The Talk Boards  are double-sided with write-on/wipe-off surfaces and come in a set of 3. You can record a 10-second message for each one enabling you to get creative in endless, fun ways!

The Talk Blocks come in a set of 5, each a unique color, and you can record 30-seconds for each one to adapt activity instructions, assess or reinforce skills.

This week only, save 15% on all Talk Boards and Blocks as well as the 4 sets of Vocabulary Cards – Alphabet, Basic, Kindergarten and First Grade - by entering the Promo Code BLOGTBT2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 28, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

We’ve loved these Talk Boards and Talk Blocks since we first laid eyes on them for the myriad possibilities they offer to fully customize a lesson or activity for each student. They’re designed to fit perfectly with the Basic Vocabulary, Alphabet, Kindergarten, and First Grade Vocabulary Photo Card Sets.

The Talk Boards  are double-sided with write-on/wipe-off surfaces and come in a set of 3. You can record a 10-second message for each one enabling you to get creative in endless, fun ways!

The Talk Blocks come in a set of 5, each a unique color, and you can record 30-seconds for each one to adapt activity instructions, assess or reinforce skills.

This week only, save 15% on all Talk Boards and Blocks as well as the 4 sets of Vocabulary Cards – Alphabet, Basic, Kindergarten and First Grade - by entering the Promo Code BLOGTBT2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 28, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Historically considered a lifelong disorder, a new study published in “Education and Treatment of Children,” reveals that intensive behavioral treatment can have life-changing results for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. (www.autismpartnership.com)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been regarded as an extremely serious disorder that severely impacts the lives of children and their families.  The prognosis has been bleak at best and the future was one of restricted opportunities. Although treatment based upon Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has provided strong evidence as to its effectiveness, many of these studies fell under harsh scrutiny and were considered controversial across the field. However, a new study conducted by Autism Partnership to be published in Education and Treatment of Children answers many of these critiques and criticisms.

The study, which tracked 64 students ranging from age 1.5 to 8 years, spanned four countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Australia. Each child underwent an average of 22.5 hours of ABA treatment weekly (provided in schools, homes and clinics) for roughly 3.5 years. The results demonstrated that 45 out of the 64 children’s IQ’s increased an average of 22.5 points.  Such a significant increase demonstrates not only the effectiveness of intervention but is predictive of future success in school.  Moreover, these children were able to successfully participate in general education classrooms.

                “It is so gratifying to be part of life changing treatment which will enhance the quality of children and families lives,” says Dr. Ronald Leaf, lead author of this study.  “But parents should understand that this treatment is not a miracle nor is it easy.  It is a long journey, with ups and downs and numerous challenges to overcome. It requires everyone who touches the child’s life to work together in partnership.”

                Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. Established in 1994 by world-renowned psychologists Ron Leaf and John McEachin, Autism Partnership offers a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

AUTISM PARTNERSHIP’S LATEST STUDY REVEALS PROMISING TREATMENT RESULTS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Historically considered a lifelong disorder, a new study published in “Education and Treatment of Children,” reveals that intensive behavioral treatment can have life-changing results for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. (www.autismpartnership.com)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been regarded as an extremely serious disorder that severely impacts the lives of children and their families.  The prognosis has been bleak at best and the future was one of restricted opportunities. Although treatment based upon Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has provided strong evidence as to its effectiveness, many of these studies fell under harsh scrutiny and were considered controversial across the field. However, a new study conducted by Autism Partnership to be published in Education and Treatment of Children answers many of these critiques and criticisms.

The study, which tracked 64 students ranging from age 1.5 to 8 years, spanned four countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Australia. Each child underwent an average of 22.5 hours of ABA treatment weekly (provided in schools, homes and clinics) for roughly 3.5 years. The results demonstrated that 45 out of the 64 children’s IQ’s increased an average of 22.5 points.  Such a significant increase demonstrates not only the effectiveness of intervention but is predictive of future success in school.  Moreover, these children were able to successfully participate in general education classrooms.

                “It is so gratifying to be part of life changing treatment which will enhance the quality of children and families lives,” says Dr. Ronald Leaf, lead author of this study.  “But parents should understand that this treatment is not a miracle nor is it easy.  It is a long journey, with ups and downs and numerous challenges to overcome. It requires everyone who touches the child’s life to work together in partnership.”

                Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. Established in 1994 by world-renowned psychologists Ron Leaf and John McEachin, Autism Partnership offers a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

This week, save 15% on the Getting Our Hands Ready Kit. We’re even going to extend the discount to the other two kits in the series: Snip, Glue & Grow Kit as well as the double kit Following Directions & ABC’s and Simple Shapes Kit. To redeem your savings on any of these three kits, enter the Promo Code BLOGHWGK at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 21, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

This kit prepares children for school by providing active, goal-directed play. Getting Our Hands Ready contains 10 playful games to establish good habits for learning handwriting and promoting proper grasp of pencils. Each item is specifically developed to improve fine motor coordination and the guidebook contains a series of multisensory activities to build the small muscles in hands and fingers. The kit comes with dough stampers, mini crayons, Mr. Crunch and other exclusive pieces.

This week, save 15% on the Getting Our Hands Ready Kit. We’re even going to extend the discount to the other two kits in the series: Snip, Glue & Grow Kit as well as the double kit Following Directions & ABC’s and Simple Shapes Kit. To redeem your savings on any of these three kits, enter the Promo Code BLOGHWGK at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 21, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

 Tell Me About It! teaches the label, category, function, and features of more than 235 language targets over 6 levels of incremental difficulty with over 1000 unique testable attributes. The presentation of each language target conforms to an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) discrete trial program, with reinforcement provided by a token economy system. Once the user collects the given number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable 5-10 second animation clip of the token character.

 Tell Me About It! provides a self-contained discrete trial program that error corrects and provides direct reinforcement to the student while collecting and synthesizing data for up to 10 students. There is a Student Report Card in the format of a data sheet that displays data for each student, with an option to email the results.

For complete details on our sweepstakes and to enter, click here! 

Currently, our new app Tell Me About It!is being sold in the iTunes store for $9.99. You have the chance to win it for free by entering our Sweepstakes!

 To learn more about Tell Me About It!, visit the store in iTunes by clicking here! 

 Different Roads to Learning is thrilled to offer you the chance to win a free copy of our latest iPhone/iPad App for teaching language to students with Autism or speech and language delays: Tell Me About It! Learning Language by Receptive Function, Feature & Category. This special offer ends on February 17, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST.

 Tell Me About It! teaches the label, category, function, and features of more than 235 language targets over 6 levels of incremental difficulty with over 1000 unique testable attributes. The presentation of each language target conforms to an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) discrete trial program, with reinforcement provided by a token economy system. Once the user collects the given number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable 5-10 second animation clip of the token character.

 Tell Me About It! provides a self-contained discrete trial program that error corrects and provides direct reinforcement to the student while collecting and synthesizing data for up to 10 students. There is a Student Report Card in the format of a data sheet that displays data for each student, with an option to email the results.

For complete details on our sweepstakes and to enter, click here! 

Currently, our new app Tell Me About It!is being sold in the iTunes store for $9.99. You have the chance to win it for free by entering our Sweepstakes!

 To learn more about Tell Me About It!, visit the store in iTunes by clicking here! 

Music In My Mouth

This week, save 15% on Music In My Mouth by entering the Promo Code BLOGMIM2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 14, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Music In My Mouth presents 26 original songs along with a user’s manual that have been designed by speech-language pathologists, early childhood educators, and families to teach and practice the skills for developing communication skills. Competence in communication is essential for a child’s personal, social, and academic success. The songs target sound production, language skills, fluency, social communication and play skills. The 64-page manual provides tips on how to integrate the songs in individual therapy sessions, group speech therapy, in the classroom, at home, or even in the car.

This week, save 15% on Music In My Mouth by entering the Promo Code BLOGMIM2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 14, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

The United Nations Postal Administration is issuing stamps in recognition of World Autism Day on April 2, 2012. The goal is for the stamps, and the artists who designed them, to raise awareness about what is now a global cause. has chosen Alex’s Lego® composition “Kinetic Blue” as one of eight images in its Autism Awareness commemorative stamp series. You can read more about all of the stamps and the artists in the UN Press release here.

In addition, Dennis Connors created a must-see award-winning short documentary about Alex and his work titled Breaking Boundaries: the Art of Alex Masket. You can see the trailer below and the full film on Alex’s website at alexmasket.com.

A friend of ours recently introduced us to the art of Alex Masket and we were so blown away by his talent and process, we wanted to share it with all of you. Alex is 24 years old and has severe autism, which greatly inhibits his ability to communicate verbally. According to his website, Alex is a ”completely self-taught artist whose work is focused on the interaction of color and form. Utilizing various media in unorthodox ways to realize his vision, Alex has a wholly individualistic process, creating pieces that are intricately composed and beautifully balanced. Alex throws his whole body into his creations, using a highly kinetic process akin to drumming.”

The United Nations Postal Administration is issuing stamps in recognition of World Autism Day on April 2, 2012. The goal is for the stamps, and the artists who designed them, to raise awareness about what is now a global cause. has chosen Alex’s Lego® composition “Kinetic Blue” as one of eight images in its Autism Awareness commemorative stamp series. You can read more about all of the stamps and the artists in the UN Press release here.

