This is simply some thoughts taken from my experience as a self contained classroom teacher in a low socio economic area.  As with everything I am sure there are agreements and disagreements.  One hope is to advocate getting more special educators out there.  Personally I feel like a genie in a bottle at times, only allowed to be released from the field if I can find a proper replacement.  The other hope is to encourage reflection on the greatness of our society that has such a hard time finding such important workers for our most disadvantaged.  We can do better yes?

​WHY SELF-CONTAINED SPECIAL EDUCATORS LEAVE
-the day to day demands are exhausting
-the paperwork and teaming needs are impossible to do within the defined work times
-the classroom teacher is pulled apart by team members who may not understand the demands of being the classroom manager/instruction planner/parent communicator/behavior data collector
-the work is dangerous if the students are aggressive
-when asked for help it is not unheard of that several people, who themselves will not do what the teacher does, come in and suggest a plethora of ideas to do (while they are currently doing the rest of the tasks they need to do mind you), judge the teacher (and at the same time perhaps demoralizing them). I am aware of two teachers out there who quit in the last few years due to this.
-the risk of being sued is higher than regular educators (another one quit this year due to this)
-the knowledge base needed to fulfill what is ‘written’ is much higher than the general educator (self-contained teachers are expected to collect data on behaviors, plan for a diverse range of abilities, communicate plans with classroom staff and team members, understand effective teaching of all subject areas, understand how to differentiate for classroom and school routines, attend to functional deficits such as toilet training or toileting schedules and assistance.  And there is sooooo much more. 
 
WHY SELF-CONTAINED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS STAY
-they have the adequate resources (time, human, curriculum)
-their school board supports a wage which brings capable human resources (paraprofessionals).  In my own experience I have had several admin tell me ‘at least they are a body’, which is ridiculous.  A body that makes your job harder because of skill deficits or bad attitude exacerbates the difficulty of an already hard position.
-they have a manageable caseload and adequate time to plan.  In my experience it is not unheard of that teaching professional’s plan time might be chunked in small increments and spread thinly across the week.  It is a ‘duh’ in that focused time to plan leads to better outcomes.
-they are able to make progress and not just feel like a babysitter
-they are not expected to make the job their life (if it is someone’s passion then more power to them but many educators have interests and families outside of the job). I have been told in the past that I should be making materials at home and it is ‘easy to do while watching tv’.  Welp, I don’t watch so much have kids of my own and had other goals.  I have in the past gone way over because I felt it was necessary, but mindfulness and self-care (thank you to the Great Reset) has helped reduce this drastically.
 
HEAR THE SELF CONTAINED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER
-if an educator has expressed needs, try to get those supports to them
-and from personal experience, for the love of all things caring, when a self-contained teacher seeks a different position, hear them.  In my career, after 12 years teaching a self contained program for students with emotional behavioral challenges (very challenging in the low socio economic arena) I sought for an ‘easier’ position.  That landed me in a role of working with students with communication AND behavioral challenges.  I felt I could not leave this position, as any postion out of the particular district would be a huge financial hit.  This led to burn out, depression, resentment, frustration and disenchantment with the entire public educational institution which I had once been ‘all in’ with.  Currently I am trying to regain my love of supporting one of the biggest indicators of a great society, but it is hard.  This year I have needed to take over the teacher role for a self-contained teacher who has quit and with The Great Reset stress, as well as the bombardment of ‘the great resignation’ in our media, I hope I make it through the year without prolonged resentment for the public education system which currently puts our most fragile, energy intensive students (complex needs in low socio economic areas) at a risk for failure.  As a teacher, I always imagine what the student in front of me will be like in 18 years due to my current actions.  I wish more leadership would do the same.  It seems like a ‘duh’ situation in that beyond simply wanting the best for each child because we care about them as humans, these students (whose population is growing steadily each year) will be a heftier cost to society in the future if we do not get them better education now.  

