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✉Send correspondence to Dr. Estes (estesauw.edu). ✉Corresponding author.

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Sleep and Autism: Current Research, Clinical Assessment, and Treatment Strategies

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Autism spectrum disorder is associated with a high rate of sleep problems, affecting over 80% of autistic individuals. Sleep problems have pervasive negative effects on health, behavior, mood, and cognition but are underrecognized in autistic…

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Accreditation Standard 3: Teaching

Teachers who purposefully use multiple instructional approaches optimize children's opportunities for learning. Children arrive in preschool with different backgrounds, interests, experiences, and abilities. By considering these differences, teachers are better able to meet each child's needs and help all children learn. This article supports standard 3 by sharing instructional supports for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Michael is 3 years old and was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His mother became worried when he was 18 months old because he wasn't talking, but the pediatrician told her not to worry-boys talk late. However, the more time she and Michael spent with other families, the more her concerns grew. In particular, when they went to their neighborhood play group for toddlers, Michael's mother noticed that Michael seemed noticeably different from the other children his age.

By age 3, the pediatrician shared Michael's mother's concerns and suggested she contact her local Child Find department. Michael's mother had never heard of Child Find, so she was surprised to learn that this service is available across the country. It's required by federal law that all public school districts have processes for identifying, and then offering services to, children who have disabilities. If only she had known about Child Find when Michael was just a year old!

Through Child Find, Michael was diagnosed and placed in an integrated preschool classroom that had a mix of children with and without disabilities. Although Michael said only a few words to communicte, he could sing entire songs and recite lines from TV shows and movies.

The first few weeks in preschool presented challenges. Michael didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing, where in the classroom he was supposed to be, or how to do the activities the other children were doing. As his teacher saw how much trouble Michael was having, she began to develop a number of visual supports she thought would make it easier for Michael to participate in the life of the classroom.

What are visual supports?

Children with ASD usually have difficulty understanding language that they hear. When they listen to others speaking, they may not be able to keep up: by the time they understand the beginning of the first sentence, the speaker may be on to the fifth sentence. A child with ASD may be trying to listen but still miss most of what is being said.

In contrast, many children with ASD have strengths in processing information visually and in thinking spatially. In the classroom, communicating visually can make a big difference. (This is not to say that verbal communication should stop-children with ASD still need opportunities to develop their language skills.) Visual supports come in many forms: pictures, objects, gestures, and text (once children can read). Images found online, labels from packaging, pictures in catalogs, or software developed specifically for children with ASD are all possible sources of visual supports. Basically, anything informative that children with ASD can see may be considered a visual support.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a developmental disability that can generally be diagnosed between 18 months and 3 years of age. Indicators that an evaluation should be done include social interaction and communication differences like little eye contact, lack of shared attention and enjoyment, and an absence of interest in playing with other children. Some children with ASD may be nonverbal, while others may talk in scripted language or echo what they have just heard. Children with ASD may have very strong interests in one particular toy or type of toy (Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs), or they may use toys differently than other children (spinning the wheels on a car with their fingers for long periods of time). Small changes in the environment may make them very upset. ASD has been increasing rapidly, with a current prevalence rate of 1:59. The ratio of boys to girls diagnosed with ASD is 4.5:1.

Using visual supports: Six strategies

1. Tell a child where to sit or stand. Placing markers on the floor to show where to stand when lining up or having a marker on the table or chair showing where to sit lets children with ASD know where they are supposed to be. Carpet squares or classroom rugs with defined seating areas serve the same purpose. You can also tape a line in hallways to help direct children.

2. Show the schedule of classroom activities. Many teachers make a picture-based schedule of the day's activities and post it where all of the children can easily check it throughout the day. For children with ASD, it may be helpful to have their own individual schedules that they can manipulate. Providing one picture for each activity and lining them up vertically make it easier for many children with ASD to know what's happening throughout the day.

Some children do better if they carry the picture representing an activity with them to the activity area and check in. Other children prefer to turn the picture over and then make their way to the appropriate area.

If you have a child who needs even more support, you can make detailed schedules for what will happen within each activity. For circle time, you might make a short schedule showing a song, read aloud, and any other activities you have planned. These schedules may also depict tasks to be accomplished, such as playing hopscotch or walking and crawling like different animals during gross motor time.

