Santino opened Prodigy and we worked together on time and addition skills.

Santino listened to a song about the bossy r. We talked about bossy r. We worked on a bossy r activity. Santino practiced handwriting. He wrote letters from A through Z. Santino practiced spelling (ar) words. We worked on a noun and verb activity. Santino practiced speaking words with an (ing) ending.

Santino began the session assembling dissection puzzles consisting of seven flat polygram pieces. He was tasked with putting them together to form shapes and replicate patterns displayed on a card. Santino did well on this task, demonstrating good visual-spatial skills. Santino has been better able to self-regulate during periods of transition, when there is increased activity, or when other students visit or share his space. He requests to go outside to the playground using richer language to more clearly communicate his purpose and intent. In efforts to strengthen his number sense, Santino worked on an activity for which he had to practice counting. He was shown a number and asked to add the specified number displayed on a die. I demonstrated the strategy of saying the first number and then counting the dots, or pips, on the die to add to it. It is hoped that more concrete activities like this will develop Santino's understanding of simple arithmetic operations. Santino was in good spirits today, and he was reinforced for demonstrating evidence of sustained eye contact during social greets.

Santino assembled the items from his lunch bag onto the table in accordance with directives. He identified the items, needing verbal prompts to facilitate his retrieval of the word 'knife.' Santino consumed his pureed lunch with gusto. He had some difficulty understanding positional cues regarding re-placement of his thermos on the table but was assisted by demonstration. Santino has been better able to communicate requests, and prompts have been faded with increased evidence of performance gains.

Today he completed some exercises to join the dots to form figures and numbers. He used different colors and said them out loud every time he changed colors.

Santino practiced writing his name. We worked on sorting adjectives, nouns, and verbs.

This afternoon, Santino worked on a cut-and-paste activity but was afforded hand-over-hand prompts to assist him as he does not as yet demonstrate the necessary control to use scissors effectively or independently. We continue to practice the proper grip in efforts to reinforce muscle memory and facilitate performance without the need for assistance. Santino was also introduced to a magnet and shown how to hold it over items to observe the magnetic force. As he learns through observation and manipulation, Santino obtains information to add to his experiential knowledge base. We explored sensory-motor activities and watched a slinky use spring action to go down steps; Santino enjoyed observing this. Santino also read a short story and was able to order the 3 main events after expectations were modeled. He sounds out words well, however it is difficult to ascertain how much of the information is integrated or synthesized effectively due to his expressive language and communication challenges. I use concrete references and demonstrations as much as possible when narrating actions and consequences in efforts to facilitate associative connections between words and their meanings.

Santino was queried about food utensils and items he uses at mealtimes. He answered questions with 80% accuracy over 5 opportunities, or trials, afforded him. Santino's performance improved when he was afforded physical and verbal prompts to focus his attention. He ate the entirety of the contents of his thermos, a portion of pureed potatoes, his favorite meal. He drank water from a cup using one hand, and responded to directives to use a napkin when necessary. When Santino finished his meal, he washed his hands at the sink, requiring minimal prompts and demonstration to model how to thoroughly and effectively rub his hands with soap and then dry them thoroughly with a towel. However, Santino knew the steps needed to perform this self-care task, and he obtained soap and towels from their respective dispensers effectively independent of physical prompts. Although Santino did not eat a Kind bar that was offered to him, he did put it to his mouth when prompted. This suggests improvement in his tolerance of new foods and a broader acceptance of different textures and experiences.

Santino read a reading comprehension story about bats. We worked on some sight words. He completed a counting activity.

I drew pictures and Santino told me how to spell what I was drawing. I spelled the words on the board as he told me what letter to write next. He spelled words like Sun, triangle, hexagon, octagon. We read a book together. We practiced spelling Santino's name. We worked on a painting project.