Stages Connect
Frankie Kietzman
ContributorEd.S.
Frankie is a Connect contributor writing on autism education and special-education practice.
Articles by Frankie
Classroom Strategies Equity for Serving Our Rural Students
I’m from a small town in rural Kansas with no stoplights and the nearest Walmart is 30 minutes away. My father was a rancher with 200 head of cattle and my mom was a teacher at the nearby—and...
Frankie Kietzman
Aug 14, 2022 · 7 min read
Autism Resources Applying Brene Brown’s Rising Strong to Autism
Building Awareness and Theory of Mind Brene Brown’s illuminating 2015 book, Rising Strong , shows how part of life is handling unexpected situations and dealing with expectations, failures, or...
Frankie Kietzman
Feb 6, 2022 · 4 min read
Family & Home Life What Disney’s Encanto Teaches Us About Families, Autism, and Managing Expectations
Let’s talk about the family Madrigal from Disney’s Encanto to see what we can learn as parents and families with both neurotypicals and members with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I’ll try to...
Frankie Kietzman
Feb 6, 2022 · 5 min read
Life Skills & Transitions Using Task Analysis to Develop Independent Living Skills
Life is filled with routines. When you’re a student, you have years of repetition in a school setting to learn where to go when you arrive, how to get your lunch, transition in the hallways,...
Frankie Kietzman
Dec 31, 2021 · 5 min read
ABA & Therapy The ARIS Lessons: An Insider Look
A Special Ed Teacher and New Stages Learning Staffer Takes a Peek Under the Hood of Our New ARIS Early Autism Curriculum I’m not a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), but I know “just...
Frankie Kietzman
Dec 5, 2021 · 5 min read
Emotions & Social Skills Teaching Tools for Making Friends and Developing Online Relationships for Autistic Individuals
Learning social media skills and dating etiquette can be especially challenging for young autistic adults. This article provides tools for helping to learn new digital social skills for...
Frankie Kietzman
Nov 19, 2021 · 5 min read
ARIS & Curriculum How to Teach Zero to Autistic Children
This resource was created as a supplement for the Language Builder: ARIS® Academic Readiness Intervention System complete early autism curriculum, Lesson #175, Receptive Numbers 11+. Download...
Frankie Kietzman
Nov 7, 2021 · 5 min read
Life Skills & Transitions Using Task Analysis for Arrival and Dismissal Routines
Getting ready to go somewhere and transitioning once you arrive just might be the hardest part of the day for your autistic child or student, and in turn, for you. Fortunately, tools like task...
Frankie Kietzman
Oct 24, 2021 · 5 min read
Classroom Strategies Teaching Multi-Step Skills Through Task Analysis for Students with Autism
Life is filled with constant multi-step directions and processes. That’s why a common elementary project is to have students write exact directions to make a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Their...
Frankie Kietzman
Oct 3, 2021 · 6 min read
Classroom Strategies What Research Has Shown About School Closures Impact on Students with ASD
As schools start up again for the 2021-2022 school year, there are a lot of questions. The previous year’s fluctuations between remote, hybrid and in-person models left everyone’s heads spinning,...
Frankie Kietzman
Sep 12, 2021 · 4 min read
Behavior & Sensory “Opportunities to Respond” in the Classroom for Students with Autism
Strategies for Active Engagement: In the Classroom and on Zoom For Autistic Children You’ve likely heard the phrase “Busy hands are happy hands,” but the same is true when it comes to our brains. One...
Frankie Kietzman
Aug 14, 2021 · 5 min read
ARIS & Curriculum Autism and Teletherapy: It’s Working!
Using ARIS in a Virtual Setting with the New Stages Learning Line Platform {% video_player "embed_player" overrideable=False, type='scriptV4', hide_playlist=True, viral_sharing=False,...
Frankie Kietzman
Aug 14, 2021 · 4 min read
Language & Communication So You Want to be a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)?
Everything You Need to Know About Starting a Career as an SLP There is a growing need for SLPs in the U.S. and SLPs work in a variety of settings including private practice, public and private...
Frankie Kietzman
Jul 29, 2021 · 5 min read
ABA & Therapy Can ARIS Work for an Autistic* 29 Year Old?
Using ARIS with my Brother Tommy With ARIS, Skill Development Can Happen at Any Age Early intervention is the prime advice for education and life skills in the autism community, but should...
Frankie Kietzman
Jul 25, 2021 · 6 min read
About Autism So You Want to be a BCBA?
Maybe you’ve been working with a child or adult who has autism and you’ve decided to make a career out of it. There are plenty of related jobs in fields like education and speech, but one of the most...
Frankie Kietzman
Jul 11, 2021 · 5 min read
ARIS & Curriculum Opening my ARIS Autism Curriculum Kit for the 1st time
Christmas came early this year! Having worked in elementary and secondary self-contained autism classrooms, I have used various curriculums or gathered piecemeal resources to make my own...
Frankie Kietzman
Jul 1, 2021 · 5 min read
ABA & Therapy Facing a Critical Shortage of ABA Therapists, Teletherapy Can Help
Facing a Critical Shortage of ABA Therapists, Teletherapy Can Help Teletherapy for autism, also called distance learning or remote learning for autism, has proven to be an extremely useful tool for...
Frankie Kietzman
Jun 18, 2021 · 5 min read
Language & Communication Growing Up in a Deaf and Autism Household
The Story of My Brother Tommy Growing up is never easy. Growing up in a hearing household with a brother who is deaf and has autism brings unexpected challenges to say the least. Picture a rural...
Frankie Kietzman
Jun 5, 2021 · 6 min read
Classroom Strategies Who's Who on the IEP Team?
Learn What Each Specialist Does in Order to Make the Most of Your Child’s IEP Team When you show up to your child’s IEP meeting for the first time you may be wondering, “Who are all of these people?”...
Frankie Kietzman
Jun 5, 2021 · 5 min read
ABA & Therapy Proactive Strategies for Reducing Problem Behaviors Before they Happen
Using Routines and Pre-Correcting in the Classroom for Students with Autism What is the best way to address a problem behavior? Before it happens! Procedures and routines paired with pre-correction...
Frankie Kietzman
May 30, 2021 · 5 min read
Emotions & Social Skills Building a Social Network for Students with ASD
How to Create a Peer-Mediated Intervention to Support Social Skills for Autistic Children We all need a social network; a group of people who are there for us in good times and in bad. But how can we...
Frankie Kietzman
May 9, 2021 · 5 min read
Classroom Strategies Using Peers to Support Children with Autism in the Classroom
Could Peers Be the Solution to Support Children with Autism in the Classroom? “Put a para with the student” seems to be a quick solution that many school teams jump to when looking for ways to...
Frankie Kietzman
May 9, 2021 · 5 min read
Language & Communication Herramientas de enseñanza para hacer amigos y desarrollar amistades en línea para personas con TEA
Aprender habilidades en las redes sociales y la etiqueta de citas puede ser desafiante especialmente para los jóvenes adultos con autismo. Este artículo proporciona herramientas para ayudar a...
Frankie Kietzman
6 min read