Learning EnvironmentsPreventative Behavior Supports for Students with ASD

Autism Summer Institute

Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum in SchoolsIdaho Autism Support Project - 2013

Underlying characteristics that impact behavior

Physical Structure

Visual Structure

Identifying basic expectations

Identifying motivating materials and reinforcement

Impaired Theory of Mind/Mindblindness

Weak Central Coherence

Executive Dysfunction

Sensory Integration

Difficulty understanding the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of others

Difficulty predicting the actions of others

Difficulty using words to describe their own feelings/behaviors

Difficulty understanding non-literal language (e.g., sarcasm, inferred meanings)

Tendency to focus on details and miss the bigger picture

Difficulty understanding social situations

Skills such as:Behavior inhibition

Planning/Problem Solving

Self-Regulation

Mental Flexibility (adjusting to change, required sameness)

Is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction and taste), the sense of movement (vestibular system), and/or the positional sense (proprioception).

For those with SID, sensory information is sensed normally, but perceived abnormally.

Based on what we know how can we be proactive in the learning

environment?

Considerations w/ ASD

Arrangement

Expectations

Reinforcement

Typical Considerations

Structure & Organization

Visual Support

IndividualizedInstruction

IndividualizedRoutines

Atypical motivators

Varied approaches

Attending to content

Appropriate behavior

Acknowledging Academic responding

Basic Classroom Organization and Structures

Participation

Structures and Organization: Organizing the environment so that the individual understands where different activities take place and where materials are kept

Visual Supports:

Provides another level of support to the individual to highlight key ideas in the environment and to increase understanding

Helps to establish clear boundaries; Each activity is clearly associated with a particular space

Minimizes visual and auditory distractions

Helps child focus on main concepts or activity

Helps to avoid sensory over-loading

Physical Structure in the Home

•What does this structure tell you?

•What will happen here?

•How many people will be involved?

•What items will I use?

Daily planners

Recipes

Menus

Driving

Where do items go?

* Helps us find where we are going, assist in making choices and completing daily routines and tasks

What to do

What will happen

When and where activities will occur

Complete tasks/activities

How and when to transition

What and how to make choices

How to express emotions

How to socially interact

Answering “Where?”

Visual Schedules (different pictures on the online module)

Objects

Photos

Icons

Written words

Schedules vary by:Length

Mobility

Assess the individual’s communication strengths/needs….

1. HOW does the individual understand what is happening in the environment?

2. WHAT does the individual attend to in the environment?

3. WHEN does the individual understand? WHEN are they confused?

4. WHAT resources are available to create a visual schedule?

When training: one item at a time; prompt comes from behind

First, Then

Partial day vs. full day

May need to start with “selling” the schedule

Concept of change

Balance

Individualization

Mobility

Individualized instruction on basics: Providing more intensive and concrete explicit instruction, as well as increased practice opportunities for basic classroom expectations.Student specific participatory routines: Routines for the student that improve his/her access to classroom activities and routines.Student specific interaction routines: Routines for the student that improve his/her access to peer interactions within the classroom.

Teaching

Matrix

SETTING

All

SettingsHallways Playgrounds Cafeteria

Library/

Compute

r Lab

Assembly Bus

Respect

Ourselves

Be on task.

Give your

best effort.

Be

prepared.

Walk. Have a plan.

Eat all your

food.

Select

healthy

foods.

Study,

read,

compute.

Sit in one

spot.

Watch for

your stop.

Respect

Others

Be kind.

Hands/feet

to self.

Help/share

with

others.

Use normal

voice

volume.

Walk to

right.

Play safe.

Include

others.

Share

equipment.

Practice

good table

manners

Whisper.

Return

books.

Listen/watch.

Use

appropriate

applause.

Use a quiet

voice.

Stay in your

seat.

Respect

Property

Recycle.

Clean up

after se lf.

Pick up

litter.

Maintain

physical

space.

Use

equipment

properly.

