One of my favorite chunks of learning that has supported students tremendously is the use of various executive functioning supports.  I have been quite lucky to have access to infinitech training sessions over the years.  One presenter that I found very beneficial for understanding executive functioning supports is Sarah Ward (click here to access a video of her explaining how to build supports into your child's life).

There are many tools that can be easily utilized in the classroom.  One of the easiest is to use what is called a Working Clock.  This is where you create a visual signal to help the student understand when they are expected to be done, an idea of how long they are working and a reminder that it takes a couple of minutes to get ready for focus on a task.  

I like to simply write on the clock with dry erase markers for whole class activities.  You can also have individual clocks for students.  The key is to show how much time there is to work on an activity with the color green and to mark the ending time with the color red. You can also color in a couple minutes yellow for the 'getting ready' allotted time. Just seeing a visual that there is indeed a 'stop' to the work can make a world of difference.  I also prefer this over time timers because it goes with a real clock an not just counting down time.  There is also a google extension that can give you the opportunity to put a small thinking timer like this overlaid on your computer.  Click here to access.  

I encourage you to try it out.  Even if you are addressing adults this can give reassurance that there is a stopping point as well as help build an ability stay focused and pace yourself.  

With some students a functional and language arts goal is to describe events with detail.  Some students with significant delays or breakdown in communication may only speak with one or two words.  It is even possible that a student only knows a few words like yes or no and uses them to simply complete the communication exchange without meaning.  When you encounter a student such as this it is important to dedicate time to increasing their verbal expression so that they can meaningfully communicate with others, whether it is to identify a problem or simply engage in a conversation.

The link here takes you to a video modeling less than 3 minutes of guided practice using a visual cue card.  The visual cue card is used to prompt inclusion of a subject and noun in each expression and has extension visuals for where, when and who.  This particular student is showing more independence with providing the subject and verb and is ready to expand by adding details about where, when and who.  The use of this tool in this video is paired with his coursework for Unique Learning System with is a curriculum support for students with significant curriculum modification and adaptation needs. 

It can be easy (for us, the adults on the other side) to want to talk for the students but when there is a need to increase language skills we have to have the patience to wait for the student's think time and provide extra time to utilize strategies that helps the student become independent.  This is the goal of education to increase the student's skills, not our ability to interpret what we perceive as their intent.  

As always I advocate for staffing a self contained classroom environment with enough support to move students forward, not just 'keep them safe'. Along with the staffing, structuring the program's day to include teaming opportunities to review and coach or review strategies like this with paras is important for success .  

​Let's keep our special education teachers by providing them with the resources such as trained paraprofessionals and time within the day to team with both the micro (teacher and paraprofessionals) and macro (support service members as well as micro) teams.