over with the teacher(s) you are working with to help start building a relationship that will lead to positive collaboration.
Section 5: Providing Instruction While consulting with a paraprofessional who works at the middle school level, she said: “I am assigned to the language arts class with Mr. Jones for the first period. I know the two students in the class with ASD need to use more visuals, but I don’t know how to break the assignment down and provide a graphic organizer for the lesson.” This might be a scenario that will be true in your situation when you are working in the general education classroom. If it does occur, write down questions in your journal to ask the teacher. Remember that due to the guidelines set by the state to follow the federal regulations of No Child Left Behind, expectations are high. Teachers feel pressured to have their students pass the ISTEP exam. As a result, you may be the person determining the level of assistance the student needs or making accommodations immediately in situations. It will be helpful for you to know how to implement strategies, accommodations and services in a special education classroom or in general education settings. However, remember that regardless of how busy they might be, certified staff are ultimately responsible for all of their student’s education, including the student with ASD. Student’s with ASD may need to have the lessons presented in the general education classroom modified to meet their individual learning styles, whether visual, auditory, or tactile/kinesthetic (e.g., hands on). Remember that many students with ASD are visual learners. Start thinking about ways in which a lesson can be created with more visuals (i.e. use of highlighter, color coded, visual signal, timer, visual cue) and learn about effective strategies through these websites. How to Use Visual Strategies: www.do2learn.com Social Stories by Carol Gray: www.thegraycenter.com Developing Graphic Organizers: http://www.region15.org/curriculum/graphicorg.html Division TEACCH: Structuring Classrooms: www.teacch.com Websites for Teachers: http://sitesforteachers.com/index.html (i.e. study tools on states and capitals) Computer Software through PATINS: www.patinsproject.com Tips for Teacher Aides: http://www.atpe.org/paraeds/teacheraidetips.htm
You will not only be in the position to teach academic skills, but also to teach self-management, communication, and social skills. Here are a few suggestions:
Coach peers on how to interact and support their classmates with autism in social situations; In a respectful manner, inform classmates about the strengths, and talent on the individual on the spectrum. In addition, give them practical suggestions that have been helpful with a particular student. In every setting (e.g., in the hallway, on the playground, in the classroom), attempt to coach the student with ASD on how to behave socially. If you are too closely positioned to the students during classroom activities, the student may become overly dependent on you. Students will develop cue dependency or learned helplessness. Your goal should be to encourage self-management. Visual supports (e.g., cue cards, schedules, lists, graphic organizers, written rules) can assist in this process. If a student uses a communication system, use the system to communicate with them and encourage them to use the system at all times.
These are just a few suggestions that may be helpful. There are many more that will work with specific student. Work with the student’s educational team, including his family, to determine other strategies.
Section 6: Working With Students Who Have the Most Challenging Needs Many students with ASD have challenging behaviors (e.g., hitting, property destruction, spitting, running). Remember from reading module # 32 that students with ASD have difficulty in the areas of social skills, sensory integration (hyper or hypo sensitive to any of senses), executive function (organization), and theory of mind (understanding others feelings, thoughts, and beliefs). In addition, they have a restricted repertoire of activities or interests. Many students have difficulties expressing themselves or processing information that is presented to them verbally. These challenges are constant throughout the student’s day. As a result, an individual with ASD is often on “overload” or trying to “fit in” socially. The focus of this module is not on solving problem behavior, but here are some pointers to get you started: Ask the teacher to share with you the student’s functional behavior assessment and the behavior intervention plan or behavior support plan. Discuss your role in the plan. Ask for time to role-play when you are uncomfortable in a situation. Follow the plan consistently. Regardless of whether you agree with the plan or not, it is your responsibility to follow it. If you disagree, talk to the teacher about what is or is not working. Know yourself. It is important to not overreact or under react. Overreacting happens when you raise your voice, talk too much to explain yourself, or put your hands on the student. Under-reacting may look like you are ignoring the student. One must know how to react in a tense situation so that your actions do not increase or intensify the behavior situation. Listen. The student may yell, pull, or hit as a way to tell you that something is upsetting or bothering them. It is the job of the adults (e.g., teacher, paraprofessional) to try to understand what is upsetting the students. For example, look at the environment to see what is causing (triggering) the behavior. Then, make arrangements to be more proactive next time. If a student has a particularly bad day, make time either after school that day or before the student’s arrives the following day to discuss what happened and how to make the situation better. These five points can not begin to explain a student’s behavior or may not reflect the student’s behavior support plan. Again communication between the teacher(s) and you is essential to help the student with ASD be successful.