3. Support understanding what you are saying. Often, when teachers give verbal directions, children with ASD may not respond. You might feel that a child is being willfully disobedient, but the child might not understand you. Having pictures to accompany your verbal directions can help. If a child with ASD appears distressed, try using a visual guide instead of a verbal one (since hearing even more hard-to-understand words may increase the child's frustration). To support children with ASD in group activities, you may find it helpful to show a large picture of "sit down" or "be quiet," or to have a set of pictures on a lanyard you can show to individual children when necessary.

4. Help a child develop self-regulation. To foster children's social and emotional development, teachers often share-and have children practice-strategies for calming down, like breathing deeply or going to a cozy nook in the room. For children with ASD, visual explanations and reminders of these strategies can help them self-regulate, especially when they are beginning to become upset. Showing a picture of a person taking a deep breath or squeezing his or her hands together provides a model that is easier to understand than a verbal direction.

Self-regulation skills for positive emotions (like being excited) need to be taught too. For example, a five-point scale for voice level can be represented visually so all the children know when they are using an outside voice or an inside one.

5. Foster independence. Visually presenting the steps to complete a task encourages children to be independent. For example, you could list the steps for brushing your teeth, washing your hands, and using the bathroom; select a picture to represent each step; and post these guides in the appropriate areas of the bathroom. Functional routines, like hanging up coats, can also be represented with pictures.

Another use of visual supports is to put photos of toys and other classroom materials on the shelves where they belong so children can clean up without assistance, enabling children to be independent in this classroom task. Sometimes, taking the adult who is providing verbal directions out of the situation results in the child with ASD being more willing and able to follow directions.

6. Expand the use of expressive language. Children with ASD often have difficulty expressing themselves verbally. Providing pictures that support communication-such as single pictures for children who are beginning to communicate either verbally or nonverbally and language expansion boards for more skilled children-will encourage them to use words expressively, either with or without speech. Handing a picture to a conversational partner or pointing to a picture to show something to a teacher or peer serves as intentional communication for a child who is nonverbal. This boosts understanding between the teacher and the child. In addition, increasing the child's ability to communicate often decreases challenging behavior.

Similarly, giving children choices often reduces inappropriate behavior-and giving children with ASD visuals for making choices can be very helpful. For children who are not able to understand two-dimensional pictures, the actual objects can be presented. (While this is not always feasible, it can be done at key times, like when helping a child decide whether to go to the block center or to the light table.)

Revisiting Michael's classroom

The first thing Michael's teacher did to help him adjust to the classroom was to create an individual schedule for him by velcroing a picture of each activity to a long, vertical piece of felt. His schedule ended with a photo of his mother, which was comforting to him and also reassured him that she would pick him up at the end of the day.

The schedule made it easier for Michael to navigate the classroom throughout the day's activities. As part of his transition between activities, he carried the appropriate picture and checked in to the area he was assigned to. Since Michael could see when the end of the day was coming, he stopped asking for his mother throughout the day. Michael's teacher also created visuals to show the tasks within each activity and to show the steps for functional routines, like washing hands before snack time.

After working with Michael for a couple of weeks to understand his current communication skills and to get to know his interests, Michael's teacher developed a communication board for him to ask for preferred items and to express "no" when he didn't want something. She labeled his cubby, his chair at the group table, his work area, and his spot on the carpet so that he could rely on visual instead of verbal reminders. All of these visual supports helped Michael adjust to his new classroom and enabled him to participate in each day's activities without feeling stressed or overwhelmed by his teacher's verbal directions.

Selected Accreditation Assessment Items Related to Teaching Children with Autism

3A.3 Show or describe two ways in which teaching staff, program staff, and/or consultants work as a team to implement individualized plans for children. Such plans may include any Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

3B.2 When a child's ongoing challenging behavior must be addressed, show a written policy including these steps:

Assess the function of the behavior

Work with families and professionals to develop an individualized plan to address the behavior

Include positive behavior support strategies as part of the plan

3E.7 Teachers sometimes customize learning experiences, based on their knowledge of the children's social relationships.

