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Retrieved from: School District 5 - Southeast Kootenay. https://www.sd5.bc.ca/studentparent/ReportingPilot/Student%20SelfAssessmentonCoreCompetencies/Pages/default.aspx#/=

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This is my experience creating IEP’s. The IEP creation process is a collaborative one. In my district, the classroom teacher, resource room teacher (LA), ISSW (if required), district itinerant (if required) and parents are involved. It begins with the classroom teacher. If there are any concerns about a student, the teacher notifies the administration and begins to gather data. The parent is also notified and asked for information as well. There may be testing involved through the LA teacher (reading/writing/math assessment) to see where the student is at academically or even a psych-ed if we can get one. Once information has been gathered, the school based team, the teacher and parent  would get together. Goals would be created based on short term and long term goals as identified by the teacher, LA teacher and parent (the student can give input as well). The case manager (LA teacher or district itinerant) is responsible for actually creating the IEP. Our district uses SMART goals. We also have an online database where teachers can access the IEP’s or any student information needed. IEP’s are assessed three times a year (at report card time). If any changes are needing to be made, the school based team, classroom teacher and parent meet to make those changes.

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Amazing Things Happen Project. Amazing Things Happen. (n.d) Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/Ezv85LMFx2E

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There are many different ways to adapt your teaching so that students with Autism can access the curricular competencies.
Some adaptations:
- giving more time
- breaking tasks and instructions down into smaller chunks
- visual, written and auditory instructions
-opportunities to do assignments in a different way to show their learning (ie. make a video, a project, an essay)
-create lesson and unit plans that cater to student interests.

Under the Environmental Adaptations, my poster also has some curricular adaptations that you can make.

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Google Classroom - My students all had Ipads and the Grade 6’s could take them home. At the beginning of the year I made sure to invite all parents to the classroom so they could get weekly emails about missing assignments and how their child was doing. They could also access their child’s Ipad to see what they were doing. Google Classroom was one of my preferred communication methods.

Email - When I need to communicate to all parents, I prefer email. I was lucky that at my school, all the parents signed up for email. I know that sometimes not all parents sign up for it so that can make it difficult. If a student has had a difficult day, I will email the specific parent to give them a heads up. This is my preferred communication method.

Phone - I don’t like making phone calls in general so this is my least favorite way of communication. However, I call home when it is a serious incident. I would like to call or email about the good moments so that the phone calls aren’t always negative.

Agenda/ Back and Forth Book - I try to have some communication in the agenda but I am terrible about this. I know that in my school, the primary teachers use this as their main method of communication. I know that some students require back and forth books to talk about their night/morning and then day at school so the parents and teacher can make informed decisions.

Class Dojo/Freshgrade - I had attempted Class Dojo my first year but I didn’t really have the parent communication part of it because not all parents signed up. I know some of my fellow teachers use both Class Dojo and Freshgrade and have great success with it.

Portfolio/ E-Portfolio - Some schools in our district are doing the pilot for the new reporting order and so I know that they rely heavily on portfolios to show student learning and communicate with parents. This is something I would like to learn more about.

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My experience with assistive technology, adaptations and modifications:

Assistive Technology:
I have touched on this in the past but in my district all Grade 6’s get iPad and because I was a Grade ⅚ teacher, we all got iPad to use as well. I used many features on the iPad to help my students such as:

Speech to text

Read to Me

Screen Recording

Magnifying/Enlarging Text

Inverting Colors to help eye strain

We also use a lot of different apps that allow for students to express themselves. Some of the apps are:
Explain Everything
Book Creator

Imovie

Green Screen.

I have also had to use a device that magnified my voice to my student’s ears through hearing aids. I would have to turn it off when speaking to other students or leaving the room because the student could hear everything. I found it easy to use and often forgot about it.

Adaptations:
I have a flexible seating classroom, so I have a variety of different kinds of furniture options and seating options. This is an environmental adaptation that I find easy to incorporate. As for curriculum adaptations, I do a few things. I listed a few.

- When we do a novel study, I read it aloud for all the students or we use an audiobook. This helps all students access the text.
- A variety of options for presenting learning - whether it is a video, a paper, a screen recording, a project. The rubric is made with all the students so they know expectations.
- Use of an iPad for written assignments
- Graphic organizers
- Flexible deadlines for work and time during buddies to get it done

- Buddy class: reading to the K’s helps all students improve their reading
- Partner and Group Work

Modifications:
I have had a student who I have had to make modifications to their curriculum and learning based on IEP goals. They had a medical condition that affected their physical movement and their cognitive abilities. Some of the goals this  student needed to achieve were how to count and identify change, spell their name correctly and identify it and be able to ride a bike. In an intermediate classroom, these were not things that we worked on usually so it was an adjustment for me (this was my 2nd year teaching). These goals were made for their future in mind (being able to buy small things, sign their name or write it on paper, and improve their physical movement.)

