This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Autistic students face challenges everyday that most people never dream of. Research shows that when working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder programming should include improving social skills with both adults and peers.
The students that will be effected by this grant are high school students diagnosed with a Autism Spectrum Disorder.
These students attend a public high school and are in all general education classes. Most students are at risk students and over half receive free or reduced lunch. Over half the students are minorities and all are considered special education students. The problem is is that students with ASD do not have the social skills to function appropriately in mainstream classes. This grant will use current research to pair up non ASD students with students with ASD in order to have peer to peer teaching and modeling of proper social behaviors.
My Project
This program will teach general education students about Autism Spectrum Disorder and give specific information about students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in their building. This program will develop tolerance and acceptance within the general education population. Students with ASD will then be able to practice social skills in all settings within the building gaining competency in natural environments. I have requested clipboards for my students to use as portable desks while assisting the ASD students they are paired with. The Link students will gain empathy, responsibility, brainstorming skills, patience and acceptance. The ASD student will get better grades as well as learning appropriate social behaviors. Both groups learn to relate to people with different needs and provide opportunities for interaction between students with social or learning challenges. The PACK program is focused on students’ strengths and creating positive school-wide opportunities.
The more traditional approaches to teaching social skills by a classroom teacher have not been effective.
However, numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of peer-mediated strategies to facilitate social interactions. One suggestion is providing more time for instruction and social interaction with typically developing peers. This strategy that will likely result in both quicker skill acquisition and better maintenance of those improvements.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Moore and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
