EDFD261: Stephanie Todd, S00143925

Individual Learning Plan Inclusion Plan

Date of creation: 22/4/2014

Date of revision: 22/7/2014

Name: Toby Jacobs

Date of birth: 06/02/2010

Support Group Members:

Parents: Josh and Shelly Jacobs
Grandparents: Graham and Margret Johnson
Doctor: Dr Phil, Local GP
Early Intervention specialists: Speech and Language Therapist
.
Formal Assessments/Diagnosis/Special Needs:
Toby has been diagnosed with Autism.
Individual characteristics: He finds it hard to focus and communicate his needs at times,
sometimes struggling to act appropriately as he finds it hard to relate to others. He is often clumsy
or awkward in his movements. He enjoys playing on his own and gets distressed if his play is
interrupted or he is asked to move on.
Skills/Strengths & Interests:
He shows independence when asked to do simple tasks he is familiar with. He shows strengths in
communicating when talking about his interest in trains. Great with numeracy, enjoys counting and
already has begun to learn his times tables. He is a great visual learner and is able to relate to images
and videos easily, it is important to use visual cues to support him. He is good at lining, sorting and
stacking objects together, and placing them in the correct colour groups. Is able to participate in
most group activities and use simple language to talk to other members in class. He behaves
appropriately when he knows what is expected of him.
Challenges:
Toby seems to need lots of reminders, tending to only be able to remember one thing at a time. He
sometimes struggles to communicate his needs often speaking too soft or too loud for the context
and finds it hard to pay attention at times. He also struggles to sustain appropriate conversations as
he finds it hard to relate to others and make friends. At times he finds it hard to act appropriately
when not given instructions or supervised. He needs to have familiar routines as he finds it hard to
adapt to new situations. He also has delays in his fine motor skills and he needs support with his
gross motor skills as he struggles with his coordination. Toby also finds it challenging to use his
imagination. He is still developing his literacy skills.
Learning Priorities/Goals:
In the future we hope to help Toby become a better communicator, when interacting with peers and
teacher. Be more aware of what is socially acceptable. Also to further develop his fine and gross
motor skills as well as literacy skills by supportive activities. As well as develop greater
independence when following instructions.

EDFD261: Stephanie Todd, S00143925

Visual Aids/Supports
Visual supports are an important aspect within our plan, as they can be used to support every
child within the group. Blagojevic, Logune, Bennett-Armistead, Taylor and Neal (2013) explain
visual supports can be used for children with disabilities or learning English that need extra
support, as they may not understand what is being said if the speech is unclear or too fast. We
have a number of children that have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD),
visual supports are most appropriate for these children as The National Autistic Society (2003)
explain many children with ASD are said to be visual learners and presenting information in a
visual way can help support their communication skills, language development and ability to
process information. We also have some children that have been diagnosed with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and have trouble paying attention. By having the visual supports
it will help reinforce what is expected of them without having to be constantly told. Mason, one
of the children, has a hearing impairment, having the extra support with visual aids will allow
him opportunities to use them to communicate his needs without talking. The National Autistic
Society (2003) suggests introducing visual support into the classroom gradually to enable the
children to become used to it. This is why only a few visual supports have been included at this
stage and will be reviewed later to consider including more. By using the visual supports the
overall aim is to allow the students to become more independent and better communicators.

Images

Why used/important
Behaviour
Many of the children within the group
have trouble understanding what is
expected of them. They find it hard to
communicate at times, pay attention,
relate to others and interact with their
peers. By having behavioral visual aids
it will assist the children to understand
what is expected of them and what
appropriate behavior is. The National
Autistic Society (2003) explains in
relation to all areas of behavior visual
supports can be useful to help children
understand boundaries and rules, or to
give praise. These particular visual
aids have been chosen as they are most
important for our particular children to
understand.

EDFD261: Stephanie Todd, S00143925

Emotions
The National Autistic Society (2003)
suggests that people with an ASD
dont always find it easy to express
their emotions, or tell people how they
are feeling. A number of the children
within the group have been diagnosed
with autism, it is important to have
visual support that allows the children
to express their emotions, as it will
allow the children to show how they
are feeling throughout the day, by
pointing to different emotions. This
will also allow the teachers to have a
greater understanding on how to best
support the child depending on the
emotion the child is experiencing.

Meal time
Meal time can become a stressfull time
as children are required to sit at a table
and eat their food. Visual aids are
important at this stage of the day to
allow for the children to understand
what is expected of them. Also by
allowing them to make decisions on
what they will like to eat is important.
The National Autistic Society (2003)
explains involving children in
decisions can help them become more
independent. Also by having the visual
images it can allow the children to
point and indicate throughout the day
if they are hungry or thirsty. It is
important for them to be able to
indicate this to the teachers so they
dont become stressed or upset,
because they are unable to
communicate their needs.

EDFD261: Stephanie Todd, S00143925

Toilet
The National Autistic Society (2003)
suggest that simple instructions
showed by visual support help remind
children of the steps needed to
complete a task. By having an image
of steps displayed on the toilet wall,
the children will be reminded of
appropriate behavior within the toilet
and allow them to build more
confidence to be able to go on their
own, if they still need help. An image
of a toilet will also be displayed
around the room as a reminder to the
children to go to the toilet, as some of
the children still struggle to remember.

Wash hands
Similarly to using the visual support
for the toilet, it is important to display
the appropriate ways for hand washing,
as hygiene is extremely important so
germs do not spread. Department of
Education, Training and Employment
(2014) explain you cant presume the
children know how to use the visual
support. As a result we will make sure
that all children know where the visual
supports are placed and how to read
and use them. The visual supports will
also have to be placed in areas that are
at eye level for the children and large
enough to see. It is important for the
children to become familiar with these
routines and be encouraged to do so.

EDFD261: Stephanie Todd, S00143925

Daily Routine
Having a daily routine is extremely
important within our plan. Schedules
help students to predict what is
happening next and specifically what
they will be required to do. They
minimise anxiety and confusion and
maximise structure, security and
independence (Department of
Education, Training and Employment,
2014, p.1). These visual aids will be
displayed on a board at the front of the
room so children at all times can see
the routine and know what to expect
next. Blagojevic et al. (2013) suggest
creating a system with movable images
that is flexible and allows for changes.
The images displayed on the side are
just some examples of what we would
include on the daily routine board. It
will always be open for change and
suggestion from the children.

References
Blagojevic, B., Logune, E. M., Bennett-Armistead, S., Taylor, B., & Neal, E. (2013). Take a
look! visual support for learning. Teaching young children,4(5), 10-13.Retrieved from
https://www.naeyc.org/tyc/files/tyc/file/V4N5/Take_a_look_visual_supports_for_
learning.pdf
The National Autistic Society (2003). Visual support. Retrieved from http://www.autism.org.uk/
visual support
Department of Education, Training and Employment (2014). Tips for visual cueing systems.
Retrieved from education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource.../visual-cueing-systems.doc
Visual Aids for Learning (2013) Free sequences. Retrieved from http://www.visualaidsfor
learning.com/free-sequences.html

EDFD261: Stephanie Todd, S00143925

Feedback:

Please note the visual supports were

part of the group mark, which
received a HD.