Behavior is not a one-way street. There is an interconnectedness between student behavior and teacher behavior, which we can sometimes miss. It is so important that we recognize the impact special education teachers and special education parapr

3 Ways You Can Address Behavior With a Sensory Function

9 days ago 15m 5s

When a student’s challenging behavior is a result of a sensory function, knowing how to address it can be difficult. We want to help our students cope with sensory experiences in an effective and safe way so that their needs are met and they ar

Are You Asking the Wrong Question About Sensory Seeking Behavior?

16 days ago 18m 27s

There are many myths about behavior that impact the way we talk about and approach challenging behaviors. Many people look to answer whether a student’s challenging behavior is sensory seeking behavior or intentional behavior but there are seve

Teaching Appropriate Attention-Seeking & Waiting to Replace Challenging Behaviors

23 days ago 19m 17s

Attention-seeking behavior is a common challenge in classrooms, and addressing it effectively is crucial for the overall learning environment. One possible reason for this attention-seeking behavior is that some of our students do not yet have

But We Attend to Them All the Time: Effective Replacement Behaviors for Attention-Seeking

30 days ago 21m 14s

All attention is not equal. We have likely all worked with students who engage in behavior just to get attention, whether it be positive or negative. Even when students are getting what we feel is a lot of attention, they may still engage in at

Strategies for Behavior: When They Can’t Have What They Want

Mar 19th, 2024 16m 13s

What do you do when a student asks for something that they cannot have? Oftentimes, when our students request something and they are unable to have it, it can lead to behaviors. There are strategies for behavior we can utilize that can help our

Replacement Behavior Strategies: Defining a Break to Make It Effective

Mar 12th, 2024 18m 8s

Asking for a break is a great replacement behavior for students trying to escape a certain situation. However, not all breaks are going to be effective for every student. Truly understanding the function of a student's behavior and what they ar

Teaching Replacement Behavior for Escape Behaviors

Mar 5th, 2024 29m 56s

Finding replacement behaviors for escape-related behaviors can be a challenge. Oftentimes, when we come across a student struggling with a work, social, or other situation in the classroom and are avoiding it, figuring out how to help them may

What if Your Student Runs Out of Independent Work Time?

Feb 27th, 2024 18m 32s

What happens when we have independent work systems set up for our students, but they aren’t completing them in the allotted independent work time? The whole point of independent work systems is for students to get their work done independently

Teaching Students to Work Independently: 5 Ways to Stretch Their Skills

Feb 20th, 2024 13m 25s

How do we advance independent work systems once our students know how to complete it on their own? The goal of independent work systems is to help students build independence. In order to help our students learn to work independently, it is cru

5 Strategies You Need to Know to Teach Students How to Work Independently

Feb 13th, 2024 17m 26s

We know the goal of independent work systems is to help students build independence. Both the way these work systems are set up and the strategies we use within them are key to helping our students build independence. It is important that we us

5 Must Haves for Task Box Activities to Teach Independence

Feb 6th, 2024 17m 21s

Task box activities are great for practicing independence and maintaining previously mastered skills. But how can we ensure our task boxes are set up to teach independence effectively? Not all task box activities are created equally - some migh

How to Start an Independent Task Box Work System

Jan 30th, 2024 22m 12s

Setting up independent task box work systems can seem overwhelming if you don’t know where to begin or are unsure what systems to put in place to make them effective. However, once you have them implemented into your classroom, they can be incr

Best of ACR Podcast

Jan 23rd, 2024 19m 46s

I cannot believe we are 200 episodes into the Autism Classroom Resources podcast. I am so grateful to each and every one of you for tuning in! We have covered so many topics in the first 200 episodes, from challenging behavior to visual schedul

Let's Have the Hard Conversation About Parent Teacher Relationships

Jan 16th, 2024 17m 3s

Parent-teacher relationships can be complicated and challenging on both sides. One of the most important things to keep in mind in order to have successful and respectful parent-teacher relationships is that judgment and blame are only going to

How to Start Building Independent Work Skills (For Students Who Aren’t Independent)

Jan 9th, 2024 19m 39s

Independent work systems can be very helpful in helping students learn how to complete a series of tasks on their own, without assistance. However, some of our students may not be ready to work through a fully independent work system right away

What Is the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Why You Should Use It

Jan 2nd, 2024 18m 51s

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) can be incredibly beneficial for helping our students with autism to communicate. Often, the term PECS is misused to talk about using pictures as a form of communication. However, PECS is actuall

From the Academy: Maintaining the Joy in Teaching

Dec 26th, 2023 13m 19s

This year especially, I have noticed that many special educators are struggling to remember why we do this job. This is a challenging job as it is and adding in staffing shortages, increased work requirements, and additional factors can make it

From the SEA: Coping Skills for Teachers - Why You Need to Take a Break

Dec 19th, 2023 13m 13s

As most of us are entering winter break, it is the perfect time for a little teacher self-care reminder. We hear a lot about self-care and coping skills for teachers, but as teachers, we often think that if we take a break, we will fall behind.

How We Can Effectively Use Social Stories Free Download

Dec 12th, 2023 23m 37s

Social stories can be an incredible tool for helping students with autism, but there are elements to consider when writing social stories to make them the most effective they can be. They may not be effective for all students or for all skills

Social Stories for Behavior - What the Research Says

Dec 5th, 2023 19m 33s

We are in the midst of the holiday season, and chances are you are seeing more challenging behaviors than usual due to schedule changes and different events and activities. Luckily, there is a great tool that can be used to help students with a

What Is the Next Dollar Up Method and Why Use It?

Nov 28th, 2023 12m 24s

Have you ever had a student who struggled to understand the value of money or how to transfer their money skills to real-life situations? Teaching a range of money skills and strategies that will help them be successful in real-life environment

3 Engaging Ways to Teach Real-Life Money Skills

Nov 21st, 2023 12m 34s

Understanding money and how to use it is an important life skill for our students to learn, and providing explicit instruction on these skills is incredibly beneficial for our students. Being able to identify money, count it accurately, and use

What Are Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Nov 14th, 2023 25m 5s

We've discussed that discrete trial teaching is incredibly beneficial for our students with autism, but naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions are also very impactful for teaching students with autism. NDBIs allow students to pract

What Is Discrete Trial Teaching: What You Need to Know

Nov 7th, 2023 28m 42s

There are a lot of myths about discrete trial teaching, like when it is used and how it needs to be implemented. Discrete trial teaching is an evidence-based practice that allows a high level of repetition for students to practice a particular