Conclusion Hopefully this module will help you in your work with students on the autism spectrum. In your role as a paraprofessional, you are an important part of the student’s success.
Quiz (Answers) 1. One Individual Education Program (IEP) is written for the whole class. ______ T or F
2. An IEP can be changed at any time by you the paraprofessional. _____ T or F
3. When out in public it is a good idea to mention the student’s full name that you are working with. ______ T or F
4. The accommodations on a student’s IEP are just suggestions. ______ T or F
5. The student’s IEP can be thought of as a “working plan” or outline of expectations for student for one year. _____ T or F
6. Data collection will show parents and other colleagues the progress the student has made and the needs to be accomplished. ____ T or F
7. As a paraprofessional, I can be helpful by taking data when I am working with the student. ____ T or F
8. As a paraprofessional, you are only required to give the student with ASD support in the classroom. _____ T or F
9. Don’t worry about working with the teacher, just do what you think is best at all times. ___ T or F
10. Talk with teachers to work out your role in their classrooms. ____ T or F
11. When collaborating with the teachers you are working with, it is important to have good communication. _____ T or F
12. A functional behavior assessment is a plan that helps identify the causes of the behavior. ____ T or F
13. Student’s with ASD behavior often stems from being over stimulated within the environment. ____ T or F
14. It is alright to not know the student’s behavior plan. ____ T or F
15. Be sure to know your part in the student’s behavior plan. ____ T or F
16. During a challenging behavior time, be sure to listen for the underlying message. ____ T or F
17. Stand by the light switch in the door, and do nothing during a crisis. ____ T or F
18. Be sure to wait to talk with teacher and colleagues until a week after the crisis. ____ T or F
19. It is clear if one describes the behavior as “aggressive.” ____ T or F
Short Answer
1. List five strategies from three of the websites that you found helpful. Write strategies in your journal to share with staff and try with the student(s).
2. Fill out the third column of this chart.
1. One Individual Education Program (IEP) is written for the whole class. ______ F
2. An IEP can be changed at any time by you the paraprofessional. _____ F
3. When out in public it is a good idea to mention the student’s full name that you are working with. ______ F
4. The accommodations on a student’s IEP are just suggestions. ______ F
5. The student’s IEP can be thought of as a “working plan” or outline of expectations for student for one year. _____ T
6. Data collection will show parents and other colleagues the progress the student has made and the needs to be accomplished. ____ T
7. As a paraprofessional, I can be helpful by taking data when I am working with the student. ____ T
8. As a paraprofessional, you are only required to give the student with ASD support in the classroom. _____ F
9. Don’t worry about working with the teacher, just do what you think is best at all times. ___ F
10. Talk with teachers to work out your role in their classrooms. ____ T
11. When collaborating with the teachers you are working with, it is important to have good communication. _____ T
12. A functional behavior assessment is a plan that helps identify the causes of the behavior. ____ T
13. Student’s with ASD behavior often stems from being over stimulated within the environment. ____ T
14. It is alright to not know the student’s behavior plan. ____ F
15. Be sure to know your part in the student’s behavior plan. ____ T
16. During a challenging behavior time, be sure to listen for the underlying message. ____ T
17. Stand by the light switch in the door, and do nothing during a crisis. ____ F
18. Be sure to wait to talk with teacher and colleagues until a week after the crisis. ____ F
19. It is clear if one describes the behavior as “aggressive.” ____ F
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