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To the individuals challenged by the Autism Spectrum and Asperger’s Syndrome, Approach to Autism offers one guide, one smart approach…connecting parents, families and professionals with instant access to the top resources. In addition, we are highlighting interesting news or articles that come along the way, just as an added feature for your perusal. If you would like for us to post anything you see valuable, please email it to us for our review. Thank you!
Today, one in every 88 American children is on the autism spectrum. Autism affects more than 2 million people in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide. But it hasn’t always been this way. Statistics show a tenfold increase in autism in the past 40 years, and prevalence rates are increasing 10%-17% each year.
With autism on the rise, many schools struggle to meet the needs of autistic students. Often, autistic adults do nottake the next step to go on to college or meaningful employment, even though they may be incredibly gifted. Letting students fall behind should not be an option.
If traditional classrooms struggle to effectively educate autistic students, what can online education offer autistic learners? Tech tools and virtual learning environments present an opportunity to better serve autistic students with flexibility and resources that are well suited to guide them in learning. The more educators learn about working with autistic students, the better equipped teachers and students will be for success.
Autism represents a broad spectrum of students, from high-functioning individuals to those with significant disability. “You’ve got some kids who are brilliant in one area and can’t work at all in another area. There’s really a range,” explains autism consultant Lisa Jo Rudy. Each autistic individual is unique with their own set of needs, making it difficult for some educational programs to reach every student. But there are common characteristics that online educators should be aware of and work with, including anxiety and difficulties with attention, communication, and social interaction, as well as a need for multiple learning styles.
Strong feelings of anxiety are common among those with autism or Asperger syndrome. Researchers have found that more than 80% of children with autism have at least one anxiety disorder, and many young adults with Asperger syndrome feel intense anxiety, some to a point that requires treatment. Bullying, being put on the spot, time limits, and win-lose situations can be a source of anxiety for autistic students.
Communication abilities will vary among individual students, but all people with autism experience language and communication difficulties of some kind. Teaching Students With Autism: A Resource Guide for Schools identifies common language difficulties among autistic students, including a lack of eye contact, unusual gestures, a lack of expressive language skills, and a difficulty in changing topics.
Social interaction for autistic students can be a challenge, which makes it difficult for these individuals to participate in class discussions. Teaching Students With Autism explains that people with autism have difficulty reading body language and may not pick up on important social cues. They also typically have trouble understanding the perspectives of others.
Attention difficulties are also common among autistic students. They may find it difficult to give their attention to important concepts, instead focusing on insignificant details. A short attention span, and difficulty shifting attention from one stimulus to the next is also common.
Autistic students often need to be presented with a variety of learning styles. Stephen Edelson of the Autism Research Institute explains, “It appears that autistic individuals are more likely to rely on only one style of learning.” That means autism educators will need to offer multiple learning styles — visual, auditory, and hands-on — to discover the method that works best for each student.
The benefits of online education can be life-changing for autistic students. One 17-year-old with autism, Daniel, found success participating in massive open online courses (MOOCs) with Coursera. Daniel took a modern poetry class from Penn, thriving in the exclusively online format. He and his parents discovered that the online learning system worked well with his social skills and attention deficit, and the rigorous academic curriculum required him to stay on task. Says Daniel, “I can’t yet sit still in a classroom, so [Coursera's online offering] was my first real course ever. During the course, I had to keep pace with the class, which is unheard of in special ed. Now I know I can benefit from having to work hard and enjoy being in sync with the world.”
College student Ryan Fox has experienced similar success in online learning. For Fox, high school was distracting and stressful. He had trouble keeping up with teachers and had to start his school day all over again when he got home, relearning all of the information he didn’t understand or hear the first time around. But when Fox was introduced to an online learning environment, it made him feel “very organized, calm, and safe.” With online learning, he was able to find order and correctness, and knew what to expect, with no surprises and limited changes.
Where Fox struggled in traditional school, he thrives online. He’s able to get his schoolwork done quickly and needs almost no accommodations. Says Fox, “When I was really little, I was curious and loved to learn, but then for a while I got so frustrated I forgot what that was like. I think any student who has certain needs and wants to rediscover his or her love of learning should try online learning. I really believe that in the future everyone will learn this way! We will all be able to learn from the very smartest people on Earth, and we will do it at our own pace every day. Our abilities will matter more than our disabilities.”
