Self-Contained Autism Classroom Tour

[@malloryalbers167]

I absolutely loved your classroom tour! Thank you so much for sharing. I color code by student too! I like how you use colored duct tape to color code different areas. You are doing amazing things!

[@theautismhelper]

Thank you so much, Mallory!

[@aprylhodge4920]

Thank you for this!! I teach an SDC TK-3 class in so cal as well. 😊 I really enjoyed this and you gave me some much needed inspiration! I've been teaching for 17 years but this year my class looks more like a mod- severe and everything I've done in the past just doesn't work for this group of kiddos. Anyway....couple of quick questions....#1 how many kids are in each center at a time. #2 when you are teaching your math ctr, are your kids doing the same work or do they do the other hands on activities you had displayed on the table? #3 Lastly, regarding your task boxes, how do you determine what goes in which bin and how often do you switch them out? Thank you for all your info/videos and insight! 😊

[@michellelindenmuth6566]

Hi Apryl! Thank you for your questions! I am so happy to have provided you with some inspiration. I hope my ideas can work in your classroom. To answer your questions: 1. I have between 1-4 students at each center at a time. I group them up by ability, academic level, and behavior. My most behavioral student is in the group of 1 and I try to put my lowest ability students with a higher level student. This year, that was difficult and I needed a group of 4 so I put my highest, most independent students together and that helped make the other groups smaller. 2. It depends on how independent the students are and what activity we are doing. Sometimes they are doing the same work and other times one is working on an Easy Matching Weekly Workbook or iPad with Number Blocks app while I can work with the other. If the student working is known to have issues with this, I will quietly set up my workbook/iPad student either in my class library or at another table. 3. The shape bins are all fine motor - usually "put in" tasks. I love saving my coffee creamer bottles and cleaning them then buying mini erasers, beads, anything tiny really, and making that a fine motor bin. The alphabet bins are all ELA tasks such as letter matching, picture matching, cvc words, etc (whatever the students can do). I love the Made For Me Literacy task cards and The Autism Helper has amazing ones too for this! The number bins are all math - similar to the ELA style. Some of the task boxes are switched out monthly but we have so many that the students rarely see the same bin in the same week. I hope all of my answers help!

[@WDBsirLocksight]

@@michellelindenmuth6566 ur task balancer master too I see

[@robertaganoe6711]

Can you show more of your fine motor boxes and the professional bound binders that had Monday-Friday? Awesome video

[@theautismhelper]

Hi Roberta! Yes, I will work on a blog post and a new video highlighting my task box center. I will have this out in March. The website has a lot of information on the Monday - Friday professional bound binders. They are called Easy Matching Weekly Workbooks and they are amazing. We use them every day! Check out this blog post from Jen that talks about them: theautismhelper.com/easy-matching-workbooks-in-action/

[@TheSpEdPro]

Hi! Thanks for the tour, quick question, how do you have your teacher desk set up? I'm thinking between having a teacher desk or not. I originally have my own teacher desk at the back of the room, and the teacher station to lead morning meeting and such at the front.

[@theautismhelper]

I love combining teacher desk and the teacher station! Gives you more room and forces you stay more organized!

[@gilliandalman7056]

I loved this! I teach a K-5 dedicated autism program with kiddos with high and low support needs and my classroom is almost exactly the same as yours. I am so comforted that the way I have things structured is being used in other places and by an Autism Helper classroom too! :D

[@michellelindenmuth6566]

Thank you for sharing! Makes me so happy. I agree, validation is KEY in our profession! Thanks for watching :)

[@tbaines2435]

Love your video!!! I’m currently teaching 5&6 middle school and trying to find a balance of doing rotations with different level students. I also have to teach modified grade level curriculum to my students along with doing rotations in the classroom. Do you have any advice on how to balance both?

[@theautismhelper]

Hi Tabitha! This is from Sasha - I taught middle school for years. I would follow a similar set up to Michelle. Group students with similar goals and have rotations with independent and teacher focused work. You can work on the modified curriculum with groups and individualize based on skills!

