Send us a text I have seen a significant trend in my practice, teens with high functioning autism unable to attend school due to intense anxiety. The problem of children with autism who are unable to cope with school and develop agoraphobic type symptoms has long been around, but the increased numbers of highly intelligent, often with a "superpower" talented young people who are unable to participate in their educations and life in general is tragic. Schools are not being flexible and creative in addressing this. They insist on the old paradigm of highly structured behavioral model programs that simply don't work for these kids any longer. Many of them reject, sometimes with vehemence, the idea of the stucture of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) being practiced on them any longer. They "age out" in a way. But there is hope, in the form of a study of a school in England that developed a program based on empathy, kindness, and most of all, flexibility. (a link to the article is at the bottom of the page) The school is proving that the humanization of behavior interventions is still evolving. The profound positive effect of ABA for serious maladaptive behaviors is clear. Lives have literally been saved and ABA has provided a path to autonomy for countless children. However, without significant changes, I do not see evidence in my daily interactions with parents that ABA is working for their kids. It's time to look at programs like the one featured in this episode and make similar models available here. Link to article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37860824/ In the transcript section I've included a copy of the outline I wrote for the episode. Thank you for listening!…

Send us a text I've included a transcript of this episode. And here are a few helpful links to expand your knowledge of PBS. - https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ80580 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_behavior_support - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5048254/ This will be the first of many podcast episodes featuring different aspects of PBS. I first started to write and record a training series for paraeducators and teachers, but decided to start this podcast instead. I'm rewriting the series on behaviors to reflect a more general audience, particularly parents. Enjoy the episode! David…

Send us a text Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a method of teaching that embeds accommodations for all students into general education settings. Students who are visual, or auditory, or tactile/sensory learners are taught, and the student can show mastery, in the way that uses their strengths. UDL has been successfully implemented in thousands of classrooms around the country and its efficacy has been proven in these real settings. Learn how students with special needs, indeed all learners, can benefit from a UDL classroom. Here are links to resources mentioned in the episode CAST : https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl Reading pen website : https://smarterlearningguide.com/reader-pens-for-dyslexia-are-they-right-for-your-child/ Speech to text website: https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/assistive-technology/articles/dictation-speech-text-technology-what-it-and-how-it-works…