|
Supports and Resources
This website is dedicated to providing developmentally-based, practical information and resources for children on the autism spectrum and to the people who support them.
|
Matching Clouds (Video Tutorial)
Matching Clouds is a modified version of CLOUDS, a book that combines literacy numeracy and fun. It is written for children who are beginning to understand text and numbers. The visually augmented text using Boardmaker symbols is designed to help children see the connections between words and to bolster comprehension. In addition, Matching Clouds is designed to be an interactive book for kids in which they can match cut out cloud shapes and numbers with those on the pages of the book. The video tutorial briefly describes the activity and the assembly of the book.
Free Visual Support Available: Matching Clouds (PDF) |
play
|
|
|
Clouds (Video Tutorial)
CLOUDS is a activity book that combines literacy, numeracy, and fun! It is written for children who are at the conversational stage of language development and who are learning the concept of one-to-one correspondence. Clouds is designed to be an interactive story that encourages kids to count along while they “fill in the clouds” with the predetermined number of cotton balls, pieces of popcorn, or small marshmallows. Adults should determine the appropriateness of these materials for individual children and should always provide supervision. The video tutorial briefly describes the design of the book and it's assembly.
Free Visual Support Available: Clouds (PDF) |
play
|
|
Red Light / Green Light (Video Tutorial)
Red Light / Green Light is a popular playground game for children of all ages. The visual supports included in this download are designed to help children play with their peers successfully. For children who are ready to understand the symbolic nature of the game and comprehend simple sentences, the first two pages of the support are designed to impart the rules of the game according to imaginary roles. For children with more limited language and play abilities - simply using the final support, the actual "stop light," along with peer models may facilitate their participation. The "stop light" is designed to be printed out, folded in half and laminated. Either the child who is the “stop light” or an assistant can flip the card to show the “green light” or “red light” according to the child pretending to be the stop light’s directions. The video tutorial describes the use of the three visual supports included in the download, as well as a simple variation on the classic game.
Free Visual Support Available: Red Light / Green Light (PDF) |
play
|
|
Duck, Duck, Goose (Video Tutorial)
Duck, Duck, Goose is a popular social game played in many early childhood programs. Success playing this game is dependent on a child’s ability to keep the directions of the game in his working memory, to monitor other’s non-verbal cues, and to process language. The simple visual support included in this download is designed to help support a child’s abilities in each of these areas, and in turn engage in successful play with his peers. The video tutorial describes the assembly and use of the support.
Free Visual Support Available: Duck, Duck, Goose (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Who Goes First? (Video Tutorial)
Who Goes First? Children with social disabilities often struggle with taking turns and deciding who goes first. This challenge is almost universal due to difficulties with joint attention, perspective taking, and social monitoring often faced by children with ASD. This support uses a web format to help students recall and utilize different common methods for deciding who goes first. Each graphic in the web, represents a different rhyme or game used for this purpose. The video tutorial describes the design and use of the web for decision making.
Free Visual Support Available: Who Goes First? (PDF) | 
play
|
|
The Wheel (Video Tutorial)
The Unexpected/Expected Regulation Strategy Wheel (aka "The Wheel") is designed to be used with students who are conversational and who can think reflectively about their own behavior. This compact regulatory support, designed to support the use of conventional regulatory strategies, dovetails with concepts presented in Michelle Garcia Winner's Thinking About YOU, Thinking About ME (2002). It is most appropriate for student’s who are very comfortable with Winner’s (2002) notion of unexpected and expected behaviors. Unexpected/unconventional regulatory strategies are written in on the red side of the wheel, while expected/conventional strategies are written in on the corresponding segments of the blue side of the wheel. A student should be an active participant in the identification of regulatory strategies included on the wheel and the construction of this support, as it is intended for independent use. The video tutorial describes the design, assembly, and use of the support.
