I have some students this year who may be autistic. This will be a new experience for me and I will be sure to use all of the resources I have to make sure I meet the needs of the students. From what I understand, autism is generally characterized by differences in social interaction and/or communication.

I'm just wondering how I could expect to reach these students with WBT. Much of my WBTing relies heavily on the teach-ok and partner interaction. Will it be reasonable to expect these students to interact with their partners? Does anyone have any tips on how it would be best to begin the first few days before I am familiar with my class as a whole? Later on I may be able to partner them with understanding buddies, but I don't know who those could be yet.

Allisong,
The degree of autism will affect how your students react. One year, I gave my mildly autistic students a beanie baby stuffed animal for them to teach. One of my students wore padded headphones during many parts of the day to muffle the sounds for him. Often, I needed to "prep" this student to let him know what was going to occur next, as transitions and change were difficult for him. Your resource teachers and OT teachers will be able to guide you on effective ways to deal with your autistic students, and you can figure out ways to help these students be a part of your WBT class.
What a wonderful opportunity to reach some very special students!
Deb Weigel
Co-Director, WBT Model Classrooms

Depending on the specific child, WBT can be really great for students with autism. I've had personal experience with (and had colleagues who were) using gestures with students who had autism spectrum disorders (both very different from each other: one was very severe who needed a full-time aide, and the other was very mild and talked in class but had a hard time sharing out to the whole class)
The gestures were particularly helpful to both of them, but the one with the more severe autism had a harder time with the loud noises.
If you are using WBT with the majority of students for the first time you can simply tell them how loud to say things right off the bat. I've used a "whisper WBT" during testing week and if they have a good reason to be quiet then they are quiet(er) than normal. Use the smiley/frownie chart to your advantage, if they are a little too loud, then give 'em a frownie and have them practice at a more acceptable tone/noise level. You could also use the volume-meter (yadayadayadayada from silent to frenzy). Pair this with some empathy and explanation about what autism is and how it affects persons with it (for example touch and sound is perceived very differently in some with autism), and you should be able to adapt it well for your students.
Students with autism benefit greatly from structured routines and steps/procedures. WBT is so full of structure, routine, procedures, and practice (as opposed to rules and punishments), it is great for students who have experienced ABA therapy (a form of therapy used for children with autism that is very procedure/routine based.)

Let us know how it goes!

I agree! WBT is excellent for a non-verbal child because it would give him/her the tools to communicate- just like the other kids are doing. Loud noises may bother autistic kids, but then we do make accommodations for that - such as wearing noise canceling headphones. I really need to start using the volume-a-meter though. My class was a bit on the loud side today- though we were testing and the kids were getting antsy by the end of the day.

I have to say I've been using it for just a few days now and I am loving it!

5thgraderocks wrote:

Sorry I posted twice. I was trying to figure out how to make a signature line.

Thank you ladies!

I like the beanie baby idea, Deb. And thank you all for the reminder about noise.

_________________________________________________

5thgraderocks,
If you want a signature, click where you see your username on this thread.
Click edit -> update your profile.
There is a place for a signature on the forum, and forum settings tab. (I don't know the difference, so I just pasted the same things in both.)

Okay thanks! Also I changed my reward to 1 minute.

In the last two years I have had two students who were high functioning on the autism spectrum. Both loved the WBT techniques, and both showed gains academically. Both students were able to consistently teach either me or a selected classmate.

Experiment with it a little, one on one if you need to. Each student will be a little different.

So glad you posted this! I was just going to ask the same question. I have a student who was just diagnosed as Autistic and was worried how this was going to work with WBT... mostly the Teach Okay and using the scoreboard. Good idea to have him talk to a beanie baby.. or a pencil.. or his hand.. talking to himself might work better than a partner. But I'll try using a partner first and see how it goes. Also, I'm worried about the scoreboard. I have never done one before, and I think I might wait after the first couple days before I use it (we have an individual behavior system that involves points as well, so I want them to get that straight before we start the scoreboard). I might use it earlier if I feel comfortable, it's just new to me! Anyway, they get smilies if everyone is participating/following directions/etc. Well what if this Autistic student isn't participating? I'm going to have to stretch my expectations I think. I thought about maybe adding a BONUS smiley if everyone is doing what's expected AS WELL AS this particular student. That might encourage him. But I wonder if that would even have an impact.. and it probably would interfere with the rule of 3 if it did work. Anyway... sorry for rambling. I appreciate your advice. School starts tomorrow... ha

Think about rewarding when he is participating with the class and handling his lack of participation one on one, just you and him, at least at first. That way he feels the acceptance when his activities lead to rewards, but the class does not resent him when he does not participate, and he will be getting more personal attention that redirects off task behaviors. Do not ignore the off task stuff, just handle it on the down low.

My opinion, take it or leave it.