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Support You Can See (and Feel): Teaching Children with Autism

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Accreditation Standard 3: Teaching Teachers who purposefully use multiple instructional approaches optimize children's opportunities for learning. Children arrive in preschool with different backgrounds, interests, experiences, and abilities. By considering these differences, teachers are better able to meet each child's needs and help all children learn.

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The Autism Society is here to help navigate those newly diagnosis and connect you to the resources and support you need.

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Book - Welcome to the Autistic Community

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Book - Welcome to the Autistic Community

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This book is about what it means to be a part of the autistic community. Autistic people wrote this book. Some autistic people are just learning about their autism. We wanted to welcome them and give them a lot of important information all in one place.

This book talks about what autism is and how it affects our lives. It talks about our history, our community, and our rights. We wrote this book in plain language so that more people can understand it.

We wrote this book for autistic people, but anyone can read it. If you are not autistic, this book can help you support autistic people you know. If you are wondering whether you might be autistic, this book can help you learn more. If you are autistic, think you might be autistic, or if you want to better understand autistic people, this book is for you.
Welcome to the autistic community!

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Standalone book in the Nonfiction genre. Available from Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, Indie Bound. This book is about what it means to be a part of the autistic community. Autistic people wrote this book. Some autistic people are j...

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What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means that it impacts how a child develops. Autism begins in utero, although children with ASD might not be diagnosed until they are preschool- or even school-aged (or older), when signs of the disorder become more apparent.

Children with ASD have a combination of two kinds of behaviors: deficits in communication and social skills, and the presence of restricted or repetitive behaviors. It's called a spectrum because individuals with the disorder may have a wide range of symptoms, cognitive abilities, language skills and behaviors.
Criteria for autism spectrum disorder
Signs of a deficit in communication and social skills may include, but are not limited to, a combination of the following:

In younger kids (under 3 years)

Failure to respond to their own name

Disinterest in giving, sharing or showing objects of interest

Aversion to displays of affection

Preference for solitary play

In older children

Difficulty carrying on a reciprocal or back-and-forth conversation

Lack of eye contact

Difficulty using and reading body language in others

Difficulty recognizing others' emotions, responding appropriately to different social situations and understanding social relationships

Aversion to displays of affection

Preference for solitary play

Children with restricted or repetitive behaviors perform repetitive actions and rituals and can become fixated on minute details to the point of distraction. In addition, they may:

Become upset by minor changes in daily routine

Line, sort or organize toys or objects instead of playing with them

Show a consuming interest in a specific topic or object

Have unusual sensory sensitivities

To meet the criteria for ASD, a child's symptoms in these two areas must be present in early childhood, though they may not become fully clear until later, when social demands exceed limited capacities. Alternatively, they may be clear early on and then masked later by learned strategies.
These symptoms must also cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, academic or other important areas of functioning.

In addition to the two required criteria to meet the diagnosis, children with autism spectrum disorder often have sensory issues and varying cognitive and verbal abilities.

Sensory problems: Many children with autism are unusually sensitive to sounds, lights, textures or smells. They may be overwhelmed by too much sensory input, avoiding, fleeing or melting down over things like bright lights, loud noises or commotion. Alternatively, they may seek more sensory input, which they may try to get by bumping into things and excessively touching and smelling things.

Verbal ability: Some children with autism don't talk at all. Others talk in a stilted tone, or in an exaggerated "sing-song" or high-pitched voice. Highly verbal children with autism may monopolize conversations while showing little capacity for reciprocity or understanding what the other person wants or feels.

Autistic children may also repeat certain phrases without appearing to understand their significance, or possess what experts call "non-functional knowledge"- information they can recite, but not use to solve problems or carry on a conversation.

Children on the spectrum can also have medical problems and other mental health disorders, including anxiety, ADHD and depression, with symptoms that can be confused with autism.

Terminology: "Autistic," "With Autism" and "Asperger's"

People use different language when talking about autism. Some prefer to say "a child with autism" because it emphasizes the child's identity outside of their diagnosis. This is commonly called "person-first" language and is often recommended as a respectful way to talk about disabilities and other health issues.

However, other people, including many autism activists, prefer to use the term "autistic."

This is known as "identity-first" language. Autistic self-advocates assert that being autistic is in fact part of who they are - just like other labels like Catholic, African-American, gifted, and so on. They argue that saying "with autism" implies that autism is a negative thing that has happened to a person, rather than an integral part of their identity.

