Lookin for help

[katie]

Hi, I am a senior at Ohio University and am doing a final project on Autism and its effects on children. As I will be graduating in June with a degree in Early Childhood Education, I feel this topic to be very beneficial to me as I head out into the "real world." I am searching for the best ways to include autistic children in a "typical" classroom and how to incorporate their needs into the everyday flow of the classroom. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions to offer me, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank You,
Katie

[melsmommy]

Get a copy of "You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom" by Paula Kluth, available at amazon.com. It's one of the best books I've read dealing with inclusion and autism. If you can follow Kluth's philosophy regarding inclusion, you will truly make a difference. Also good is "Inclusive Programming for Elementary Students with Autism" by Sheila Wagner. Best of luck to you in your career. Take along w/ you these words by recording artist Red Grammar:

See me beautiful
Look for the best in me
It's what I really am
And all I want to be
It may take some time
It may be hard to find
But see me beautiful
See me beautiful
Each and every day
Could you take a chance
Could you find a way
To see me shining through
In everything I do
And see me beautiful

[GraceR]

melsmommy, those lyrics made me cry. How beautiful! Thank you for posting it.

[sharon]

Katie,

Put the words above in your heart - and advocate for the little ones who become your "special ones "; whether they have a diagnosis of autism or some other scary diagnosis (perhaps they have no diagnosis at all).

Your classroom can become a place of peace. A place where all children can be accepted and supported. Be ready to advocate for them, applaud them, support them and defend them. Remind the rest of the planet that you (we) are only doing your/our job. Celebrate the way they arrive to meet you and greet the day.

Remind your local school district that twenty to thirty children in a classroom is WAY too many. No one can learn there.

Support and surround their parents with love. Give them good information and caring support. Invite them to tell you things about their little angels. Children with autism are unique. They present special challenges. Depending on the child and the specific diagnosis, they may see, hear, feel and sense things in a way that you don't understand. Having said that, they can lead you to a new understanding of their own unique needs and easy ways in which you can support learning. They can break your heart and move your soul. Put yourself in their place for a moment in your classroom - is it a good place to be?

And listen, Katie, relax, they have amazing things to teach you.

Best, Sharon

[Dylansmom]

[QUOTE=melsmommy]Get a copy of "You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom" by Paula Kluth, available at amazon.com. It's one of the best books I've read dealing with inclusion and autism. If you can follow Kluth's philosophy regarding inclusion, you will truly make a difference. Also good is "Inclusive Programming for Elementary Students with Autism" by Sheila Wagner. Best of luck to you in your career. Take along w/ you these words by recording artist Red Grammar:

See me beautiful
Look for the best in me
It's what I really am
And all I want to be
It may take some time
It may be hard to find
But see me beautiful
See me beautiful
Each and every day
Could you take a chance
Could you find a way
To see me shining through
In everything I do
And see me beautiful[/QUOTE]

melsmommy,
That was very beautiful! When I read it it made me think of a poem given to me this week from the leader of my parent support group. I think you will like it.
Dylansmom

Heaven's Very Special Child

A meeting was quite far from earth
"It's time for another birth,"
Said the angels to the Lord above,
"This special child will need much love.

Its progress may seem very slow,
Accomplishmnets it may not show,
And it'll require extra care
From the folks it meets way down there.

So let's be careful where it's sent:
We want its llife to be content:
Please lord, find parents and teachers who
Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away
The leading they're asked to play,
But with this child sent from above
Comes stonger faith and richer love.

And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for this gift from Heaven;
Their precious charge , so meek and mild,
Is Heaven's Very Special Child.