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In our discussion posts, many of my peers had good suggestions for adaptations . I have listed them below.

One idea that I really liked was Alyshia Badial’s suggestion of using podcasts. I thought this was an interesting twist on audiobooks. I think that students could use them to create projects instead of the standard audio recording. This would help students who have difficulty writing.

Kirn Rai gave a good list of adaptations such as built in brain breaks. This is something that I find the elementary grades really need to help them get out some energy and refocus. This is a great whole class adaptation. He also suggested passion projects. These really tie in UDL. Students have the opportunity to create a project that showcases their learning in the way they know how. By tapping into student passions, students will enjoy the process more. For students with Autism, this allows them to showcase their passions in a unrestricted way.

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One thing that is very accessible about the Core Competencies is that they are self-reflective. For students with Autism, there are many access points. You can have student friendly language, simple sentences or sentence strips or frames. Students can interview to self assess but can also write or video their reflection.

I think that the personal and social responsibility core competencies are very important for life long skill development and this is something that should be emphasized in an inclusive classroom.

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The Core Competencies are sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need in order to engage in deep, lifelong learning. Along with literacy and numeracy foundations, they are central to British Columbia's K-12 curriculum and assessment system and directly support students in their growth as educated citizens.

Students develop Core Competencies when they are engaged in the "doing" - the Curricular Competencies - within a learning area. As such, they are an integral part of the curriculum. While they manifest themselves uniquely in each area of learning, the Core Competencies are often interconnected and are foundational to all learning.

Before students enter school, development of Core Competencies begins at home and then continues throughout their life. Students encounter opportunities to develop their competence in formal and informal settings. They move from demonstrating competence in relatively simple and highly supported situations, to demonstrating independence in more complex and varied contexts. Competency development does not end with school graduation but continues in personal, social, educational, and workplace contexts.

Students, teachers, and parents/guardians share responsibility for the ongoing development of Core Competencies. Each group has its own considerations.

Discussing the Core Competencies with peers, teachers, and family can deepen students' understanding of the Core Competencies and help them identify personal strengths and establish goals for further development as educated citizens

Examining the illustrations helps students develop an appreciation of the different ways, forms, and contexts in which the Core Competencies can be applied

The illustrations connect the Core Competencies with students' own classroom experiences and bring the profiles to life for them

Students are responsible for assessing their own growth in the Core Competencies. The profiles linked with each sub-competency can serve as a helpful guide in this self-assessment

Teachers can use the sub-competency profiles and illustrations to support students in their growth as educated citizens

Providing students with meaningful tasks and activities, where they can explicitly reflect on where and how they are using the Core Competencies, will further their development in Communication, Thinking, and Personal and Social. The illustrations for each sub-competency provide examples of rich tasks, activities, and feedback

The Core Competencies are embedded within the curriculum and are naturally supported when students engage with the Big Ideas and Curricular Competencies in each area of learning. Examples of explicit connections with Big Ideas can be found in the "Connection" section for each sub-competency

Teachers support students in assessing their own growth in the Core Competencies. (For more information on assessment and the Core Competencies, please see Classroom Assessment and Reporting)

Students develop Core Competencies at home as well as at school, making parent/guardian support for students' growing awareness, understanding, and development of the Core Competencies crucial

Parents/guardians will likely already have some understanding of their students' development in Communication, Thinking, and Personal and Social

Formal school tasks and activities often look different from the more informal tasks students are involved in at home. While both contexts are valuable, parents/guardians can expect that a student's use of the Core Competencies may look very different in these two contexts

The illustrations offer examples from a variety of contexts and can provide parents/guardians with a new lens through which to view their students' development as educated citizens

Unpacking the three Core Competencies

Communication -The Communication competency encompasses the knowledge, skills, processes and dispositions we associate with interactions with others. Through their communication, students acquire, develop and transform ideas and information, and make connections with others to share their ideas, express their individuality, further their learning, and get things done. The communication competency is fundamental to finding satisfaction, purpose and joy.