In addition, Dennis Connors created a must-see award-winning short documentary about Alex and his work titled Breaking Boundaries: the Art of Alex Masket. You can see the trailer below and the full film on Alex’s website at alexmasket.com.

Tell Me About It! teaches the label, category, function, and features of more than 235 language targets over 6 levels of incremental difficulty with over 1000 unique testable attributes. The presentation of each language target conforms to an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) discrete trial program, with reinforcement provided by a token economy system. Once the user collects the given number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable 5-10 second animation clip of the token character. Tell Me About It! provides a self-contained discrete trial program that error corrects and provides direct reinforcement to the student while collecting and synthesizing data for up to 10 students. There is a Student Report Card in the format of a data sheet that displays data for each student, with an option to email the results.

 Categories

The App covers 15 categories of language targets that include: Animals, Body Parts, Clothing, Food, Household Items, Dishes, Utensils, Tools, Toys, School Supplies, Sports, Vehicles, Accessories, Furniture, and Musical Instruments.

Levels
The App advances from the basic building blocks of language – simple labeling – all the way through shared features across categories. The Levels presented in incremental difficulty are: Labels; Categories; Function; Feature; Randomized Feature, Function, Category; and Shared Featured, Function, Category.

Teacher’s Console
Teachers and parents can delve into the Teacher’s Console to control the settings for each student by turning the written labels for each language target ON/OFF, selecting a specific token character, selecting the default Level, and choosing a Reinforcement Schedule.

There is even a motion that administrators can use while a game is in progress to access the Teacher’s Menu to adjust the settings or view reports. To access the Teacher’s Bar, simply swipe 2 fingers in an upward motion from the bottom of the screen up.  

Reinforcement Schedule

The Reinforcement Schedule determines how many targets the student must answer correctly in order to complete a trial session and receive a 5-10 second animation reward.  There is an option for 3, 5, or 10 tokens and you can even select the token character you want or keep the default setting of Random.

Reward

Once the student obtains the set number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable and engaging animation clip, complete with stimulating images and sounds.

Reporting & Data

Tell Me About It! tracks each student’s progress and provides a report after every trial as well as a comprehensive Report Card accessible in the teacher’s console. You’ll see a + for every correct response and a – for incorrect ones. If a student hasn’t yet mastered a target, you’ll see the number of presentations in parentheses after the score. You can also email the Report Card to share data and progress.

Determining Mastery of Targets

This App strives to mimic an actual one-on-one instructional session with a therapist as much as is possible in an application. For this App, we determine which targets will be defined as mastered by the program in a variety of ways depending on how many times they have been presented.  When answered correctly on the very first presentation, the student receives both a token and verbal praise and that target is considered “known” or mastered and not presented again on that level.  If the answer is not correct on that first presentation, the target will be reintroduced in subsequent trials and must then be answered correctly on two different, consecutive presentations to be considered mastered. When an incorrect response is given, error correction is provided by having the correct image flash while auditory correction is also provided. The App then shuffles the placement of the images, and re-presents the same question. If the student answers correctly on this second attempt, they receive verbal praise only (no token) and then move to another question.  Note that your Data sheets will display, in parentheses, how many times each target has been presented so that you are always aware of your student’s progression and where there might be deficits.

 To Purchase

To purchase Tell Me About It! for $9.99, visit the App store in iTunes by clicking here!

Other Apps

We’re proud to offer two other quality Apps for developing language and cognitive skills.

What Goes Together?

This app teaches young learners early association skills, relationships, reasoning by asking them to match what items go with others.

 
What’s That Sound? Learning to Listen and Identify Sounds

This app develops auditory processing and listening skills. Hear a sound and touch the image of what makes that sound.

We’re thrilled to introduce you to our latest iPhone/iPad App for teaching language to students with Autism: Tell Me About It! Learning Language by Receptive Function, Feature & Category.

Tell Me About It! teaches the label, category, function, and features of more than 235 language targets over 6 levels of incremental difficulty with over 1000 unique testable attributes. The presentation of each language target conforms to an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) discrete trial program, with reinforcement provided by a token economy system. Once the user collects the given number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable 5-10 second animation clip of the token character. Tell Me About It! provides a self-contained discrete trial program that error corrects and provides direct reinforcement to the student while collecting and synthesizing data for up to 10 students. There is a Student Report Card in the format of a data sheet that displays data for each student, with an option to email the results.

 Categories

The App covers 15 categories of language targets that include: Animals, Body Parts, Clothing, Food, Household Items, Dishes, Utensils, Tools, Toys, School Supplies, Sports, Vehicles, Accessories, Furniture, and Musical Instruments.

Levels
The App advances from the basic building blocks of language – simple labeling – all the way through shared features across categories. The Levels presented in incremental difficulty are: Labels; Categories; Function; Feature; Randomized Feature, Function, Category; and Shared Featured, Function, Category.

Teacher’s Console
Teachers and parents can delve into the Teacher’s Console to control the settings for each student by turning the written labels for each language target ON/OFF, selecting a specific token character, selecting the default Level, and choosing a Reinforcement Schedule.

There is even a motion that administrators can use while a game is in progress to access the Teacher’s Menu to adjust the settings or view reports. To access the Teacher’s Bar, simply swipe 2 fingers in an upward motion from the bottom of the screen up.  

Reinforcement Schedule

The Reinforcement Schedule determines how many targets the student must answer correctly in order to complete a trial session and receive a 5-10 second animation reward.  There is an option for 3, 5, or 10 tokens and you can even select the token character you want or keep the default setting of Random.

Reward

Once the student obtains the set number of tokens, they are rewarded with an adorable and engaging animation clip, complete with stimulating images and sounds.

Reporting & Data

Tell Me About It! tracks each student’s progress and provides a report after every trial as well as a comprehensive Report Card accessible in the teacher’s console. You’ll see a + for every correct response and a – for incorrect ones. If a student hasn’t yet mastered a target, you’ll see the number of presentations in parentheses after the score. You can also email the Report Card to share data and progress.

Determining Mastery of Targets

This App strives to mimic an actual one-on-one instructional session with a therapist as much as is possible in an application. For this App, we determine which targets will be defined as mastered by the program in a variety of ways depending on how many times they have been presented.  When answered correctly on the very first presentation, the student receives both a token and verbal praise and that target is considered “known” or mastered and not presented again on that level.  If the answer is not correct on that first presentation, the target will be reintroduced in subsequent trials and must then be answered correctly on two different, consecutive presentations to be considered mastered. When an incorrect response is given, error correction is provided by having the correct image flash while auditory correction is also provided. The App then shuffles the placement of the images, and re-presents the same question. If the student answers correctly on this second attempt, they receive verbal praise only (no token) and then move to another question.  Note that your Data sheets will display, in parentheses, how many times each target has been presented so that you are always aware of your student’s progression and where there might be deficits.

 To Purchase

To purchase Tell Me About It! for $9.99, visit the App store in iTunes by clicking here!

Other Apps

We’re proud to offer two other quality Apps for developing language and cognitive skills.

What Goes Together?

This app teaches young learners early association skills, relationships, reasoning by asking them to match what items go with others.

 
What’s That Sound? Learning to Listen and Identify Sounds

This app develops auditory processing and listening skills. Hear a sound and touch the image of what makes that sound.

Sign to Talk: Nouns

This week only, save 15% on the Sign to Talk: Nouns by entering the Promo Code BLOGSTN at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 7, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Sign to Talk: Nouns presents 150 photographic flashcards designed to shape verbal language specifically for individuals with autism and other developmental challenges. These cards are ideal for their crisp, clear images and their Kaufman Speech Praxis word shell breakdowns which help to shape articulation skills on the back of each card. The set offers myriad teaching opportunities as each card also depicts a photo of a person demonstrating the sign in ASL and a description of the hand shapes for each target item. Use this deck for home or school, to teach sign manding, or for the child-appropriate images that aid in any language acquisition program.

This week only, save 15% on the Sign to Talk: Nouns by entering the Promo Code BLOGSTN at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 7, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

 At Autism Partnership we have found the development and implementation of individualized token economy systems to be a powerful tool in accelerating progress for our students. Token economies have been shown to be an extremely effective contingency management system for a variety of populations. Initially, Ted Allyon used token economies to provide consequences to hospitalized mentally ill residents. The procedure proved to be extremely effective and quickly token systems were utilized with other populations exhibiting challenging behavior problems, including “delinquent” adolescents (Montrose Wolf) and mentally retarded adults (Nathrin Azrin).

Today, token economies are used to address a variety of behavioral concerns including those of children with Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as typically developing children. Token economies have been so widely recognized as effective and efficient behavior management strategies to such a degree that they are routinely being employed in general education classrooms throughout the world. (Star Charts, Table Points, Marble Jar).

