Sue Larkey Blog

Teacher Assistant Support Strategies: Practical Tools for Neurodiverse Learners Teacher Assistant Support Strategies ClassroomDiscussed 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...

Teacher Assistant Tips for Navigating Challenges and Building Connections: Dream Team Insights (Lived Experience, Teacher, Teacher Assistant and Parent) Learn Teacher Assistant Support Strategies  teacher assistant Courses - ON SALE $50 OFF ALL COURSESTeacher Assistant Success Strategies Discussed in this Episode: ✅ I talked with Dean Beadle about how having a consistent, well-bounded teacher assistant relationship gives autistic students a sense of stability, so long as the relationship is properly transitioned when it needs to change. ✅ Dean explained that instead of springing change on a child, we should prepare them in advance for what to do when something unexpected happens, like a TA being away sick. ✅ I reminded teachers that teacher assistants often know the child better than anyone else in the building, so their observations and ideas need to be listened to and valued. ✅ I explained that differentiating the curriculum is still the teacher's job, not the TA's, though...

How to Set Up a Lunchtime Club That Builds Real Friendships Helping Neurodiverse Children Make Friends  Discussed in this Podcast: ✅ Start by observing a neurodiverse child (or one who returns from break more anxious than they went out) for five minutes, to see what is really happening in the playground. ✅ Build the club around the child’s current interests or skills, using their strengths (origami, Lego, guinea pigs, gardening) as the shared interest that draws others in. ✅ Give the club a positive, inviting name like World of Fun, Lunchtime Club, Rest and Relaxation, or Games Group. ✅ Decide how often it runs (one to five days, recess, lunch, or both), and if it is not on every day, tell the children exactly where to meet so they can find each other. ✅ Set a cap on numbers based on the activity and the sensory load, and decide the age range (including peer support pairings like year six with year three). ✅ Choose how students join (teacher-selected with a ticket,...

Social Meltdowns Explained:  Why “What Happened?” Is the Wrong Question (AS, ADHD, ODD, PDA, etc) The Difference Between Meltdowns and TantrumsDiscussed in this Episode: ✅ Beck, a teacher in WA, emailed me about a student who had frequent meltdowns, got aggressive with friends, and reacted when his friends would not kick him the ball. ✅ Nathan, one of my students, had a shutdown because he did not get the partner he wanted. ✅ A neurodiverse boy was found lying on the ground under the covered outdoor area with his head down, and his teacher assistant waited for everyone to leave rather than asking what happened. ✅ That same teacher assistant asked the boy to carry her computer into the classroom, using distraction instead of questions. ✅ A child whose friend is away can have their whole world fall apart, which happens particularly with her girls with neurodiversity. ✅ I describe my own social exhaustion: after talking and watching faces and social cues for five hours at a workshop....

Why Autistic Girls Mask at School and Meltdown at Home Masking Meltdowns Neurodiverse GirlsDiscussed in this Episode:✅ Use "I Am Autistic Girl" after a diagnosis and pause on the purple questions printed on each page to check how each characteristic actually presents for that specific girl. ✅ Treat sharing a diagnosis as an everyday, ongoing conversation (a bit like the birds and the bees) rather than one serious sit-down moment. ✅ For teenagers, arrange for the psychologist who did the diagnosis to explain it in their context, then follow up at home. ✅ Guide older girls toward lived-experience mentors and safe online communities (for example, Yellow Ladybugs) so they can hear other people say things that make them think, “Oh, that’s me.” ✅ Build genuine downtime into a girl’s afternoon so she can switch off after masking all day at school. ✅ Watch for the chameleon effect fading across the day: little mistakes tolerated in the morning that trigger distress by the afternoon. ✅...

Behaviour Is Communication: What Neurodiverse Students Are Really Telling You (AS, ADHD, ODD, PDA) behaviour strategies for neurodiverse students  Examples of behaviour discussed in this podcast: ✅ Eliza, a teacher, let a young neurodiverse boy be first and gave him the spelling list ahead of time. His anxiety dropped so much that he no longer needed to be first, and she asked to keep him for another year. ✅ Finn wanted to be first because when he was younger teachers praised him for it (“Well done Finn, you were first to line up”), so he built a story that being first meant being good. ✅ Zoe wanted to sit near the front because the further back she was, the more movement and noise made it hard for her auditory processing to hear the teacher. ✅ I wrote a social script that gave a boy a counting job in the line (fifth, then eighth, then first by week five) so the change felt predictable and safe. ✅ One boy did not like when other children pushed in, because lining up carries a...