Thinking - The Thinking competency encompasses the knowledge, skills and processes we associate with intellectual development. It is through their competency as thinkers that students take subject-specific concepts and content and transform them into a new understanding. Thinking competence includes specific thinking skills as well as habits of mind, and metacognitive awareness. These are used to process information from a variety of sources, including thoughts and feelings that arise from the subconscious and unconscious mind and from embodied cognition, to create new understandings.

Personal and Social - The Personal and Social competency is the set of abilities that relate to students' identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society. Personal and social competency encompasses what students need to thrive as individuals, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purposes in the world.

Sub-competencies

Sub-competencies are smaller competencies that fit within a Core Competency.

The Core Competencies are interrelated and interdependent and each sub-competency is naturally intertwined with all the other sub-competencies. These connections are explicitly described in the Connections among Core Competencies section included for each sub-competency. As students move through the profiles in one sub-competency, their growth will influence development in other sub-competencies.

Facets

Each sub-competency includes three or four facets. Facets are the unique and interrelated components of the sub-competencies. Students tend to demonstrate multiple facets of a sub-competency at once when completing tasks and actions.

Profiles

Each sub-competency has a set of six Profiles. Profiles are descriptors of students' sub-competency development and reflect the interrelated facets of each sub-competency. They are progressive and additive, and they emphasize the concept of expanding and growing. As students move through the profiles, they maintain and enhance competencies from previous profiles while developing new skills. Students may also find themselves reflecting aspects of more than one profile at a time.

It is important to remember that the profiles are not tied to specific grade levels and are reflective of lifelong development.

Illustrations

Illustrations are examples of how B.C. students from diverse backgrounds and communities have demonstrated their developing competence. These examples are varied and can include student work samples, student and teacher reflections, interviews, teacher observations, learning stories, and/or photos and videos.

All illustrations include a profile analysis that highlights the parts of one or more sub-competency profiles the student is demonstrating in the illustration.

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The Core Competencies are sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need in order to engage in deep, lifelong learning. Along with literacy and numeracy foundations, they are central to British Columbia's K-12 curriculum and assessment system and directly support students in their growth as educated citizens.

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I really agreed with Tashanna Thomas-Dennis’ post when she said that there is more emphasis placed on the “doing” part of learning rather than the traditional teaching and assessing. This is important for accessibility. She also said that educators can zoom in on the student’s strengths and interests which helps to empower them and introduce them to skills they need in adulthood. For students with Autism, we need to be able to customize our lessons and ways of teaching so that we include all learners.

Charity Leroux talked about the use of the positive “I can” statements and how it gives a foundation for gaining new skills and helps guide self-reflection. I think that sometimes we can get caught up in academic talk and for students to be able to see “I can”, they understand that it is something they can do. Rather than have what they can do shrouded in academic jargon. Positive simple statements are important for accessibility.

Maddie Kotzer said that the core competencies can help students with ASD to practice and experience different life skills and help them identify areas that are their strengths and area that they may need more explicit instruction. I agree with this. I think it lends itself very well to the strength based IEP where the student can help to identify their strengths and stretches and let it become very student centered.

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I included my social story for an IEP review meeting as a resource for those who may need it or want it.

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Assessment is a daunting task. You want to make sure that you are capturing the student’s learning while still hitting the learning outcomes and making learning interesting. When it comes to documenting assessment for students with ASD there are a few things to think about.

First of all, what are the goals of the IEP? Are they something that can be measured and how will you measure them? They should be relevant and measurable. This should have been discussed at the IEP meeting. If the student has an EA, are you going to get them to help collect data? It is the teacher’s role to assess and monitor IEP goals as well as communicate to the student’s family.

IEP goals and objectives should be built into the day and run seamless with your classroom. That is what inclusion looks like.

Ways to collect data:

Checklists

Teacher/EA observation

Work Samples (projects etc)

Assessment (tests - if appropriate for demonstrating learning)

Behaviour Charts

Teacher Interview

Video/Audio Recording

On the report card, the learning is communicated by what the student can do, what the student needs help with and how to help the student at home or in other ways. Learning will be communicated in all areas, not just the areas of the IEP goals. When giving a letter grade in relation to the progress made, ensure that you state that this is in relation to their IEP. At the end of the year, the IEP goals are assessed to see if they have been met and if they need to be update for the next year.

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POPARD is the Provincial Outreach Program.
There are school and family services that can be accessed. They do put on workshops for educators!

