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Children dressed in costume run down an ally as they trick or treat.

Halloween Supports

Are you ready for some SPOOKTACULAR resources? Follow along this month as we share different Halloween visuals that can be used to prepare the learner for all the fun festivities at school and home!
 
 
Posted 10/04/2024 by Jolie Robichaux

 

Antecedent Based Interventions with Chris Champagne

Lunch 'n Learn: Antecedent Based Interventions

Would you like to learn evidence-based ways to create an environment that encourages positive/desired behavior, promotes engagement, and reduces interfering behaviors? Using antecedent-based interventions (ABls) can do just that. 
Join our Lunch + Learn Webinar to learn simple ways to transform your environment into a positive and predictable space for learning.
 
 
Posted 09/20/2024 by Jolie Robichaux

 

Boy working on schoolwork at home sits with his head in his hand, eyes closed, while holding his eyeglasses.

Back to School Support

Hey families, our resources this month are for you! We know getting back into the routine of school and homework can be challenging. Our LASARD facilitators collected several strategies that can be helpful to everyone!
 
 
Posted 09/3/2024 by Jolie Robichaux

 

Lunch n Learn Visual Supports with Tracy O'Donnell

Lunch + Learn: Visual Supports

Need visual support ideas to start off your school year as a super support for your students? In this Lunch + Learn, LASARD Facilitator Tracy O’Donnell, M.Ed. will share 30 visual supports in 30 minutes, including visual support ideas for all learners in all grades K-12! 
 
 
Posted 08/14/2024 by Jolie Robichaux

 

Birdseye view of hurricane.

Hurricane Resources

Louisiana’s hurricane season is underway. Hurricanes can be challenging for individuals to navigate, and we want to help! Here are resources to guide your loved one through a hurricane.  
 
 
Posted 08/06/2024 by Jolie Robichaux

 

Yellow school bus drives from house to classroom.

Back to School Checklist

Transitioning back to school can be a challenging time for students and families. We compiled our favorite transition resources to help your learners adjust to the new school year. Follow this checklist and your student will find their rhythm in no time.
 
 
Posted 07/31/2024 by Jolie Robichaux

 

2023-2024 Lunch n Learn Schedul

Lunch + Learn 2023-24 Collection

Welcome to LASARD’s free Lunch + Learn webinar series! Each month, our expert LASARD facilitators or guests will discuss topics like social skills, visual supports, self-regulation tips, communication strategies, and more! These webinars are for educators, families, and anyone else interested.
 
Lunch + Learns happen on the second Friday of each month from 12:00-12:30pm.
 
 

 

It's a Hurricane social narrative

Hurricane Resources

Louisiana’s hurricane season is underway. Hurricanes can be challenging for individuals to navigate, and we want to help! Here are resources to guide your loved one through a hurricane.

Social Narrative: It's a Hurricane!

Social narratives help learners gain critical information about different social situations, and shows them how to respond in socially appropriate ways.They provide the learner with improved understanding of events and expectations.

Download the social narrative: It's a Hurricane Social Narrative

Watch and Read

These videos break down the social narrative into different clips!

Hurricane Choice Boards

We all know how tough it is when the power is out during a hurricane! Our learners are so used to having access to electronics and WiFi that it can be even more challenging to find activities that keep them busy during power outages. Check-out our Activity Choice Board that answers the question, “What do I do when there is no power or Wifi?”

Activity Boards are a great way to build communication skills, prevent interfering behaviors, and promote independence! Learners can easily select the activity they want to do the most by pointing or verbalizing their choice.

Activity Choice Board for Younger Child

Hurricane Activity Choice Board for Younger Child

Download the Activity Choice Board: Hurricane Activity Choice Board for Younger Children

Hurricane Activity Choice Board for Preteen

Hurricane Activity Choice Board for Preteen

Download the Activity Choice Board: Hurricane Activity Choice Board for Preteen

Hurricane Communication Boards

We all know how terrifying hurricane season can be, but imagine if you didn’t have a functional form of communication to express your wants/needs to others around you. A simple Communication Board that has icons relating to the situation can make a difference for you and your child. These boards will give the individual a way to communicate with you, and they will also help promote some understanding with all the changes around them.