Tokens are symbols (e.g., points, coins, stickers, ticks or check marks, toy parts, etc), which are delivered immediately after a target response and are exchanged later for an item or activity of preference. Tokens therefore symbolize access to other preferred items or experiences, technically referred to as “generalized reinforcement”. Initially the tokens in and of themselves are not rewarding but once the student understands that tokens can be “exchanged” for preferred activities, their value is established. A daily life example of this process would be our use of money which allows us to purchase desired items or experiences. Creative systems often use motivating tokens such as pictures of favorite cartoon characters, athletes or musicians. Pictures of the target behavior can be used as the symbol as well. The tokens are clearly displayed, allowing the student to always see how many they have earned, and how many more they need to earn until reinforcement will be delivered.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

Individualized Token Economy Systems

 At Autism Partnership we have found the development and implementation of individualized token economy systems to be a powerful tool in accelerating progress for our students. Token economies have been shown to be an extremely effective contingency management system for a variety of populations. Initially, Ted Allyon used token economies to provide consequences to hospitalized mentally ill residents. The procedure proved to be extremely effective and quickly token systems were utilized with other populations exhibiting challenging behavior problems, including “delinquent” adolescents (Montrose Wolf) and mentally retarded adults (Nathrin Azrin).

Today, token economies are used to address a variety of behavioral concerns including those of children with Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as typically developing children. Token economies have been so widely recognized as effective and efficient behavior management strategies to such a degree that they are routinely being employed in general education classrooms throughout the world. (Star Charts, Table Points, Marble Jar).

Tokens are symbols (e.g., points, coins, stickers, ticks or check marks, toy parts, etc), which are delivered immediately after a target response and are exchanged later for an item or activity of preference. Tokens therefore symbolize access to other preferred items or experiences, technically referred to as “generalized reinforcement”. Initially the tokens in and of themselves are not rewarding but once the student understands that tokens can be “exchanged” for preferred activities, their value is established. A daily life example of this process would be our use of money which allows us to purchase desired items or experiences. Creative systems often use motivating tokens such as pictures of favorite cartoon characters, athletes or musicians. Pictures of the target behavior can be used as the symbol as well. The tokens are clearly displayed, allowing the student to always see how many they have earned, and how many more they need to earn until reinforcement will be delivered.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

 When discussing the importance of reinforcement often parents and teachers alike will comment that reinforcement doesn’t work because there is nothing that the child finds to be reinforcing.   Often this is not accurate: there are lots of potential reinforcers but they are receiving them for “free.”  That is they are not earned or technically they are not contingent.  They watch TV, play on the computer or go on an outing without them being earned.  If they were made to be contingent upon behavior they would indeed change behaviors.  Moreover, there are often many things that could be reinforcers but if the student doesn’t know how to play with, say, the toy, therefore it too is not a reinforcer. 

Identifying reinforcers often requires creativity.  By “definition” children with ASD enjoy self-stimulation.  Perhaps their self-stimulation can be used as a reinforcer.  For example, you may provide them the opportunity to line up objects, sift sand or perseverate on a topic as a reinforcer.  As another potential reinforcer you can bother them by making demands and intruding upon their space and then leaving them alone can serve as the reinforcer.

Naturally, if you were to use self-stimulation or escape as a reinforcer, you would want to use this as a means to develop other reinforcers.  For example, when engaging in self-stimulation you may associate it with music so that music eventually becomes a reinforcer.  Association can also be used with escape.  For example,  when they escape a demand,  direct them to play on the computer thereby making the computer a reinforcer.

Whether a student has established reinforcers or if truly there is nothing that is reinforcing, it is necessary to develop reinforcers.  But it takes creativity and being highly systematic!  The following are a few ideas on how to develop reinforcers:

•  Sometimes reinforcement development can be as simple as exposing the child to potential reinforcers. 
•  Giving free access to potential reinforcers can also create new reinforcers. 
• An effective way to develop reinforcers is to associate potential reinforcers with established reinforcers.
•  The “packaging” of the reinforcer can is another strategy to develop reinforcers.  Often you can “sell” the reinforcer by being enthusiastic and playful. 
• Assessing what the student likes and then creating reinforcers based upon interests can create reinforcers. 

Giving students choices can be effective in the development of the reinforcement.  Simply giving a student a choice of which of two toys he would like to play with can have the effect of making the selected toy as a reinforcer. 

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

Reinforcement Development

 When discussing the importance of reinforcement often parents and teachers alike will comment that reinforcement doesn’t work because there is nothing that the child finds to be reinforcing.   Often this is not accurate: there are lots of potential reinforcers but they are receiving them for “free.”  That is they are not earned or technically they are not contingent.  They watch TV, play on the computer or go on an outing without them being earned.  If they were made to be contingent upon behavior they would indeed change behaviors.  Moreover, there are often many things that could be reinforcers but if the student doesn’t know how to play with, say, the toy, therefore it too is not a reinforcer. 

Identifying reinforcers often requires creativity.  By “definition” children with ASD enjoy self-stimulation.  Perhaps their self-stimulation can be used as a reinforcer.  For example, you may provide them the opportunity to line up objects, sift sand or perseverate on a topic as a reinforcer.  As another potential reinforcer you can bother them by making demands and intruding upon their space and then leaving them alone can serve as the reinforcer.

Naturally, if you were to use self-stimulation or escape as a reinforcer, you would want to use this as a means to develop other reinforcers.  For example, when engaging in self-stimulation you may associate it with music so that music eventually becomes a reinforcer.  Association can also be used with escape.  For example,  when they escape a demand,  direct them to play on the computer thereby making the computer a reinforcer.

Whether a student has established reinforcers or if truly there is nothing that is reinforcing, it is necessary to develop reinforcers.  But it takes creativity and being highly systematic!  The following are a few ideas on how to develop reinforcers:

•  Sometimes reinforcement development can be as simple as exposing the child to potential reinforcers. 
•  Giving free access to potential reinforcers can also create new reinforcers. 
• An effective way to develop reinforcers is to associate potential reinforcers with established reinforcers.
•  The “packaging” of the reinforcer can is another strategy to develop reinforcers.  Often you can “sell” the reinforcer by being enthusiastic and playful. 
• Assessing what the student likes and then creating reinforcers based upon interests can create reinforcers. 

Giving students choices can be effective in the development of the reinforcement.  Simply giving a student a choice of which of two toys he would like to play with can have the effect of making the selected toy as a reinforcer. 

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

From Julie Azuma:

We’ve all known for some time that the DSM V is going to exclude some children on the spectrum as in the Asperger’s Syndrome student. Everyone has been asking what we think about it.  The article in last week’s NY Times, alarmed many of our families.

 When Different Roads started participating in the autism community back in 1995, Asperger’s Syndrome was little known.  Somewhere around the year 2002, there was an answer to so many parents who questioned the behaviors of their kids.  Michael John Corley, an advocate of adults with Asperger’s Syndrome said in the NY Times last week, and I paraphrase…”some people needed to give it a name and to understand. ”

For those parents of children who are more classically affected by autism, they will continue to get services; those without language, academic or daily living skills.  And we want them to continue to get support.

Even if Asperger’s Syndrome or PDD NOS in no longer in the DSM V, we think that the cat is out of the bag.   Awareness has already set in.  Parents will continue to advocate and fight for services, classes and programs for their children. One way or another, this will not be a setback but a new road of discovery on ways to support all of our kids.

We know our parents, and we know that they won’t give up getting whatever their children need.

 From Justin DiScalfani, Clinical Director of The Elija School

The proposed changes to the DSM-V for the Autism Spectrum Disorders would have a profound impact on those dealing with this disability. These changes would greatly reduce the rates of people diagnosed with autism. The primary question is: What will happen to those that would have received a diagnosis under the old criteria but no longer receive the diagnosis under the new criteria? The biggest concern with combining the different diagnoses from the current DSM-IV (Asperger’s, Autism, PDD ) into one category with only three different levels is that it may exclude thousands of children and adults from obtaining crucial services that are necessary for them to become functioning members of society. Policy makers and school districts will be able to use this change as an opportunity to restrict services to those in need. They may also use the proposed level system of severity to allocate more services to the more severely impaired individuals while more mildly impaired individuals may not be given adequate services. Another extremely important area of concern surrounding this change is that it may restrict insurance coverage for people with Autism that many families and advocates have worked so long and hard to reform and recently pass across the country.

Combining the diagnoses of Autism and Asperger’s may also have a negative social impact for these groups. Many children and adults have formed identities for themselves to help cope with their disabilities and to advocate for services for themselves and others around them. People diagnosed with Asperger’s will often refer to themselves as “Aspies”. People with this diagnosis have also formed social groups during which they meet others with the same diagnosis to discuss difficulties that they face and ways in which they are able to integrate into society. By combining all Autism Spectrum Disorders into one category, people such as the “Aspies” could suffer a great loss of personal identity.

Finally, another major issue with the proposed changes concerns the research that has been conducted on the etiology and treatment of these disorders over the past decades. Many studies select subjects based on their diagnosis. With the combining of the diagnoses into one large category, it will be difficult to compare any research that has been conducted in the past to research that will be conducted in the future.

Here’s a piece that aired on ABC News, featuring ELIJA’s Co-Founder and Director, Debora Harris-Thivierge:

There have been a lot of strong reactions to the proposed changes to the criteria for an Autism diagnosis in the revised DSM-V. We wanted to present some thoughts from some of the people we rely on most:

From Julie Azuma:

We’ve all known for some time that the DSM V is going to exclude some children on the spectrum as in the Asperger’s Syndrome student. Everyone has been asking what we think about it.  The article in last week’s NY Times, alarmed many of our families.

