Teachers and support staff in Calgary seem to be especially welcoming to outside supports. They opened their classrooms for me to visit and stayed late after school for presentations on self-regulation and positive behaviour supports. They expressed their gratitude at having access to learn more about the students in their classroom and how to effectively teach them, especially the students with autism or behaviour challenges.
However, a new budget prevailed and the position was ended after just a few months. Which brought me to my new position - a primary CSSI classroom. CSSI officially stands for Communication, Socialization and Sensory Integration but as a behaviourist, I am renaming it to be a Communication, Socialization, Self-Regulation and Independence classroom.
I miss my students and colleagues from Jarvis Traditional and Vancouver. However, I am excited to have the chance to work with such young children. I know that with the right supports and using Applied Behaviour Analysis, these children have a chance to learn many new skills.
I plan to use this website to share our tools, stories and successes. Hopefully it will be helpful to other teachers, support staff and parents who work with similar children!
Let the adventure begin!