62 total views, 1 today
By Kerry Davis, IDG News Feb 10, 2012 3:30 pm
With one honk, the course of Shannon Des Roches Rosa’s day abruptly changed.
“It’s my son,” Rosa announced, as she quickly removed the microphone pinned to her shirt. “I’ve gotta run,” she said, as she hurried out the door of her sprawling home in Redwood City, California. Her 11-year-old son, Leo, just home from school, must be met at the bus at the top of the driveway before coming indoors.
Once inside, Rosa immediately showed him the schedule of activities. First up: Bathroom, hand-washing, then a snack.
(Watch a video of Leo at home, here)
Working with an easy-to-understand schedule that usually includes picture icons is key for a smooth day for Leo and many autistic children. Experts say autistic children respond best to things they can see. Too often, things they hear or feel are off-putting and stimulate their senses in ways that can cause pain or irritation.
“Auditorily they have a difficult time processing something, it’s sort of like someone speaking a different language to you,” said Jennifer Sullivan, the executive director of the Morgan Autism Center, which is Leo’s school. “So from the very beginning we would draw pictures of ‘this is what you’re schedule would look like for the day.’”
But after his snack, Leo’s free time usually involves the family iPad. Rosa believes his instinctive draw toward visual learning is letting the iPad reach her son in ways no other therapy had done before. The iPad, she said, has changed Leo for the better, making him more independent. And she’s quick to point out that he’s still an 11-year-old boy who deserves to play sometimes, which he also does on the family’s iPad.
The U.S.-based organization Autism Speaks estimates there are hundreds of apps built for use on iOS devices, specifically for autism. A search of the Apple iTunes store brought more than 580 autism-related apps, while an Android Market search for autism apps yielded about 250 results.
“The more we dig, the bigger the rabbit hole is and we’re starting to think tech is a really big key for how we can develop therapies quickly,” said Marc Sirkin, vice president of social marketing and online fundraising for Autism Speaks.
However, the organization is cautious about the iPad’s popularity. Its quick ascent means no one has actually studied which apps are of therapeutic benefit. Sure, Sirkin said, parents may hear anecdotal stories of apps completely changing a child’s life, but there is no measurable proof yet that the apps really work.
“The challenge with iOS apps is a lot are developed by well-meaning parents but under no guidance with autism experts,” Sirkin said. “For us, it brings in questions as an evidenced-based organization and we’re starting to ask: Does any of this actually make any difference … the danger is that the iPad becomes a really expensive toy.”
But some parents are OK without the proof just yet. Eric Tanner, the father of an 8-year-old with autism, said what the iPad really offers is accessibility and hope that a better life is possible for his child.
“The reality is for people like us, it’s a huge amount of hope,” Tanner said.Tanner said the previous machine available for his daughter Sophia cost a couple thousand dollars and was programmable with only 20 keys to ask for specific things, like helping Sophia to say if she was hungry or thirsty. But it couldn’t help her express emotions. Just a year later, Sophia’s iPad is loaded up with a nearly $500 app built to help autistic children expand their vocabularies.
“It’s a huge learning tool, it’s massive,” Tanner said. “It’s really been one of the biggest things in her life so far.”
Still, the iPad remains just one many tools to help Sophia, who has a full weekly schedule complete with equine therapy, floor therapy, speech and occupational therapy, to name a few.
Some app builders are coming to the process by seeing a need, themselves. Karen Head is a speech therapist from Boston. She and two colleagues often talked about writing a book to help their patients, but it wasn’t until they hit on the idea of building an app that they started their business. Now, All4myChild’s packaged app called “Social Adventures” has 44 activity descriptions, nine visual cartoons that are mostly focused on social interaction skills, and a new game coming out as a separate app on Monday.
“We wanted to have a platform we could continue to add to, so families and kids could grow with the app and we could make changes” Head said, pointing out that anyone able to invest about $10,000 can have an app ready for the marketplace within six months.
Which is exactly why Autism Speaks warns parents about finding salvation in apps.
And in some ways, Head agrees there is reason to be cautious.
