Josefa Ben-Arieh - The Educator′s Guide to Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Praise for The Educators Guide to Teaching Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Educators will love this book. It is easy to follow and user friendly. It contains the basic principles of creating and supporting a quality learning environment for students with autism. The curriculum resources, assessment tools, and strategies are outstanding. It creates a clear vision of a successful program and guides you step by step on how to achieve that vision.

Mindy Stevens
Consultant to Schools and Families of Individuals
With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Center for Autism and Related Disabilities
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL

This is a valuable book for many reasons. The content is comprehensive and user friendly, both for professionals and parents. The case studies are very realistic and show how collaboration occurs with related services. There are also excellent references given for further reading. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about autism spectrum disorders and the methodologies currently available.

Gloria Wolpert
Autism Program Director
Manhattan College
Bronx, NY

The Educators Guide to Teaching Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders offers educators and other stakeholders clearly articulated, effective practice options for students with autism-related disorders. This practitioner-friendly resource is an excellent resource for identifying, applying, and evaluating maximally effective interventions and treatments.

Richard L. Simpson
Professor of Special Education
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Ben-Arieh and Miller have combined their years of experience and expertise as educators of students with ASD and created an invaluable guidebook for teachers. The Educators Guide to Teaching Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders is written in a very user-friendly style and will be an excellent resource for any teacher with a student with ASD in the classroom.

Terri Cooper Swanson
Assistant Professor
ASD Certificate Program Coordinator
Pittsburg State University
Olathe, KS

To my husband, David, and to my children, Hila, Idan, and Shanee, whose love and encouragement sustained me throughout this project.
(Josefa Ben-Arieh)

To my husband, Forrest, and to my children, Elizabeth, Laura, and Noah. Without their constant love and support this book would not have been possible.

And

In loving memory of my sister, Elizabeth M. Mackintosh (19391990), who greatly loved and appreciated all children.
(Helen J. Miller)

THE
EDUCATORS GUIDE TO
TEACHING STUDENTS WITH

Autism
Spectrum
Disorders

Josefa Ben-Arieh Helen J. Miller

Copyright 2009 by Corwin

All rights reserved. When forms and sample documents are included, their use is authorized only by educators, local school sites, and/or noncommercial or nonprofit entities that have purchased the book. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

For information:

	Corwin A SAGE Company 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 (800) 233-9936 Fax: (800) 417-2466 www.corwinpress.com	SAGE India Pvt. Ltd. B 1/I 1Mohan Cooperative IndustrialArea Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 India
SAGE Ltd. 1 Olivers Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom	SAGE Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ben-Arieh, Josefa.
The educators guide to teaching students with autism spectrum disorders/Josefa Ben-Arieh and Helen J. Miller.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4129-5775-5 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-4129-5776-2 (pbk.)
1. Autistic childrenEducation. I. Miller, Helen J. (Helen Janet), 1949- II. Title. III. Series.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

09 10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

T his book is written specifically for every educator who teaches students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We have the greatest respect for you because we know the degree of dedication and enthusiasm necessary to make any real progress with these wonderful students. The fact that you have picked up this book suggests that you, like us, believe there is much more to learn about the education of students with ASD. So whether you are a general education teacher, special education teacher, speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, or psychologist, our purpose is to help you, and your team, clarify a successful approach to working with a wide variety of children with autistic characteristics.

We were spurred on by our conviction that there are specific approaches that are more effective than others. Educators face many situations where best practices that are successful with other students do not bring the same expected results with students with ASD. So this book describes best practices for the ASD population; it focuses on approaches we have found successful in our work with individuals with this exceptionality.

Additionally, we believe that it is important to bring into the classroom the interventions that are based on the most recent research. We must all continually challenge ourselves to add to our repertoire of techniques; we must look for ways to promote independence, communication, and socially appropriate behavior along with academics in students who are often hard to motivate.

Finally, we were encouraged to write this book because we believe passionately in the potential of students with ASD. With well-chosen and intense intervention models, great progress can be made.

W e owe a debt of gratitude to two of our students, Nicky and Karli, who many years ago started us both on the journey to learn about autism. This appreciation extends to all our wonderful students and their families who have taught us so much.

We are also indebted to our school districts and the dedicated professionals with whom we work, as well as to the many colleagues who have shared our passion for understanding the autism spectrum.

Our list of acknowledgments must, of course, include the many mentors, friends, and family members who, whether through words of support or by example, encouraged us throughout the years. We are truly grateful to each one of them for their positive influence on our lives.

We give a warm thank you to the Corwin staff and especially to David Chao, Brynn Saito, and Codi Bowman for their encouragement and clear guidance with this book.