With the help of some amazing teachers Eric was able to really blossom, going from an elementary student/middle school student that was bullied for being eccentric, to a popular high schooler that excelled in not only academics but theater. Eric learned so many great ways to better communicate with others, and the change that it made in his life was so profound that he is now has tons of friends, has been in over 10 different plays in the Rochester area, many of which he was cast as a leading role, and has an amazing transcript for when he is ready to apply to college. It pains me to say that if you had asked me years ago where Eric would be today, I could never have imagined he would be as successful, and it wouldn't have been possible had it not been for those amazing teachers that took the time and energy to utilize best practices in regards to autism to better reach Eric and help to empower him to take control of his own life.
In this weeks articles and videos I was reminded about how technology can really play a difference in the lives of students with autism. I have had the pleasure of working with multiple students with autism over the years with a variety of abilities in regards to speech and communication. Most recently I have two students one of which is echolailic and the other that is completely nonverbal. Both students began in my class halfway through the school year and because of winter break, and me being out on maternity leave I have been limited in the amount of time that I have had to spend with them. One thing that we have been doing in my room with the help of the autism specialist, the speech therapist, and my classroom aide is introducing the students to picture symbols and our own version of PECS. We began at snack time hoping that the snacks would be a great motivator for my students, but I found that while it worked for one of them, the other was completely uninterested no matter how tempting the food. We have however made some progress using toy trains as motivators for both students during free play. Another exciting teaching strategy that I am looking forward to using in my classroom are five brand new iPads that were purchased a few weeks ago. We are currently in the process of reviewing educational and special education apps that will be best suited towards meeting the needs of my students, including those with autism.