<Mrs. Kennedy's Class>

Autistic Support 3-6

Hello Everyone,  

I am so excited to be your teacher during the  2021-2022 school year!  I will be your Autistic support teacher and Ms. Melissa will be your instructional aide.  If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year you can email me at the following address:  

  kennedyk@dunmoreschooldistrict.net. 

I am looking forward to a great year!!

*Tips for including your child in daily activities

It may be helpful as your children are at home to have them engaged in activities throughout the day. This could include involving them in the daily household routines and chores. You can start as small as preparing a snack or you can be more ambitious by using more complex chores such as doing the laundry. Because you know your child, you can determine how much and how your child will participate.

Some tips for getting started:

· Start with activities your child enjoys. If the activity has value to the child, it will be easier to get them to participate. Making a preferred snack or meal might be a starting point for some children. Yard work may be the ticket if they enjoy the outdoors. Fun makes everything easier!

· Consider the things your child can already do. Start by encouraging your child to do things that are already easy for them. It is always best to start with success!

· Start with only one or two chores. Slowly introduce more activities or chores as your child demonstrates success.

· Start with activities and chores that are brief. This will allow them to learn to be successful right away.

· Make the outcome worth it:

If completing a chore or a step of a chore results in something good, the child will be more likely to do it the next time they are asked. Make sure that completing chores or activities results in good things happening! Providing a positive consequence after the child does something that leads to the behavior occurring more often is known as reinforcement. Reinforcement is effective because it becomes predictable that things will get better for the child after they engage in the behavior.

· Here are some guidelines on using reinforcement effectively:

o Reinforcement needs to be valuable to your child. Keep in mind that what is valuable at one moment of time may not be relevant at another time. For instance, a snack may be a valuable reinforcer when the child is hungry, but may not serve as reinforcement after the child has eaten a large meal. There is a wide range of things that might reinforce behavior but they have to be valuable to the child and be delivered immediately after the expected behavior occurs.

o The reinforcer will need to be delivered by the adult. It is best if it is not something the child can access on their own. Examples of things adults can control include a small snack, praise, access to computer/tablet/phone, or toy.



Sensory and Sign Language Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uK1YiHNFtU&t=2216s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhYtcadR9nw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIbBI-BT9c4