https://autismclassroomresources.com/visual-schedules-series-7-reasons-to/

How It Supports Students with ASD: Helps students understand daily routines and reduces anxiety with transitions.

Scenario: A student who struggles with transitions uses a visual schedule to prepare for changes in activities.

Implementation Steps:
1. Choose appropriate visual representations
2. Create a clear sequence of activities
3. Review schedule with student daily
4. Teach schedule use through modeling

Evaluation: Monitor student's independence in following routine, reduction in transition-related behaviors, and decreased anxiety levels.

https://pecsusa.com/pecs/

How It Supports Students with ASD: Allows nonverbal students to communicate by exchanging pictures.

Scenario: A nonverbal 7-year-old with ASD uses PECS to request snacks during snack time.

Implementation Steps:
1. Begin with physical exchange of single pictures
2. Progress to discrimination between pictures
3. Advance to sentence structure
4. Teach answering questions

Evaluation: Track frequency of independent communication attempts, variety of items requested, and reduction in frustration behaviors.

https://carolgraysocialstories.com

How It Supports Students with ASD: Provides scripts and visuals to help students understand social expectations.

Scenario: A student has trouble understanding how to interact during group work and uses a social story.

Implementation Steps:
1. Identify challenging situation
2. Write story from student's perspective
3. Include descriptive and directive sentences
4. Read regularly before target situation

Evaluation: Monitor student's behavior in targeted situations, ability to apply learned strategies, and reduction in anxiety.

https://vkc.vumc.org/assets/files/triad/tips/Video_Modeling_Overview.pdf

How It Supports Students with ASD: Uses videos of target behaviors to teach communication, life skills, and social skills.

Scenario: A student struggles with brushing their teeth and watches a video model showing the steps to brush their teeth.

Implementation Steps:
1. Record/model the desired behavior
2. Show regularly.
3. Reinforce attempts to imitate.


Evaluation: Comparing baseline and post-intervention performance, tracking accuracy, independence, and generalization of the target skill over time.

https://www.startasl.com/autism-and-sign-language/

How It Supports Students with ASD: Provides a manual form of communication that may come more easily to some students.

Scenario: A student who is minimally verbal uses basic signs like 'more' and 'help' to communicate.

Implementation Steps:
1. Introduce core signs.
2. Pair signs with verbal speech
3. Reinforce consistently.

Evaluation: Assess accuracy, clarity, and consistency of signs during structured activities and spontaneous communication, comparing performance to baseline data.

https://www.assistiveware.com/products/proloquo2go

How It Supports Students with ASD: A symbol-based speech app for iPad that supports spontaneous communication.

Scenario: A 10-year-old uses it in class to answer questions and make requests.

Implementation Steps:
1. Initial Setup
2. Profile & Vocabulary Customization
3. Visual & Access Adjustments
4. Teaching & Modeling

Evaluation: Track message generation accuracy, communication rate, and social interaction quality.

https://www.attainmentcompany.com/gotalk-9-lite-touch

How It Supports Students with ASD: Gives nonverbal or minimally verbal students a reliable way to express wants, needs, feelings, and ideas across settings.

Scenario: A third-grade student uses the GoTalk 9+ Lite Touch during class to communicate daily needs. When feeling overwhelmed, the student presses the "I need a break" button to go to the calming corner.

Implementation Steps:
1. Prepare the Device
2. Create Daily Needs Overlays
3. Record Messages
4. Introduce to the Student

5. Train Staff

6.Integrate into Daily Routines

Evaluation: Track how often and independently the student uses it to communicate, monitor reductions in frustration or challenging behaviors, and assess whether communication skills improve or expand over time across different settings.

https://touchchatapp.com/apps/touchchat-hd-aac

How It Supports Students with ASD: It supports students by giving them a customizable, high-tech communication tool that enables them to express needs, share ideas, and participate in social and academic activities using symbols or text-to-speech.

Scenario: A fourth-grade student with ASD uses TouchChat HD to say "I feel happy" during morning meeting, request help during reading, and invite a peer to play at recess, allowing her to participate independently in academic and social activities.

Implementation Steps:
1. Download and install TouchChat HD on an iPad or iPhone.
2. Choose a Page Set.
3. Customize Vocabulary.
4. Teach & Model Use.

5. Integrate into Daily Routines.

Evaluation: Track how often and in what settings the student initiates communication, measuring independence versus prompted use, monitoring vocabulary variety, observing generalization across environments, noting changes in frustration or communication breakdowns, and documenting growth from single words to complete sentences.

https://www.crisoregon.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=408

How It Supports Students with ASD: Offers students with ASD a simple, consistent way to participate in communication by initiating greetings, making requests, or joining in classroom activities, helping reduce frustration and increase social interaction opportunities.

Scenario: A first-grade student with ASD uses the BigMack during morning meeting. When it’s their turn, they press the button to say “Good morning, friends!” Later during snack time, the message is switched to “I want more,” allowing them to independently request a snack refill.

Implementation Steps:
1. Prepare the Device.
2. Choose the Message.
3. Record the Message.
4. Set Up for Accessibility

5. Introduce and Model Use

Evaluation: By tracking how often the student uses the device independently, whether they use it in different settings, how it impacts participation and frustration levels, and if they initiate communication more frequently over time.

https://lampwflapp.com/

How It Supports Students with ASD: By offering a predictable, motor-based approach to communication that reduces cognitive load, encourages spontaneous speech, and allows for language growth in academic and social contexts.

Scenario: A third-grade student with ASD uses LAMP Words for Life to say “I see bubbles” during science class and later “I want to swing” at recess, showing consistent communication across settings using the same motor patterns.

Implementation Steps:
1. Download the app on an iPad and ensure Guided Access or accessibility settings are in place.
2. Customize Vocabulary
3. Teach Through Modeling
4. Train teachers, aides, therapists, and family in LAMP’s principles and navigation.

5. Integrate into meals, classroom activities, play, and therapy.

Evaluation: By tracking how frequently and independently the student uses the device, monitoring vocabulary expansion, observing generalization of communication across settings, and noting growth from single-word use to complex sentences with consistent motor patterns.