Ilene Schwartz University of Washington Ilene@uw

1. Using the Building Blocks Approach to Meet the Needs of Young Children with Autism and Related Disorders Ilene Schwartz University of Washington Ilene@uw.edu

2. Great resources on Head Start Center on Inclusion Website • http://depts.washington.edu/hscenter/

3. Building Blocks • Educational practices • Designed to help teachers include and teach young children with disabilities and other special needs

4. Why Building Blocks? • To understand how teachers and teams create early childhood classrooms that enable all children to participate, interact and learn important and valued outcomes. • To understand what practices work in everyday classrooms. • To understand the instructional strategies needed to provide inclusive settings

5. What does inclusion mean? What does it mean for a young child to be successful in an early childhood classroom? Big Questions… • Individuals define inclusion differently. • Inclusion is about belonging and participating in a diverse society. • Sense of belonging • Genuine child learning • Opportunities to build friendships

6. Using the Building Blocks model can help all children participate, learn, and thrive in their classrooms.

7. Child-focused Instructional Strategies Embedded Learning Opportunities Curriculum modifications & adaptations Quality Early Childhood Program

8. What is SDI • SDIs are important to help children with disabilities participate fully with their typical peers • SDI's fall into two categories: accommodations and modifications. Some people use the terms interchangeably, but legally they are not the same.

9. Accommodations • These are changes in the way in which the child is treated in order to best accommodate the child's physical, cognitive or emotional challenges

10. Modifications • These change the academic or curricular demands made of a child to better fit the child's ability.

11. Problem: Planning is only occurring at an individual level Classroom goals and group needs are not being recognized Learning for children who are typically developing and children with special needs in non-service areas is not a focus Planning: Special Education IFSPIEP Goals/Objectives Theme Activity Matrix Activities & Materials

12. Planning IFSPIEP Goals/Objectives Theme Benchmarks Curriculum/ Classroom Goals Activity Matrix Activities & Materials Special Instruction General Instruction

13. Embedded Learning Opportunities Curriculum modifications & adaptations Quality Early Childhood Program

14. Embedded Learning Opportunities • Teachers create short teaching episodes within ongoing classroom activities and routines. • Teaching episodes focus on a child’s individual learning objective.

15. Keys to Embedded Instruction • Know the child’s objectives • Plan materials and activities that give opportunities to work on objectives • Give access to reinforcing consequences

16. Embedded instruction can be accomplished by: • Identifying the target behavior • Deciding when and where to apply embedded instruction • Using an individual Instructional Plan • Monitoring learning

17. Other Important Factors • Keep the activities simple • Plan the instruction (presenting an opportunity is not the same as teaching)

18. Activity Matrix – When/ where instruction will occur • Helps teacher ensure that instruction occurs • Reminds the staff of the activities and individual child objectives • Foundation for planning Individually Appropriate Activities

19. Developing an Activity Matrix Look at the child’s objectives and determine: • During what activities will we be able to provide instruction • Do we have adequate opportunities for instruction across all children on the matrix • When is it feasible to collect data on these objectives

20. Decide when and where to embed instruction • Develop an Activity Matrix • Individual • Classroom • Make sure sufficient opportunities occur

25. Embedded Instruction Planned Driven by child’s learning objective Ensuring instruction occurs Systematic progress monitoring Teachable Moments Spontaneous Driven by “the moment” Taking advantage of an opportunity Progress monitoring driven by opportunity Difference between embedded instruction and teachable moments

26. Instructional Plans – How will we teach the skills Based on: • Child’s Objectives • Activity Matrix • Individual Learning Styles • Modified based on data

27. Instructional Plan • Child’s name • Date • Current objective • Toys, materials, other equipment • Selected activities or routines • Antecedents • Target behavior • Consequence • Plan for data collection

29. Data Collection – How will progress be monitored • Must be sustainable (i.e., able to maintain it over time) • Must be reasonable (i.e., realistic endeavor allowing for instruction and evaluation) • Must be used by all staff

30. Embedded Instruction & Assessment • Assessment of functional skills in a natural environment • Opportunities to provide instruction and assess skills are planned and consistent • Addresses multiple skills or domains in single activities (time saver)

31. Embedded Instruction & Assessment • Performed in classroom and during the typical routine rather than a separate environment or one-on-one context • Provides natural motivation to encourage children to demonstrate skills • Aides in the assessment of generalization and maintenance of skills

32. Monitoring Progress • Keep track of each child’s progress • Keep track regularly • Counts • Notes • Products • Adjust as needed • Integrity checklists • Delight in your children’s learning!

33. Child Focused Instructional Strategies Child-focused Instructional Strategies Embedded Learning Opportunities Curriculum modifications & adaptations Quality Early Childhood Program

34. Child Focused Instructional Strategies • Used when children need specialized instruction to make progress on a targeted goal • Involve use of evidence-based instructional strategies • Specific strategies chosen based on child strengths and areas of need

35. Prompting Techniques • Something the teacher does that increases the likelihood of correct responding by the child • Prompting happens BEFORE the child’s response • Allows you to get responses that you can reinforce

36. Menu of Prompts • Common prompts • Model • Gesture • Verbal • Partial and full physical • Other types of prompts • Pictorial • Mixed prompts

37. Prompt Fading • Once a prompt is added, it must also be systematically faded • Prompts can be faded by: • Time • Constant Time Delay - fading prompts by increasing the amount of time between direction and prompt

38. Prompt Fading • Amount of assistance provided • Most-to-Least - progressively less intrusive prompts until the child responds independently • Least-to-Most- Provide progressively more intrusive prompts until the child responds independently

39. Reinforcement • What is a reinforcer? • A reinforcer is a consequence you give to the child that increases the likelihood of a behavior happening again. It can include food, materials, activities, people, or words • Positive Reinforcement: • Helps children understand their behavior has an effect on their environment • Can help children build self-esteem

40. Use Reinforcement Effectively • Make reinforcement contingent on appropriate behavior • Give reinforcement immediately afterthe behavior you want to happen again • Use social praise that describes the appropriate behavior • Vary reinforcers • Reinforcers are individual to each child • Begin teaching new tasks with a continual reinforcement schedule • Thin the schedule of tangible reinforcement (do not discontinue praise) -- variable schedules of reinforcement build the most durable behaviors

41. Discrete Trial Teaching Instruction Prompt if necessary Child’s Response Consequence

42. Discrete Trial Teaching • Break skills into smaller parts • Success with variety of skills • Addresses deficits • Attention • Motivation • Observational Learning • Communication

43. Ready, set, go!