World Autism Awareness Day

April 2 is World  Autism Awareness Day, and several of my bloggy friends and I are joining together to bring you products and a rafflecopter giveaway of products that will be helpful to you in the classroom when you have student on the autism spectrum in your classroom.

Click here to learn more about World Autism Day and "like" the Facebook page.

When our friend, Danielle, first mentioned doing this giveaway and blog hop, many of us were hesitant because we weren't sure that we had products or could create products that were "appropriate" for use with children on the autism spectrum.

Perhaps many of you have felt that way when you had an inclusion child in your classroom.  What materials should I use?  How do I make accommodations for this child in my regular ed classroom?   If you were lucky, you had an aide or a TSS person assigned to the child who helped you understand what you needed to do.  Unfortunately, I know through personal experience, that insurance is changing the role of the TSS in the classroom and is cutting the number of hours they will pay for a TSS to be in the classroom.  So it is up to you, the classroom teacher, to make it work.  Well, through this blog hop, we hope to arm you with some resources you can use in your classroom with special needs children, as well as award the winner of the rafflecopter with an amazing packet of resources!

 Click here to visit Crayonbox Learning and enter the rafflecopter for the resources giveaway.[/caption]

Danielle (Crayonbox Learning) and Karla (Life in Special Education) were invaluable in helping us and guiding us as we sorted through what makes a good resource for a special needs child.  What did I learn, you ask?  Well, I learned that, with slight modification, much of what I have would work.  I learned that pictures and text should be simple, clear, and uncluttered.  I learned that autistic children often have difficulty identifying emotions and need help developing social skills, so materials along those lines would be suitable for them.

I also did some research on my own and found that token charts are often used to as part of behavioral management plan for special needs children.  I flashed back to my little man last year, who was diagnosed PDD, and remembered the sort of velcro puzzle thingie that his TSS used with him, and thought, "A-ha!  A token chart!"  So that is what I am offering as my freebie today.  You can download it by clicking on this picture.  There are four puzzle token charts you can use with a special needs child or even a regular ed child who needs extra help with controlling his/her behavior.  They range from 6 pieces to 16 pieces.

Directions for token board use included

 Print and laminate as token board base. Add velcro to hold puzzle pieces in place.[/caption]

Copy, laminate, and cut the puzzle parts out. Use velcro to attach to puzzle base.[/caption]

Click here to download your token chart freebie.

Please be sure to click on the frog below and visit all the other blogs involved in this link-up.  You will come away with some fantastic resources from top-notch educators!