Hurricane and Evacuation Communication Board

Download the Hurricane and Evacuation Communication Board: Hurricane Communication Board

 

Checklist marked with pencil: hadjanebia - stock.adobe.com

Back-to-School Checklist

Transitioning back to school can be a challenging time for students and families. We compiled our favorite transition resources to help your learners adjust to the new school year. Follow this checklist and your student will find their rhythm in no time.

Printable Back-to-School Checklist

#1 Monthly Calendar

Monthly calendar

Use a blankmonthly calendarto prepare your child for the beginning of the school year. This calendar is a great tool to show the change in schedule and help the child anticipate those changes ahead of time.

Cross off the days on the calendar each evening and talk about what to expect the next day.

Monthly Calendar Templates

#2 Change Alert

Change Alert

AChange Alertvisual can be used to reflect any changes in the daily schedule or individual routine. This is a priming strategy that will help the individual learn how to be flexible and accept change.

To show your child the change in school staff for the upcoming school year, visit the school’s website to access staff pictures. Be sure to review this support with your child before the first day of school. Being prepared helps soothe anxiety!

Change Alert Template

#3 Meet and Greet

Meet and Greet

Request ameet and greetwith your child’s new teacher(s) and related service providers. Request a copy of your child’s new schedule and the classroom rules to start reviewing at home. 

Take pictures! You can use these pictures to talk about what to expect on the first day of school.

#4 Transition Item

Transition item

Ask your child’s teacher if they can bring atransition itemon the first day of school. Transition items provide a sense of comfort and security during stressful situations.

Transition items may include: Pictures of family members, doll, action figures, stuffed animals, fidgets, drawings.

#5 All About Me

All About Joseph

AnAll About Meworksheet is a great way to share personal information about the individual. It helps the student introduce themselves to the teacher and share what makes them special and unique.

The student can individually fill in each section of the worksheet, or the parents can complete the worksheet from their child’s perspective.

About Me Template

#6 Relax

Relax

Take a breath and relax!Children notice when their parents are anxious, which can influence the child’s own feelings about the situation.

Show your kids how to be strong by controlling your anxieties. This will help your child stay calm for the all-important first day and throughout the school year.

 

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Adobe Stock: Students know the answer

Customized Packages for Critical Intervention Required (CIR) or Urgent Intervention Required (UIR) Schools

LASARD now offers packages customized for Critical Intervention Required (CIR) or Urgent Intervention Required (UIR) schools! Our three packages deliver high-quality professional learning paired with hands-on coaching  to support instruction, inclusion, collaboration, co-planning, and implementation of instructional strategies.

Each package is priced at $12,000 per CIR/UIR school.

Package: Diverse Learners

Professional Learning Series: Inclusion (for up to 60 participants per session)
  • Session 1 (2-hours): Inclusion Mindset – in this session, participants will reflect on the “why” behind inclusion and belonging, discover the research supporting inclusive practices, identify the barriers and opportunities while moving to a more inclusive system, and develop an action plan related to inclusive practices. Participants will engage in a collaborative small group discussion regarding the various dimensions of “belonging” and how schools can help all of their students feel like they belong.
  • Session 2 (2-hours): Universal Design for Learning – in this session, participants will learn about and discuss the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) philosophy explore the three principles of UDL and why they are important for all learners, and finally, learn ways to incorporate UDL strategies and practices into daily lessons to support the needs of ALL learners.
  • Session 3 (2-hours): Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Methods and Models of Co-Planning & Co-Teaching – in this session, participants will understand the roles and responsibilities of co-planning and co-teaching, explore co-teaching models and how to build collaborative relationships that support learners, and dive into co-planning processes and methods while working together to co-plan a lesson.
Coaching

Up to 4 follow-up coaching sessions for a teacher or educational team to support instruction, inclusion, collaboration, co-planning, and implementation of instructional strategies. Coaching may occur at a classroom, school, or district level.  The occurrence of any of the following may constitute a coaching session: preliminary meeting to identify goals and discuss strengths and challenges, classroom observation with feedback, modeling in classroom, record reviews, or collaborative meeting to problem solve.  Any cancellation of a scheduled session by district/school with less than 24-hour notice may be counted as a coaching session.

