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Tips on Advocating for Your Child’s Education
Your child has just received an ASD diagnosis. Now what? In addition to all your other roles, you are now your child’s Education Advocate. Because of the wide spectrum of what autism can look like, a diagnosis doesn’t always happen during the early years. You could get there early when your...
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Using Evidence-Based Practices to Help Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Improve Their Writing Skills
The use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has become an important topic. The field of ASD is rapidly growing and changing, and an increased number of people diagnosed with ASD has led to the demand to find effective interventions and treatments...
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Accommodating Executive Function Deficits is Important for School Success
Individuals on the spectrum often need special modifications at school. Because everyone is unique, all teachers should have a written document explaining a little about how the student learns best and outlining agreed upon adaptations. There are many lists of possible accommodations for students...
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Accommodations After High School: What Now?
Just getting into college, let alone succeeding there, is stressful for many students and their families. When a student is on the autism spectrum the whole process can seem unmanageable. What do you do when you have what it takes to succeed in higher education, but you struggle with things like...
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Challenging Behavior at School: Using a Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan
When addressing behavior problems, a careful assessment provides the foundation for effective and efficient intervention. Consider the following scenario: After struggling with headaches for nearly a week, you visit a doctor. Following a brief discussion, the doctor suggests brain surgery. While...
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Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports: An Effective Approach for Schools to Prevent and Manage Challenging Behaviors
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) was developed in the 1980s as a data based behavioral intervention for students with behavioral disorders (BD). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based approach which incorporates behavioral and academics...
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Opinion Piece: Standardized Testing in Schools Inadequately Accommodates Special Education
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) covers many federal education programs. The act, in 2001, was put forth to strengthen America’s educational system by requiring States to implement accountability systems covering all schools and all students. Although NCLB covers various education programs, the...
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Addressing Skill Deficits in Students with High Functioning Autism as a Proactive Approach to Prevent Behavioral Challenges
Students with high functioning autism (HFA) typically display cognitive abilities in the average to above average range, and some superior range; therefore often participate in general education classes. While these students have many strengths, specific educational approaches are often needed to...
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Evidence-Based Reading Intervention Practices for Students with ASD
Reading proficiency is a skill that is necessary to function in society. Yet, low reading scores during the school years continue to be a persistent trend in the U.S. The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2014) reports that 66% of U.S. students are not reading proficiently and are not prepared for future...
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Naturalistic Intervention in Classrooms: A Look at Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching
Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching, or CPRT, is a naturalistic behavioral intervention designed for classrooms serving students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). CPRT was created by modifying an evidence-based practice called Pivotal Response Training (PRT), which strives to improve learning in...