 When Different Roads started participating in the autism community back in 1995, Asperger’s Syndrome was little known.  Somewhere around the year 2002, there was an answer to so many parents who questioned the behaviors of their kids.  Michael John Corley, an advocate of adults with Asperger’s Syndrome said in the NY Times last week, and I paraphrase…”some people needed to give it a name and to understand. ”

For those parents of children who are more classically affected by autism, they will continue to get services; those without language, academic or daily living skills.  And we want them to continue to get support.

Even if Asperger’s Syndrome or PDD NOS in no longer in the DSM V, we think that the cat is out of the bag.   Awareness has already set in.  Parents will continue to advocate and fight for services, classes and programs for their children. One way or another, this will not be a setback but a new road of discovery on ways to support all of our kids.

We know our parents, and we know that they won’t give up getting whatever their children need.

 From Justin DiScalfani, Clinical Director of The Elija School

The proposed changes to the DSM-V for the Autism Spectrum Disorders would have a profound impact on those dealing with this disability. These changes would greatly reduce the rates of people diagnosed with autism. The primary question is: What will happen to those that would have received a diagnosis under the old criteria but no longer receive the diagnosis under the new criteria? The biggest concern with combining the different diagnoses from the current DSM-IV (Asperger’s, Autism, PDD ) into one category with only three different levels is that it may exclude thousands of children and adults from obtaining crucial services that are necessary for them to become functioning members of society. Policy makers and school districts will be able to use this change as an opportunity to restrict services to those in need. They may also use the proposed level system of severity to allocate more services to the more severely impaired individuals while more mildly impaired individuals may not be given adequate services. Another extremely important area of concern surrounding this change is that it may restrict insurance coverage for people with Autism that many families and advocates have worked so long and hard to reform and recently pass across the country.

Combining the diagnoses of Autism and Asperger’s may also have a negative social impact for these groups. Many children and adults have formed identities for themselves to help cope with their disabilities and to advocate for services for themselves and others around them. People diagnosed with Asperger’s will often refer to themselves as “Aspies”. People with this diagnosis have also formed social groups during which they meet others with the same diagnosis to discuss difficulties that they face and ways in which they are able to integrate into society. By combining all Autism Spectrum Disorders into one category, people such as the “Aspies” could suffer a great loss of personal identity.

Finally, another major issue with the proposed changes concerns the research that has been conducted on the etiology and treatment of these disorders over the past decades. Many studies select subjects based on their diagnosis. With the combining of the diagnoses into one large category, it will be difficult to compare any research that has been conducted in the past to research that will be conducted in the future.

Here’s a piece that aired on ABC News, featuring ELIJA’s Co-Founder and Director, Debora Harris-Thivierge:

 Teaching Interactions (TI’s) are another instructional format that can be invaluable in teaching children skills.  This instructional technique was developed at the University of Kansas as part of the Teaching Family Model for delinquent youth.  TI’s have several benefits as it allows for structured training of more complex, often sophisticated skills in a highly natural, interpersonal, expanded conversational format.  TI’s are designed to teach complex skills (e.g., social skills, problem solving, etc.).  They utilize shaping and reinforcement to teach a skill and rely on a task analysis format.  The teaching style is typically conversational and flexible in nature, providing the student multiple opportunities to participate in the teaching process.  Although flexible, the technique approaches teaching skills systematically, and requires planning for generalization.  Following are the 6 steps of a TI and both guidelines and considerations when utilizing this teaching technique.

• Initiation & Labeling
• Rationale
• Demonstration
• Practice
• Feedback
• Consequences

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

Teaching Interactions

 Teaching Interactions (TI’s) are another instructional format that can be invaluable in teaching children skills.  This instructional technique was developed at the University of Kansas as part of the Teaching Family Model for delinquent youth.  TI’s have several benefits as it allows for structured training of more complex, often sophisticated skills in a highly natural, interpersonal, expanded conversational format.  TI’s are designed to teach complex skills (e.g., social skills, problem solving, etc.).  They utilize shaping and reinforcement to teach a skill and rely on a task analysis format.  The teaching style is typically conversational and flexible in nature, providing the student multiple opportunities to participate in the teaching process.  Although flexible, the technique approaches teaching skills systematically, and requires planning for generalization.  Following are the 6 steps of a TI and both guidelines and considerations when utilizing this teaching technique.

• Initiation & Labeling
• Rationale
• Demonstration
• Practice
• Feedback
• Consequences

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

Based on the top-selling flashcards – The Language Builder - this innovative software program transforms basic flashcards into an interactive digital learning experience. The 550 Images are taken directly from the popular Language Builder Picture Nouns 1 & 2. There are 550 images presented through six different activities. The easy-to-use interface gives you the ability to select which words, word lists, or categories you want to practice.

Activities Include: Identification, Matching, Multiple Choice, Sorting Similar Images, Grouping by Category, and a Voice Recorder Function. The Word Groups include: Wild Animals, Farm Animals, Pets, Sea Life, Insects & Bugs, Foods, Clothing, Vehicles, Toys, Musical Instruments, Everyday Objects, Body Parts, Safety Signs, and Shapes & Color.

To redeem your 15% discount and be the first to purchase this great new program, simply purchase the Language Builder Picture Nouns Software and enter the Promo Code BLOGLBPS at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 7, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

This week, we’re so excited to introduce you to the new Language Builder Picture Nouns Software. We’re also thrilled to be the first to offer this wonderful program. For the next 2 weeks - to celebrate our worldwide exclusive on this new program - we’re offering you 15% off!

Based on the top-selling flashcards – The Language Builder - this innovative software program transforms basic flashcards into an interactive digital learning experience. The 550 Images are taken directly from the popular Language Builder Picture Nouns 1 & 2. There are 550 images presented through six different activities. The easy-to-use interface gives you the ability to select which words, word lists, or categories you want to practice.

Activities Include: Identification, Matching, Multiple Choice, Sorting Similar Images, Grouping by Category, and a Voice Recorder Function. The Word Groups include: Wild Animals, Farm Animals, Pets, Sea Life, Insects & Bugs, Foods, Clothing, Vehicles, Toys, Musical Instruments, Everyday Objects, Body Parts, Safety Signs, and Shapes & Color.

To redeem your 15% discount and be the first to purchase this great new program, simply purchase the Language Builder Picture Nouns Software and enter the Promo Code BLOGLBPS at checkout.

*Offer expires on February 7, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Jun, the young man with ASD, loves everything about cars and driving.  He has very limited language and independence and lives at home with his family.  There are scenes of what life is like for the family; his mother, his brother and their ties to the disability community. A young woman who knows nothing about autism gives a ride to Jun because he reminds her of someone in her past.  Jun loves everything about cars and vans, so of course, he got in the car and the adventure begins.

The film is about autism awareness, education, advocacy but more importantly acceptance; acceptance of behaviors and inclusion into the mainstream community.   The film gives the autistic person a place in our community.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were able to gain acceptance for our children in the global community?  The film was a glimpse of promising possibilities.

Last month, I was asked to support a viewing of a Japanese film about autism, “Drive Me to the Sea.”   I was so excited that the Japanese community was interested in autism awareness that I threw myself into promoting the film without knowing the details of the story.  I was doubtful that the film would portray autism appropriately (by my standards).  Upon viewing it, it does.  Everyone on the ASD spectrum is different but this film thoughtfully connects all of us affected by autism. The screenwriter, Kuniaki Yamashita, was a parent of a young man on the spectrum and a core advocate of people affected by ASD.

Jun, the young man with ASD, loves everything about cars and driving.  He has very limited language and independence and lives at home with his family.  There are scenes of what life is like for the family; his mother, his brother and their ties to the disability community. A young woman who knows nothing about autism gives a ride to Jun because he reminds her of someone in her past.  Jun loves everything about cars and vans, so of course, he got in the car and the adventure begins.

The film is about autism awareness, education, advocacy but more importantly acceptance; acceptance of behaviors and inclusion into the mainstream community.   The film gives the autistic person a place in our community.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were able to gain acceptance for our children in the global community?  The film was a glimpse of promising possibilities.

