ALIST Spotlight: Molly Magoteaux- Intervention Specialist, Northmont City Schools

Our Autism & Low-Incidence Support Team (ALIST) is compiled of education professionals across the Miami Valley who use best practices and evidence-based practices with fidelity, are able to model their expertise for others, and have tons of great ideas to share. ALIST Intervention Specialist, Molly Magoteaux, is no exception! Last year our team had the pleasure of working with Molly at Kleptz ELC in Northmont and we can't wait to share some of the awesome ideas we saw in today's ALIST Spotlight!

Organization

The first step in any successful classroom is organization! Especially when you have multiple staff members, students at different grade levels, and various activities happening at any given moment. Molly did an awesome job of staying organized and organizing classroom supports so everyone knew where to find needed materials. 

Material organization using labeled, clear containers makes it easy for staff to grab their materials to take to their table. 

A Staff Communication Corner provides a predictable location for announcements and posting important documents such as schedules or calendars. 

Color-coding student bins makes it easy for students to locate what they need even when they haven't mastered reading their name.

Physical and Visual Supports

Molly's students had complex needs and benefitted from a variety of visual and physical supports to communicate expectations. These supports are also an excellent way to increase consistency in supporting student needs across staff members. 

During carpet time, Molly's students benefited from adapted seating options to address mobility and sensory needs. 

Location-based schedules using colored location labels is a great way to encourage independent transitioning. 

Visual contracts help communicate to students how many tasks need to be completed before they earn preferred activities. 

Incorporating Special Interests

Molly is an expert at identifying her students' special interests and finding creative ways to incorporate them into the classroom from sign language videos at carpet time to independent work tasks. We love this cute name sequencing task for a Minnie Mouse lover!

We are delighted to have Molly as one of our ALIST members! A special 'thank you' goes out to her and her staff for welcoming us into the classroom and sharing all of these great supports!