Autism Spectrum Disorder Presentation

Transcription

1 Autism Spectrum Disorder Presentation Dates to Note: On November 20 and 21, 2014 various staff and community partners attended an informative and engaging presentation with Dr. Jonathan Weiss. Dr. Weiss is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University, as well as a Clinical Psychologist. During the presentations, he focused on the use of cognitive behaviour therapy for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and mental health problems. The focus areas covered in both presentations were: Looking at the emotional and behavioural problems often present in children/youth with an ASD; Sharing of the research around why these children/youth are at greater risk than their typically developing peers; Reviewing best practices in assessments to evidence based interventions within a positive youth development framework; Building upon what is known about the treatment of anxiety in children/youth with an ASD; Learning about how specific cognitive behavioural techniques can be used to build emotion regulation skills in youth with ASD. Feb.11 Feb. 16 Feb. 26 Feb. 26 5:00 pm March ISRT/ISEH Meeting Board Room Family Day AiM System Meeting SEAC Education Centre March Break Staff shared that this was a valuable learning opportunity. Dr. Weiss provided a very informative and interesting presentation!

2 New EduGAINS Website A new Special Education website has been launched and is available on EduGAINS. This website provides teachers with ministry-developed resources that support the policies and programs related to improved learning and teaching. On this site you can find information about resources, policy direction and school board developed resources to support professional learning. Some items to highlight on the site are: Individual Education Plans samples including Transition Plans; Information and resources to support the implementation of Policy/Program Memorandum No. 8: Identification of and Program Planning for students with Learning Disabilities; Information and resources for supporting students with Autism Spectrum Disorder; In addition they have launched a Learning for All K-12 website on EduGAINS where related resources developed by the ministry and school boards are available to all educators and leaders in Ontario. Page 2

3 IEP Online Hasting and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB) has embarked on a new platform for IEP creation and reporting for the school year. On September 2, 2014, IEP Online (IOL) went live at HPEDSB. Special Education Services and Information Technology Services have worked together to provide HPEDSB staff with an IEP software solution to meet the changing needs of our education system and reporting. The selection of a new IEP tool involved teachers, in-school resource teachers and interdepartmental special education heads, administration, test groups and pilot schools. As a group we had presentations from three IEP software vendors and the overwhelming choice was the IOL software solution provided by Public Consulting Group (PCG). The IOL software solution has many benefits: nightly Maplewood integration eliminating the need for duplicate entry of data; student records available within 24 hours at schools within HPEDSB when students move to a new school; improved data accuracy for OnSIS reporting. Special Education Services and Information Technology Services work with PCG regularly to continue to support the transition to IEP Online and to mediate concerns and find solutions to ensure that IOL meets the needs of HPEDSB. Special Education Services and Information Technology Services would like to take this opportunity to thank all classroom teachers, ISRTs, ISEHs, administration and our pilot schools for helping to make HPEDSB s transition to IOL a success! Page 3

4 Strategies for Success Can t Find What You Want, Make It! Bluetooth keyboard helps student in more ways than one. After Alyson left the Child Development Centre last year having completed a series of tests to gauge her reception to various assistive technology strategies, one thing was clear, she was all for it. With traditional technology for the blind and visually impaired being extremely expensive as well as often outdated versus today s high tech gadgets, there is a fine line between accommodating for a student and having the student adopt the accommodations. In order to help Alyson communicate her thoughts both cognitively as well as visually, a series of equipment was recommended to help meet her needs. One of those items was a Bluetooth keyboard to go with her tablet computer. The keyboard needed to be light, portable, but most importantly, have high contrast keys with enlarged text to help Alyson navigate and produce various writing tasks. There is no shortage of keyboards that offer enlarged keys, high contrast interfaces and Bluetooth connectivity but there is a shortage of ones that school-age children prefer to use for functional and social purposes. The flaw in other keyboards on the market is they are identifiers to the student s peers that something may be different with them. Far too often we have students in our system who reject technology and struggle through school work to avoid being associated with particular products that are seen by peers to label them as needing special equipment. With a little research and some fine motor skills putting on stickers, HPEDSB Vision Services was able to modify a thin, portable Bluetooth keyboard into the perfect accommodation to meet the student s needs. The keyboard pairs seamlessly with her tablet and takes advantage of her ability to see black on yellow contrast by ordering custom stickers from readinglight.com. The end result, Alyson produces longer writing tasks with more accuracy and confidence then ever! Page 4