[@tbaines2435]

@@theautismhelper Thank you so much for the advice.

[@RealKevGotEm]

I wish you and I could talk because maybe you could help me with this situation that I am dealing with. This teacher yells at her students. I took a calmer approach to one troubled student and he listened and was calmer. Friday I was not able to attend and Monday he was upset and ended up telling me he was sad I wasn’t there. The teacher told me to ignore him. I have had quite the experience with autistic children due to being in class with them as well as having friends and education. When made some suggestions to the teacher, she completely shut down refuse to listen to them. I am interning to become a school psychologist

[@dianahussain5066]

I love how creative and well-organized her self-contained room is

[@theautismhelper]

Thanks for watching!

[@camerongrier2548]

A😢of

[@camerongrier2548]

2:00

[@camerongrier2548]

And the fact that I will be in town this for a couple weeks in the US a year or not

[@RealKevGotEm]

I am not going to stop or back down from helping these autistic children, succeed and I won’t let the school system fail them like they did to make others who ended up in a bad place in their life when they got older

[@theautismhelper]

Hang in there and keep advocating for your students!

[@WDBsirLocksight]

it must be exhausting but you sound like an Advocating Superhero "...provide now, flourish later...."

[@AzucenaGomez-l6s]

Question have you ever had an autism child run around cant stay still and has aggressive issues ???

[@ericasouthwick5793]

Michelle, thank you for sharing your classroom! You have a wonderful setup!

[@theautismhelper]

Thank you for your sweet comment, Erica!

[@AmandaJacobs-j3d]

how many paraprofessionals work within your classroom? how long do you take in the beginning of the year to teach this? I'm wondering if i could start implementing some concepts after spring break in two weeks and it would be worth it for the last semester or just wait until next year and start fresh from day 1?

[@theautismhelper]

Hi! I have three classroom paraprofessionals and one 1:1 para. It takes us 2-3 weeks of consistent training for most students at the beginning of the school year. I would say if this is something you are willing to try, absolutely start it after spring break! It will make the beginning of next school year so much easier for you. ❤️

[@AmandaJacobs-j3d]

i only have 1 paraprofessional and teach 3-5 year old's so we'll slow and small.... but love the concept and will be using it next year! thanks@@theautismhelper !

[@Nahir487]

How you do with the student that is hand over hand ?

[@DeniseDice-d1c]

How do you create a substitute schedule for when staff is absent?

[@theautismhelper]

Hi there! I have a substitute binder for when I am out with the full schedule. I also have photos of my students with descriptors of what they can and cannot do at my center. Additionally, I keep all of my passwords and account logins in there for the substitute. I am VERY fortunate to have amazing paraprofessionals who generally take I initiative and help the substitutes keep the day on track.

[@Mrs.Madison]

Hi! Where did you get the visual schedule template? Do you put the colors behind each piece for the center colors?

[@theautismhelper]

You can find our various schedule resources here: shop.theautismhelper.com/collections/schedules We also have a few other great videos about how to use our different schedules here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHmxm6aBh5ygmNU kzbin.info/aero/PLaNcwbUxolMgSiKTUg-2A8KfhaB8i19zl

[@RealKevGotEm]

If I told you what i witnessed at the school I interned/volunteered at, the teachers behavior to her autistic children was appalling. Now the president of the teach union, principal who ignored all of my concerns and refused to hear any of it, and the office in charge of the school is involved. My complaint has been sent to the superintendent. I can tell u her classroom does not look like yours. It’s a mess and very unorganized

[@theautismhelper]

Hi there! I'm sorry this is something you are going through. I'm glad you are there to help the students. :)

[@WDBsirLocksight]

sounds like the teacher has ADHD

[@BrightIDEAed]

Very great video! And your class look very awesome. I’m so happy you shared the video with your class. We have also same content in the same special education @BrightIDEAed. Thanks for sharing!

[@theautismhelper]

Thanks for watching! ❤️

[@Chris-sl4up]

How do you manage too many students ending up in the same area ? Is there a set time for students to move from one area to the next? Or, do they move at their own pace?