​One of the biggest challenges I faced when first working with students on the spectrum was figuring out how to use visuals effectively when teaching.  So many colleagues promoted the message of ‘use visuals’.  When it came to encouraging writing and sentence formation, I was perplexed with how to incorporate visuals.  After contemplation and trial and error I found these tools to be helpful.  

Many students on the spectrum that I worked with were rule followers, once they understood the rules that is. By beginning with sorting word types and then structuring sentences to ensure they contained subject and verbs I found more success during our guided writing.  For some students putting pictures cards in the sentence structure guide was effective.  Depending on the student’s abilities I would exchange the pictures with words.  When moving toward independence the visual structure can then be used as a reminder to check their sentence content in a systematic way.  As a support for understanding the parts of speech structuring your classroom word wall by adding words to noun, verb, and adjective as opposed to via alphabet may be helpful as well. 
 
Supporting students on the spectrum can be a challenge.  I would be interested in how big the pile of materials made throughout the year would be as practitioners constantly re-evaluate their strategies.  Just the items I have made, tried, and discarded would be ridiculously large.

BERS-2 (and now there is apparently a BERS-3
 
I worked for 12 years teaching a self-contained special education classroom with a focus on supporting students with emotional or behavioral deficits.  Then I worked within a classroom that primarily supported students on the spectrum.  Both placements required creativity, dedication, and patience.  I wish I knew how many tantrums I de-escalated, how many social stories I wrote, how many odd behavior contracts were written for the duration of these years.  Of course, on top of the actual teaching academics.  So much effort going in to improving outcomes for students that had significant behavioral and emotional needs.  I also wanted to know if I was making a difference.  
 
So, in the world of data driven efforts, and personally wanting to know how my efforts were going, it was necessary to identify a way to track the improvement of behaviors.  Although many rating skills are out there, such as Connor’s rating scale and the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) I found that to get three data points in one given school year I preferred the Behavior Emotional Rating Scales version 2 (BERS-2).  
 
I preferred the BERS-2 for three reasons.  The first is that often the Connor’s and other scales are recommended to be done once a year.  The BERS-2 can be done as often as you like (although since it has a parent portion, I wouldn’t want to bug them too much but three times a year seems appropriate).   By being able to conduct the assessment more often it becomes more of a formative assessment to see if your strategies are working rather than simply a diagnostic tool.  The second reason is that it is norm referenced for TWO sets.  It is norm referenced for general population and then there is a set of norms of persons with disabilities.  Lastly it reports as skill STRENGTHS focusing on where a student is on the positive.  So instead of identifying the deficits that slight twist of phrasing is more palatable then finding the student’s deficits.
 
So what does the BERS-2 measure?  It measures the strengths across a myriad of areas such as: interpersonal, school functioning, affective, intrapersonal, family involvement and career.  It does this by taking information from the student themselves, parents, and teachers.  
 
What can you do with it?  Well to start with when you notice the student’s largest strength you can use that information as you plan target interventions.  You can of course also create behavioral goals based off the area that could use more strengthening.  Since it can be done 3 times a year there is time to run intervention phases and have integration and maintenance time before assessing again to see whether the interventions were effective.  If you have the same student’s multiple years you can continue to monitor growth.  It is a valuable formative assessment tool when monitoring effective behavioral and emotional programming for students who have already had diagnostic placement assessments, or even in tandem with them. 
 
Summed up…I recommend the BERS-2 if you are looking for a viable tool to measure your emotional behavioral intervention success.
Note: There is a BERS-3 but I have not used that…yet which is why this is geared more towards the BERS-2 which I have direct experience with.
​
BERS-2 product link
BERS-3 product link

For some students I have literally used velcro to secure a laminated arrow.  Especially if they have some visual field difficulties.  Additionally I utilize one when presenting to keep student focus exactly where I want it.

​Sometimes supporting a student is difficult, time consuming and may seem impossible.  Other times supporting a student is as simple as making a point.  One simple strategy I have found over the years is using an actual simple arrow pointer with a very clear point.  
 
