Reddit mentions of Systematic Instruction for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities

Ok. Did some reading.

I'm not going to sugar coat this because well, I don't believe in that.

Welcome to the dark side. We have goldfish crackers. (BTW my roommate was an aide for 20 years and said that they are convenient because if they are attacking you, you can throw them at them and it will distract them for a while.) Invest in goldfish crackers and fruit loops. They make good rewards.

Buy this book. I really wish someone had recommended me that book before I stepped into an autism classroom. I reread it now every once in a while and still learn new things.

Start here. Go through the rest of her blog. Subscribe to it. She runs an excellent easy to understand blog.

Visuals are insanely important. Subscribe to LessonPix. Your school may have Board Maker, but I find it very difficult to use. Plus, LessonPix is online based so you can create something at home and then access it at school or vice versa. It is like $36 a year, which is insanely cheap. For my visuals, I usually put a picture with the word on the bottom.

You will need velcro. Do not buy it from a store. This is a wholesale place online. They have the cheapest velcro out there. I buy coins so I don't have to cut it, it makes it a lot easier. If you are going to cut velcro, get titanium scissors. They will not gum up when cutting velcro. Have a system with your velcro so you don't have random patterns of velcro. I usually do soft on a surface and rough on anything that travels.

You are going to need a personal laminator. My binding has the cheapest 5 mil laminating sheets out there. Use 5 mil for anything that travels and if its going to stay on a wall, use 3 mil. 3 mil or 1 mil (what the school laminating machine uses) tears easily and doesn't last. Once you create something, you don't want to lose it. Most any laminator will do. I like the Fellowes brand. This is a very good one. That my binding website has some awesome deals on laminators. Whatever you get, just make sure it doesn't need a carrier sleeve to laminate because those are annoying. Just make sure that if you from 5 mil to 3 mil you switch the laminator over to 3 mil and let it cool or there will be a burning smell. To save time I bought one of these. Just makes cutting faster.

Don't overspend on stuff for the classroom. Look at oriental trading post. You can find a lot of stuff there. Sign up for the newsletter and wait from a free shipping coupon, don't pay for shipping.

Get yourself a couple pairs of these. I like the 18 inch ones. Make sure your tetnus shot is up to date.

You probably need to brush up on your evidence based practices for autism too.

I know this is a lot of information. But these are all things I wish people would have told me before I started teaching this level of autism kiddos. I went into it blind. I've had to put all this together through reading, training, and observation. Its easier just to be front loaded with the information.

My first year teaching, I was put in a K-1 mod/severe autism class (your setting 3). It was the first autism specific class at the school. Nobody gave me any support. I had no idea what I was doing. I had very little formal training on autism specific teaching. It was like being sucked into a vortex in deep water with nobody around to help me. I didn't even know where to go for information. That's why I try to help people and be completely honest. I'm not trying to overwhelm you.

If you need help and support, let me know. My MA.Ed is in Special Ed with a specialty in Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am teaching a class similar to yours at an elementary school level next year. I'm really good at dealing with behaviors and data too.