Here in the Clark County School District the secondary schools have semester finals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, January 18-20. Our first semester is winding down. Half way is a good place not only to assess what our kids are learning, but also to assess how we are doing.
As the writer of this website, I have access to data telling me what kinds of resources those of you who regularly read the site are coming for. You have come for free printable resources to help you in your classroom: I hope you have accessed my new and approved Dolch Word flash cards and data sheets. I use the Dolch lists to help my less verbal students build their vocabulary for reading (I use Reading A to Z with my lower functioning students on the Autism spectrum.)
I also see that a lot of you visit for the behavior and social skills materials. I've been reviewing them, as well, and found that my predecessor wrote more for general education teachers than for special educators. We need to be able not only to deal with the more extreme behaviors, but also help general education teachers manage the more difficult behaviors they may see in their classrooms. I have rewritten the Teaching Social Skills article that provides links to all the resources that I have available.
This coming week I start the first class in a program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for my Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). I am already using ABA techniques in my classroom, but I'm clearly aware that in order to be taken seriously as well as receive third party payment, I need my BCBA. I'm really quite excited: I spent two days this week with Dr. Ron Leaf, a co-director of the Autism Partnership, an international center for children and families dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The Autism Partnership provides consulting services to the Clark County School District, and Dr. Leaf provides training to teachers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and administrators on the appropriate way to use Applied Behavior Analysis in classrooms. I was pleased to hear that Dr. Leaf does not approach ABA as rigidly as I am lead to believe the district does. I was also excited to see him apply the techniques to different behaviors that by middle school seem intransigent. I'm hoping to provide more articles on the use of the techniques for challenging behaviors in the near future.
I hope, as you make it to the half way point, as you consider your successes and needs, you will keep coming back. Perhaps you will find new resources in the Classroom Management section, or perhaps the Social Skills section, resources that will help you help your students succeed.
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