Helping students regulate their emotions
BCSC has many strategies to help students, especially those with autism and behavioral issues, regulate and deal with big emotions. Maybe a student is simply having a bad day. Maybe the lights are too bright, or a thread on the collar of their shirt feels like a knife. Maybe they feel simply overwhelmed by all the expectations they feel pressing down on them. BCSC has calming corners — or as some call them, “amygdala first-aid stations” — in all their classrooms. There are noise-cancelling headphones, sensory rooms, and peer buddies who can make an enormous difference in how an autistic student may deal with a challenging day, situation, or reaction. And all the supports are built into the models of UDL and inclusivity.
“Another important part of UDL is making sure we have options for self-regulation,” says Mr. Hudelson. “One thing I focus on doing early in the year is teaching intentionally to all students, not just those with autism. What do you do if you’re feeling overwhelmed? What are the options available?” Watch Mr. Hudelson speak more in depth about how he helps students with autism, in particular, access tools for emotional regulation and how having strategies in place at the beginning of a school year, determined by a student’s entire case committee, can make an enormous difference.
Mr. Hudelson adds, “It seems a lot of the kids feel more comfortable approaching students and letting them be who they are. And I think inclusion is part of that, too. When you grow up constantly learning that everyone’s different, everyone has unique needs, everyone’s needs should be met, and we’re not going to judge people for the way they are, then we talk about that in the context of students with extraordinary learning needs or disabilities. And that is easy to apply to all groups.”
Capitalizing on students’ passions and strengths
Every student wants to feel special. To feel seen, heard, understood — and celebrated for even their smallest of victories. At BCSC, faculty and staff find ways in and beyond the classroom to capitalize on students’ interests and passions.
“Tying topics being learned in the classroom to something in students’ lives can be very powerful academically and socially. And when we find opportunities for students to make these connections, they can also showcase their special interests and knowledge,” says Ms. Laswell. In this clip, Dr. Dettmer talks about how by capitalizing on students’ strengths and interests, students can expand their sense of belonging as they feel a greater connection to their classroom community.
In Mr. Hudelson’s classroom, learning is all about choice. In a unit on writing narratives, students could write about any topic they wanted as long as they incorporated some of the new techniques they had been learning like using sensory imagery to improve descriptions or choosing better verbs to communicate action. “A lot of my students on the spectrum love these kinds of assignments because they can delve as deeply as they like into a topic of interest, write what excites them about the topic, then share this extensive knowledge with the class,” says Mr. Hudelson.
Watch Mr. Hudelson give a detailed example of how he engaged an autistic student’s intense interest in history by asking questions, involving the whole class, and encouraging the student to bring his knowledge to life in a writing assignment.