The Autism Ambassadors Handbook - 9781452235257

For teachers, school administrators, parents, and students, Kukoff, an 18-year-old social entrepreneur, outlines the Autism Ambassadors program, a program he developed along with a psychologist that utilizes peer leaders to help students on the autism spectrum feel socially connected and fully integrated in their academic environments. He first discusses autism in today's society, how typical students feel about students with autism, and the importance of peer leadership, then reviews the program, the role of the Ambassador, and steps for implementing it. The bulk of the book consists of a curriculum based on applied behavior analysis. It contains modules for younger/lower functioning students learning to be alone, pay attention, wash their hands, and other tasks; academic/in-class modules for asserting oneself, taking notes, writing, giving oral reports, and other topics; school-related/out-of-class modules like fire/emergency drills, organizing time and notebooks, and study hall; social situations modules, such as dating, cafeteria etiquette, cursing and offensive language, explaining the diagnosis to friends, joining a club, and school dances; and outing/extracurricular and sports modules. Each includes scripts. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)