Using the Building Blocks
Approach to Meet the Needs
of Young Children with Autism
and Related Disorders
Ilene Schwartz
University of Washington
Ilene@uw.edu
Great resources on
Head Start Center on
Inclusion Website
• http://depts.washington.edu/hscenter/
Building Blocks
• Educational practices
• Designed to help teachers
include and teach young
children with disabilities and
other special needs
Why Building Blocks?
• To understand how teachers and teams
create early childhood classrooms that
enable all children to participate, interact and
learn important and valued outcomes.
• To understand what practices work in
everyday classrooms.
• To understand the instructional strategies
needed to provide inclusive settings
Big Questions…
• What does
inclusion mean?
• Individuals define
inclusion differently.
• Inclusion is about
belonging and
participating in a
diverse society.
• What does it mean
for a young child to
be successful in an
early childhood
classroom?
•Sense of belonging
•Genuine child
learning
•Opportunities to
build friendships
Using the Building Blocks
model can help all
children participate,
learn, and thrive in their
classrooms.
Child-focused
Instructional Strategies
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications & adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
What is SDI
• SDIs are important to help children with
disabilities participate fully with their
typical peers
• SDI's fall into two categories:
accommodations and modifications.
Some people use the terms
interchangeably, but legally they are not
the same.
Accommodations
• These are changes in the way in which
the child is treated in order to best
accommodate the child's physical,
cognitive or emotional challenges
Modifications
• These change the academic or
curricular demands made of a child to
better fit the child's ability.
Planning: Special Education
IFSPIEP Goals/Objectives
Activity Matrix
Theme
Activities & Materials
Problem:
• Planning is only occurring at an individual level
• Classroom goals and group needs are not being
recognized
• Learning for children who are typically developing and
children with special needs in non-service areas is not a
focus
Planning
IFSPIEP
Goals/Objectives
Activity Matrix
Special Instruction
Theme
Activities & Materials
Benchmarks
Curriculum/
Classroom Goals
General Instruction
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications & adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
Embedded Learning
Opportunities
• Teachers create short teaching
episodes within ongoing classroom
activities and routines.
• Teaching episodes focus on a
child’s individual learning objective.
Keys to Embedded Instruction
Know the child’s objectives
Plan materials and activities that
give opportunities to work on
objectives
Give access to reinforcing
consequences
Embedded instruction can be
accomplished by:
• Identifying the target behavior
• Deciding when and where to apply
embedded instruction
• Using an individual Instructional Plan
• Monitoring learning
Other Important Factors
• Keep the activities simple
• Plan the instruction (presenting an
opportunity is not the same as teaching)
Activity Matrix – When/ where
instruction will occur
• Helps teacher ensure that instruction
occurs
• Reminds the staff of the activities and
individual child objectives
• Foundation for planning Individually
Appropriate Activities
Developing an Activity Matrix
Look at the child’s objectives and determine:
• During what activities will we be able to
provide instruction
• Do we have adequate opportunities for
instruction across all children on the matrix
• When is it feasible to collect data on these
objectives
Decide when and where to
embed instruction
• Develop an Activity Matrix
– Individual
– Classroom
• Make sure sufficient opportunities occur
Individual Child Activity Matrix
Child’s Name:
Date:
Teacher or Classroom:
Target Behavior 1*
Target Behavior 2
Target Behavior 3
Target Behavior 4
Target Behavior 5
Schedule
*Individual children will have varying numbers of
target behaviors
smaller as needed to address the individual child’s plan.
Need to include copyright information
that are currently identified for instruction. Simply make the matrix larger or
Individual Child Activity Matrix
Child’s Name:
Jesse
Date:
10/4/04
Teacher or Classroom:
Target Behavior 1 *
Will answer
Target Behavior 2
Will touch and count
Target Behavior 3
Will follow routine
Target Behavior 4
Will answer
questions from peers
up to 5 objects
directions given to
group
comprehension
questions when
Target Behavior 5
Will drink from cup
looking at storybook
Schedule **
X
Arrival
X
Free choice
Class meeting
X
Small group
X
X
X
Outdoor time
X
Snack
X
X
X
Story and music
Departure
X
*Individual children will have varying numbers of
smaller as needed to address the individual child’
X
target behaviors
s plan.
that are currently identified for instruction. Simply make the matrix larger or
**This is a sample schedule. Teachers and classrooms will write in their own schedule of activities and routines.
Need to include copyright information
Classroom Activity Matrix
Teacher or Classroom:
Date:
Child 1 *
Child 2
Child 3
Child 4
Child 5
Schedule
*The Classroom Activity M atrix may include the names of all the children in the class or only the names of children who have individually identified
objectives. Make the matrix as large as needed for your group of students.
Need to include copyright information
Classroom Activity Matrix
Teacher or Classroom:
Date:
Child 1 *
Jesse
Child 2
Maria
Child 3
Kyo
Child 4
Jamal
Schedule
Arrival
Free choice
-follow group
directions
-answer storybook
questions
-answer questions
Class meeting
from peers
-follow group
directions
-answer questions
Small group
from peers
-touch and count up
to 5 objects
Outdoor time
Snack
-touch and count up
to 5 objects
-touch and count up
to 5 objects
-drink from cup
Story an d music
-answer storybook
questions
-answer questions
Departure
from peers
-follow group
directions
* Make the matrix as large as needed for your group of students.