“The dark side of all the bells and whistles is that in some cases it’s too much, and kids get overly focused on things that jingle and jangle,” Head said. “As a therapist, we want them to listen to us.”
Sullivan seconds that idea, saying that even Leo, in particular, can get drawn to the patterns in an app rather than actually learning the content it is trying to provide.
“It’s a little bit tricky because it’s such a compelling medium for kids with autism, they want to do it intensely,” Sullivan said.
Autism Speaks is excited about two different areas of research that could use gaming consoles to teach autistic individuals how to interact in social situations and learn how to read facial features better.
By Kerry Davis, IDG News Feb 10, 2012 3:30 pm
With one honk, the course of Shannon Des Roches Rosa’s day abruptly changed.
“It’s my son,” Rosa announced, as she quickly removed the microphone pinned to her shirt. “I’ve gotta run,” she said, as she hurried out the door of her sprawling home in Redwood City, California. Her 11-year-old son, Leo, just home from school, must be met at the bus at the top of the driveway before coming indoors.
Once inside, Rosa immediately showed him the schedule of activities. First up: Bathroom, hand-washing, then a snack.
(Watch a video of Leo at home, here)
Working with an easy-to-understand schedule that usually includes picture icons is key for a smooth day for Leo and many autistic children. Experts say autistic children respond best to things they can see. Too often, things they hear or feel are off-putting and stimulate their senses in ways that can cause pain or irritation.
“Auditorily they have a difficult time processing something, it’s sort of like someone speaking a different language to you,” said Jennifer Sullivan, the executive director of the Morgan Autism Center, which is Leo’s school. “So from the very beginning we would draw pictures of ‘this is what you’re schedule would look like for the day.’”
But after his snack, Leo’s free time usually involves the family iPad. Rosa believes his instinctive draw toward visual learning is letting the iPad reach her son in ways no other therapy had done before. The iPad, she said, has changed Leo for the better, making him more independent. And she’s quick to point out that he’s still an 11-year-old boy who deserves to play sometimes, which he also does on the family’s iPad.
The U.S.-based organization Autism Speaks estimates there are hundreds of apps built for use on iOS devices, specifically for autism. A search of the Apple iTunes store brought more than 580 autism-related apps, while an Android Market search for autism apps yielded about 250 results.
“The more we dig, the bigger the rabbit hole is and we’re starting to think tech is a really big key for how we can develop therapies quickly,” said Marc Sirkin, vice president of social marketing and online fundraising for Autism Speaks.
However, the organization is cautious about the iPad’s popularity. Its quick ascent means no one has actually studied which apps are of therapeutic benefit. Sure, Sirkin said, parents may hear anecdotal stories of apps completely changing a child’s life, but there is no measurable proof yet that the apps really work.
“The challenge with iOS apps is a lot are developed by well-meaning parents but under no guidance with autism experts,” Sirkin said. “For us, it brings in questions as an evidenced-based organization and we’re starting to ask: Does any of this actually make any difference … the danger is that the iPad becomes a really expensive toy.”
But some parents are OK without the proof just yet. Eric Tanner, the father of an 8-year-old with autism, said what the iPad really offers is accessibility and hope that a better life is possible for his child.
“The reality is for people like us, it’s a huge amount of hope,” Tanner said.Tanner said the previous machine available for his daughter Sophia cost a couple thousand dollars and was programmable with only 20 keys to ask for specific things, like helping Sophia to say if she was hungry or thirsty. But it couldn’t help her express emotions. Just a year later, Sophia’s iPad is loaded up with a nearly $500 app built to help autistic children expand their vocabularies.
“It’s a huge learning tool, it’s massive,” Tanner said. “It’s really been one of the biggest things in her life so far.”
Still, the iPad remains just one many tools to help Sophia, who has a full weekly schedule complete with equine therapy, floor therapy, speech and occupational therapy, to name a few.
Some app builders are coming to the process by seeing a need, themselves. Karen Head is a speech therapist from Boston. She and two colleagues often talked about writing a book to help their patients, but it wasn’t until they hit on the idea of building an app that they started their business. Now, All4myChild’s packaged app called “Social Adventures” has 44 activity descriptions, nine visual cartoons that are mostly focused on social interaction skills, and a new game coming out as a separate app on Monday.
