1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,840
Hi, my name is Jordan. I am a special education teacher from the UK. I share my passion for

2
00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:11,040
everything communication, sensory regulation and fun lesson ideas for my classroom of disabled

3
00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:17,120
pupils aged 4 to 11. Each week I am joined by experts in the field answering your questions

4
00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,800
and sharing our knowledge and experience working alongside our beautiful young people. Let's get started.

5
00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:31,440
Hello everybody. Every Monday I go live on here to answer all of your questions because I often

6
00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,160
can't get into all of the comments and the DMs anymore which is amazing but I like to kind of

7
00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:41,920
have this personal chat with you all which is lovely and we always get some really awesome

8
00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:48,160
questions. Okay, what could we try with a child that's non-verbal apart from saying no that trashes

9
00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:54,160
everything and laughs? Yeah, it's part of the game right? You say no, he laughs, he throws, you get

10
00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:59,680
even more frantic and you say no again and it's part of the game. He's learned that that's a great

11
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,960
way to get that interaction and build that relationship so the answer is to build him an

12
00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:11,200
even better way of building that relationship and that interaction. I love chasing games or tickle

13
00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:15,920
games or wrestling games. It's often really popular, something really physical and that they get into

14
00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:21,120
and then they can ask for that in a more appropriate way so I use the sign more and then that kind of

15
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,760
builds that interaction. It's really lovely so yeah just try and flip on its head and do tickle

16
00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,160
games and you can still say no like that tickle but make it something more appropriate maybe more

17
00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:35,040
safe than throwing. How did you find it when you had to do a mainstream placement for your teach

18
00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:40,480
training? So my whole training was mainstream even though I knew I wanted to do special ed

19
00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:46,640
so basically my history is I've got a degree in acting and then I did a PGCE for one year

20
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:51,280
in primary education because there wasn't an option back then to do special education. I

21
00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,280
think there is now so I definitely would have done that because before I did my degree for a couple

22
00:01:55,280 --> 00:02:00,000
of years I was a teaching assistant in a special education school and that's what made me want to

23
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,040
do teaching in the first place so I knew I wanted to go into special ed but I had to yeah do primary

24
00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:09,520
education degree just to learn. I had to kind of get in the right mindset but all the way through

25
00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,760
I was like this is an absolute waste of time like none of this is relevant. I just thought this is a

26
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:19,600
complete waste of time when I was learning about pi corbit and phonics this and I don't know whatever

27
00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:26,320
certain maths methods but yeah my the year groups that I was in my first year group was year six so

28
00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:32,240
again like teaching things that I've never had to teach since but I have taught that age since so

29
00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:37,440
that was really good for social reasons to know where they're at and physical reasons to know

30
00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:42,240
where they're at so that's actually quite useful and then my next placement was in year one and my

31
00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:48,240
first class that I had for five years was at a year one level and they were year six age so actually

32
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,960
all the way through my training I thought this is not useful but then I ended up teaching a class

33
00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:57,440
the age of the year sixes and the ability of the year one so actually it was incredibly useful.

34
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:03,360
I got a job where I used to TA at straight after my degree I started as an underqualified teacher

35
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:09,600
in the May so straight away and yeah and then I then the learnings really started from then.

36
00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:14,480
I had an amazing group of teaching assistants that year and I had them for the five years that

37
00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:20,160
just dragged me through the first two years because my goodness it's so hard it's so different than

38
00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:25,120
me my degree didn't teach me anything about that and my PGCE taught me barely anything

39
00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,400
um that was actually relevant to my class so it was lots of learning from the teaching assistants

40
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:35,520
lots of training days luckily my school back then was really hot on training days I did I went to

41
00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:40,880
London lots and did lots of amazing training with amazing people and worked with speech language

42
00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,280
therapists and occupational therapists that were part of the school and just learn and learn and

43
00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:51,280
just try to absorb everything like a sponge and now I'm where I am today but yeah back then I knew

44
00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,360
nothing. Have you ever worked in mainstream? Yes that's kind of my question was yeah I haven't

45
00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,440
worked in mainstream I've always been a special education teacher but I have supported some

46
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:07,040
children in mainstream freelance and I did my training in mainstream and my class is a special

47
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:12,560
provision class but it's attached to a mainstream school so I feel like I know what goes on and I

48
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:17,920
come up to date with mainstream practices and and the challenges that go on there as far as

