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Question Library: Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
People have lots of questions about Autism Spectrum Disorders, individual student needs, teaching techniques, resources for whatever they need, managing behavior challenges and lots more. The answers to those questions will be posted in this department. All of the questions on this site are listed in the Question Library for your reference. They are also posted in the departments for their specific topic.
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Using Visual Strategies in 'Special' Classroom Settings
QUESTION: I am an adaptive PE Specialist. I want to do better with my children with Autism. I want to improve my communication in PE settings. What can I do? ANSWER: PE teachers, Librarians, music teachers and others who teach what we call "specials" face several important challenges. The first challenge is that the students may go to a different classroom. Second, they are working with a different teacher. Third, the new location probably doesn't have the same supports, routines or rules. And fourth, the "specials" generally don't occur on a daily basis. . . .
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Using Visual Strategies with Verbal Behavior Programs
QUESTION: I work in a preschool which has a strong Verbal Behavior program in speech therapy. Can I use visuals to enhance their communication program and not be in opposition to their verbal behavior program? ANSWER: Great question. The answer is YES! Here's how to think about it. Verbal Behavior is linked to ABA. It's a structured teaching method or teaching style that guides instructors as they teach skills. . . .
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Understanding and Decreasing Repeated Questions in Children with Autism
QUESTION: How can I use visual strategies to decrease the amount of repeated questions from students. ANSWER: This is a common question and a great one. Think of it like this. When a student is repeating a question over and over he is driving us nuts. But he is also expressing important information to us. So ask yourself. . ."What is his purpose? Why is he talking? Is he repeating because he is anxious about something? Is he asking about something that is going to happen? What is he trying to communicate?" . . .
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How to Integrate Visual Strategies into Daily Communication
QUESTION: How can I integrate visual strategies into my everyday thinking so that I do it automatically? ANSWER: Great question! If you do manage to integrate this concept into your everyday thinking you will become a master communicator. Here is what I suggest to people sometimes. Imagine that the student you are working with is deaf. In your brain, pretend that his ears don't work. Now. . .how would you communicate with him? If you imagine he can't hear, you will naturally use more visual ways to communicate. Here is what you will do. . .. . . .
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Using Visual Strategies with Students with Cognitive Impairments
QUESTION: I work with students with significant cognitive impairments. How do I know if I can use visuals successfully with them? ANSWER: Visual supports can be effective with students with cognitive impairments. Just keep in mind that there will be a relationship between the student's cognitive level and how much he or she understands. In general, the lower skilled the student is, the more concrete the visual supports need to be. . . .
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Emphasizing Importance of Visual Strategies to Grad Students
QUESTION: How do I teach the importance of using visuals to my grad students? ANSWER: Grad students, student teachers, teachers aides and others who are just learning about visual strategies can benefit from watching someone model good use of visual supports with students. It fits that proverb, . . .A picture is worth a thousand words. . . .If they can observe and then work in a classroom where visual supports are being used effectively, that will be the best teaching. . . .
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Using Visual Strategies to Aid Students with Transitions
QUESTION: I would like to learn how to use visual strategies with younger kids to improve transitioning between activities. ANSWER: This is a great question because everyone deals with transitions. The answer works for older students as well as younger ones. Here is the key. Think of these three W words: when, where, what. First, you need to let students know when a transition will occur. . . .
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Tips for Parents New to Using Visual Strategies
QUESTION: I would like some ideas for parents who are new to using visual strategies. I need ideas for embedding visual prompts into a family's everyday routines and activities. ANSWER: Here are two of my favorite ways to help parents who are just learning to use visual tools at home. One is for giving choices and the other is for giving information. Choices are easy. Use the refrigerator to create a menu of snack choices for children to request. Also, give the child a chance to make choices in life activities. For example: hold up two shirts and ask which one he wants to wear. Or hold up two videos so he can choose which one to watch. . . .
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How to get Families to 'Buy-In' to Visual Strategies for Children with ASD
QUESTION: I am a case manager working with families who have children with ASD. One frustrating thing I notice is that families often ignore using the pictures because they want to give their kids "a break" from studying. Most of the parents are stressed and exhausted. How can I communicate to them how GREAT is to use visual communication without making them think its just more work for them. ANSWER: I've worked with lots and lots of families over the years. Some of them are energetic and enthusiastic about using visual strategies. Once they get an idea about what to do, they take off and do a fabulous job of using visual tools for the benefit of their children. . . .
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Using Visual Strategies to Encourage Conversation Building
QUESTION: How can you use visual strategies to encourage a student to ask "conversation building" questions; ones that encourage back and forth conversation exchanges. ANSWER: One technique to try is to have your student or students think of some conversation starters. Write them down. You can make a list. Then when you analyze the conversation starters you can put them into two groups. Some questions like, "Did you watch TV last night?" invite a yes or no answer. That conversation won't go very far. . . .
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Making Effective Visual Strategies with a Limited Budget
QUESTION: How can I make effective visual strategies with limited resources? I don't have a budget for lots of materials. ANSWER: Limited budget? I guess you are in the exactly the same situation as lots of other people. There really are some fabulous resources available now. The web site www.AutismStuff.com and the website www.UseVisualStrategies.com have a lot of CDs and computer programs that are available. They take a lot of the work out of collecting pictures to use for communication. But. . . .don't be discouraged if you don't have those resources. I spent years making visual tools for students before those resources were developed. . . .
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Using Various Representational Levels in Visual Aids
QUESTION: The therapists in my office have disagreements regarding the hierarchy of representational levels. Some think color line drawings are higher than black and white line drawings. Others feel the black and white should be higher, right below photos. What is your recommendation? ANSWER: This is a commonly asked question and a very important one. People are trying to determine what form of visuals to use to create visual supports for students. The answer from MY OWN personal experience is IT ALL DEPENDS. . . .
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Using Visual Strategies with Nonverbal Autistic Children
QUESTION: Does the use of visual strategies benefit nonverbal autistic children? ANSWER: Yes. Children who are nonverbal can benefit from visual strategies. When children are nonverbal, people tend to focus on teaching them some ways to express themselves better. They think of using some augmentative communication tools like a picture board. We have learned that expressive communication is only a part of what these students need. We can use visual strategies to help students understand better, . . .
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How to Use Visual Strategies During Story Time with Children with Special Needs
QUESTION: I teach in a room of 13 students, ages 5-6, with many exceptionalities. What have you found is the best strategy for using with a large group during story time? ANSWER: That sounds like a challenging group to work with! Just off hand, I would guess that a group like that would not be really good at sitting passively, listening to a long story. Therefore, your first challenge is to structure the activity so the students can become actively engaged for the right length of time. . . .
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Should I Use Pronouns in Social Scripts for Young Autistic Children?
QUESTION: Should you use pronouns when writing social skills scripts for primary aged students? ANSWER: Pronouns are difficult because they change. People will say children with autism "reverse pronouns." I wonder if they are just memorizing and repeating what others say. They don't understand how pronouns need to change. " I saw you" changes to "You saw me." Therefore, it is often helpful to use the person's name instead of the pronoun. . . .
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