Home Teaching Activities
Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

Below you will find some of the books, activities, and resources we would be using in the classroom. I typically only read 1-2 books to my students each month. We will read one book for two weeks and that book will be our current theme. For my kiddos with Autism, this is terrific. They need the repetition, it helps them build vocabulary and understanding. Some students may not stay interested in the same book for an extended period. If your child is bored, feel free to look for books that may share our current theme. For instance if we are doing Brown Bear, Brown Bear you can find other books about bears to read. Also, remember to always practice language and requesting for every activity.

Week 2 – April 6th-April 10th

If you need more detailed instructions about any of the activities please read the week of March 30th-April 3rd for ideas about prompts you might provide or some ideas about what you can say/do during activities. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Circle Time

Welcome Song

  • Hello, Hello – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1Cyr0ZK9M
    • Practice saying Hello with your child. If they are willing, have them make eye contact while they are saying Hello. Also, if your child is saying Hello independently try having him add your name (i.e. Hello mom).

Calendar and Attendance

  • Calendar – This varies from group to group, student to student. If your student is not interested/engaged it’s OK to skip this activity for now. It can be too much for younger kiddos sometimes. When I am working on calendar in preschool I am not focusing on the days of the week/months, etc. I am just using it as a way to practice number recognition and counting.
  • Who’s here today?
    • Have your child find their name. You can cut a paper into thirds and on each piece write a different name. Place the names on the table or floor and see if your child can find theirs.
    • Practice identifying the letters in their name. Have them trace their name with their finger.

Music

  • That was a lot of work and a lot of sitting. My little ones need a movement break right about now. Next I will sing 2-3 songs with the kids before moving on to our story. Also, I don’t let the students watch youtube when I play the songs, I put on the song and place my phone or Ipad face down or out of sight so the student can watch me during the song instead of Youtube. However, there are a few songs where I do use the videos if the visuals are beneficial. During music time we are practicing imitation, gross motor movements, following directions and having fun. Some songs also include academics. I will usually start with a movement song and then do one sitting to help get the students re-engaged before our story. Remember every student does not like every song so feel free to switch songs or skip them. I am including a few songs because this is for the whole week. I would do one movement song and 1-2 other songs for circle each day.

Movement Songs

Other Songs

Story Time

This week we are reading Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

If you don’t have the book you can find it out on Youtube. If you have the book you can also follow along with your book while listening to story on YouTube. I try to read the book myself sometimes and listen to it other times. I also try to use visuals sometimes. Here is a link to a site with some free visual aids. I don’t put mine on felt. For home use, just printing them in black and white and coloring/cutting them out would work. Just be careful your little one doesn’t rip the pages.

The first time I read the book without stopping. The second day, When I am reading or listening to the song I stop frequently to ask questions and to see if one of the kids can finish the sentence.

  • How many buttons are left? Wait to turn the page, try counting the buttons together and see if your child can tell you how many buttons are left before turning the page. If they have trouble, that’s okay, turn the page, show them the number and continue. You can also practice colors.

Play

Play is one of the best ways for your kiddo to learn. Remember this is not just free time. As much as time allows, try to play with your child, engage with them, talk to them. Have fun!

Center/Work Activities

Some of my center/work activities are play based. We can practice shapes using a shape sorter, colors using a puzzle or body parts with Mr. Potato Head. Toys are fun but they are also learning materials for young children. When we are in the class, we typically have 3-4 centers. At home you can choose a few things to do each day. Try to give your child 3-5 minutes between each center with a toy or preferred activity. Try to find something they like but not their favorite toy. We want them to be able to transition smoothly when it is time to get back to work and for some students transitioning from their favorite toy can lead to problems or meltdowns.

Fine Motor Activities

  • Lacing – Lacing cards are great fine motor practice. you can make your own too with a hole punch and yarn. Here is a guide to making your own lacing cards
  • https://www.livinglifeandlearning.com/make-printable-lacing-cards-kids.html
  • Stringing Beads – Start with large beads, then when your child masters that you can move on to smaller beads. If your child has trouble with the string, you can also have your child put beads on a pipe cleaner instead.
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  • Cutting Straws or paper – Scissors are very hard for many kiddos, so they may need help. Start with snipping. give your child’s straws to cut they love watching the pieces fly in the air but it can get messy. You can also cut construction paper into one inch strips and let them practice cutting those instead. If your child has mastered snipping have them cut a piece of paper in half or have them practice cutting a square.
  • Clothespins – Practicing opening and closing clothespins are great fine motor practice and they help students get used to using the same motion they use with scissors. They can place the clothespins on a bowl or cup. You can also have them practice sorting if you get colored clothespins or counting.
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  • Peg Boards – Peg boards can be good fine motor practice too. You can also use them to sort or practice patterns.
  • Tongs- Another great tool to practice fine motor is tongs. Have your child practice picking up small objects. you can also work on colors or vocabulary by asking your child to pick up the green toy or the yellow ball, etc.
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  • Tracing/Writing – 3Dinosaurs.com has some great free worksheets, including some pages for pre-writing practice. http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/petethecat.php Here is an example below. When you go to the page you do need to scroll down in order to download it. Look for these links. Trace the first one together and see if your child can do the rest alone. For more advanced kiddos, practice tracing their names (use capital letters to start) or drawing happy faces together.
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Academics

  • More Sorting – Download this free activity to practice matching or sorting buttons.
  • Shapes – If you download the free sub plan from here and scroll towards the bottom there is a great matching activity with shapes. Students can practice matching the shapes on Pete’s shoes. If your child is having trouble try coloring the shapes so they are easier to see. You can also practice shapes using a shape sorter or puzzle. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqTXRWSFhPZHprRGc/view
  • Letters – Practice letters and sounds using puzzles or books.

Play

  • Pretend Play – Pretend play is important and something that can be hard for some kiddos with Autism. Practice feeding the baby a bottle, making food and eating it (pretend), making a cow moo, etc. Model for your child and see if they will imitate(copy) you.
  • Reciprocal Play – Roll a ball back and forth, play peek-a-boo together, take turns stacking blocks together and then knock them down, chase your kiddo, etc.
  • Playing a Game – There are a lot of simple games that can help teach your child how to take turns. Lucky Ducks, Candyland Castle, 5 Little Monkeys on the Bed, etc. Don’t worry about following the directions on all of the games, just practice taking turns and having fun.
    • For Lucky Ducks, I pick a duck, look at the shape on the bottom and match it by color or shape to the right card. Then, it’s the students turn. Then it’s my turn again. When my turn is over I ask the student “whose turn is it?” and wait for them to say my turn before passing the ducks to them. then when their turn is over I will say “”My turn” and wait for them to pass it to me, prompting as needed. It’s a great way to practice turn taking, shapes and colors.
    • Five Little Monkeys Game. I take turns spinning the wheel but instead of using the board, that is how many monkeys we put on the bed. Then, the student gets a turn. When the bed is full we watch it pop and do it again.
  • Functional Play – Practice playing with toys together appropriately.
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Sensory

Sensory Play is really important for your child. Here are some different sensory activities the kids enjoy in the classroom.

