When learners with autism have deep, consuming fascinations'trains, triangles, basketballs, whales'teachers often wonder what to do. This concise, highly practical guidebook gives educators across grade levels a powerful new way to think about students' "obsessions": as positive teaching tools that calm, motivate, and improve learning. Written by top autism experts and nationally renowned speakers Paula Kluth and Patrick Schwarz, this guide is brimming with easy tips and strategies for folding students' special interests, strengths, and areas of expertise into classroom lessons and routines. Teachers will discover how making the most of fascinations can help their students learn standards-based academic content, boost literacy learning and mathematics skills, develop social connections, expand communication skills, and minimize anxiety. Just Give Him the Whale! is packed from start to finish with unforgettable stories based on the authors' experience, firsthand perspectives from people with autism themselves, research-based recommendations that are easy to use right away, and sample forms teachers can adapt for use in their own classrooms. An enjoyable read with an eye-opening message, this short book will have a long-lasting impact on teachers' understanding of autism'and on their students' social and academic success.

An eye-opening, fully illustrated story-based on the real event that sparked the bestselling Just Give Him the Whale!-this teaching tool will motivate educators to make the most of their students' fascinations and help all children learn.

The how and why of teaching literacy skills to children with autism

The award-winning and USA Today bestselling story of a deaf girl's connection to a whale whose song can't be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him. "Fascinating, brave, and tender...a triumph." --Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she's the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she's not very smart. If you've ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be. When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to "sing" to him! But he's three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him? Full of heart and poignancy, this affecting story by sign language interpreter Lynne Kelly shows how a little determination can make big waves. And make sure to read Lynne Kelly's next book and instant classic, The Secret Language of Birds!

Advises the reader about what to do, and not do, in order to successfully spot a whale, such as wrapping up in a not-too-cozy blanket, ignoring the roses, and especially, being patient.

A compendium of straightforward techniques on how to accentuate the positive and redirect the negative, increasing productivity at work and at home. What do your people at work and your spouse and kids at home have in common with a five-ton killer whale? Probably a whole lot more than you think, according to top business consultant and mega-bestselling author Ken Blanchard and his coauthors from SeaWorld. In this moving and inspirational new book, Blanchard explains that both whales and people perform better when you accentuate the positive. He shows how using the techniques of animal trainers -- specifically those responsible for the killer whales of SeaWorld -- can supercharge your effectiveness at work and at home. When gruff business manager and family man Wes Kingsley visited SeaWorld, he marveled at the ability of the trainers to get these huge killer whales, among the most feared predators in the ocean, to perform amazing acrobatic leaps and dives. Later, talking to the chief trainer, he learned their techniques of building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting negative behavior -- all of which make these extraordinary performances possible. Kingsley took a hard look at his own often accusatory management style and recognized how some of his shortcomings as a manager, spouse, and father actually diminish trust and damage relationships. He began to see the difference between "GOTcha" (catching people doing things wrong) and "Whale Done!" (catching people doing things right). In Whale Done!, Ken Blanchard shows how to make accentuating the positive and redirecting the negative the best tools to increase productivity, instead of creating situations that demoralize people. These techniques are remarkably easy to master and can be applied equally well at home, allowing readers to become better parents and more committed spouses in their happier and more successful personal lives.

sThree handbooks; 30 key ideas presented in small, smart packages; all the information necessary to start making inclusion work effectively. Whether you're a general educator, a special educator, an administrator, a therapist, or a family team member, You're Welcome presents the thinking you'll need to open your classrooms to all students. sYou're Welcome is divided into three handbooks that address the most important educational frameworks at the heart of inclusive schooling: Differentiating Instruction Collaboration and Teaming Positive and Peaceful Behavior SupportssEach book contains ten big ideas that provide the most pertinent information for understanding and supporting diverse learners. Schwarz and Kluth distill the research and best practices behind inclusion into concise, actionable nuggets for professional learning that include: classroom structures instructional strategies organizational principles and activities lesson ideas examples from real schools recommended print and Web resources. sGet answers to frequently asked questions about crucial topics such as coteaching, team building, collaborating with students, integrating the IEP into the general education curriculum, creating personalized learning agendas, and writing sensitive and responsive behavior plans. Read You're Welcome and discover a powerful tool for implementing educational practices that provide meaningful help for students with a range of diverse abilities, needs, gifts, and struggles as they achieve effective educational gains.s