49
00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,800
special education as well. Oh hi Jordan hope you're okay just wanted to say I think you're

50
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:28,080
amazing teacher and inspired me to teach special needs what a lovely message thank you Regan

51
00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:33,920
that is so lovely it's such a wonderful way of teaching if you're creative and a little bit

52
00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:39,040
rebellious and like to think outside the box then special education is a really really amazing way

53
00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:45,840
of teaching and it's yeah it's it's really creative and even though you're set in routine

54
00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:52,160
because that's really important no day is the same so yeah if you like that then special

55
00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:58,400
education is a really good one. As an early career teacher in mainstream with 50 percent

56
00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:03,760
social needs in my class your resources and ideas have helped so much my goodness Kate how are you

57
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:09,040
doing that 50 percent sen it's just huge it's just a sign of the times isn't it it's just a sign that

58
00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:16,000
there is not enough special needs schools out there but well done Kate for just yeah doing it

59
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:22,960
and that is that does motivate me to keep sharing because my goodness if I knew nothing as a new

60
00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:30,400
teacher in an sen school with two years teaching assistant experience behind me an amazing TA

61
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,400
supporting me that knew exactly what to do and speech language therapist occupational therapists

62
00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:41,920
in my room and only 10 kids and I struggled like god hats off to you girl that is not easy

63
00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:46,720
do you do Montessori curriculums I don't do Montessori curriculums I've never done Montessori

64
00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:52,320
however it do follow some people on here that do and it does look interesting I can see how it

65
00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:57,200
works for some children and some families I totally can see it it seems really good at

66
00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:03,760
encouraging independence and encouraging like some maturity and responsibility which I really

67
00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:10,080
love actually so yeah I would like to learn more about it my five-year-old is classes of flight

68
00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:16,640
risk when do you think he'll grow out of it this is really challenging it's so scary and it

69
00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:27,120
it limits yours and their world so much when they're runners or alopers I can't say when

70
00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:34,160
or if he'll grow out of it all I can say I've worked with children of all ages from two

71
00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:42,080
or younger to 19 and some of them grow out of it and some of them find they're really safe and

72
00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:47,200
actually quite passive once they've gone through the teenage years but others don't and it's really

73
00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:54,960
hard to know it's really really hard yeah we we rely a lot on coded door locks and window

74
00:06:54,960 --> 00:07:02,480
locks and hiding keys and fencing and stuff it's so hard isn't it and trying to get out safely

75
00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:08,880
out and about is feels like such an impossible challenge yeah especially if you don't have a big

76
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:13,920
support network of other people that can go with you it's been really hard

77
00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,840
benefits of swimming for neuro disorder conditions interesting question but benefits of swimming

78
00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,160
swim with my class every single week every single Friday and there are so many benefits

79
00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,480
first of all obviously the fitness benefit because we're all in the water which is great

80
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:34,800
but also by being in the water I've noticed that relationships between my students and my adults

81
00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:40,080
have really gotten so strong I think there's something quite trusting about being in the water

82
00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:45,440
together you haven't got the same pressures as in the classroom and there's no targets or no you

83
00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:50,640
know learning objectives or whatever it's just being together present in the moment and I've

84
00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,160
really noticed some beautiful relationships forming between children and between adults

85
00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:59,040
and children in the swimming pool which wouldn't have happened otherwise so I love it for that

86
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:04,320
I also love it for teaching safety we walk to the pool every week and and obviously the safety

87
00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:10,160
in the water as well so it's really great for modeling road safety and yeah safety around

88
00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:14,160
water and slipping and running and all of those kind of things and listening to instructions

89
00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:19,520
it's also really great for learning to get dressed and undressed more independently because you've

90
00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:24,560
kind of got a bit of time to do that and when you don't normally in the classroom yeah it's really

91
00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:31,680
good for so many things far more than just learning to swim and I love taking my class

92
00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:37,280
every week it's an absolute joy seeing their faces just light up and it's such a great sensory

93
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:43,760
activity that meets so many needs the only need it doesn't is because of the echoey and loud

94
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:49,680
kind of pool space but proprioception obviously the water touching every part of your body

95
00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:53,520
vestibular because we're chucking them around they're falling off the floats and they're going

96
00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:58,640
under the water it's so great for vestibular it's great it's great for auditory processing

97
00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:03,280
because they're tolerating the sounds and the echoes in the water or they put their ears under

