We Welcome our Visiting Students - TLLP Phase 2 (TLLP 12/13)

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We welcomed three special students to our classroom community today. The three students that will be the focus of our TLLP came over to visit us. The intent of the visit was three fold - 1) for them to familiarize themselves with me, 2) for me to familiarize myself with them, and 3) for my students to lead by example, as caring & compassionate humans, and as iOS (iPad & iPod Touch) experts! Our three visitors were with us for about 45 minutes and in that time I observed lots of great things.

I will share my observations of each student, and in order to ensure their privacy, I will be using pseudonyms.

Neil - Grade 4 Student
Neil and I have a bit of rapport. When he was in grade 2 we spent some time getting to know one another as the grade 2 students gathered several times to prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion. Neil makes eye contact with people and smiles a lot. Of the three students, he is the most verbal and I would say that he rarely gets upset. He engages in conversation but seems distracted from time to time. Neil arrived to our room with his E.A. and was then left in my care. He was excited to see the students using the touch technology and knew what they were working with. I welcomed him and asked if it was ok if I teamed him up with a couple of my students - he had no problem with this. I had already prepared two of my students to work with Neil. Their job was to take him through a few apps and to then allow him to use the device if he wanted to. Neil didn't end up using the iPod Touch that his group was working with. He spent most of the time watching. He did communicate with the other students verbally, but not much. He seemed happy to be with us and from time to time he looked serious - this appeared to be when his team members would start up a new app. At the end of our time I thanked him for coming and asked him if he would like to come back. He smiled and said yes!

Eric - Grade 3 Student
I know Eric because he is in the room next door to mine. From my observation, Eric doesn't make eye contact with the people around him and he communicates verbally but not in complete sentences. Eric was brought to my room by his E.A. and left in my care. He came with a piece of paper and a marker. The paper had a variety of numbers on it. When he came in the room he instantly stopped and looked around - he saw the students working with the iPads and iPod Touches and after surveying the room he headed towards the closest students. My students told him that they were using an iPod Touch. He sat next to them and watched. I welcomed him and asked him if he wanted to see what they were doing. He said he wanted to. I left his area but kept an eye on him because I couldn't gage whether he was interested or not. For the first few minutes he looked around and wrote more numbers on his paper. I later found out from his teacher that he is constantly writing numbers down on paper. When my students got his attention again they started telling him about the apps we have on the iPod Touch. He saw something he liked so they gave him the device and started working away. One of my students came to get me and bring me over, they wanted me to see what he was doing. He had discovered the app called "Fireworks123". Here is the description of the app, taken from the app store:

"Fireworks 123 is an interactive “cause and effect” app designed to support the development of early literacy skills and the comprehension of descriptive concepts such as number, size, and color in a fun and entertaining way. Each time a user makes a selection from one of the three descriptive choice menus, Fireworks 123 provides immediate feedback by showing a clear visual representation of the choice made. LAUNCH the firework show you selected to watch a fun and dynamic visual display designed to further reinforce comprehension."

He asked me how to turn up the volume so I showed him how to do so. He spent most of his time on this and did not write down any numbers as he was using this app. At the end of our time I thanked him for coming and he proceeded to leave the room (I watched him walk back to his class next door).

Hailey - Grade 1 Student
Hailey came to our classroom with her E.A.. I welcomed her and her E.A. and asked that she circulate the room and see what was going on. After a short while a few of my students started showing her what they were doing. Hailey did look at me and she did communicate with one or two words at a time. She seemed more engaged than Eric did, but not as much as Neil. As her E.A. and I were talking about this experience, Hailey noticed the iPad that was on the carpet beside us, it was unattended. She went over to it, picked it up, and began touching the screen. I immediately thought that she was mimicking what my students were doing or she has a touch device at home. My students immediately helped her get back the the 'home' screen. She flipped through the pages and she stopped at the "Glow Colouring" App. When she saw this app she touch it several times quickly - almost like she had seen it before. We are not sure if she has an iPad at home but her E.A. told me she would ask mom and get back to me. Here is the description of the app from the itunes store:

"Glow Coloring is the first doodle app that allows you to scan in images that you can color in or trace. With Glow Coloring, you can adjust brush pattern, brush size, and color. When you are done drawing your masterpiece, you can save it to your camera roll or email it directly from the app.
Glow Coloring provides you with the ability to add text messages to your colorings. Type a special message to a friend, color it in glowing colors, then email it to them."

After a little bit of time using her finger to make colourful marks, one of my students got her to exit our of that app and they I suggested she take a look at "Letter School Lite" (makes handwriting cool), which I had read about recently. Here is a brief description from the app store:

"HOW IT WORKS
Kids practice essential skills as they play four exciting games per letter/number:

INTRO - discover the letter’s shape, name and sound
TAP - learn where to start, change direction and finish by tapping the dots
TRACE - learn the letter trajectory by tracing it
WRITE - test your knowledge by writing from memory"

Her E.A. had the iPad and began to start working with the letter 'A'. Right away, Hailey yelled out "A"!! She was excited and seemed quite engaged. Her E.A. looked surprised as well and commented that this app would be very appropriate for Hailey. This particular app has been recognized for its looks and operation.