5 Sound Sense - Coming to a Grade 4 Class Near You! The Sound Sense presentation is 50 minutes long and involves an interactive discussion, an innovative DVD and sound experiments. Students learn about noise exposure and the effects of induced hearing loss, and most importantly, strategies and habits that they can utilize to protect their hearing. There is a direct link to the learning outcomes of the Grade 4 Science unit on Sound and the Healthy Living curriculum. Following the presentation, students are given an information sheet for parents and a set of earplugs to take home. The classroom teacher is given an information sheet on improving the classroom listening environment and a class poster. The Hearing Foundation of Canada is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the devastating effects of hearing loss on Canadians by promoting prevention, early diagnosis, leading edge medical research and successful intervention. Paul Harris from the Hearing Foundation of Canada has begun to deliver this program to most of the Belleville schools. In March and April he will be available to present to our other schools. One of the foundation s primary missions is to educate the public, in particular young people, on how to detect and prevent hearing loss. Current statistics reveal a troubling pattern;1 in 5 teenagers has a hearing loss a 30% increase from 10 years ago. Out of its concern for children s and for children s and adolescents' hearing, the Foundation developed the Sound Sense Program. The program is available at no cost to the school. And is delivered by trained facilitators. Additional Information can be found at: soundsense.ca Page 5

6 SIR JAMES WHITNEY SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF - ADMISSION PROCESS Did you know Sir James Whitney School is a Provincial School for the Deaf in Belleville.? A student granted admission there must still register at his/her home school, in the board in Ontario for which they qualify as an Ontario resident pupil. An Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) is held by the board and makes the recommendation that the student be placed in a Provincial School for the Deaf. Therefore it is considered a placement at Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board even though the student may never physically attend the home school. For additional information please contact: Mary Lou Stogre Deaf and Hard of Hearing Resource Coordinator mstogre@hpedsb.on.ca ext Page 6

7 Strategies for Success Reader Leader Program An abundance of research exists linking oral communication and reading skills, as well as the benefits of the use of a Reading Buddy model. A Reader Leader Program was developed as a joint project between Speech and Language Services and the Learning Partners. The goal was to provide older students with the skills to become leaders in their schools and improve attitudes towards school and reading. Reading Buddy time will have a specific intention and move both younger and older students forward in their reading enjoyment and self-regulation. Reading Buddies provides an opportunity to experience literacy in a non-threatening and positive environment for both the younger and older children. Reader Leader Program has the potential to create long lasting positive learning experiences for the students involved. Young children experience literature through the eyes of other students and also develop lasting relationships as they view older students as people they can look up to. The initial training will involve the learning partner, speech and language pathologist and the speech and language educational assistant meeting with the older students and their teacher to train the older students on strategies for reading with younger students as well as strategies for gaining and maintaining the attention of their younger reading buddy. The older students then get the opportunity to meet with their younger book buddies to practice these skills. Page 7

8 Google Apps for Education Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board now offers a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) domain for all staff and students within the school board. From within this educationally designed domain, users can access GMail, Calendar, as well as Google Drive which offers cloud storage that allows users to access their stored content from anywhere where they have an Internet connection. A host of other useful productivity apps are offered within Drive including Google Docs, a word processing app that provides similar features as you would find in other word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word. However, Docs provides additional features such as saving work automatically and sharing a doc with more than one person - making collaboration a breeze. Other useful apps include Google Slides (similar to Powerpoint), Google Sheets (similar to Excel) and the very handy Google Forms, which can create surveys. There are many other apps offered within the domain and others that can be added to your Drive from the Chrome Web Store. Educators and students currently using GAFE have shared that the automatic save, collaboration feature, accessibility from computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones, and the storage of all files in one location to be definite highlights of this amazing technology tool. To see some of the features of GAFE in action go to If you would like additional information or to arrange training please contact a System Educational Technology Support (SETS) at the Education Centre. Brett Nielsen ext Patricia Post ext Leader Page 8