98
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,640
the water if they want it a bit more muted they've got complete control over that

99
00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:14,240
yeah it's just it's so great for all the senses taste I suppose because they drink all the water

100
00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:20,400
not ideal but they it happens I've been doing bucket time stage one to three but my child is

101
00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:25,200
not interested anymore been doing it for over a year now if they're not interested that is not

102
00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:32,240
a them issue that is an us issue as adults so just try and change it up maybe it needs to be

103
00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:38,400
like different resources or louder or bigger or maybe like just don't use a bucket use a box or

104
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:44,480
a bag just try and change it up make it new put it in a different environment so maybe take it outside

105
00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:49,520
or take it in another room put it under a table you know you could still do the same things that

106
00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:54,640
it can be like refreshed make it a little bit more exciting yeah I always say if your child isn't

107
00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:59,680
interested or wanting to come over to bucket then that's fine but if you're not interested

108
00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:05,200
to come over to bucket then that's an us problem and we need to kind of change it up and make it

109
00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:10,960
more exciting because it needs to be absolutely irresistible to them otherwise we're not doing it

110
00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:18,480
right have you ever found your sensory profile or way of experiencing affected by being with autistic

111
00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:25,200
people a lot that's really interesting question I definitely am neurodiverse myself neurodivergent

112
00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:32,400
myself should I say neurodivergent myself and I'm definitely more aware of my neurodivergence

113
00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:40,880
because I'm around neurodivergent people it shone a light on how I manage myself in my body in my

114
00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:47,120
life and how my brain works for sure it's not because I'm with them but I'm like that I was

115
00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:51,120
like that anyway it's just an awareness and because I'm talking about and looking for

116
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:57,120
meeting their needs all day every day it then makes me hyper aware when I get home of meeting

117
00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:04,400
my needs and why I'm doing certain things for example when I get home I want to eat snacks

118
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:10,560
and I want to have a bath and that is because I want those crunchy foods and like salty foods

119
00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:14,800
that feel good in my mouth for a bit of yeah stimulation in that way and I want to have a

120
00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:20,400
bath because it just relaxes me it keeps me in one place I can't use my phone in the bath it keeps

121
00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,480
me away from that and like that yeah that proprioception property is just like in swimming

122
00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:29,680
it just holds me and grounds me I also respond really well to weighted blankets and certain music

123
00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:34,160
like brown noise I respond really well to so I'm just kind of like more aware of myself because I'm

124
00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:40,880
so aware of my students um yes I would say my sensory profile is just more aware to me because

125
00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:46,480
I work with people that are also a sensory regulation interestingly all the best staff

126
00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:52,720
I've ever worked with on neurodivergent because they just get the children they can read them

127
00:11:52,720 --> 00:12:00,240
they totally understand they're so empathetic and yeah they just they just get it um I wish I could

128
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:05,280
come and work for you oh my god wouldn't that be so fun if we just have a massive party all the

129
00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:11,200
autistic students and all the caregivers together that would be so fun pretty overwhelming I say

130
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:16,240
fun I would actually get so overwhelmed by that but in theory it's fun I've had to become a teacher

131
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:21,360
I want to become a SEN teacher but don't have a degree so can't do a PGCE there are lots of

132
00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:27,920
ways if you don't have a degree you could do a degree in uni or you can do a from home like

133
00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:32,240
remote degree and you can even do it part-time it just takes a little bit longer lots of different

134
00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:37,360
ways of doing it I think there's even degrees in education special education now whereas there

135
00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:44,240
wasn't a degree in special education when I trained um what sort of freelance have you done

136
00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:50,480
oh my goodness I've done so much so um my first freelance so I used to be a full-time special

137
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:58,400
education teacher I did that for 10 years in a special needs school and then I um I first went

138
00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:06,320
out and trained to be a foster carer and I that's it could be a freelance job and you can do it as

139
00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:11,120
respite or you can do it as an emergency so you don't need to do it full-time um but I actually

140
00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,320
did it a little bit and then enjoyed it so much that I actually left teaching for a bit and did

141
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:20,000
it full-time so foster care I've done is freelance and I've also made uh toys those little sensory

142
00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:25,680
toys and wooden toys because there was a need for that I've also visited schools and given some

143
00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:31,840
consultancy on their classroom setups or what they can do to support their children or profile

