Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Help children with SEN and autism to have a good first impression of your school and it can make all the difference to their entire school experience.
Regular Teach Early Years contributor and SEN expert Adele Devine shares her top tips for making the school environment as welcoming and inclusive as possible for children with SEN and autism. This book covers essential topics such as working with parents, supporting transitions between home and school, helping children with sensory issues to cope in a stimulating classroom, teaching waiting and patience skills, using visual teaching methods, understanding behaviour, promoting independence and much more. Case studies and practical examples show you exactly how a truly inclusive classroom can be achieved, by demonstrating how a range of situations are experienced from the child's perspective. Designed to be perfect for dipping into and referring back to as problems arise, this book is a fantastic resource for busy educators.
Supporting the development of children with special educational needs may seem a daunting proposition, but Adele illustrates how simple changes to practice and attitude can transform any classroom into a welcoming and nurturing place for all. Always engaging, this book is essential reading for every inclusive teacher.
Jacob Stow, Editor, Teach Early Years magazine
Written with warmth and care, and showing how young children with special needs can feel comfortable. I highly recommend any Early Years Teacher to read this book. It has prompted me as a mainstream Early Years Teacher to ensure that all children in my setting can have a "Flying Start".
Lesley Bailey, Heatherside Preschool Supervisor & SENCO
Adele Devine is a Special Needs teacher at a school for young people with severe learning difficulties and autism. She has over a decade of experience teaching children on the autism spectrum and worked as an ABA home tutor before qualifying as a teacher in 2004. Adele has a regular two-page feature in Teach Early Years magazine and shares her knowledge of special education needs through 'A Special Blog' (www.senassist.com/blog). In 2010, she co-founded the multi-award winning SEN Assist autism software with her husband. They have three children and live in Surrey, UK.
Flying Starts for Unique Children focuses on ways to facilitate a supportive transition to school for early learners with special educational needs. It provides information on ways to set children up for a positive school experience from the outset. It is full of practical tips and strategies for schools, useful information and personal narratives. The book is written from a strong place of inclusion and respect for children and their parents.
Jeanette Purkis, autism self-advocate, public speaker, government official and author of three books including The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flying Starts for Unique Children by Adele Devine | 3 | ||
| Acknowledgements | 6 | ||
| An Introduction - Once Upon a Time… | 11 | ||
| 1. First Impressions - The Difference First Impressions Can Make to a Child’s School Experience | 17 | ||
| 2. Keeping Mum - Supporting, Listening to and \nLearning from Parents | 26 | ||
| 3. Good Communication Can Save You Time - Communication Boards, Books, Tick Lists, Emails, Phone Calls and More | 38 | ||
| 4. Unlocking that Special Child - Observing, Investigating \nand Getting Creative | 45 | ||
| 5. Colour Coded Symbols | 53 | ||
| 6. Show Them the Way - Using Visuals – \nPractical Ideas and Examples | 61 | ||
| 7. What's Next? Seeing from All Angles – Understanding the Reasons Behind Behaviours | 68 | ||
| 8. Be A Supermodel! Teaching Children Through Using Staff and Other Children as Positive Role Models | 76 | ||
| 9. Toilet Training | 84 | ||
| 10. Flower Power Seeing Through a Child’s Eyes and Finding Roots | 95 | ||
| 11. If You’re Good… - A Positive Approach to Behaviour \nand Using Rewards | 102 | ||
| 12. I Can’t Wait! - Teaching Waiting Skills | 108 | ||
| 13. Choice Time - Helping Children Who Find It \nDifficult to Make Choices | 116 | ||
| 14. Good Sitting - Supporting the Child \nWho Cannot Sit Still | 122 | ||
| 15. Against the Clock - How Using Timers Can Enable a Special Child to Stay on Track | 131 | ||
| 16. The Relationship with Technology - How to Use that Love of Technology | 139 | ||
| 17. Volume Control - Ways to Help the Sound Sensitive Child Survive and Thrive at School | 144 | ||
| 18. Space Invaders - Increasing Awareness \nof Personal Space | 154 | ||
| 19. The Sixth Sense (Proprioception) - Is that Bouncy Child Still Learning Where Their Body is in Space? | 161 | ||
| 20. The Child who Chews - Strategies for the Child who \nChews Toys or Clothes | 172 | ||
| 21. When Clothes Hurt - Helping Children with Sensitivity \nto Clothes and Shoes | 179 | ||
| 22. Personal Care Scares - Supporting the Child with Anxieties about Hair Washing, Hair Cuts and Brushing Teeth | 185 | ||
| 23. Food Phobia! - Children Who Refuse to Eat or Have Extremely Limited Diets | 195 | ||
| 24. Recipes for Success - Cooking with Children with SEN | 201 | ||
| 25. Eating Out - Taking Children with SEN\n to Restaurants | 208 | ||
| 26. Retail Therapy - Taking Children with \nSEN to Real Shops | 214 | ||
| 27. Pet Therapy - How Animals Can Encourage Interaction, Communication and Calm | 221 | ||
| 28. Dealing with Different Days - Strategies and Supports for Halloween, Dress-Up days, Sports Days, Fireworks Night and Other Events | 229 | ||
| 29. Planning for Christmas - Why Christmas Causes Anxieties \nand Ways to Help | 238 | ||
| 30. The Christmas Play - Helping that Special Child Shine | 244 | ||
| 31. Present Danger! - Teaching Children to Handle \nGift Giving Times | 251 | ||
| 32. A Change of Setting - Transition Tips for Your Special Children, Inspired by the Experiences of a Rescue Cat… | 258 | ||
| 33. Reasons to be Hopeful - Changing Our Attitudes and Language Can Change Outcomes | 267 | ||
| 34. Extending Learning - Extra Information on Attention Autism, Intensive Interaction, Makaton™, Social Stories™, PECS® and TEACCH | 273 | ||
| 25. Happily Ever After | 292 | ||
| References | 299 | ||
| Useful Websites | 303 | ||
| Index | 304 |