Odd Socks and Docs

How people with Neurodiversity, ADHD and ASD can feel intense emotions that can feel visceral and painful, often triggering a meltdown. Being aware of this and tips on how to help someone with a Big Emotion.

Discussing how a positive attitude and presuming competence can really help parents and children. Especially relevant to children with ASD diagnosis.

Collecting stones and pebbles for use in the class room. A fantastic resource, sensory experience which is highly adaptable to make great lesson with many links to curriculum areas such as literacy, history and science. perfect for fine motor skills too.

How successful teaching is about having great relationships with the staff and children. This can only happen by dedicating time to build the relationship.

The art of "Letting them be." and how this can be structured into activities across the curriculum and the school day. It is a very important skill to learn to be independent.

A fundamental Life Skill and needs to be taught carefully as it involves so many other skills. In this episode I talk about taking a group out weekly to a local shop and how to manage it.

How puppets can really enhance conversation skills, including signing and bring fun and laughter into the classroom. Also touching on the use of hand puppets in Intensive Interaction sessions

Just a minute, hold on a sec often used and not very meaningful. In this short episode I talk about using First this and Then that a simple clear way of moving from one thing to another. An action being needed before the next thing can happen, helping students to be adaptable and flexible.

Children everywhere will be drawn to playing with the earth, sand, pebbles or dirt. The mud kitchen allows children in their own time and in their own way to explore and learn. It is cheap and easy to set up and provides hours of learning through play. Children of all ages and abilities will enjoy being in a mud kitchen giving the teacher ample opportunities to interact, assess and record!

Everyone needs a light, maybe the light at the end of a dark tunnel, maybe a bright shining light, maybe a slow steady light with a warm glow. Reflecting on how the mood in a room can be lifted.

How a simple lesson of making soup can be developed into a community project with cross curricular links in reading, maths, social skills, independence skills, real life skills of shopping. In addition providing a great link for parents to work with them at home.

Unfortunately when living or working with some students with severe learning difficulties with challenging behaviours it is likely that you may get assaulted. In this episode I reflect on this and look at ways to reduce the risk and then look at how recovery can be helped.

How my love for Monet lead to a term of beautiful art work with my mixed ability SEND class. With the added bonus of beautiful displays, cards and gifts not to mention all the other skills and great behaviour.

A simple bespoke card for students and their supporters, or independent people with SEND to carry. These cards should immediately tell a member of the public or services how best to help when someone is in crisis or has had an accident.

Another idea for making Maths a fun activity whilst teaching other valuable life skills. Easy to adapt to age appropriate groups and easy to differentiate for individual students.

An idea for series of maths lessons that can be easily adapted and differentiated. The students have fun and their learning crosses into important areas of the curriculum including literacy, life skills and motor skills.

The last episode of Series 2! When there just seems to be so many things that need to be done and taught, how do you decide what to prioritise and what is important to the students and parents! Have a wonderful Christmas break and make sure you rest!

How working collaboratively with TA's can produce a fabulous term long project with lots of important learning outcomes beyond baking skills.

When you work together with parents you get the best outcomes for their children. They can be an incredible resource and no one knows their child like they do. In this episode I look at developing those relationships.

How making pancakes weekly became a highly successful motivating lesson. Involving multi disciplinary work, lots of cross curricular links and real life skills that parents could practise with them at home.