Free Visual Support Available: The Wheel (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Word Association (Video Tutorial)
Word Association is a fun and quick way to introduce the concept of reciprocity to kids who have fairly robust vocabularies, but struggle in conversation. Similar to conversational exchanges which build shared meaning, Word Association requires active listening and perspective taking to complete a valid turn. The first student lays down one of his squares while saying a word. The second student lays down his square next to the first student's square while saying a related word. Reciprocal turns continue to build a visual road representing connected thoughts until the students are out of squares. A student must monitor his peer’s turns for connectedness. If the connection between the 2 most recent words is not apparent to the listening student, he may call a “foul” and the speaking student must explain the connection.
Free Visual Support Available: Word Association (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Countdown Board (Video Tutorial)
Predicting what is going to happen next, comprehending how much work needs to be done, and understanding the passage of time all present unique challenges for children with Autism and related disabilities. Two different visuals are included in this download. The first one is a countdown board that that indicates how many more problems, questions, or activities are scheduled to be completed prior to being all done. The second focuses on how many minutes are scheduled in an activity before its conclusion. Both of these visual supports are designed to help children actively engage by providing information that can help them understand and predict expectations. The video tutorial describes the assembly and use of these supports.
Free Visual Support Available: Countdown Board (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Blow Balloon (Video Tutorial)
Creating predictable routines around fun and motivating activities is a key to helping young children with Autism and related developmental disabilities stay engaged and learn. This visual support is adapted from one used by a preschool teacher that I consult to, Mrs. O’Neill. This support capitalizes on young children’s interest in balloons and visual excitement, but also lends structure to an activity that can be chaotic. This support has proven to be a useful organizational support for children at all language levels; and therefore, helps children at different developmental levels participate in a common activity. When you look at the support, you will notice the visual symbols have been color coded to correlate with parts of speech- as it is important to infuse the color coding in both expressive and receptive supports. This support was created using Literacy Support pictures (TM) courtesy of Slater Software. The video tutorial describes the use of the support in dynamic, interactive group activity.
Free Visual Support Available: Blow Balloon (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Taking turns (Video Tutorial)
Turn taking often presents significant challenges for children with Autism and related disabilities, as it requires ongoing social monitoring, understanding of social routines, and waiting. This visual support is designed to help children understand and actively participate in turn taking, by providing clear visual feedback related to the progression of the interaction. The downloadable support consists of a blank pie chart with 6 spaces. Each of these spaces represents a person that may be involved in the turn taking interaction. Spaces can be filled in with either photographs or written names, depending on the child's level of understanding. It is also recommended to affix an arrow to the center of the support with a brad. This allows for the arrow to move easily from space to space, thereby, supporting a childís ability to monitor the turns of others as they occur and to predict when his/her turn will be occuring.
Free Visual Support Available: Taking turns (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Mr. Wolf (Video Tutorial)
This visual support is designed to help children participate in the playground game Mr Wolf. The support consists of 2 separate visual boards. The first is designed to explain the game prior to the start of play; and, the second is structured to support children while they are playing the game. Mr. Wolf is a game often played by children in the elementary grades at recess and is most appropriate for children who are conversational. The structure of the game inherently supports turn taking and reciprocity, critical skills supporting the development of friendships.
Free Visual Support Available: Mr. Wolf (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Play Mat (Video Tutorial)
This is an example of a play web to help organize creative imaginative play for children at the emerging language stage of development. Play webs offer visual choices of ways to engage with the toys. This particular example illustrates play options for doll house materials. The circular construction of the web conveys choice rather than a linear sequence of steps for play. Each play suggestion is represented in simple verb-object phrases, allowing the child to select any play figurine to execute the actions. Each word in the captions is visually supported and color coded in an effort to ensure comprehension and to facilitate the development of early sentence structures. This support was created using the Boardmaker software program.
Free Visual Support Available: Play Mat (PDF) | 
play
|
|
My Recess (Video Tutorial)
This is an example of a visual support which can be used to help organize a student's time during recess. It is most appropriate for children who are at the emerging language stage or conversational stage of language development. The support is designed to help provide a student with a balance of free time and organized social interactions at recess. This support is designed to be reviewed with the student prior to recess, as well as actively used during recess.
