Communication in the Classroom

Regional Autism Advisory Council of

Southwest Ohio (RAAC-SWO)

RAAC Training Committee 2011

The Basics of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Training Series

Training Series ModulesModule One: Autism Defined, Autism

Prevalence and Primary Characteristics

Module Two: Physical Characteristics of Autism

Module Three: Cognition and Learning in Autism

Module Four: Getting the Student Ready to Learn

Module Five: Structuring the Classroom Environment

Module Six: Using Reinforcement in the Classroom

Training Series Modules

Module Seven: Autism and Sensory Differences

Module Eight: Sensory in the Classroom

Module Nine: Communication and Autism

Module Ten: Communication in the Classroom

Module Eleven: Behavior Challenges and Autism

Module Twelve: Understanding Behavior in Students with Autism

Training Series ModulesModule Thirteen: Social Skills in the School

Environment

Module Fourteen: Functional Behavior Assessment

Module Fifteen: Working Together as a Team

Module Sixteen: Autism and Leisure Skills to Teach

Module Seventeen: Special Issues of Adolescence

Module Eighteen: Safety and Autism

Module Nineteen: Special Issues: High School, Transition, and Job Readiness

Training Series ModulesModule Twenty: Asperger Syndrome: Managing

and Organizing the Environment

Module Twenty-One: Asperger Syndrome: Addressing Social Skills

Big Idea

The communication skills of students with Autism can

vary from student to student.

Communication and Autism

Some students may be non-verbal and need a different way to communication such as through pictures or written words.

Some students are verbal but they do not know how to use their words to express themselves and they too need a way to help them such as pictures or written words.

Big Idea

Communication systems should be utilized ALL the

time in EVERY environment.

Communication Systems in the Classroom

Communication systems can be any of the following:

A picture book with several pictures organized by categories.

A picture board that has a set group of pictures created for a specific activity (i.e. a picture board with food on it for snack time).

A voice output device which is a device that when the student presses a button with a picture/word on it, the device ‘speaks’ the label.

Single pictures or written wordsTechnology and AT

Examples of Communication Systems

Picture Communication BookStudents use the pictures to communicate a

desired object or activity, to comment on something they may see, to ask questions, to answer questions, or to interact with peers.

Examples of Communication Systems

A picture board that has a set group of pictures created for a specific activity (i.e. a picture board with food on it for snack time).

Examples of Communication Systems

Single pictures or written words

Examples of Communication Systems

Voice Output Device-the student will push a picture on a device and the device will say the name of the picture

Technology and AT

When to Use Communication Systems

The student should be the one that carries the communication system.

The student should be taught how to independently use the communication system.

They should not be put on a shelf and utilized only during certain times of the day

Big Idea

A student should always have a way to communicate what they are thinking.