The Autism Helper Podcast

The skill of making a decision is an important one. It teaches autonomy, leads to more independence, and helps give control. Special Education Teacher and BCBA, Laura Verzi-Aleszczyk, shares how she uses choices with her students and clients. Laura discusses why giving frequent choices are helpful especially during non-preferred activities. Laura gives the prerequisites for this strategies and ton...

Consequences have a bad reputation when really they don’t have to be bad. Consequences follow all of our behaviors, can be positive or negative, and can be planned or unplanned. In this Mini ABA Episode, BCBA Hilary McClinton shares what consequences are and why it’s important to be able to identify consequences within the environment. LINKS http://www.coastalridgeaba.ca/ Click here to find out mo...

All behaviors happen for a reason. In today’s episode, we will be diving into the potential reasons why behavior could be happening. BCBA, Jessica Zielske, shares the 4 functions of behavior and why it’s especially important to figure out why behaviors are happening when we are looking for behavior change. LINKS Learn more from Jessica at www.theblondebehavioranalyst.com and on instagram @theblond...

The Premack Principle is something you probably use on a daily basis and didn’t even realize it. In this episode, we breakdown what the Premack Principle is, how to use it effectively, and how to get your teams on board. Former special education teacher and BCBA, Stacey Francesconi, goes in-depth into “grandma’s rule” and how this even applies to our own lives. Stacey is also the co-host of the po...

Let’s start off our Mini ABA Episode Series with one of the best foundational topics - data collection. BCBA and ABADesk co-founder, Jane Logvinova, shares a great overview of what data collection is and why we collect data. Jane points out how data can be taken in simple & easy to utilize ways. Jane reviews data collection best practices, how to use operational definitions, and what to do wit...

Executive Functioning skills are sets of processes to achieve a goal. Executive functioning skills involve organization, planning, and time management. Remote learning can be especially challenging for learners with executive functioning weakness. Erin Vollmer MS, CCC-SLP shares 6 strategies to help our students during virtual learning. Erin is a licensed and certified pediatric speech language pa...

Virtual learning brings new challenges for everyone. Changes to our schedules, less structure, and the new expectations that online instruction brings can sometimes lead to increased anxiety with learners with autism. In this episode, Dr. Eric Storch shares helpful strategies for how both parents and teachers can help students cope with anxiety during this time. Dr. Storch is a Professor and McIng...

It can be a challenge to incorporate the important components of our in-person instruction into virtual learning. High school teacher and teacher coach, Leanne Abushar, shares how she uses video modeling and video streaming to work on life skills with her high school students virtually. Leanne shares the importance of the home school connection, gives tips for collaborating with parents, and revie...

Special education teacher, Kelsey Jansson, shares how she incorporates reinforcement into her virtual classroom. Reinforcement is essential to build new skills and as Kelsey points out, virtual learning involves a lot of new skills for our learners. Reinforcement is more important than ever! Kelsey utilizes virtual choice boards, virtual token boards, and mini schedules to embed reinforcement into...

Distance learning brings a new level of challenges for all of our students. Katie McKenna, MS OTR/L, shares 5 sensory friendly trips for distance learning that will be helpful for both teachers and parents. 5 Sensory Friendly Tips for Distance Learning: 1. Give frequent breaks. 2. Make sensory tools available. 3. Utilize heavy work. 4. Reduce visual clutter on the screen. 5. Consider auditory need...

As we move towards the school year, one skill that may be rusty is your communication skills. Effectively communicating with your team is essential for working collaboratively and being effective as a leader. In this episode I share some strategies I learned from Michael Hyatt's Podcast: Lead to Win on communication breakdowns. Most communication breakdowns come as a result of vague or clear c...

The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership provides access to ongoing training, digital resources, and community. Now more than ever, special educators need each other! The membership is now open for enrollment from 9/9/2020 - 9/15-2020. Let's tackle the challenges of this year together.  In this episode, I share how the membership provided value during the initial COVID shutdown, h...

