Shelbi Giacalone

SPED 511-01

Diversity Project

General School Information

The school I observed in for Special Education 511 was George Nettles

Elementary School in Pittsburg, Kansas. My cooperating teacher was Mrs.

Pamela Thompson, Autism Resource Room teacher. USD 250, Pittsburg

School District has an ethnicity enrollment rate of 70.49% Caucasian, 15.30%

Hispanic, 4.16% African American, and 10.05% other. George Nettles has an

enrollment rate of 359 students for the 2016 school year. Of those 359

students, 77.16% are Caucasian, 6.69% Hispanic, 3.34% African American,

and 12.81% other. 47.91% are female and 52.09% are male. Of the USD 250

school district, 60.37 % are economically disadvantaged and 39.63% and

non-economically disadvantaged. Narrowed down further, George Nettles

Elementary is 44.57% economically disadvantaged and 55.43% and non-

economically disadvantaged. Of the 359 students enrolled at the school,

89.14% are students without disabilities and 10.86% are students with

disabilities.

Target Student Information

Of the 10.86% of students at George Nettles Elementary School

classified as having a disability, the target student I worked with is a 7 year

old, Caucasian male diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This student

was one of six receiving services in the resource classroom. The services he

received included speech therapy. The target student is non-verbal and uses

an iPad to communicate with others. Six paraprofessionals along with the

one teacher work in the classroom. One paraprofessional was assigned to the

target student at all times during the day. The dates and times I visited are

as followed:

10/18/2016 [12-2pm]

10/25/2016 [11-1pm]

11/01/2016 [11-1pm]

11/08/2016 [11-1pm]

11/15/2016 [8-10am]

Journal Entries

10/18/16 [12-2pm]

When observing in the classroom, target student participated in a deep

tissue massage done by Pamela Thompson. This was during the designated

sensory time. Lotion and a weighted ball were used to promote stimulation.

The teacher encouraged the target student by using vocal prompts stating

he was doing so great and made a note that he did not enjoy the scented

lotion.

During the reading station, the target student selected a number of

books, his favorite being the Penguin Says Please book. For sitting quietly
and followed directions throughout the activity, the paraprofessional

rewarded him with candy.

At outdoor recess, the target student went right for the swings, staying

there the entire 30-minute duration. He enjoyed his legs being pulled instead

of being pushed from behind. Using the iPad, the target student

communicated each time he asked to be pushed and smiled when asked if

he was having fun.

10/25/2016 [11-1pm]

For the direct instruction portion of the day, the target student

practiced matching the icon cues to boxes around the room. For example, he

was to match orange pictures such as a pumpkin, carrot, basketball, and

goldfish to the orange poster. The same was done for black pictured items.

For sensory time, he used laundry detergent scoops to play in the

beans. He enjoyed feeling the beans between his hands. Other sensory

options that were placed at the table was play doh or a patch of grass the

students could rub their feet on. The target student also chose to sit in the

sensory room with only the disco light on to have a resting period. After this

time, he was more cooperative with the paraprofessional and needed

minimal (1) prompting to follow directions.

11/01/2016 [11-1pm]
 When I arrived at my placement, the students were interacting at the

centers. The target student was at the spelling center. He was practicing

correctly ordering his alphabet. He needed assistance from his

paraprofessional. Once he began singing the song, he was able to order the

letters. He then moved to matching the letters to the pictures of the animals.

He correctly matched P, F, H, M, and W to the animal pictures. During this

time, he was working for his Cars 2 book. This means when he did as he was

told and followed the classroom rules, he received a gold star to put toward

his total. Once he received all stars needed, he was able to get a reward.

One this day, his reward was his favorite Cars 2 book.

After finishing the activity and being rewarded with his book, he sat

quietly while looking at the pictures of his book. When he was finished

looking, the paraprofessional read him the book and he attempted to read

along with her.

11/08/2016 [11-1pm]

When observing today, one thing I found interesting is that Mrs.

Thompson told the paraprofessional to ignore the target student until he

asked for what he wanted with his iPad. They were doing this because he

was trying to get the paraprofessionals attention without using any

communication other than eye contact. I think I would have gone about this

a different way other than just ignoring the student but it seemed to work

because he began using his iPad to speak his needs.

 I also observed him work with the speech therapist. During this time,

she instructed him to make letter sounds with his mouth. Some sounds were

easy for him and some were hard. He was not able to vocalize any

understandable words but they continued to try and practice.

11/15/2016 [8-10am]

The target student was oppositional with his paraprofessional while I

observed this day. He would not cooperate with the paraprofessional after

hitting the iPad. He chose to lay on the floor kicking his feet and hitting his

head on the paraprofessionals legs. Mrs. Thompson stepped in saying he

would do that all day if we let him and that we needed to pick him up and

move him. After multiple prompts for him to check his schedule, the

paraprofessional moved him there herself.

During the sensory time, he swung on in indoor swing for the duration

of the time. Enjoyed the back and forth repetitive motion. He also got on the

tricycle and rode that around in the hallway. When he heard noises coming

from outside, he paused to listen and looked in that direction.

Key Experiences

Specific skills practiced by the assigned student: The target

student often practiced mathematical and reading skills. He did so by

engaging in matching, counting, and sorting activities with blocks,

 shapes, and letters. While he did this, I was able to practice

differentiating the instruction to meet his needs.

Skill levels of the student: The skill level of the target student was

an early kindergarten or preschool level. He often worked on

recognizing shapes, colors, numbers, and letters; Things a typically

developing preschool student would know.

Motivation levels of the student(s) and activities you carried

out to boost student motivation: The target student was motivated

heavily by food or candy. The paraprofessional would reinforce his

positive behavior with fruit snacks or other gummy foods. He also

enjoyed reading certain books. I helped carry out these reinforcements

by reminding him what he was working for.

Experiences you had with your student(s) other than tutoring

type activities: The first day I visited, the fire truck came and

discussed fire safety with the children. During this time, the students

from the resource classroom were integrated with the other

kindergarten and first grades. Another activity I participated in with

them was when we went to the pumpkin patch. The target student

seemed to enjoy the corn bin as I am sure it was a sensory stimulus for

him.
Materials you collected, adapted, made or were given by the

teacher to use in working with your student(s) and the results

gained: The teacher gave many resources. Something I found helpful

was the icon cards. These were used to show the student pictures of

what he was to do next from his schedule. The paraprofessional would

 give him a Check Schedule card and he knew he was to go look at

what was next. This sort of communication was important because he

is nonverbal and the consistency of what to expect helped things run

smoothly.

Final Reflection

This project challenged me as an educator because it was not

something I have had previous experience with. I have been in many

classrooms but never one that was designated for students on the Autism

Spectrum. I was able to encourage my learning by connecting what I have

been taught in my Special Education classes to use and to see how

interventions really do help children. I believe this experience has helped me

grow and I will be able to put this experience to use later in my education

along with my profession.

One thing I did not like about the experience was that I was not

allowed much control of activities. The classroom was mostly student-led,

depending on what each student needed at that moment. Though I got a

variety of experiences in observing how a resource room can be managed, it

did not give me much responsibility when it came to teaching. If I were to do

this again, I would ask the teacher in the beginning if there were some

activities she would allow me to lead to increase my understanding of how to

do so in this type of classroom.