When our teacher from our Specialized Learning and Behavior Center (SLBC) classroom, who teaches 9 students who currently live with an Autism diagnosis, came to me with ideas on growing Autism Awareness at our school — I was so excited and eager to jump onboard this opportunity!
We sent the letter below home with all students:
Next, we ordered a great picture book, My Friend with Autism, by Beverly Bishop. for every two classrooms to share and read aloud to students. This book also included a CD with coloring pages. We also provided classroom teachers with The Autism Helper‘s Autism Awareness Unit. Each grade level was assigned a color and teachers were provide with blank cardboard puzzle pieces. Students participated in decorating the puzzle pieces, which became part of our school’s autism awareness tree.
Our PreK classrooms read the Sesame Street digital storybook “We’re Amazing, 1,2,3!” which features Elmo, Abby and their friend Julia, who has Autism. There are many great resources on Sesame Street’s website, which can be found here.
Each Friday, students in our school community wear blue as our school goes BLUE for AUTISM!
I was so proud of the lead teacher who came to me with this idea and knew we had to show our appreciation for the dedication she, and all of the paraprofessionals in our SLBC classroom exhibit daily as they support, love and advocate for their students. These teachers are true superheroes who are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their students make progress, feel safe and comfortable at school, and find ways for the children to demonstrate their brilliance, while celebrating every success and milestone! Their patience, love and perseverance MUST be honored and appreciated…..
We purchased white shadow-box frames from Michaels and decided to get crafty —
The National Autism Association has amazing photos on their Facebook page and it was my goal to find a unique image/quote for each staff member. I ordered a puzzle piece Fiscars Squeeze Punch, and used paint swatch samples from the hardware store to punch out puzzle pieces in various shades of blue as accents to the quotes. The final products turned out amazing & it was just a small token of our appreciation for all that our staff does!
What is your school community doing to participate in Autism Awareness month?
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