In this guide we use both "autistic" and "with autism" to acknowledge the diversity of people's opinions.

Some people also refer to their child having "Asperger's disorder." That diagnosis is technically outdated, because in 2013 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) combined Asperger's disorder into autism spectrum disorder. However, many people do continue to use the term Asperger's to describe autistic children who are typically without language or intellectual impairment.

How Is Autism Diagnosed?

The diversity of autism spectrum disorder can make it difficult to correctly diagnose. Sometimes children with ASD are mistakenly diagnosed with a different disorder, like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), or they are told that nothing is wrong. Other times kids are diagnosed with autism when they actually aren't on the spectrum.

First Steps: There are a variety of screeners that pediatricians or other practitioners might employ as a first step to learning if a child might have autism, before beginning a formal evaluation. Some are questionnaires that parents fill out and others are assessments done by clinicians.

If a screener indicates that a child may have autism spectrum disorder, the child should receive a comprehensive evaluation with someone trained in diagnosing autism. This evaluation should include assessment of a child's behaviors in different settings and within the context of their overall development, and it should incorporate both clinician observation and parent/caregiver interviews. Evaluations will often include autism-symptom specific measures such as:

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, or the ADOS-2. This is a test with different modules to accommodate a range of children. The purpose of the ADOS is to evaluate the social skills and repetitive behaviors the child displays during the test.

The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, or the ADI-R. This is a parent interview that gathers information about both current and past behaviors related to autism.

Evaluations should also include information about other areas of a child's functioning across contexts. Assessing a child's cognitive, motor, language and adaptive functioning can provide information on the most appropriate treatments and the impact their symptoms are having on their overall functioning. This includes using measures like:

The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (VABS-3). This is a parent interview that provides information about a child's day-to-day functioning in areas of communication, socialization and daily living skills.

Differential Ability Scales, Second Edition (DAS-II) or Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). These can be used to evaluate cognitive, language and motor functioning.

Even with these tools it is important to be working with a mental health professional who has experience diagnosing people on the autism spectrum.
Read more about diagnosis here.

Why Autism Diagnoses Are Often Delayed

For children on the autism spectrum, the earlier they receive specialized support, the better outcome they are likely to have. Such early intervention can start in toddlerhood. But children sometimes miss out on that crucial intervention for a variety of reasons.

In many cases kids initially receive a diagnosis of speech-language impairments, ADHD or sensory issues, and it's not until the social and academic challenges of school increase- around the age of 5 or 6 - that the child receives an autism diagnosis.

It's not that these other diagnoses are necessarily wrong. It is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of children on the autism spectrum do also have ADHD, and sensory challenges are so common in kids with autism they are considered a symptom of the disorder.

But all too often, once a diagnosis is reached, parents and clinicians stop looking carefully at symptoms that would also indicate an autism diagnosis, which would change the treatment significantly.

While these children are getting treatment for ADHD or sensory issues, they're missing out on therapy that can have a much more important impact on their lives.
Read more about delayed diagnosis here. Why girls with autism are often overlooked
Boys are diagnosed with autism at more than four times the rate of girls. The disorder is more common in boys, but because girls often don't fit the stereotyped image of someone with autism, many girls go undiagnosed and suffer as a result. Some reasons for the missed diagnosis include:

Girls' symptoms are often less obvious. Unlike boys with autism, who may express frustration by being disruptive or aggressive, girls are trained to be cooperative, so they're not as likely to be referred for an evaluation.

While boys on the spectrum may be intensely focused on things like trains or computer games, girls often have special interests that seem typical for girls their age, like Disney movies or animals, so they don't stand out.

Good at imitating what they see around them, girls tend to have better eye contact or social interaction than autistic boys. So even though they're struggling with social communication and relationships, they're more likely to "pass" as neurotypical until as late as middle school.

Girls struggling with undiagnosed autism often develop depression, anxietyor poor self-esteem, and clinicians may not look beyond these symptoms.

Read more about how girls are undiagnosed here.

