The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

The amount of time a student with ASD is actively attending to/interacting with the environment is one of the best predictors of positive student outcomes. Go beyond traditional drill and practice-- explore the most effective strategies in designing instructional materials that maximize engagement, learning, and generalization. These include deliberate design, use of a wide range of materials, and embedded reinforcement. You will learn practical methods of implementation and enjoy classroom examples, photographs, video clips, and stories from the field. Contribution to Best Practices: The amount of time a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is actively attending to and interacting with his/her environment has been cited as one of the best predictors of positive student outcomes (Iovannone, Dunlap, Huber, & Kincaid, 2003). When a student is engaged it is more likely that connections are being formed, productive routines are being created, and interactions are occurring. When unengaged, students lose out on important learning opportunities and may become distracted, disruptive, or may demonstrate challenging behaviors. When these challenging behaviors occur it is important that elements in the environment are examined—including variables related to the curriculum. Curricular variables may include the length of the instructional activity, the difficulty of the content, the types of materials, the organization of the task, and/or the relevance of the information presented (Dunlap, Kern, & Worcester, 2001). Modifying curricular variables and designing instructional activities that increase active engagement are important skills and essential in the application of applied behavior analysis to education and instruction. The strategies that will be discussed are based on proven interventions that have scientific evidence supporting their value. The practical implementation methods, as well as the many visual examples for those working with students with ASD, will assist in translating science into practice. Teachers and families will benefit from the “How-to” elements of the presentation. Individuals with autism will ultimately benefit, as their educators gain the required skills to make curriculum and instruction more meaningful, relevant, and engaging.

Content Details: The presentation will follow this structure:

•Introduction to Curricular Variables and Their Influence on Student Engagement and Performance: The nature of instructional materials influences the learning of students with ASD, and the management of curricular variables can either promote or hinder active engagement (Heflin & Alberto, 2001). The emergence of these ideas will be discussed, examples from the research and practice will be provided, and participants will be asked to share their concerns related to instructional activities and curriculum materials.

•Introduction to Strategies to Design More Effective Instructional Activities: An overview of the three strategies to be addressed in depth will be provided, and the rationale for selecting the specified strategies (i.e. ease of implementation for all professionals; few resources required to use strategies effectively; strong support in the literature and in personal experiences).

Specific strategies: For each strategy, implementation across settings (i.e. special and general education classrooms, homes, and community locations) will be addressed. Issues related to generalization of skills, and classroom examples designed to foster maintenance and usage of skills across settings will also be presented.

Deliberate Design: Engagement of students with ASD is less likely unless careful planning in the design of educational materials and activities occurs. Traditional teaching procedures and resources, such as standard lectures and worksheets, may not be appealing or easy to understand for students with ASD. Students with ASD may have greater difficulty in organizing and sequencing materials due to deficits in executive functioning (Mesibov, Shea, & Schopler, 2005) and/or challenges in modulating sensory input. Students with ASD may also have difficulty interpreting the importance of information and give undue attention to details (Mesibov et al., 2005). Practical ideas on how to remedy such difficulties will be provided, including strategies related to making the meaning more salient, presenting materials in a minimally stimulating manner, and limiting the amount of information and size of the work space to reduce stimulation. Video and photograph examples will be provided, as well as ideas from participants on strategies they are currently using.

Sufficient Exemplars: Using multiple exemplars for each skill is essential if generalization is to occur (Horner, Dunlap, & Koegel, 1988). A range of materials can also make the difference between students simply being present and students participating and being engaged (Kluth, 2003). When a variety of materials are used, students have a chance to be successful and learn in a way that suits them. Research highlights will be identified (Kern, Childs, Dunlap, Clarke, & Falk, 1994; Dunlap, Foster-Johnson, Clarke, Kern, & Childs, 1995), as well as different types of materials that can be used, and novel and creative ways to construct them.

Embedded Reinforcement: Incorporating the unique interests of students with ASD into the content and/or layout of instructional activities is another strategy to increase both engagement and meaning. Capitalizing on student interests can provide motivation to complete activities, and students may find the activities more reinforcing than traditional social reinforcement from staff members or peers. Incorporating the strengths and interests of student with ASD should be implemented across the curriculum, and models for implementation will be provided and discussed. Photographs and videotapes will also be shown.

•Conclusions and Discussion: Findings will be reviewed and time will be allocated to answer participant questions or engage in related discussion. Handouts will be provided that will include visual examples of strategies discussed, as well as additional resources for participants.

Learning Objectives: