4 Things to Add to Student Fact Sheets

The first page in any student’s working binder should be their Student Fact Sheet. These gems are a quick dose of information about the student for any staff member, sub, or new hire that may be working with them. For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or other Mod-Severe Learning Disabilities, this info can be the main difference between a positive, productive session with a student and a supreme meltdown. 

I know fast fact sheets have saved my life on more than one occasion at school, especially on days when a cold is going around and staff is stretched pretty thin.

From personal experience, here are 4 Things to Add to your Students’ Fact Sheets to set them (& their teachers!) up for Success:

1. Bus Info

The first thing that I have to do is get my student off the bus or out of their van. Seriously, don’t make me hunt around for a primary teacher to find out how to do that. If you want me to get my kiddo, tell me where they’re gonna be! 

Any other important bits of info (harness/bus aides/etc) would be lovely here too. Get your student started off right!

2. Lunch & Eating Procedures

In an ABA setting, reinforcers are king. But some kids have preferred items that are not on the agenda for some reason or another. In our class, it’s candy. And our kids are mischievous, they'll

wait for subs to request sweets when they know they can’t have them! Best let us know that right off the bat. 

Same goes with our gluten free friends! Sorry bud, but the Sub knows: no cookies!

3. Reinforcers & Preferred Activities

Now that we’re done talking about what the kiddos can’t have, tell the staff what they love! A Student Fact Sheet is a great place to stash information on what your student is into, what they like to earn and do with their teachers, and their favorite rewards for a job well done. Nothing kicks off a session right like introducing a student’s preferred activity right off the bat.

And don’t just put “Videos” or “Youtube”! If your student can’t ask their sub to put on their favorite show, and your sub hasn’t been filled in, both are going to end up very frustrated.

5. Mastered Tasks & Activites

We always want our kids to feel smart. How can we do that? By not setting our students up for failure. Teaching special learners, we know that not every student can be handed a puzzle as an easy task to complete. For some students, that may be the most difficult task a teacher could ask of them, and is almost sure to cause an escalation. 

Including Mastered, Fail Safe tasks for your specific student provides them with an easy right answer to a question, and an automatic gold star/high five for their teacher to share.

I’ve been updating my student’s binder & materials to prepare for next year, and today I finished up his very own Fact Sheet! I’m honestly thrilled, it’s been missing for months… There’s always something to do around here, and I finally was able to check it off my To Do List. 

To celebrate, I’ve turned it into a Student Fact Sheet Template to share, enjoy!