This is a link to Social Time/Social Play a completely free and downloadable book on how to teach play and language to kids with disabilities. What is SO COOL about this book is that somewhere around page 92 it has FREE LESSON PLANS on how to run social skills activities. Bean tables, pretend play birthday…
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Teacher Questions: Recognizing Emotions
“I’ve been working on recognizing emotions in DT with my non-verbal kid. What’s a good intermediate step to see if they are able to generalize this without walking them around the building with visuals and asking them about people’s faces?” A great way to do this is to show your kiddo a short video clip….
Read MoreI Consent: A Story from the Classroom
Yesterday, I covered a coworker’s lunch. I went into a class of adults who have “moderate to severe” autism. This usually means that they have low/no verbal behavior, limited self-regulation and self-help skills, and a higher probability to engage in aggression when frustrated. I used this opportunity to teach one of the students about consent….
Read MoreSocial Skills Emoji Lesson: Teaching Others to Understand the Differences of Those with Disabilities
I got an email from a parent recently and they were concerned because their higher functioning AU son has no understanding of his lower functioning classmates. Mom said he often lashes out at the other students, asks why they get to keep their IPads with them during class and will tell everyone that he, too,…
Read MoreDisney+ Social Skills
This past month Disney+ came out. When I was done binging, I realized it has some great content that you can use for Social Skills! Read on for some free lessons (well, free after a Disney+ subscription). Boy Meets World/Girl Meets World – These two series about Cory growing up – and then Cory’s daughter…
Read MoreSocially Aware or Social Robot?
Are you teaching others how to become socially aware (thoughtfully assessing the social situation) or hoping for a social robot (someone who does what they are taught in social situations because it’s been drilled into them that it’s the “right” thing to do)? It’s an important question and one that needs to be addressed as…
Read MoreI Don’t Really Care. Do You?: A Social Fake Lesson
Do you care that your neighbor’s son just did the CUTEST thing? Or that your grandmother needs more fiber in her diet? Or that your best friends cat has learned to fetch? Probably not. But do all these people matter to you in some way? Probably so. You’ve learned what Michelle Garcia Winner over at…
Read MoreIt’s All A Matter of Perspective
Life Skills or Academics? Which comes first and which is more important? I teach adults 18-22 and recently asked them this question. Academics, they all agreed. Academics will get you the job. People care if you’re smart, they told me. I then showed them this clip from The Middle. Sue and Axl have a life…
Read MoreI Love Lucy (and Social Skills)!
Recently I started teaching adults. While plenty of adults watch Pixar and Disney movies, I started searching for something a little more relatable with human characters. I came up with I Love Lucy, Spiderman, anything Avengers, Friends, Harry Potter, and Seinfeld. Lucy came off the clear winner with the adults. I used the “Zones in…
Read MoreSelf-Determination & Social Skills: Using Goals to Help Students Analyze Behavior
Last year I was sent to Self-Determination (ones ability to make choices and control their own life) for Students with Disabilities training. The presenter discussed how it’s never to soon to ask your child (with or without disabilities) what their goals are and help them create a plan to get there. Your 3 year old…
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