Setting Up a Calm Corner: How to Go From Overwhelm to Regulated sensory tools emotional regulationThis Weeks Podcast was Created after a Question from Trish: "I am currently in the middle of setting up a calm corner/area within my senior preschool room (4-5years) my kids understand that this area is to be used when they are feeling overwhelmed or just need a little break away. Would love for ideas on what I can add to this area" Discussed in this Podcast:✅ Ask each child, and their parents, what helps them calm. I used to ask parents, "What's in your handbag?" and build a personal basket around the items that came up.✅ Use figure eight or infinity breathing, drawing the shape in the air with a finger, and turn it into a race track or train track visual for children who love those themes (one boy responded to a Lightning McQueen version).✅ Set a five minute time timer for a break, then run a check in with a breathing activity and a quick body scan before deciding whether another...

PDA and Supporting the Drive for Autonomy with Expert Guests Laura Kerby & Eliza Flicker Pathological Demand Avoidance in the Classroom Strategies for Teaching PDA StudentsKey takeaways from this podcast for educators and parents/ carers of a child with PDA:✅ Put every interaction through an autonomy lens. Treat the child like a respected colleague rather than someone who must comply (the preschool twins had their best ever day when they got to be the head teachers for the day). ✅ After a child has been in crisis, step back and give time and space rather than crowding around. Allow at least 45 minutes to an hour for adrenaline levels to begin to drop before expecting a return to tasks. ✅ Guard your own reactions. A single roll of the eyes, a huff, or visible disappointment can undo a lot of the relationship building you have done, so respond calmly when a child cannot follow through.Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in the Classroom: Understanding and Teacher Strategies for...

A Whole-Body Approach to Handwriting for Neurodiverse Learners Handwriting Strategies Neurodiverse LearnersDiscussed in this Episode:  ✅ Use spinning tops for finger strength. Kids with autism and ADHD often love spinning tops. They build the same finger coordination and scanning skills as handwriting, without the pressure of letter formation. ✅ Introduce squeeze balls as fidgets with a purpose. Sue uses yellow smiley squeeze balls as fidget toys that also build hand strength for writing. ✅ Break crayons and pencils shorter. A shorter crayon or pencil naturally improves grip. A fatter grip (like Crayola wind-up pencils) also gives more control. ✅ Match dot-to-dots to special interests. Star Wars, Pokémon or My Little Ponies dot-to-dots teach scanning skills and keep engagement high. ✅ Place a popsicle stick between words. A simple icy pole stick gives students a visual anchor for word spacing, no lecture required. ✅ Pop a piece of paper under the arm. This engages the core during...

OCD & Autism in the classroomWith Guest Dean Beadle ocd AUTISM CLASSROOM STRATEGIES  Discussed in this Podcast: ✅ Ask whether the repetition is coming from joy or fear. If it brings the child delight and regulation, encourage it. If the child looks distressed and would rather be doing anything else, treat it as a possible compulsion and respond accordingly. ✅ When a student asks the same anxiety-driven question repeatedly, resist repeating the same answer. Offer compassion and co-regulation instead. "I can see your brain is telling you something scary. Can I sit with you until it feels easier?" ✅ Explain to students in accessible language that their nervous system is firing a false alarm. Remind them that not doing the compulsion is the way to prove to their nervous system that they are safe. ✅ Help students recognise that checking something once is normal, but checking it a second or third time is a compulsion. Use concrete examples like checking lost property once...

Understanding Perfectionism: The Hidden Fear of Failure in Neurodiverse Students (AS, ADHD, ODD, PDA, OCD) Perfectionism in Neurodiverse ChildrenDiscussed in this Episode:  ✅ The Finn story: a student who pushed peers over to be first, because teachers had rewarded being first every time.  ✅ The ODD student who derailed lessons by saying "this is stupid, this is boring, this is dumb," then was met by a social script written in his own language.  ✅ The little girl who twisted her glue stick too far, broke it, and became upset. Sue used calm co-regulation: "Uh-oh, it'll break. We need to roll it back down. Let's do it together."  ✅Audrey, the PDA student whose voice would turn angry while negotiating ("Can I just do this bit? Can I work with this person?").  ✅ The OCD student (twice exceptional, very high IQ) who took a long time to move between classes because of constant checking and end-of-lesson questions.  ✅ The autism school strategy: doing the daily schedule cut, paste, and...

Behaviour Solutions for Kids is a great way to help children with Autism, ADHD, ODD, and all other neurodiversity. By understanding behaviour and putting in place strategies to help children regulate their emotions, you can help them cope with meltdowns and shutdowns. Proactive and reactive strategies can be used to help children learn how to self-regulate and choose their battles. With the right tools and strategies, you can help children with behaviour issues find solutions that work for them. It's never too late to start helping children with behaviour issues, and the rewards are worth it.