Wow, what a gift! I teach at young adult program for students with autism and other developmental disabilities. We teach a highly individualized program due to the high and varying needs of our students and, as such, it can be incredibly difficult to get all the supplies we need. We did not find out who our Secret Santa was, but they did an AMAZING job! It honestly felt like this person (or people) had spent some time in our classroom and knew exactly what we needed.

Due to confidentiality, I cannot provide pictures of my students using the gifts. However, I did take pictures of several items we received. When this package arrived, a bunch of my guys crowded around it to see what we got. They were SO EXCITED! I have several students who love card games and board games, so the new games have been seeing a lot of use. The pattern blocks are another particular favorite of 2-3 students of mine (although they have yet to make a pattern - currently they are enjoying the sensory experience of the tiles haha).

My personal favorite is the set of sequencing cards. I cannot express enough how difficult it is for my students to sequence events - it is very difficult for them to predict what will happen next. Order of events is especially a struggle. Currently, I am using the sequencing cards with a small group of students and one student in particular is very strong in sequencing. He can see a story being told and he will tell the story to his peers and he tells it in a way that makes it seem like he is reading from an actual book. I wish I could express how incredible this is, as this student generally engages in self-talk and scripting (reciting lines from TV shows). He prefers to stay separate from his peers and actively does so. But recently he is choosing to script the sequencing cards in front of him, which not only helps his peers work on their sequencing skills, but also keeps him in the group and socializing, in his way. It is my hope that he will continue to grow closer to his peers and that they will continue to learn from each other all year long.

I said it at the top of this post and I'll say it again - what a gift. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.