Amy Laurent

Supporting children, parents & educators

  • Services
    • Training
  • Supports and Resources
  • Podcasts
  • The SCERTS Model
  • Contact
  • Facebook

February 2, 2020 By Paul Allan Harrington

Heightened Perception- Challenge? Strength? Both!

It’s widely recognized that autistic individuals often experience heightened perception of sensory information. These processing differences are often discussed in terms of hypersensitivities and sensory defensiveness. And, while heightened sensory perception can pose very real challenges it can also create remarkable strengths. This support is designed to draw attention to both of these aspects of sensory processing differences. It can be used as a basis of conversation between individuals and/or their teams to understand environments that might be a match or mismatch for them depending on their sensory profiles and the impact sensory experiences have on their energy. This information can then be used to help fill out the Power Plan.

Autistic Perspective:

Our tools focus a lot on understanding the profile of the person (PIC) and we want to ensure that aspects of the profile are considered both in terms of the very really challenges they can pose, and also in terms of the strengths they can offer. I think it is unfair to label autistic people as “too sensitive” or “overly reactive” to stimuli – We could flip the script and ask what is wrong with all the neurotypical people who are numb to the world and don’t perceive certain sounds, frequencies, odors, and textures at all or as intensely? Though the words “hyper-sensitive” or “sensitive” should be neutral, I think they have taken on a negative connotation and so this support is a call to reframe thinking – I’m not hyper or overly sensitive to smells…I’m a Super Sniffer who experiences smells intensely and for long durations after most people think they have gone and this will either be a challenge or a strength depending on the context and it will be a challenge and a strength always – the challenges of it do not disappear just because I can leverage it as a strength!

Partner Stage:
Appropriate for supporting Social, Language, and Conversational Partners

Free Visual Support: Strength and Challenges (PDF)

Filed Under: Supports and Resources Tagged With: Conversational Partner, Language Partner, Social Partner

January 10, 2020 By Paul Allan Harrington

Emoji Communication Log

Emoji Communication Log:

Home/School communication logs are a tool that are frequently used to share information across contexts. They can be very helpful in building understanding of a student’s whole day- but so many times they are filled out by staff and parents. In doing so, we miss out on an opportunity to teach students how to share information across context and to be reflective about their experiences. The Emoji Communication Log was developed at the request of a middle school teacher who was searching for a fun and “age- appropriate” way to involve her Language Partner and Conversational Partner students in the process. Emojis are a communication style all their own and so important in peer interactions these days, so the integration just made sense. There are school day and home logs included for use.

The Emoji Communication Log- Autism Leveled UP!:

When we were discussing The Emoji Communication Log, it became quite clear that we could Autism Level it UP! So we did and created the Energy Communication Log. We’ve switched the original around a bit to highlight energy states. This helps students reflect on their energy state in a given activity, as well as whether their energy matched the situation, and any strategies and tools they used to help maintain engagement. In doing so the support naturally reinforces learning opportunities focused on regulation and helps share effective strategies used between home and school. So, it serves all the functions of the Emoji Log with added bang for your buck. We’ve included a school day and home log here too.

Autistic Perspective:

Growing up, I really valued my privacy and it was not natural for me nor was it desired by me to share what was going on at school with family members (or anyone for that matter)! I often say that if I were in school today, it would be very difficult for me, because there seems to be a lot more oversight and back and forth communication between school and home. If this must be, using a format that considers the fit between the person’s energy and the energy needed for various activities throughout the day is far more informative than reporting a color coded behavior zone, for example! So, if home-school communication is a need, make sure it is more accurate, if your child or loved one wants a way to report to you, this may be a great form for them, but if you are aiming to use this form to get information out of your child/loved one, please make sure they truly want to share.

Partner Stage:
Language Partner and Conversational Partner

Student Objectives:

Language Partner
JA 3.2 / MR 1.2 Understands and uses symbols to express a range of emotion
JA 6.2 Comments on Action or Event

Conversational Partner
JA 3.3 Shares information about past events

Partner Objectives:
IS 7.1 Models appropriate non-verbal communications and emotional expression
LS 2.1 Uses augmentative communication support to enhance child’s communication and expressive language
LS 2.3 Uses augmentative communication support to enhance child’s expression and understanding of emotion

Free Visual Support: Emoji Log Supports (PDF) Energy Log Supports (PDF)

Filed Under: Supports and Resources Tagged With: IS 7.1, JA 3.2, JA 3.3, JA 6.2, Language Partner, LS 2.1, LS 2.3, MR 1.2

Stay connected - Sign up to be notified about updates to this website and other related topics.

STAY INSPIRED

  • “I have been using the volume meter you shared with us having made some modifications that correspond with my music curriculum. It has been quite successful in the music classroom and the students respond well to the visual. Just wanted to thank you and share some successes.” Kim Oden, Music teacher
    Cobb County Georgia

Tag Cloud

Conversational Partner IS 1.5 IS 1.6 IS 3.1 IS 5.3 IS 7.1 JA 3.2 JA 3.3 JA 6.2 Language Partner LS 2.1 LS 2.3 LS 2.4 LS 4.3 MR 1.2 MR 2.2 MR 2.6 MR 4.5 MR 4.5(d) Social Partner SR 2 SR 4.3 SR 4.5 SR 5.3

Copyright ©2016 · Amy Laurent. All Rights Reserved.