“We wanted to have a platform we could continue to add to, so families and kids could grow with the app and we could make changes” Head said, pointing out that anyone able to invest about $10,000 can have an app ready for the marketplace within six months.
Which is exactly why Autism Speaks warns parents about finding salvation in apps.
And in some ways, Head agrees there is reason to be cautious.
“The dark side of all the bells and whistles is that in some cases it’s too much, and kids get overly focused on things that jingle and jangle,” Head said. “As a therapist, we want them to listen to us.”
Sullivan seconds that idea, saying that even Leo, in particular, can get drawn to the patterns in an app rather than actually learning the content it is trying to provide.
“It’s a little bit tricky because it’s such a compelling medium for kids with autism, they want to do it intensely,” Sullivan said.
Autism Speaks is excited about two different areas of research that could use gaming consoles to teach autistic individuals how to interact in social situations and learn how to read facial features better.
187 total views, 2 today
January 26, 2012
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — Infants younger than a year old who are at risk of developing autism may already have telltale brain responses when another person looks at or away from them, the results of a new study indicate.
The researchers say that the findings suggest that assessing brain responses in infants as young as 6 months may one day help predict whether they’ll develop autism at a later age. Currently, firm diagnoses of autism are made only after a child is 2 years old, according to the study in the Jan. 26 online edition of Current Biology.
“Our findings demonstrate for the first time that direct measures of brain functioning during the first year of life associate with a later diagnosis of autism — well before the emergence of behavioral symptoms,” study author Mark Johnson of Birkbeck College, University of London, said in a journal news release.
The study included infants aged 6 to 10 months who had an increased risk of developing autism because they had an older brother or sister with the disorder. The researchers monitored the infants’ brain activity while they viewed faces that switched between looking at them and looking away from them.
Previous research has shown that characteristic patterns of brain activity occur in a normal response to eye contact with other people, a response that’s crucial for face-to-face social interaction. Older children with autism have unusual patterns of eye contact and of brain responses to social interactions that involve eye contact.
This study found that the brains of the infants at risk of developing autism already process social information in a different way than typically developing children.
“At this age, no behavioral markers of autism are yet evident, and so measurements of brain function may be a more sensitive indicator of risk,” Johnson said.
However, the researchers noted that not all the babies who showed these differences in brain function were later diagnosed with autism, and vice versa. Brain-function measuring would need to be further adjusted and used alongside other methods to serve as an accurate predictor of autism in a clinical setting, the researchers said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about autism.
222 total views, 2 today
It begins the minute you announce you’re going to have a baby; well-meaning friends and family bombard you with advice, claiming to have the best to offer in everything from heartburn cures to breastfeeding techniques. Your mother-in-law insists you don’t lift anything heavier than 6 ounces and your sister, who’s had three natural births in the last three years rallies against the evils of the epidural. It’s a free-for-all at your expense and even though you don’t technically have morning sickness, you find yourself pretty nauseous anytime someone opens their mouth to bestow yet another tidbit of
Of course, what you don’t realize then is that this was just the beginning, because once the baby arrives, the advice multiplies and you can barely approach your child without someone getting in the way to tell you how to do it “better.”
This Modified Life is a column by Jo Ashline for and about the families in Orange County living with special needs. Jo is a freelance writer and married mother of two. If you have a question for Jo or a suggestion for a topic, email her atashline02@sbcglobal.net.
For the most part, parents are able to if not embrace this constant barrage of opinions and suggestions, at least accept it as a part of the parenting journey. While there’s no doubt that unsolicited advice about how to raise your child is nothing short of annoying, it’s also inevitable that folks tend to stick their noses where they don’t belong where children are concerned.
But what happens when the child in question has autism and the person giving their opinions or advice has zero experience dealing with the unpredictable and often frightening nature of raising such a child? Does the playing field change? Is the advice less tolerable, the comments seemingly crueler, the lack of perspective so blaring it leaves you feeling sick to your stomach with resentment and loneliness?
You betcha.
Even those who fiercely loved my son made major mistakes when he was first diagnosed with severe autism and epilepsy. I heard everything from “He’ll grow out of it,” to “It’s not so bad,” to “Have you tried speaking slower to him?” Strangers, in their natural state of curiosity, would ask me what I ate during my pregnancy, whether I had exposed my unborn baby to unnecessary stress and anxiety, and publicly pondered whether I had been healthy enough to have a baby in the first place. It was an emotionally vulnerable time for me as a mother, and the constant interference from others was only adding to the chaos that was already brewing in my heart and mind.
