LINKS – A Peer to Peer ApproachTurner Howson Elementary School

Community Night - May 1, 2013

1. Autism is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate and socialize.

2. There are 10 students with ASD that attend school in Rudyard.3. Only certain students interact with students who have ASD.4. Your child’s involvement with the Rudyard LINKS program is

being recognized at the State level.5. LINKS benefits all of the kids involved.

TRUE

TRUE

TRUE

FALSE

FALSE

Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District

A look at the data trends in the incident of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Prepared by Carrie Carr ~ ASD Specialist EUPISD

YearNumber of

students found eligible for

services with an ASD

Total # of Students

Eligible for Special Ed.

Programs and Services

Number of School Aged

Students

Percentage of students

identified as ASD eligible

within Sp. Ed. Population

2012 110 (2013) 1,028 7,345 10.7%

2011 92 1,147 7,468 8%

2010 89 1,236 7,539 7.2%

2009 82 1,269 7,663 6.5%

2008 73 1,248 7,745 5.9%

2007 72 1,182 7,983 6.1%

2006 69 1,208 8,283 5.7%

2005 48 1,299 8,163 3.7%

2004 37 1,215 8,392 3.1%

2003 30 1,203 8,579 2.5%

2002 27 1,174 8,683 2.3%

2001 21 1,096 8,835 1.9%

• About 1 in 88 children have an ASD• Exact cause is unknown – strong genetic basis• Males are four times as likely to have it• Characteristics are evident by the age of 3• Historically 70-75% were thought to have some degree of intellectual impairment; recent estimates closer to 40-50% - testing of cognitive abilities continues to be a challenge.

Continuum of Skills for Individuals with Autism

Severe CI Gifted Aloof Passive Active/Odd Non-verbal Verbal Awkward Agile Hyposensitive Hypersensitive

Adapted from The Advocate (2003)

Cognitive Ability

Social Interaction

Communication

Motor Skills Fine & Gross

Sensory

A WALK IN THEIR SHOES…

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS WITH ASD 24 identified evidence-based practices:

Antecedent-Based Interventions

Computer-Aided Instruction

Differential Reinforcement

Discrete Trial TrainingExtinction

Functional Behavior Assessment

Functional Communication Training

Naturalistic Intervention

Parent-Implemented Intervention

Social Narratives

Self-Management

Peer-Mediated Instruction and Intervention

Social Skills Groups

Prompting Reinforcement

Response Interruption/Redirection

Pivotal Response Training

Speech Generating Devices

Structured Work Systems

Task Analysis

Time DelayVideo Modeling

Visual Supports

PECS

LINK mentors help the students with ASD just like they would help any peer. The difference is they understand the unique needs of the student with ASD so they know

why the student may react different in different situations. The LINKS program lets the adults talk with the peers so

we can take away the fear of not understanding.

What are LINKS?

Why is a Peer to Peer Model Beneficial?

• Who can best model age appropriate social and communication skills?

• It’s not that kids with ASD don’t want to be social…just sometimes lagging the skills on how to be.

• Kids with ASD have qualities that make for excellent friends!

• Adults just aren’t cool!

• LINK Benefits, too!

Components of LINK Programs

Music

* Lunch

Assemblies

Recess P.E.

General Education Classes

Special Education Classes

Library

When Are LINKS Utilized?

Bus

WHAT OUR LINKS HAD TO SAY…I think Links is a good program because it

teachers others people what Autism is and when they learn about it they

will make friends. ~AlaniGermain

The best experience being a link is seeing Loren getting better at

pronouncing peoples names, he's saying hello to us and he's getting better at reading and writing. He's using upper and lower case letters

now instead of just capitals. ~Kaitlyn Folkersma

Loren finally started to raise

his hand for help instead of yelling "help,

help, help" I like playing with

Loren at recess.~Nina Alpers

My Links greatest success

is he has a whole bunch of friends that he made! He's super good at Reptiles

and he is improving in

Math! ~Isabella Hickman The best experience

with my Link is just being friends with

him. ~Hunter Peterman.I think it is fun, it's feels

like being your being helped out, but with your

friends. ~Jimmy M.

If we didn't have Links

we would not know about Autism or

understand Loren. It

would not be doing as

good.~Amyla H

LINKS –

A PEER

TO P

EER

APPROACH

OUR VID

EO D

EBUT!!!

Rachel BymaSpecial Education Coordinator

Ann CareySpeech and Language Provider

Carrie CarrAutism Spectrum Disorder Specialist

Jessica ClarkSpecial Education Teacher

Angela CravenSchool Social Worker