Why is it important for autistic and ADHD students to take good notes?

It’s important for all students to take good notes during class, however, it is especially important for autistic/ADHD teens to learn how to take effective notes. Here are some reasons:

• Taking notes during class can keep your teen with ADHD engaged and better focused on what they are learning. They can make it fun by doodling in the margins or using different colored pencils or pens.
• They can put what they are learning into their own words, which can help them better understand the lesson being taught.
• It can help them remember the material better when they have to study for a test or use their notes to complete an assignment.
• They can put their notes into a more visual format if needed so that they can remember and understand the lesson easier.

My son J struggled with note taking during high school. He did fairly well when the teacher would hand out worksheets and have the students fill in the blanks for their notes. But when he had to make notes on a blank sheet of paper, it was hard for him. That is why when he met with the director of the disabilities office at his community college, I flagged for her the need to help him with note taking. Thankfully, there are a lot of options available that we didn’t even know about when he was in high school.

What are the different note taking methods that are best for autism or ADHD?

There are so many ways to take notes, including:

•  Cornell Method: With this method, the student uses two columns on their page to capture their notes. The bigger column is where they place their notes, and the second smaller column is where they can place keywords or any questions they have about the material. During or after class, they then take their notes and develop a summary at the bottom of their page (or the end of their notes for that session).
• Outlining: Outlining uses a traditional outline of numbers (or Roman numerals) with bullets below it. This is a popular method of note taking and one that I used throughout my college years.
• Mapping: Mapping is also known as mind mapping. With this method, the student puts the topic into a large circle and then puts details into smaller circles around it with lines connecting the circles. Many students who learn better visually benefit from mind mapping their notes.
• Charting: Charting for note taking is exactly what it sounds like. The student puts their information into charts. This may be better to do after using another method to initially take the notes but can be very useful for studying since autistic teens tend to learn better visually.
• Sentence Method: This method of note taking is when students just write out sentences with information as their notes.

Some teachers offer their students guided notes, which allows them to put the information into the worksheets. In addition, it’s always good if your student can get any presentations that were shown during the lesson. I don’t believe there is one right way for autistic/ADHD students to take notes. Instead, I think you should go through the different methods with your teen and see which one appeals to them. Have them try it out in their next few classes. If they like the method they chose, then they continue to use it. If they don’t, then they can try another method and repeat until they find one that resonates with them. They may even combine aspects of different methods to come up with their own.

What note-taking technology could help your autistic student?

The good thing about being in school today is that our kids have access to so much great technology. That goes for note-taking in class too.

Many high school students who have IEPs or 504 plans can get access to a note-taking pen. It is a smart pen that records the lesson. My son J had one his senior year, and he didn’t think it worked well for him. (I think after talking to him about it that he had a malfunctioning device and probably should have traded it in for another one.) I know other kids who use them and find them very helpful.

There is also note-taking software available, although you will need to check with your teen’s resource teacher to see what their school may have subscriptions for in their district. In community college, J has a software that records the lesson in class. He then can listen to the audio file. It also will provide a transcript that he can read, highlight and use to take notes. Honestly, I wish I had that when I was in high school and college!

Sometimes, simply being able to type notes on their computer instead of handwriting them can be really helpful for autistic students with ADHD. If your teen hasn’t learned how to touch type on their computer, then it may be worth investing in a program that will teach them how to type. Many schools also have software available to students for this.

Have you successfully helped your teen with autism and ADHD learn to take effective notes? What are your suggestions or tips? Leave a comment below so that we can share and encourage each other along this journey!

Additional resources

Want more information about note-taking? Here are some additional resources to check out.

How To Take Great Notes Quickly And Easily: A Very Easy Guide (affiliate link)

Study Strategies for Teens: A Teenage Guide to Exam Success and Getting Better Grades (affiliate link)

Mind Mapping Notebook (affiliate link)

The Study Skills Handbook: How to Ace Tests, Get Straight A’s, and Succeed in School (affiliate link)

How to Succeed in your Studies (affiliate link)

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Know your rights and the laws for an IEP for your autistic child

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the primary law that governs services through the school for children with disabilities.

The Department of Education’s website states the purpose of IDEA includes:

• “to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living;
• to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected;
• to assist States, localities, educational service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education of all children with disabilities;
• to assist States in the implementation of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families;
• to ensure that educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results for children with disabilities by supporting system improvement activities; coordinated research and personnel preparation; coordinated technical assistance, dissemination, and support; and technology development and media services;
• to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, efforts to educate children with disabilities.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is another key law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination, including protecting the rights of children. For more information, you can check out the ADA website.

At every case conference for your child, the special education representative should provide you with a document stating your child’s rights.

Understand your child’s IEP

Each year, your school’s special services team should conduct a case conference to discuss your child’s IEP for the coming year. Sometimes, the school may hold the case conferences during the first semester. This allows the them to focus on the accommodations needed for the rest of the current school year. Other times, the special education teacher will schedule it later in the school year. They discuss what’s needed for the following year. For my son J, his case conferences were usually late in the school year when he was in elementary and middle schools. When he entered high school, that changed, so his case conference has been during the first semester.

