6/14/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Katherine Mortensen
|
ileana reich wrote:
Hi, I agree with the way you handled this situation" "Tiffany Demps wrote:
I have a student in my theatre class that is on the autism spectrum. She struggles with social interactions and is extremely fixated on her specific likes and interests. This can make group projects very difficult. It can also be difficult to keep her engaged if she is not interested in the current topic, which can lead to behaviors that are very distracting to the class. One way that I successfully accomodated for this student is to use one of her favorite TV shows as a source for monologues and group acting scenes. Because of her extreme interest in the characters and plot, she was engaged and focused, eagerly learning lines, talking about characterization, even going as far as to create a costume for the project. ". I had a student two years in a row in a regular Ed class who was autistic. Social interaction was an issue. I am happy to note that by the end of the second year, he took a try at leading a Socratic seminar. He volunteered! My hope is that students and teachers continue to think out of the box to get learning goals met, but also to provide a safe environment where they may want to step out and do things they have never done before.
Ileana Reich |
6/14/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Katherine Mortensen
|
I consulted with one of my teachers who was having a similar experience with her autistic student in her theater class. This students struggled working in groups and at times would get angry if team members did not support or agree with his idea or input. We implemented a cool down zone in the classroom for him to move to when he felt anger coming on, it was an area of the room that he chose. Having the safe space for him to decompress, allowed him to gather his thoughts and re-join the group and continue working with his team. |
6/14/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Katherine Mortensen
|
As a school counselor one of my many roles is to advocate for students with special needs and disabilities and work with students families and teachers to promote their academic achievement. In developing and updating 504 plans for example, as a team we discuss accommodations to support their learning. I have many students with ADD/ADHD and one particular accommodation we’ve found to be helpful is allowing student to wear noise cancelling headphones when working independently. This aids the student in staying on task. |
6/15/2023
Topic:
Tools And Strategies
Katherine Mortensen
|
As a school counselor, two of the strategies that I have used are grouping practices and graphic organizers. Most recently I used grouping practices - cooperative learning and peer partners with a college application bootcamp breakout lesson on the college application. I did some scaffolding on how to fill out the common application, had rising seniors working in groups of 2 - 4 cooperative learning - on the application, and had some graduating seniors helping rising seniors with their application. Graphic organizers are great tools for help with writing the college essay. |
6/15/2023
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Katherine Mortensen
|
I have a visual arts student with anxiety who is mute. When I meet with her (I am a school counselor) she uses a composition book I gave her that she keeps in my office to communicate with me. She also has her own special stress ball that she keeps in my office that she uses when she is experiencing high anxiety to help her decompress when needed. |