My thoughts on….Light Panels.
Over the past 2 months I have been having the best fun working with Ease Education trialling their A3 light panel with the children in my classroom and I am… Read more My thoughts on….Light Panels. →
To whom it may concern
To whom it may concern, My name is Lisa ___ and I am an ASD Class Teacher in a mainstream school setting. The reality of our country’s circumstances and fight against this killer disease is being portrayed very well across all news channels. The Taoiseach himself today spoke out to say “The personal decisions that each and every one of us make over the coming month will directly affect how many more people get sick and how many more people will die. It is as stark and as simple as… Read more To whom it may concern →
The Power of a Picture Book
I have and always will be a lover of books; books of any kind but I have a particular affinity for picture books. They open the door to a world of imagination, curiosity and adventure and give children the viusals they need to escape to far away lands. What more could you ask for? I use picture books in my classroom with all age groups. I have 1st to 6th in my ASD class but have taught almost every age level in mainstream and SET also and have always used… Read more The Power of a Picture Book →
How to…support a child with a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile.
When I worked in the UK, PDA or Pathological Demand Avoidance seemed to have been more widely recognised and known about by professionals and parents. As time goes on, it seems to be getting more recognition here in Ireland but is still relatively unknown by many parents and educators. For those of you who may have never heard of it, or are relatively new to the term PDA, it is considered to be a profile associated with Autism therefore it is not a stand-alone morbidity but is intrinsically linked to… Read more How to…support a child with a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile. →
How to support a child who is refusing to come to school.
Refusing to come to school can be a very common occurrence with many of our children and is something that I am asked for support on quite frequently in my Q&A sessions on Instagram. There are many factors that can influence or lead to an increase in refusals. For many children, the physical task of coming to school can be incredibly stressful and anxiety inducing. Even with having strict routines and schedules in place, for some children there will still be a real sense of the unknown associated with coming… Read more How to support a child who is refusing to come to school. →
My ‘HOW TO…’ series: First/Then boards and token economy system combined.
Hi all, it’s been a while since I posted on here and I aim to get back into the swing of posting more regularly. I popped a question box up on my Instagram page last week asking what you would like to see more of and I am going to use some of these suggestions to do a ‘HOW TO’ series talking through how I do deal with different topics in my own classroom. As I alsways say, I am no expert but happy to share my own thoughts and… Read more My ‘HOW TO…’ series: First/Then boards and token economy system combined. →
My guide to setting up an ASD Classroom
Hi all, I hope you are all well and have enjoyed the Summer break. I’m certainly glad to be getting back into a routine but as usual am up to… Read more My guide to setting up an ASD Classroom →
Organising and using children’s professional reports.
Organising the children’s individual reports and paperwork was one of the first jobs that I did when I moved into my own ASD class. Prior to being offered my position,… Read more Organising and using children’s professional reports. →
Taking time to get to know and support your kids.
When starting to set up your own classroom there are so my things that you need to consider and it can be very overwhelming at times, especially if you, like myself, was or are learning on the job. The most important thing you can do in your class, just as, if not even more important than getting to know parents and building relationships as I discussed in my previous post, is building relationships with your children, getting to know their individual likes, dislikes, habits, behaviours, needs, wants, interests, mannerisms, etc.… Read more Taking time to get to know and support your kids. →
The importance of building relationships with your parents.
Why build a relationship with parents? Your children’s parents are quite simply one of, if not the best resource you will have as a teacher in an ASD class! They are your children’s primary caregivers and educators and will know everything there is to know about their child. We need to build good relationships with them. My aim is always to make my parents feel comfortable enough to share information with me and confident in my ability to support, care for and educate their child. Please believe me when I… Read more The importance of building relationships with your parents. →
Starting in your ASD class: A look at some of the supports and courses available to help guide you on your journey.
Welcome back! I hope you are all enjoying the Summer holidays! As much as this is a time to relax and take a break, I am also aware that there are a lot of stressed and worried teachers out there preparing to set up or take over their own ASD classes. I get so many requests for advice about setting up and organising an ASD class, in addition to supporting children within these classes, that I have decided to dedicate my next few blog posts to these exact topics. I… Read more Starting in your ASD class: A look at some of the supports and courses available to help guide you on your journey. →
All about me!
Hi to all reading this. To start with I guess I should introduce myself and let you know a little bit about me. So here goes! My name is Lisa and I am an Irish Primary School Teacher. I am in my ninth year of teaching and love it as much now, as I did on my first day. I took a slightly longer route into the teaching profession, completing my Arts degree in French and English in UCD followed by a PGCE in the UK. I moved to the… Read more All about me! →