144
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:39,360
their children I've written or supported referrals or for EHCPs I've done that I have been a private

145
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:45,600
teacher or private tutor for SEN I've been a supply teacher for SEN there's so many different

146
00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,680
ways once you've got that teaching degree there are so many different ways that you can use it

147
00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:55,440
for freelance I've never ever struggled to find work even when I moved to Cornwall which was six

148
00:13:55,440 --> 00:14:00,000
hours away from Essex I found work straight away because of that degree I've sat my own forest

149
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:04,960
school I've worked in alternative provision I've supported children out of education like I've done

150
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:10,480
all sorts because of that degree I've worked in a daycare in Canada I went to Canada for a season

151
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:17,920
and on a snowboard like ski season and worked in a daycare because of my degree so yeah it's never

152
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,800
stopped me I've done all sorts of different things I think that's why I can kind of relate to all

153
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,320
these different questions all these different people that follow me because I've done so many

154
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:31,200
different things so yeah I've gained experience in so many different places whereas actually

155
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:36,000
in the 10 years before when I was only in one special needs school I learned loads but my

156
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:41,280
range of understanding wasn't yeah it wasn't it wasn't a range of understanding it was quite

157
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:47,040
limited I knew it really well but I only knew that way whereas since then in the most recent

158
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,880
10 years since that I've worked with so many different people in so many different places

159
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:57,600
in so many different ways so many different types of children but actually I've learned even more

160
00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:02,720
even more and even more useful because it's just so varied how do you look after your own mental

161
00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:08,160
health I imagine it can be overwhelming holding space for others every day good question Beth

162
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:13,600
yeah as caregivers as any caregiver I would say whether you're a parent or work in hospital

163
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:21,200
or work in school or any caregiver when you give so much of yourself every day and when you're so

164
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:28,320
empathetic and so in tune with the person you're giving care to if you're doing it really well and

165
00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:35,520
so many do it is so easy to get burnt out because you're giving so much of yourself all the time and

166
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,880
I still haven't worked really worked out my husband will tell you I still haven't really worked out

167
00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,680
how to avoid that I think the whole of school holidays help because there's lots of those

168
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:52,240
and but I'm still trying to work it out this recent holiday so in Easter I started some gardening I

169
00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,160
found that was really lovely and for my own mental health and every Wednesday evening I've

170
00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:01,280
joined a free gardening course it's local to me and I'm finding that really good I also do a board

171
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:06,160
game night every every Tuesday night with friends and that helps me because that's a bit of a you

172
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:11,520
know something for me but I'm honestly I'm still trying to work it out I haven't quite worked out

173
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:16,080
that one yet struggling with planning for bucket time I've seen you have planning how many activities

174
00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:22,880
ideas are there if I were to purchase so the the planning is five pounds and it's four years

175
00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:30,880
worth and it covers 12 topics and then it rotates so basically I do a topic every term for four years

176
00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,640
and then I start back on year one again there's lots of ideas there's pictures on my website if

177
00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,840
you want to see an example I'm happy to send you more information if you want that and then every

178
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:46,720
and then every link every statement or idea is clickable so it either takes you to the lyrics

179
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:52,160
of that song or a video of me doing it or it takes you to where to get the resources from or

180
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:58,800
something so there's kind of like it's it's more and I don't know how many pages it is yeah and

181
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:05,760
then there's also an assessment tool as part of it as well so you can assess and show data on

182
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:12,320
the improvements of engagement and attention and speech language and attainment and all those

183
00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:18,080
kind of things for bucket time so that's as part of it as well for five pounds okay how to deal

184
00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:25,040
with toilet regression in an 18 year old trained fully at 13 now almost fully incontinent unable

185
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:30,960
to recognize need for the bathroom but no medical conditions present yeah that would be my first

186
00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:36,320
thing would be to speak to a school nurse or to speak to a medical professional to see if there's

187
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:41,520
any physical reason why if everything has been ruled out there's no physical reason

188
00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:50,480
then it could be a sensory thing a sensory need that is being met toiletting is often really hard

189
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,240
for I don't know if they're on the spectrum but um toiletting can be really difficult for people

190
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:59,520
on the spectrum it was explained to me once by somebody diagnosed with autism that going to the

191
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:04,720
toilet is almost like losing a limb like it feels like part of you and you're leaving it there and

192
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:10,880
that can be really distressing so maybe something's triggering that anxiety and that stress that is