How to Talk to Family and Friends About Your Child's Diagnosis

If your child has been newly diagnosed with autism, one thing that can be a challenge is telling your parents and extended family. Autism is something that more and more people are aware of, but there's still a lot of misinformation. The problems your child is having may not be visible to everyone in your family. But you need the people you are close to as allies in helping your child, so getting them on your team is important.

Focus on behaviors Using behaviors others might have noticed - such as lack of eye contact, frequent meltdowns or inability to connect with other kids - is one way to start explaining what autism is, and why your child was diagnosed.
Explain autism basics Don't overwhelm them with information but make sure to tell them that:

Your child has difficulty with social skills.

Part of autism means your child has restricted or repetitive behaviors and interests.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability.

It is lifelong.

We know it starts in utero.

We know it is not produced by vaccines.

It's not caused by bad parenting.

Explain that autism is a spectrum of behaviors, and every autistic person is different

Explain that having a diagnosis also means that your family is eligible for therapies and services, which can be transformative.

Read more about talking with family and friends here.

Medical Causes for Autism-Related Behaviors

It's not unusual for medical problems to be overlooked in kids with autism, especially those who are nonverbal. When evaluating your child's behaviors, it's crucial to consider that some may actually be reactions to pain or discomfort from treatable medical or dental conditions that may have gone unrecognized. Kids with ASD may not be able identify or articulate the source of the pain or discomfort they are experiencing effectively.

Here are some commonly misinterpreted behaviors that may have medical causes:

Gulping or grimacing

Tapping the chest or stomach

Pressing on the abdomen

Refusing to sleep

Repetitive motions

Self-injury like head-banging or hitting yourself

Meltdowns

Aggression

If you notice any of these behaviors in your child, visiting your physician is a good idea to identify or rule out different medical problems, including:

Painful acid reflux

Constipation

Allergies

Eczema

Tonsillitis

Menstrual cramps

Ear infections

Urinary tract infections

Bone fractures

Read more about possible medical causes here.

Sensory issues are often first recognized during the toddler years, when parents notice that a child has an unusual aversion to noise, light, shoes that are deemed too tight and clothes that are irritating. They may also notice clumsiness and trouble climbing stairs, and difficulty with fine motor skills like wielding a pencil and fastening buttons. More baffling - and alarming - to parents are children who exhibit extreme behaviors, such as:

Screaming if their faces get wet

Throwing tantrums when you try to get them dressed

Having an unusually high or low pain threshold

Crashing into walls and even people

Putting inedible things, including rocks and paint, into their mouths

These and other atypical behaviors may reflect sensory issues - difficulty integrating information from the senses. Children with sensory issues may be overwhelmed by too much sensory input (i.e., hyper-sensitivity), or receive too little (i.e., hypo-sensitivity), which causes them to bump into and rub against things, in order to feel more. Sensory problems are now considered a symptom of autism because the majority of children and adults on the spectrum also have sensory issues.

When the brain struggles to deal with sensory input like sound, light and smell, kids can become overwhelmed and may have a tendency to flee to a more calming environment, become aggressive, or experience a severe meltdown.

In the majority of cases, sensory issues become significantly milder and less interfering as kids get older. Skills learned in occupational therapy and environmental accommodations can help limit the impact of sensory issues as kids get older.
Read more about sensory issues here.

Rigid Eating Habits in Children on the Spectrum

Children on the autism spectrum are often very picky eaters. When mealtime issues arise, your first stop should be a pediatric gastroenterologist who has experience with kids on the spectrum, to make sure there are no medical issues. Other sources of mealtime problems include:

Sensory issues: Autistic kids often express a strong preference for foods that feel a certain way in their mouths. Some prefer soft or creamy foods like yogurt, soup or ice cream; others need the stimulation that crunchy foods like Cheetos or - if a parent is lucky, carrots - provide. In either case, that can put significant limitations on the different foods kids are willing to eat.

Underdeveloped oral motor musculature: Kids who eat almost exclusively soft foods may actually lack the muscle development that it takes to chew foods like steak or hamburger. Parents who don't know this is the cause of their child's distress will respond by allowing them to forgo the foods that would strengthen those muscles, so it becomes a vicious cycle.

Time and behavior at the table: Lots of parents experience the frustration of trying to get their children to sit at the table long enough to finish a meal. But with autistic kids the challenge can be magnified. And there is also the issue of safety. Unsafe behaviors might include throwing utensils or repeatedly getting up and running from the table.

