2nd Report & Action Plan

This report & 2nd Action Plan has been done by Lynn McCann from a specialist Autism school in Longridge called Hillside. She comes to Woodnook 1ce a month to observe and assess Taylor and the school’s progress, and provides advice and support. below is exactly what has been put into the 2nd Action Plan:

At my visit on 17.3.09 Miss B & Mrs S reported a number of areas of progress.

* Taylor is beginning to join in some class lessons including numeracy, phonics & PE. These are dependant on his moods but are a big step for Taylor.
*Taylor is now in full time school and sitting with other children in the hall at lunch times.
*Taylor is now doing a lot of things for himself such as putting on his coat, dressing & undressing for PE & sometimes independently joining in with the class lesson.
* He is hitting other children less times than he has been before.
* A PE lesson I observed was particularly successful in that Taylor got dressed himself, lined up and followed the teacher’s instructions really well. When he did go off tasks, Miss B was able to redirect him and he stayed for the whole lesson. It was a well set out and visually supported lesson (cones & skittles to indicate clear expectations)
* Taylor is working on set TEACCH structured tasks that are related to the curriculum up to twice a day in a workstation set up outside the classroom.

From my first visit it is clear that Taylor is now making small steps of progress at school. It was clear when I first observed him that he was a child who had great difficulty in coping with the communication, sensory and social demands of starting school, but now he is beginning to overcome this great challenge and is responding to the visual support, communication strategies, routines and timetable that have been put in place for him.

It was also clear that his Autism has impact on his ability to access positive interactions with other children. However, from my observations it is clear that he wants to interact with others and seeks to do so often. It is his lack of skills in this area that lead to these interactions breaking down and unfortunately to hitting or hurting others.

Overall I am very pleased with the progress Taylor is making and can see that he has much potential to succeed in mainstream school. However, his steps will be small and he will need support to learn the many complex social and learning skills he will need. It is important that the school adopt a long term view and make his steps achievable and the support autism related. I feel that the training course has benefited Miss B very much as I can see how she is applying some of the things she has learned on that course.

This Action Plan is intended to build upon the progress made but it is important to continue with the strategies now being used and be very consistent wherever possible.

Target 1: To reduce the number of hitting and pushing incidents against staff and other children (continue to let Taylor manage his timetable by using the Thomas picture)

*Keep a tally chart of incidents to count how many happen a day/week (alongside usual record keeping)
*Use ‘Good Friends’ social story and read with Taylor each day (ONLY when he is calm. Do not use when incident is occurring or just after. This is a preventative measure)
*Continue to use strategies previously suggested to redirect and support Taylor in the classroom.

Target 2: For Taylor to take turns in a structured game with another child.

*Use outside classroom or other quiet area.
* Take photos of other children in class and have Taylor learn their names as a 1:1 activity with Miss bailey
* Use turn-taking board and put Taylor and another pupil’s photos and names on it (each day if possible)
* Play simple turn taking games such as matching/snap/dominoes etc, using board for the children to say who’s turn it is each time (2-3 times a week)

Target 3: For Taylor to sit on the carpet for the duration of his timer (3-5min) at least once a day.

* Have Taylor make himself a mat with a favourite picture on it. Encourage him to sit on this mat in a place which gives him a little space from other children but is near them.
* Use timer to encourage him to sit or if engaged in activity leave him to join in.
* Praise and take photo of Taylor’s ‘Good sitting’
* Use timetable to let Taylor know it is time to sit on carpet and then let him come to it himself if possible.

Target 4: For Taylor to be doing 3 curriculum related tasks at his workstation twice a day.

* Continue with TEACCH workstation and include tasks that are relevant to Taylor’s understanding.
* Continue using Time to Talk and introduce Reception key words as a matching and reading activity.