A-LIST Spotlight: John Everson- 1:1 Paraprofessional, Tipp City Schools

It is that time of year again where we get to shine our A-LIST Spotlight on area educators who go above and beyond to meet the needs of their students with autism and low-incidence disabilities. In today's A-LIST Spotlight, we are featuring amazing 1:1 paraprofessional, John Everson from Tipp High School in Tipp City. 

Our team has had the pleasure of working with John for several years as part of a student referral and we were so impressed by his dedication, patience, and willingness to collaboratively problem-solve with our team. 

While working with his student, John implemented a variety of visual supports to help the student be successful while in the school building. One of the most effective tools was a dry erase board for writing reminders and providing non-verbal prompts. This was a great, flexible support that could be used across a variety of settings and activities. 

John also worked closely with classroom staff to implement their classroom visual supports including voice volume visuals, task lists, and visual timers. Additionally, he assisted in reading the student to know when to use sensory supports such as a weighted neck wrap. 

In addition to classroom sensory supports, John implemented a variety of sensory breaks with his student over the years including sensory motor stretching, use of a sensory tent, and breaks in the calming sensory room. John is very intuitive and was able to provide valuable feedback about these supports. Additionally, he was an expert at reading his student so he knew when giving an extra 10 minute break could really help him fully relax and focus more when returning to class. 

John went above and beyond to read and analyze information we provided, trial new supports (even when they were a bit unconventional!), and take excellent data. One of the greatest strengths John demonstrated was taking all of the information provided through the coaching process and applying it to his student. This helped him with "tuning in my awareness and empathy to the correct radio frequency."

Thank you, John, for all of your hard work and perseverance over the years. We have truly enjoyed working with you!

ALIST Spotlight: Denise Campbell- Occupational Therapist, Mad River Local Schools & MCESC

We are kicking off a new year of ALIST Spotlights with today's feature of Occupational Therapist Denise Campbell. Denise is a fellow employee of the Montgomery County ESC who works in Mad River Local Schools at their Mad River Early Childhood Center and Stevenson Elementary. 

Denise excels at collaborating with her colleagues, providing structure during therapy sessions, and consulting with staff regarding student sensory needs. 

Collaborating with Colleagues

Denise continually advocates for her students and is always looking for new and innovative ideas to support the unique needs of her students. She goes above and beyond to problem-solve and help where she is needed. 

Therapy Session Structure

Denise knows her students strive with predictability and routine. She uses visual and tactile supports to provide students with structure during OT sessions so they know exactly what is expected and what they will earn at the end of their session for completing work. This structure reduces interfering behaviors, increases productivity, and helps her students learn and grow!

One structural support Denise uses is a visual contract which uses star tokens to symbolize each task or "job" her student needs to complete during their session. When the task is completed, the student removes the token. When all of the tokens have been removed, the student knows they are finished working and they have earned the activity chosen at the start of the session. 

Some of Denise's students need more concrete structure. For these students, Denise uses a Structured Work System of drawers. The drawers contain the activities or "jobs" for the session so students can see exactly what is expected when they get started. The student uses the numbered strip to match numbers to the drawer, take out and complete the work, and then place it in a finished location. Once all of the numbers are matched and the drawers are empty, the student earns a reward activity. 

Sensory Needs

Denise has collaborated with her district teams to meet student sensory needs in a variety of ways. Check out our previous post on the Calming Sensory Space she helped her colleagues create at Stevenson Elementary. She also helped to create a great Hallway Path for students who needed movement breaks throughout the day. 

We are so glad that Denise is part of our ALIST team of professionals in our districts since she has a wealth of information to share and loves to help others! Thanks for being such a wonderful partner to our team, Denise!

Remote Learning Tips and Tricks: Top 5 Tips for Using Team Collaboration to Reduce Parent Stress During Remote Learning

Remote learning requires a great deal of coordinating for families and educational teams. For our students with intensive needs, parents are managing emails, video/phone calls, and assignments from their child’s teachers as well as their related service providers (i.e. OT, SLP, VI, PT, etc). This can lead to a lot of stress!  Today’s Remote Learning Tips and Tricks will provide ideas to reduce parent stress during this challenging time. 

Tip 1: Identify a Point Person

Identify a point person who will communicate directly with the parent. This person can help with fielding questions or concerns, coordinating virtual meetings, and communicating assignment expectations. 

Tip 2: Plan Cross-Disciplinary Activities

Review the student’s IEP goals and collaborate with team members to identify activities that can address multiple goals. Click the image below to access our free handout with ideas for activities which incorporate sensory, communication, and educational/daily living skills. 

Tip 3: Co-Treat

To reduce the number of virtual meetings for a student, consider co-treating with another member of the team. Use the cross-disciplinary activities handout above to find common assignments that can be completed during these sessions. 

Tip 4: Provide Assignments in a Centralized Location

Many of our parents have reported that it is easiest when all of their child’s assignments are in one place. Some districts are using Google Classroom and all of the assignments across disciplines are saved in the same classroom. Some teachers have taken this a step further and created a Google Slide deck like the one below which outlines the student’s schedule and corresponding assignments. Click the images below to purchase this Google Deck.

Tip 5: Provide Options

The world of remote learning allows many opportunities for providing options. Allow parents to choose the mode of learning (packets/hands-on activities vs. virtual). Also, provide flexibility of when assignments are due.

One of the key areas to allow options is when scheduling virtual meetings. Sometimes it can be hard for the parent to make an assigned time work because they have their own work obligations, maybe the child’s schedule is “off”, or perhaps a sibling needs to access technology at that time. Providing the parent with options can make it easier for them to follow through. Let them choose if they want to meet individually with the teacher and related service providers or if they prefer co-treating, allow them to choose how frequently they will meet, and allow them to choose their own time slots. During our recent remote learning panel, one of our panelists shared how Sign Up Genius has increased the success of her virtual meetings. Click the image below to learn more. 

For additional tips and tricks during remote learning check out our previous posts:

Role of Paraprofessionals During Remote Learning

5 Step Plan for Remote Learning