For children and families who are struggling with an autistic child's rigid eating habits, consulting a feeding specialist -this could be a child psychologist, speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist - can be helpful.
Read more about autism and picky eating here.

Wandering in Children on the Spectrum

The tendency of children on the spectrum to wander off impulsively is a huge safety issue. Wandering off without warning - also known as elopement or bolting - can have tragic results, as children attracted to water have drowned. The behavior is in part attributed to an impaired sense of danger, which might inhibit a neurotypical child from leaving caregivers. Other explanations for bolting range from goal-directed (heading to a favorite place, pursuing something of interest) to escaping a stressor (an anxious situation or uncomfortable sensory stimuli).

In a survey, more than 800 parents reported that roughly 50 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 10 with an ASD wander at some point, four times more than their unaffected siblings. The behavior peaks at 4, but almost 30 percent of kids with an ASD between the ages of 7 and 10 are still eloping, eight times more than their unaffected brothers and sisters.

The Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response and Education (AWAARE) Collaboration site has advice for families about making the home safe and other measures to guard against wandering.
Read more about autism and wandering here.

Repetitive movements associated with autism are sometimes called stimming. The word stim is short for self-stimulation. It means repetitive movements that don't appear to be purposeful, including hand flapping, rocking, blinking, pacing and repeating noises or words.

Among the criteria for an ASD diagnosis is "stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects or speech." Some children engage in these repetitive movements to either block or increase sensory input, or as a means of alleviating distress. Children on the spectrum may stim both when they're excited and when they're frustrated or angry.

But these movements are only problematic if they interfere with a child's functioning, including social interaction, daily activities and learning. Families worried about them are encouraged not to try to eradicate or draw undue attention to them, but instead to help children build communication skills and activities that may reduce time spent stimming.
Read more about autism and repetitive motions here.

Autism-Related Problems With Transitions

Transitions are particularly challenging for kids with autism, and their reactions can be extreme. They may feel the need for sameness and routine is a way of adapting to a world that can be overwhelming and confusing. Deviation from the routine can feel very uncomfortable, even distressing, and they may refuse to transition, or engage in disruptive behavior such as having a tantrum.

Maintaining structured routines may help children with autism, especially for everyday transitions that are challenging, like bedtime or school mornings. It may also be helpful to provide children visual schedules of their routines as well as provide warnings (countdowns to the next activity) before upcoming transitions. It's important to note that these general strategies, while helpful, may not be sufficient for all children with autism.

Rewarding kids when they handle a transition particularly well can also be an effective strategy. A reward could be as simple as labeled praise (for example, saying, "I really like how you stopped playing on the iPad when I told you it was time to get dressed. Good job!" Children can also be motivated by rewards like stickers or points that work up to bigger rewards, like more screen time or a favorite food. Access to a child's special interests can also be a reward.
Read more about transitions here.

Applied Behavior Analysis: Types of ABA: Read more about ABA here. The Verbal Behavior Approach (VB):
Facing Your Fears (FYF):
Occupational Therapy:

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means that it impacts how a child develops. Autism begins in utero, although children with ASD might not be diagnosed until they are preschool- or even school-aged (or older), when signs of the disorder become more apparent.

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ECTA Center: Improving Systems, Practices and Outcomes

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The ECTA Center is a program of the FPG Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, funded through cooperative agreement numbers H326P170001 and H326P220002 from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Department of Education's position or policy.

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As an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was created in 2002 to be a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education.

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Module and Resources for Selecting EBP's

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Module and Resources for Selecting EBP's

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Selecting an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

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Abolishing Ableism in Early Childhood Settings

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In the words of James Comer "No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship". Therefore, developing early literacy skills requires building significant relationships with children. In order to develop significant relationships with children, they must feel valued, respected, and loved for exactly who they are.

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Masking, Behaviour, and Learning Needs. Home and School.

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A record of the #SENexchange discussion from 2nd February 2022. We based the chat on the article: The tip of the iceberg: SEND, masking and multiple needs

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What is Neurodiversity? | A Quick Guide to Neurodiversity for Educators | Twinkl

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Neurodiversity Affirming Approach - What is it exactly?