  • Shaving Cream
  • Pinto Beans
  • Rice
  • Playdough
  • Kinetic Sand
  • Sand
  • Sensory Putty – You can hide buttons in the putty or even in playdough.
  • Water
  • Fingerpaint
  • Pete the Cat sensory fun – Place some buttons in a pan with cornmeal or sand. Practice finding buttons by color or number. You can practice writing letters, shapes and numbers in the cornmeal too.

Art

Art is a great opportunity to practice sharing materials, following directions, fine motor skills and more. Some of these activities may need to be adjusted to meet your child’s needs. If the activity requires cutting but your child isn’t using scissors on their own yet, consider cutting out most of the pieces for them. Leave only the pieces with long straight lines like squares or rectangles for them to cut (with help). If it’s still too hard, cut out all the pieces, or having them tear the paper instead (depending on the activity). Finally, in most cases your child’s art work will not look like yours or the sample and that’s okay. When you are preparing the art activities I recommend making enough materials for you and your child one to make one together and one extra already made so your child can see what you will be making. You can also show them a picture if you need to instead. You will be modeling what to do for your child. Help your child write their name on the back of each activity too. If they can, have them trace or write at least their first letter. Letters that are straight like A, L, I, etc are easiest. They may need more help with letters that have curves like B and D. If they can’t trace yet, write it together or tell them the letters as you write their name. Finally, I did my best to write out step by step directions. you do not have to follow them exactly they are just guidelines for anyone who may need them.

  1. Cut out the buttons before the activity. Make at least 10 buttons but not more than 20 per person.
  2. Give your child the Pete the Cat page. Tell them Pete needs buttons on his shirt. Let them glue on however many buttons they would like.
  3. You can also let them color Pete and his buttons.
  4. Now, have your child count Pete’s buttons. Help as needed.
  5. Together, write how many buttons their Pete the Cat picture has.
  • Tuesday – Pete the Cat coloring page
    1. Have your child color Pete the Cat and his buttons. Practice counting Pete’s buttons and help your child write 1, 2, 3, 4 on the buttons too.
    2. Practice receptive language by giving your child three crayons and having them “get the blue crayon”.
    3. Practice expressive communication by having your child ask you for a color before you give them a crayon.
    4. Practice taking turns – Ask your child to use their crayon, I need blue, can I have the blue crayon? Wait for a minute or two and then they can ask for it back (or they can ask for a new crayon)
  • Wednesday – Pete the Cat Popsicle Stick
    • You can use the head template from the previous activity if needed. You will need blue, red, yellow, and green construction paper, glue and a Popsicle stick. If you don’t have different color paper, you can color white paper different colors. If you don’t have a Popsicle stick, you can cut out a rectangular piece of paper to use instead. Cut out buttons that are different colors.
  1. Give your child the Popsicle stick or rectangular piece of paper. Give them Pete’s head. Have them glue on Pete’s head and draw on Pete’s eyes. Remember to prompt/help as needed.
  2. Place the buttons in front of your child. Get the _________ button. (Get the blue button, etc).
  3. Practice colors and receptive language by having them pick up the correct button. Have them glue the buttons on Pete. Count Pete’s buttons.
  • Thursday – Painting Shirts
    • You will need white construction paper, washable paing or water colors and buttons (optional).
    • Cut out a shirt on construction paper (or whatever paper you have access to) Here is a template if you need one:
    • http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/t-shirt
  • Give your child their shirt and let them paint it. They will be practicing fine motor skills, cause and effect and colors. If you have buttons you can glue them on after the shirt dries. If you don’t have buttons, you can draw buttons or use stickers instead.
  • Friday – Pete the Cat –
  1. Trace an extra yellow shirt onto a paper. Let your child practice trying to cut it out. If they have trouble, cut it out most of the way and leave one straight line for them to try to cut on their own.
  2. Don’t forget to model the activity if you can.
  3. Give them the yellow shirt. Next, place the tail and head in front of them. Show them the model. Look Pete needs a head, can you get Pete’s head.
  4. Glue on Pete’s head.
  5. Give your child Pete’s feet and his tail. Next say, “Look, Pete needs a tail. Can you get Pete’s tail?” Wait for your child to pick up the tail, prompting as needed. Glue on Pete’s tail.
  6. “Now Pete needs his feet, glue on feet”. Help your child glue on the feet as needed.
  7. With your marker or crayon, draw on Pete’s nose and buttons.

Week 1 – March 30th-April 3rd

Circle Time

Welcome Song

  • Hello, Hello – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1Cyr0ZK9M
    • I start my circle with the Hello Song. Students should practice imitate the movements and the sounds/words. During the song, I stop and make eye contact with the individual students and say Hello to them by name (Hello, Dave). If they don’t respond, you can prompt(help them) to say hello back. “Say hi”. If they aren’t verbal you can have them use visual icons, signs or wave hello. If needed, you can physically prompt them to help them wave or hand you a hello icon.

Calendar and Attendance

  • Calendar – This varies from group to group, student to student. If your student is not interested/engaged it’s OK to skip this activity for now. It can be too much for younger kiddos sometimes. When I am working on calendar in preschool I am not focusing on the days of the week/months, etc. I am just using it as a way to practice number recognition and counting.
    • If you don’t have a wall calendar, you can print one or use one online. You can mark the current day with a post it. I pick one student to hold the pointer and help me count. At home, you can use a marker, unsharpened pencil, or anything you’d like as a pointer so your child can help you count.
    • Usually I will start by telling the students: “What day is today?” Usually they don’t answer but sometimes they can surprise you. “Let’s count and see, ready, 1, 2, 3, etc. The student should be helping you count and following along with their pointer. If they are doing it incorrectly you can try pointing to the right number with your finger and if they are still struggling you can gently place your hand over their hand and guide them to the correct number. I will usually help them with a few numbers and remove my hand again to see how they do by themselves. When they get to today, remember to help them stop counting. “Great counting, look it’s the number 2, today is (point to the day of the week) Thursday, April(point to month) 2nd (point to day).
  • Who’s here today?
    • The next activity I do is letting the students practice finding their name. Each student has their own star with their first name. For some student’s I will also add their picture. Then I play the song twinkle twinkle little star ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCjJyiqpAuU ) and call the students up one at a time to find their name and put it on our sky. At home you can make a name tag by writing their name on a piece of construction paper or even lined paper will work. Make a name tag for yourself and someone else in the house too. Then you show them all three names and ask them “Where’s your name?” If they don’t respond, “Where’s David?”. If they still don’t respond you can point to their star and then tell them “Get David”. If they pick the wrong star you can tell them “Good try, that says __________, let’s try again.” If they are still having trouble after you point to the right star take one name tag away so they are picking from two or leave only their name tag. Finally, physically prompt if needed.
    • When a student has their name tag, you can show them the first letter in their name. Once they have mastered that I will see if they can identify the rest of the letters in their name as well.