During the case conference, be sure that you are an active participant in determining which accommodations your child needs. Your child’s special education teacher will bring their recommendations, but you can add yours as well. To prepare effectively for the case conference, check out this blog post.

Make sure that before you sign your child’s IEP that you understand all the provisions and agree with the accommodations listed. Speak up if you have questions, need clarification or notice corrections that should be made.

Talk to your child to know what’s going on at school

One of the best ways to know if your child’s teachers are following the IEP accommodations is to regularly ask your child about school. You can slide in some questions that specifically ask about services. If your child is supposed to have preferential seating, where are they sitting in the classroom? Is your child supposed to have their tests read to them? You can learn a lot about what is being done simply by talking about it with your child.

When J was in the first grade, I found out that he was having recess taken away for behavior problems in the classroom. Because of his ADHD, I specifically requested that his IEP state that recess could not be taken away. With ADHD, he needs movement. Recess in elementary school was a big way to allow him to burn off that pent up energy. I reached out to the teacher, and she admitted she was not following that term of his IEP. I worked with her and the special services director to allow the teacher to keep J on the pavement only during recess for discipline. He could not to have recess taken away or made to “stand on the line” during recess. Honestly, he really just liked running around at the time (his special interest was Sonic the Hedgehog that year 😊). So, I don’t think it was effective as a discipline action anyway.

Communicate with your child’s teacher and special services regularly

Checking in with your child’s teacher regularly is a good way to keep tabs on how your child is progressing and ask about how the IEP accommodations are going. Obviously, parent-teacher conferences are a good time to do this. I found reaching out via email worked really well too.

Don’t let grievances fester

If you find out that the IEP accommodations for your autistic child are not being followed, take action immediately. Do not let your grievances fester. Set up a meeting with your child’s teacher, the special services director and principal to solve the problem as soon as it is detected. Letting the problem go on means that is more time your child is not receiving the services that are required and needed for them to do their best in school.

Bring in an IEP advocate

A special education advocate is knowledgeable about regulations and local policies and can help you understand whether your child is receiving the right assessments and accommodations from the school. The advocate can help you prepare for the discussion, attend the IEP case conference meeting with you, and help you to better understand your child’s accommodations and needs. They also can help you with asking the right questions and interpreting any assessment results.

No formal certification or licensing is available for advocates, so you need to research candidates. In addition, you most likely will pay for their services out of pocket. Read this article from Understood.org that gives some good advice if you are considering hiring a special education advocate.

Take legal action if necessary

You may need to bring in a lawyer if you do not see the school providing the special education services needed or enforcing your child’s IEP. This would be the extreme, but some parents find themselves in this situation.

The Special Needs Alliance has a good special needs lawyer directory, which can identify attorneys located near you.

Additional resources

If you want to look further into this topic, check out these additional resources.

Complete IEP Guide, The: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child (affiliate link)

Creating a Win-Win IEP for Students with Autism: A How-To Manual for Parents and Educators (affiliate link)

IEP Planner: Parent Planner Makes IEP Special Education Process Easier (affiliate link)

Have you found effective ways to ensure the IEP created for your autistic child is followed by the school? If so, leave a comment so that we can share and encourage each other on this journey.

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What is a behavior intervention plan?

A behavior intervention plan, or BIP, (also referred to as positive behavior support plan in some states) is exactly what it sounds like. It is a plan put in place by a school that helps change your child’s unwanted behaviors that are interfering with their learning. It is part of an individualized education plan (IEP), and parents need to agree and sign off on it.

How does the school determine what should be in the plan? They begin with your permission to conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA).

What does a Functional Behavior Assessment evaluate?

The person conducting the FBA will observe several aspects of your child’s behavior. Those may include:

• What are the problematic behaviors?
• How frequently do they occur?
• When and why do these behavior happen?
• Which students, teachers or other faculty are present when they occur?
• How does the child react to the consequences for their behavior(s)?

The findings from the FBA are shared with you to ensure you are aligned before a BIP is drafted. If you do not agree with the findings, you can request an independent educational evaluation. In most cases, the school will agree to fund the independent evaluation.

The team develops the BIP based on the FBA findings. The plan will include techniques to isolate the problematic behaviors, reduce them and positively reinforce acceptable behaviors. It also will include a crisis plan in case the situation becomes worse. The BIP will help teachers and other staff at the schoolwork with your child on their behavior as well as the child’s parents in a home setting.

When our son J was in middle school, he had some behaviors that were really interfering with school. His resource teacher conducted an FBA, and it was really helpful. The plan developed did help J improve his behavior and receive rewards for positive behaviors.

Ways a behavior intervention plan helps your child with autism

While many parents don’t want to hear their child requires a BIP, it can help in the following ways:

1. Better understand underlying causes of the behavior

Our kids do not intentionally want to misbehave. Misbehavior usually is rooted in a problem or issue. A positive aspect about conducting an FBA is better understanding the cause for certain behaviors. Once you understand the cause, finding a solution is easier. That can really help your child in the long term.

