OT Corner: Planning for winter

In this OT Corner, Lill shares resources for dealing with the tricky transition from warm weather to the layers of a winter wardrobe:

Transitions are tough, but they're even tougher for our students with autism. It seems like no sooner have they adjusted to the no-jacket, yes-sandals, beach-going summer fun, than it's time to don the boots, hats and gloves of winter.

So, what can we do to help make it just a little easier?

Make it part of the routine: So many of our students thrive on structure and routine. So, start adding things to their get-ready routine. One of our students had his very own "ready for recess" schedule, that listed everything he needed to put on that day - hat, coat, gloves, boots, scarf - weather depending, of course. He knew he had to check the schedule, and the teachers had the flexibility to add / subtract picture symbols for whatever he would need that day.

Make it fun: If I put on my hat, gloves and coat (which I'm not particularly fond of doing) for the first time this season, then get in the car and go to the doctor, it's not going to make me want to do it again. Reward the behavior with something positive, while you're teaching it - time on the swing, fun with bubbles, etc. Caution: Make sure it's something that's not SO rewarding that it'll trap you into three months of begging / meltdowns because you can't always drop everything and go to Target.

Don't give up: Remember, not everyone gets it the first time. Be sure clothes are familiar and comfortable. Set reasonable expectations - many of our students have a higher tolerance for cold than we do. That wool hat might push them into heat-overdrive ... until it's cold enough to make a difference. Try different fabrics / styles. And, in the end, we've found that when it gets cold enough, even the most intolerant student will finally keep those gloves on!

More ideas: We came across this page from The Autism File with some more great tips for helping children (and adults) with autism to adjust to Mother Nature's changes. 

If you have ideas we've missed, add them to the comments below and let us know! 

 

Extra, Extra! Read all about it!

PACTT participants are the newest members of the Loyola Phoenix newspaper delivery team! Each Wednesday, a crew of PACTT voc, transition and school participants take on the important responsibility of distributing the Loyola University student newspaper to bins across the Lake Shore Campus. Not only is it great work for our participants, but they get to hang out on a college campus - how fun is that?!?

Scenes from one of our first days:

 

 

Classroom Focus: Transition

We continue with our newest addition to the Blog: Classroom Focus. Each month, one of our teachers will share a behind-the-scenes peek into the life of our classes. This month: Our Transition classroom, led by teacher Lauren M:

We haven’t wasted any time getting back into the swing of things at Transition this year. We have been hard at work putting our vocational skills to good use in our community work sites. We have been working on collating, stapling, hole punching, photo copying and laminating, as well as stocking products, wiping tables and chairs, sweeping and recycling, just to name a few. While there is always endless work to be done at Transition, ALL of our students have paid or volunteer jobs in the community. Some students help set up at a restaurant every morning, and a few students help out at a local nursing home, while others help an office run at optimal levels with an always freshly stocked fridge, watered plants, clean windows and shredded papers. There is also an area thrift store that relies on our students’ help with folding clothes and organizing their inventory of shoes and books. 

Aside from all the vocational work we do at Transition there is always time for lessons! Every week we read a different lesson about the rights we are all entitled to, such as the right to medical care, the right to send and receive mail, the right to vote, the right to freedom of speech and the right to privacy. After reading each lesson, the students answer questions based on their understanding of what we are learning, if they want to learn more about the subject and if they practice this right in their lives. 

We also have weekly lessons in cooking (cupcakes for Halloween!!), art and making purchases in the community. The students really enjoy picking a location, usually Family Dollar or 7-11, and walking to make a purchase as independently as they can, from choosing a snack that is within their budget to paying the cashier.

All of the students at Transition have scheduled time in our workstations room, where they master independent tasks and build upon previously learned tasks. This has been instrumental in having the students work by themselves at their own pace without verbal redirection from a teacher. Watching the independence shown by every student is exciting!!

Before you start thinking Transition is all work and no fun, we always have weekly Friday outings. So far this year we have visited the Garfield Park Conservatory, Goebberts Farm, and Loyola University as well as many parks and libraries! We look forward to our community outings where we can practice our skills and independence. 

We’re excited to see what the rest of this year will bring to Transition!

Thank you, Transition Team! Next month, we'll hear from our Jr. High class.

Classroom Focus: High School

Introducing our newest addition to the Blog: Classroom Focus. Each month, one of our teachers will share a behind-the-scenes peek into the life of our classes. First up: Our High School classroom, with teacher Laura K.!

------

This year has started off great in the High School classroom. Everyone is adjusting to our new schedule filled with cool classes. We are learning about our rights as citizens, our rights to manage our own personal items, our rights in the workplace and skills we’ll need to be successful there. To learn about our responsibilities as citizens, we are using a curriculum that focuses on rights such as voting, choosing a place to live and finding a career. 