[@theautismhelper]

Yes set time and rotation!

[@WDBsirLocksight]

I heard on another vid they use a task timer and then this specific (kiddy music) song plays

[@lakrishiw]

Your students don’t pull all the task boxes off the shelves and open them? I have two students who do this. How do you handle those behaviors? How do you teach students to stay in their independent areas?

[@theautismhelper]

The first few weeks of school are crucial when teaching expectations and routines of each center. My whole staff and I work at teaching the expectations and rules of each independent center. Students are taught to only pull the boxes they are assigned. If it is reinforcing for students to work for a desired box that may be distracting to them, it is appropriate to use that box as a reward/reinforcement for completing their assigned boxes first. When teaching students to stay in independent centers, we use visuals and lots of reinforcement. Sometimes students struggle with the full 15 minutes so we will use timers and start with a small time frame then heavily reinforce students for staying with their preferred reinforcer. Over time, we increase the time on the timer and decrease the reinforcement until they are independent.

[@PaigeWiggins-og9xe]

Hi, I love how organized you are...are all the acitivities you showed at the centers done with the kids at the same time? Like is one kid doing one of them and another is doing one and on and on? Does that make sense?

[@theautismhelper]

Hello! Yes it makes sense. It really just depends on how I’ve paired my center groups. At my direct job structuring centers, some students will be working on the same activity at the same time while others are working on completely different activities. I sometimes pair my students by similar goals and levels while other times I need to pair a very low student with a student who is higher and able to do more independent tasks. All centers run simultaneously to each other and we rotate every 15 mins. Students in a center group will rotate to the next center together. Hope this helps!

[@camerongrier2548]

7am is not the other two ✌ but the way I see it was that it would have a lot to

[@theautismhelper]

Thanks for watching!

[@christinemartinez4534]

Amazing and well put together classroom. Wondering if it’s an autism class, if you incorporate ABA discrete trials?

[@theautismhelper]

Thank you! We use some principals of ABA in my classroom but not a full ABA classroom. I also do not do discrete trials.

[@yokosanfran]

Hi, which city are you in? I’m running out of options for my daughter’s school. I am willing to relocate the whole family for her education.

[@theautismhelper]

We're based out of Chicago, Illinois!

[@Jordale3366]

Michelle could you give a breakdown of each area in your classroom?

[@theautismhelper]

Yes! I have many videos of each of my centers: Math Center: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4nRq3yhedOWirM ELA Center: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnOUm2uMfq1lhdE Task box Center: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2i2l6N9q7WbldE kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGHJpJmXr8dsZsU Boom Cards Center: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eauwh4atq5hjmdE I also have a play center and a reading center where students look at books on the Get Epic app :)

[@TheLoryWanderful]

I am teaching Moderate to Severe Intellectual, ASD, 1st to 6th grade. They have short span of attention. Some are nonverbals, others have behaviors, I am confused how this would work in my classroom , school time is 7:30-3:00pm. HELP 💔💔

[@theautismhelper]

Hi! It could look much different for a moderate severe setting but can be done! I highly recommend taking a look at the Executive Functions Masterclass that is currently open. A lot of your students needs and difficulties could be addressed in this class!

[@theautismhelper]

shop.theautismhelper.com/pages/executive-functions-masterclass-course

[@emmaculteyodo8955]

i love your classroom set up

[@theautismhelper]

Thank you!

[@LAURENELMORE-td7nb]

Could I see your weekly schedule that is on the students desk for them to complete Boom cards?

[@theautismhelper]

Here are two different visual schedules for my boom cards. Feel free to use these in your own classroom! docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VWid2ApuipXxrou-6u6byTqCpKUgOwlm6ISQiN2DBXA/edit docs.google.com/presentation/d/19R1Ew4LNDs1DztaNArM1UQWKQQCGMZmRrr7tE8c5YmA/edit

[@TheTeacherbel]

I love how you organize your classroom...but I am still a long way from making my autism student do what your organization tells them to do.

[@thetravelingtwos]

I loved this video! Do you have a tpt and do you have a layout I could get the daily color coded schedules at?

