Sue Larkey Blog

  Breaking Through Autistic Inertia & ADHD Paralysis: The Executive Functioning Skills Students Need to Succeed executive function classroom strategies  This Weeks Podcast...Understanding Executive Function Challenges in the ClassroomActionable Examples from the Podcast ✅ The Five-Minute Start Strategy - Set a timer for just five minutes and have students begin with the easiest part of the task. Once completed, they can choose to continue or take a break. ✅ Traffic Light Task System - Organise assignments using green (easy), yellow (medium), and red (difficult) coding. Students always start with green tasks to build momentum. ✅ Dopamine Boosters Before Work - Allow students to listen to gaming music, have a healthy snack, or share two fun facts about their special interest before starting tasks. ✅ Multi-Step Instruction Breakdown - Provide visual step-by-step instructions instead of verbal multi-step directions. Print or display each step clearly. ✅ Equipment Management...

Getting Your Neurodiverse Student Ready for Secondary SchoolYour Transition Guide Secondary School Transition StrategiesDiscussed in this Podcast: ✅  Start transition planning early, ideally in Year 5 ✅  Focus on the physical environment and sensory needs ✅  Develop social skills and strategies for peer interactions  ✅  Empower students to problem-solve and self-advocate ✅  Consider the whole student experience, not just academics ✅  Adapt supports to be age-appropriate for teenagers And so much more!1. Must doThese are the MUST DO for Transition to Secondary School: Visit the school and walk around the buildings (video this to play back at home, completed by the student or parent) Locate the office where you go for assistance (important to use positive language e.g. when unsure someone will be able to assist) Speak with the year Co-ordinator for Year 7 about the daily routine and timetable cycle Obtain a map of the school layout with building names and numbers Obtain examples of...

Teacher Assistants Practical Tools for Helping Every Student Thrive Teacher Assistant Neurodiverse SupportDiscussed in this Podcast: ✅   Traffic Light Cup System: Use red, orange, and green plastic cups on desks - green means "I'm working well," orange/yellow means "I need help but can keep working," red means "I'm stopped and can't continue." ✅   Red Pen Signal for Secondary: In secondary school, place a red pen at the front of the desk to signal need for help without raising hands and drawing attention. ✅   See Two, Then See Me: Teach students to ask two peers for help before coming to the teacher assistant, building peer connections and independence. ✅   Timer for Wait Times: Tell students "I'll be there in five minutes," set a timer, and honor that commitment to reduce anxiety about waiting. ✅   Highlighter Differentiation: Use green highlighter for tasks to do first, red for tasks to skip, and orange for tasks to attempt - starting with green builds confidence. ✅   Number...

Teacher Assistants Top Tips for Navigating Challenges and Building Connections Insights from Dream Team (Lived Experience, Teacher, Teacher Assistant & Parent) Learn Teacher Assistant Classroom Strategies  Teacher Assistant Success Strategies Discussed in this Episode: ✅   Signal System for Secondary Students: Dean's TA would sit at the back of the room with a signal system where he'd scratch his head or tap, and she would come check on him, but would stop at other kids on the way, making support less obvious. ✅   Facilitating Peer Connections: When a child asked the TA how to do a math equation, she would say "Dean knows how to do it. Dean will show you", creating positive social connections between students. ✅   Building Visual Context: Dean taught a student to tie shoelaces on green carpet in the classroom, but the student couldn't do it at home on tiles - teach skills in multiple settings. ✅   Red Pen Signal: Put a red pen out on the table as a signal for when help is...

Early Childhood Mini Training & Ebook to Download Learn Early Childhood Tips and Strategies Today!Join Sue for an upcoming Live Virtual Workshop where you will learn Sue's practical tips & strategies to make a difference.Over 400 Early Child Educators told me their top 2 questions they wanted answered, and I used those to create these Tips & Strategies What you will learn: ✅ Perfect Camera Moment Teaching: "When you take a photo one second before you could have had a horrible face, one second after you could have had a horrible face. You've gotta find that sweet spot." ✅ Four Teaching Approaches: Direct teaching (one-on-one quiet environment), engineered situations (setting up pointing opportunities at eating time), incidental teaching (daily opportunities), and making it fun with animation. ✅ Backward Training Success: "If you're teaching a child to put their shoes on, you might actually put the whole shoe on, and all they have to do is one Velcro." ✅ Clear Lunchbox...

Key Strategies for Early Childhood Educators - Top Tips and Steps for Success Teaching Pointing Neurodiverse ChildrenDiscussed in this Episode: ✅Hand-Over-Hand Pointing Practice: "Say your child wants barbecue shapes, you just proactively put their hand, your hand over theirs, point with their finger to the barbecue shapes." ✅Drawing Progression Books: "We've got these little how to draw a house, you know, how to draw a person... Laminate them, cut them up, spiral bound them... they show them step by step, how to draw something." ✅Help Sign with Objects: "If they need help, have a visual for help. They need to hand to you or the scissors to ask for the scissors to cut it or open." ✅Sitting Variation Teaching: "There's to sit in a chair, there's to sit on the floor, there's to sit on the carpet, to sit on cold concrete... sitting on a bench seat outside to eat sometimes in a preschool compared to sitting at a chair at a table." ✅WhatsApp Documentation System: "Take a photo of the...

