Around Town Round Up-- Choice Boards

The ability to make a choice is a powerful way for students with communication deficits to show their voice. If you have students who are nonverbal or who have limited functional verbal communication, choice boards should be incorporated throughout the day to provide plenty of opportunities for practice and to give students a meaningful way to participate.

Today's Around Town Round Up has found some of our favorite choice boards that can be used throughout the school day.

Reward Choice Boards
Many classrooms have choice boards for activities students can earn after completing work. This is often referred to as a reinforcement menu.

Rachel Engle
Horace Mann Elementary, Springfield

Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Some students may need a reduced number of choices to prevent from becoming overwhelmed or if they struggle with discrimination.

Christine Scarborough
Tecumseh Elementary, Xenia

Activity Choice Boards
Other classrooms have choice boards to allow students to choose during routine activities such as circle time or gross motor time.

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Amy Beanblossom
Arcanum Elementary, Arcanum

Errorless Choice Boards

For students who are unable to answer questions accurately, you can use an errorless choice board to still allow them an opportunity to participate meaninfully. 

Boardmaker Online

Miss LuLu

Amy Beanblossom
Arcanum Elementary, Arcanum

Forced Choice Boards
Forced choices are an excellent way to get student buy-in because they provide the student with some shared control. When creating a forced choice board, all of the options should be acceptable at the given time.

Some forced choice boards give students the choice of the learning environment or equipment such as seating, working alone or in a group, or choosing the type of writing utensil used.

Considerate Classroom

Kim Kohlrus
Beverly Gardens Elementary, Mad River

Other forced choice boards provide choices on how to complete the activity or in what order activities will be completed.

Goalbook Toolkit

Jill Richardson

Executive Functioning Forum-- Initiation

Initiation is the ability to begin a task, activity, or interaction. Difficulty with initiation means a student may not be able to immediately get started when given a direction as well as struggling with knowing where to even start. Today's Executive Functioning Forum will provide a variety of ideas for helping students with initiation.

Provide clear directions

When giving auditory directions, give one direction at a time rather than a set of multiple directions. In a large group setting, the student may need a “personal invitation” by saying their name prior to stating the direction so they know there is an action to follow.

When possible, pair the direction with a visual such as a word or picture cue. For some students, you may need to use an object to cue them . For instance, if you want them to complete a puzzle, you may need to hand them the first puzzle piece to get them started and build momentum.

Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Use visuals
Visual schedules help with initiation because they give a visual cue of where the student is expected to go throughout the day.

Rachel Engle
Horace Mann Elementary, Springfield

Sometimes if the visual schedule only has the activity listed, it can be confusing because they cannot remember where to go for that activity. Use a location-based schedule to help the student initiate the transition to the correct location.

Rolling Hills Elementary, Northeastern

Another visual tool that can be helpful in increasing initiation is a task list. The task list breaks down the activity into steps so the student knows exactly where to start.

Make work times predictable
Sometimes it can be hard to initate if the student is unsure of what is expected. Use predictable tasks and work systems. For instance, for vocabulary instruction, teach a repetitive task of matching vocabulary words to pictures. Then, keep the task the same and change the content of the vocabulary words. The student will understand what to do during the task because they will repeat the same activity with each vocabulary unit.

Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Students who struggle to initiate may be hesitant to engage in work times because they don't have a clear understanding of how long they will have to work for. Structured work systems can be a helpful tool for communicating exactly how much work needs to be completed and when they will be finished. Depending on the student's abilities you can set up a work system using bins, drawers, folders, or binder pockets. The student will learn the sequence of doing the work presented and will be able to apply this sequence across various work tasks.

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Tammy Flanegin
Enon Primary, Greenon

Incorporate reinforcement
Initiation can also be impacted because students are unmotivated to start working and they only want to engage in preferred tasks. Use a visual contract or reinforcement system to communicate exactly what you want the student to do and what they will earn as a result of completing their work.

Kelli Tritschler
Mound Elementary, Miamisburg

Emily Ottmar
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Offer praise and encouragement
Sometimes our students are perfectionists! They do not want to make a mistake and sometimes this can even cause a paralyzing fear to get started. Be sure to offer specific praise and lots of encouragement to help the student feel comfortable.