Diverse Learners Package

Package: Academics and High-Quality Instruction

Professional Learning Series: Instructional Strategies (for up to 60 participants per session)
  • Session 1 (2-hours): Universal Design for Learning – in this session, participants will learn about and discuss the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) philosophy, explore the three principles of UDL and why they are important for all learners, and finally, learn ways to incorporate UDL strategies and practices into daily lessons to support the needs of ALL learners.
  • Session 2 (2-hours): Making Learning Accessible for All – in this session, participants will take a deep dive into what they learned about UDL and learn strategies to apply and use in the classroom along with various methods of teaching and scaffolding material, such as: using explicit teaching, embedding choice-making, using cooperative learning and peer supports, providing meaningful feedback, student engagement and active response strategies, anchor charts, vocabulary learning supports, implementation of manipulatives, graphic organizers, and more.
  • Session 3 (2-hours): Teaching Grade-Level Content to Diverse Learners – in this session, participants learn instructional strategies to include students with significant cognitive disabilities in the general education classroom. This session gives a brief overview of the Louisiana LEAP Connectors and their alignment with the general education curricula, and then jumps into strategies that teachers can put into place to ensure the successful inclusion of students with significant cognitive disabilities. Some strategies discussed include systematic instruction, task analysis, prompting, task boxes, and more.
Coaching

Up to 4 follow-up coaching sessions for a teacher or educational team to support instruction and implementation of instructional strategies. Coaching may occur at a classroom, school, or district level.  The occurrence of any of the following may constitute a coaching session: preliminary meeting to identify goals and discuss strengths and challenges, classroom observation with feedback, modeling in classroom, record reviews, or collaborative meeting to problem solve.  Any cancellation of a scheduled session by district/school with less than 24-hour notice may be counted as a coaching session.

Academics Package

Package: Discipline and Positive and Preventive Behavior Behavior Supports

Professional Series: Behavior (for up to 60 participants per session)
  • Session 1 (2-hours): Behavior Basics & Preventative Strategies– In this session, participants will be introduced to trauma and how trauma affects behavior. Participants will learn about the ABCs (antecedent, behavior, consequence) of behavior, functions of behavior, and various easy-to-implement classroom tools and strategies. Participants will create an action plan for their classroom.
  • Session 2 (2-hours): Identifying and Teaching Replacement Behaviors – In this session, participants will build on the knowledge of the topics discussed in session 1 to begin thinking about how to identify and teach replacement behaviors. Participants will learn about reinforcement and preference assessments and will participate in a facilitated preference assessment trial. This session wraps up with an engaging collaborative session among participants to learn about various tier two behavior interventions.
  • Session 3 (2-hours): Dealing with Challenging Behavior – In the final session of the Behavior Series, participants will learn about the phases of behavior and how to intervene to support the student during each phase of behavior escalation. We further explore how trauma can affect behavior and how to support those students throughout the school day. Participants will create a self-regulation tool that can be used to support students in the classroom who are experiencing interfering behavior. This session wraps up with various supports and tactics for adult-wellness and self-regulation.
Coaching

Up to 4 follow-up coaching sessions for a teacher or educational team to coach on behavior supports and strategies. Coaching may occur at a classroom, school, or district level.  The occurrence of any of the following may constitute a coaching session: preliminary meeting to identify goals and discuss strengths and challenges, classroom observation with feedback, modeling in classroom, record reviews, or collaborative meeting to problem solve.  Any cancellation of a scheduled session by district/school with less than 24-hour notice may be counted as a coaching session.

Discipline and Preventative Behavior Supports Package