2. Reinforce good behavior positively

A BIP proactively helps teachers and you find ways to identify alternate good behaviors and reinforce those. The special education teacher or school psychologist can help find ways to reward your child for acceptable behaviors and help reduce the unwanted ones.

3. Encourage better school performance

If your child is behaving better at school, they most likely will do better academically too.

4. Improve behavior at home

If the BIP is developed to address unwanted behaviors at school and home, then your child will benefit from consistency between the two. Unfortunately, many autistic children have a difficult time generalizing learning from one setting to another. I know our son J had a hard time with it. Once we became consistent with some of the reward system at school while he was at home, things got better.

5. Increase your child’s self-esteem and self-confidence

Being in trouble so much really affects a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence negatively. Yet, receiving praise and rewards for good behavior can help your child feel better about themselves.

Partner with your child’s therapist on behavior changes

The school will do their part to help your child improve their behavior and performance. However, many behavior problems may be caused by anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.

Therefore, the FBA may dig up some issues that really are best handled through cognitive behavior and other therapy. Be sure to share the FBA results and BIP with your child’s therapist. They may determine what else may need to be done through regular therapy appointments. Your child’s therapist also may have better insights into the cause(s) of the unwanted behavior, so asking for their input will be essential.

Resources

Are you looking for more information about how to help your child improve or eliminate unwanted behaviors? Check out these resources.

Behavior Management Skills Guide: Practical Activities & Interventions for Ages 3-18 (affiliate link)

The Survival Guide for Kids With Behavior Challenges: How to Make Good Choices and Stay Out of Trouble (affiliate link)

Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges (affiliate link)

Have you been through the FBA and behavior intervention plan process for your child with autism and/or ADHD? If so, what learning can you share with others? Let’s encourage and support one another through this journey.

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Understand which type of IEP meeting you are attending

First, you need to know which type of IEP meeting is being held for your child. I have experienced a few types over my son J’s school career. They can include:

• Early start IEP transition meeting – This meeting determines if your child qualifies for an early intervention IEP. You or the school can request this. Many times, this occurs as a child is entering Kindergarten. For my son J, we had this while he was in his final year of preschool. In fact, our school system put an IEP in place while he was still in preschool, and a special services teacher came to his Montessori preschool twice a week to work with him to help better prepare him for Kindergarten and elementary school. Some elementary schools have development preschools that children could attend.
• Initial IEP meeting – This is the first meeting to determine if your child meets the criteria to qualify for an IEP. The team will evaluate the testing results and make recommendations based on those. Don’t agree with their assessment? You can request an independent educational evaluation. There is no cost for parents to request this.
• Annual review meeting – For those of us with kids who have IEPs, this is the meeting we have most frequently. Each year, you meet with the team at your child’s school to discuss your child’s IEP for the rest of the school year and plan for the following year.
• Three-year review meeting – Every three years, the school’s team meets to evaluate the continued need for an IEP. They discuss what the next three years could look like and whether any additional evaluations need to be completed.

Knowing which type of IEP meeting can help you better prepare for the discussion.

Evaluate how your child has done since the last IEP meeting

Before the meeting, take out the current year’s plan and any update reports you’ve received throughout the school year. Determine if the current accommodations have been enough to help your child. Note what is going well and what further assistance you believe your child needs. Write down some notes so that you are prepared to share your thoughts during the meeting.

Check-in on your goals for your child

It’s also good to look at the goals you and/or your child’s therapist(s) have set for your child that year and into the next. Are there goals that an IEP or certain classes at your child’s school could help advance? Write those recommendations down to share at the IEP meeting for your autistic child.

Gather any necessary paperwork

Do you have any supporting documentation that you need to share? Make sure to gather it and bring it with you to the meeting. This could be recommendations from your child’s therapist or doctor or your own research from credible sources on a particular topic.

Remember that you are an essential member of the team

When I read articles about the IEP process, so many times it seems like they are written with an us vs. them perspective. Your child’s special services team and teacher want your child to succeed just like you do. Approach IEP meetings with a partnership attitude. You are there to work together with your child’s school team to ensure you are helping your child to succeed. Yes, you do need to advocate for your child and ensure they are getting the services and accommodations agreed upon. However, it’s most productive if it’s done collaboratively. I have really appreciated how J’s special services team and teachers in his school system have diligently worked to support him over the years.

Read the IEP draft carefully to ensure everything is accurate

After the meeting, your child’s special services teacher should send you the draft IEP. Read it carefully to ensure everything you agreed upon in the meeting is included in the IEP. If something is missing, don’t hesitate to write it in and send the document back to be corrected. I’ve rarely had to correct anything in my son J’s IEP draft; however, we all make mistakes and something may have been left out in error. It’s better to take the time to double check.

Do you have some additional recommendations for how to effectively prepare for an IEP meeting for your autistic child? If so, leave a comment so that we can learn from each other on this journey!

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