We are fortunate enough to have a responsive classroom elementary school. This type of setting is great for kids with ASD or any kind of disability. The idea of the responsive classroom is so that each child is involved in the classroom life.

One of the key elements to this type of setting is the morning meeting. If your school is not a responsive classroom school you might see if your regular ed teacher would consider at least having the meeting each day.

The meeting starts with a greeting everyone says hello and names the person next to them, they are sitting in a circle at the front of the room. Then each child is assigned a specific sharing day. Maddie’s is on Thursdays. On that particular day the child gets an opportunity to share something about themself. Kind of like show and tell but they don’t necessarily have to show something. An example of sharing would be to talk about something the child has done or is going to do, like a trip to their grandparents or a fun activity. The beauty of this is that the rest of the class has to ask questions about what the child shared. So after the child shares something they will say “I am ready for questions” and the child will get to choose three kids with questions. This is so good for kids with communication difficulties it teaches several things speaking in front of a group, answering questions, and an opportunity to find things in common with other kids. The teasing factor is not an issue. How can you tease someone you know so much about?

This sets the tone for the day and facilitates communication with the kids though out the day. At the beginning of the year the teacher sets up the ground rules for the room and the expectations are laid out up front. If there is rules that are broken there are specific consequences most of the time the child is asked to take a break. Try asking your teacher about having a morning meeting your PDD child will grow.