As of November 2011, the Centers for Disease Control maintains that approximately 1 in 110 children are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, so I know I’m not the only one who has faced ignorant and uneducated commentary aimed at my child and my parenting skills.
Sometimes, the awful advice and opinions come from family and friends.
Sylvia Imai-Sumida, whose son has autism, recalls being told, “You don’t discipline him enough.” Carissa Evel was given the sage advice to spank her special needs daughter to keep her in line. Shannon J. Wasserman says she’s heard it all: “You’re looking for a label to make an excuse,” ”You’re neurotic, “Nothing is wrong since he looks good,” and “Your second cousin didn’t talk until she was 6.” Gabriella True was asked, “Why do you bother with all the therapy when your son is just retarded and will never get better?” by a so-called friend. (Needless to say, she ended that relationship.)
Sometimes the advice and opinions come from professionals; professionals parents trust to do right by their child.
“I told the pediatrician that my son could recite Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban word for word but at 4 years old he couldn’t have a conversation with me. The doctor said, ‘You don’t need to see the neurologist, he’s fine,’” says Simran Mangat-Garcia.
Moni Stars, who has two boys on the spectrum, was all but ridiculed by her childrens’ first doctor, who told her she was confusing her boys by speaking two languages in the home. He told her to stick to English and wait six more months before pursuing a diagnosis – precious time in the world of early intervention and potential for progress. “You worry too much,” he said, and Stars has since switched doctors and received the proper diagnoses and services for her sons.
It’s a perfect storm of determined parents guided by their intuition and love for their child facing off with professionals who seem to refuse to be proactive, while loved ones and acquaintances offer up their misguided and sometimes downright insensitive remarks. This culminates in a lot of hurt feelings, frayed relationships, and distrust of the medical community as a whole. Parents are left to fend for themselves and find that it’s easier to develop new relationships with families like theirs, who have a true sense of what it is they are going through; who share a diagnosis that can often leave them feeling like the world no longer spins on its axis and instead is hurtling through space with no real destination or purpose.
For medical professionals, I can only hope that continued training, improved diagnostic tools, and a willingness to respect parental concerns and honor their intuition will begin to prevail within the community. Side by side, you and your patient’s parents are the first in a long line of defense against a misdiagnosis or lost window of opportunity for progress. Your medical degree may have earned you your white lab coat and stethoscope, but the true measure of your greatness in the field is how you will wield your knowledge for the good of each and every one of the children entrusted in your care.
250 total views, 1 today
New medical-legal partnership will help families after autism diagnosis
Asbury Park Press
JASON TOWLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
December 2011
Almost one out of every 94 children born in New Jersey is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder becomes apparent in early childhood.
Those affected process information and perceive the world around them in a different way.
Autism is not caused by emotional disturbance or bad parenting, according to research.
Its root causes remain undiscovered.
Dr. Gary McAbee, director of pediatric neurology at the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, is heading an effort to create a medical-legal partnership designed to help patients and families sort through the various legal matters that follow a diagnosis.
McAbee also is a lawyer. He said this has made him aware of issues that are legal and not medical in nature.
These issues provide their own challenges and physicians may not be equipped to advise patients.
“The concept for (a medical-legal partnership) came out of Boston University about 25 years ago and was based on the philosophy that doctors are not going to solve all problems for patients,” he said. “There are many problems that patients have which are not medically driven, but economically and legally driven. There are actually about 100 medical-legal partnerships nationally, but only one in New Jersey at Beth Israel, as of right now.”
The partnership that he is developing will be more specific in nature, he said.
“We’re going to have one that is specialized to the autistic population, and to our knowledge, this would be the first in the country. We are partnering with the Legal Services of New Jersey, which is funded by the state. We also are going to partner with the Eden Autism Services group, an organization that deals with community-based services and educational services for the autistic population.”
Dr. Thomas McCool, Eden’s chief executive officer, said that this new partnership is important due to the crucial window of time that follows a diagnosis.