There is a market for pointers.  Sparkly pointers, pointers that look like hands, pointers that are 3d with the bulbous pointing finger and many others exist.  What I have found most effective when wanting to direct a student’s attention to a part on a page or an icon on their AAC device is a simple black arrow.  This will very accurately direct their attention to what you are wanting to highlight.  
 
If you haven’t used a pointer with a student up close, I encourage you to track their eye movement when you indicate where to look.  My guess, based off my experience, is that their eye gaze is not where you expect it. Now try one of those fancy pointers and I am guessing their eyes will be on the pointer itself, not what you are trying to indicate on the page or poster.  Lastly, try a simple black pointer.  It is too boring to capture their attention but the tip highlights exactly where they should be looking.  
 
When it comes to tools for teaching, I advocate for keeping it simple.  That is why today I highlight a very simple tool (plain black arrow) and a basic teaching strategy (watching the student carefully to gather feedback as to whether tools work).  Teaching already has us balancing so many plates and saucers.  Let’s invest the fancying work in the content to capture their imagination and thoughtfulness, and let’s keep our tools simple.

I have been very lucky to have worked with such a diverse population of students over the last 17 years.  I have also been very lucky to get permission from my last class' guardians to include them in some video modeling of strategies I have used in the past.  The. purpose was two fold, I had this group for 5 years and wanted to make sure their new teacher didn't lower the bar (not that they would but when you are a teacher they truly do become 'your' kids) and to help demonstrate some strategies that can truly work if you believe.  Below are some links to videos:
Using a Token Board for promoting on task behavior
​Direct instruction with Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) devices
Independent self monitoring of behavior during whole interval reinforcement
Morning routine for self contained classroom with wide spectrum of abilities
After lunch routine including writing, reading, math and answering questions

There once was a chef entrusted with cooking for the council’s head table.  The chef was honored at once by this treasured position.  He was well known for his past feats with roasts, vegetables and pies.  As he took on his new position he ensured he had all of the necessary ingredients in their just spaces.  The onions were separate from the tomatoes.  The flour, which had been hard to come by due to the past years droughts, was carefully sealed to prevent the weevils from devouring it.  The knives clean, sharpened were positioned at ready next to the cutting board across from the set of mixing bowls.  The area around the oven was clear to prevent any mishaps.

It came time for the first meal to be cooked.  The Chef leaned into his strengths and began brine a fine slab of meat for a roast.  He looked over the available amenities and selected asparagus as a side and identified some nice creamer potatoes for adding to the roast as it cooked.  He noted that he had a considerable amount of blueberries so figured he could make a blueberry pie as a dessert. 

With the Brine’s duration complete he began the fire for the roast.  As he moved about he incidentally caught the sleeve of his new chef coat on a small protruding nail.  As he put his attention to freeing himself without tearing his new coat he incidentally backed too close to the fire.  It began smoldering and he flung it from himself onto the floor attempting to stamp the light out.  He saw the flour container in close proximity and decided that instead of searing his shoes as well he would dampen the flames by dumping some of the flour on the blaze.  This did indeed work and he wiped off the char marks on his shoe and admitted the loss of his new jacket, although he hoped it could be salvaged to some extent.  He resettled himself and continued his efforts for the meal.  Soon his kitchen helpers would be coming in and he wanted to have a good start before their arrival.

Eventually the staff did arrive and the Chef provided orders for everyone.  One of the staff members the Chef particularly enjoyed being around.  They were close to being amorous and the Chef would sometimes be giddy when she was helping out.  This day she brought him a flower chain assembled in the shape of a heart.  He beamed and felt his spirit lift as if free from gravity.  When she went to the garden to gather some garnishes he went to her station and sprinkled some flour and drew a heart in the middle of it.  

Word came by way of the messenger that it was hoped that the desert could be a pie as there were a few guests who were coming from an area that didn’t have the resources for that type of desert.  The Chef beamed.  He gleefully admitted that he already did have just that in mind and it was planned to be a blueberry pie.  The messenger went off appearing to be in a similar state of satisfaction as the Chef.  When he arrived back at his station one of his assistants informed the Chef that the local governess had requested some flour for a paper mache project.  The Chef being in a dually fueled bliss replied that of course she could take what she needed and he returned to his station.