I was told that aside from having autism, Hailey also has has other medical issues that impact her learning. I was pleased to see that she was happy and she appeared to be comfortable. I thanked her and her E.A. for coming and told them that I would love to have them back.

Today's visit was successful and I believe that the visiting students and I were able to become a little more familiar with each other and my students were fantastic. They were very patient and kind with our visitors and with each other. I enjoyed seeing Neil, Eric, and Hailey engaged with the touch devices but more importantly, I saw them enjoying themselves. Neil and Hailey smiled a lot and provided us with those visual clues of how they were feeling. Eric didn't provide us with that type of feedback but he provided us with information about how he was feeling by the intense focus he placed on the app he was working on.

I look forward to having them visit again and to working with them to enhance their learning.

Challenging the Myths of Autism - Acquiring Professional Knowledge for Practice (TLLP 12/13)

Part of our TLLP involves learning about the characteristics of students with autism. Although every child is unique, there are commonalities and we hope that acquiring knowledge about them will provide us with insight that will inform our practice.

I spent the day at a seminar entitled "Challenging the Myths of Autism", which was sponsored by the Geneva Centre for Autism and Kerry's Place Autism Services. Jonathan Alderson, Ed.M. presented the myths and how to navigate the maze of autism treatment.

This PD was an amazing experience for me. I learned a lot and was able to connect what was presented to the context of our project. Integrating technology into my classroom has been, and continues to be, a fantastic learning experience for my students and myself. However, I have been looking for opportunities to gain a more focused understanding about how to work with our special needs students, particularly our students with autism.

Having advanced my understanding of autism today makes me feel like I have established a decent foundation from which I hope to build a strong mental structure of knowledge that will be used to support our students and my colleagues. I would like to take a moment and share with you some of my learning and how I envision it being used to support our students as they use the touch technology to enhance their learning.

Jonathan Alderson presented the following myths of autism:

1. Autistic children lack affection
2. Rituals are dysfunctional and should be stopped
3. Autistic children lack intelligence
4. ABA/IBI is the only evidence-based treatment
5. There is a limited 5-year "window" for the development of autistic children
6. Socialization of autistic children happens best with peers

For each of the above mentioned myths, Jonathan provided us with evidence to challenge the myths. For a neophyte like myself, I was in awe of the information he presented. He had great personal stories and kept things interesting. It was a treat to listen to him speak.

My learning:

Autistic children can show affection, it is a matter of not irritating their sensitivities. What can I change about my approach with them that won't offend their sensitivities? We need to meet their needs like any other student to make things work. I think the technology can be used in a variety of ways that won't offend their sensitivities. We need to build a trust with them, to be curious, to tell them what we want, and share stories of affection. I look forward to seeing them smile when they use the touch technology.

Autistic students have rituals and they are not dysfunctional and shouldn't be stopped. There are many reasons why children with autism have rituals and repetitive behaviour (RRB's). It's important to consider biological & sensory causes (help them de-stimulate), stop judging them as bad, and try to join in or imitate. Knowing this, I think that I should be patient and understanding if the students we are working with feel the need to demonstrate RRB's when using the touch devices. It is part of who they are and I should respect their differences like I would any other student.

Autistic students don't lack intelligence. How are we measuring IQ? There are many intelligences, so why would we focus on one way to measure it. Do we do that with other students? The touch devices can be a tool to help students with autism demonstrate their intelligence, just like it is being used with the students in my class who are excited and engaged in their learning because of technology.

ABA/IBI are not the only evidence-based treatment for students with autism. Listening to Jonathan speak about navigating the maze of autism treatments was a breath of fresh air. He talked about the principles of multi-treatment designs and that we can learn from different approaches. As a teacher I am open and try different things to reach my students. Granted, I am not doing therapy, but I am a practitioner who has the option of using technology to teach my students and have them demonstrate their knowledge. Is it not a moral imperative that I do what I can to reach ALL my students?

There isn't a 5-year window for development in autistic children. There isn't any scientific evidence that shows that learning slows down after 5 years of age, science confirms that the brain remains 'plastic' throughout life, and we really shouldn't interpret 'early intervention' as intervention only works early! The technology is a tool, it might meet the needs of the student and it might not - no harm in trying it out as I would any other teaching tool.

Socialization of children with autism doesn't necessarily happen best with peers. The social skills that are evident in neurotypical children are most often 'missing' with kids that have autism. Autistic children have low eye contact, lack social motivation, imitation, understanding, and generalization. If you want autistic children to socialize with other children it would be more effective to teach them the above mentioned social skills. Examples of how this could be done are through 1:1 facilitated play dates and adult play and instruction. In the second phase of our project we will be inviting our autistic friends to visit our classroom. While they visit, I was hoping that they would sit with one of my "model" students - confident, compassionate, and capable with the technology. I am open to introducing the technology to the autistic students in a variety of ways - it doesn't have to happen the way we envisioned it. It should play out in a comfortable way for our visiting students.

We need to continue to challenge the myths. We need to be more accepting, curious, and take an active role in rewriting how to work with children who have autism. Soft eyes, open heart, and an inviting mind can take people places they have never been before. I am looking forward to the journey.