Did you know that April is Autism Awareness Month, also known as NAAM. The first National Autism Awareness Month was declared by the Autism Society in April 1970. Autism is a complex mental condition and developmental disability, characterized by difficulties in the way a person communicates and interacts with other people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the prevalence of autism to be at 1 out of every 68 births.
Did you know that Discovery Streaming Plus has two excellent training videos for educators – ‘Autism Training Series‘
Communication (55 minutes) – Evaluates communication behaviors and functions of students in the autism spectrum and analyzes why autistic students have difficulty communicating verbally. The program names the goals of language for students and provides methods to help teach communication skills to students with autism.
Visual Support (47 minutes) – Explores the use of visual supports in classrooms with students in the autism spectrum. The program defines visual supports and discusses the use of visual boundaries, schedules, mini schedules, transitions, completion cues, and color coding.
These are excellent professional development for your staff at school. Check out this link for more information about Autism Awareness. http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/world-autism-awareness-day