193
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,960
then like for some reason being attached to toileting and there could have been that a

194
00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,760
trigger there maybe go down the psychological route maybe speak to cams or an educational

195
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:27,200
psychologist about what could be going on there for for them because if it's not medical or physical

196
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:32,720
it would most likely be sensory so maybe occupational therapy or psychological so

197
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:37,520
i'm a clinical psychologist hey jordan what do you look for when looking at a school to work in

198
00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:42,720
that is such a great question when i looked at my current school i didn't even go for the job

199
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:51,120
that i am in now at all actually i went i saw an advert for a behavior support teaching assistant

200
00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:56,880
and thought i'd been out of teaching for a couple of years and i was ready to go back into it well

201
00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,560
i was ready to go back into school again i didn't really want to be a teacher again because from my

202
00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:05,520
memory it just was stressful and really exhausting and just completely burnt me out and i was finally

203
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,640
feeling good again and i thought i don't want to be a teacher again but i really miss the kids

204
00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:15,600
um so i've yeah i found a job advertised for a behavior specialist like support assistant

205
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:21,760
at my local school only a couple of minutes away from me and i thought great i'll go for that and

206
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:27,120
in the interview they walked me around and as part of the interview they showed me my current class

207
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:31,840
now my current room this is amazing you've seen if you've seen my account i've pinned it at the

208
00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:37,680
top my the room is amazing there is four or five different rooms as part of my classroom there's

209
00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:44,640
a sensory room there's an amazing garden to only 10 kids loads of adults it was completely set up

210
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:50,080
perfectly how i like it schedules visuals everywhere the ability of the kids is exactly

211
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:54,720
what i'm passionate about yeah and then i just mentioned it to the head teacher i was like

212
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:59,360
you know what i used to do right and this sounds really good but at the time there wasn't a teaching

213
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:03,680
role available so i became a teaching assistant in that room an hlta in that room and then now

214
00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:09,520
me and that current teacher i do it share part-time i muscled my my way into teaching it

215
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:16,400
but honestly the the class and the classroom sold it to me and so that was what i look for if you're

216
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:23,280
looking around i would look for how the adults um speak about the children and interact with the

217
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:31,040
children is it quite controlling do they behavior manage through fear tactics or try trying to

218
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:38,240
control or is it really autism-faring and encouraging and with love and joy and fun and laughter that's

219
00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:44,480
what i would be looking for um if i was going to work there or it would soon look like that

220
00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:51,200
because i would make i would change things we love bubbles and balloons any other similar ideas

221
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,280
although we never have enough bubbles and balloons yeah true we never have enough bubbles and balloons

222
00:20:55,280 --> 00:21:00,640
either my kids always get hold of the bubble solution and just tip it out and i'm like no

223
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:05,040
i'm sorry i'm not washing up the good all the time and have you tried rocket balloons i would

224
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:11,600
say google rocket balloons they're on ebay or amazon and they are so cheap and they are so fun

225
00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:17,600
because you pump them up and they make a sound and they go miles they're really fun also the car

226
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:22,880
balloon toy that i shared uh yesterday in my story you pump it up and then you press go and then the

227
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:27,280
car flies that's a really fun one there's also the balloon helicopters that go around they're really

228
00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:33,760
fun and i also there's so many bubbles like i really want to do the big bubble wand where you

229
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:38,880
put it around the children i really want to do that but there are loads of there's a huge whole

230
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:44,640
folder of ideas just like the bubbles and balloons it's in my attention autism folder on my amazon

231
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:49,440
storefront and that's linked in my bio and there's over 100 ideas on there so yeah eat your heart out

232
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:54,880
my daughter is autistic and non-verbal age six she does this thing that me and my husband call

233
00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:00,080
self-sabotaging where she will put things on her ipad that make her upset what can i do to help

234
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,120
yeah this is a really common one i once had a student that was terrified of the fire alarms

235
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:09,920
and then they used to set the fire alarm off or used to talk about it all the time or a student

236
00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:18,720
who is obsessed with fans but actually when they see a fan or a fan's on absolutely hate it and

237
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:28,160
it's them trying to work out that anxiety it's them trying to process what's happening and work

238
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:37,920
it out is that obsession and that self-sabotaging it might also be that what she is seeking is what

239
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:47,200
she gets after she's upset maybe is it's a way of yeah seeking that reassurance it's hard isn't it

