ASA's 36th National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders (July 13-16, 2005)

• Recorded Presentation

The Classroom and Communication skills program currently services eleven children in two classroom sessions. Each session is three hours in length, Monday-Thursday. Occupational, physical, and speech therapy are integrated into the classroom. New students enter CCSP throughout the school year from First Steps birth to three services and from other classrooms. Classroom support includes one special education early childhood teacher and one assistant daily. The speech language pathologist is in the classroom every other day. CCSP curriculum follows foundations and basics for Early Childhood education and thematic weekly units.

Students are enrolled in our program following a trial period in the special education developmental program. In the developmental program, students participate in centers in the classroom. These children are typically more independent, table ready, and have a conventional communication system that they use to request wants and needs. If a child is not successful in the developmental classroom, due to limited communication or classroom skills, he/she may be a candidate for CCSP. The goal of CCSP is to provide children with the skills they need to be successful in the classroom and eventually transition back into the less restrictive developmental classroom. A description of methodologies and daily activities follows.

The CCSP is not disability specific. However, the children enrolled are typically non-verbal children with autism and children with Down Syndrome. To encourage basic communication skills, we incorporate sign language, picture communication, verbal approximations, and augmentative communication. A total communication approach provides each child multiple communication systems. Children are encouraged to use all communication systems. Therapists and teachers observe which communication system(s) are most successful and which systems individual children gravitate towards.

Behavior management is an integral component of CCSP. Often children will display adverse behaviors when demands are placed. Positive reinforcement is used throughout daily classroom activities. During the first two weeks of class, teachers and therapists pair themselves with numerous reinforcers to teach the children to come to them for their favorite items. To keep various reinforcers easily accessible, the teachers and therapists wear aprons with multiple pockets. We use each child's reinforcers to encourage sitting at the table and engaging in various activities. The children's reinforcers change throughout the day, so we have a variety of items to promote participation. The overall objective is for the children to enjoy school and learn in a positive environment.

A daily schedule is followed to promote student learning. When children arrive from the bus, they wait in the hallway and are called into the classroom. During this time, we promote independent sitting through the use of reinforcers. If a child is not sitting with a reinforcer, we will sit with the child or use a cube chair in the hall to promote sitting. Expectations are raised as the child is successful. Initially, we may expect the child to sit for 5 seconds, but the expectation increases as the child meets current goals.

Following the hallway, the children transition into the classroom and hang up their coats and backpacks. Reinforcers are used to encourage the child to perform these self help skills with as little prompting as needed. Time restrictions are flexible to allow a child adequate time to complete a task. A student may require multiple verbal prompts and models to complete this task. Forward chaining and backward chaining are used to help the child become successful.

Following backpacks, children may choose between a variety of activities that have been set out for free play. We also follow the child's lead to see what they are interested in playing with during that day. Our children are often working on basic requesting skills. If they are interested in a toy that is not placed out on the table, we will allow the child to pick something different after they request the desired item. During this time, we also teach the children how to play with different toys and encourage social skills.

During circle time, the children are presented with picture choices for different songs. Depending on the child's ability to make choices, he/she is presented with up to 5 song choices. We also use discrimination choices (i.e. a blank picture card of a different color or size) and non-preferred song choices. This allows us to know if the child is truly choosing the desired item. We encourage children to request a turn to choose a song by signing “my turn”. While singing songs, we sign key words for the children. Imitation skills are encouraged through the use of verbal prompts and reinforcers. Circle time also focuses on matching pictures and objects related to the weekly thematic unit. We work on fill-ins, requesting various items, and matching skills.

Snack time is typically a highly motivating time for the children. We continue to use a total communication approach for the children. The children are seated at a U-shaped table. They are given a “menu” of different food picture choices. The children who are beginning to discriminate picture choices are given non-preferred snack choices as well as preferred items. The children request using pictures, signs, and vocal approximations. Depending on the child's skill level, sign combinations and word combinations are modeled. This activity provides a natural environment for eliciting multiple requests.

Art time focuses on the process rather than the product. Teaching basic concepts such as on and off, matching skills, and thematic vocabulary are incorporated into the art activities. We use reinforcers for compliance and increase demands as the child is successful. For example, a child may first be required to glue a single object onto paper. Later, the child is required to glue multiple objects onto paper. Modeling, verbal prompts, and reinforcers are used to help the child complete the activity as independently as possible. Limited hand over hand assistance is used to avoid prompt dependency.

Sensory activities are incorporated into each child's day. When children are interested in specific sensory activities, such as water play or shaving cream, we will bring additional toys into those activities to promote learning. For example, if the child is working on identifying common objects, we will place common objects into the water and teach through the water. Conversely, for a child that is not interested in a sensory activity, we will take a favorite toy and place it in that sensory item. For example, if a child is interested in dinosaurs but not playdough, we will place the dinosaurs into the playdough to encourage the child to play with the playdough.

Weekly cooking activities are utilized to promote matching skills, identifying common objects, taking turns, following directions, and completing fill-ins. Initially, snack items were made during cooking activities; however various sensory items (i.e. bubbles, goop) are also made due to individual dietary restrictions.

Throughout the day, communication skills are a focal point. Teachers use simple sign language (i.e. signing the important words of a sentence), picture communication, and applied verbal behavior. These communication strategies are used in a total communication approach to promote maximum language learning. Behavior management techniques include 1,2,3 Magic and positive reinforcement. One on one time is used to teach a skill more intensely. To promote generalization, different people and materials are used to teach new concepts.

During 1 ½ years implementing this program, there have been some pitfalls and barriers. Visually distracting items on the classroom walls diverted the children's attention. Therefore, we covered the cabinets with white shower curtains and removed all posters to improve the children's attention. Also, there were difficulties restricting the children's access to various areas of the classroom. To address this problem, we structured the room to provide natural barriers and locked cabinets containing snack items. Items such as favorite toys were visually accessible but out of physical reach to encourage the children to communicate their wants and needs. Open access to the children's favorite items does not facilitate communication with adults.

To create an effective program, there are some mistakes to avoid. Promote independence in the children and use limited hand over hand assistance. Encourage the child to do motor movements through reinforcers. By decreasing the amount of hand over hand assistance, the child is less likely to become physically prompt dependent. To prevent verbal prompt dependency, avoid saying “what do you want” as this inadvertently becomes a prompt. The goal is to have children spontaneously request. In the natural environment, it is easier to make communication more meaningful. Finally, do not teach “more” for children that are at the one word stage. By teaching “more”, you are setting the child up for failure because “more” does not indicate the true wants of the child. Instead, teach the actual words/signs to request favorite items. This methodology teaches the child to communicate first, rather than waiting for an adult to present item(s) in which they need to request “more”.

Success has been achieved in the classroom setting for all of the children involved in the Classroom and Communication Skills Program. Progress has been tracked using the ABLLS (Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills) and IEP goals and objectives. Please see attached ABLLS assessments. Fifteen children have enrolled in CCSP. Four children have successfully transitioned back into the developmental classroom while two children transitioned into kindergarten in special education programs without a one on one assistant. By addressing basic classroom and communication skills early, these children have learned the necessary skills to be successful in various educational programs.