Aspie Author: A Journey into Sharing her Imagination with the World
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Aspie Author: A Journey into Sharing her Imagination with the World

I want to thank Elizabeth Jade for contributing this post on her journey into publishing her first book to Inclusiveteach.com. Please support Elizabeth by sharing her story widely and consider buying a copy of Akea – The power of destiny.

Essential Sensory Resources
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Essential Sensory Resources

Many “Sensory” resources can be created from free or existing material, bubble wrap, packaging foam, a little dot of oil on a radiator. Food is easy and usually cheap, rainbow rice or spaghetti. I am a fan of getting outside, feel the breeze, listen to the waves (my school is just above the beach). Sometimes you want something a bit different. These can be used in a sensory room or individually to encourage calming or even concentration. I would love to hear your ideas as well.

Engaging the failed Autistic Learner.
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Engaging the failed Autistic Learner.

this post is specifically focused on strategies that may be effective for autistic children. This post draws heavily on the work of Damian Milton from who’s writing I have learnt so much from over the last year or two. This booklet has particularly shaped my approach to teaching. Most of these strategies are really just aimed at reducing stressors throughout the day. I would like to stress these are interpreted through by teaching experience and context is very important.

6 Awesome Ways to Engage Reluctant Learners.
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6 Awesome Ways to Engage Reluctant Learners.

In this post I am classing reluctant learners as those who often do not finish tasks, they may do the minimum to get by or even flat out refuse to take part. As inclusive teachers we constantly have to be mindful of the drivers of the child’s behaviour. The key to creating engaged learners is to know the child and the barriers they face. Some issues may go deeper and require additional specialist support. A class teacher dedicated to engaging their students can have a huge impact on the students experience of education and their outcome in life. Engaging learners is as much about emotional confidence as intellectual propensity so make that bond and enable all to achieve

The Mental Health crisis facing our most vulnerable children.
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The Mental Health crisis facing our most vulnerable children.

There are many many children out there who are crying out for help. There are many dedicated, enthusiastic, creative and compassionate people who are desperate to help. These people need help, we are increasingly facing highly complex issues that very few educational professionals are equipped to deal with. I am writing this as a teacher but I know there are CAMHS workers, social workers and support staff throughout the country who are feeling like this.

Essential Education Books for Inclusive Teachers: Behaviour.
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Essential Education Books for Inclusive Teachers: Behaviour.

These books are only those I have read and can recommend. They all follow an inclusive and positive support ethos. They all also focus on the only part of behaviour support we can control – ourselves. If your school has a zero tolerance behaviour policy read these and make it your mission to get that rewritten.I will get around to doing a second post but I need to get reading first!

Research, Relationships and Reality.
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Research, Relationships and Reality.

This post will outline the role relationships play in behaviour support, I will also outline some of the research led practices I have used. Before I start I do want to say that I have read studies I do not agree with. I also know that a huge number of studies conducted ON Autistic children/adults focus on strategies intended to normalise social behaviours which is a huge ethical issue. Fortunately I have had the opportunity to listen to and discuss elements of my practice with actually Autistic academics and practitioners. This has greatly shaped my approach and ethos towards behaviour support, I will also admit this has slanted my view of a lot of studies that remove the human element from behaviour and reduce the children to purely objects to study. To this end I fully expect some of the approaches in the post and the presentation to be a bit controversial and I am 100% sure that at least some of them will contravene your school (or center’s) behaviour policy.

10 Tips To Deescalate a Child’s Behaviour
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10 Tips To Deescalate a Child’s Behaviour

Every day teachers, parents and carers are faced with potentially challenging situations. Many of these are defused through skillful behaviour support. These successful resolutions will have certain common characteristics. There are some essential conditions that must exist to deescalate an incident of challenging behaviour.

Questions about Sensory Processing Disorder and Behaviour
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Questions about Sensory Processing Disorder and Behaviour

n my role as behaviour lead at my school I am increasingly interested in the impact of sensory processing on learning, engagement and what we perceive as challenging behaviour. I wanted to find out more so asked some questions of the twitterverse. This is a breakdown of some of the things I was able to take away from the chat.