My Personal Experience Collaborating with Teachers
My daughter, who has an autism spectrum disorder, prefers routines and schedules. She has difficulties with changes in routine.

Early Beginnings
What happened: When she was in first grade, her special education teacher abruptly went on medical leave.

When my daughter showed up for school one day, a substitute teacher greeted her at the door.

Her Reaction: Needless to say, she did not handle this change well. This manifested a few different ways:

Not having expressive language to communicate her dismay, behavior spoke for her.
She significantly regressed, hitting teachers and peers.
Her behaviors landed her in an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) based extended school year (ESY) program for students with autism spectrum disorders.

What We Did: We lived in New Jersey at the time, and the school district partnered with Rutgers University Elementary School.png to teach students with autism to regulate behaviors and emotions through ABA during summer ESY. Parental participation in treatment was required.

Results: Through ESY, I learned ABA and collaborated with teachers to implement interventions at home.

By the End of the Summer: My daughter learned to articulate her feelings and better manage emotions

In second grade, teachers reinforced ABA in the general education co-taught classroom. My daughter’s ability to self-regulate improved dramatically.

High School and Beyond

Over the years, she learned to self-manage anxiety and emotions. In high school, she excelled in AP classes. In college, she continued to perform well academically and developed leadership skills through many campus. To this day, she uses strategies she learned in ESY and elementary school to de escalate.

I am eternally thankful for her teachers. They collaborated well with me and changed our lives.

High Leverage Practice #3: Collaborate with Families to Support Student Learning and Secure Services

High Leverage practice # 3, Collaborate with Families to Support Student Learning and Secure Needed Services, outlines ways teachers can most effectively communicate and collaborate with families. HLP # 3 Highlight Tool provides and overview and resources for teachers to collaborate with families.

. Challenges Our Parents May Face

It's important to be mindful of challenges some families may experience that make collaboration more difficult. We don't always see the "big picture" or understand issues that may impede communication and collaboration. Checking our own judgement at the door, having an open heart, and an inviting attitude is helpful.