“Eden is an organization that works with children with autism at a very early age, almost from six months of age, because we recognize that early intervention services are the most important these children can get,” he said. “They often can’t wait until an official diagnosis, so Eden is called in by pediatricians and families who even suspect that the child may have autism.”
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Dr. David Velkoff – Drake Institute of Behavioral Medicine
It is very exciting and gratifying to see these autistic children make such gains in 2-4 months.
Irvine, California (PRWEB) December 23, 2011
The Drake Institute of Behavioral Medicine in southern California has applied a new neurofeedback technology in the treatment of Autistic patients that is enabling Autistic patients to achieve more rapid and comprehensive improvement. The deficits that Autistic children suffer are linked to functional disconnections within and between different regions or networks in the brain. Advanced neurofeedback treatment protocols are derived from an analysis of the patient’s quantitative EEG brainmap. As many as 19 areas of the brain can be treated simultaneously to create more functional connections in the brain to improve social communication, language, and emotional stability.
The Drake Institute has been able to help Autistic patients for over a decade utilizing neurofeedback. Previously, only 1 or 2 areas of the brain could be treated simultaneously, but patients still experienced significant improvements. The new technology, applied clinically, greatly accelerates and expands their improvements. By training all 19 areas of the brain simultaneously, the child is processing much greater information enabling the brain to develop to more normalized functioning.
Dr. David Velkoff, the medical director of the Drake Institute, states that “It is very exciting and gratifying to see these autistic children make such gains in 2-4 months”.
About The Drake Institute:
The Drake Institute of Behavioral Medicine was founded in 1980. Originally it focused on treating stress related disorders and diseases using the mind body connection with biofeedback treatment methods. By 1992 it began to use neurofeedback technology and brain mapping to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. Gradually the Drake Institute began to apply its treatment methods to help
277 total views, 1 today
Green Holiday Tips from the Stars at Autism Speaks EventEcorazzi - Dec 8, 2011
Holly Robinson Peete, Sarah McLachlan, JK Simmons, Sinbad and a few other celebrities helped make the inaugural Blue-Tie Jean Ball a success. The ball, held at the House of Blues in LA, raised approximately $250000 for Autism Speaks, a non-profit …
 Stars support Autism Speaks, share green holiday tipsMother Nature Network - Dec 7, 2011
The inaugural Blue Tie-Blue Jean Ball, held at the House of Blues in LA, raised roughly $250000 for Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism science and advocacy non-profit. Sarah McLachlan headlined the …
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200 total views, 1 today
-AutismSociety - November 2011
While many happily anticipate the coming holiday season, families of people on the autism spectrum also understand the special challenges that may occur when schedules are disrupted and routines broken. Our hope is that by following these few helpful tips, families may lessen the stress of the holiday season. and make it a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The following tips were developed with input from the Autism Society, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Easter Seals Crossroads, the Sonya Ansari Center for Autism at Logan and the Indiana Autism Leadership Network..
1. Preparation is crucial for many individuals. At the same time, it is important to determine how much preparation a specific person may need. For example, if your son or daughter has a tendency to become anxious when anticipating an event that is to occur in the future, you may want to adjust how many days in advance you prepare him or her. Preparation can occur in various ways by using a calendar and marking the dates of various holiday events, or by creating a social story that highlights what will happen at a given event.
2. Decorations around the house may be disruptive for some. It may be helpful to revisit pictures from previous holidays that show decorations in the house. If such a photo book does not exist, use this holiday season to create one. For some it may also be helpful to take them shopping with you for holiday decorations so that they are engaged in the process. Or involve them in the process of decorating the house. And once holiday decorations have been put up, you may need to create rules about those that can and cannot be touched. Be direct, specific and consistent.
3. If a person with autism has difficulty with change, you may want to gradually decorate the house. For example, on the first day, put up the Christmas tree, then on the next day, decorate the tree and so on. And again, engage them as much as possible in this process. It may be helpful to develop a visual schedule or calendar that shows what will be done on each day.
4. If a person with autism begins to obsess about a particular gift or item they want, it may be helpful to be specific and direct about the number of times they can mention the gift. One suggestion is to give them five chips. They are allowed to exchange one chip for five minutes of talking about the desired gift. Also, if you have no intention of purchasing a specific item, it serves no purpose to tell them that maybe they will get the gift. This will only lead to problems in the future. Always choose to be direct and specific about your intentions.
