The Autism Ambassadors Handbook: Peer Support for Learning, Growth, and Success / Edition 1

by Zak Kukoff

Overview

Sometimes, all a student needs to succeed is a friend.

Every day, thousands of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle to stay afloat at school—sometimes bullied, often ostracized, these students could benefit from a peer who models and reinforces socially appropriate behavior and coaches them through challenging schoolwork. This inspirational new book describes how to set up just such a peer-mentoring organization in your school. Kukoff provides:

• Steps for organizing and implementing your own Autism Ambassadors program
• Clear-cut guidelines on what it entails for student “ambassadors”
• More than a hundred specific interventions any student can employ with students with ASD

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452235257
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/13/2013
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Zak Kukoff is an 18-year-old social entrepreneur based in Westlake Village, California, and, at the time of this book's printing, a senior at Westlake High School. Zak is the founder of Autism Ambassadors, a nonprofit that builds friendships between students with special needs and typical students in more than 25 schools throughout the United States and abroad. In his spare time, he volunteers at the Westminster Free Clinic, which provides free medical services for those without healthcare. He also writes for the Huffington Post Education Section and helps organize both TEDx Conejo and TEDx Youth@Conejo. He previously founded the education-technology startup Truant Today. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Tech Crunch, Bloomberg View, The Next Web, and other well-known publications, and has been honored by the Clinton Global Initiative and NBC Education Nation. Contact him on twitter: @zck.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Gary S. Katz
Preface
Part I. The Program
1. Autism And Society Today
2. Typical Students and Autism
3. The Importance of Peer Leadership: What the Research Says
4. Who and What is Autism Ambassadors?
5. What is an Ambassador?
6. Autism Ambassadors at Your School: The Nuts and Bolts of Implementation
7. Curriculum Overview
Part II. The Curriculum
Section 1. Younger/Lower Functioning Students
Pay Attention/ Calm Hands
Being Alone
Logical Sequencing
Passing the Baton
Washing Hands at School
Section 2. Academic/ In Class
Asserting Yourself in Class
Taking Notes
Giving an Oral Presentation in Class
Replacing Classroom Items
Switching Desks
Watching a Video in Class
Writing an Intro Paragraph
Section 3. School Related/ Out of Class
Writing a “Chunk” Paragraph
Writing a Concluding Paragraph
Fire/Emergency Drill
Getting to Class on Time
Organizing Your Time
Finding Favorite Books
Organizing Your Notebook
Study Hall
Section 4. Outing/ Extracurricular
The Bus Class
Trip/ Museum Class
Trip/ Zoo
Interviewing for a High School Job
Section 5. Social
Asking Someone Out on a Date
Cafeteria Etiquette
Cursing and Offensive Language
Explaining Your Diagnosis to Friends
Finding Friends at Lunch
Finding Favorite Popular Music
Joining a Club at School
Making a Plan
School Dance
Section 6. Sports
Playing Football
Playing Soccer
Playing Tag
Playing Tetherball
Part III. Appendices
Parent Letter
Frequently Asked Questions
Questionnaire
Evaluation Tool
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This is an amazing idea from a young innovator! This manual provides an amazing contribution, not only to the field of professionals, but to future providers as well.

Kate Boone

This book makes a distinct contribution by providing a different view of how to support students with autism. As the number of people with autism is increasing, creating awareness and supports across larger groups of people is important. Providing ways for students with ASD to interact and be supported by other students is needed.”

Mary Reeve

What’s not to like about The Autism Ambassadors Handbook? This book, written by a 18-year-old entrepreneur, provides a complete program that allows empathic students to teach vital skills to their autistic peers. Student-teachers, autistic students, and teachers all win with this curriculum. Did I mention that it is free to implement?

Seoul, Korea - Anne Beveridge

"Zak Kukoff has provided a program curriculum that simply doesn't exist. This program is just what we were looking for. It's one thing to teach kids to be nice and accepting; it’s another to teach kids how to engage with their peers who have autism. The students who learn from the modules become incredible peer models, mentors and leaders. Autism Ambassadors truly bridges the gap in social development programs for children with autism. "

Nicole Simon