With the main dish dealt with and the sides coming along nicely it was time to begin the pie.  The Chef moved about gathering his ingredients.  You don’t need much for a pie.  When he got to his flour container his heart dropped a few inches.  There were only a few tablespoons of flour left in the container.  It would be impossible to create a pie.  In fact the only thing he could make would be a small crust island amid a sea of blueberries in a pie tin.  He began to notice his frustration in the heat of his neck.  His menu was disheveled now, his message to the messenger stood incorrect.  He began declaring that the lack of flour was ridiculous.  He verbally berated his staff on the topic that the kitchen should be stocked with resources.  One of the less meek staff reminded him that it was stocked after dinner yesterday and that reserves were low.  She then asked what he had used it for.  After reflection, the Chef realized his mistake of not saving the flour for its identified purpose but in the other ways in which it disappeared from his stock.  He regretted his mismanagement of his resources immediately.

​

We educators can lament about how hard we work all we want but it is important to step back and appreciate all the work our students have to do.  Whether it is exercising more patience than we do in a week to make sure their message is relayed correctly or whether it is maintaining a state of regulation despite the distracting extra noises and sights, they are working hard.  Just like we may appreciate a break from them they will appreciate a break from us.

I have utilized non structured student choice breaks throughout my career.  Typically this looks like an 8 minute break between work tasks.  This would occur after approximately 40 min work with my emotional/behavioral student and three to 5 minutes with students on the spectrum after 15, 20 or 40 min of instruction.  When I was running hard core stations (the extra intense structure needed with young spectrum students, message me if you want more info on how to do this). I began with work duration length 15 minutes for some kiddos.  It varies and it can vary over the years.  Particularly with my class I moved with for 5 years.  As the students were able to maintain increased focus for instruction I moved the clock with them.  As they were able to independently sustain interest based activity, I moved that from 3-5 min.   Essentially, the exact specifics vary but my favorite was the 8 minutes.  This way students could actually engage in something, completely check out of 'work task' and then were satiated enough to return to the work task.

The biggest tenet of this strategy is that it is THEIR choice.  I have used other daily breaks like Calm Connect (which I absolutely recommend so click here to see what it is about) or go noodle (a little bit harder for students deep on the spectrum as some activities could accidentally dysregulate a student, click here to see what it is about).  When I am choosing the break activity it is NOT a student free choice break.  The student choice break is for the student to select an activity they want.  I have had a student who just wants to play with putty, a student who just wanted to look out the window, a student that colors on one picture and after many breaks comes out with a beautifully finished work of art.  The only time I interject is if there is a significant skill deficit, such as playing with others or the complete lack of knowing what to do with free time.  Both have happened and I try to not teach towards the skill deficits EVERY time but will work towards building that skill.  I cannot emphasize enough about how much you will learn about the students when you give them regular times to just be themselves.  It is even more magical when you see them notice each other's activities or join in on a group activity.

This strategy of Student Choice Time serves several purposes. The first being it gives them a mental break. Click here for article from edutopia on benefits of breaks for reducing anxiety, stress, and frustration.  Breaks are incredibly important for everyone and especially students working hard on things that are harder for them than neurotypical students.  The second reason is that they WILL work harder for you during task time if they know that the break is coming up.  I have absolutely seen this happen with all etiologies that I have taught.  The third is that it provides you more insight with their interests because by free choice I mean students choose what they want to do (within limits, they can't go biplane or head to the gym).  This can give you more insight for student interest or, in the case of a couple of my friends it can give you insight into the fact that they do not know what to do with downtime or how to select a preferred activity.  With the latter it then helps you develop their independence skill by inviting them to try various choices.  The fourth reason is that it gives opportunities for students to play together.  There are several times that students may choose to play with one or parallel play.  Both of these situations are opportunities to develop social interaction skill.   To encourage (but not dictate their free choice time) I might allow them to use an activity set that they are all excited about.  A fifth reason is that it gives a bit of a cushion for yourself and paras to switch mindfully to the next activity.