Teachers and parents are often eager to teacher children language, social and academic skills.  Clearly, these are important objectives that are essential for children’s well being.  It is generally recognized, that in order for children to be successful in learning these skills that their disruptive behaviors must not interfere in the learning processes.  Therefore behaviors such as aggression, non-compliance and self stimulation must be targeted prior to teaching more formal skills.  However, there is another critical perquisite skill that is essential in order to maximize learning success.  Acquiring “learning to learn” skills is absolutely pivotal in a child’s success.  It is really teaching children the process of learning.  It is the foundation, perhaps the pivotal skill necessary for them to acquire all other skills. Often when a child is struggling in learning beginning or even advanced skills it is often because the child is deficient in this area.  “Learning to learn skills” include some of the following skills:
 

• Attending
• Returning Reinforcers
• Hands Still
• Waiting
• Responding to Instruction
• Changing Behavior Based Upon Feedback
• Learning From Prompts
• Remaining Calm

“Learning to learn” skills often are not directly targeted.  Typically by the time children participate in more formal instruction they have learned these behaviors.  However, the majority of children with ASD require direct teaching to understand these critical skills.  Therefore, systematic programs designed to teach these critical skills are essential.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

“Learning How to Learn”    

Teachers and parents are often eager to teacher children language, social and academic skills.  Clearly, these are important objectives that are essential for children’s well being.  It is generally recognized, that in order for children to be successful in learning these skills that their disruptive behaviors must not interfere in the learning processes.  Therefore behaviors such as aggression, non-compliance and self stimulation must be targeted prior to teaching more formal skills.  However, there is another critical perquisite skill that is essential in order to maximize learning success.  Acquiring “learning to learn” skills is absolutely pivotal in a child’s success.  It is really teaching children the process of learning.  It is the foundation, perhaps the pivotal skill necessary for them to acquire all other skills. Often when a child is struggling in learning beginning or even advanced skills it is often because the child is deficient in this area.  “Learning to learn skills” include some of the following skills:
 

• Attending
• Returning Reinforcers
• Hands Still
• Waiting
• Responding to Instruction
• Changing Behavior Based Upon Feedback
• Learning From Prompts
• Remaining Calm

“Learning to learn” skills often are not directly targeted.  Typically by the time children participate in more formal instruction they have learned these behaviors.  However, the majority of children with ASD require direct teaching to understand these critical skills.  Therefore, systematic programs designed to teach these critical skills are essential.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

This obviously raises a lot of strong emotions in our community. How do you feel about the changes? Do you think it would affect the access that your children or students would have to services?

A new study by an expert panel appointed by the American Psychiatric Association is examining the impact that the proposed changes to the definition of Autism under the DSM-V would have both on diagnosis and on access to services. The changes would almost certainly exclude high functioning individuals. For more complete details on the findings and the ramifications, read the full article New Definition of Autism Will Exclude Many, Study Suggests in the NY Times.

This obviously raises a lot of strong emotions in our community. How do you feel about the changes? Do you think it would affect the access that your children or students would have to services?

Children understanding appropriate versus inappropriate behaviors and correct versus incorrect responses are a fundamental aspect of intervention.  When children can recognize these distinctions it can help change their performance.  And when it can be taught in a fun way it can help motivate children them not only to acquire the information but to use it in their everyday life.

This discrimination can be used to teach a variety of concepts.  We have used it to successfully teach children to reduce self-stimulation and acting out behaviors.  Children have also learned pro social behaviors such as personal boundaries, recognizing when they are boring peers and empathy through this strategy.  Voice modulation and even articulation have improved through “cool/not cool”. 

There is nothing magic in the words “cool” or “not cool”!  Use words that are appropriate for age, level of understanding or that are common used among peers.  For example, you could use “good idea” vs. “not such a good idea” or “great” vs. “not so great”.  Instead of words teachers could use thumbs up vs. thumbs down or a smiley face vs. a sad face.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

“Cool” versus “Not Cool”

Children understanding appropriate versus inappropriate behaviors and correct versus incorrect responses are a fundamental aspect of intervention.  When children can recognize these distinctions it can help change their performance.  And when it can be taught in a fun way it can help motivate children them not only to acquire the information but to use it in their everyday life.

This discrimination can be used to teach a variety of concepts.  We have used it to successfully teach children to reduce self-stimulation and acting out behaviors.  Children have also learned pro social behaviors such as personal boundaries, recognizing when they are boring peers and empathy through this strategy.  Voice modulation and even articulation have improved through “cool/not cool”. 

There is nothing magic in the words “cool” or “not cool”!  Use words that are appropriate for age, level of understanding or that are common used among peers.  For example, you could use “good idea” vs. “not such a good idea” or “great” vs. “not so great”.  Instead of words teachers could use thumbs up vs. thumbs down or a smiley face vs. a sad face.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

This week only, save 15% on the Inference and Cause & Effect Reading Practice Comprehension Cards by entering the Promo Code BLOGRC2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 24, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

While most of our products cater towards early language development and social skills, do you know that we also offer educational materials for students who are developing academic skills and early reading? This week’s pick highlights our Reading Comprehension Practice Cards. These are ideal for practicing critical reading and auditory processing skills. One deck focuses on Inference and the other on Cause & Effect. Each card consists of a leveled reading passage and a multiple-choice question that asks the student to infer meaning from the text. You can always adapt it for early or non-readers by reading the passages aloud and developing auditory processing skills.

This week only, save 15% on the Inference and Cause & Effect Reading Practice Comprehension Cards by entering the Promo Code BLOGRC2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 24, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

In this  series, they’ll offer up strategies and tips on Learning How to Learn, “Cool” vs. “Not Cool”, Teaching Interactions, Reinforcement Development, and Individualized Token Economy Systems, as well as results from a recent study that shows promising treatment results in children with ASD. But first, an introduction in their own words:

The three of us met over 35 years ago on the UCLA Young Autism Project.  Our careers have been devoted to helping children, adolescents and adults develop the skills and behaviors so that they can enjoy the highest quality of life.  Although Applied Behavior Analysis remains the foundation of our approach the application has evolved.  This evolution has been due to a number of factors including working with a range of ages (toddlers, children, adolescents and adults) working in a variety of settings (clinics, homes, schools, private practice, residential and vocational settings) and not only working with Autism Spectrum Disorders but a large variety of populations (ADHD, Mental Retardation, Juvenile Delinquency, Prader Willi Syndrome, Schizophrenia as well as adolescents and adults  being challenged by depression, anxiety and marital conflicts).  Our journey has been challenging, exhilarating and humbling.

When we wrote our first book, Work in Progress, we believed it was our last book.  We had believed we would have nothing more to contribute!  However, years later we were frustrated that ABA was not being used to help students in schools so we wrote It’s Time for School.  But the insanity and misinformation regarding ASD and ABA compelled us to write It Has to Be Said!   It provided through grumpy men a chance to enlighten the world according to our belief system!  We weren’t quite done!  Recently, we recognized that lack of emphasis on teaching social skills so we wrote Crafting Connections. 

We have also been passionate of conducting research so as to objectively validate our approach.  We have conducted numerous research studies investigating various techniques and procedures.  Through these efforts hopefully we have contributed to the field.  But we know the research has made us better clinicians.  It has also provided evidence as to the efficacy of ABA.  Recently we published a 10 year outcome study allowing us to evaluate our approach.

In this Blog we would like to share a summary of our most recent programs and findings.  We hope that you will find them interesting and perhaps even helpful.

Cheers,

 John, Mitch & Ron

We can’t tell you how excited we are to introduce a series of guest posts by Autism Partnership. Really, they don’t need any introduction: Ron Leaf, John McEachin, and Mitchell Taubman have been working in ABA since the 1970′s when they were all  working with Lovaas on the seminal UCLA Young Autism Project. They’ve dedicated their careers to providing services, training and direct intervention to individuals with ASD. It’s a rare to treat to get insight and information from such distinguished professionals.

In this  series, they’ll offer up strategies and tips on Learning How to Learn, “Cool” vs. “Not Cool”, Teaching Interactions, Reinforcement Development, and Individualized Token Economy Systems, as well as results from a recent study that shows promising treatment results in children with ASD. But first, an introduction in their own words:

The three of us met over 35 years ago on the UCLA Young Autism Project.  Our careers have been devoted to helping children, adolescents and adults develop the skills and behaviors so that they can enjoy the highest quality of life.  Although Applied Behavior Analysis remains the foundation of our approach the application has evolved.  This evolution has been due to a number of factors including working with a range of ages (toddlers, children, adolescents and adults) working in a variety of settings (clinics, homes, schools, private practice, residential and vocational settings) and not only working with Autism Spectrum Disorders but a large variety of populations (ADHD, Mental Retardation, Juvenile Delinquency, Prader Willi Syndrome, Schizophrenia as well as adolescents and adults  being challenged by depression, anxiety and marital conflicts).  Our journey has been challenging, exhilarating and humbling.

When we wrote our first book, Work in Progress, we believed it was our last book.  We had believed we would have nothing more to contribute!  However, years later we were frustrated that ABA was not being used to help students in schools so we wrote It’s Time for School.  But the insanity and misinformation regarding ASD and ABA compelled us to write It Has to Be Said!   It provided through grumpy men a chance to enlighten the world according to our belief system!  We weren’t quite done!  Recently, we recognized that lack of emphasis on teaching social skills so we wrote Crafting Connections. 

We have also been passionate of conducting research so as to objectively validate our approach.  We have conducted numerous research studies investigating various techniques and procedures.  Through these efforts hopefully we have contributed to the field.  But we know the research has made us better clinicians.  It has also provided evidence as to the efficacy of ABA.  Recently we published a 10 year outcome study allowing us to evaluate our approach.

In this Blog we would like to share a summary of our most recent programs and findings.  We hope that you will find them interesting and perhaps even helpful.

Cheers,

 John, Mitch & Ron

This week only, save 15% on all of our Token Boards and Reinforcers by entering the Promo Code BLOGTBR2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 17, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

It can be a tall task to structure children’s days and reinforce good habits and behaviors. Daily chores such as getting dressed, brushing teeth, making the bed, and getting out the door on time can lead to a bit more excitement than desired. Token Boards and Reward Charts are a great way of visually structuring the tasks at hand and providing tangible reinforcement for a job well done. There’s the I Can Do It! Reward chart which covers all sorts of daily activities such as Get Dressed, Set the Table, and Say Please and Thank You. The I Can Do It! School Chart specifically organizes the early morning rush while teaching children independent, daily living skills. We even have charts specifically for Potty Training and Brushing Teeth.