Put litter in

garbage can.

Replace

trays &

utensils.

Clean up

eating area.

Push in

chairs.

Treat

books

carefully.

Pick up.

Treat chairs

appropriately.

Wipe your

feet.

Sit

appropriately.

Ex

pe

cta

tio

ns

Eber & Sugai, 2009

Desired Behaviors Social Skills Routines

Break

Table Tasks

School Job

Use evidence-based approaches to make instruction more meaningful to your student(s)

Social NarrativesPower Cards

Comic strip conversations

Visual Supports and stimulus prompts

Video models

Transitions

autisminternetmodules.org;youtube.com/watch?v=Wd5xLpGRvVo

RecessMissing bus picture

ParticipationGetting help from teacher

Answering questions

Setting up activity schedule

Using homebase or safe place in the classroom

Interacting with peersGetting their attention and inviting them to play

Sharing materials and games

Practice to create stimulus controlPractice the actions/words before, during and after target activity until the behavior is the habit

Practice to link skills to contextUse contrived reinforcers to bridge the skill to natural enforcers

Practice in a way that leads to generalizationCreate a variety of experiences to show/create links to a variety of natural reinforcers in various settings

Identify atypical reinforcers: Perform preference and reinforcer assessments to help identify reinforcing items when they are unknown.

Use a variety of approaches: Maintain a continuum of ways for your student to access a variety of reinforcers to prevent strategies from going stale.

OUR JOB IS:• 50% establishing interest and motivation• 25% Providing instruction• 25% Providing practice opportunities

Our attention greatly impacts student behavior

Common Misconception: Positive/Negative scale

Actual Continuum: Quality Scale

Negative

Positive

Our students behavior toward us will tell us what quality our natural attention had for them.

Adult AttentionCore components:

Know what sort of behavior you will engage with (reinforce)

Common Mistake: Often provide clearly higher quality attention to errors than participation and correct attempts

Prepare a low attention way to deal with the interruptive disruptive behavior (squeaky wheel)

Plan an error correction procedure that is NOT reinforcing.

Keep your attention relevant and positive

Always protect your reputation as the big skittle.

How we deliver contingent Rewards can have a big impact

Core Components:

Simple, and contingent on expectations

Paired with specific praise

Visually represented• Use token or symbol, like stickers, stamps, marbles,

etc.

Adapted from Horner & Goodman, 2009

Retrieved on May 25th, 2010 from: http://www.autisminternetmodules.org

Generalized Conditioned Reinforcers - GCRs

Like money, penny boards are not inherently reinforcing; it is what these penny boards have been paired with.

Earning pennies is paired with access to desired things

Money and Penny boards are Generalized (usable anywhere), Conditioned (made reinforcing by what it provides access to) Reinforcers (increases the likelihood of seeing the behavior in the future) GCRs.

Many students take significantly longer to develop both the conditioning, and transfer necessary to make GCRs an effective reinforcement tool for them

Adapted from Cooper, Heron, & Heward (2007)

GCRs

GCR’s may be one of the most powerful tools in your classroom because they can be given

AnywhereFor anythingUsed for anything

But they require teaching to workGive after behaviorEarn very few to access actual reward in beginning (1 or 2)Linked visually (preferred activity on board)

Absolutely! Just make sure you provide visual cues to when reinforcement is available

Tear off boards

Connect the dots

Puzzle boards

Get Creative:

There are tons of

possibilities

Ensure there is a continuum of reinforcement across the entire instructional context

Julian1. Accumulating classwork

stickers lead to Friday afternoon activity

2. Meeting behavioral expectations leads to pennies and ultimately preferred activity time

3. Social Star awards are earned by appropriate interactions with peers and lead to a prize at the end of each day

RosaMeeting behavioral expectations leads to preferred activity via picture-based token board.

Academic responding leads to edible rewards (piece of a chip).

Fast transitions and completing start to finish routines leads to preferred activity time.

Example