Executive Functioning Forum: The Incredible 5-Point Scale in Action!

During our time coaching, we get to see a variety of different self-management curriculums in action. One of our favorites is The Incredible 5-Point Scale by Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis. 

To learn more about how to use The Incredible 5-Point Scale we recommend clicking on one of the images above to be directed to their website. Today's Executive Functioning Forum is not a substitute for reviewing the awesome information there, rather it is a snapshot of several creative ways we have seen the curriculum in action in our regional districts!

Morning Check-In

One way we have seen the scale in action is for students to start their day with a check-in. This helps staff get a baselin on how the student is feeling and also proactively provides the opportunity to embed self-management to begin their school day. 

Angela Crum
Parkwood Elementary, Beavercreek

Dale Geyer
Jane Chance Elementary, Miamisburg

In the Moment Check-Ins

In addition to a morning check, students may need to check in throughout the day to stay regulated. We love this simple visual that can be used in the moment and is also small enough to remain discreet if needed. 

Incorporating Interests

Sometimes self-management activities can be challenging for our students when they feel vulnerable and struggle with threats to self-image. They can struggle to understand the benefits of these regulation supports. Incorporating interests such as in the scale below can be a great way to get student buy-in. 

Megan Logano
Clark ESC

Connect to Sensory Regulation

Sometimes we will see students master identifying where they are at on The Incredible 5-Point Scale, but they will struggle to apply regulation strategies when needed. We love how this sensory room embedded The Incredible 5-Point Scale into their sensory choice options. 

JFK Elementary, Kettering

For additional information on self-management curriculums, check out our previous posts:

The Zones of Regulation

Superflex

Sensational Social Skills: Good Mistakes

Today's Sensational Social Skills blog will focus on being okay with mistakes, good mistakes. We often hear from our teachers that some students struggle to learn new skills because they are afraid to make mistakes or they become very defensive when given correction. Some students are easily frustrated by the mistakes of others.

We will share strategies for teaching students to look at mistakes in a different way using the Pillars of Performance (PoP) framework. PoP is a framework we use to help students acquire and apply social skills. These four pillars include: PRACTICE, PRIME, PROMPT & PRAISE. We have created a series of PoP cards to directly teach critical social skills.


First, introduce the concept of good mistakes with a social narrative like the one below:

Social Narrative: Nobody likes to make mistakes but mistakes help us learn. To learn something new you don’t just sit down and do it perfectly the first time. You have to be willing to make mistakes so you can practice, learn and get better. There are different kinds of mistakes. A good mistake shows you are brave and you are making an effort to learn something new. A careless mistake is when you don’t care and you don’t make any effort to do it the right way. Keep trying and learning from those good mistakes and you will be great!



Click the image below for a free handout of the Good Mistakes PoP card. Print, cut, and laminate the card to use as a visual support when teaching this skill.

Let’s PRACTICE!
In order to master any skill, you need to deliberately practice the skill. This makes it much easier to apply the skill in the moment when you need it the most. Try some of these practice activities to strengthen skills. Repeat, repeat, then repeat.

1. Learn how mistakes are opportunities for learning- Help your student understand the difference between good mistakes that are needed for learning (stretch mistakes), and making errors without a desire to learn (careless mistakes). For more information on four types of mistakes check out this blog post from Mindset Works:

Mistakes Are Not All Created Equal

Raise awareness by talking about your own mistakes or reading stories about characters who make mistakes. Consider how you respond to mistakes to model a growth mindset. Check out this blog post from Very Well Family:

When Your Child Makes a Mistake

Learn about famous inventions that happened because of a mistake. Check out these videos of important interventions that happened by accident:

2. Say Okay to Corrections- Help your student practice the skill of responding to mistakes in a calm and productive way. Teach with a growth mindset approach and encourage the use of scripts such as, “oops, I can learn from that.” Teach your student to say “okay” to corrections. To practice this, present a task that is unfamilar with the goal of reinforcing the student each time they respond to a mistake in a positive way. Make it a fun and positive experience to help your student become more comfortable with making good mistakes. Reinforce expected responses by having the student earn a point or reward each time they say “okay” to a correction.

3. Use a Calming Strategy- Help the student identify a quick in-the-moment calming strategy such as deep breathing or palm presses. Practice using this calming technique regularly. By implementing this calming strategy at the start of the task and as needed throughout the task, the student may be better able to manage frustration. Here is one example of a calming strategy you can try (Click the image to download a copy for yourself!): 

4. Quality Checklist- Create a quality checklist that breaks the task into small, sequential steps and includes quality assurance steps such as checking with the teacher and making corrections. By including these steps on the checklist, making corrections will be a normal and expected part of the process. When a checklist is presented, keep in mind it may take practice and encouragement before your student can use the checklist effectively and independently. By adding a preferred activity at the bottom of the checklist you can motivate them to get through it. 

Time to PRIME!

Use the priming bullets on the Good Mistakes card to review the strategies you have practiced. What self-script can they use to coach themselves when they make a mistake or are corrected. If these strategies are fresh in the mind of your student, the student is more likely to apply the strategies. Make a point of reviewing these strategies prior to starting a challenging or non-preferred task. Present the quality checklist with steps needed for completion. Be sure to point out the expectations of checking work and making corrections. Next, have the student engage in the calming strategy for a minute or more. These are all strategies that have been practiced so the student should be very familiar with how to implement them. The priming session should be a positive pep talk to review these strategies and instill confidence in your student. By priming the student, you are setting them up for success.