5. Teach them how to leave a situation and/or how to access support when an event becomes overwhelming. For example, if you are having visitors, have a space set aside for the child as his/her safe/calm space. The individual should be taught ahead of time that they should go to their space when feeling overwhelmed. This self-management tool will serve the individual into adulthood. For those who are not at that level of self-management, develop a signal or cue for them to show when they are getting anxious, and prompt them to use the space. For individuals with more significant challenges, practice using this space in a calm manner at various times prior to your guests’ arrival. Take them into the room and engage them in calming activities (e.g., play soft music, rub his/her back, turn down the lights, etc.). Then when you notice the individual becoming anxious, calmly remove him/her from the anxiety-provoking setting immediately and take him/her into the calming environment.
6. If you are traveling for the holidays, make sure you have their favorite foods, books or toys available.Having familiar items readily available can help to calm stressful situations. Also, prepare them via social stories or other communication systems for any unexpected delays in travel. If you are flying for the first time, it may be helpful to bring the individual to the airport in advance and help him/her to become accustomed to airports and planes. Use social stories and pictures to rehearse what will happen when boarding and flying.
7. Know your loved one with autism and how much noise and activity they can tolerate. If you detect that a situation may be becoming overwhelming, help them find a quiet area in which to regroup. And there may be some situations that you simply avoid (e.g., crowded shopping malls the day after Thanksgiving).
8. Prepare a photo album in advance of the relatives and other guests who will be visiting during the holidays. Allow the person with autism access to these photos at all times and also go through the photo album with him/her while talking briefly about each family member.
9. Practice opening gifts, taking turns and waiting for others, and giving gifts. Role play scenarios with your child in preparation for him/her getting a gift they do not want. Talk through this process to avoid embarrassing moments with family members. You might also choose to practice certain religious rituals. Work with a speech language pathologist to construct pages of vocabulary or topic boards that relate to the holidays and family traditions.
10. Prepare family members for strategies to use to minimize anxiety or behavioral incidents, and to enhance participation. Help them to understand if the person with autism prefers to be hugged or not, needs calm discussions or provide other suggestions that will facilitate a smoother holiday season. If the individual becomes upset, it might also be helpful to coach others to remain calm and neutral in an effort to minimize behavioral outbursts.
11. If the person with autism is on special diet, make sure there is food available that he/she can eat. And even if they are not on a special diet, be cautious of the amount of sugar consumed. And try to maintain a sleep and meal routine.
12. Above all, know your loved one with autism. Know how much noise and other sensory input they can take. Know their level of anxiety and the amount of preparation it may take. Know their fears and those things that will make the season more enjoyable for them.
Don’t stress. Plan in advance. And most of all have a wonderful holiday season!
307 total views, 1 today
Compliments of Autism Asperger’s Digest
Excerpted from the article, “Breaking the Language Barrier” by Karen Emigh that appears in the March/April 2011 issue of Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine. Reprinted with permission.
Children are obviously more receptive to fun than work, and this is true at any age. Word games can be fun. They can be simple or more complex, yet are effective in teaching important language concepts along the way. The following games can help your child learn “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, “why”, and “how” questions.
Adult “When do you turn on the lights? When you ride your bike?“
Child “No” (answer for him if he doesn’t know, i.e. model for him)
A “When it gets cold outside?”
C “No.”
A “When it gets dark?”
C “Yes!”
A “Yes, you turn on the lights when it gets dark. Great job!”
A “Why do you brush your teeth? Because the dog barked?”
C “No.”
A “Because you’re hungry?”
C “No.”
A “Because you need to clean your teeth.”
C “Yes!”
A “Yes, you brush your teeth because you need to clean them. Good job!”
Games like this will help your child connect “when” with a time or an event, “why” with a reason, etc. Use your imagination and have fun. Kids love it when their parents act silly. You can even pretend you don’t know the answer; when your child figures it out he’ll be thrilled.
