Leah Goering

Dr. Marr
HON 321J
4/22/17
Autism Observation Reflection
For my class observation hours, I observed in three different school settings and districts
working with students with autism. I chose to observe in classrooms because I plan to be an
elementary educator, so I felt that this atmosphere would be the most beneficial to me. I
completed my first observation with a para-professional working with a student I will refer to as
Abby, who spent most of her time in an inclusion classroom. The next observation I completed
was with a high school teacher who is the head of a peer-to-peer autism program, so her
classroom is half students with autism, and half neurotypical students. Lastly, I visited an
enclosed third through fifth grade autism classroom and observed the special education teacher.
Overall, this gave me a very interesting ground for comparison between inclusion programs and
enclosed programs for students with autism.
Abby was the fifth grade, mostly nonverbal, student with autism that I observed. She
spent about three-quarters of her school day in an inclusion class, and the other quarter in a
special needs classroom. She carried an assistive communication device (an iPad) with her, but
she didnt use it often for conversation. The main time I watched Abby use this was in her special
needs classroom to write sentences about her weekend and play them for the class. Abby seemed
to respond VERY well to visual schedules, so that was one of the techniques that the special
education teacher, the inclusion teacher, and the para-professional working with her all utilized.
There were schedules taped on all of Abbys desks so she could always be aware of what she was
supposed to be doing. She also had custom visual schedules for specific days programed into her
iPad. In my observation with Abby, I was also able to watch the implication of a peer-to-peer
program. Abbys para-professional was telling me that through this program that they referred to
as POW, Abby had been able to increase the time she spent in inclusion classrooms by almost
double. This was very encouraging to hear, and it was clear to me after only a day that the POW
students assisting Abby LOVED having her in the class and being able to help her. I thought this
program was very cool!
One of the most surprising things that I learned about inclusion classrooms, and the roles
of para-professionals through this observation was just how much the focus is on learning social
skills versus learning course work. Abbys para-professional was honest with me in saying that
Abby was not capable of completing and understanding any of the material they were working
on in the class. When the other students would do class work, Abby would hold a pencil while
her para-professional would steady her hand and direct her on what letters to write. She told me
that for Abby, being in the inclusion classroom is entirely about learning how to sit in a
classroom, and to interact with other students her age. She would take a break from the in-class,
frustrating work every couple of hours in order to go down to the sensory room and complete her
occupational therapy routine to get out extra energy. This was cool to see implicated because it
was amazing how much calmer she would be in returning to the classroom. Abby was also
working on independence, so her para-professional would let Abby figure out where she was
supposed to be going next (ie. classroom, bathroom, sensory) and then give her a head-start so
that she could walk to her next location all by herself. She said that this freedom was HUGE for
Abby. I felt that it was super interesting to observe a para-professional because it was someone
who knew exactly how to best work with Abby and how to push her without pushing too far.
In the high school peer-to-peer program, it was more based on giving the individuals with
autism a good classroom model, and even more so, a friend. I loved watching some of these high
schoolers interacting with their buddies. One of the individuals was very prone to meltdowns,
and often these episodes turned violent with lots of furniture hitting. That being said, when they
had their peer mentor there to explain exactly what was going to happen and why, that individual
students meltdowns were often far reduced and sometimes nonexistent. The teacher mentioned
that without the program, that student would likely have to spend all his time in a special
education classroom, so that was very exciting to hear. This teacher was also able to help teach
her peer-to-peer mentors the best techniques to handle individuals in meltdowns, along with
teaching them large amounts about autism in general. This class was extraordinarily beneficial
for both the students with autism, and the neurotypical students there to assist them.
Lastly, I visited an elementary enclosed autism classroom. This classroom had only six
students in it (all with autism and some with comorbid disorders as well), one special education
teacher and two para-professionals. This classroom was obviously set up exclusively for working
with students with autism. There was a sensory corner that students could use to cool down, and
each student had visuals schedules in which they would work towards preferred items. One of
the things that I thought was the coolest about their visual schedules was that instead of using
stars or smiley faces, the students would earn pennies, nickels, and dimes on their visuals
schedule. I asked the special education teacher what this was for, and she told me that it was so
the students could learn the value of money (which I thought was an amazing idea). The students
all had very different verbal abilities, but they all learned and comprehended at about the same
first grade level. The special education teacher told me that the largest challenge she had in
working with her students was ensuring that they were all focused in on the class, and that if one
was having a challenging day, that wouldnt detract from the rest of the students learning. In
order to help ease this challenge, the students all sat on wobble stools so that they could be
moving while they were listening to a story or working. The teacher was able to spend lots of
one-on-one time with each student, and better ensure their safety and learning.
I loved being able to go into these three very different environments and learn how
teachers and para-professionals worked together to create the most inclusive and educational
environment possible for their students on the spectrum. Whether it was the para-professional
that worked with Abby, the general education teacher that worked with her peer mentors, or the
special education teacher and her six students, the obvious love that these individuals had for
their children with autism was immense. All these different people faced challenges, and days
that were worse than others, but they all had a clear passion for working with students with
autism.