240
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:53,520
because being upset is part of daily life but also like it's about supporting them through that

241
00:22:53,520 --> 00:23:02,160
sometimes i i um delete apps that make them over upset or even just overstimulated i just delete it

242
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:08,160
um i don't know if that's the right thing to do or not but i do i teach in an autism class in ireland

243
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:13,520
with five to seven year olds have you got any suggestions for assessments formal ish so i use

244
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:19,040
connecting steps which is also called b squared it's like an online program that you pay for

245
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:23,120
and it has loads of different statements on there and you basically tick the statements that they

246
00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:29,200
have achieved and i use this to inform ieps and targets and things and it gives a really clear

247
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:34,560
level on where they're at and we evidence this with photos or videos on the ipad and that's a

248
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:40,080
really great way because then nothing's on paper it can all be where they're at what they're actually

249
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:46,160
doing just in life in play in the classroom and it kind of can fit with anything so that's what

250
00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:52,320
we do and then the children that are pre that stage we use the engagement profile which is

251
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:58,480
which is also really good um which measures their engagement and interaction and attention

252
00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:05,760
across a repeating lesson and you kind of judge where they're where they're at and how they're

253
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:10,960
doing and i've got the engagement profile linked on my website i've also got assessment for

254
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:15,200
attention autism on my website that's part of the attention autism curriculum and i haven't got

255
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,320
anything about connecting steps or b squared because you just have to kind of subscribe to

256
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,520
it have you got any advice for teaching children who've gone through trauma yeah i've taught a lot

257
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:26,640
of children gone through trauma but mostly as a foster carer and that's how i have been involved

258
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:31,600
with children that have been through trauma the most important thing allow yourself to be child

259
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:40,240
led and try and avoid any triggers or demands that might set them back or remind them of anything in

260
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:45,440
their past and always assume that it is a trauma response i would say and try and not put them back

261
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,840
into that position because you want to be the safety you want to be yeah you want to be create

262
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,000
the most safe environment ever because otherwise they're not going to learn at all anyway explain

263
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,120
everything you're going to do before you do it and explain over and over again social stories

264
00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:02,160
are a really good way of doing that if you're going to go on a trip or if you're going to

265
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:06,800
if there's a change happening or anything that you want to prepare them for social stories are a

266
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:13,440
really great one so they know what to expect there's no um there's no surprises and then

267
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:20,560
always just be open to their play and kind of learn from about their experiences and how their

268
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:26,640
brain's working through play the children i foster lots of revelations have come out through their

269
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:31,440
play and through conversations through their play and so always just be quite in tune with that i

270
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,160
would say have you worked with really physically violent children yes i have worked with physically

271
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:42,080
violent children it's always a communication though keep in mind it's usually children that

272
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:48,640
either have no words or have lost the ability to speak because they are so in fight flight or

273
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:56,000
fright mode that they lose their ability to communicate or understand and then they communicate

274
00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,160
with their so yes i have worked with children like that it's quite common as a special needs

275
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:05,200
teacher to work with children that are physically violent because they communicate in that way the

276
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:10,240
best thing you can do for yourself is to be trained how to firstly avoid those situations in the first

277
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:16,800
place and then also to keep yourself and them safe through that as well can you talk to us about

278
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:21,040
speech and language therapy and your experience working with sorts yeah i've worked with many

279
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:26,880
speech and language therapists in the past it has changed a lot speech therapy has changed an awful

280
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:31,920
lot since i first started and that was only 15 years ago first of all when i first started it

281
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:39,120
was all about pecs and encouraging requesting and encouraging eye contact and withholding items

282
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:46,880
until they ask for it like in clear containers or whatever to encourage speech now that has been

283
00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:55,040
found obviously looking back to be non-autistic affirming or non-child affirming so now it is much

284
00:26:55,040 --> 00:27:01,680
more about teaching core vocabulary and not necessarily using the pecs process to teach it

285
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:08,640
just modeling and hoping that they pick something up also accepting all communication as equal and

286
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:14,240
appropriate and wonderful so whether that's eye contact and speech or whether that's gesturing

287
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:20,880
or pulling you or reaching or signing or using an ipad or showing a photo or using a symbol it's all

288
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:26,400
equal and all great so yeah it's changed quite a lot in my time as a special education teacher and

289
00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:31,840
i'm sure it will keep changing and keep adapting to hopefully be even more affirming i am an

