Creating Systemic Change to Support Social Emotional Engagement - PDF document

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH Incidence of Autism Creating Systemic Change to Support Social Emotional Engagement  Current (2010): 1 in 68 • ~60% increase from 2006 • ~120% increase from 2002  2008: 1 in 88  2006: 1 in 110  2004: 1 in 125  2002: 1 in 150 Jennifer M. Ro, MA, CCC-SLP Educational Outreach Specialist  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html Marcus Autism Center 4 th Annual Summer Symposium on Autism Spectrum Disorders July 14, 2015 Core Challenges of Students with Autism Symptoms Exhibited  Noncooperation  Difficulty attending to social stimuli  Inflexibility  Stereotyped and Repetitive behaviors or motor movements  Difficulty initiating/seeking out social stimuli (coping strategies)  Rigidity, including narrow interests and activities  Difficulty anticipating/predicting the intentions of social stimuli  Education Costs: • $8,600 extra per year to educate a student with autism.  Difficulty acquiring language about social stimuli (Lavelle et al., 2014) • Average cost of educating a student is about $12,000.  Difficulty maintaining social relationships through use of (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014) appropriate social conventions http://www.autism-society.org/what-is/facts-and-statistics/ Meeting these Challenges: A Universal Approach Today’s Discussion Challenges in the Schools  Educational Outreach Program, Marcus Autism Center  Financial Resources • Overview and Goals  Personnel and Staffing Resources • Training  Neuroscience of Autism • Maintaining Staffing Capacity • Characteristics Highlighted  Time Challenges of School-Based Staff  Social Emotional Engagement – Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS) • EOP Staff Development Program • To meet the wide variety of needs in the classroom throughout the school day • Universal Design for Learning Framework • To collaborate with related service providers • Relevance for all developmental levels, all ages, and all classrooms

Educational Outreach Program in Georgia’s Public Schools Educational Outreach Program  Goals …  Purpose … • Enhancing the provision of educational programming for all • Dedicated to the provision of community viable models students through a universal design for learning framework of professional development that enhance the on-site that is aligned with normative social and emotional capacity of each school system served, resulting in guidelines. better outcomes for students and our school systems. • Building capacity within a school district at 2 levels to maintain systematic methods for in-service training, • Focused on disseminating the most current social coaching, and peer-to-peer mentorship neuroscience related to students with autism spectrum  District-Wide Level disorders.  School-Based Level What is Universal Design for Learning? What is Social and Emotional Learning? A Universal Design for Learning (UDL)  SEL is a process for helping children and adults develop the fundamental skills for coping with the demands of everyday Stimulate life, soothing when distressed, alerting oneself when “under interest and the carpet” and identifying and reflecting on strategies to motivation for manage future challenges. learning Differentiate Present the ways that information students can and content in  SEL teaches the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our express what different ways they know relationships, and our work, effectively and ethically UDL www.casel.org/basics/definition/php www.cast.org A Universal Design The SEE-KS Program for Social Emotional Learning Social Emotional Engagement – Knowledge & Skills  District-Wide Training on the Neuroscience of Autism  Creating an equitable learning environment that offers successful outcomes for every student can be facilitated  Identifying and establishing District-Wide and School- by understanding why children may or may not be Based Teams compelled to actively engage in the classroom.  Series of in-service trainings and site visits by Marcus EOP staff  Research in the neuroscience of social emotional • Social and Emotional Developmental Norms • UDL Supports that Benefit All Students engagement fosters our ability to create a universal • Coaching Techniques design for learning. • Peer-to-Peer Mentorship • Data Collection to Measure Progress

The Neuroscience of Autism and Core Challenges of Students with Autism Social Emotional Engagement  Difficulty attending to social stimuli  Why is knowledge of the neuroscience important?  Difficulty initiating/seeking out social stimuli • All students arrive to the classroom at different levels of social emotional engagement and emotional regulation.  Difficulty anticipating/predicting the intentions of social stimuli • These levels can often fluctuate due to a variety of factors for different students at different times.  Difficulty acquiring language about social stimuli • Low levels of engagement and difficulties with remaining emotionally regulated impact academic learning and overall  Difficulty maintaining social relationships through use of classroom performance. appropriate social conventions The Neuroscience of Autism and The Neuroscience of Autism and Social Emotional Engagement Social Emotional Engagement  Why … cont?  Neurotypical Children … • Knowledge in the areas of social emotional engagement and • Infants are innately “wired to look at the eyes.” emotional regulation … • Social stimuli of looking at faces causes the limbic 1. Fosters our ability to create a Universal Design for Learning that is relevant for all students in a classroom system to “light up” with endorphins. 2. Allows us to select priorities for educational programming • This rewards infants telling them that social stimuli is pleasurable and … want more of it. The Neuroscience of Autism and The Neuroscience of Autism and Social Emotional Engagement Social Emotional Engagement  Neurological Differences in Children with ASD  Neurotypical Children … cont. • Research: fMRI studies  Social stimuli processed in different part of the brain • Stages of Social Development:  Limited neural sensitivity to social stimuli  Social Orienting • I mplications of neurological differences …  Seeking-Liking  Connections in the brain fail to form in regards to social stimuli, interactions, and finding people interesting.  Social Maintaining  The focus and connections on objects strengthen.  There is a potential impact of environment factors as a result.

The Neuroscience of Autism and The SEE-KS Program Social Emotional Engagement Infrastructure for Capacity and Sustainability  Overview with Administrators  Building Capacity ASD is not a disorder of problem- behaviors … • Facilitating Sustainability the problem-behaviors arise when their learning differences are not accommodated.  Establishment of Core Teams at 2 levels 1. District-Wide Team 2. School-Based Teams at Focus Sites The SEE-KS Program The SEE-KS Program District-Wide Implementation District-Wide Implementation  Series of in-service trainings and site visits by Marcus  Key Characteristics at each School (or Focus Site) EOP and GADoE staff targeting: • Student Characteristics • Social and Emotional Developmental Norms  Communication Stage • UDL Supports that Benefit All Students  Special Interests and Motivations • Coaching Techniques • Peer-to-Peer Mentorship • Individual Classroom/Teacher Characteristics • SEE-KS Data and Progress  Schedules or Routines that are Predictable  Coaching sessions  Socially Engaging Activities • Web-based (conducted via video collection by Marcus EOP)  Visual Supports to foster ability to emotionally self- • Site-based (conducted by Marcus EOP and/or GADoE staff) regulate and to facilitate independence Emotional Regulation 3 Stages of Communication Its Impact on Social Engagement Most Important Factor …  Communication Stage of the Student  A child's ability and availability for engagement and • Identifies the priorities appropriate for the student’s level of communication and learning are greatly impacted by development • Identifies the appropriate supports that must be in place for their ability to stay well-regulated emotionally and with their overall arousal state. appropriate social engagement to facilitate learning. 1. Before Words 2. Emerging Language 3. Conversational