My name is Amy Gaffney, and I am an Educational Consultant at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA). I am a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and have worked in Autism for over 20 years with children, young adults, and their families in various settings (e.g., in-home, public and private schools, clinics, and the community). I have given many educational presentations and workshops in Indiana, across the country, and internationally and I am a published author. I’m also the parent of an amazing child who has multiple disabilities. Through my professional and personal experiences, I enjoy continually learning to see the world through a different lens and to be a creative problem solver.
I am the only TEACCH® Certified Advanced Consultant in Indiana and one of my passions and areas of expertise is teaching others about Structured Teaching, based on the TEACCH® philosophy. Structured Teaching is a visually based approach for creating a highly structured environment (Mesibov, Shea, & Schopler, 2005). Four areas are emphasized in structured teaching: physical structure of the environment, use of individualized schedules, use of work systems, and visually structured tasks. By adding structured support in these areas, we can significantly impact the experiences and success of people with Autism and other disabilities within their educational, community, and home settings.
Contact us for information about how I can help your district, schools, and classrooms implement Structured Teaching. I look forward to working with you!
Reference
Mesibov, G. B., Shea, V., & Schopler, E. (2005). The TEACCH approach to autism spectrum disorders. Springer Science + Business Media.
Publications
Gaffney, A. (2020). Transitioning back to school during covid: using visuals and other evidence-based strategies for children with autism.https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/transitioning-back-to-school-during-covid.html
[*Our toolkit is available to download.]
Gaffney, A. (2015, January 12). Creating a flexroom for students on the autism spectrum. Presence Learning. https://presencelearning.com/insights/creating-flexroom-students-autism-spectrum