Communication Corner-- Planning Communication Goals using the Functional Expressive Communication Inventory

An inventory of the learner’s expressive communication behaviors can help determine specific communication goals. Today’s Communication Corner will outline how we use the Functional Expressive Communication Inventory to plan student communication goals.

The Functional Expressive Communication Inventory tool is what we have developed to identify and prioritize communication needs.

For ideas on teaching each of these communication functions, visit our previous Communication Corner Blog posts:

Escape

Protest

Attention

Requesting Items or Activities

Providing Feedback

Participating in Group Activities

Answering Questions
Asking Questions and Providing Feedback
Engage in Social Routines
Share Remote Experiences

The Functional Expressive Communication Inventory allows the educational team to identify subtle and interfering behaviors and a variety modes of communication such as words, gestures, signs, pictures, text, and voice output AAC devices.

If the learner has limited communication, how do you decide where to start? The four communication functions listed at the top of the tool are typically the most motivating for learners and are often communicated with interfering behaviors that can be harmful to the learner or others.

Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Angie Kleihans
Stebbins High School, Mad River

Communication Function	Expected  language	Interfering Behaviors
Protest/Escape	no, stop, I’m done, I don’t want,	running, hitting, hiding, screaming,
Gain attention	hi, come play, help, look	yelling, pulling, hitting, running, laughing, throwing
Request	please, I want…, more, mine	grabbing, yelling, climbing,
Provide feedback	too hot, yucky, it’s loud, wet, mad, big cookie, red car	crying, grabbing, pushing away, spitting, running

1. Interfering Behaviors: Hitting, kicking, throwing and biting are some of the behaviors we see that can be harmful to the learner and others. Running, climbing, pulling items can potentially be harmful to the learner. The first priority should be to understand the reason for the interfering behaviors and provide an alternative way to communicate the function.    If you are not sure about the function of the behavior, consider using the Motivation Assessment Scale. This easy questionnaire can help you determine if the function of the behavior is escape, attention, tangible (request) or a sensory need. 

2. Motivation: If the learner is not exhibiting harmful behaviors, consider what functions are most motivating. What communication behaviors are being used most frequently to communicate a function? Because the learner shows motivation to communicate this function, he/she will be more willing to learn a replacement communication skill.  Some learners don’t exhibit big interfering behaviors, so you may have to look for more subtle behaviors that indicate the communication function.  In addition to protesting, gaining attention, and requesting, the learner may be motivated to provide meaningful feedback to clarify their wants and needs.

Once these basic communication needs have been supported, you can move on to other communication functions that may not be motivating for the learner, but that are expected in the school environment.

3. Expected Functions for the School Environment: After addressing the communication functions that the student is motivated to communicate, you can focus on the functions that are needed for participation in school activities. This would include participation in group, answering questions and asking questions. When teaching the learner to answer questions, start with questions that are meaningful to the learner so they will be motivated to answer. When teaching yes/no, start with a simple “Do you want…?”

Katy Philpot
Rosa Park ELC, Dayton

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Communication Function	Required Skills
Participate in Group	Attention, turn taking, shifting between cues,  impulse control, initiation, emotional regulation
Answering Questions	Understanding question, vocabulary related to question
Asking Questions	Question formulation, purpose of question, comprehension

4.      

4. Social Expectations: Once the basic communication needs are being met, consider other communication functions such as showing empathy and expanding upon social interaction with peers.

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Communication Function	Required Skills
Engage in Social Routines	Motivated and aware of social expectations such as greetings, pleasantries, asking and answering questions to show interest
Share Remote Experiences	Memory and language to describe events, aware of what listener does not know
Show Empathy	Understanding and caring about the thoughts and feelings of others

Once you have determined your goals you can collaborate with the educational team to ensure that the learner has ample opportunity to practice the skill and is given meaningful reinforcement to facilitate generalization of the skill across settings. 

Organization Station- Classroom Layout

Are you still trying to perfect your classroom layout but cannot decide the most effective set up? Well then today's Organization Station is just for you! We are featuring some of our favorite layouts from around the Miami Valley.

It is important that each location in the classroom is clearly defined to help students stay in their designated area. To help with determining which locations are needed, determine ahead of time where you will have each of the following:

• whole group instruction
• small group instruction
• 1:1 instruction
• structured/independent work
• breaks and leisure time
• sensory breaks
• teacher/staff area

Whole Group

Many preschool and elementary classrooms use a carpet area for their whole group instruction such as story time, calendar, or whiteboard work. Adaptive seating such as cube chairs or scoop rockers can be an effective structural support for students who need increased boundaries while on the carpet. 