Music

  • That was a lot of work and a lot of sitting. My little ones need a movement break right about now. Next I will sing 2-3 songs with the kids before moving on to our story. Also, I don’t let the students watch youtube when I play the songs, I put on the song and place my phone or Ipad face down or out of sight so the student can watch me during the song instead of Youtube. However, there are a few songs where I do use the videos if the visuals are beneficial. During music time we are practicing imitation, gross motor movements, following directions and having fun. Some songs also include academics. I will usually start with a movement song and then do one sitting to help get the students re-engaged before our story. Remember every student does not like every song so feel free to switch songs or skip them. I am including a few songs because this is for the whole week. I would do one movement song and 1-2 other songs for circle each day.

Movement Songs

Other Songs

Story Time

This week we are reading Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.

If you don’t have the book you can find it out on Youtube. If you have the book you can also follow along with your book while listening to story on YouTube. I try to read the book myself sometimes and listen to it other times. I also try to use visuals sometimes. Here is a link to a site with some free visual aids. I don’t put mine on felt. For home use, just printing them in black and white and coloring/cutting them out would work. Just be careful your little one doesn’t rip the pages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Lp9SHN4-M&list=PLCuLa7CUOssGIvdI0INIUJN3oQ4TR2X47&index=3&t=0s .

The first time I read the book without stopping. The second day, When I am reading or listening to the song I stop frequently to ask questions and to see if one of the kids can finish the sentence.

  • Oh no Pete stepped in a large pile of (stop and point to the picture and see if the student can tell you what it is) If they can’t answer, you can tell them. Pete stepped in strawberries, let’s say strawberries. Or touch the strawberries for our kiddos who may have limited language or who our non-verbal.
  • What color did it turn his shoes? Stop and see if your child can tell you what color. If someone in the group is wearing red shoes I might ask, who has red shoes and point at everyone’s shoes. If no one answers, I might say look, George has red shoes.
  • If you have visuals, those are another way to keep your child engaged. Stop and tell your child “Put on the strawberries, or get the red shoes). This will help check for understanding to see if your child is learning the words from the story and can identify strawberries, blueberries etc.

Closing Question/Activity

Circle is finished, usually when the story is done I will ask a question about the story or have a brief activity to do with the kids. So, I might show the student a few pages from the story as a reminder and ask them what did Pete step in or what color are pete’s shoes. For more advanced kiddos, I might ask who stepped in the water or is Pete inside or outside?

For an activity I might trace some shoes on to construction paper and have students sort shoes by color or size. Or since we are also singing Scat the Cat I might have them sort cats by color and/or size too. We might count how many shoes we have or practice matching fruits with the right color shoes.

Now that circle time is over, I like to dismiss the students and give them 20-30 minutes of play time before moving on to the next teacher directed activity.

Play

Play is one of the best ways for your kiddo to learn. Remember this is not just free time. As much as time allows, try to play with your child, engage with them, talk to them. Have fun!

Center/Work Activities

Some of my center/work activities are play based. We can practice shapes using a shape sorter, colors using a puzzle or body parts with Mr. Potato Head. Toys are fun but they are also learning materials for young children. When we are in the class, we typically have 3-4 centers. At home you can choose a few things to do each day. Try to give your child 3-5 minutes between each center with a toy or preferred activity. Try to find something they like but not their favorite toy. We want them to be able to transition smoothly when it is time to get back to work and for some students transitioning from their favorite toy can lead to problems or meltdowns.

Fine Motor Activities

  • Lacing – Lacing cards are great fine motor practice. you can make your own too with a hole punch and yarn. Here is a guide to making your own lacing cards
  • https://www.livinglifeandlearning.com/make-printable-lacing-cards-kids.html
  • Stringing Beads – Start with large beads, then when your child masters that you can move on to smaller beads. If your child has trouble with the string, you can also have your child put beads on a pipe cleaner instead.
  • Cutting Straws or paper – Scissors are very hard for many kiddos, so they may need help. Start with snipping. give your child’s straws to cut they love watching the pieces fly in the air but it can get messy. You can also cut construction paper into one inch strips and let them practice cutting those instead. If your child has mastered snipping have them cut a piece of paper in half or have them practice cutting a square.
  • Clothespins – Practicing opening and closing clothespins are great fine motor practice and they help students get used to using the same motion they use with scissors. They can place the clothespins on a bowl or cup. You can also have them practice sorting if you get colored clothespins or counting.
  • Peg Boards – Peg boards can be good fine motor practice too. You can also use them to sort or practice patterns.
  • Tongs- Another great tool to practice fine motor is tongs. Have your child practice picking up small objects. you can also work on colors or vocabulary by asking your child to pick up the green toy or the yellow ball, etc.
  • Tracing/Writing – 3Dinosaurs.com has some great free worksheets, including some pages for pre-writing practice. http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/petethecat.php Here is an example below. When you go to the page you do need to scroll down in order to download it. Look for these links. Trace the first one together and see if your child can do the rest alone. For more advanced kiddos, practice tracing their names (use capital letters to start) or drawing happy faces together.
  • Coloring – Use crayons that are broken in half to encourage your child to hold the crayon the correct way.
  • Plastic Eggs – Plastic eggs can be great fine motor practice. Put small toys or goldfish in the eggs and have your child practice opening and closing them.

Academics

  • Have your child practice following directions with Pete the Cat. If you don’t have a Pete, you can use another toy or stuffed animal instead http://kathygriffinteach.blogspot.com/2014/08/following-directions-with-pete-cat.html
  • Counting – There are some Pete the Cat puzzles and counting worksheets that you can download from here. You can also practice counting shoes, strawberries, blueberries or anything else you can find. Start by counting to 10. Make sure your child is using one to one correspondence (counting one object at a time) Encourage them to take their time. When they are done counting ask them “How many?” If they need help answering , count together again and ask them how many shoes? If they still cant answer, you can tell them how many there are and then continue practicing. http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/petethecat.php
  • Sorting – You can sort real shoes or print some in a variety of colors and gave your child practice sorting them. If your child is having trouble having them sort 3 colors at a time. You can also practice sorting items by size. http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PetetheCatMatching.htm
  • Matching – You can print and use these file folders to practice matching or you can use print out different fruits, or shoes that are different colors and tell your child “Match” Prompt as needed. Again if your child is having trouble try giving them 2-3 objects to choose from when matching. http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PetetheCat-FileFolderColorMatch.htm
  • Shapes – If you download the free sub plan from here and scroll towards the bottom there is a great matching activity with shapes. Students can practice matching the shapes on Pete’s shoes. If your child is having trouble try coloring the shapes so they are easier to see. You can also practice shapes using a shape sorter or puzzle. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqTXRWSFhPZHprRGc/view
  • Letters – Practice letters and sounds using puzzles or books.

