September 2022: Preschool Life Skills
September 2022: Preschool Life Skills
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Grand Valley State University
START Connecting: September 2022
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Featured in this month's START Connecting:
Preschool Life Skills (PLS): Teaching Foundational Behaviors for School Success
Do your preschoolers share with other children? Do they consistently look when a teacher calls their name? What about asking for help or following directions? Many children need explicit instruction and multiple practice opportunities to learn these skills, especially as they prepare for kindergarten. To teach these skills and set up a successful classroom environment, it is useful to have a systematic program for teaching, modeling, practicing, and reinforcing these foundational skills. 
A sample of over 3,000 kindergarten teachers identified five social skills as most important: communicating wants and thoughts, not being disruptive in class, following directions, taking turns, and being sensitive to others.
Preschool Life Skills (PLS) is a research-based, supplemental curriculum that provides a set of tools to help teach important social and life skills for school success. The PLS program includes a set of lessons developed by Dr. Gregory Hanley and colleagues to increase skills in making requests, following directions, tolerating delay, and developing friendships. Several research studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the PLS program across various types of early childhood settings with increases in positive social behaviors and decreases in challenging behavior for children both with and without disabilities.  
The PLS program is highly effective because it creates plenty of opportunities for children to practice and generalize skills. The START-ism “Independence and social competency only develop with opportunities” applies here. If we want socially competent, independent preschoolers, it requires intentional, systematic instruction. The research also shows that these skills follow children into their school years.
All the materials needed to teach PLS in your classroom can be found on the Preschool Life Skills website, including a description of the program, a questionnaire, lesson plans, data collection forms, practice scenarios, and additional supporting materials. Explore the site and try some lessons to see how it changes the culture of your early childhood classroom and the skills of your preschoolers. (Hint: The lessons work with kindergarteners too). 
Resources
Written by: Amy Matthews, Ph.D., BCBA - Project Director and Anna Mayotte (GVSU School Psychology Graduate Student)


Upcoming Events
Peer to Peer: Registration is open!
October 11, 2022, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
In-person at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, 219 S. Harrison Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824
FAPE in the LRE: Registration is open!
October 12, 2022, 12:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Virtual (Zoom)
Stay tuned: Registration will open for Secondary Transition and Education-Based Evaluations soon!
Continue to check the START website for the most up-to-date information on our trainings and events.


START Updates
Critical Questions: Equity and Inclusion
What to Expect
The October 2021 START Connecting introduced readers to ASD 365: Inclusion & Equity Every Day, a campaign that was formed in spring 2021 in response to the need for greater intention regarding neurodiversity, inclusivity, equity, and acceptance of autistic individuals as part of our society. The article shared the ASD 365 Compelling Why: 

It is crucial that individuals with autism and their families are fully included in their communities, moving society beyond an awareness limited to one month on the calendar to authentic acceptance, respect, and appreciation of all autistic individuals and their inherent worth as human beings with abilities, ideas, voices, and value every day of the year.

The article also shared Critical Questions which offer thought-provoking questions addressing equity for individuals on the autism spectrum, noting the critical questions are intended to guide and expand our thinking when making decisions about the practices we use. START acknowledged that these questions are a continuous work in progress and that we would spend more time on each of these questions in the future. START is also committed to the ongoing provision of resources and dialogue to support our audience toward authentic inclusivity. 

Our team has been working hard behind the scenes to honor this commitment. We hope that you will join us by engaging with the ASD 365 updates in future START Connecting emails! These updates will provide articles, podcasts, websites, webinars, and activities that will encourage deeper exploration of the Critical Questions for you to explore individually and/or with your team.

We are grateful for the work you do and for your desire to grow. We look forward to growing together!
The Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) Project is funded by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education to provide training and technical assistance to educators in Michigan that serve students with ASD.
START Project | autismed@gvsu.edu | (616) 331-6480 
401 W. Fulton St.
388C DEV
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
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