Rhonda Brunk
Trotwood ELC, Trotwood

Sandy McIntosh
Trotwood ELC, Trotwood

Other whole group activities may require a writing surface so a whole group table can be a great support. We like how the shelves are used in the example below to clearly define the whole group table area. 

Ashley Holtz and Molly Magoteaux
Kleptz ELC, Northmont

Rachel Engle
Horace Mann Elementary, Springfield

Larger groups of students may need multiple tables or desk pods. 

Rhonda Brunk
Trotwood ELC, Trotwood

Kelli Medina
Monticello Elementary, Huber Heights

Small Group

Sometimes large group areas can double as small group areas as student disperse to other areas of the classroom. Using a visual schedule or mini-schedule to help students understand what is expected when they come to that location can be helpful. 

Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Ashley Holtz and Molly Magoteaux
Kleptz ELC, Northmont

One-on-One

When setting up an area to work 1:1 with a student, it is smart to use physical boundaries such as shelving, curtains, or dividers to reduce any outside distractions. Also, incorporate storage so that materials are easily accessible to keep momentum while working. 

Rebecca Lemons
Miamisburg Middle School, Miamisburg

Brittany Bush
Spinning Hills Middle School, Mad River

We love how these classrooms have one-on-one areas for specific subjects so that visuals and materials for each subject can be readily accessible in that area.

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Mark Tracy
Wright Brothers Elementary, Huber Heights

Mark Tracy
Wright Brothers Elementary, Huber Heights

Structured/Independent Work

Like one-on-one areas, independent work areas are most effective when visual distractions are at a minimum. 

Pandy Pugh
Indian Riffle Elementary, Kettering

In the example below, the student needs a variety of tools and visual supports throughout the day so an extra desk is reserved next to him to keep extra materials. 

Shanon Vance
Valley Forge Elementary, Huber Heights

Use "portable offices" to convert a pod of desks into individual work spaces. 

Sandy Beck
Broadway Elementary, Tipp City

Or use a study carrel to provide a student with a Home Base area where they can go when they need to focus more on work and block out distractions. 

Traci Parker
Forest Elementary, Troy

Some learners need a more structured set up when it is time for independent tasks. A structured work systems can be a versatile way to structure this work time. 

Rhonda Brunk
Trotwood ELC, Trotwood 

Emily Ottmar
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Carrie Prickett
Jane Chance Elementary, Miamisburg

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Christine Scarborough
Tecumseh Elementary, Xenia

For more information on implementing structured work systems in your classroom check out these posts:

Structured Work and Teaching

More Structured Work Systems

Individualized Structured Work Systems

Breaks and Leisure Time

Probably one of the most helpful areas to clearly define is the area where students will take breaks and have free time. Use furniture and shelving to help contain the area. 

Rhonda Brunk
Trotwood ELC, Trotwood 

Kim Hampton
Broadway Elementary, Tipp City

Mark Tracy
Wright Brothers Elementary, Huber Heights

Toni Mallot
Jane Chance Elementary, Miamisburg

Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Provide visual supports to help this area stay organized. 

Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Break and leisure time may also include reading or technology. 

Kelli Medina
Monticello Elementary, Huber Heights

Ruby Copley
JFK Elementary, Kettering

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

For some students, it may be helpful to "close" the break area when it is not an option to prevent escape behaviors. 

Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Sensory Breaks

Up to 98% of individuals with ASD have sensory processing differences and up to 88% of individuals with disabilities also have sensory processing differences. Therefore, accounting for where students can take sensory breaks to prevent from become overstimulated is a very important component when serving students with special needs. 

Shanon Vance
Valley Forge Elementary, Huber Heights

Katy Philpot
Rosa Parks ELC, Dayton

Mark Tracy
Wright Brothers Elementary, Huber Heights

Teacher/Staff

Many teachers and staff are reducing visual clutter in the classroom by reducing the size of their work space. This is a great way to open up the classroom to provide more space for learning activities. Consider sharing a space or creating a smaller teacher area. Use shelving and file cabinets to create boundaries and to store materials that previously were in a desk drawer. 

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

For more information on classroom layouts check out one of our favorite books: