Classroom Focus: Transition

In this month's Classroom Focus, we check in on our Transition Program, led by teacher Lauren M. - 

The transition class has been having a exciting summer so far!  

Our students are working hard at their job sites, keeping up with their IEP goals, and fitting in plenty of fun activities too.  We've enjoyed going to the beach to swim, relax in the sand, and play whiffle ball.  In addition to our daily strolls around the neighborhood, the class got in some exercise on a few of our cooler summer days with longer walks to the lighthouse pier, park, and Loyola University's campus.  We've also visited the Lincoln Park Zoo and are frequent customers at our favorite local stores like 7-11 and Morse Fruit Market. 

Take a peek at some of our summer fun:


 

Inch by inch, row by row ...

... we're gonna make this garden grow!

Thanks to dedicated staff and enthusiastic students who like to get their hands dirty, we have managed to keep a garden space growing here at school for several years now.


So, a few weeks ago, when we got a call from a neighbor who wanted to donate starter plants for our garden, I was thrilled!


She lives around the corner, has walked past our garden over the years, and knows it's something our students take care of throughout the summer.


Thanks to our new garden angel, we will have tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and green beans to plant - and hopefully eat by the end of summer! 

Classroom Focus: High School

This month's classroom focus is from our High School classroom, lead by Laura K. Enjoy!

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Well I don’t know about you, but here in the high school class we are so happy it’s finally Spring! It’s hard not to want to spend ALL day outside with the sun, but we certainly take advantage when we are out there!

We started to prepare our garden and undo everything that our beloved midwest winter did. Everyone is pitching in to make this the best gardening season yet. We are learning that weeds hurt the plants, but water helps them grow. First step: clear out those pesky weeds!

The high school is also expanding our cooking class to include more exciting, fun and healthy recipes. Everyone is really enjoying the class and looks forward to it each week …including the staff!

The body sock: Yes, there's someone in there!

We got a new sensory tool … a body sock! It might look pretty silly if you have never seen one, but the "body sock" is awesome. It provides a heavy work/deep pressure input that is both calming and regulating. Students are relaxed inside the resistive material as they push against it and the body sock pushes against them.

Our students love to curl up inside this thing … one at a time, of course!

A few students from each class also went to a concert at Stuart G. Ferst again this month, for their last concert of the year. They had a live band from Old Town School of Folk Music, and a great vibe. We have some amazing dancers … boogie down!

 

 

Navigating the autism blog-o-sphere

Every now and then, I use this space to share resources for parents, professionals and whoever else might pass through. This is one of those days! (So, no awesome student pictures today, but keep reading anyway, ok?)

- Paula

There are a LOT of autism blogs out there in the world. A LOT. Go ahead - google "autism blog" and see what comes up -- it's good stuff and not-so-good stuff and everything in between. My search yielded 10 pages of results. I'm not sure how anyone can process that much information, or even begin to weed through it.

Soooo ... I'm going to do it for you! Today, I'm going to introduce you to my first new favorite blog. And, I'll keep weeding through the pages, and next time I find one worth sharing, I will. Meanwhile, you send me your favorites, and I'll share them with everyone else. Deal?

Drumroll, please? If you (and I mean you - parent, teacher, sibling, innocent autism bystander) only read one blog this week/month/year, make it this one: Snagglebox (www.snagglebox.com). She's a mom of two boys with autism. She's down-to-earth, she's realistic, and she has a ton of great perspective and useful information.

Here are a few of her latest entry topics:

So, there you have it. Do you have a favorite blog or blogger? Email me or add it to the comments here. Maybe it'll even get featured in a future post!

Thanks for reading!

 

A little sunshine goes a long way!

It all started with an unexpected visitor to the front door last Tuesday afternoon. A woman named Johanna was there, telling me that she was interested in doing a service project for us, with her mom's group. She wanted to know if that sounded like something we could do. I started to collect her information, and she mentioned that her group was moms and a half-dozen toddlers. At that point, I was pretty sure my idea of service project and HER idea of service project were not quite the same.
 
We talked some more, and it turns out that their group is from the Baha'i faith (The Baha'i Children of Chicago). She explained that this was a holy week for them, devoted to celebrations of joy and service, and that they wanted to start instilling these values in their children, even from a young age. In the end, we decided that they would make some springtime decorations for us, so that we could make an awesome sunny bulletin board - because we're all a little sick of the snow 'round here!
 
Friday, two adorable four-year-olds (twins!) dropped by with their mom, and Johanna and her little one. They delivered a magical bag full of decorated bumblebees, flowers, butterflies and a giant sunshine. They were wonderfully adorable, and so excited to be able to share their creations with us.
 
We are very grateful for our newfound friends - and the sunshine they brought us this week.
 

 

OT Corner: Sensory Processing Challenges

In this week's OT Corner, PACTT Occupational Therapist Lill Tarnow brings us a childs-eye perspective on living with sensory processing difficulties:

 I can’t begin to tell you the number of continuing education classes I have taken and the number of books and articles I have read on sensory integration and sensory processing challenges. Yet there are still times I struggle to interpret what our participants may be feeling, and to come up with new strategies to try and help them. And then there is the challenge of helping staff, friends and family members understand how this works.

But every so often, I run into something that makes it all really clear and simple, at least for a little while. The YouTube video, “A Child's View of Sensory Processing” is one of these gems. I just love it, and want to share it with all of you.

- Lill 

 

 

OT Corner: Planning for winter

In this OT Corner, Lill shares resources for dealing with the tricky transition from warm weather to the layers of a winter wardrobe:

Transitions are tough, but they're even tougher for our students with autism. It seems like no sooner have they adjusted to the no-jacket, yes-sandals, beach-going summer fun, than it's time to don the boots, hats and gloves of winter.

So, what can we do to help make it just a little easier?

Make it part of the routine: So many of our students thrive on structure and routine. So, start adding things to their get-ready routine. One of our students had his very own "ready for recess" schedule, that listed everything he needed to put on that day - hat, coat, gloves, boots, scarf - weather depending, of course. He knew he had to check the schedule, and the teachers had the flexibility to add / subtract picture symbols for whatever he would need that day.

Make it fun: If I put on my hat, gloves and coat (which I'm not particularly fond of doing) for the first time this season, then get in the car and go to the doctor, it's not going to make me want to do it again. Reward the behavior with something positive, while you're teaching it - time on the swing, fun with bubbles, etc. Caution: Make sure it's something that's not SO rewarding that it'll trap you into three months of begging / meltdowns because you can't always drop everything and go to Target.

Don't give up: Remember, not everyone gets it the first time. Be sure clothes are familiar and comfortable. Set reasonable expectations - many of our students have a higher tolerance for cold than we do. That wool hat might push them into heat-overdrive ... until it's cold enough to make a difference. Try different fabrics / styles. And, in the end, we've found that when it gets cold enough, even the most intolerant student will finally keep those gloves on!

More ideas: We came across this page from The Autism File with some more great tips for helping children (and adults) with autism to adjust to Mother Nature's changes. 

If you have ideas we've missed, add them to the comments below and let us know! 

 

Extra, Extra! Read all about it!

PACTT participants are the newest members of the Loyola Phoenix newspaper delivery team! Each Wednesday, a crew of PACTT voc, transition and school participants take on the important responsibility of distributing the Loyola University student newspaper to bins across the Lake Shore Campus. Not only is it great work for our participants, but they get to hang out on a college campus - how fun is that?!?

Scenes from one of our first days:

 

 

Classroom Focus: Transition

We continue with our newest addition to the Blog: Classroom Focus. Each month, one of our teachers will share a behind-the-scenes peek into the life of our classes. This month: Our Transition classroom, led by teacher Lauren M:

We haven’t wasted any time getting back into the swing of things at Transition this year. We have been hard at work putting our vocational skills to good use in our community work sites. We have been working on collating, stapling, hole punching, photo copying and laminating, as well as stocking products, wiping tables and chairs, sweeping and recycling, just to name a few. While there is always endless work to be done at Transition, ALL of our students have paid or volunteer jobs in the community. Some students help set up at a restaurant every morning, and a few students help out at a local nursing home, while others help an office run at optimal levels with an always freshly stocked fridge, watered plants, clean windows and shredded papers. There is also an area thrift store that relies on our students’ help with folding clothes and organizing their inventory of shoes and books. 

Aside from all the vocational work we do at Transition there is always time for lessons! Every week we read a different lesson about the rights we are all entitled to, such as the right to medical care, the right to send and receive mail, the right to vote, the right to freedom of speech and the right to privacy. After reading each lesson, the students answer questions based on their understanding of what we are learning, if they want to learn more about the subject and if they practice this right in their lives. 

We also have weekly lessons in cooking (cupcakes for Halloween!!), art and making purchases in the community. The students really enjoy picking a location, usually Family Dollar or 7-11, and walking to make a purchase as independently as they can, from choosing a snack that is within their budget to paying the cashier.

All of the students at Transition have scheduled time in our workstations room, where they master independent tasks and build upon previously learned tasks. This has been instrumental in having the students work by themselves at their own pace without verbal redirection from a teacher. Watching the independence shown by every student is exciting!!

Before you start thinking Transition is all work and no fun, we always have weekly Friday outings. So far this year we have visited the Garfield Park Conservatory, Goebberts Farm, and Loyola University as well as many parks and libraries! We look forward to our community outings where we can practice our skills and independence. 

We’re excited to see what the rest of this year will bring to Transition!

Thank you, Transition Team! Next month, we'll hear from our Jr. High class.