[@theautismhelper]

So thrilled to hear that you enjoyed Michelle's video! We have both a TPT page and our own store. You can find our various schedule resources here: TPT: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Autism-Helper/Search:Schedule The Autism Helper Store: shop.theautismhelper.com/collections/schedules

[@thetravelingtwos]

@@theautismhelper thank you which one did she use? For the color coded schedule because the color coded one on here looks a little different.

[@theautismhelper]

@@thetravelingtwos in this video she is using a visual schedule from Simply Special Ed. However, we offer a Color Coded Daily Schedule and a Real Photo Visual Schedule (among others) in our store 😊

[@josephinealinoti2908]

Cmmmmty School Wednesday

[@theautismhelper]

Thanks for watching!

[@thetotinofamily]

I love how organized you are!

[@theautismhelper]

Thank you! It really helps both my staff and students ❤️

[@olena9987]

Can someone answer please. This is special education class in public school or private autism school?

[@theautismhelper]

Michelle teaches in a primary (TK - 1st Grade) self-contained autism classroom in a public school setting!

[@olena9987]

Thank you. 😊

[@hjason71]

Where did you get visual

[@hjason71]

This is amazing

[@theautismhelper]

Hi there, thanks for watching! You can find the visuals in my store here: shop.theautismhelper.com - if you're looking for one in specific let me know which one!

[@TheTeacherbel]

Please share how you make your autism students follow through your organization. Thank you.

[@theautismhelper]

Lots of practice on following a schedule, routine, and transitions!

[@chelsagalbreath8077]

I have a 5 year old who is struggling in kindergarten. Biggest issue is being independent and attention span. Do you think these will help?

[@theautismhelper]

Yes, I think it could help with that!

[@shootingstar5508]

Your classroom set-up is incredible. Thank you for sharing.

[@theautismhelper]

I'm so happy to hear you like it, thank you!

[@julianetexas]

Is this a regular public school? Also, is this only a special education classroom?

[@theautismhelper]

This is a public school and a life skills special ed classroom.

[@PWP234]

Mrs Connell is my teacher

[@theautismhelper]

Thanks for watching!

[@suzettemattingly6505]

I will be a self contained 3rd thru 5th next year, any advice!?

[@theautismhelper]

Yes! Definitely check out our Professional Development Membership! Enrollment opens in September: shop.theautismhelper.com/pages/membership-waitlist

[@breannapaholak7891]

How many times in one day to you have centers? Do you have morning and afternoon centers?

[@theautismhelper]

Hi Breanna! I have six centers in the morning and four centers in the afternoon. My morning centers are those highlighted in this video and my afternoon centers are more social/play based. Thanks for watching!

[@amycovey6728]

How long does each student spend at a center before you indicate it is time to move to the next center?

[@theautismhelper]

Hi Amy! My centers are 15 minutes long.

[@Emily-q8j]

Where can I find the visuals that were shown for the bathroom?

[@theautismhelper]

Here you go! shop.theautismhelper.com/collections/executive-functions-masterclass/products/toolkit-executive-functions

[@Wastebrains]

Are you for real? You are amazing!

[@theautismhelper]

That is so sweet of you to say, thank you!

[@WDBsirLocksight]

no shes not a hologram 😁 (I checked the film emulsion matches the brownian motion)

[@brennariley8260]

How many paraprofessionals do you have?

[@theautismhelper]

Hi Brenna! I have two paraprofessionals. I utilize one as a “floater” between my independent centers and one at a teacher-led center.

[@mariluhernandez6448]

How do you color code your boom cards

[@theautismhelper]

Hi Marilu, the Easy Matching Weekly Workbook boom cards were color-coded when I purchased them. They are color-coded by the days of the week. I do not color code the center on the students' schedules. Instead, we color code the student desks and teach the students that the icon means to go to their desk.

[@michellefranceslintag869]

Great help

[@theautismhelper]

Happy to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@Cartoonking8562]

Teachers and student's moms can also use the students bathrooms if they need to

[@theautismhelper]

Thanks for watching!