What I learned from “The Reason I Jump.” Book

The Reason I jump Lessons learned from Noaki HIgasidas book on autism

Written by the then 13 year old Naoki Higashida an Autistic young man from Japan The reason I jump is a fascinating insight into his views on how Autism has shaped his perspective of life. The book answers a series of questions put to Noaki which he answers using an alphabet grid devised by his mother.

Case Study: Hot Weather and Behaviour

heat and autism case study

How would hot weather influence behaviour? This seemed apt to post now as the country simmers slowly beneath the summer sun. This post is based on observations and frequency data over a shorter period of hot weather. Whilst analysing the behavioural incident data records a spike in frequency for a specific group of 9 students … Read more

Internal Antecedents: Behaviour “Out of the Blue”

unclear internal antecedents

Internal Antecedents: Does Behaviour Really Come “Out of the Blue?” Often overlooked, internal antecedents are an important element in behaviour support. This article is based on my experiences working with Autistic children who also communicate in ways we find challenging. We do our best to find patterns, clues and reasons for episodes of challenging behaviour. … Read more

10 Prevention Strategies for Challenging Behaviour autism

Free SEN teaching Autism blog

These are 10 simple ways to prevent challenging behaviour escalation by making small changes to your interactions. In our PBS training, these are called active interventions. In reality, there are thousands of these, the better you know the child the more adept you will become at identifying the most effective strategies in your teacher’s toolkit … Read more

A Free Alternative to Twinkl Create For SEN Teaching Resources

A Free Alternative to Twinkl Create For SEN Teaching Resources 1

One of the most interesting things I found on the Twinkl site was the “create” feature, this allows you to build a range of resources from displays to interactive games to worksheets. Now I’m not the biggest fan of a worksheet but with a bit of laminating they can easily turn into a folder task. I hate seeing folders of random sheets that all use different fonts imagery etc. If I am creating a pack for a topic it is much better that all the resources have a common look and feel. It just looks more cohesive and planned.

Autism: Change and Transition

Transition Resources for supporting Children with change “If a child is Autistic, they do not like change”. This is the biggest stereotype attributed to autistic people. The most widely repeated generalisation (In schools anyway). With any blanket statement it is inaccurate and too simplistic. A better comment would be “Change causes anxiety.” or “The thought … Read more

10 Tips To Deescalate a Child’s Behaviour

Image of child screaming words above

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.

5 Ways To Implement Autism Awareness for Inclusive Teachers

Free SEN teaching Autism blog

Autism awareness is an essential concept with ever increasing need for us all to seek a greater understanding of what it means to be autistic. However it must be more than holding an assembly, or watching a video. We must make real and ongoing adaptations to ensure our learning environments and school communities are as inclusive as possible.

Social Stories: Hero Cards & Rules

Hero cards Autism transition resources

Social stories are a tried and tested way of teaching social skills but for some learners they are too much. I needed a way to remind a student of the rules but in a way that didn’t single them out as being the focus of the story. Some people will say this won’t work as autistic children can’t generalise…. but anyone who has worked with autism knows a lot of what people say is actually a myth or just does not apply to an individual.

Lego Teaching Activities and Resources

Lego therapy autism

Lego Resources in Class This post was originally written to celebrate the second birthday of Inclusiveteach.com with a post about Lego! Lego toys are still popular and with the increasing use of Lego therapy even more widely used in education than when I wrote this blog Lego Resources in the Classroom Playing with blocks and … Read more

Sensory Umbrellas For PMLD.

Free SEN teaching Autism worksheets

Sensory and Storytelling Umbrellas When you listen to a speaker you need to be inspired. Your mind needs to fill with ideas as they speak. I had the pleasure of listening and watching Flo Longhorn at a conference late last year and came away with a desire to rush out and put these ideas into … Read more

Using Visual Supports In The Classroom

Free SEN teaching topic worksheets

Visual Supports in The Classroom For Autistic Children. Visual supports for Autistic children are vital those with receptive or expressive language delays are often able to process visual information more effectively. Update May 2023 – Check out our new post on using the PicturePath app to create timelines and visual supports for Autistic learners. As … Read more

SEN Teacher: Space Resources

Free SEN teaching topic worksheets

Space and Planets Theme Resources – Perfect for “world Space Week”. As with most of my resources a lot of these are designed to be laminated and with liberal use of velcro turned into repeatable folder tasks. My class all have a diagnosis of autism and communication difficulties. Half are PECS users. Some really enjoy […]

Transport Topic Teaching Resources 2

Free SEN teaching topic worksheets

Free Printable Transport Topic Teaching Resources for EYFS, KS1 and SEN This post contains some more transport topic-themed free printable worksheets/folder tasks. For any special education teacher working with students who need assistive communication interventions such as symbol support or PECS, some have been developed to meet specific speech and language targets and goals. These … Read more

SEN Teacher Adapting The Tough Tray

star wars teaching resources

Custom Tough Tray Divider Tough trays are a brilliant and invaluable addition to any classroom. This was an idea I had when I first bought a tuff tray but was brought to life by our workshop tutor so I can’t claim all the credit. I work in an SLD SEN key stage 4 class. My … Read more

Transport Topic Free Teaching Resources Part 1

Free SEN topic transport teaching resources

Transport, Cars and Vehicles Free teaching resources. Here are some of the free teaching resources I have made and used so far for our new Transport and Journeys topic. The Second Transport printable teaching resources post is here. These are the tried and tested ones. Many use widget software symbols. Some are designed as worksheets … Read more

Effective IWB use in SEN

Free SEN teaching transport topic resources

The interactive whiteboard may well be the greatest ICT resource available to teachers today. It can also be the biggest waste of money possible. If used as a display device just buy a cheap flat-screen TV. However, for students with SEN the whiteboard can provide some fantastic opportunities for interaction and motivating activities. There are … Read more

7 Tips for an Autism Friendly Christmas

7 Tips for an Autism Friendly Christmas 2

Christmas and the holidays can be a trying time for our young people. Lights and decorations have been up since mid November, Mince pies and decorations were in the shops before halloween and the Coca-cola truck is already on tour.