Keys to Success for Teaching Students with Autism

Lori Ernsperger, PhD, has more than twenty years of experience working in the public schools as a teacher, administrator, and behavioral consultant. She has had extensive training working with students who have behavior disorders, particularly those on the autism spectrum. Having earned her PhD in Special Education from Indiana University, Dr. Ernsperger has put her research and behavioral expertise to work in a variety of teaching, therapy, and behavior consultant roles. She currently serves as a private autism and behavioral consultant, and lives with her husband Tom and two children, Jessica and Ben, in Henderson, Nevada. Tania Stegen-Hanson, OTR/L, has over ten years experience in therapy, consultation, and in-service training to school systems and private practice in South Africa and the USA. She is the owner of Achievement Therapy Center, a pediatric O.T. practice in Las Vegas, Nevada. She specializes in sensory integration therapy, oral-motor therapy, neuro-developmental therapy, and feeding disorders.

• IntroductionChapter One: Creating a Positive EnvironmentClassroom EnvironmentClassroom SchedulesStaff Roles and ResponsibilitiesCase StudiesChapter Two: Designing and Implementing an Appropriate CurriculumLife DomainsCurriculum DevelopmentCase StudiesStation/Center PlanChapter Three: Identifying & Implementing Instructional StrategiesInstructional StrategiesApplied Behavior AnalysisIncidental TeachingChapter Four: Developing Effective Behavior ProgrammingProactive ProgramBehavior Intervention PlanProactive PlanReactive ProgrammingChapter Five: Data CollectionDaily Data Collection FormEstimated data SheetBehavior Analysis LogBehavioral Data Collection IntensityBehavioral Data Collection DurationBehavioral Data Collection Frequency/Rate of BehaviorChapter Six: TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves MoreSchool AdministrationConclusionReferencesAppendix A: Classroom Inventory ChecklistAppendix B: DSM IVAppendix C: Life Domain MatrixAppendix D: Data Collection Forms