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This newsletter is designed to provide all MN educators the necessary resources to increase their skills in teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Special education teachers, related service providers, administrators, and paraprofessionals alike are encouraged to subscribe to this quarterly newsletter.
The MN Low Incidence Project is here to support you!

MN Educators,

We’ve made it SO far into the school year! While the end may not be in sight quite yet, I know we are all hoping for a spring thaw and more sunshine. Hopefully, many of you will have a chance to enjoy a warm spring break!

This our first newsletter where we are rolling out our new Communication Corner and we need YOU to help us get the word out! Each quarter we will provide professional advice from licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Leah Hicks. Please share this with other educators especially SLPs working with autistic students. Check out our our first Communication Corner below!!

We are looking forward to partnering with the Autism Society of MN for their upcoming state conference in April. We will be there representing the NEST so stop by , say hi, and make a free visual lanyard! You can find more information about the conference in the Upcoming Events section below.

Wishing you all a relaxing spring break and countdown to summer! Now, if this snow would ever melt....

Tami Childs, Statewide ASD Specialist

Metro ECSU

tami.childs@metroecsu.org

• Quarterly Featured Highlight!
• MN ASD Upcoming Events
• MN ASD Current Opportunities
• MN ASD Updates
• NEW Communication Corner
  
• New Teacher/Educator Support & Training (NEST)
• MDE News and Resources
• STAR Media Center Tip
• ASD RESOURCE REPOSITORY

As Educators, we strive to accept, include, understand, and APPRECIATE autistic individuals through out the whole year! Let's commit to expanding our minds and skills by attending the Statewide Autism Conference this April.

April 26th - Join the pre-conference Foundational Workshop for new educators!

April 27-28 - Main Conference for All Educators!

See the Upcoming Events section for additional information and to register to join us there!

Ideal for any educators looking for a firm understanding of the autism diagnosis as well as common effective supports, the Foundational Workshop will help you to understand the experience of autistic individuals, and expand your idea of what ASD is. In this session we will talk about what ASD is (and isn’t), different ways that ASD can impact how someone thinks, behaves, and interacts, and strategies to promote success across environments. The final hour will be spent broken into smaller groups to discuss support strategies relevant to your life, with a group dedicated to educators and school professionals.

Social narratives help individuals with autism prepare for what is coming next, which aids in reducing anxiety. Check out these social narratives and more from AuSM at https://ausm.org/resources/social-narratives/

Creating Sensory-Friendly Spaces

How to Practice Healthy Boundaries

Ableism In the Workplace Social Narrative

Self Check Out

Tips for a Successful Date

If you need help with writing a social narrative for a specific situation or an organization, please reach out to AuSM’s education team at education@ausm.org.

The STAR Media Center is FREE for all educators in Minnesota! It includes monthly thematic units packed full of engaging activities to support academic, communication, and social emotional learning. It also includes visuals and resources to successfully implement routines across your students' entire day! Additionally, we have recorded a demonstration on how to easily get this up and running in your classroom!

Click here to request your FREE account

Click here to watch a demonstration on how to utilize the STAR Media Center

Need help accessing your STAR Media Center account? Contact tami.childs@metroecsu.org

Need help utilizing this resource in your classroom? Contact jennifer.guettler@metroecsu.org

The Statewide ASD Updates presentation is updated two times per year and available to all MN educators. This is the current state updates presentation from November 2022. A new update will be available after April 2023. Please feel free to share this presentation with your staff.

Welcome to the Communication Corner! My name is Leah Hicks and I am an ASHA Certified Speech-Language Pathologist. I have worked in the education setting for almost ten years. What I love most about working in a school is the level of access you have to students, which equates to stronger connections and relationships, along with increased communication support.

In order to be purposeful with this space and your time, I would appreciate it if you would fill out a survey regarding topics you are interested in learning more about. Click here to complete the questionnaire.

Today, I want to leave you with some easy tips for supporting some of your more vulnerable students who utilize Augmentative and Alternative Communication. These tips are not all-encompassing, but ideas your team can implement starting today, if you aren’t already.

