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In my last post, I gathered some Pinterest boards that I think are worth following in the new year.  In this one I wanted to gather some blogs that I follow that you might find useful.  Some of these you may know about because there aren’t that many autism blogs for teachers out there.  I have also shared some posts from many of these blogs.  They are not all solely autism focused, but I think they all appeal to a part of the autism spectrum in many of their posts.  Let me say I had a very hard time narrowing this list down and I purposely do not call it a “best of” list.  I’ve only included blogs that really focus on autism or related issues that I think will be of interest. I also only shared those that regularly post and post substantial ideas.  I also only included classroom-specific blogs–because after all I had to get it down to 15 and there is lots about autism out there these days.  And I will likely be unable to resist the temptation to add a few more at the end of the post.  And finally, among my list of disclaimers, I did not include myself in this list because you are already here.  I also want to give a shout-out to A Special Sparkle.  Because it is a collaborative blog I’m part of, I didn’t include it in the list.  However, it’s a great place to find new bloggers and get ideas for a variety of special education needs.  So, without further ado, here’s the list–in no particular order.  Click on the blog button or the title to visit their sites.

1.  The Autism Tank

I love Hailey Deloya’s posts and often find some great ideas and resources in the activities she creates and shares for her class.  I really loved the post about the way she did Secret Santas in her classroom.  Hailey has her BCBA that I think she got fairly recently–and of course that certification is near and dear to my heart as a behavior analyst myself!

2.  The Autism Helper

 Sasha Halligan’s blog is probably the longest running and perhaps the best well-known classroom blog on autism.  You probably already are aware of her posts–she has some great visual resources and a terrific section on the organization of her classroom that are worth checking out.  Sasha also is a certified BCBA now!  Love how this field is growing!

3. A Peach for the Teach

While Brandy’s blog focuses specifically on students with behavioral issues, that certainly includes a number of our students with ASD.  Most if not all of her posts are very relevant to the types of students we work with everyday.  I particularly like How to Handle Meltdowns, Storms and Rages as well as her post on learned helplessness. 

4. Teach Early Autism

Kara teaches a middle school self-contained class with severe disabilities.  Her special education resources and ideas are terrific for those secondary students that we sometimes struggle with age-appropriate developmental tasks.  She also has a great post on making interactive readers from the Unique curriculum as well as other posts about the ULS you should check out.

7.  Breezy Special Ed

Brie is high school students who need a functional approach to special education.  She shares great age-appropriate resources and ideas like her review of the Grid Player app for creating communication boards.

8.  Empowered by Them

Karent teaches a high school transition class (18-22 year olds) and has lots of real-life functional resources and ideas she shares.  I really love her recent post on Grocery Store Ads.

9.  PrAACtical AAC

Carole Zangari and Robin Parker are amazing SLPs who work at Nova Southeastern University, where I teach and used to work full-time.  Their site has tremendous resources for working with individuals who need assistance with communication, which includes many of our learners with ASD.  One of the best ways to sample their awesomeness is to check out their post of the Most Popular Posts of 2013.

10.  Teaching Special Thinkers

Mrs. Dixon is an elementary special education teachers who teaches students with all disabilities.  She has some great posts about data collection as well as a great Be Proactive Series that you should check out.

11.  Speech Room News

Jenna Rayburn is one of the most prolific bloggers I’ve seen.  She posts on her blog as well as A Special Sparkle and some other collaborative efforts as well. Her ideas are awesome and she does some great posts on Social Thinking ideas like her post on Think vs. Say.  Her social skills and social thinking posts give me great ideas for my higher functioning students.

12.  Chapel Hill Snippets

Ruth Morgan is a speech pathologist practicing in North Carolina where I used to live.  I wish I had known about her then and gotten to meet her!  She has many, many free resources on her blog including lots of free adapted books that are good for early learners and some of our more complex students.  In addition, check out this great post on a self-regulation scale similar to the Incredible 5-Point Scale.

13.  If I Only Had Superpowers….Superpower Speech

CC’s blog is one of the first that I found in this list of blogs above and her blogging about TPT is part of what got me started with it and encouraged me to blog more consistently and with more effort. She shares great ideas she uses in her classroom and at home.  I love all her posts but I am particularly fond of her post about the importance of teaching social skills everywhere and ideas about how to do it.

14.  Superteach’s Special Ed Spot

And last, but certainly not least, I have to give a shout out to this new and upcoming blog.  She is just getting started but every week she shares a freebie and ideas from her elementary self-contained classroom that includes many children with autism.  Check out her Marvelous Math Monday post for a cool touch point counting freebie!

And besides, she makes these awesome cookies for me (cause she’s my super teacher sister!).

I know there are other blogs out there, and many that I didn’t identify in limiting it to 14.  You should check out Adventures of Room 83, Awesomeness and Autism, and Crazy Speech World among others.  Also, share more blogs for folks to check out in the comments and we all can share!

Until next time,