Description
How can you help kids with autism be flexible, get organized, and work toward goals—not just in school but in everyday life? It's all about executive function, and this quick problem-solving guide helps you explicitly teach these critical skills to high-functioning children with autism (Grades K-8). Used on its own or in tandem with the popular Unstuck and On Target! classroom curriculum, this practical guide shows how to embed executive function instruction in dozens of everyday scenarios, from morning routines to getting homework done. Designed for therapists, teachers, and parents, these highly effective techniques give children the skills they need to navigate each day, reach their goals, and succeed inside and outside the classroom.
THIS BOOK HELPS YOU:
- Understand executive function—why it's important and why it's challenging for children with autism
- Teach three skills critical to success: flexibility, goal setting, and organization
- Use consistent scripts and key words to help children process your message
- Model desired behaviors—and fade your guidance as children generalize skills
- Provide simple, effective visual cues that keep kids unstuck and on target
- Keep it fun and positive, with tips on creative, playful ways to teach executive function skills
PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Dozens of specific, easy-to-do examples; "Goal, Plan, Do, Check" scripts and worksheets that break down tasks into small, achievable chunks; key words and phrases that help kids stay on target; reproducible visual aids; sample IEP goals.
Help children with autism
- Compromise with family and friends
- Turn "big deals" into "little deals"
- Move on to Plan B when Plan A doesn't work
- Make plans and carry them out
- Solve problems independently
- Be a good friend
- Handle disappointments and unexpected events
- Avoid "whims" that get them off track
Quick-reference magnet included! As a bonus, you'll also get a 4 x 6 magnet printed with key words and sample scripts from Unstuck and On Target! It's a handy quick reference for the "Goal-Plan-Do-Check" process that helps students set and meet goals.
Reviews
Review by: Shannon Lisowe, speech-language pathologist and editor of the Speechy Musings blog, www.speechymusings.com
“This curriculum actually teaches HOW to be flexible, stay organized, and how to tackle difficult executive functioning skills. It is intended for children on the autism spectrum but I've also used it with children with other diagnoses such as language disorders or ADHD. It has even come in handy for some of my articulation kiddos who have difficulty with frustration tolerance!”
Review by: Dr. Julie Causton, Syracuse University
“A must-have guide for every parent or teacher who is blessed to have a child with autism spectrum disorder.”
Review by: Bree Hibbard, advocate and mother of three children with ASD
“This book is the 'how to' that ASD families have been waiting for ... bridges the gap between ASD children and their typically developing peers. It encourages parents and ASD children to find the humor in their mistakes and allows them to see life as an adventurous journey.”
Review by: Robert Naseef, Alternative Choices, Philadelphia, PA, author of Autism in the Family
“A real gem that delivers on the promise of the title. With clarity and proven effectiveness, the authors put what we think and do intuitively into a wonderful resource that can help parents, teachers, and therapists work together effectively.”
Review by: Dr. Deb Leach, Associate Professor of Special Education, Winthrop University Counseling, Leadership, and Educational Studies
“Provides parents, teachers, and therapists with practical tools and strategies for teaching students with ASD executive functioning skills that will significantly improve their quality of life and promote positive behaviors.”
Table of Contents
About the Reproducible Materials
About the Authors
Foreword:
Brenda Smith MylesAcknowledgments
Introduction and How to Use This Manual
For Whom Is This Book Written?
How to Use This Manual
Making Unstuck and On Target! a Way of Life
- What Is Executive Function, How Is It Impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Two Ways to Help
What Is Executive Function?
How Is Executive Function Impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Two Ways to Help: Change the Environment and Teach New Skills
- Overview of the Unstuck and on Target! Intervention
Three Executive Function Skills
How Do You Make It Happen? Four Teaching Methods
- Unstuck: Teaching a Child to Be Flexible
What Is Cognitive Flexibility, and Why Is Being Flexible Important?
What Are the Key Words and Scripts or Phrases?
Teach by Doing: How to Model Being Flexible/Unstuck
How to Make It Fun
Key Visual and Technological Supports
- On Target: Planning to Achieve Your Goals
What Are Goal Setting and Planning, and Why Are They Important?
What Are the Key Words and Scripts or Phrases?
Teach by Doing: How to Model Goal, Plan, Do, Check
How to Make It Fun
Key Visual and Technological Supports
- Target Goal
What Is a Target Goal, and Why Is It Important?
What Are the Key Words and Scripts or Phrases?
Teach by Doing: How to Model Staying on Target
How to Make It Fun
Key Visual and Technological Supports
- Troubleshooting: Changing the Environment to Solve Everyday Problems
Why Keep It Positive
How to Keep It Positive
Why Avoid Overload?
How to Avoid Overload
Why Break Things Down (When This Child Is So Smart)?
How to Break Things Down and Help a Child Build up to Mastering New Skills
Why Talk Less, Write More (When This Child Has a Bigger Vocabulary than I do)?
How to Talk Less, Write More
Why Should I Take Care of Myself (When It's My Child Who Is Having Difficulty)?
How to Take Care of Yourself
Why Have Coping Strategies Ready
How to Have Coping Strategies Ready
Why Think "Can't, Not Won't"?
How to Think "Can't, Not Won't"
Why Make Technology My Ally?
How to Make Technology Your Ally
Endnotes
Appendix A: Sample Goal, Plan, Do, Checks
Appendix B: Sample Individualized
Education Program Goals and Accommodations that Address Executive Dysfunction
Index