Medication Insights from Families: What works for their Neurodiverse Children (AS, ADHD) (Episode 308) Medication for Neurodiverse ChildrenI am not a Dr or Specialist, but as a teacher/educator, it is important we understand different medications. In this Podcast on Medicating and Neurodiversity: ✅ Keep a medication diary - Document changes in behavior, sleep patterns, and focus to track medication effectiveness over time using voice memos or quick texts. ✅ Create a team approach - Include teachers, parents, pediatricians, psychologists, dance teachers, and music therapists in observations to get a complete picture of the child's needs. ✅ Monitor physical changes - Watch for weight gain, blood pressure changes, sensory processing increases, or appetite suppression as potential side effects. ✅ Trial different medications - Don't stop at the first medication; parents in the podcast tried 3-4 different options before finding the right fit. ✅ Use the "medical condition" comparison -...

Everything you need to know about PDA - Insights & Tips from Educator PDA classroom strategies podcastStrategies for Teaching PDA StudentsKey takeaways from this podcast for educators and parents/ carers of a child with PDA:✅Build trust and connection with the student, as this is crucial for those with PDA. ✅Offer choices and autonomy within the needed structure and routine. ✅Use indirect language and avoid direct demands. ✅Be authentic and treat the student as an equal. ✅Show interest in the student's special interests. ✅Learn together with the student in a reciprocal way. ✅Allow flexibility in seating, grouping, and task choices. ✅Anticipate and discuss challenges together, like using the bathroom at school. ✅Mix up your strategies since PDA students are smart and strategies wear out quickly. ✅Most importantly, see the positives in these creative, imaginative students.Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in the Classroom: Understanding and Teacher Strategies for EducatorsPDA...

Do I have a child with ODD & PDA? What is it and What to do. What is ODD and PDA? This week's podcast I discuss ODD and PDA, and tips and strategies that can help understand challenging behaviour! Not sure what ODD and PDA are? Listen to this weeks episode for some insight OR Click here to read about it! Discussed in this Episode ✅  Night-Before Planning: Let students choose their next day's activities the evening before and make a video on their phone saying "tomorrow morning, I'm gonna come in and do this, this, and this." ✅  Flexible Work Locations: Offer students choices of where to work - "at the table or under the table," "on the mat or in the corridor," or "in my classroom or in the principal's classroom." ✅  Disguised Learning Through Leadership: Make ODD students helpers - have them mark other students' spelling tests (while learning spelling themselves) or help younger students read (while practicing their own reading). ✅  Indirect Praise Technique: Instead of...

A Guide to Toilet Training Neurodiverse children including stool withholding and toilet avoidance with Guest Melissa Yapp Toilet Training For Neurodiverse ChildrenDiscussed in this podcast: ✅  Create toilet training mini-goals - Focus on 5-minute toilet sits after every meal rather than full toilet training ✅  Use visual schedules for wiping process - Break down each step with pictures showing pants down, underwear down, sitting down ✅  Model the toileting process - Take the child with you to the toilet, show them your process, and have them help with toilet paper ✅  Implement social stories for specific challenges - Create stories about pushing out poos, wiping process, or taking laxative medication ✅  Track bowel movements using phone notes - Share notes between caregivers to identify the child's natural timing patterns ✅  Incorporate toilet time into daily visual routine - Show "first lunch, then 5-minute toilet sit" on the child's schedule ✅  Start super small with timing -...

Decoding Classroom Behaviour: An Educators Guide to Supporting Neurodiverse Students (AS, ODD, PDA, ADHD) Teacher Assistant Autism SupportDiscussed in this podcast: ✅  Create a visual card system with green for "sharing time" and red for "listening time" to help students who call out during lessons understand expectations. ✅  Implement a "Thought Parking Lot" using sticky notes where students can quickly jot down or draw thoughts that come to mind during instruction instead of calling out. ✅  Introduce "Think-Pair-Share" structures with timers so students know exactly when they'll have opportunities to express their thoughts during lessons. ✅  Try different sensory tools beyond standard fidgets - consider wobble stools, therapy balls, or move-n-sit cushions that allow movement while sitting. ✅  Start writing on a blank page for students who experience "blank page anxiety" to help overcome initiation difficulties and executive functioning challenges. ✅  Create visual task...

50/50 - Behaviour Plans: Help your neurodiverse students to help YOU Behaviour Plans for Diverse LearnersDiscussed in this podcast: ✅ Starting with the end in mind ✅ The 50/50 Learning & Behaviour Plan ✅ Modelling behaviour and demonstrating Plan B’s ✅ Encouraging independence with timers, visuals and schedules ✅ Using 3 Rs - rewards, repetition and routinesHOW TO USE THE 50/50 PROGRAMYou will need to use a combination of strategies and while at first it may feel like YOU are doing all the work as the student learns to work with what you provide, you will do less and less and eventually move to a 50/50 approach. This is where 50% of the strategies are by the adult and 50% by the student. Children on the spectrum need to be 'taught' to use a combination of strategies. I have seen many examples over the years where people put in place a strategy and just expect the child to understand how to use it or what it means. The helps Fostering Independence for Diverse Learners. One of...