Play

  • Pretend Play – Pretend play is important and something that can be hard for some kiddos with Autism. Practice feeding the baby a bottle, making food and eating it (pretend), making a cow moo, etc. Model for your child and see if they will imitate(copy) you.
  • Reciprocal Play – Roll a ball back and forth, play peek-a-boo together, take turns stacking blocks together and then knock them down, chase your kiddo, etc.
  • Playing a Game – There are a lot of simple games that can help teach your child how to take turns. Lucky Ducks, Candyland Castle, 5 Little Monkeys on the Bed, etc. Don’t worry about following the directions on all of the games, just practice taking turns and having fun.
    • For Lucky Ducks, I pick a duck, look at the shape on the bottom and match it by color or shape to the right card. Then, it’s the students turn. Then it’s my turn again. When my turn is over I ask the student “whose turn is it?” and wait for them to say my turn before passing the ducks to them. then when their turn is over I will say “”My turn” and wait for them to pass it to me, prompting as needed. It’s a great way to practice turn taking, shapes and colors.
    • Five Little Monkeys Game. I take turns spinning the wheel but instead of using the board, that is how many monkeys we put on the bed. Then, the student gets a turn. When the bed is full we watch it pop and do it again.
  • Functional Play – Practice playing with toys together appropriately.

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Sensory

Sensory Play is really important for your child. Here are some different sensory activities the kids enjoy in the classroom.

  • Shaving Cream
  • Pinto Beans
  • Rice
  • Playdough
  • Kinetic Sand
  • Sand
  • Sensory Putty
  • Water
  • Fingerpaint

Art

Art is a great opportunity to practice sharing materials, following directions, fine motor skills and more. Some of these activities may need to be adjusted to meet your child’s needs. If the activity requires cutting but your child isn’t using scissors on their own yet, consider cutting out most of the pieces for them. Leave only the pieces with long straight lines like squares or rectangles for them to cut (with help). If it’s still too hard, cut out all the pieces, or having them tear the paper instead (depending on the activity). Finally, in most cases your child’s art work will not look like yours or the sample and that’s okay. When you are preparing the art activities I recommend making enough materials for you and your child one to make one together and one extra already made so your child can see what you will be making. You can also show them a picture if you need to instead. You will be modeling what to do for your child. Help your child write their name on the back of each activity too. If they can, have them trace or write at least their first letter. Letters that are straight like A, L, I, etc are easiest. They may need more help with letters that have curves like B and D. If they can’t trace yet, write it together or tell them the letters as you write their name. Finally, I did my best to write out step by step directions. you do not have to follow them exactly they are just guidelines for anyone who may need them.