Your goal is simple. But it may not be easy. Be a chocolate chip cookie. Be so amazing and delicious that your students can't help but want to be around you and be in your classroom. In this episode, I explain the importance of pairing and establishing yourself and your classroom as reinforcer. This sets the stage for success for the entire school year. Learn not only why this is important to...

This back to school season will be unlike any other. Whether you are doing distance learning, in-person, or a hybrid model there will be new challenges and obstacles to overcome. In this episode, I'm sharing 5 tips for going back to school. I'm also sharing specific strategies and action items that you can implement in your virtual or in-person classroom right away. Teachers and profession...

On this podcast, my blog, my social media, and during my live professional development sessions, I find myself unable to stop talking about schedules. They are just so important and essential to all students. In this episode learn how schedules are functional, increase independence, and decrease negative behaviors. Creating and using schedules isn't always so straightforward. Learn how to teac...

Conducting a thorough functional behavior assessment is critical for a successful behavior plan and causing real, positive behavior change. In this episode, school based BCBA, Abbey Mix, shares the rubric she and her team created to guide the creation of an FBA. Abbey talks through how her team uses this rubric and how both teams and individual teachers can utilize this tool to create FBAs that ar...

There are a few questions I get asked a lot that don't have a quick answer for. One of these questions is "How did you get this job? How can I become a consultant or trainer too?" I previously haven't had a good way to answer this question. So in the episode, I'm sharing my whole story. I can’t necessarily tell you how to become a consultant too but I can share the story of my...

On this episode, Sasha answers listener questions on a range of topics from behavior management to collaborating with parents. Send in your questions to get answered on The Autism Helper Podcast! Questions answered in this episode: What are your biggest tips for new teachers? What are some must haves for a new classroom? What are some tips to stay organized and manage your time? What is your most...

The transition to adulthood can be scary or overwhelming for our families and even more so for families of students with special needs. There is a lot to consider and a lot of unknown. In this episode, parent and advocate, Malinda Dalton Cook, shares her experiences with the transition process. Malinda created a group called Autism Masterminds to bring together parents who are facing the same jour...

Inferencing is an essential skill that impacts academic, functional, and social skills. Many children struggle with 'reading between the lines' and comprehending things that aren't explicitly said. Speech Language Pathologist Hallie Sherman shares some easy to implement activities to teach this important concept. Hallie gives ideas for working on this skill even at the most basic level...

Enrollment is open for Behavior Change: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Online learning course until May 31, 2020. This is the LAST time this course will be available this school year. In this episode, I share the background of why I created an online course. It was important for me to set it up in a way that was easy to access, manageable, and could easily fit into any teacher's busy schedule...

Writing a good IEP goal is the first step to planning and creating academic progress, data systems, and overall growth. Good IEP goals can also help you avoid a due process case and create more positive relationships with families. In this episode, Vickie Brett and Amanda Selogie share their expertise as special education attorneys. Vickie and Amanda founded the inclusive Education Project, a lega...

Through her experience as a classroom teacher, Robin Fox developed a curriculum based around improv activities. Robin shares how these improv games can teach mindfulness, cognitive awareness, and social skills in an inviting and engaging way. Robin shares how to get started using improv, which concepts you can build on, and how to differentiate for a wide range of learners. This can be a fun and b...

Julie Hornok is a mom to a daughter with autism and founder of United in Autism. United in Autism is a non-profit that builds community for special needs parents.  As a parent and an advocate, Julie has valuable insight into how educators and providers can best connect and build relationships with parents. She shares tips and strategies based on her own experiences. We also discussed school closin...

In this episode, Dr. Peter Vierno shares important information and action steps regarding the transition to adulthood. Peter discusses how to start building towards the transition process at early childhood, elementary, and high school by both teachers and parents. He explains legal guardianship, the implications transition choices may have, and how to best review these options as a team. We cover...