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Educator Resources

Resources for Educators

The Organization for Autism Research knows how important it is for educators to have quality information to support their students with special needs. Written in collaboration with field experts and backed by research, we provide comprehensive guidebooks, manuals, professional development, and lesson plans for educators. These resources cover a range of critical topics, including understanding autism and addressing safety concerns to autism inclusion and peer acceptance in the classroom.

All of our resources below are designed to support educators.  Click from the list below to be directed to a specific resource or scroll down for an overview of each educator resource.

Curriculum in a Box

Research indicates that many teachers in the general education classroom feel unprepared to serve the growing number of autistic students. The Curriculum in a Box is an autism resource for teachers that provides school districts, schools, and teachers with the foundational knowledge and effective classroom strategies they need to be better able to teach autistic students. Designed for flexibility, the program can be used by administrators for small staff meetings, facilitators for large professional development sessions, or individuals as a refresher.

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Kit for Kids

Our Kit for Kids program is designed to teach elementary and middle school students about their autistic peers. The kit is centered around an illustrated booklet entitled “What’s Up with Nick?” This colorful, kid-friendly booklet tells the story about a new student, an autistic boy named Nick, through the eyes of a typical peer. The story teaches children that autistic students may think differently or need some accommodations, but all students are of equal worth and should be treated as such.

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Autism Tuned In

Autism Tuned In is an online extension of our popular Kit for Kids program, which is designed to teach elementary and middle school students about their autistic peers. The online e-learning space not only enhances the learning experience with color and movement but is also more easily accessed and shared.

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Tuned in

A Guide to Safety

No parental instinct is as intense and fundamental as protecting one’s child from harm. For parents of autistic children, safety risks become magnified because of challenges resulting from fixations with narrow interests, limited situational awareness, and sensory and communication issues. So why should parents expect to do it all alone?

OAR’s A Guide to Safety was written with help from parents, first responders, educators, and community members, who shared their strategies and resources to address safety threats that commonly arise during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This resource helps educate parents about how to prevent and mitigate emergency events, safety threats that may affect their child in the future, and how to teach safety habits that will build a foundation for safety in adulthood.

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An Educator’s Guide to Autism

An Educator’s Guide to Autism provides parents, teachers, and education professionals with a plan for teaching an autistic child in the general elementary classroom setting.  The heart of An Educator’s Guide to Autism is a six-step approach for a teacher preparing to educate autistic children in their classroom. The six-step plan includes information about:

  • Preparing to have a student with autism in the classroom
  • Communicating and collaborating with the parents and/or guardians of an autistic student
  • Supporting the inclusive classroom environment
  • Collaborating with a student’s IEP team
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educators guide to autism cover

An Educator’s Guide to ASD (Level 1 Supports)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex and heterogeneous group of developmental disorders that range in symptoms and level of severity. These symptoms can manifest themselves as problem behaviors or difficulty problem-solving in the classroom. The revised guide serves as a primer for general education teachers to support their students who have Level 1 ASD, as introduced in DSM-5 and defined as a mild form of autism that requires support. Specifically, the guide contains information that will help teachers in the general education classroom and others to:

  • Become familiar with ASD and how it affects a child
  • Identify evidence-based academic and environmental strategies to promote classroom success
  • Foster successful peer relations and social interactions
  • Effectively communicate and collaborate with parents during the individual education program process
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Educators Guide to ASD Level 1 front cover

Understanding Asperger Syndrome: A Professor’s Guide

College can be a trying time in any individual’s life. For autistic adults, this experience can be overwhelming. This video on Asperger Syndrome and Adulthood focuses on educating professors, teaching assistants, and others on what it means to be a college student on the spectrum and how they might best be able to help their autistic students succeed.

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