  1. On blue construction paper cut out the head, body, tail and legs. Cut out the shoes provided. You can cut out the eyes on yellow paper or draw them on later. I also recommend a piece of construction paper (any color) that your child can glue everything onto. Remember to make one for you and one for your child.
  2. Tell your child, “Look we are going to make our very own Pete the Cat.” Keep all of the pieces, you can give them to your child 1-2 at a time. Place the blank piece of construction paper in front of them, don’t forget one for you. ” First we’re going to put on the body. Give the oval to your child and get one for yourself.
  3. Say, “I need glue” and get the glue stick. Put the glue on your oval.
  4. Your turn, hand your child the glue. If they need help putting on the glue, you can prompt(help) them verbally, by pointing, or place your hand gently over their hand and put the glue on together.
  5. “Good job now put it on your paper”. Place your oval on the paper. Wait and see if they do the same. Prompt (help) as needed.
  6. “Now we need a tail” Place the head and tail in front of your child. “Get the tail”. Wait and see if they can find it. If they don’t pick it up show them your tail and repeat the direction. If they still have trouble point at the tail or use hand over hand if needed.
  7. “Put on the glue”. Model and prompt as needed.
  8. “Put the tail on Pete”. Model by putting on your tail first. Wait for your child to do the same. Prompt(help) as needed.
  9. “Pete needs his head, get the head”. Glue and place the head on your paper, wait for your child to do the same, prompting as needed.
  10. “Pete needs four legs, let’s count” Using the model count Pete’s legs with your child, pointing at each leg slowly and say 1, 2. Then pause and keep pointing. See if your child will say 3. Do the same for 4.
  11. “Great, let’s put on four legs”. Slowly give your child their legs, counting out loud as you put them on the table. Again, try pausing to see if your child will help you count.
  12. Put glue on your legs and show your child how to put them on. Then wait for your child to put on their legs (prompting as needed).
  13. “Now what does Pete need” show your child the shoes. Wait for them to say shoes. If they don’t prompt them by saying shoes and wait for them to repeat.
  14. Put your shoes on and help your child put their shoes on too.
  15. If your child wants they can color Pete’s shoes and draw on his face. If they are losing interest or getting antsy you can leave them white and draw the face for them.
  • Tuesday – Pete the Cat mini coloring book.
    1. You will need the printed book and crayons (breaking your crayons in half can help your child work on holding the crayon correctly while they are coloring. Pete the Cat Book is also helpful.
    2. You can download it for free here. Print coloring book. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pete-the-cat-mini-book-4955325 . Cut the book ahead of time and have it ready to go. The last page of the book is optional, it is to expand the activity so you and your child can think of something else Pete might step in like bananas that might turn his shoes yellow.
    3. Sit at the table with your materials.
    4. Tell your child ” We are going to make our very own Pete the Cat Book”. Give your child the page that says Pete the Cat I love my new shoes.
    5. “What color do you want?” Show your child the crayons but do not give them any until they request verbally with icons or by signing. If they don’t answer, show them two crayons and ask again. If they still do not answer you can mode. I want blue and color a little with the blue crayon and ask again. If they still don’t respond you might try verbally prompting by saying ” I want….” and waiting for them to finish the sentence. If there is still no response give them only option and try again.
    6. Now that they picked a color, have them color Pete the Cat. Try to have them stay in the lines if they are able. you can redirect them by pointing inside Pete the Cat so they know where they need to color.
    7. Move on to the next page (not blueberries, skip to strawberries for now). Look at the Pete the Cat book together. “Look, Pete stepped in the strawberries, what color did it turn his shoes.” See if your child answers, if not you can tell them “red” ” Let’s find the red crayon.
    8. Look at the coloring page again. Place 2-3 crayons in front of them. Tell them get red. Point if needed or gently place your hand over their hand and help them get the red crayon. Let’s color the strawberry (point) and Pete’s shoes(point) red.
    9. A lot of kids will color the whole page red, that is okay just redirect the best you can.
    10. “Now we need to color Pete. Can you get the blue crayon” Offer choice and prompt as before. “Great job!”
    11. Repeat this process for the pages with blueberries(should be next), mud and water.
    12. Praise your child and let them go play. You can staple the book your child made and read it together
  • Wednesday – Pete the Cat Headband –
    • You will need blue construction paper, a marker, yellow construction paper and glue (preferably glue sticks)
    1. On blue construction paper cut out a rectangle, this will be the headband. Next cut out two blue triangles for ears, two yellow eyes and a nose. Use your marker to add the pupil to the eyes or let your child do it for you. If your not the best at drawing you can download a template for the eyes and nose here. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pete-the-Cat-Headband-3759248
    2. Gather the materials you created, and your glue sticks and sit at the table with your child. First, place the rectangle strip in front of you and your kiddo. Make sure the table is as clear as possible so your child wont be distracted.
    3. Tell them “We are going to make a Pete the Cat headband. Show them the finished Pete the Cat headband.
    4. First we need two triangle ears” Pick up your Pete the Cat ears and show them to your child. “Get the ears”. Wait and see if they find the ears on their own. If not, you can prompt them verbally, i.e. “get the triangle”. If that doesn’t work you can point at the triangles. If the still need help you can hand them the ears.
    5. Next say “Let’s put on Pete’s ears, they go on top.” Point to the ears on the finished product. Do not use the glue yet. “Can you put them on top?” See where they place them. If they put them in the right place, fantastic. If not, model what they should do. Tell them “Look, they go on top” and put your ears on the top of your headband.
    6. “We need glue, let’s put glue on our ears”. Use the glue stick and put glue on your ears. Your turn, hand them the glue stick. If they need help putting on the glue, you can prompt(help) them verbally, by pointing, or place your hand gently over their hand and put the glue on together. If you use hand over hand, after the first ear see if they can do the second ear on their own. If not, that’s okay, try prompting them again.
    7. Now we’re ready to glue on our ears. Put your ears on the top of the headband. Your turn, put on ears. Let them put on their ears. At this point, it is okay if they don’t end up at the top of the headband. Let them put them on where they think they should go.
    8. “Good job we put on Pete’s ears. I have ears too, here are my ears” Point to your ears. “Where are your ears?” Prompt as needed, help your child find their ears.
    9. “Now Pete needs a nose. Where’s your nose? ” Prompt as needed and help your child find their nose. “Good job that’s your nose. Let’s find Pete’s nose.” Pick up your nose and show it to your child. “Get your nose.” Prompt as needed, just like we did for the ears.
    10. “I need glue, can I have the glue?” We are practicing sharing. If your child does not respond, try prompting again “my turn glue, or give me glue please” If they need help you can point to the glue and repeat the direction or gently place your hand over their hand and help them give you the glue. Put glue on your nose.
    11. “Ok it’s your turn to put on glue. Do you need the glue stick?” Show them the glue and wait for them to say “I want glue” or “My turn” or they can use icons or signs too. If they don’t ask, don’t just give them the glue, try to prompt them to request it.
    12. After they ask for the glue, wait for them to put glue on their nose and help as needed.
    13. “Ok, let’s put on our nose. Point to the nose on the model. Put on your nose and wait for your child to do the same. Again, it is ok if it is not in the “right” place.
    14. Repeat the process for the eyes.
    15. “We have to draw our whiskers”. Point to the whiskers on your model. “Watch.” show your child how to draw the whiskers.
    16. Let them try to draw their whiskers. Prompt as needed.
    17. “Yay, we finished our headband. Great working, you can go play.”
    18. Note- Usually kiddos with Autism do not want to wear the headband themselves but it is still fun to make and you can always put it on a toy or wear it yourself. Also, if your child is non-compliant(refusing to participate). You should still have them do the activity but you may only have them put on the eyes or draw the whiskers.
  • Thursday – Watercolor Pete the Cat
    1. You will need watercolors and a small cup (only fill it 1/4 of the way) and you will also need to print a few coloring pages on white paper. If you don’t have watercolors you can use washable paint or just use crayons or markers. Print at least two different colors but feel free to print as many as you’d like. The coloring pages can be found for free here http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PetetheCat-ColoringPages.htm
    2. First, model how to use the water color for your child.
    3. Say “First, water, then paint, then paper” modeling each step slowly.
    4. Then give them the brush and let them try. Do your best to make sure they are holding the paint brush correctly.
    5. “Look Pete loves his red shoes. Paint his shoes red” Wait and see if they do. If not point to the color red or help them as needed. Help them paint Pete’s shoes red.
    6. They are practicing cause and effect and working on their colors during this activity.
  • Friday – Pete the Cat in Shoe
    1. You will need blue construction paper, white paper and glue. I would also use a blank piece of paper to glue everything onto.
    2. First, using the template cut out Pete’s head, and body on blue paper and eyes, shoe, and whiskers. http://craftypammy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cat_in_shoes.pdf
    3. Start with just the blank piece of paper in front of you and your child. Tell your child “Look we’re going to make Pete the Cat in his shoe” Show them the model.
    4. First we need a shoe. Place the shoe on the paper in front of your child and one in front of yourself too.
    5. “I need glue.” Put glue on your shoe and place it on the paper.
    6. “Your turn, what do you need?” Show the child the glue stick but do not give it to them yet. Wait for them to say “I want glue or my turn” Prompt if needed.
    7. Wait for them to glue on their shoe, prompt as needed.
    8. “Now we need Pete’s body”, glue on your body. Help your child do the same, prompting as needed.
    9. “Pete need his head, let’s glue it on” Glue on your head and wait for your child to do the same, helping as needed.
    10. “Pete needs eyes. How many eyes does Pete have. 1, 2″ Pointing at each. ”
    11. Put on Pete’s nose and whiskers, helping your child do the same as needed.
    12. Optionally – let your child color Pete’s shoe.
Home Teaching Activities
Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

There are a lot of changes happening in the world. Many people are worried about COVID19, the economy and what the world will be like in the future. Schools are closing to help contain COVID19 and many parents are wondering how they can help their child learn at home. This can be even more challenging for preschoolers with Autism. I teach 3-5 year olds with Autism in an SDC classroom. I have had many parents reach out to me who are concerned that their child might regress. They are wondering how they can help them at home.

I hope that I can provide some advice and ideas that may help some parents. What I post may not be right for every child, however. When I am in the classroom I adjust activities to meet each child’s individual needs. I might make some lessons more challenging for my advanced learners or I might reduce the work or add visuals or other modifications for a child who is struggling. So, try the activities or lessons and if they work great but if not don’t be afraid to change them or throw them out completely if they are not working.

I am going to try to post a variety of different resources that I feel may be helpful to parents with preschoolers. Most of what I post will be geared towards students with Autism, because that is who I normally teach but the lessons can be adjusted to fit the needs of a variety of preschoolers. I am going to post articles that I think may provide useful tips and information. I will also try to post some of the lessons I would be doing in my preschool Autism Class including books, circle time activities, art activities, academic tasks and more. I hope some of it will be useful to some one and please feel free to email me if you have any questions or need any advice. I will do my best to help.