This week only, save 15% on all of our Token Boards and Reinforcers by entering the Promo Code BLOGTBR2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 17, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

This rambunctious little boy reminded me of just how much variability there is from child to child when it comes to development.  He is always busy, on the move, and loves his toy vehicles.  As a child who is being raised bilingually his expressive language isn’t yet robust but he can communicate his wants and needs clearly.  Much of this variability is what we might call personality and I couldn’t help but think that perhaps in our efforts, as professionals, to facilitate development we can easily overshadow the personality and idiosyncratic interests of each child that deserve to be revered and honored.  For example, an interest in trains is sometimes just that, an interest in trains.  Dumping items on a hard wood floor so that you can hear the sound they make when they drop is sometimes what a two year old does when exploring the properties of the items in their environment.  Wanting to pretend to have a birthday party over and over again with fake candles because you just figured out the magic of what it all means is again, what a young child sometimes does in order to gain mastery over their environment and experiences.  Of course, with a typically developing child these things are of no concern as they can be with a child with autism but it reminded me that sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees and can get lost in the details while losing valuable opportunities to connect and teach.

 I also walked away from my vacation thinking about the fact that many of my clients who are close to the same age as my friend’s child have a definite leg up on him in the academic department (all things explicitly taught by the team of course) but the things that he could do that my clients don’t do were the skills that really resonated with me.  Within a day we developed our own silly little thumbs up signal to each other as a means of connecting and building a friendship, within two days he was calling my name at the top of his voice when I wasn’t where he could find me, and when he looked at me he really looked at me with sparkles in his eyes.  These are the things that are so hard to teach but really are a core deficit of autism spectrum disorder.  I know I strive in my work to foster these skills along with cognitive skills but was reminded on vacation of just how early these skills develop and that maybe just maybe the prepositions or sequencing can sometimes wait a little bit longer.

~Stacy

I’m just back from a two-week vacation in California where I spent the time with a good friend and her 22-month-old son.  Now, with a couple of days in New York City before returning to work I find myself reflecting on the time spent and the lessons revealed that could inform my work with children with special needs.  Since I have no kids of my own I spend the majority of my time with children in a work capacity with therapeutic intentions in mind.  It was fascinating and refreshing for me to just be present in the moment (as much as possible after 15 years in the field) and enjoy his company and play together.  

This rambunctious little boy reminded me of just how much variability there is from child to child when it comes to development.  He is always busy, on the move, and loves his toy vehicles.  As a child who is being raised bilingually his expressive language isn’t yet robust but he can communicate his wants and needs clearly.  Much of this variability is what we might call personality and I couldn’t help but think that perhaps in our efforts, as professionals, to facilitate development we can easily overshadow the personality and idiosyncratic interests of each child that deserve to be revered and honored.  For example, an interest in trains is sometimes just that, an interest in trains.  Dumping items on a hard wood floor so that you can hear the sound they make when they drop is sometimes what a two year old does when exploring the properties of the items in their environment.  Wanting to pretend to have a birthday party over and over again with fake candles because you just figured out the magic of what it all means is again, what a young child sometimes does in order to gain mastery over their environment and experiences.  Of course, with a typically developing child these things are of no concern as they can be with a child with autism but it reminded me that sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees and can get lost in the details while losing valuable opportunities to connect and teach.

 I also walked away from my vacation thinking about the fact that many of my clients who are close to the same age as my friend’s child have a definite leg up on him in the academic department (all things explicitly taught by the team of course) but the things that he could do that my clients don’t do were the skills that really resonated with me.  Within a day we developed our own silly little thumbs up signal to each other as a means of connecting and building a friendship, within two days he was calling my name at the top of his voice when I wasn’t where he could find me, and when he looked at me he really looked at me with sparkles in his eyes.  These are the things that are so hard to teach but really are a core deficit of autism spectrum disorder.  I know I strive in my work to foster these skills along with cognitive skills but was reminded on vacation of just how early these skills develop and that maybe just maybe the prepositions or sequencing can sometimes wait a little bit longer.

~Stacy

Our daughter, Miranda, loves handbags.  She has a ton of them.  Some boys on the spectrum love trains and cars, she loves handbags and hairbands. We have actually had to build storage for her handbag collection.  I recently had to hide my handbags in the office closet to keep them out of her collection. 

 If we go to Kohl’s or to Target, she knows she gets another handbag.  She goes directly to that department. No matter how hard we try to say no, she always finds a way to get that handbag.  We go in for other things but come out with a handbag.  

The last time we went to Kohl’s, she needed a winter coat. Before we left, over and over again, I said “What are we going to get at Kohl’s?” and she said “handbag”.  I said “No, coat.”  She replied “coat”.   “What are we going to get, Miranda?”…the correct response came: “Coat.”  And we did that routine over and over again. Once in a while she would mutter “handbag” but I was on point!  “What are we going to get?”  “Coat!”

 Just before we went into the store, I reminded her of the other issue.  No screaming!

When we get inside, ”no screaming!”

 We walked into the front door of Kohl’s and Miranda is so excited and delighted to get there, she lets out a loud shriek of happiness!  The entire store goes quiet….and then a voice from Check Out #2 says “NO HANDBAGS for you today!”

Everyone knows Julie, the president extraordinaire of Different Roads to Learning! For more than 16 years, she’s been sourcing new product, providing guidance and support on the phone, and helping families and organizations in the autism community. For those of you who haven’t had the privilege of talking to Julie, she’s an amazing storyteller. Every Monday morning, she has all of us in the office bent over with laughter or tears as she regales us with the stories of her weekned. As many of you know, Julie’s daughter Miranda has autism. The adventures that Julie and her family go through, the incredible highs and lows, are what inspire all of us every day. We’ve been encouraging Julie to share some of her stories as they’re what link us all together. So, here’s last weekend’s adventure….

Our daughter, Miranda, loves handbags.  She has a ton of them.  Some boys on the spectrum love trains and cars, she loves handbags and hairbands. We have actually had to build storage for her handbag collection.  I recently had to hide my handbags in the office closet to keep them out of her collection. 

 If we go to Kohl’s or to Target, she knows she gets another handbag.  She goes directly to that department. No matter how hard we try to say no, she always finds a way to get that handbag.  We go in for other things but come out with a handbag.  

The last time we went to Kohl’s, she needed a winter coat. Before we left, over and over again, I said “What are we going to get at Kohl’s?” and she said “handbag”.  I said “No, coat.”  She replied “coat”.   “What are we going to get, Miranda?”…the correct response came: “Coat.”  And we did that routine over and over again. Once in a while she would mutter “handbag” but I was on point!  “What are we going to get?”  “Coat!”

 Just before we went into the store, I reminded her of the other issue.  No screaming!

When we get inside, ”no screaming!”

 We walked into the front door of Kohl’s and Miranda is so excited and delighted to get there, she lets out a loud shriek of happiness!  The entire store goes quiet….and then a voice from Check Out #2 says “NO HANDBAGS for you today!”

To save 15% on all Timers, Counters and Clocks, this week only, enter the Promo Code BLOGTC2012 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 10, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

The new year offers us a chance to take stock and approach things with a newfound zeal. It’s a time to feel energized and motivated. To help you stay on task, this week’s pick is our full selection of Timers, Counters & Clocks as even the most determined of us could use a bit of a reminding. The MotivAider is a great tool for behavioral modification of any kind, and the Vibralite Watch offers a private reminder to engage in any situation. Whatever your goals and resolutions may be, all of us at Different Roads to Learning wish you a happy and healthy 2012!

To save 15% on all Timers, Counters and Clocks, this week only, enter the Promo Code BLOGTC2012 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 10, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

The most popular use of the Language Builder Picture Card Series is to build vocabulary. The realistic and current photos help students to learn the name of various nouns, occupations, and emotions. In the beginning, this task can be very repetitive and basic, focusing only on learning single-word responses. When a child with autism begins to gain expressive language skills, parents and educators are thrilled to watch these new words emerge.

Labeling Sentences

After a child has mastered numerous single-word labels for the picture cards, the next critical step is to build these one-word answers into more complete and functional Labeling Sentences.

Building sentences will start simply. As a first step, you may just ask the child to use the article along with the word. For example, move toward an answer of “an apple” or “a car.” The next step would be to work toward “It is an apple,” or “It is a car.”

As you expand your student’s communication skills to include full sentences, you will no doubt need to use prompts in the beginning. The most common method is verbal modeling. But it is important to fade the verbal prompt as soon as possible. To help your student answer in full sentences without need for a verbal prompt, you can move to a visual cue prompt.

Written cue cards are a great method to remind your student to use full sentences. For example, if you show your student a picture of a car, and ask “What is it?” your student is likely to just answer “car.” To prompt your student to use the article “a” with the word car, you can start by putting a cue card in front of the picture with the word “a” on it. Have your student touch each card (the “a” card and then the picture card) as they say the words “a car.” The next step would be to add cue cards for “It is a car.” When your student starts to grasp the concept of speaking multi-word sentences, you can begin to fade the visual cue card prompts.

