Individualized Strategies

Ziggurat Model

A strengths based planning model to address the underlying deficits that may cause social, emotional, and behavioral challenges for students with ASD. It is used regularly to determine if a child has met the criteria and is eligible for special education services under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Three of the evaluation tools that are utilized in the Ziggurat Model are:

Underlying Characteristics Checklist (UCC)
Individual Strengths and Skills Inventory (ISSI)
Global Intervention Plan

Teachers, parents, and/or service providers may fill these checklists out to collect the necessary data and information on the students strengths, weaknesses, and needs (2010). The Ziggurat Model combines the data from these tools in order for the team to create an appropriate plan for the individual student.

Martin (2014) states one of the strengths of the Ziggurat Model is that it outlines evidence based practices to use as interventions with students with ASD.

There are five areas of need identified by the Zigguart Model.

The Ziggurart Model is individualized and addresses the child's specific needs due to their ASD characteristics. This leads to a proactive and effective use of interventions (Smith, et al., 2010).

Interventions

The following are some examples that work for students with ASD. This is not an exhaustive list, just a sampling of strategies that have been proven to be effective. Crosland & Dunlap (2012) discuss the antecedent procedures (what happens before a behavior) that can be manipulated in order to decrease unwanted behavior and help to provoke a desired response.

The three strategies they recommend are:

priming
prompting
visual schedules

These strategies are used as prevention, to teach, and to reinforce desired behaviors. Visual aids are an essential component to support students with ASD and therefore have a page dedicated to the topic.

Below are some of the strategies and practices that are effective with students that have ASD.