You may say, "there is not enough time for them to play".  Or you may say, "I can't give that much free time in a day".  To these I say not true.  Students rise to the occasions they are situated in when given confidence.  Students have cleaned up so quickly (now I have had a year or two I have to time their clean up and make a goal after discussion with them that I might have to reduce how much free time they have if it takes up too much time for everyone to be ready).  It was not uncommon to have games set aside that were in mid-play to be picked up again the next break time, or even setting aside a lego structure to be continued during the next time as well.  In regards to taking time from the instructional minutes, I also believe that the student time we take preparing or shifting to the next activity is wasted time for the student anyhow, might as well let them reduce anxiety, stress and frustration while making the shift.  Additionally, with their renewed attention you are going to get more progress than if you kept them waiting for 'something' to come next while they are still in an 'on' mode.  

As with all routines you will have to teach this.  You may even start out with 10 minutes and bring it down to 8 or the opposite.  Teaching is a craft so you could take this strategy of Student Choice Time and merge it with your craft.  I guarantee whether you have an audience of neurotypical or neurally diverse students you will maintain their attention better when you want it and they will appreciate that you are helping reduce their anxiety, stress and frustration.  Also I do believe you will find some very enjoyable moments as you see their interests and maybe even engage in the activity with them.  

above: A 'task bin' that is explained at the beginning of the year or joining the room.  Since you can expect the unexpected this tool helps get things done when multiple people have varying and unscheduled down time.  I typically put post it notes like, "8 copies front and back, laminate, cut".  That way items can be crossed off and placed in next section without being left somewhere around the room and find an easier bites sized route to completion.

When I completed my undergraduate degrees for education I came away with a lot of knowledge for how to bring others to my learning objectives.  Despite not having human resource classes I gradually learned that I could leverage my educating skills to help support paraprofessionals as well.

I have worked with so many lovely paraprofessionals.  Some years having only one, one year having 4, and many years having 3.  Sometimes I also had an observations student or student teacher.  Lots of adults can get messy so having some strategies for guidance and communication are imperative.

I would like to advocate for a few simple things here such as a running your room a bit like a project manager, coaching towards zone defense and building skills based on needs of students AND interests of paraprofessionals.

Firstly, if you have every worked in a self contained special needs classroom with high intensity students you are aware that stressors occur each moment.  Teachers, paras and probably students are always regulating.  So if you can reduce the stress in any way then that would be beneficial for your  team.  Having scheduled times where all of you are together at the start of your day can allow for important communication to be had rather than giving info 'on the fly'.  It is also an opportunity for everyone to hear the same message.  Most of us are familiar with the game of telephone and so having the messages directly reduces misunderstanding and potential conflict.  A short 10 minute time would be all that would be needed on the daily.  However also schedule some collaboration time (preferably all together to prevent misinformation and waste of the valuable resource of time) to review student goals and focus areas in the room.  When multiple adults work together we can all come in with our own goggles and filters.  By directly stating the focus and modeling concepts on specific actions you will see more student growth.  Especially if done all together so paras have time to pose thoughts, insights and questions.  This strategy of dedicated collaboration time (without students but with WHOLE team) is incredibly beneficial.  Get your admin on board.  I could write several posts on just this topic but for now I will end with making sure you have a good communication board as well.  A quick reference so everyone knows the game plan for the day and an area where written communication can be shared without interrupting others in their work (reducing attention shifts = less stress). 

