Measuring Success

As a special education teacher, I struggle daily with tracking the progress of my students.  First, I have to determine what "progress" actually means.  Is progress the fact that no one sat on the tables today or that all the words were spelled correctly on the weekly spelling tests?  Is progress measured by everyone sitting together at group time without anxiety, completing a math assignment independently or is success just simple having a calm day in the classroom.  My job as a teacher is of course to teach students academic skills in math, reading, writing.  But with my students diagnosed with autism, it consist of a little more than just the core subjects.  I find myself having to teach social cues along with coping methods that the students can use in stressful situations.   I have to teach the students to work independently and I am constantly giving reassurance and building self esteem.  Now, I am not saying that these additional skills are not taught in a regular education classroom, but I feel it is amplified in a special education classroom.

Any one familiar with autism knows that the disorder creates an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs. My students have sensory issues which sometimes leads to sensory overload on certain days.  On the days that the students are calm and not irritated by their environment, academics are the focus of the day.  But there are somedays when lack of sleep, hunger, environmental distractions or unknown causes rule the day.  On those days, my wonderfully crafted lesson plans become obsolete because my students are not able to focus.  On those days it is very difficult to measure academic success but I might observe one student attempting to initiate a social interaction.  Would that be considered progress or do I just consider the results of a norm referenced test.

A few weeks ago, I was summoned into a parent conference for one of my students.  The parents felt that their child had not learned anything new from a year ago. They could not see the academic progress or determine the level of success their child was having in school It was of course their right to question what their daughter was learning and it was my job to show them the progress that their daughter had made. Armed with her portfolio of academic progress,  I was able to show to show the parents that the student had made remarkable progress in all academic areas.  But the areas that I wanted to point out the most were the progress in areas that were difficult to show at a parent conference.  They were the observation of her social skills, her coping abilities, and her ability to resolve conflicts in a positive way.  Fortunately, the student had improved in all areas but how do we judge the areas that are most important.  My answer to the question is simple this; we have to teach the students the skills necessary to function in society one day.  It is our hope that the children diagnosed with autism can one day acquired skills that would someday help them cope with a rigid socially structured society.  The necessary skills needed to accomplish this are different for each student.

A Window into Her World

I think one of the things that I struggle with as an educator is the social disconnect that my students sometimes have towards me.  For example, on Monday mornings I always greet my students with "how was your weekend!"  Most times, I am met by blank stares or comments that have little to do with my question.  It took me some time but I have grown not to expect an answer to my question although I continue to ask it.  Any parent of an autistic child will tell you that as they grow, they develop wonderful abilities in some areas and can even be considered gifted but they struggle to reciprocate.

When I think about reciprocating, I think of one of my students.  A little seven year old girl who wonders aimlessly around the room.  It took a while for me to assess the skills that this seven year old had because it was very difficult to communicate with her.  I could not tell  if she was understanding anything that was going on around her.  Eventually, I discovered that she read on about a fourth grade level, she was capable of writing complete sentences, she knew how to add, and could spell all the words on the first grade high frequency list.  On the flip side, my second grader sat on tables, hated wearing shoes and ate paper.  She was an enigma to me.

Then one day it all changed.  I entered into her world and tried to figure out the reason for her inappropriate behaviors in the classroom.  I soon realized that to her our world was confusing.  She retreated back into her world when things were not clear and easy for her too understand.

One day, this lovable seven year old handed me a crayon and ask me to write a sentence for her.  I wanted to see her ability and told her that I couldn't.  That lead to a tantrum and  she tore her paper.  After consulting with the director of the school, I felt that her frustrations were because she had trouble spelling one word in the sentence.  So we brainstormed and after she came back from a short "break, we asked her if she would copy the sentence.  I wrote the sentence down on another piece of paper and she copied the sentence on her paper and continued to work on her project.  I was now in her world!  I understood her frustrations and was then able to find a solution.

Thanksgiving Class Project

Dear Journal,

It was supposed to be an easy assignment!  After reading the story "Thanksgiving on Thursday" by Mary Osborne with my second graders,  I gave them the task of writing a few sentences about what we talked about in the story.  I wanted to create a class book that everyone could share afterwards.  I had imagined the students taking pride in creating a project of this kind and having a finished product to go with it.  I did not imagine that this project, which looked great on my lesson plan sheet would be the cause of such great stress and anxiety for my students.

I realized a few weeks ago that my students were a lot more complex than I first imagined.  They were advanced in some areas and delayed in other areas which presented a challenge for me.  I had to work on the areas that were difficult for them at the same time highlighting their talents in their preferred subjects.  Another challenge for me was that they were all delayed in different areas which meant that I had to create lesson plans that would address four different needs in a short period of time.  The class project was an assignment that I felt could address their needs on various levels and still be fun for the students.  Boy, was I wrong!  The students did not feel that this project was fun because it required  them to create an idea and write it down on paper.   Their anxieties grew and before long I had a student hiding under a table and another one pulling at her hair.  Time for a break!

After the break, I quickly realize that one of my students loved to draw.  So I decided to let her draw a picture and then have her tell me about it.  So I asked her if she could draw a picture of the Mayflower, the ship that the pilgrims had sailed to America on.  When I check on her a few minutes later, she had drawn a picture of a May flower, a pretty blossom that she loved in the spring time.  I was stunned for a bit and then I smiled warmly at her.  She was proud of her product and so I included it in the class book.

My New School

Dear Journal:

I was told that my students were on the Autism spectrum.  The idea scared me because my limited knowledge of Autism told me that these students were highly intelligent and were very honest when it came to telling you like it is.  I had many insecurities about myself and my ability as a special education teacher and I was not sure that I was up for this challenge.  I wanted to give teaching one last try before I turned my back on the profession.   After all, I needed to find my niche in life which to me was a purpose outside of earning a large paycheck.  I was tired of the unrealistic rules and expectations that were handed down by the school board in my district.  I just wanted to change lives by teaching students what life had already taught me.

The school was a private institution for students with Autism, students who were academically gifted and students who just didn't fit into the public school environment.  The school's philosophies were intriguing to me and that was why I was there.  The ratios were small consisting of four students and two teachers.  I was told that the maximum ratio was five to one, which were extremely good in comparison to the school districts close by.

My first day was greeted by one student who was operating on limited amounts of sleep, another who would not come close to me and the third growing anxious by the minute!  I could not organize anyone and there was not structure left by the previous teacher that I could follow.  I knew after that first day that I had to come up with a plan.  Autism or not, I was hired to teach and I was going to do it.