Social and

Emotional skills
Characteristics Difficulty carrying
on a conversation
Misunderstands
verbal
interactions with
peers
Similar interests
to her peers

Expressive

Receptive

Quality of voice
that may include
hoarseness,
nasality, volume
(too loud)
Inability to
express meaning
using oral and
written language.

Difficulty following
multiple
instructions or
Difficulty
understanding
some words
(language) and
concepts eg time,
location

Finds it hard to
tell a story in
sequence

Difficulty identifying
and explaining
what she has read

Struggles to find
words when
speaking
Lacks fluency in
reading

Seems to
understand nonverbal
communication
better than verbal
ones.

Difficulty in
reading sight
words

Noisy classroom
affects her
participation.

Responds well to
visual cues

Vocab
Minimal word knowledge and
retrieval.
Difficulty learning and using new
vocabulary

Behaviours
Quietness
and
avoidance
during class
or group
discussions.
High level of
frustration
Open to
receive
assistance
from others

Implications

Issues forming
relationships with
peers.

Unwillingness to
participate and
self conscious.

exclusion or
rejection by other
students

Difficulty writing
sentences and
sequencing
information to
express
meaning.

problems
discussing rules
in games
frequent
arguments with
peers
withdrawing from
interaction

Issues with
understanding
verbal and written
commands.
Misses key
instructions for
tasks and requires
them to be
repeated

Issues completing
Gives up trying to her assigned work
explain
Often doesnt
follow instructions
Reluctant to talk
due to
misinterpretation.
Enjoys
participating in
Mimics others at
drawing
times
activities.
Requests for a
quiet place to work

Has difficulty thinking of a variety

of words when speaking and
writing
Unable to understand what she
reads and difficulty expressing
ideas

Lack of
intrinsic
motivation to
attempt tasks
Inconsistent
behaviour
dependent on
level of
frustration. Eg
uncooperative
(high level) or
confused (low
level)
Minor
swearing
Switches off
and distract
others

Strategies

Teacher guided
conversation eg.
greeting people
and starting a
conversation with
simple questions.

Drawing /
keyword mind
maps to help with
conceptual
understanding
Picture dictionary
using real life
images

Encourage
Aubrey to make
eye contact with
social interactions Use apps for
assistance to
asking for help or communicate. Eg
Icommunicate:
clarification
create pictures,
Implement
flashcards,
Cooperative
storyboards ,
games and
routines and
activities to build
relationships and visual schedules
encourage social
interaction.

Breakdown
instructions into
explicit ordered
steps.

Word bank on a keyring

Where possible
write instructions
down on the board,
in sequence or ask
student to write
them down.

Apps to create sentences and

phrases such as
prologuo2go:sentences/phrases
are constructed through selecting
symbols from a variety of
categories.

Use visualisation
to encourage
Aubrey to carry out
tasks
Ask Aubrey to
repeat instructions
to confirm
understanding.
Buddy up with
suitable peers as
part of classroom
arrangement
(paired to group
desk setup)
Desk located close
to teacher with
minimal noise
distraction.

Use prior knowledge of words to

teach new vocabulary

Use finishing
cards as a
reward
system for
achieving
goals.
Rules to be
displayed
both written
and visually
Reference list
for teaching
staff with
strategies for
coping with
frustration.