Click on the image below for a FREE social story:

PROMPT
Even with a priming session, the student may become frustrated or defensive while working on the task. Use the Good Mistake card as an in-the-moment, nonverbal prompt to respond in a positive way. If the student continues to be frustrated, prompt or model the use of the calming strategy.

Keep in mind that some students may become defensive or further escalate when given direct verbal prompting. If so, you can just present the Good Mistakes card as a nonverbal reminder.



Give PRAISE!
This final pillar is the most important. We know that in order to increase any skill we need to actively reinforce the skill. Any time you notice that the student is responding positively to corrections or mistakes, provide verbal or nonverbal praise/reinforcement. When using the quality checklist, it will be important that you follow through with the reward that was written at the bottom of the checklist. Facilitate intrinsic reinforcement for your student by developing pride in their work and point out what they have learned. Some students are motivated by adult approval while some older students may be more motivated by peer approval. 

That’s it! Those are the 4 pillars to teach your students how to respond to good mistakes. Each pillar is important in supporting the application and generalization of this critical skill. Taking the time to implement all 4 pillars will result in the outcome you want. It may take some time so be patient and have fun with it. Teaching the skill with a positive attitude will help the student develop a positive association with the strategies. Developing your student’s confidence and ownership of the goal will help your student succeed.

A-LIST Spotlight: Deanna Hicks, Intervention Specialist at East Elementary in Eaton

Our first A-LISTer classroom spotlight of the 2022-2023 school year shines bright on Intervention Specialist Deanna Hicks at East Elementary in Eaton. 

Deanna is a perfect representation of our A-LIST because she is enthusiastic, dedicated, and always willing to learn something new to help her students. She cares deeply for her classroom staff and students and strives to help everyone succeed. Deanna has been a great partner to our team who remains open and creative in implementing our recommendations. 

Organizational Supports

When first entering Deanna's classroom it is evident she has put a lot of effort into creating a space with clearly defined boundaries and easily accessible materials for staff and students. 

Manipulative shelf with visual cover

Drawer system for instructional materials

Labeled water bottle storing system

Clearly defined classroom library with labeled book bins

Cart for instructional materials

Visual Schedules

In addition to a clearly defined environment, Deanna provides students with visual schedules to provide a better understanding of expectations for locations and activities within the classroom.

First-Then flip ring

Circle time mini-schedule

Individual location-based center schedules

Sensory and Emotional Regulation Supports

In addition to providing structure that is calming and organizing for students, Deanna also provides individualized sensory and emotional regulation supports to keep students calm in the sensory-rich school environment. 

Emotion check-in visuals

Calming cube

Weighted cart for heavy work transitions and purposeful walks

Heavy work cafeteria jobs:

Paper towel lifting and trashcan helper

Hands-On Learners

Deanna knows that her students learn best when given hands-on opportunities to learn and practice new skills. 

Name letter graphing

Scrambled sentences

Reinforcement

Another way that Deanna makes the classroom a positive environment is through incorporating reinforcement and opportunities for students to learn through play.

Tool and doll house center

Kitchen center

Sticker chart reinforcement system

 To see more examples of our A-LISTers in action don't miss our previous posts:

Autism and Low-Incidence Coaching Support Team (A-LIST)

Around Town Round Up: Accessing Supports Throughout the Day

For many students, a vital part of effective intervention is being able to access supports throughout the day. This improves consistency and accountability for both staff and the student. In today's Around Town Round Up we will give some great examples from our districts of how teams ensure access to Academic, Sensory, and Communication supports at all times. 

Accessing Individualized Classroom Supports

We love how some of our classrooms have designated classroom storage for specific students. This can be a great place to keep individualized academic tools such as visual supports, adaptive writing utensils, calculators, or reading overlays.

Rachel Hatton
Normandy Elementary, Centerville

Debi Gnau
Mad River Early Childhood Center, Mad River

We love this simple strategy of using a file folder to create a pocket at the student's desk which limits transitions to another location to access materials. 

Brittany Bush
Spinning Hills Middle School, Mad River

For students who travel between classrooms, having a portable option such as a canvas bag can be a great option too. 

Allison Officer
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Mandy Schetter
Northmoor Elementary, Northmont

Accessing Sensory Supports

Keeping sensory supports nearby can be important to students being able to regulate in the moment and can decrease escalating behaviors. 

VeraKaye Sowers
Northridge Elementary, Northridge

OCALICON

Some students may need to co-regulate, therefore having staff nearby to redirect, provide tools, or give calming deep pressure can be very helpful. 

Cindy Bowling
Dixie Elementary, New Lebanon

Accessing Communication Supports

Students who use AAC such as communication devices or low-tech supports such as choice boards consistently need access to their voice! 

A wh-flipbook is a great portable, low-tech option that students can take with them from place to place throughout the day. 

Kendra Krumpke
EJ Brown Middle School, Dayton

Some communication needs may be location-specific so having targeting communication supports at those locations is best such as and "I want" script in the lunchroom or a "bathroom" switch near the bathroom. 

Heidi Horner
Tipp City
Miami County ESC

Store communication supports in a consistent location when not in use (such as when transitioning at the end of the day) so that students can access them as soon as they arrive and nothing gets misplaced around the room. 

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

We love how the students in the example below have consistent access to their AAC devices when working independently, playing, or talking with staff. 

Erika Lauterbach
Dixie Elementary, New Lebanon

Sheyanne Olson
East Elementary, Eaton

How do you keep student supports accessible throughout the day? Feel free to use the email button at the top of the column to the right to send us examples to feature in future blog posts!