The last thing I want to say is that the best way you can help your child learn is to play with them. Play is how young children learn. Interact and engage with your child. Talk to them, encourage them to communicate with words, signs or visual icons. This is the most beneficial thing you can do for them and they can learn and have fun at the same time.

Home Teaching Activities
Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

Here is a brief description of the structured activities I would normally do with my students in a school day. Remember, having a structured, consistent routine is important for kids with Autism. Don’t forget to include unstructured time/free play too. Free play does not mean your child is just playing. This is still a great time for you to teach them without them realizing it. drive trucks with your child and practice stop and go or fast and slow. Use blocks to practice size and color. “I am going to put on the big block, give me the blue block, etc. Get creative, everything is a learning opportunity. If there is something you don’t understand, or if you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact me and I will do by my best to help you. I will also be including future posts to discuss behaviors, social skills and communication.

Sample Schedule

  • 8:00-8:30 Free Play/School Day starting
  • 8:30-8:40 Toileting/Hand washing
  • 8:40-9:10 Breakfast/Snack
  • 9:10-9:30 Circle Time
  • 9:30-10:00 Outdoor Recess
  • 10:00-10:10 Toileting
  • 10:10-11:00 Centers (At home this may look different, and you may want to use first/then or a token board to provide breaks between each station. Have your student work for 5-10 mins and then play for 5 mins, etc. I will discuss token boards and first/then more in another post)
  • 11:00-11:30 Free Play
  • 11:30-11:40 Toileting
  • 11:40-12:10 Lunch
  • 12:10-12:40 Outdoor Recess
  • 12:40-12:50 Toileting
  • 12:50-1:15 Art/Sensory Time
  • 1:15-1:45 – Free Play
  • 1:45-2:00 Closing Circle

Circle Time

Circle time typically provides a good time for students to practice participating in teacher directed activity. some kids love it, some kids would prefer to be playing. At home circle may look different, you might sit next to your child on the floor, couch, bed or table. If you want to sit across from your child you can try sitting on a couch or chair while your child sits on the floor. some kiddos may be wiggle worms or runners. You can have someone else with next to your child or behind them to help provide prompts, supports or reinforcers that will help them remain sitting or you can try moving closer to them to help as well (I will include more about prompts, supports and reinforceres in another post) .

I usually vary my circle depending on my students and their interest or engagement level but usually I will have a 10-20 minute circle. If you do a longer circle you make sure you provide opportunities for a child to move. I usually do a good morning song with some movement, calendar and checking in (who is at school today), then a movement song. After the movement song, I will normally do second song that will help me regain the child’s attention and to give them a chance to regain control of their little bodies. After the songs, I will read a story. Then, we have a short play time before moving on to another teacher directed task.

Table Tasks

Another important work time in my classroom is center time. During center time we do a variety of different activities at each table or center. We work on social skills such as reciprocal play using games like Lucky Ducks or by rolling a ball back and forth. Some kiddos need to work on play skills. They may have trouble playing with toys in a functional manner and instead them may line them up, twirl them around, toss them across the room, etc. So, we work on teaching them to play in a structured setting during a teaching directed activity. We work on fine motor skills like lacing, cutting, stringing beads, peg boards, etc. Last but not least, we work on academics. I use many, many different things to work on academics but some things I might use are file folders(I will talk about these in another post), puzzles, matching games, objects for sorting, handouts(rarely), and toys. toys can be used to teach counting, body parts, colors, numbers, size, letters, and more. Of course, during all of these tasks we are also working on communication.

Meals/Snack

Meal time is another great time for learning. Do your best to make sure your child is seated at the table or in a high chair. It may not always be easy but teaching them to sit during meals makes it easier to encourage communication, social interactions, and healthy eating habits. Normally with my students, we use meal times to encourage communication. We have a basket with all of the child’s food inside. They get a communication book with visual icons(if they need it) or use their words to request items. Some students are working on one word requests (i.e. milk), while others are working on longer sentences( I want 4 chips please). Do not give your child an item because they are screaming or crying. Have the communicate using an icon, sound, word, or sign language. Provide prompts and supports as needed. If it is a non-preferred food item, your child is not going to request it because they don’t want it. If it is non-preferred you may leave it out on a plate in front of your child. If they won’t eat it they can practice just leaving it on their plate for few days(which can be hard).Then, they can practice touching it to their lips. You can also try first/then with a preferred item(first, bite apple, then cookie). It can take time, don’t give up.

Toileting

Toileting is good time to practice self-help skills. This will vary by each student’s individual needs but I have all of my students (even those still in diapers) practice the toileting routine. This will get them used to it, so when they are ready they know what to do. This can also help students from being afraid of the toilet which happens often. I have all of my students practice pulling their pants down, sitting on the toilet (starting for a few seconds and working up a few minutes), pulling their pants back up and flushing(some students may need headphones and some may need so skip flushing if the noise is too much. Then we go and wash hands. The students should get water, soap, rub their hands together and dry off with a towel or paper towel. For toileting and hand-washing, use prompts as needed. You may need to place your child’s hands on his pants and help him push them down at first. You may to hand-over-hand and place your hands over his while you show him how to wash them. Try to use the least amount of support that is needed, though. Independence is encouraged. If your child is already toilet trained, make sure they are using the bathroom independently, and/or asking to use the bathroom with a sign, icon, or verbally.

Art

Art/Sensory activities is another thing we do every day in the classroom. I vary what I do each day so the kids can practice different skills. It’s a great way to practice fine motor skills, communication, social skills like turn taking and following directions. You have to be most flexible with art activities. Sometimes things may be too hard or your child may not be interested and you may have to throw out your art project. That is okay. Model or show them what you want them to do. Use gestural prompts, like pointing to where the eyes should go. Use visuals to help them understand. Sometimes you may need to use physical prompting to get them started. Also, your child’s art work should not look like yours. You don’t want to do it for them, even if it doesn’t look exactly the same. The process is more important than the product and I love seeing all of the different ways kids do each of the projects.

Communication/ Home Teaching Activities
Communication/ Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

Here are some tips/tools that I have gathered from a variety of different resources that may give you some tips that will help with communication. I will be adding additional resources and tips soon.

Do not give your child what he/she wants before he/she asks

Parents have excellent intuition when it comes to knowing what their children want when their children don’t communicate verbally. Many parents say they just know what their children want, but they must teach a communication form that children can use with anyone. For example, if your child walks to the fridge for milk, have him/her do one of the following: take a picture of milk off the fridge and bring it to you, sign milk, point to the fridge and vocalize, or use a voice output device. It is important to constantly think about how others might understand your child.

Do not get stuck at single words

Once your child has a good repertoire of single nouns and verbs, start thinking about combining words. One of the best ways to do this is by offering choices. Teach language so you can offer the choice, “red shirt or blue shirt?” or “big train or little train?” or “long straw or short straw?” Just by adding adjectives to the choices can give your child a natural opportunity to respond with a two word, expanded response. The best part is that your are working on language expansion and basic concepts in a natural environment.
 