Maintaining the zone.  I have always positioned my paras in a zone defense attitude.  This means that although yes some students may get along with one para better than others, but I do not only assign that para to them all day everyday.  This would set the student and the class team up for failure.  If that para is absent or has to quit it can be an extremely emotional experience that could have been reduced if we had built the student to be a bit more flexible.  With the zone defense philosophy it also means that any para can shift into a station, activity, student support and have the tools to feel competent.  Which again is why the above collaboration is important.  Time to coach and review practices is needed and it just makes so much more sense to teach everyone together (differentiate later if necessary, and in your career it will be necessary to differentiate for paras).  Once everyone can play all positions then the main repeating assignments are made with strengths in mind, but I always aim to rotate each para working with each student for some part of time in the week to keep rapport in tact.  This definitely reduces major break downs on days with absences.  If you have a paraprofessional that balks at an activity or a student, hear them and consider the information as formative assessment for what they can learn next but maintain your expectation of having them prepared to support the team when a leg is removed.  For this, that collaboration piece is imperative and perhaps you could work with admin to get a few days before school, or an inservice time here or there to support this.  In my recent district there was an early release day that made much sense to keep paras there and have a longer collaboration time at least once a month. 

Lastly, lets face it.  Paraprofessionals rarely come in with all necessary skills to start the job with absolute efficient and pertinent information.  How can they?  Each student is so unique. That means you have an opportunity to support them as well with new learning.  At the beginning of the year you can simply ask what they would be most interested in learning more about.  Possibly this question would be after reviewing students/processes.  Even though you'll be coaching all the students/processes this allows for you to attend to them as an individual and provide them resources to support their specific curiosity.  This may be by finding them an article, video or give them time to observe or meet with another person in the district.  As the year begins you'll be doing some formative assessments as well.  What strategies need more coaching, is there a student need that needs more understanding developed behind it?  You can add small learning moments (very small for your morning stand up) for your collaboration times.  I have recorded myself many times using a strategy and will share with others and have even offered to let the para record themselves for self reflection.  Basically it comes down to supporting the paras so they have the confidence to achieve and then the opportunity to be successful.  This will make a world of difference in your room.  It can even help with poor attitudes because they usually come down to an unconscious perceived ego attack or lack of confidence.

Paraprofessionals are great.  I cannot stress that enough so we need to take care of them.  They certainly are not paid enough in my opinion which I have laid in print or stated verbally so often.  We can work to take care of them by alleviating stress and building confidence.  Sprinkle on top of that genuine acts of appreciation, opportunities for humor and play and your team will see an amount of success that you may not have expected.

Today's short post is about a product I saw on my visit to the abilities expo.  First, if you have not gone to one of these events and have family or work with persons who are differently abled I recommend it.  Here is the link to Abilities Expo.  Vendors ranging from car dealers with adapted models, adaptations for curtains and other appliances, standers, wheelchairs to small crafts made by differently abled entrepreneurs.   I have been about 5 years now and have always found at least one thing, an idea, a product or gifts.

Now, on to the real purpose of the post.  I have worked with a variety of students.  Most of them have been in the dysregulated range.  Many, many students have had difficulties with sensory processing.  With this in my background, as I walked through the expo this year I ran across a pod bed.  Now years ago on one of my first visits I had seen a bed that turned into a type of container, kind of like a crib of no escape for older students who may not be safe if they get out of bed on their own.  I saw this before I met a certain student, I'll call him M.  Student M was quick as lightning and would use this skill towards humor or aggression.  He managed to smash two computers so quickly and did quite a bit of other majorly aggressive things except when he was watching car wash videos.  He also was already on much medication but still worked across the room like a ball in a pinball machine.  I asked his mom how he slept and with the longest sigh I had heard she responded, "with a lot of medication". 

As a teacher I work with students during the day. They then go home and parents work with their child for the rest of the day and for their evening.  For some students evening is not a time to rest and it then transfers to their parent who resorts to measures that are necessary such as possibly medicating for the needed slumber for them to continue their professions and responsibilities and the rest for the student to help their brains reset, clean up junk (I recommend reading  Why We Sleep to better understand the restorative process of real rest).  I have also worked with students who have sound triggers or even anxious because of all the unknown things in the corners of their sight.