Requesting Sentences

Another important type of sentence that your child will need to learn to use is a Requesting Sentence. When your child learns to use communication to make requests and get their needs met, it will reduce the child’s frustration, which will in turn reduce the frequency of tantrums and outbursts.

Sort through the picture cards for which your child knows the labels. Find pictures of items that your child likes and that you have available to give to them. Food items are often the most successful to start with. For example: Cheese, Raisins, Juice, Popcorn, and Apple. Stick a magnet to the back of each picture and place the pictures on the refrigerator. Write the word “I” on one index card and the word “want” on another and place those on the refrigerator also. When you know your child wants a specific food (as most parents often do), pull the corresponding picture down into the “I want” sentence. Use the visual cues as a prompt to help your child remember to use the full sentence to request their desired food. As always, you should fade the prompts as your student begins to master this full sentence activity.

A Note on Using Cue Cards to Prompt

You may think: Why am I using written words to prompt my child? He isn’t speaking well, so why should I assume he can read?
The cards are not meant for your child to read. They are merely place markers. It makes as much sense to use the words as anything else. However, you could also use something as simple and nondescript such as blocks or blank cards for your child to touch as they say the words. The idea is to give your child a physical reminder to speak the extra words. In fact there are schools of thought suggesting that if you tie spoken words to physical activity that it creates more neural pathways for the words to attach to. Regardless, you can choose to use the word cards, or to use a more neutral object. Decide what works best for your child.

Additional Activities to Develop Sentence Skills

Labeling and Requesting are the most basic of all full sentence activities, and provide a basis for your student to understand that communication requires more than single word utterances. The following list of activities offers just a few examples of the many lessons you can use to help build full sentences and a more complete system of communication with your child.

Adjectives

You can use picture cards to discuss adjectives or descriptive words. Some adjectives are clear from the pictures, such as “the apple is round” or “the frog is green.” Other adjectives draw more on a child’s real-world experience, like “the bunny is soft” or “the banana is sweet.” To teach adjectives, you can start with a receptive task. Place cards in front of your child and ask them to “find something green” or “point to something that is round.” This receptive language activity will allow your student to hear some of the adjectives you use, before trying to come up with their own descriptive words when you start to build sentences with them.

 To transition this activity to expressive language, you can hold up a picture and ask your student, “What color is the frog?” You will need to prompt your student at first either verbally or using a cue card method as described above.

Wh-questions

Picture cards provide a great opportunity to practice “Wh” questions. You can show your student a picture and ask him or her to answer questions such as “What color is the frog?” “Where would you find a plate?” “When do you use a pillow?” “Why do you use soap?”

To start, some of these questions will fall easily out of the Adjectives lessons you have already practiced, such as “What color is it?” Other questions will provide a new challenge for your student.

Tell Me About

Use pictures with which your student is already familiar. The best pictures will be the ones you have practiced extensively on the Adjectives and Wh-Questions. Show your student a picture and ask him or her to tell you about the item in the picture.

The first things that your student should be able to tell you about the pictures are the responses that they learned in Adjectives and Wh-Questions. The difference with this drill is that you student has to generate the content themselves rather than respond to your question. When you ask your student “What color is it?” they know color is the relevant detail. In the Tell Me About lesson, students have to decide for themselves that color is a relevant thing to tell you about the picture.

You can start with scripted responses, using the picture to cue your student. Then you can progress to more creative responses that might not be so obvious from the picture. For example, show your student a picture of a duck. Ask your student, “Can you tell me about a duck?” By looking at the picture, your student can get some basic answers. “A Duck has feathers.” “A duck has webbed feet.” “A duck has a bill.” As your student becomes more familiar with this activity, you may progress to things about a duck that are not readily apparent from the picture. “A duck can swim.’ “A duck says ‘quack quack,’” “A duck lays eggs.”

The Tell Me About Lesson also gives you the opportunity to increase the length of your student’s verbal activity. Start by requiring the student to tell you only one detail about the picture. Then move up to two, or three or more details. Of course, if you ask your student to tell you three things about the picture, you may have difficulty if they haven’t mastered counting skills. Here’s a trick: hand your student three blocks and have them toss a block into a bucket with every detail they tell you. This is a great way to help your student count their answers, and it makes it fun for them!

Storytelling

The next step in this language building series is Storytelling. Again, this activity builds on the previous lessons. Show your student a familiar picture card and ask your student to “Tell you a story” about the picture. The first elements of the story will likely be familiar from the Tell Me About lesson. For example:

“Tell me a story about a duck.”
“There was a duck, it had webbed feet, feathers, and a bill. The duck went for a swim in the pond, then it laid some eggs and said ‘quack quack’”

As your student’s language skills grow, so will the creativity of the stories!

Generalization

The setting in which you begin to teach language skills is very structured and formal. However these new skills will become more valuable as they generalize across time and setting, and with various communication partners. To help promote generalization, you can start by moving your therapy session to different places – starting even with different rooms in the house.

Next, it is important that the skills your child has learned in the formal therapy session be practiced throughout other aspects of the child’s life, such as during family time and at school. Make sure to bring the cardsto dinner, to the store, to school, etc. Whenever you communicate with your child, require the same full sentences that are expected during therapy. Stop and take the time to use the prompt cards if necessary.

Finally, keep good records and good communication channels open with all of the other professionals and family members in your child’s life. You can send a notebook back and forth to school, or perhaps start an electronic communication log to make sure teachers are requiring the same sentences, using the same words, and bringing in the same prompts as you are at home and in therapy. Consistency is a major key to building and generalizing successful language skills to help your child interact with the world around them.

With our current pick of the week being the Language Builder Picture Cards, we thought this wonderful post outlining specific uses for the set from creator Angela Nelson would be most helpful.

The most popular use of the Language Builder Picture Card Series is to build vocabulary. The realistic and current photos help students to learn the name of various nouns, occupations, and emotions. In the beginning, this task can be very repetitive and basic, focusing only on learning single-word responses. When a child with autism begins to gain expressive language skills, parents and educators are thrilled to watch these new words emerge.

Labeling Sentences

After a child has mastered numerous single-word labels for the picture cards, the next critical step is to build these one-word answers into more complete and functional Labeling Sentences.

Building sentences will start simply. As a first step, you may just ask the child to use the article along with the word. For example, move toward an answer of “an apple” or “a car.” The next step would be to work toward “It is an apple,” or “It is a car.”

As you expand your student’s communication skills to include full sentences, you will no doubt need to use prompts in the beginning. The most common method is verbal modeling. But it is important to fade the verbal prompt as soon as possible. To help your student answer in full sentences without need for a verbal prompt, you can move to a visual cue prompt.

Written cue cards are a great method to remind your student to use full sentences. For example, if you show your student a picture of a car, and ask “What is it?” your student is likely to just answer “car.” To prompt your student to use the article “a” with the word car, you can start by putting a cue card in front of the picture with the word “a” on it. Have your student touch each card (the “a” card and then the picture card) as they say the words “a car.” The next step would be to add cue cards for “It is a car.” When your student starts to grasp the concept of speaking multi-word sentences, you can begin to fade the visual cue card prompts.

Requesting Sentences

Another important type of sentence that your child will need to learn to use is a Requesting Sentence. When your child learns to use communication to make requests and get their needs met, it will reduce the child’s frustration, which will in turn reduce the frequency of tantrums and outbursts.

Sort through the picture cards for which your child knows the labels. Find pictures of items that your child likes and that you have available to give to them. Food items are often the most successful to start with. For example: Cheese, Raisins, Juice, Popcorn, and Apple. Stick a magnet to the back of each picture and place the pictures on the refrigerator. Write the word “I” on one index card and the word “want” on another and place those on the refrigerator also. When you know your child wants a specific food (as most parents often do), pull the corresponding picture down into the “I want” sentence. Use the visual cues as a prompt to help your child remember to use the full sentence to request their desired food. As always, you should fade the prompts as your student begins to master this full sentence activity.

A Note on Using Cue Cards to Prompt

You may think: Why am I using written words to prompt my child? He isn’t speaking well, so why should I assume he can read?
The cards are not meant for your child to read. They are merely place markers. It makes as much sense to use the words as anything else. However, you could also use something as simple and nondescript such as blocks or blank cards for your child to touch as they say the words. The idea is to give your child a physical reminder to speak the extra words. In fact there are schools of thought suggesting that if you tie spoken words to physical activity that it creates more neural pathways for the words to attach to. Regardless, you can choose to use the word cards, or to use a more neutral object. Decide what works best for your child.

Additional Activities to Develop Sentence Skills

Labeling and Requesting are the most basic of all full sentence activities, and provide a basis for your student to understand that communication requires more than single word utterances. The following list of activities offers just a few examples of the many lessons you can use to help build full sentences and a more complete system of communication with your child.

Adjectives

You can use picture cards to discuss adjectives or descriptive words. Some adjectives are clear from the pictures, such as “the apple is round” or “the frog is green.” Other adjectives draw more on a child’s real-world experience, like “the bunny is soft” or “the banana is sweet.” To teach adjectives, you can start with a receptive task. Place cards in front of your child and ask them to “find something green” or “point to something that is round.” This receptive language activity will allow your student to hear some of the adjectives you use, before trying to come up with their own descriptive words when you start to build sentences with them.

