Upper St. Clair teacher offers resources for special-needs students
As an Upper St. Clair School District special education teacher, Julie Stringe regularly observes the importance of a regular schedule for many students.
“It’s so important for kids who have autism and other special needs to be very structured and organized in their lives,” she said. “School obviously is so different from home, and you can’t really re-create the structure of school life at home.”
Example of a Step By Step Learner picture schedule
With schools closed indefinitely because of COVID-19, she and other educators are concerned about adverse effects with regard to the continuity of students’ routines. Stringe can provide some measure of assistance with the Step By Step Learner, which provides resources for individuals with special needs.
Among them are customized picture schedules, which Stringe creates using applicable images to help guide children through their days and nights. She uses the schedules for students while they’re at school, and now she is adapting the illustrated lists for home.
“I’ve set some up for parents where it’s: Wake up in the morning, brush your teeth, have breakfast, get dressed, sit down, have some math work time, do some chores,” she said. “It sounds so strict, but research tells us that the special-needs population thrives on these structured, repetitive schedules.”
The picture schedules can be highly personalized.
“If one of the child’s chores is to make the bed, they can send a picture of the child’s bed, and I can put that in the schedule,” Stringe said.
She also has licensed software called Boardmaker, a popular choice among educators.
“It has very user-friendly pictures,” she said. “It’s very simple and to the point, not a lot of clutter, and it’s kind of the go-to for special needs.”
Boardmaker comes in handy for producing another Step By Step Learner offering, social stories.
“It’s kind of like the picture schedules, but it comes in story mode,” Stringe said. “Teachers and therapists use them in the classroom or therapy setting to teach the child a skill.”
The skill could be as fundamental as the proper way to use a restroom.
“It could teach how to initiate conversations with another kiddo, or how to initiate play, how to reciprocate play. How do you talk to a teacher? How do you ask for help?” Stringe said. “If we can use the same things from school at home – we’re using the same visuals; we’re using the same language – it is easier, and kids do progress. Research shows that they do progress.”
An Upper St. Clair High School graduate and lifelong township resident who earned her master’s degree in special education and elementary education, Stringe offers consultation services addressing the likes of students’ Individualized Education Programs, behavioral issues, sensory information and advocacy. She also posts daily life-skill videos on the Step By Step Learner website, as a means of helping to promote independence.
Above all, she is hoping that her students can return to their normal school routines as soon as possible.
“It breaks our hearts as teachers, because we want to do so much more for these kids,” she said. “We have more love to give this year. We’re not done yet.”
For more information, visit www.thestepbysteplearner.net.