How will you organize the curriculum to integrate the special interests and materials, activities, and routines for students with ASD across curriculum?Please respond to students question:1. (Nicole) When planning for curriculum skill selection should be based on each student’s current abilities and determined through rigorous assessment practices. This will be an ongoing process that will need to adjust based on the needs of the student as he or she grows both in age and abilities. I would also make sure I have an organized classroom, it provides the structure and predictability that many students with ASD need to understand expectations and participate. Providing a visual schedule is also important to prepare the student for transitions and to let the student be aware of what to expect and helps provide independence. Class rules are an important component of an orderly educational environment. Rules express and objectify underlying social and behavioral expectations which can be difficult for a student with ASD.Often there is a balance that needs to be met when addressing the educational needs of students with ASD. There is not one curriculum mode that suits each person. Some students require more communication needs, some require more social skills, and some need behavior or sensory supports, which I would bring into the curriculum to help address those needs in various ways.2. (Haley) By implementing special interests into curriculum, you are increasing the chances of student motivation. To include special interests into the curriculum, one must first determine what the students like and dislike are. One can do this through a student survey, or by trial and error, depending on the ability level of your students. Implementing special interest can be done across all subject areas.One example, my students love playing with play-doh however they do not like letter identification and letter sounds. To increase the likelihood of student participation, I have them create the letter out of play-doh and then we take objects that start with that letter and stick them in the play-doh. Over the course of the lesson we discuss what the letter is, what sound it makes, and no more than three words that start with the letter.My district has implemented a new program this year, STAR. I recently discussed how this program is specifically designed for students with autism. In addition, the program includes high interest topics that change on a monthly basis. The best part is that each topic has been differentiated on three different levels for you. With that said, some modifications and accommodations still need to be made to accomodate the student.In my classroom, we stick to a very structured routine. The students each have their own visual schedules that include when they have specials such as OT, speech, P.E. music, etc.