 To transition this activity to expressive language, you can hold up a picture and ask your student, “What color is the frog?” You will need to prompt your student at first either verbally or using a cue card method as described above.

Wh-questions

Picture cards provide a great opportunity to practice “Wh” questions. You can show your student a picture and ask him or her to answer questions such as “What color is the frog?” “Where would you find a plate?” “When do you use a pillow?” “Why do you use soap?”

To start, some of these questions will fall easily out of the Adjectives lessons you have already practiced, such as “What color is it?” Other questions will provide a new challenge for your student.

Tell Me About

Use pictures with which your student is already familiar. The best pictures will be the ones you have practiced extensively on the Adjectives and Wh-Questions. Show your student a picture and ask him or her to tell you about the item in the picture.

The first things that your student should be able to tell you about the pictures are the responses that they learned in Adjectives and Wh-Questions. The difference with this drill is that you student has to generate the content themselves rather than respond to your question. When you ask your student “What color is it?” they know color is the relevant detail. In the Tell Me About lesson, students have to decide for themselves that color is a relevant thing to tell you about the picture.

You can start with scripted responses, using the picture to cue your student. Then you can progress to more creative responses that might not be so obvious from the picture. For example, show your student a picture of a duck. Ask your student, “Can you tell me about a duck?” By looking at the picture, your student can get some basic answers. “A Duck has feathers.” “A duck has webbed feet.” “A duck has a bill.” As your student becomes more familiar with this activity, you may progress to things about a duck that are not readily apparent from the picture. “A duck can swim.’ “A duck says ‘quack quack,’” “A duck lays eggs.”

The Tell Me About Lesson also gives you the opportunity to increase the length of your student’s verbal activity. Start by requiring the student to tell you only one detail about the picture. Then move up to two, or three or more details. Of course, if you ask your student to tell you three things about the picture, you may have difficulty if they haven’t mastered counting skills. Here’s a trick: hand your student three blocks and have them toss a block into a bucket with every detail they tell you. This is a great way to help your student count their answers, and it makes it fun for them!

Storytelling

The next step in this language building series is Storytelling. Again, this activity builds on the previous lessons. Show your student a familiar picture card and ask your student to “Tell you a story” about the picture. The first elements of the story will likely be familiar from the Tell Me About lesson. For example:

“Tell me a story about a duck.”
“There was a duck, it had webbed feet, feathers, and a bill. The duck went for a swim in the pond, then it laid some eggs and said ‘quack quack’”

As your student’s language skills grow, so will the creativity of the stories!

Generalization

The setting in which you begin to teach language skills is very structured and formal. However these new skills will become more valuable as they generalize across time and setting, and with various communication partners. To help promote generalization, you can start by moving your therapy session to different places – starting even with different rooms in the house.

Next, it is important that the skills your child has learned in the formal therapy session be practiced throughout other aspects of the child’s life, such as during family time and at school. Make sure to bring the cardsto dinner, to the store, to school, etc. Whenever you communicate with your child, require the same full sentences that are expected during therapy. Stop and take the time to use the prompt cards if necessary.

Finally, keep good records and good communication channels open with all of the other professionals and family members in your child’s life. You can send a notebook back and forth to school, or perhaps start an electronic communication log to make sure teachers are requiring the same sentences, using the same words, and bringing in the same prompts as you are at home and in therapy. Consistency is a major key to building and generalizing successful language skills to help your child interact with the world around them.

This week only, save 15% on the Language Builder Picture Cards by entering the Promo Code BLOGLB22 at checkout.

*Offer expires on December 27, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

What more can we say? The Language Builder Picture Cards are the premier set of flashcards for any home or school program aimed at developing language skills. There are 350 beautifully photographed noun cards that take you through teaching and generalizing Animals, Foods, Vehicles, Furniture, Clothing, Toys, Everyday Objects, Shapes and Colors. The Language Builder is the first thing any parent or teacher needs to set up an ABA program and start teaching expressive and receptive language skills.

This week only, save 15% on the Language Builder Picture Cards by entering the Promo Code BLOGLB22 at checkout.

*Offer expires on December 27, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

*Offer expires on December 20, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

The holiday season can be filled with anticipation for children.  Understanding and being able to express their emotions  is important for being able to manage them. Understanding Emotions is a small, simple deck of flashcards that teach how various emotions feel and when they might occur. Emotions depicted include happy, sad, angry, frustrated, excited and more. The 30 cards come on a handy ring and can be removed to provide multiple learning options.
Save 15% this week only on the Understanding Emotions Flashcards by entering the Promo Code BLOGUE11 at checkout.

*Offer expires on December 20, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

At this time of year, it can be a challenge to find an appropriate gift for the child with autism in your life. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends often call us inquiring about what a good present would be for the child with special needs in their lives. This year, we’ve put together a holiday gift guide with some suggestions for children on the spectrum. All of the items are educational while being fun and engaging. Hopefully, this will make your search a bit easier and you’ll be able to cross someone off your list!

And to sweeten things, we’re offering 15% off on these products through December 19. Just enter the Promo Code GIFTS11 at checkout to redeem your savings.

We wish all of you a very happy and healthy holiday season!

            Stocking Stuffers  

Hooray for Play- $12.95

Get everyone involved and pretend to be a firefighter, pirate, chef and more! These cards lead learners on the path to play.

Token Board- $5.95

Are all of those holiday cookies proving too tempting for your child? Use a token board to reinforce them for work accomplished with the reward of a holiday treat.

Go Talk Button- $11.95

Record a 10 second message and attach these small, handy buttons anywhere in the house. These are great for children with limited language and can keep them engaged in all the holiday cheer.

On the Road Toob- $9.95

Miniature vehicles provide fun opportunities for imaginative play as they VROOOM around the holiday table.

Presents

Wedgits Blocks and Design Cards- $23.99

Nest, stack, and link these blocks together to create endless shapes. The Wedgits are fun and challenging for the whole family.

Scents Sort Match-Up Kit- $39.95

Who can identify the smell of honey? What about the cantaloupe? Guessing each scent inevitably leads to laughter.

Wiggle and Giggle- $24.95

This board game is great for getting everyone active as players have to balance and move around according to what the spinner lands on.

Winomino-$29.95

With over 900 puzzle combinations possible, this game is ideal for students of all ages and levels. The geometrical puzzle develops fine motor, visual spatial and problem solving skills.

S’Match- $19.95

A fun SPIN on the classic Memory Game, S’Match requires players to find matches based on color, number or category.

At this time of year, it can be a challenge to find an appropriate gift for the child with autism in your life. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends often call us inquiring about what a good present would be for the child with special needs in their lives. This year, we’ve put together a holiday gift guide with some suggestions for children on the spectrum. All of the items are educational while being fun and engaging. Hopefully, this will make your search a bit easier and you’ll be able to cross someone off your list!

And to sweeten things, we’re offering 15% off on these products through December 19. Just enter the Promo Code GIFTS11 at checkout to redeem your savings.

We wish all of you a very happy and healthy holiday season!

            Stocking Stuffers  

Hooray for Play- $12.95

Get everyone involved and pretend to be a firefighter, pirate, chef and more! These cards lead learners on the path to play.

Token Board- $5.95

Are all of those holiday cookies proving too tempting for your child? Use a token board to reinforce them for work accomplished with the reward of a holiday treat.

Go Talk Button- $11.95

Record a 10 second message and attach these small, handy buttons anywhere in the house. These are great for children with limited language and can keep them engaged in all the holiday cheer.

On the Road Toob- $9.95

Miniature vehicles provide fun opportunities for imaginative play as they VROOOM around the holiday table.

Presents

Wedgits Blocks and Design Cards- $23.99

Nest, stack, and link these blocks together to create endless shapes. The Wedgits are fun and challenging for the whole family.

Scents Sort Match-Up Kit- $39.95

Who can identify the smell of honey? What about the cantaloupe? Guessing each scent inevitably leads to laughter.

Wiggle and Giggle- $24.95

This board game is great for getting everyone active as players have to balance and move around according to what the spinner lands on.

Winomino-$29.95

With over 900 puzzle combinations possible, this game is ideal for students of all ages and levels. The geometrical puzzle develops fine motor, visual spatial and problem solving skills.

S’Match- $19.95

A fun SPIN on the classic Memory Game, S’Match requires players to find matches based on color, number or category.

It’s amazing that a whole new market of educational tools have popped up in the market for educating individuals with ASD. In the last few months, there have been so many apps for autism to choose from that it’s difficult for parents and teachers to navigate and find the ones that will work best for their particular child. There are now entire sites dedicated to showcasing various Apps and describing them in detail to help you narrow your choices. Check out today’s Gadgetwise column in the NY Times for the list of 4 sites so you can make wiser choices for your student.

Save 15% on the Time Tracker Mini this week only by entering the Promo Code BLOGTTM2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on December 6, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

We love this small, easy to program Time Tracker Mini! It’s a simple visual and auditory timer that has 360 degree viewing so it’s great for anywhere, in the classroom or at home. There are two simple dials: one for a total alarm time and one for the amount of warning time you’d like given before time is up. The timer turns green, yellow, then red as it counts down. The total alarm time can be set anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours in 5-minute increments.

Save 15% on the Time Tracker Mini this week only by entering the Promo Code BLOGTTM2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on December 6, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.