Re: should teachers be required to have autism training?

[Guest guest]

That is a problem, of course. There are SO MANY conflicting types of

training and information, there is really never going to be a good

" autism training " that fits into continuing education for teachers.

Even a full semester class wouldn't do it.

I know it's a constant problem for people working in any autism

related field...you think you know something, and then you meet a kid

who blows all your previous ideas and plans out of the water. I always

tell people I never had a clear idea of " what autism is " until I had

worked with over 100 different kids, because each and every one is so

different. Even now, when I think I know what I'm doing most of the

time, I come across kids who just amaze me And I have a lot of

coworkers (who have not been doing this for as long usually) who have

never worked with a girl with autism, or a highly verbal kid with

autism, or a kid who doesn't have tantrums or " attention seeking "

behaviors....so it knocks them for a loop when they finally get one.

One of my favorite kids, back when I was still a one on one tutor,

taught me about how much information an autistic kid can gather when

you think they're just sitting in a corner stimming. We were having a

team meeting, reviewing progress and troubleshooting problems. So I'm

telling my supervisor about 2 programs, one that was going GREAT and

one that was just a disaster. Well, this little boy was sitting off

behind me, acting like he was just playing with one of his fidget

toys, but really, listening to every single word. I call him to show

my supervisor his progress on the good lesson, and this little wise

guy just sits there looking at me like he'd never seen the stuff

before in his life. So we go on to the one he'd been having so much

trouble with, and he flew through it like he had been doing it for

years! And he sat there with this expression like, " I'll teach you to

talk about me when I'm sitting right there! " I've had a lot of little

eavesdroppers since that day, but now I know to watch what I say

But you're absolutely right, at the time, I assumed (as did everyone

else who was working with that child) that he didn't/couldn't know

what I was talking about, since he was off " in his own world. "

Amnesty

> >

> > I just got a call, I'm going to be interviewed tomorrow for the local

> > news about whether or not teachers should be required to have " autism

> > training " before they can teach. She asked me my thoughts, I told her

> > I was torn.

> >

> > In my county of my state a teacher starting out gets paid ~$29,000/yr.

> > I think a master's level is $32,000/yr starting out. I feel that

> > teachers in my area are trained out the wazzoo with no financial

> > reward/compensation and that I do not feel they need more requirements

> > piled on top of them, and that teaching students with autism is really

> > more about attitude. That said, I do see the benefit in required

> > training because there are too many teachers/administration not

> > ensuring the teachers get what they need.

> >

> > Just curious what you all think. I sorta dread it, I'm too busy for

> > this, but I feel I can give a good perspective from both angles

> > regarding the issue.

> >

> > Debi

> >

>

[Guest guest]

That is a problem, of course. There are SO MANY conflicting types of

training and information, there is really never going to be a good

" autism training " that fits into continuing education for teachers.

Even a full semester class wouldn't do it.

I know it's a constant problem for people working in any autism

related field...you think you know something, and then you meet a kid

who blows all your previous ideas and plans out of the water. I always

tell people I never had a clear idea of " what autism is " until I had

worked with over 100 different kids, because each and every one is so

different. Even now, when I think I know what I'm doing most of the

time, I come across kids who just amaze me And I have a lot of

coworkers (who have not been doing this for as long usually) who have

never worked with a girl with autism, or a highly verbal kid with

autism, or a kid who doesn't have tantrums or " attention seeking "

behaviors....so it knocks them for a loop when they finally get one.

One of my favorite kids, back when I was still a one on one tutor,

taught me about how much information an autistic kid can gather when

you think they're just sitting in a corner stimming. We were having a

team meeting, reviewing progress and troubleshooting problems. So I'm

telling my supervisor about 2 programs, one that was going GREAT and

one that was just a disaster. Well, this little boy was sitting off

behind me, acting like he was just playing with one of his fidget

toys, but really, listening to every single word. I call him to show

my supervisor his progress on the good lesson, and this little wise

guy just sits there looking at me like he'd never seen the stuff

before in his life. So we go on to the one he'd been having so much

trouble with, and he flew through it like he had been doing it for

years! And he sat there with this expression like, " I'll teach you to

talk about me when I'm sitting right there! " I've had a lot of little

eavesdroppers since that day, but now I know to watch what I say

But you're absolutely right, at the time, I assumed (as did everyone

else who was working with that child) that he didn't/couldn't know

what I was talking about, since he was off " in his own world. "

Amnesty

> >

> > I just got a call, I'm going to be interviewed tomorrow for the local

> > news about whether or not teachers should be required to have " autism

> > training " before they can teach. She asked me my thoughts, I told her

> > I was torn.

> >

> > In my county of my state a teacher starting out gets paid ~$29,000/yr.

