Self Contained

Midlakes Education Center

Midlakes Education Center (MEC) is located in rural Phelps, NY and services 25 districts from the surrounding counties (Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates). MEC commonly services students with autism spectrum disorder in self-contained 6:1-1 classrooms. This means there are at most 6 students and at minimum 1 teacher and 1 teacher's aide. Students can begin at MEC as young as preschool (age 4-5) and can remain enrolled as old as 21.

In the fall, I worked in a 2nd and 3rd grade classroom at MEC as a part of my student teaching. It was interesting that it was students who are in both 2nd and 3rd grade because there were clear academic differences between the two grades. I often wondered if there would have been a mutual benefit for both grades if they had been split.

In my classroom, we have 6 students all diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and all having IEPs. However, not all of them were classified under autism spectrum disorder on their IEPs. One was classified under multiple disabilities and another under speech or language impairment. There were also 4 staff members in the room: 1 special education teacher, 1 teacher's aide, and 2 one-to-ones for students.

Some of the unique ways students were supported here were through the use of assistive communication technology, use of visuals, and consistent use of color.

Assistive Communication Technology

Some students with autism spectrum disorder are nonverbal, meaning they don't communicate verbally. In my classroom, all 6 students were all nonverbal, so they had assistive technology specifically for communication. Some used picture and communication (PECs) book and other used Nova Chat (which use images and words) on tablets. Both allowed students to ask for help, greet others, answer yes or no questions, and request food.

Visuals

Visuals were also used whenever possible. Often, visuals were pulled from Nova Chat in order for there to be consistency in visuals. They were posted all around the room to help students remember where things go. They were also often used with readings so that students could visually see what a word means. It also helped students who use Nova Chat to navigate the program better.

Consistent Use of Color

Within each classroom, each student is assigned a color for the year. Their materials were organized in specific colored bins. Their schedules were on specific colored file folders. Their assigned stations and tables were labeled with their specific color. Each classroom had a red student, orange student, yellow student, green student, blue student, and purple student. If I were to enter a room to help a student all I would need to know is their color, and I would be able to find where they should be, what they should be doing, and any worksheets that go along with it.