The 4 Stages of Communication

1) ‘Self’ stage

Children in the ‘Self’ stage will be self-absorbed, using mostly pre-intentional communication and generally avoiding eye contact and interaction. 

2) ‘Want’ stage

Once a child realizes his or her actions have an effect on other people, he/she is i the ‘Want’ stage. They may communicate basic wants or needs by pulling towards things and attempting to get others’ attention.

3) ‘Two-way’ stage

A child in the ‘Two-way’ stage will start asking for things, and may echo language they’ve heard to ask for specific things. They will shift their gaze more and might point to things they want to show the adult.

4) ‘Conversation’ stage

A child with ASD in this stage will have become an effective communicator, able to hold a simple conversation in a comfortable environment. New or stressful environments may cause the child to revert to repetitive phrases, or ignore the turn-taking normal in conversation.

How Adults and Parents Can Help Develop Communication Skills

Become a Teacher

When a child with ASD has trouble communicating, especially in the ‘Self’ stage, it is tempting to want to do everything for them – tying shoes, getting them water, etc. – however, this does not give the child a chance to prove that they can do something, Asking twice if they need help (and waiting a bit for a response) before helping them is a good idea to help develop conversation skills and give the child a chance to help themselves.

Slow Down

Caring for a child with ASD can be stressful, and during important activities (eating breakfast, getting ready to go, etc.) you may be tempted to rush your child. Slowing down and giving time for your child to recognize and process what is happening, as well as reflect on what has happened may improve situational awareness and conversation skills.

Step Back

Once a child with ASD has developed more proficient speaking skills, it can be helpful to take a step back from being your child’s advocate, and to let them speak for themselves. Let your child initiate conversations, and do not forget to give them feedback after an important interaction that might teach your child a lesson.

Create Opportunities

Remember, practice makes perfect. When you see an opportunity for your child to practice communication, step back and let them initiate that communication. When no opportunities arise, create them yourself. Give your child an opportunity to make requests and ask questions, instead of automatically filling them in. When you meet someone new, assuming your child is at least somewhat comfortable in these situations, let them make the introductions instead of you.

Encourage Requests

Make yourself useful to encourage requests. This can be done in many ways, which depend on your child’s specific needs and abilities. For example, place a favorite toy or candy on a high shelf, where they can see it, but cannot reach it. Another idea is giving the child a complex toy, and waiting for them to request your help in operating it. Encouraging your child to ask you for help will foster a healthy interaction between you and the child.

Follow Their Lead

While leading activities is sometimes necessary, letting your child take the reigns occasionally can have numerous benefits, including practicing communicating, making decisions, and planning. During activities, let your child do what they want to do, and even copy or imitate them, to coax a 2-way interaction. They may begin to imitate you in response, and you can then add whatever you wish to the exchange. This idea extends to ending an activity too. Letting your child signal when they wish to end an activity will help develop their communication skills, but if they are still working on speech, you must pay attention to the signals your child is sending (pulling away, grimacing, etc.) to understand when they wish to stop. If they have trouble finding the words, you can say them (i.e “Had enough?” or “All done?”) to facilitate speech association.

How to Help a Child with ASD Understand What is Said to Them

There are many situations in which a child with ASD will not understand what is happening or being said to them, and even if they appear to follow directions, they may just be acting based on what they’ve done before. Comprehension, understanding what is said, is a complex skill that requires a lot of time and practice to improve.

Many autistic children experience sensory overload, where stimuli that would seem normal to us is way too much for a child with ASD. This can be extremely detrimental to the learning process, and causes many subsequent issues for children that experience it. It is important to note here, though, that every child is different, and will experience the world differently. Keep in mind your child’s specific issues, and what has worked for them in the past, when reading this section.

As a parent, how can I help my child communicate?



Interaction occurs whenever you and your child do things together and respond to one another.  Every time you and your child interact, you make a connection that gets communication started.  In order to have successful interactions, your child needs to respond to others and to initiate interactions on his/her own.


Strategies to Use



Strategies to assist your child making requests include placing his favorite thing within his view but out of reach requiring him to “request” that object.  Requesting could be by gesture, pointing, sign, picture or verbal.  Offer things, like a snack, bit by bit, so the child will have to make multiple requests.

Ways to help your child tell you “no,” “enough,” “all done,” or “stop” are to offer him or her their least favorite things.  Continue an activity until your child wants to stop.  Let your child end the activity.

To help your child understand several familiar words, describe to what your child is doing while he does it. This will help him understand the meaning of words.   Your emphasis is on helping your child understand words.  Don’t pressure him or her to talk.

When playing a physical game like chase or swinging, your child can learn he or she can start the game by saying “go” after you say “ready, set…”.  Don’t chase or swing until one of you has said “ go”.

To help your child make choices, start with easy choices.  The easiest choice for your child to make is between two things that he can see:  one that he really likes and one that he really dislikes.  Hold the choices up in front of him.

Home Teaching Activities/ Teaching Through Play
Home Teaching Activities/ Teaching Through Play0 Comment

Play is one of the most important pieces to helping a preschooler learn. When you are playing with your child you can work on:

  • Problem solving – the train won’t fit in the tunnel, what should we do?
  • Communication – Have your child ask for the toy he/she wants using words, signs, or icons.
  • Vocabulary – You can use play to practice opposites by driving fast and slow. You can ask your child to give you the horse or the red lego. You can describe what is happening and tell your child the doll is dancing. Play can be a great way to teach your child lots of new words/concepts.
  • Social Skills – You can practice interacting with your child by playing with the doll house together, taking turns with the baby’s bottle and sharing your favorite trains.
  • More – fine motor skills, gross motor skills, imitation, and more……

Play with your child 

Why Play is Important

Your child learns while they are playing. When your child is rolling a car back forth he is learning cause and effect. When they mixes colors while painting they are learning that they can make things happen. When you say the ball is bouncing your child is learning new vocabulary like ball and bouncing. Play is linked to many different areas of development including social skills, communication, problem solving, pre-academic concepts, and more. Playing is not only fun but it is the best way you can help your child learn.

Autism and Play

Children with autism may have more trouble with play. Sometimes they may only enjoy playing with a few toys or they may play with them in very repetitive ways like lining them up, rolling them back and forth, or having to use them in a certain order. They may need help to engage with toys in functional ways. Autism can also make it hard for them to share toys or to engage with someone else while they are playing. Be patient and try to make it fun.

Types of play

Children typically engage in 6 different types of play.

