The letter below was written by a parent of an autistic child who read one of our recent posts on the importance of co-regulation. Too often our schools can be aversive places for children. As parents and teachers, as humans, we want our children to be happy and fulfilled at school. It should be a …
The Power of Co-Regulation: A Letter from a Parent of an Autistic Child Read More »
Showing Autistic Pupils that Learning Has Value: A Guide for Special Education Teachers Any new special education teacher faces the unique challenge of catering to the diverse needs of your students. I have spent my career supporting Autistic pupils who will require specialised approaches to learning. One of the most important tasks, and one that …
Best Practices for Communicating with Autistic Children for ECTS When it comes to education and early years development for children who have a diagnosis of autism, simple techniques and strategies can be the most effective. In fact, we often overlook the basics because we tend to overcomplicate things when communicating with autistic children. In this …
Best Practice for Communicating with Autistic Children Read More »
Sound and Play Sensory Sound Buttons are a type of sensory toy designed to provide children with a fun and interactive way to explore sounds and textures. These buttons are typically made of durable materials and feature a variety of textures, colours, and shapes that are designed to engage the senses and encourage exploration. When …
Sensory Sound Buttons in EYFS: Communication and Engaging play Read More »
What is Flow State? Flow state, as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a mental state of operation where a person is fully immersed in an activity, characterised by a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. During the state of flow, individuals experience a sense of control over …
Flow State: Applying the Theory in the SEN Classroom Read More »
Teaching self-regulation skills to children with SEN is a vital part of their education. It also presents real challenges depending on the complexity of their needs. Pre-Verbal children or those with communication difficulties need our constant focus on this. Many of our children have disorganised nervous systems that are always seeking out sensory stimulation to …
Play Your Way to Better Self-Regulation: Tips and Strategies Read More »
One of the most significant challenges for teachers supporting children with a diagnosis of Autism is the development of language skills. This is not necessarily verbal communication. As teachers we seek to develop communication to a point where the child can intentionally communicate with as wide a range of people as possible. Yes – this …
Developing Communication Skills For Pupils in The Classroom Read More »
Biting: Don’t Just Look At The Behaviour When a child displays a certain behaviour or action it is highly likely to be a response to an interaction or the environment. It may also be indicative of a medical or physical need. Before asking “How can I stop a pupil biting?” it is essential that you …
Introduction. A key part of the application process for a Teaching Assistant job is personal statement. A personal statement is a document that tells the panel who are doing the shortlisting about your motivations for wanting to become a Teaching Assistant. This guide will teach you how to write an effective personal statement for a …
Writing a Personal Statement for a Teaching Assistant Post Read More »
Developing pupil motivation using 10 evidence based strategies. Teaching Assistants (TAs) play a vital role in supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the classroom. One of the most important aspects of their work is to help these pupils develop a strong motivation to learn. This is crucial because pupils with SEN may face …
How can teachers and teaching assistants motivate pupils to learn? Read More »
How doesn’t love a chance to dress up! This pirate themed sensory story is a little different to our others. I have tried to make it accessible to learners who need minimal language and repetition. I have tried to write for the earlier stages of our sensory story progression stages. Pirate Themed Sensory Story This …
A Reformed Functionalist. Acting in a certain way to get out of something is commonplace for many children and young people. And adults come to that. If you have attended a PBS (positive behaviour support) course or any behaviour training you may have heard the term “functions of behaviour”. Attempts to get away from, out …
Multi-Sensory Christmas Carols These multi-sensory Christmas songs take the concept of sensory stories and apply them to traditional Christmas songs. Using a range of sensory stimuli we reinforce the key elements of the songs and bring them to life! To aim is to enthuse our sensory learners and enrich the experience for all those taking …
Personalisation and Purpose of Reward Systems at Home and School I am a fan of personalised reward systems at school as a way to achieve a very specific goal. As a behaviour modification strategy, I have struggled to find a suitable system. I have found star charts or token economy systems a good way for …
Reward Systems: Rewards and Natural Consequences Read More »
Stories about Emotions Teaching emotions and explaining feelings to children is essential. A child cannot self regulate without recognising and starting to understand how they feel. It is also important for children to start to understand how their actions affect others. There are many ways to approach this but one of my favourite ways is …
A guest post on great SEN apps. For many children access to school ended in March 2020 due to the coronavirus. Now that the spread is slowing down, however, they’re allowed to reopen fully. But a survey conducted by the National Foundation for Education Research found that 60% of school leaders feel ‘unprepared for some aspects of …
5 Interactive Apps Geared Towards Special Needs Students Read More »
All children have a tendency to display oppositional behavior at times. After 13 years working with children with Autism, ADHD, ODD and other needs I have seen a range of reasons for opposition. With my own children I can identify factors that can lead to oppositional behaviour. This doesn’t make it easier to deal with, …
Control, Anxiety, and Oppositional Behaviour at Home and School. Read More »
This will be an ongoing post where I upload the scavenger hunt AAC communication boards and other activity sheets I make. I hope you find these useful and please share if you like them. We also have a post outlining 150 sensory learning activities you may be interested in. All the boards are fully editable …
Waiting: Strategies for use at home & school Waiting can be a challenge for many children. As a teacher and a parent, I have had to find ways to teach children to wait for a whole range of things. Throughout the day in the SEN classroom, there are natural lulls in planned activity. This may …
This post outlines the questions and suggested strategies from the #SENexchange discussion on Life Skills: Health and Hygiene routines. You can download a PDF of the collated discussion below. Please share if you think this will help someone. What barriers do people with Sensory Processing differences face with common hygiene routines? Update: check out this …
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