Jennifer M. Schmidt is a special education teacher with 20 years of teaching experience in both general and special education settings. Jennifer and her now retired speech-language pathologist colleague piloted the PEERspective learning approach in the fall of 2007, and the class continues to this day. Other school districts have adopted the same model with similar success. Jennifer is a passionate educator who enjoys presenting at local, state, and national conferences about PEERspective, autism, and other topics related to special education.
"PEERspective is a unique model that facilitates social skill
development and peer-mediated interventionusing evidence-based best
practices with a focus on students with high-functioning autism.
The bookincludes practical tips on how to get started, along with a
detailed eight-unit curriculum guide, takingthe guesswork out of
replicating the program. By themselves, the handouts and
evidence-basedstrategies described in the book can be adapted and
used by special educators and speech-languagepathologists as part
of their intervention. Schmidt's insights into and commitment to
her students springfrom every page as she shares drawings, quotes,
and case stories help the reader better understand notonly the
challenges, but also the insight and gifts her students give back.
I would love to see more highschools using this comprehensive and
effective model." - Carol A. Dittoe, MA, CCC-SLP, speech-language
pathologist, certified autism specialist; coauthor of Show Me! A
Teacher's Guide to Video Modeling and Gear Up for Success: A
Three-Tiered Planning Model for Supporting Learners on the Autism
Spectrum
"This book contains all the steps and lesson plans needed to
implement PEERspective in your school.The dually beneficial model
is an asset both to students with high-functioning autism and to
their peercoaches. The author's years of experience in the
classroom have led to tried-and-true outcomes that canbe achieved
by anyone with a passion to help students improve and generalize
social skills for successfulparticipation in school, the community,
and life beyond high school. Utilizing 21 evidence-basedpractices
and authentic exposure through typical high school activities such
as trips to the mall, schooldances, football games and movie
theaters, PEERspective allows students to come together both in
andout of the school environment for additional opportunities to
practice skills learned in the class andapply them to real-life." -
Heather J. Bridgman, MS, ATP, assistive technology consultant, Ohio
Center for Autism and Low Incidence; coauthor of the award-winning
book Show Me! A Teacher's Guide to Video Modeling
Why Didn't They Just Say That? furnishes any middle or high school
educator with the tools needed toimplement the PEERspective class
model into their own schools. My hope is that it will lead
towidespread use of the PEERspective class idea throughout the
country as I have watched it provideinvaluable life lessons to both
my daughter with ASD and my neurotypical children who have taken
theclass. Specifically, I have witnessed how personal growth,
increased self-esteem, and improvedinterpersonal skills resulting
from this model bring happiness and feelings of belonging to
students whohave largely never experienced any of these attributes.
I cannot say enough about the positivedifference the PEERspective
class has made in my daughter's life in addition to our family as a
whole." -Audrey Ernst, BA, JD; parent of HFA student and
neurotypical student who have completed PEERspective class; host of
PEERspective and SCC events
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