  • Exploratory play  – A child might not be interested in playing with a toy but they may want explore it by staring intently at a car, putting toys in their mouths, or rubbing a teddy bear. They are learning about different textures, shapes and colors in the world around them. If your child is exploring you can introduce new textures like water or sand that she can use to explore.
  • Cause-and-effect play  – Toys that are cause and effect do something after a child performs an action. For instance, a pop up toy is considered a cause and effect toy. I use a lot of cause and effect toys to help catch a child’s interest and to help them stay engaged. I might use a wind up toy to send a car to a student and then have them send it back. It can also be a great time to teach turn taking. You can each have a turn spinning the top, etc.
  • Functional play –  This is when children are playing with toys in the matter for which they were designed. This can be challenging for some students with Autism. I will usually start by working on toys in structured settings if this functional play is a challenge for your child. First, choose a toy you think your child will enjoy or let them choose between two toys. Then, sit at a table and model how to play with the toy the correct way. If your child is still having trouble, remember that imitating can be hard sometimes too. Use hand over hand prompting if it’s needed. Place your hand over your child’s hand and help them push the ball. When they play with it correctly make sure you give lots of praise and other reinforcers. Remember that this can be frustrating so you may only want to work on this for a few minutes at a time.
  • Constructive play – This type of play is when a child builds or make something like a tower of blocks. Some of my students with Autism can be very skilled in this area. I even had a kiddo who could do 100 piece jigsaw puzzles at 3 years old. If they are having trouble, show them what to do and take turns building a tower or putting pieces in the puzzle.
  • Physical play – Physical play helps students work on their gross motor skills. Typically, we work on this a lot at recess. Encourage your child to run, go down slides, ride tricycles, and other fun outdoor activities. This can sometimes help students focus on teacher directed tasks as well.
  • Pretend play– Pretend play is an area that some students with Autism may have trouble with. Pretend play is when a child will pretend to feed a baby a bottle, or when they pretend to cook food in the kitchen. I will tell my students, I am so hungry can you give me pizza. Then I will say num num num and pretend to eat the pizza. They love it and it helps model what they should be doing and encourages interactions. You can also work on pretend play with animal toys by walking the horse to the barn and making animal noises. Pretend play can help children learn language and social skills.

Social skills/Social Play

Many kiddos with Autism prefer to play alone. When someone moves close to them they may even get up and move somewhere else so they can be alone. Sometimes they won’t even notice other kids/people playing around them. If your child is playing alone, try to get a toy like they are using and play beside them. This is called parallel play. If your child is building blocks, start building your own tower a few feet way. Once they are used to someone playing near them you can work on occasionally interacting with them or sharing toys. You can take turns knocking down your tower, or you can ask them to give you a block. Encourage interactions whenever you can, be silly and have fun.

Behavior/ Home Teaching Activities
Behavior/ Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

Here are some helpful tips that I have gathered from a variety of different sources for managing behaviors.

Transitions


Transitions can be difficult for childrem, especially if they are going from a preferred activity like playing to a non-preferred activity like work time. To help these transitions go a little smoother make sure you are consistent. Here are a few other tips.

  • Warnings (“In one minute we are going to clean up”).
  • Use a timer to help your child visually see how much longer they have until they need to go to the next activity.
  • Be consistent and make sure you follow through. If you tell your child that you are going to work in 3 minutes, even if your child is not happy about it, it is important that you transition to work. Being consistent and following through on these directions is important so that your child will listen to you in the future.
  • Reinforcement – This is so important. If your child transitions when you ask them to make sure you give them lots of praise. Consider using a token board, sticker chart or first/then system.

Reinforcement

Reinforcement is when you give your child something they like in order to help encourage positive behaviors in the future.

  • Make sure you are using a positive encouraging tone when you are praising your child
  • Be specific in your praise so your child knows that they did well (“Great job putting away your toys”)
  • Positive reinforcement is better than correction or punishment
  • Let your child choose a reinforcer or choose something you know they really like. If they don’t want it, it may not be motivating enough, try something different.

Directions

Make sure your child knows that you are giving them a direction or telling them what to do. They have to know that it is not a choice. For example, if say, “Can you pick up your toys?”, that is a question not a direction.

  • Choice- “Do you want to come sit down?” This is a question, it is giving a child a choice. No, may be your child’s answer to that question.
  • Direction – “Sit down”.

If it is not a choice, present it as a direction. Always follow through after giving a direction, as well. If your child follows the direction give lots of praise and reinforcement. If they don’t follow directions prompt them (help them do it).

Inappropriate Behaviors

  • . Ignore the behavior completely if it does not hurt anyone and if the child re-engages afterwards
  • Redirect to the task at hand without acknowledging the inappropriate behavior
  • Only reprimand if the behavior was hurting someone or destroying something. Certainly do not reprimand if the child is laughing at you (sure way to know they are enjoying your frustration)
  • Rephrase the statement to be positive (e.g., instead of, “Stop it! No!” say, “Hands down.”)
  • If giving a verbal direction after an inappropriate behavior, use a calm, neutral tone of voice with minimal eye contact and facial expression (again, if the child is enjoying the attention, the higher ground is to walk away for a minute)
  • Lavish praise and love every time your child does something “right”

Non-compliance

The standard way to work with a child who is being “noncompliant” is to send the message, “I will not give you attention until you do what I say,” by doing the following:

  • Stay in close enough proximity to the child for him/her to know you are addressing him/her
  • Avoid excessive attention (including eye contact and facial expressions)
  • Calmly repeat ONE direction that is brief and clear in a calm, neutral tone of voice
  • Count to 15 in your head and repeat the SAME direction in the same manner until some form of compliance
  • Remind the child what wonderful things will happen after this is done
  • Show the token board or reward
  • Behavioral momentum: build compliance by engaging the student in preferred/previously mastered tasks/demands at a rapid pace and give the ultimate direction after several successful trials

Final tips

  • Avoid power struggles with the child (inappropriate attention-seeking behavior that should NOT be reinforced with any attention from us)
  • You may maintain control of the situation by DISengaging. If there’s a legitimate issue being expressed by the child, actually consider whether they can have what they want
  • Mind your tone of voice—our children imitate and pick up on every message we send, verbal and nonverbal.
  • Be patient: always give the child an opportunity, however brief, to respond independently
  • STAY POSITIVE. BE LOVING. ENJOY THE CHILD REGARDLESS OF THE BEHAVIOR.
Home Teaching Activities/ Uncategorized
Home Teaching Activities/ Uncategorized0 Comment

Here are a few sites/resources that have some wonderful activities for preschool children. Many of these resources are for children in general education preschool so you may need to make adjustments/accommodations to do the activity with your own kiddo. Remember you want it to be a little challenging but not so hard that they become frustrated which can lead to a lot of unwanted behaviors. And if it seems like its not working don’t be afraid to toss it out and do something else instead. Sometimes I have the greatest activity or book in mind and when I try it with the kids they have no interest or they’re just not getting it. That’s when I stop and move on to something else or pull out a different activity. It’s important to be flexible. I will be adding to this list over time as well.

Home Teaching Activities
Home Teaching Activities0 Comment

Here are some sites with some great tips and resources for preschool students with special needs. Please let me know if you have any questions. I will be adding more soon!

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