I love October!! It is my favorite month. Fall is here 🍂, decorations are up🎃, and it's my birthday month 🎂!  October is also a fun time in the classroom. Each year we take a field trip to a farm for a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, and hayride! It is a great way to kick off the month.  It is one of my favorite months for our thematic units too. We finish our Apples Unit from September, then go into Fall & Leaves, and end the month with Halloween of course!  Click to find this unit in my TPT store! Click to find this unit in my TPT store! My favorite books for Halloween are Big Pumpkin and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. One year on our hayride at the farm they did a "spooky storytime" and did the Little Old Lady with props. It was SO MUCH FUN! And was a great way to get the kids engaged.  Click to find this book unit in my TPT store! Click to find this book unit in my TPT store! Some fun Halloween crafts we have done was a group pumpkin pinat......

In early intervention settings, Structured Play Groups are a perfect, developmentally-appropriate evidence-based practice for autistic students and can be a valuable support for developing friendships and communication skills. In my experience, the benefit of these groups certainly stretches beyond just my autistic students but those with other developmental disabilities and even their neurotypical peers! Especially in these unique post-pandemic lockdown times when all students have had gaps in their opportunities for social engagement. Play-Based Communication Boards To facilitate communication during structured play groups, I created communication boards with common play phrases in predictable locations and fringe words specific to the play activity including related labels, actions, and even descriptive words.  Each board was easy to implement because all I needed to do was print and laminate and they were ready to go! In my opinion, sometimes low-tech options are all you need!......