High-Functioning Autism:
Strategies to make Inclusion Successful
 Introduction
and Overview
 The IEP Team
 Accommodations and Modifications
 Paras
 The “Big 3” (Social Skills, Behavior,
Communication)
 General Information
 Wrap-Up: Questions, Answers,
Comments
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Before the 1st day of school: prepare an IEP snapshot
to share with staff members who will be working with
the student. Make sure that ALL people who work
with the student receive a copy of the IEP snapshot!
This includes PE teachers, lunch attendants, bus
drivers, etc…
Learn how to be a great team member. Visit the
“Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in
Special Education” website
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/index.cfm
•
On the right hand side of the homepage there is a link to
“Materials from CADRE”s “National. Symposium on IEP
Faciliation”. Scroll down to item 2.5: The IEP Team: Moving
Beyond Mandated Collaboration.
 Teachers: Send
Meetings”.
out survey “Improving IEP
 Parents: Complete
Ask Parents”.
the worksheet “Questions to
• Please refer to the bibliography for information on obtaining
additional copies of this document.
 Set
up weekly roundtable meetings with
general education, administration, related
service providers, etc…
Turn and Talk
Turn to the people around you.
Share at least 1 thing that you could
do to improve the quality of your IEP
team.
 Comprehensive
List of Modification Ideas:
http://www.jimrodslz.com/sped.html
Click “Making Modfications: Autism” (pdf document)
 Asperger’s
and Classroom Accommodations:
An article with ideas for accommodations that are specific to
children with Asperger’s Syndrome.
http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Aspergers_and_Classroom_Accomodations
 Make
sure that all staff are familiar with the
accommodations and modifications listed
on the IEP.
 Make
sure your paras have a list of
accommodations and they know how to
properly implement them in the classroom.
 Provide
guidance to the classroom teachers
if necessary.

Presentation

Response
-visual cues and graphic organizers
-avoid slang or sarcasm
-allow students to answer in writing OR verbal response
-allow picture responses

Timing/Scheduling

Setting
-Provide an alternate setting for breaks
-visual schedule
-provide plenty of advanced warning before routine changes
-headphones,study carrels,preferenctial seating
Turn and Talk
Turn to the people around you.
What is a specific need that your
student/child has that might require
accommodations? What is an
appropriate accommodation?

Use ONE 3-ring binder per student to create a
notebook system. Keep supplies in the notebook to help
with organization:
• Hole punch
• Copy of Schedule(s)
• Pencil pouch (put a supply list in the pencil pouch. e.g. “2
sharpened pencils, 1 red pen, 1 blue pen, 1 yellow
highlighter”)
• Create a section for each class


Once/week have the student sit down with the teacher
or para and sort through the notebook.
Use this instead of 7 or 8 different folders/binders.

Provide each para with a notebook
• Document their roles and responsibilities. BE SPECIFIC.
• Include a copy of behavior plan (Make sure to review this with them and
discuss their role in the behavior plan.)
• Make sure they have a copy of the accommodations and modifications and they
know how to implement them in the classroom.
• Include a copy of the IEP snapshot.

Extra copies of power cards / social stories / picture schedules.

Teach the paras about the autism spectrum. They will be able to provide
better assistance to the student if they understand the disability.

Ask for their input.

Provide direction. Be specific. Give them the words to use. (“If Suzy
starts to become agitated before the math quiz you should say/do
___________.”)
Training and Supporting Paras
Turn and Talk:
Teachers
Turn and Talk:
Parents
What are 2 things
that I could do to
help my paras
provide better
support in the
classroom?
Has your child
received para
assistance in the
classroom? Share
your
experiences.
*Social Skills
*Behavior
*Communication
 Students
with autism are not able to learn
social skills by watching others.
 You
will need to provide explicit instruction.
 Project
DATA (a program through the
University of Washington) is accessible at
http://depts.washington.edu/dataproj/ This
website has a GREAT checklist of social
skills that may need to be addressed.
•Scripting
•Social Stories
•Social Autopsies
• Video Review
•Role Playing
•People Pages
•Power Cards
•Comic Book Conversations
http://www.education.com/reference/article/social-skills-intervention-autism-ASD/
http://www.education.com/reference/article/social-scripts-stories-asperger-ASD/

The Hidden Curriculum
• Brenda Smith Myles has written an excellent article explaining “The
Hidden Curriculum”. These are the things that we think everyone
should “just know.” Many examples are cited in her article. Her works
cited section contains some excellent resources that you could check
out.
• http://www.education.com/reference/article/hidden-curriculumschool-asperger/?page=2

Trevor Trevor by Diane Twachtman-Cullen
• A heartwarming story designed to enable students to become more
sensitive toward their classmates with differences.

