“Collaboration is definitely key to our success with our inclusivity model. It is woven through everything we do, no matter what job you have in the corporation,” says Ms. Scruton. BCSC offers a great deal of required and optional professional development around UDL and inclusivity and how best to teach and support all learners, but especially those with autism, behavioral needs, or other special needs in general ed classrooms.
The autism coordinators and behavior coordinators meet weekly to share ideas and challenges. There is also an Autism Leadership Network, which was launched through the state-wide organization, Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA), where autism and behavior coordinators can collaborate via a group listserv and meet monthly with their counterparts across Indiana to join forces, give presentations, and invite guests to speak. And twice yearly, IRCA hosts a day-long conference that can cover anything from new research about autism and neurodiversity to technologies that can complement teaching in the classroom.
For the last few years, BCSC has built in four required PD days into the calendar to focus on inclusivity and how best to support all learners in and beyond the classroom. BCSC also hosts a UDL Summer Institute — an optional two-day conference to support the staff’s UDL journeys. Available in person or virtually, the primary focus is on UDL and Positive Behavioral Instructional and Supports (PBIS).
“What makes a big difference across the board is PD — whether it’s a formal training day or the Summer Institute or a UDL or autism coordinator working directly with a teacher in a classroom. And, of course, the fact that we model UDL and inclusivity in all of our PD,” says Ms. Laswell. “So, we’re constantly being transparent about how we’re designing the instruction for teachers, but also supporting them in their classroom.”
In this clip, Ms. Laswell talks about the many layers of professional development and support around the implementation of UDL, including the New Teacher Academy.
Some students on the spectrum at BCSC are non-verbal or need supportive technologies in the classroom. This can often require training and buy-in from the teacher. To help with this, Ms. Scruton may work one-on-one with a teacher in a classroom to scaffold lessons that include such technologies. “A lot of what I do is expanding people’s awareness of what supports are out there to help students with autism, with a focus not on how to use the technology, but why it’s important for a student to use,” she says. “I remember one teacher who after helping a student learn to use a speech talker on an iPad in the classroom told that child he couldn’t take it outside to recess because, well, an iPad is expensive. But how is that kid going to talk with his friends at recess without it? So, again, it all goes back to the mindset of inclusivity and what that means for each child.”