Need to incl ude copyright information
All individual
targ et behaviors will be filled in for each child.
Child 5
Alana
Difference between embedded
instruction and teachable
moments
Embedded
Instruction
• Planned
• Driven by child’s
learning objective
• Ensuring instruction
occurs
• Systematic progress
monitoring
Teachable Moments
• Spontaneous
• Driven by “the
moment”
• Taking advantage of
an opportunity
• Progress monitoring
driven by
opportunity
Instructional Plans – How will
we teach the skills
Based on:
• Child’s Objectives
• Activity Matrix
• Individual Learning Styles
• Modified based on data
Instructional Plan
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Child’s name
Date
Current objective
Toys, materials, other equipment
Selected activities or routines
Antecedents
Target behavior
Consequence
Plan for data collection
Intervention Plan
Child’s Name:
Jesse
Date:
10/4/04
Current Objective: When asked to count the (objects), Jesse will touch and count the objects in sets up 5
correctly on at least 4 of 5 opportunities.
Materials: Any countable items such as blocks, children, spoons, trucks
Activities and Routines:
Frequency:
Small group time; snack; outdoor time
Try to have Jesse practice 3 or 4 times at each activity.
Antecedent
Target Behavior
Consequence
What the Teacher will Say or Do
What the Child will Say or Do
How the Teacher or Environment w ill Respond
If correct, acknowledge Jesse’s counting and
let him hold the objects.
1. Small group time
Touches and counts the objects.
Place 1-5 objects in front of Jesse.
“Count the (objects).”
2. Sn a c k
Place 1-5 bowls, utensils or food
items in front of Jesse.
“Count the (objects).”
If incorrect, say “Let’s try that again, count
the (objects).” Point to the objects and
touch and count with Jesse.
Touches and counts the objects.
If no response, ignore, give another child a
turn, return to Jesse.
If correct, acknowledge Jesse’s counting and
let him assist with snack.
If incorrect, say “Let’s try that again, count
the (objects).” Point to the objects and
touch and count with him.
If no response, ignore, give another child a
turn, return to Jesse.
Data Collection – How will
progress be monitored
• Must be sustainable (i.e., able to
maintain it over time)
• Must be reasonable (i.e., realistic
endeavor allowing for instruction and
evaluation)
• Must be used by all staff
Embedded Instruction &
Assessment
• Assessment of functional skills in a
natural environment
• Opportunities to provide instruction and
assess skills are planned and consistent
• Addresses multiple skills or domains in
single activities (time saver)
Embedded Instruction &
Assessment
• Performed in classroom and during the
typical routine rather than a separate
environment or one-on-one context
• Provides natural motivation to
encourage children to demonstrate
skills
• Aides in the assessment of
generalization and maintenance of skills
Monitoring Progress
• Keep track of each child’s progress
• Keep track regularly
– Counts
– Notes
– Products
• Adjust as needed
• Integrity checklists
• Delight in your children’s learning!
Child Focused
Instructional Strategies
Child-focused
Instructional Strategies
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications & adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
Child Focused Instructional
Strategies
• Used when children need specialized
instruction to make progress on a
targeted goal
• Involve use of evidence-based
instructional strategies
• Specific strategies chosen based on
child strengths and areas of need
Prompting Techniques
• Something the teacher does that increases
the likelihood of correct responding by the
child
• Prompting happens BEFORE the child’s
response
• Allows you to get responses that you can
reinforce
Menu of Prompts
• Common prompts
•
•
•
•
Model
Gesture
Verbal
Partial and full physical
• Other types of prompts
• Pictorial
• Mixed prompts
Prompt Fading
• Once a prompt is added, it must also be
systematically faded
• Prompts can be faded by:
– Time
• Constant Time Delay - fading prompts by
increasing the amount of time between
direction and prompt
Prompt Fading
• Amount of assistance provided
– Most-to-Least - progressively less
intrusive prompts until the child
responds independently
– Least-to-Most- Provide progressively
more intrusive prompts until the child
responds independently
Reinforcement
• What is a reinforcer?
– A reinforcer is a consequence you give to
the child that increases the likelihood of a
behavior happening again. It can include
food, materials, activities, people, or words
• Positive Reinforcement:
– Helps children understand their behavior
has an effect on their environment
– Can help children build self-esteem
Use Reinforcement Effectively
• Make reinforcement contingent on appropriate behavior
• Give reinforcement immediately after the behavior you want to
happen again
• Use social praise that describes the appropriate behavior
• Vary reinforcers
• Reinforcers are individual to each child
• Begin teaching new tasks with a continual reinforcement
schedule
• Thin the schedule of tangible reinforcement (do not discontinue
praise) -- variable schedules of reinforcement build the most
durable behaviors
Discrete Trial Teaching
Instruction
Prompt if
necessary
Child’s
Response
Consequence
Discrete Trial Teaching
• Break skills into smaller parts
• Success with variety of skills
• Addresses deficits
– Attention
– Motivation
– Observational Learning
– Communication
Ready, set, go!