290
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:36,720
assistant psychologist in an independent specialist school i love seeing your videos and resources

291
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,400
and hearing you raise awareness and promote inclusion thank you oh that's so wonderful to

292
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,480
hear from an assistant psychologist that's based in a school that's so awesome because they're so

293
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:50,080
needed i do promote inclusion i feel like i could do a better job at that actually because i am in a

294
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:56,880
self-contained classroom currently and i'm finding it i'm finding it to include my class in the

295
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:03,040
mainstream school that we're attached to without it being tokenistic i don't want to include them

296
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:08,720
for my benefit i don't want to include them so that i can call myself an inclusive teacher i

297
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:13,760
want to include them because it actually benefits them and that looks different for every child so

298
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:20,160
one of my pupils goes attends assembly another pupil sometimes attends PE a couple of others

299
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:27,680
attend golden time then that's kind of it because if i was to include them anymore in the learning

300
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:31,840
or what the mainstream class do it would wouldn't be for their benefit it might be for the main

301
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:36,800
school's benefit because it's always good to advocate and be seen but if it's not for my

302
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:41,600
people's benefit then i'm not going to put them through that anxiety provoking situation but it's

303
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:47,440
definitely it's definitely something we like to would like to progress on it's something we

304
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:52,640
definitely work towards is getting out of our classroom more and into the main school even if

305
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,880
it's just for a walk or even if it's just to the library and back or even if it's just to the field

306
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:02,240
and the playground or the forest school and back we're always trying to just gently include our

307
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:09,360
students but that does look different for every student moving away from pecs to gestalt language

308
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:14,720
processing would you have any recommendations for communication boards or apps maybe yeah lots of the

309
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:22,320
aac apps are super expensive so if you have insurance or fundraising or you for whatever

310
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:28,480
reason can afford the apps then amazing i love grid one of my students has got that we also have

311
00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:34,080
a student using proloquo to go in my class which is good and though i do really really like grid

312
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:40,640
you can build sentences from it and it feels kind of more like a typical speech in a way rather than

313
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:47,680
just single like just like separate sentences you can kind of comment on things and i don't know it

314
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:52,320
just it feels really good i like how it works i like i like grid if you're referred through speech

315
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:58,080
and language and you have an ehcp sometimes you can get the apps and an ipad and support and

316
00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:04,480
training as part of your ehcp so definitely look into that free apps that you can use i like choice

317
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:08,400
board i don't think that's free actually i think it's like two pounds but i like to choice board

318
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:13,520
for early communicators you get a choice of up to six symbols on a page that's really good

319
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:20,880
for that that early ipad using and then twinkle symbols app is free again it's not obviously as

320
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:26,960
as in depth as grid or proloquo to go but it's free so it's a really great way of starting to

321
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:34,240
model with your students how to use those kind of apps for communication or low tech so if you've

322
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:40,080
got access to a symbol program or you can kind of make something on word or a canva or something

323
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:44,480
like that computer program you can make a low tech version so something you just print out and

324
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:50,480
laminate or just print out and then you tut and speak to them that also could be a really great

325
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:56,560
start for gestalt language processors i think the best thing to do for gestalt language processors

326
00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:03,760
is to learn their gustalts and to join them in there and then to learn the context that they

327
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:09,680
use it in and to build context around their learn echolalia their learnt gustalts so that

328
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,800
it shows that you understand its meaning and it gives it meaning and then you can add little

329
00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:21,440
words into that gestalt to change the context of that for example great cup of coffee is one of the

330
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:27,840
students that i work with's gestalt and it's from a film that they love and then now we're saying

331
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:34,560
great cup of juice or great cup of crisps and it's like it means it's commenting that they really

332
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:40,240
like it or they want something they want the food item and that's a great way of tapping into their

333
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:46,720
gustalts and making it meaningful and have shared experience and functional yeah usually they all

334
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:51,280
have meaning though it's really good to tap into the child's meaning and what they're meaning behind

335
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:56,400
it and and mimic them and let them lead in that what advice would you give a mainstream school

336
00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:02,000
trying to cope with a child awaiting on an ehdp the school is struggling with his needs so hard

337
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:08,160
isn't it because ehdps are taking so long now definitely follow my account and other similar

338
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:14,560
because everything that all the information that you kind of need is probably somewhere on there so