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POPARD - Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders

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POPARD Provides consultation, training, and support services to all public and independent schools across the province or British Columbia (BC). We provide support and training to both students and adults, including teachers, educational assistants, community partners, and parents of students with ASD.

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AutismBC is a nonprofit that supports families who have children with Autism. They have workshops. They put on social groups and community support groups. They also have a resource team to help with information. They have offices in the Lower Mainland, Northern BC, the Interior and Vancouver Island.

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I have already put up a infographic about this website but I thought the link would be great to have. This is the "go to" website. You can learn about autism, how to apply for funding and get support.

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Autism Support Specialists can provide you with information about next steps. They have time to chat about your needs and provide guidance at any stage. Call or email.

Assistance is available in English, Chinese, Punjabi, and Tagalog; and staff have access to interpreters to support you in over 50 languages.

At this time, in person appointments are not available.

For questions regarding your child's autism funding, please contact the Autism Funding Support Team 1 877 777-3530.

For questions about available community resources and building a support team, please contact Autism Information Services BC 1 844 878-4700.
If you live in the Central Okanagan or the North Coast / Bulkely Nechako areas, you have options for how your family accesses supports and services. For more information, visit the following link or call Autism Information Services BC 1 844 878-4700: Service Delivery Choice for families in Prince Rupert/Haida Gwaii, Smithers, Terrace, Kelowna and the surrounding areas.

Learn the basics about Autism Spectrum Disorder and find out what signs to look for.

Find out how to schedule a diagnostic assessment and access support while you wait.

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, find out how to apply for funding and how you can use it.

Start building a support plan based on programs and services that are available.

Find out how to support families, apply to be on the RASP, or submit invoices.

Download forms related to autism funding and explore helpful information and supports.

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Programs and services available for children with autism

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These are some of the things that I think would contribute to an accessible and successful classroom for students with Autism.

Variety of Seat Choice

Wobble Stools, PantoSwing- Lupo chairs, Bouncy Bands, Balance Balls

These options allow for students to regulate themselves without disturbing the class. I have the PantoSwing-LuPo chairs in my class. They allow students to rock back and forth without lifting the legs off the ground. The bands would be an option for a student at an individual desk so they can move their legs. Wobble stools and balance balls are great as long as they are introduced with some rules around usage.

Calm Down Corner and Windowsill Space: Both of these spaces would be open to students throughout the day. I have flexible seating so a student could choose the windowsill as a space. I would fill the windowsill with pillows and cushions. I would like some light curtains as well that are see-through. This could be a great place to quietly read or a place to de-stress. Similarly, I would have a calm down corner. I would have a tent that students can go in, coloring books, books and some quiet activities that they could access. I would have a beanbag and cushions in there for a variety of seating. This would be somewhere that a student would go when they feel overwhelmed or stimulated. I would have a non-verbal signal so that they let me know they need to go there. It promotes mindfulness, self-regulation, breathing and reflection.

Lighting: I have a bright classroom in the afternoons so I would have the lights off in the afternoon and lamps on so that the lighting is not harsh. I would like soft lighting in the classroom because it can feel more calming to students. I know my students like the lights off when possible.

Fidget and STEM bins: I would have these at the back of the classroom so that students can grab the fidgets when they need to regulate themselves. There would be a variety of fidgets. The STEM bins would be for soft starts in the morning so that students can explore and experiment in the morning, giving them time to wake up and energize for the day.

Stationary Bike: I would like to have one of these in the back of the classroom so that when a student needs to burn off energy, they can go for a quick bike ride. I know you can also get pedal attachments for chairs so this is something I would like as well. It helps students to focus their energy on the pedalling so that they can get themselves back to their normal space.

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I have seen this in some of the schools in my district. There are a series of guided movements for the kids to follow. This is shown by markings on the floor or walls. It helps students to work off excess energy and develop gross motor skills. The different movements are usually designed to engage different parts of the body and the brain.  It does mean time outside the classroom but would work well with many students who need a quick break.

This could be used anytime. Ideally, for younger grades you would have an EA supervise them but the upper grades could ask to go and then come back.

Image Retrieved from: https://www.fitandfunplayscapes.com

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Movement Breaks:

Build these into your classroom. You can have a set of cards that students can do on their own or have a leader show the class. You can do chair pushups as a class. GoNoodle has some great, quick movement breaks that the whole class can complete. You could have them do stretches or yoga poses.

I would have these after long blocks of sitting (so about every 30-45 min). You could have designated movement break time.

Image Retrieved from: https://www.gonoodle.com/