Free Visual Support Available: My Recess (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Mother may I? (Video Tutorial)
Mother, May I? is a playground game typically played by children in the early elementary grades. This visual support is designed to facilitate children with ASD's participation in the game. It is most appropriate for children at the emerging language stage and/or early conversational stage of development. This video tutorial explains the use of the support and the general principles of the game.
Free Visual Support Available: Mother, may I? (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Home/School Communication Log (Video Tutorial)
Home School communication is critical to the effective educational programming for children with ASD. This log is designed to streamline communication about a child's day. The video tutorial describes a simple system that school staff can use to complete the log in order to share critical information with a child's caregivers.
Free Visual Support Available: Home/School Communication Log (PDF) | 
play
|
|
My Speed Meter (Video Tutorial)
This visual support for arousal monitoring is designed for children who are well established in the emerging language stage and/or conversational stage of language development. The two separate meters on the support are used in combination with one another. The first meter, the "My Speed Meter" is used to help children identify their current energy level. The "Activity Speed Meter" is used to help children identify the intended pace of the activity that they are currently engaged in. The information on the two meters is then compared and discussed. If the two speeds to be identical, children should be reinforced for being "on target." If a discrepancy is observed between the two meters a plan to help the child shift his "speed" to match the activity speed should be created. The video tutorial briefly describes the use of this support.
Free Visual Support Available: My Speed Meter (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Monkeys on the Bed (Video Tutorial)
This visual support is designed to help children participate in the song "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." It is most engaging for children who at the early emerging language stage of development. This dynamic visual support is most effective when it is present in a child's visual field during the singing of the song. As the song progresses and monkeys "fall off the bed," either the child or his partners should reinforce the action of "falling" by removing a monkey from the bed until no monkeys remain. The video tutorial briefly discusses the use of this support and assembly instructions. Free Visual Support Available: Monkeys on the Bed (PDF) | 
play
|
|
It's Digger Time - Let's Pave a Road
This book is offered as an example of a literacy activity for children at the conversational partner stage of development. The book is constructed around a familiar theme and follows a predictable sequence. The simple sentence captions are clearly linked to the photographs. The video tutorial briefly discusses the design of the book and assembly instructions. Free Visual Support Available: It's Digger Time - Let's Pave a Road (PDF) | 
play
|
|
It's Zoo Time - Let's Visit the Animals
This book is offered as an example of a literacy activity for children at the emerging language stage. Each photo is captioned with simple 2-3 word combination. Each word in the captions is visually supported and color coded in an effort to ensure comprehension and to facilitate the development of early sentence structures. The video tutorial discusses the color coding system in relation to expressive and receptive language development. Directions to assemble the book are also reviewed.
Free Visual Support Available: It's Zoo Time - Let's Visit the Animals (PDF) | 
play
|
|
Web links
The SCERTS ModelTM sup> dedicated to providing current information related to SCERTS training, resources, and materials.
Communication Crossroads, a private practice located in Monterey, CA, directed by Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP.
Dr. Barry Prizant , based in Cranston, RI and recognized internationally for his contributions in the field of ASD.
The FIRST WORDS Project is a model early identification and intervention program based in the Department of Communication Disorders at Florida State University.
Autism Resources website created by The Tulare County/District Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) to assist parents, professionals, and other members of the community by providing information on Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Autism Neighborhood is a non-profit agency committed to increasing public awareness regarding autism and its effects through a series of candid and compelling interviews with experts and professionals in the field, individuals with autism, and family members.
Let's Cook! Life Skills for Kids on the Autism Spectrum, created by Mitra Ahani, CCC-SLP, utilizes multimedia to demonstrate how parents and teachers can help kids with Autism build functional skills through enjoyable, everyday activities such as cooking. Let's Cook! includes free, downloadable, visual recipes and videos for instructional use.
Social Thinking, is Michelle Garcia Winner's website which details her work exploring the concept of Social Thinking and the creative therapeutic strategies that support its development.
Toward More Inclusive Classrooms and Communities, is Paul Kluth's website which provides resources and articles on inclusive schooling, literacy, and differentiated instruction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