We have a space set up in the school where we are practicing vocational skills. We have the chance to work on tasks like shredding, collating, stapling and copying in a place outside the classroom. Some of us are volunteering in the community, helping clean for our friends at the Transition Program, and picking up trash and setting tables at a local nursing home.

We are using games to practice communicating, and to learn more about each other. One of our favorites is the question game. We take turns moving around the board and answering questions about ourselves, then share the answers with the class. Old favorites like Connect 4 and Trouble are a great opportunity to talk about colors and numbers and to practice taking turns.

Once a week we have a cooking class, where we practice making easy, healthy snacks. This week's recipe was peanut butter and jelly - yum!

Each week we have been adding to our scrapbooks. We include pictures of things we’re working on at school and pictures of our families and friends. Writing and talking about the pictures is a good way to help remember what we’ve done and to practice expressing ourselves.

Our class has been on several fun outings. We took a trip to 7-11 to practice making a purchase, then took our snacks to the beach and enjoyed some sun. A couple of us had the chance to visit our peers at the Stuart G Ferst School for an Old Town School of Folk Music concert, it was cool to make new friends and do some dancing! We have also continued our connection with the students at Francis Parker High School this year. They came to visit this month, and joined us for some games and recess. We look forward to getting to know them throughout this year.

We are all very happy to be off to an exciting and successful start. We have a great year planned, with plenty of interesting activities, fun outings, and opportunities to hang out with friends from other schools.

------
Thanks, High School Team! Next month: Behind the scenes at Transition.

And we danced!

A small group of school & transition folks attended an energetic concert today by musicians from the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Thanks to an invitation from our new friends at Stuart G Ferst School, we had the opportunity to share in a special folk music concert in a really welcoming and secure environment (Ferst school's gym!).

Lisa and I tagged along with the six students and 3 staff scheduled to attend what will hopefully be the first of many shared experiences ... and I'm so very glad we did!

I absolutely loved watching our students - and team - have so much uninhibited FUN! 

 

 

To stim, or not to stim?

We all have things we do to keep ourselves calm, alert, or engaged. How many of us fidget with a pen or paperclip during stressful meetings, tap a toe, or ...? Our students with autism do the very same thing ... but their "stims" are usually more obvious, and at times can be less socially acceptable. But we all need to regulate ourselves, right? We need strategies for keeping ourselves calm and relaxed. So how do we as parents, teachers, and caregivers decide the difference between reinforceable and replaceable behaviors?

I came across a really neat blog today (https://www.squag.com/2234/) and had to share this perfectly logical chart:

The blogger, Anabelle Listic, is a 27 year-old artist living is Seattle and is a film and digital photographer. Anabelle has autism and is profoundly visual. And she has a wonderfully unique perspective. (Her website is anabellelistic.com - if you have time, check out her awesome photography there, too!)

Most of the time, our participants can't tell us why they do things, or what they need. We often have to play detective, or employ a great deal of trial and error, to figure it out. For me, at least, it's eye-opening to be able to hear perspectives on autism from the people who LIVE it each day. Thank you, Anabelle!

Yearbooks have arrived!

Parents -- 

Our 2011-2012 Yearbooks have arrived at PACTT - and you can have your very own (see order form over here --->)!

Also, if you'd like a CD of your child's yearbook photo, his/her class photo, and copies of other fun shots that may or may not have made it to the final version of the yearbook, those are available for purchase as well.

To order online, complete the form to the right of this page. If you'd prefer to send a check / cash to school, please mark it ATTN: Paula, and be sure to note what you'd like to order.

Let me know if you have questions!

- Paula

Spaghetti + gumdrops = teamwork?

While students were enjoying their last few days of break, our School & Transition teams were back to work today - but it wasn't ALL work! 

In order to get to know our new team members, the classrooms participated in a unique challenge: Who could build the tallest free-standing structure (out of dry pasta and gumdrops!), that would also support a small stuffed toy.

Our high school group (pictured, from left: Lill, David, Matt, Laura, Shaina, Vanessa), was the most successful ... but all three teams came up with some pretty creative architecture!

Check out the gallery below for more scenes from today's fun!

 

Music to my eyes

After a long morning off-campus visiting another program, I had finally made it to my desk when I received a text message from one of my teachers: "Look in the backyard."

Uh-oh.

A million things ran through my mind as I flew down the stairs from my third-floor perch. When I hit the first-floor landing, the first spot on my route down that had a decent view, I saw this:

One of our brand-spankin-new paraprofessionals + guitar = happily listening, calm, entertained students.

It certainly wasn't what I expected on this unseasonably warm May afternoon. But you can be sure that I'll be adding it to the list of smiles, day after day, that remind me why I'm still here after all these years. :)