It is this knowledge that made me stop dead in my tracks in front of the sleep pods modeled at this expo.  The pods allow a type of sensory reduction chamber that can be closed off reducing external noise.  Additionally air flow, preferred sleep sounds and lighting can be controlled from within the pod or from a parentally controlled app.  THIS!  Not only would I enjoy that type of slumber but automatically my mind remembered all of the students who could benefit from this.  Those that were so young they hadn't built skills that they could use independently.  Those that would come to school the next day with large continued dark shadows under their eyes when other kids bounced in full of fresh energy.  Of course I spoke to the rep and his first story of research testing was about a student with schizophrenia who only averaged 4 hours of sleep a night (a quantity that can further exacerbate such a disability).  After 6 weeks with the pod the student was now sleeping an average of 10 hours as well as her caregivers being able to rest.  

Here is the link for the zPods website.  If you know of someone who must choose between adding medication to their child or rest I recommend checking into this resource.  And again if you work with or have a family member with different abilities check out your local Abilities Expo.

After many years in a variety of classroom compositions always including dysregulated students I have found that there is a power in fidgets.  That power is increased focus and attention (Click here for an article of fidgets and Autism  Click here for an article of fidgets and ADHD).    There are a few considerations to the use of fidgets.  

The first is that fidgets are functional for focus.  When introducing fidgets in the classroom I emphasize to students and staff that the fidgets are a "Tool not a Toy!".  I clarify by being explicit in that if the fidget does not help you engage with the group or task then it is not being a tool to assist learning and is more likely a toy, in which case it not allowed a presence.  There are many 'fidgets' out there that are cool and exciting but it is necessary to assess effectiveness.  If it is just fun to have and is entertaining the student without engaging them in the group or task then it is just a toy.  Perhaps reconsider the inclusion of this item in your learning setting.  As you teach this, yes you have to teach fidget use, practice with a few options.  If students are verbal have them help in the selection process by self identifying whether it was helpful (some kids have very good insight into what works for them and we can save some of our brain power by trusting student voice).  If students are nonverbal or significantly delayed this will require more sleuthing on your part or even with assistance of your consult time with your OT or use of a paraprofessional that, if you really want to go down the path, might be able to complete some time on attending interval rating observation.  Message me or request consult if you want more info on this step.

The second thing to consider is that there is not a single fidget that works for all students.  Different fidgets offer different sensory experiences from thick putty to wet slime, pushing or pulling, sound inclusion to quiet, or textural.  My go to fidgets are those that have multiple functions in one tool (see image below for classic fidget cube and click here for site).  This way if a student's preference changes there are options.  You can even get a glimpse of a student's preference by allowing them to explore a Multi option fidget or providing them time to investigate your set of options.  With fidget selection I recommend the KISS (Keep It Simple for the Student) strategy.  Let students explore the less messy, germ baring versions and go to those grease grabbers last (I say this because just imagine the germ generation on putty, slime, play doh).  Also consider that you may have some putty eaters in your midst if you are in the elementary or significant disability settings.  There are several different options that do not require gelatinous composition (click here for a variety pack from amazon).  There are just so many options there (click here for even more options).

Another consideration is ensuring that everyone who works with your student/child knows it is a Tool not a Toy.  Now, that is not to say that you won't get feedback that it appears not to be working in another setting but that is an opportunity for you to investigate its use.  What I have seen in the past are teachers or paraprofessionals that refuse the student to access their tool because they see it as a toy.  They themselves have not been taught that it is a tool.  I have literally had a teacher tell a student to put their fidget away because they needed them to focus on the speaker and I realized I had not explained the purpose of the tool and that we had taught with direct, guided and independent practice the use of the tool so that the student would use it appropriately.  If you are in a school setting perhaps hosting a small 10 minute session might do the trick.  Taking it a few steps further you could share the articles at the top of this post or even get your own evidence to share.  If you want to take them completely down the rabbit hole you might even have a few baskets with all of the types of fidgets and have them choose their own, attend to the rest of the PD session, and rate their perception of focus.

Lastly, for this blog post, fidget preferences may change.  What worked one year may not be the same for the following years so it is important to use your formative assessment to keep an eye on its effectiveness as a Tool not a Toy.