Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers - Episode 43: The Basics of Behavior with the Autism Helper

Episode 43: The Basics of Behavior with the Autism Helper

07/12/21 • 29 min

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Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers

#43 The Basics of Behavior with the Autism Helper
This episode is a doozy...and I say that because it’s such a broad topic that every single teacher deals with...whether they are special education, regular education, elementary, middle or high school...behavior is something we all face at some point in our career.
However, as special educators, we definitely see the majority of behaviors in children.

Behavior is one of the greatest challenges a special education teacher faces. It’s what brings us to tears most often...it’s what keeps us up at night...and it’s what can sometimes make us dread going to work each day.

Today’s guest is Sasha Long from the Autism Helper. She is a board certified behavior analyst and former special education teacher. Sasha works full time as a consultant, writer, and trainer sharing strategies and best practices through her blog, podcast, membership, and online courses. Sasha travels internationally as a speaker and consultant providing individualized training and feedback to parents, educators, therapists and administrators in the world of autism.
Sasha shares with us the basics of how behavior can best be addressed within our classrooms by focusing on...

Some of the most common types of behaviors that a special education teacher might witness and what are the differences in them
The function of the behavior
What do you do when a parent won’t follow through with the plan at home
The best suggestions for training paraprofessionals on replacement behaviors
What to say to teachers when they say things like “You’re just letting him have his way"
What do you feel are the most effective strategies for effectively managing student behavior?

Listen in as we begin the work of digging into this very broad, very heavy topic and try to break it down into a more manageable pieces.

Mentioned in the Show...
What's Your Special Educator Superpower QuizThe Intentional IEP Summer PD SeriesYou can connect with Sasha from the Autism Helper here
Website

Instagram

FaceBook

Pinterest

Follow Jennifer
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Some of the most common types of behaviors that a special education teacher might witness and what are the differences in them
The function of the behavior
What do you do when a parent won’t follow through with the plan at home
The best suggestions for training paraprofessionals on replacement behaviors
What to say to teachers when they say things like “You’re just letting him have his way"
What do you feel are the most effective strategies for effectively managing student behavior?

Listen in as we begin the work of digging into this very broad, very heavy topic and try to break it down into a more manageable pieces.

Mentioned in the Show...
What's Your Special Educator Superpower QuizThe Intentional IEP Summer PD SeriesYou can connect with Sasha from the Autism Helper here
Website

Instagram

FaceBook

Pinterest

Follow Jennifer
InstagramTPT

Previous Episode

Episode 42: Why Routines & Procedures are Important in Special Education

#42 Why Routines & Procedures are Important in Special Education
Today’s show is all about the importance of setting up routines and procedures within a special education program. Both research and experience tell us that...

it is more effective to build positive behaviors than control negative behaviors and
that classroom routines can positively affect students’ academic performance as well as their behavior

Therefore, one proactive strategy is for teachers to adopt consistent classroom routines and implement intentional, systemic procedures. And while I feel this is necessary for every regular education classroom, I truly believe that it is more important within a special education classroom or department.

When routines and procedures are carefully taught, modeled, and established in the classroom, children know what's expected of them and how to do certain things on their own. Having these predictable patterns in place allows teachers to spend more time in meaningful instruction.

Many teachers and people in general use these terms interchangeably and while there isn’t a whole lot of difference between them, I do want to point out that they are not the same. A procedure is a particular method for performing a task while routine is a course of action to be followed regularly.

But as I’m sure you understand from working within the field of special education...The same routines and procedures will not necessarily be equally effective with all students. And that’s where today’s guest comes in.

Recently honored as the Distinguished Educator of the Year for 2020-2021, Chaia Harrell has taught special education for all grade levels K-12 and is the face behind the brand All Things Exceptional. She has joined us today to talk all about the importance of setting up those routines and procedures from the very beginning and how to modify and change courses when something isn’t working for a particular student.

In today's episode we talk about

Why is teaching routines and procedures important for any teacher but specifically for a special education teacher
What Routines and Procedures Should You Teach FIRST
How routines and procedures that work well with most students but other students need those routines & procedures modified just a little
How do you incorporate visual supports if they are needed
And More!

Want a freebie from All Things Exceptional??
Check out Chaia's list of procedures and things to plan for HERE. It's free!

Mentioned in the Show...
What's Your Special Educator Superpower QuizThe Intentional IEP Summer PD Series

You can find Chaia on Facebook @allthingsexceptional

And on Instagram @allthingsexceptional

Follow Jennifer
InstagramTPT

Next Episode

Episode 44: How Self-Reflection Makes You a Great Teacher

#44 How Self-Reflection Makes You a Great Teacher
Today’s topic is something that I feel has helped me significantly when it comes to having a long and successful career as a special education teacher. We hear so often about the burnout rate and how hard being a special educator can be but we rarely hear about the things that teachers intentionally do to keep them going day after day, week after week and year after year.

I’m a sucker for a good quote and one that I like and aspire to is “We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience.” - John Dewey

Now I hit on this topic in episode 37 so you can tell that it is definitely something that I think is highly important....and that is Reflection. Reflection is a core component of effective continuing professional development and is key to becoming a skilled teacher.

A teacher’s ability to reflect on what, why and how they do things, and to adapt and develop their excellence in teaching is the one quality above all that makes a great teacher.

Today’s guest is Jenny Walmsley from Little Learners, Big Feelings and we dig in a little deeper into this whole reflection piece of the puzzle and Jenny gives us a breakdown of the questions to ask yourself when reflecting and then what to do with that information after you have it.
Together, Jenny and I discuss...