Tip 1: Common Language

Integrate communication surrounding the use of the device and even the label given to the AAC system. Everyone on the team should call the system by the same name (e.g., device, talk box, iChat)

Tip 2: Always Available

Provide access to the AAC System. This is the child’s voice, and they need to know that communication is valued enough to be there whenever it is needed. Where the child goes, the system should follow.

Tip 3: Model, Model, Model!

The biggest thing you can do is provide exposure in THEIR language. Children who use AAC need adequate time to have language modeled for them in a way they will communicate. Get everyone on board - the SLP, the teacher(s), paras, even peer mentors. Consistency of modeling is key!

That’s all for this quarter! I hope these tips for AAC implementation prove useful to some or validating to those of you who are already doing these things and totally rocking it in the AAC department. Please remember to fill out the survey if you have any general interests or specific questions you would like addressed in the next newsletter.

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The NEST is designed specifically for all of you teachers out there who are new to working with students with ASD. Feeling overwhelmed? We get it and want to help!

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Essential training for Tier 1, 2, and 3 ASD educators. Participants will gain a firm understanding of the autism diagnosis as well as common effective supports. This Foundational Workshop will help you to understand the experience of autistic individuals, and expand your idea of what ASD is. In this session we will talk about what ASD is (and isn’t), different ways that ASD can impact how someone thinks, behaves, and interacts, and strategies to promote success across environments. The final hour will be spent broken into smaller groups to discuss support strategies relevant to your life, with a group dedicated to educators and school professionals.

Click here for flyer

Click here to register

The Minnesota Mentor Program (MMP) is accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year for new teachers (protégés) for Minnesota teachers who are new to teaching students in low incidence disability areas: autism spectrum disorders (ASD), blind/visually impaired (B/VI), deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH), developmental cognitive disabilities, and physical/health disabilities (P/HD)!

Click here for more information

Location: Virtual

Dates: Months of April & May, 2023

Cost $15.00

Conference Theme: Working effectively with students and families of diverse cultures.

Target Audience: Paraprofessionals, Future Teachers

-Open to all interested educators

Flyer: Click Here

Register: Click Here

A few lucky registrants will win door prizes which will be mailed to your location of choice! Please share with colleagues, send to paraprofessionals, and post at your schools!

Sign up to receive practical tips and tricks you can use in your classroom. Many of the tips come directly from classrooms in MN. Check out an example below. Click on "Tuesday Tips 'N' Tricks Sign-Up Form" and fill out the form to receive tips and tricks via your preferred email.

Questions about classroom setup or strategies to use in your classroom? Sign up for virtual office hours with ASD Evidence-Based Practice Coach, Jen Guettler. Office hours are Mondays from 3-4p. Sign up below!

The new Minnesota Department of Education offices are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mailing address
Minnesota Department of Education
400 NE Stinson Boulevard
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Note: The Minnesota Department of Education has moved to a new location in Minneapolis. The building is currently under construction. We anticipate completion of construction later this year. Until that time, the building will remain closed to visitors. All employees who are able will continue to work remotely.

This quarter's STAR Media Center tip is Using Routine Essentials to Create Independent Work Systems. If you're interested in learning more about setting up independent work systems in your classroom, join the STAR Webinar on May 2nd from 3-4:30! Sign up below.

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

March 2022

April 2022

Summer 2022

September 2022

December 2022

Tami Childs, MN ASD Statewide Specialist

Gail Jankowski, MN Low Incidence Project Support

Email: tami.childs@metroecsu.org
Website: https://www.mnlowincidenceprojects.org/Projects/asd/index.html
Location: 2 Pine Tree Drive, Arden Hills, MN, USA
Phone: 612-638-1527
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/525786611465791

This repository will include all evidence based practice resources that are shared in the newsletter on a given month. This is your go-to place to access the tools that ASD educators need! We will add to this as we continue to roll out excellent resources!