Visual Support in the Classroom

Having behavior management strategies are essential for a successful classroom! In Special Ed teachers will need a more visual approach,... so I've listed the ones I use.

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• Schedules - Visually set out to reflect the order of the day.

• Timers - For giving a "break", to let students know how long they need to work,  or how long left on free time!

• Routines - Keep Break, Lunch and free choice the same time each day!

• Consistency - Ensure all staff are using the same strategies and are following behaviour plans!

• Positive Reinforcers - Use Token Economy Systems, First and Then, Self -Regulation tools and Reward systems tailored to individual interests and likes!

• Communication - Critical skills for Functional Communication, a means in which your non verbal student is able to request a "break" "help"  or asked to "wait"

So I decided to put together a Visual Support Book

 I was pleased that it offered all these strategies and kept in one handy place for your students to access through out the school day. There's a section for the schedule symbols, which are also included, Token reward system, plus reward visuals, critical communication cards so students can ask for a Break or Help, all while offering a consistent approach that 

staff can follow!

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SOCIAL Support Narratives

Social skill supports are always accessible for little hands in my classroom! They help my kinda understand how to behave or respond in particular situations that arise through out the day. Using such a visual guide to describe various social interactions, situations and behaviours helps them understand important social skills that they might miss. 

The goals of these stories is to share accurate social information and teach your students how to respond in them instances.

These short stories describe social situations and clarify social expectations using images and words to represent the identified behavior.
So I've bundled together a few of the popular ones I use!

Each of the 10 books have clear pictures and easy to understand in simple words for you to read to your students!

I always add the visual reminder strips at the end of tables and in work areas for tricky moments!

(These are always on hand)

I've also added an "On the Bus" social strip to grab to use on transport home!

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BONUS Strips Recently Added

FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION CARDS

Asking for a "Break," "help" or having to wait is difficult for Non verbal kids, These times often resulting in disruptive behaviors, but by simply giving them the tools and skills they need will help them overcome these frustrations.

So I got going and made these support cards!

The Support Cards I made are a little bit bigger than the size of an index card and I placed a couple of useful visuals on them to use for my students with Autism.

Using these cards in my class has been a life saver, students have learnt new skills such as requesting "a break", "help" how to "wait" and the "first and then" strategies.

These cards  provide structure in my behaviour support plans and run in conjunction with ABA Management.

I use these cards in my Calm Down Corner, where we can access quickly and redirect before crises point.

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How I Teach Critical Communication

Learning new skills is so important for our students!  Requesting "Help" "Break" "Stop" or "Wait" is a huge skill on its own.

How to Teach students to use a "Break or Help" card

1. Help your student to realise when they need to use the break/help card, before they get too frustrated or loose concentration. At the start of any activity, show the student the break card and place the card where they can easily reach it.

2. Point to the break/help card and tell them, “This is your break/help card. You can use it to ask for a break.” When your student starts to get frustrated or lose interest, You say “If you are getting upset, use your break card to tell me you need a break/help.” 3.Immediately allow the student to take a break/help from his tasks, or allow the student to move away to the "break area." I found that self regulating visuals on the bottom of the card is a fantastic way of calming your student while on a break. 4. Requesting is an important part of teaching the student to trust and use the visual support, once they are consistently asking for breaks, you may begin to extend the time between the request and the actual break.

5. I added visuals to the bottom of each card in order to redirect the student to what he can do instead, or while using the card and  popped all four cards onto a keyring for easy access!

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