Social Skills Training: For Children & Adolescents with
Asperger Syndrome & Social Communication Problems
• 70 lesson plans and activities for social skills training.
 The
Gray Center for Social Learning and
Understanding (Lots of resources!)
www.thegraycenter.org
Turn and Talk:
What social skills do you find
most difficult to address?
Based upon the information
you have just been given
what is one thing that you
could try?
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Students with autism have behavior issues for different reasons
than their peers.
Students with autism spectrum disorders and others who
experience moderate to severe communication disorders
frequently have behavior difficulties because they don’t
understand their world very well and they are not effective in
getting their wants and needs met.
When a student uses a behavior that works to accomplish his goal,
he will use that behavior over again. If we want the behavior to
change we might have to:
 Change how we communicate
 Alter how we respond
 Modify the environment
Antecedent
Behavior
Consequence
Function
(what happened,
who was present,
where, when)
(operationally define
target behavior)
(what did you do, what
did peers/ others do)
(what was the
communicative
intent?)
•Something taken away
•Transition
•Requested to do
something
•Invasion of personal
space
•Environment change
•Routine change
•Etc…
•Hitting
•Self-injury
•Self-stim
•Verbal
•Tantrum
•Throwing
•Flopping
•Screaming
•Walking away
•Running away
•Redirected
•Natural consequences
•Ignored
•Showed picture/rule card
•Time-out
•Escape/avoidance?
•Attention?
•Sensory?
•Multiple?



Functional Behavior Assessment for People With
Autism: Making Sense of Seemingly Senseless Behavior
by Beth A.Glasberg, Ph.D.
Wright’s Law (Informational Page)
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.fab.starin.htm
Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice
Helpful information about FBA’s.
http://cecp.air.org/fba/
 Red
and Green Choices
• www.redandgreenchoices.com
 The
Incredible 5-Point Scale
• www.5pointscale.com
 First…Then
 Visual
Schedule
 Priming
 Supporting
Appropriate Behavior in
Students with Asperger Syndrome
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Approp_Behav/
 KU
Special Connections
http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/specconn/index.php

Cycle of Rage
• “The Rumbling” (The WARNING that something is about to happen.)
• “The Rage Stage” (Acting impulsively, emotionally, and sometimes
explosively.)
• “The Recovery Stage” (After the storm has passed.)
Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage, and
Meltdowns by Brenda Smith Myles
Communication is more than just speech: It is a
complex process that requires the
interconnection of many different skills. Even if
students appear to be developing
communication skills, it is important to
remember that their communication systems
may not work efficiently or effectively.

Stokes, Susan and Prizant, Barry “Unconventional Communication “Echolalia”” 31 July
2009 <http://www.austinschools.org/lifeskills/Student%20Communication.pdf>


Visual Supports are an effective instructional tool…
Visual supports organize a sequence of events, enhancing
the student’s ability to understand, anticipate and participate
in those events.

Visual supports supplement verbal instruction, clarifying the
information for the student and increasing comprehension.

Visual supports can be used to cue communication,
providing reminders of what to do and say in a situation.”
From: Teaching Children with Autism: Strategies to Enhance
Communication and Socialization by Kathleen Quill, New York:
Delmar Publishers Inc., 1995
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Modifications/Accommodations
Practice asking for help.
Allow additional time for processing!!!
Provide multiple means for expressing knowledge
(kidspiration/inspiration, oral response, power point,
3D model, etc…)
Appoint an “Advance Agent”. (Classroom teacher or
para.) “I’m going to ask you question #4.”
Graphic Organizers
Word Banks
Simplify verbal messages given to the student
Christi Kasa-Hendrickson, Ph.D. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs;
http://www.taalliance.org/conferences/2009/materials/autism-inclusionnovideo.ppt#256,1,Successful Inclusion for Students
with Autism
Incredible Power Point!! If you are looking
for ideas on using visual supports you
NEED to read this!!!
www.cenmi.org/Portals/4/Documents/Tu
torials/VisualSupports.pps
Turn and Talk:
What is one communication
strategy that you would like
to implement?
Susan Stokes (Cooperative Educational Service
Agency #7, Wisconsin)
www.specialed.us/autism/Autism.pdf
www.specialconnections.ku.edu
http://www.teacch.com/highfunction.html (More Ideas!)
www.autismnetwork.org (Modules Section = Great
Ideas!)

www.researchautism.org
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Click on “resources”
Click “LIFE JOURNEY THROUGH AUTISM”
Choose any or all books available.
Download for free. ($5.00 for a hardcopy)
Start a notebook specifically for “Autism Resources”. 
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE RESOURCE! It has sensible, easy-tounderstand, and easy-to-implement strategies!!! DOWNLOAD
THIS. READ IT.
The End