Another word game you can play uses prepositions such as in, over, behind, under, after, and between. Here are a few examples:
When you are making the bed throw the blanket over your head and tell your child you are under the blanket. Take it off and say, “I’m not under the blanket.” Let him try, too. After all, that is the fun part! Have him help load the washing machine and say, “Put the socks in, put the pants in, etc. When the clothes are all washed and dried have him help take the clothes out: pants out, shirts out, socks out. On a nice day you can go for a walk and find things to walk around. Tell him you are walking around a tree, around a bush, around a rock, around a corner. When you are repeating things over and over, say them in an exaggerated or sing-song way to make it a little more fun. It might seem boring to you, but lots (lots) of repetition.
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Excerpted from the article, “Going Off to Camp: Information and Encouragement for Parents” that appears in the March/April 2011 issue of Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine. Reprinted with permission.
You can count on this advice because it comes straight from experienced professionals managing camps for kids on the spectrum.
Sylvia Van Meerton (Dragonfly Forest), Linda Tatsapaugh (Talisman Camps), Debbie Sasson (Camp Akeela), and Elsa Berndt (Camp Lakey Gap) generously offered some great information about what to look for in a summer camp. The parents added 100% agreement with these recommendations:
Size of camp. Most camps specializing in ASD have fewer campers at each session, however you may also want to ask about size as it relates to how many campers bunk together or the number of kids in group activities.
Ratio of campers to counselors. Special needs camps typically have ratios of 1:1 to 1:4 compared to regular camps that have 1:20+. Is there enough staff to allow individual attention to campers whenever necessary.
Accreditation. Is the camp accredited by the American Camp Association? This is a good indicator of overall quality.
References. Will they put you in touch with another parent whose spectrum child has attended the camp?
Application form. This should be extensive so parents provide comprehensive information. This allows staff to get to know the family and the child – what causes meltdowns, fears, when to give cues or warnings. It also builds parents’ confidence in the camp’s ability to manage their child.
Staff training and background. How much autism-specific training is provided? By whom? This is a deal breaker because you must be confident that camp counselors understand autism and how to manage each child’s needs. At Camp Lakey Gap, counselors receive two weeks of training provided by experts from TEACCH and the Autism Society of America, and they interact with local special needs kids for experience.
Communication. Are phone calls from parents welcome? Do staff members regularly call home? Can parents talk to their child? Some camps find that conversations between campers and parents seldom help homesickness; other camps leave it to the parents’ discretion. This is another reason why it’s important for parents to trust the camp staff. Also ask if they do anything to facilitate ongoing communication between campers throughout the year. Camp Akeela fosters a sense of community through newsletters containing updates about individual campers all year long.
Homesickness. How do they deal with homesickness? At Talisman Camps, they encourage the children to write home, expressing how homesick they are. One mother said she was worried when she received a letter saying, “I hate camp. I’m 100% homesick.” But with each subsequent letter, her child’s rating of how homesick he was improved, creating a great visual tool for both parents and campers to see how well they were adjusting.
Medical personnel. Who oversees medication management? Do they have a nurse available 24/7? What are their procedures in case of an emergency?
Autism support. What specific supports do they provide? For example, at Dragonfly Forest, counselors use a whiteboard at each activity to prepare the kids by writing down the rules, what will happen, and what to say if they need a break. The counselors also carry a backpack with schedules, timers, paper/pen and a common high interest and/or soothing activity.
Behavior management. How do they manage difficult behaviors? What happens when a child has a meltdown? Ask how they’ll deal with specific challenges faced by your child. When do they call parents?
Daily schedule. What is a typical daily plan? Is it tailored for the child’s interests and needs? Is it flexible? Look for a structure that allows children to do activities at their own pace rather than being forced to keep up with the group.
Breaks and downtime. How do they allow for breaks? Are they built into the schedule? Do they have a quiet place or sensory room? Are procedures in place to allow a child to opt-out of an activity when needed? Do they teach campers how to express the need to opt-out?
Activities. Does the camp offer something your child will be interested in? Are there enough choices and different types of activities? In addition to summer activities like swimming and hiking, are there other less typical choices like cooking or wood shop?
Special diets. Can the kitchen accommodate your child’s special dietary needs? Who will monitor the child’s diet if he can’t/doesn’t himself?
Overall environment. This includes the physical and philosophical environment. Does the camp fit your child’s unique needs? What is their overall approach for dealing with autism?
445 total views, 1 today
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