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We share what works. Ivymount staff develop and pilot innovative, instructional products and training resources for sharing beyond the walls of Ivymount.
This online tool software package offers a one stop shop for assessing students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) strengths and needs. IvySCIP can be used to identify instructional priority areas, develop high quality Individual Education Plan goals, link to lesson plans, and track progress over time.
This user-friendly handbook provides instructions on how to create This is Me stories. Students with communication challenges and developmental disabilities create these stories as a handy digital reference to self-advocate for the supports they need and to share vital personal information.
We want to ensure we do the best job possible to support our students, clients, families and staff. That’s why Ivymount engages in applied research that measures the impact of our instructional practices, curricula, and the tools we develop.
We value continual learning and professional development. That’s why Ivymount is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and extensive training
The Conversation Club curriculum offers an innovative, research-based method of teaching both the “how” and “why” of conversation to neurodiverse elementary school students with social cognition challenges. Written by staff at Ivymount and The Maddux School, Conversation Club includes a cast of kid-friendly characters designed to facilitate thinking about the social importance of each skill.
To purchase Conversation Club, please email outreach@ivymount.org.
If you enjoyed using Conversation Club, please click here to leave a review on Amazon.
This customized, digital tool allows students to develop a story with their teacher, speech language pathologist, and/or educational team. The tool uses a story creation application that is easy to program. This Is Me stories contain student strategies for areas of communication, self-advocacy, executive function, behavior, and personal preferences. Each page of the story has a picture or video illustrating the strategy. This is Me stories are designed to be developed and shared by autistic students and those with intellectual disabilities who also experience expressive, receptive, and/or pragmatic communication difficulties.
Important information about students’ support strategies is often lost during transitions (e.g., transitions to a new classroom or school building, or from school to work). This Is Me offers an innovative, individualized, portable digital solution that ensures students can communicate critical information about themselves to a wide range of communication partners, including new teachers/classroom staff, related service providers, job coaches, supervisors, and other important people in their lives.
Research consistently shows that academic, social, and vocational outcomes are superior for students with greater self-advocacy skills. For example, studies suggest that self-determination is one of the key indicators of post-school success. This Is Me puts students in the driver’s seat when it comes to advocating for their own support needs. This is Me allows students to share their own information independently using their customized This is Me story, rather than relying on others.
The This Is Me self-advocacy tool was developed by a speech-language pathologist working with transition-aged students at the Ivymount School, and was then refined by an Ivymount team. The tool supports school-to-work students with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disabilities and concomitant moderate-severe receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language deficits.
A recently published study indicates a positive relationship between viewing students’ This Is Me stories and improved understanding by job coaches and employers about students’ support strategies. Employers also reported adopting more effective communication strategies after viewing students’ stories.
We recently developed a “how to” guide for creating This Is Me stories. We are currently planning a more rigorous follow-up study of the impact of This Is Me stories on students and their novel communication partners. In addition, we are seeking funders and/or investors to help us develop a This Is Me app. We are also seeking university partners for additional research into the impact of This Is Me on young adults.
Click here if you would like to purchase the how-to guide. Additionally, a recently published article describes what This is Me stories are and how to make them. For more information on how you can use This Is Me to support your students’ self-advocacy, or to schedule a training or consultation, contact Ivymount Outreach at outreach@ivymount.org.
We have created a how-to guide for creating This Is Me stories. To purchase the how-to guide click here.
We are pleased to share an innovative platform developed by Ivymount professionals. IvySCIP offers comprehensive support for teachers and related service professionals providing social and emotional learning (SEL) instruction to students in grades K-6 with social cognition challenges.
IvySCIP is an online program that includes an assessment tool, IEP goal builder, lesson plans and reports for the needs of each student.