> > I think a master's level is $32,000/yr starting out. I feel that

> > teachers in my area are trained out the wazzoo with no financial

> > reward/compensation and that I do not feel they need more requirements

> > piled on top of them, and that teaching students with autism is really

> > more about attitude. That said, I do see the benefit in required

> > training because there are too many teachers/administration not

> > ensuring the teachers get what they need.

> >

> > Just curious what you all think. I sorta dread it, I'm too busy for

> > this, but I feel I can give a good perspective from both angles

> > regarding the issue.

> >

> > Debi

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Well, I think teachers should all be trained in behavior management

too, and not just for their autistic students But it should be two

separate things, autism info and behavior management, not " autism

behavior management. " Did that make sense?

Amnesty

> >

> > I guess I thought the training would show multi disciplinary

> approaches that parents are using with their individual child with

> autism and that the professor would teach both sides sort or speak. May

> be a bit naive way of thinking ....

>

[Guest guest]

Well, I think teachers should all be trained in behavior management

too, and not just for their autistic students But it should be two

separate things, autism info and behavior management, not " autism

behavior management. " Did that make sense?

Amnesty

> >

> > I guess I thought the training would show multi disciplinary

> approaches that parents are using with their individual child with

> autism and that the professor would teach both sides sort or speak. May

> be a bit naive way of thinking ....

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks to everyones' responses. I hope I can state the ideas clearly

tomorrow. I'll try to link the story when it is run. They may film

Allie in her class if the school gives permission.

Debi

[Guest guest]

Thanks to everyones' responses. I hope I can state the ideas clearly

tomorrow. I'll try to link the story when it is run. They may film

Allie in her class if the school gives permission.

Debi

[Guest guest]

Debi- I know that you are targeting certified teachers in this question.

However, the aides that work with children with Autism, I believe should have

more training. As an aide, I am pushing our district for more professional

development. I have been to workshops on my own time and do a lot of reading

and research on my own but I am an anomaly (sp?). Part of this is due to my

personality of knowledge seeking and part due to the fact that I have a child

and other relatives on the spectrum. But often times, it is the aide that has

the most contact with students during the school day, lunch, recess, inclusion

times and so on. Most districts only require that an aide have a high school

diploma or GED.

Debi wrote: Thanks to everyones' responses.

I hope I can state the ideas clearly

tomorrow. I'll try to link the story when it is run. They may film

Allie in her class if the school gives permission.

Debi

[Guest guest]

Carol, I agree.

I met with three aides from one district and about 20 from another in

the last 3 months, and many of them expressed the need for more

training. When I met with the large group (para-professionals who work

in contained classrooms, pre-school through high school), I asked them

what their biggest frustration is, and many of them told me they went

into the program for students w/ ASD with NO TRAINING.

>

> Debi- I know that you are targeting certified teachers in this

question. However, the aides that work with children with Autism, I

believe should have more training.

[Guest guest]

Well, the story has been temporarily pulled. The reporter got

reassigned to the never-ending county commission battle, some of you

may have read about it in the NY Times, yes I'm still in TN, lol.

Interestingly enough, they made a request to film her in her second

grade classroom, of course (sarcasm here), Allie's natural first place

being general ed what does the principal do? Call the sped consultant

to get permission to film her in her general ed class. Of course, they

just could not do it according the school's pr guy. Why, it would

violate privacy issues. Of course, they can film any other kid. That

tells me they're full of crap. I mean, I don't care in one way, I

don't really like Allie being the local poster child of autism, not

that I'm ashamed, I just wanna make sure as she gets older that I'm

doing what SHE wants. But I think it speaks volumes about their

refusal to highlight a positive story.

I spoke with someone at the news station, that person hopes it gets

done in the next week and had some interesting thoughts on the subject

but I probably shouldn't post it.

Debi

[Guest guest]

Well, the story has been temporarily pulled. The reporter got

reassigned to the never-ending county commission battle, some of you

may have read about it in the NY Times, yes I'm still in TN, lol.

Interestingly enough, they made a request to film her in her second

grade classroom, of course (sarcasm here), Allie's natural first place

being general ed what does the principal do? Call the sped consultant

to get permission to film her in her general ed class. Of course, they

just could not do it according the school's pr guy. Why, it would

violate privacy issues. Of course, they can film any other kid. That

tells me they're full of crap. I mean, I don't care in one way, I

don't really like Allie being the local poster child of autism, not

that I'm ashamed, I just wanna make sure as she gets older that I'm

doing what SHE wants. But I think it speaks volumes about their

refusal to highlight a positive story.

I spoke with someone at the news station, that person hopes it gets

done in the next week and had some interesting thoughts on the subject

but I probably shouldn't post it.

Debi