339
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:19,680
the fact that you're following my account already is also awesome and there are others as well that

340
00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:24,880
might benefit you so you can start putting things in place already if you're really struggling i

341
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:30,720
would contact your any organizations within your local authority that might be set up to support

342
00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:36,560
you any local charities that might be set up to support you or cams you don't need a diagnosis

343
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:42,240
or an ehdp to access those things so you can kind of tap into those or social care as well

344
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:47,840
and family workers social workers all available to everyone again i know there's more waiting lists

345
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:54,800
but it might be something else in the meantime that you can get support how do you stop a non-verbal

346
00:32:54,800 --> 00:33:02,080
kid from throwing toys you replace the behavior for a more appropriate and safe behavior so first

347
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:07,840
of all you work out why they are throwing is it that they're enjoying things up in the going up

348
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:12,240
in the air is it that they're enjoying watching things falling past their vision is it that they're

349
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:16,960
enjoying the bounce or the crash or the bang when it lands are they enjoying your reaction when they

350
00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:22,560
throw something so first of all work out why they're doing that and then try and replace that need

351
00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:27,520
and that want with something a little bit safer so say for example if it's the throwing up in the air

352
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,920
then maybe you could give some softballs for them to throw up in the air if it's the crash and the

353
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:39,200
bang maybe you buy some bangers or some water balloons that give a really good cause and effect

354
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:44,800
when they bang for example that's a lot safer and a lot more appropriate than throwing heavy items

355
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:49,600
non-verbal kids how to teach them when they don't understand sign language so there are lots of

356
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:54,640
different ways that non-verbal children or non-speaking children can communicate and

357
00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,520
to teach them this you just have to model it so you can be modeling sign language you can be

358
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:06,400
modeling using symbols or photos you can be modeling an object so for example if it's dinner

359
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,400
time you could show them their knife and fork or their plate or if it's time to go in the car you

360
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,840
could show them the keys or if it's time to go outside you can show them their coat for example

361
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:21,840
that's a really good way and model that language and you can use an ipad um lots of different ways

362
00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:25,920
but yeah the way to teach it is just to model it yourself and model it consistently and model

363
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:33,840
a whole range of ways to uh of speaking and and something will will capture them and they will

364
00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:40,160
start doing it too does it look bad on a cv if you only stay at a school for one year i suppose it

365
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:44,560
depends why you're moving on and they might ask that in the interview if you're moving on because

366
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:51,680
you want to progress in your learning and your breadth of knowledge and your or you saw a great

367
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:56,720
opportunity come up then i don't think that's a bad thing at all i really don't but you just need to

368
00:34:56,720 --> 00:35:03,760
like have that answer prepared interview because they probably will ask it if you keep changing

369
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:08,640
year on year on year on year then they are 100% gonna question that and that might go against you

370
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,600
um but it depends on the reason if you can justify it if you can say well i've progressed in my career

371
00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:20,320
every time or job opportunities came up that i was really interested in and i've it's um it's added

372
00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:26,160
to my experience um which makes me a better teacher today then then they'd be silly to question that

373
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:32,240
okay last one what are some engaging calming techniques for the calming to end sensory circuit

374
00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:37,040
struggling to motivate an easily heightened student to complete the circuit a really good

375
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:42,000
one is wrapping up in blankets or swaddling in weighted blankets but doing this with a song

376
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,960
so i have a sausage roll song that is on my feed somewhere makes it a bit more of a game rather

377
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:53,040
than boring you can also roll exercise balls over their bodies and they seem to really like that one

378
00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:59,040
or just like laying on like laying on them like in like you've had a wrestle and then you've done a

379
00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:03,440
bit of to and fro to and fro to and fro and then you lay on them and then you can go and then you

380
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:09,120
can go again it's like kind of part of the game if it's part of the game then it might be more fun

381
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:18,880
bean bags peapod chairs breath techniques like breathing in and out some yoga moves it's still

382
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:25,040
because then it's still moving it's not static it's still active but it is grounding so like

383
00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:28,960
downward dog is a really good one because all your weight is going through your feet and your hands

384
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:34,720
so grounding you but it's an active pose thank you so much for joining me there were so many of you

385
00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:42,560
um i'm overwhelmed every week by how many questions and how many amazing uh yeah just amazing

386
00:36:42,560 --> 00:37:06,000
engagement is incredible uh thank you everybody thank you everybody have a good evening bye

