Environmental supports

Environmental supports

What kind of Environmental support is required for the students with Autism? How can we create them?

Environmental supports help organize students physical space in ways that facilitate there ability to predict events and activities, anticipate change, understand expectations, and, in general, make sense of the world.

Environmental supports include the use of

1. Labels: label the classroom with matching pictures / symbols. If you give the child a picture of the sand tray, and there is a matching picture on or by the sand tray, they are more likely to know where to go. (Simpson.R.L & Myles 2007)

2. Boundary settings: provide structure at home or at school. This structure helps children make appropriate choices about their behavior, resulting in a safer environment for them and others. The purpose of boundary setting is to provide a safe environment, create structure and provide clear, concise, and consistent guidelines for behavior. To teach children how to set their own boundaries in different settings. (Simpson.R.L & Myles 2007)

3. Visual supports that provide information: These allow students to anticipate upcoming events and activities, develop an understanding of time, and facilitate the ability to predict change (Brown, 1991). Visual supports assists students organize and predict daily events, they also help students in knowing what will happen next. It assists student’s transition from one activity to the next. (Simpson.R.L & Myles 2007)

Perspectives on the Duties and Responsibility of paraprofessional Support

 The first duty of the para educator is to get some general information about the disability of the student manifests, and the particular way in which symptoms affect him or her. 

 The second important duty the para educators is about obtaining some general information about the students learning style, preferences, and needs so that tasks and activities can be presented in a manner that facilities learning. Example: if careful observation reveals that particular students learns best visually (as is usually the case with ASD), then a heavy input on the student s auditory would be inimical to his or her best learning interest. 

 Another very important duty of a para educator is to, first and foremost maintain confidentiality. It is not just using names, rather of maintaining silence. Confidentiality should also extend to others at school.

 Further, if you are to perform the important job you have to do the best of your ability, you need to know the expectations of the teacher with whom you work. In the perfect world, the teacher would clearly delineate them so that you know; this is not a perfect world, so some of the responsibility for obtaining this responsibility falls on the para educator. Be proactive! Find out what the teacher expects of you by asking direct questions. After all, the quality of your performance is directly related to the quality of the information you receive regarding what is expected and what is not.