ASD-S4: Demonstrates the ability to communicate effectively and consistently, using strategies to help students with ASD communicate effectively including; modeling and reinforcement, repairing communication breakdowns, providing relevant social/communication cues and implementing planned interventions such as picture exchange or symbolic communication systems under the direction of licensed staff.

Facilitator Supplement

Worksheets in this Unit

All worksheets are Adobe pdf files. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print the worksheets.

Lesson 2: Difficulties with Pragmatic Language Skills

• Concept to Practice

Lesson 3: Strategies for Improving Communication Skills with ASD

• Concept to Practice

Lesson 4: Visual Supports for Maximizing Communication

• Concept to Practice

Lesson 5: Using Augmentative Communication

• Concept to Practice

Facilitated Activity

Many of the activities that paraprofessionals are asked to complete in this unit have several correct answers, as they are scenario-based activities that ask paraprofessionals to utilize concepts and steps that are learned in associated lessons. We suggest that you look at the activities that paraprofessionals are asked to complete within this unit and bring together 2 or more of the paraprofessionals who have completed an activity (face-to-face or through email). Ask them to compare their answers in a discussion format. Were they the same? Different? Ask them how they came up with their answers? Were they based on different assumptions or conditions? Explain. Do the paraprofessionals have personal attributes that make him or her more comfortable making one choice over another? If the paraprofessional is currently working in a school, what conditions within the working environment does s/he think would influence their decisions? How would they influence their choices? (This discussion can greatly enhance the application of the skills learned in these lessons. They can provide opportunities to incorporate district-specific information and policies in the lesson as well.)

Discussion Ideas

Lesson 1: Underlying Issues of Communication Difficulties

• This lesson covers “sensory modulation issues” related to persons with ASD: Impaired ability to switch sensory channels, impaired attentional maps, attentional focus, and information storage and retrieval. Discuss what each of these issues is. Discuss the nature of gestalt processing. How might these impairments affect behavior in the classroom? How might instruction and classroom environment accommodate these issues?

Lesson 2: Difficulties with Pragmatic Language Skills

• This lesson discusses pragmatic language and its development in students with ASD, focusing on two central issues: verbal and nonverbal language, and language ambiguities. What is nonverbal language? How often is it used? What are language ambiguities and why might they be a problem for people with ASD? How can language in the classroom accommodate issues around ambiguous language?

Lesson 3: Strategies for Improving Communication Skills with ASD

• This lesson covers strategies focused on helping students with ASD deal with the difficulties of paraverbal, nonverbal, and ambiguous language while encouraging the use of both receptive and expressive language. Seven strategies are discussed. How practical are the strategies discussed in this lesson? Can any of them be used immediately? What might a practicing paraprofessional do to implement one or more of them in her or his work?

Lesson 4: Visual Supports for Maximizing Communication

• This lesson addresses strategies for reducing the transient nature of information exchange in the classroom through the use of visual supports which are more static than verbal exchanges. Four strategies are covered. What would these strategies look like if used in a classroom? Would they change with the age or grade level of the student? If so, how might they change? Can all of the strategies be used immediately? What are examples of how the strategies could be implemented in the classroom?

Lesson 5: Using Augmentative Communication

• This lesson discusses augmentative and alternative communication strategies that are effective for students with ASD. In particular, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) approach is discussed. What is augmentative and alternative communication? Why might it be useful in a classroom for ASD? What is PECS? Talk about the process and procedures and what this would require to learn to become skilled in using the strategy.

The Para eLink is sponsored by the Minnesota Paraprofessional Consortium, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education, located at the Institute on Community Integration in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.

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