Autism Acceptance Month Lessons (PK/K)

In celebration of Autism Acceptance Month, and in collaboration with the Howard County Autism Society, HCPSS prekindergarten and kindergarten students will engage in a lesson and lesson extensions during the month of April.

Developed by staff from the departments of Special Education, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction, the lesson plan for "We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3!" highlights the main topics of inclusion and disability in alignment with state standards. For prekindergarten classrooms (preschool, MINC-PS, MINC-EL, MINC-PK, and Pre-K), the lesson also references the current unit of the prekindergarten curriculum.

The expectation is that all early childhood teachers teach the lesson by April 8, 2022 and include the lesson extensions throughout the month of April, as appropriate for your schedule and long range plans. There are additional resources and information for families. For Pre-K teachers, this can be shared via family connections.

Materials have been created, will be organized into folders, and delivered to the K ITL at each school. The K ITL will be responsible for disseminating to the other K teachers as well as to the RECC-ITL/Pre-K teacher. "We're Amazing 1, 2, 3!" should be shared with the class via electronic read aloud, Links to an external site.located half way down the linked page. Materials include adaptations and modifications to ensure each student in your classroom can participate in the lessons. The materials should be stored together so that this lesson can be taught in future years. Follow up information will be shared with all teachers throughout the month of April via Canvas announcements. 

  Please note: "We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3!" discusses Autism directly and the different aspects of the disability. While this is intentional to help spread awareness and acceptance, do not share a specific student's diagnosis with other students.

If you are interested in having your class or team highlighted and showcased in HCPSS public release of this lesson, please contact your EIS and/or ECP Point of Contact.