Category Archives: Daily Living Skills

Tips for Traveling with Kids with Autism

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Taking any long trip when you have a child with autism can be daunting, especially when it involves long periods of time in the car or on an airplane. Below are a few tips for reducing stress during travel time.

  • Create a visual or textual schedule for your child.  Because trips don’t always go as planned (e.g. planes are delayed, you get caught in traffic), it’s probably not a good idea to list specific times that activities will be occurring. But it is helpful to show the order in which they will be happening.
  • Prepare your child for potential problems.  If possible, talk about coping methods ahead of time and practice them if possible. What can you do if you’re stuck in traffic that isn’t moving? What are your choices if we experience turbulence on the plane?
  • Provide information for your child.  Show photos, books, maps, etc. of the locations you’ll be traveling to. You can also read books or show photos of activities you’ll be participating in, such as swimming or skiing.
  • If possible, pack more than one activity bag.  Bags filled with a few favorite activites or small toys can be useful for keeping kids entertained on trips. For long trips, your child may get bored with items in an activity bag. It’s useful to keep a second one stashed in a suitcase or other bag if you’ll be on a very long flight or car ride. It can also be useful to have a separate activity bag for the return trip if you know your child may lose interest in the first one.
  • Provide options when possible.  Access to choices can go a long way in keeping kids calm. Choices can include what videos to watch, snacks to eat, etc.
  • Check in advance with guest services at hotels, resorts, or theme parks.  Ask what modifications and accessibility options they may offer. Many places offer special accommodations and are open to any unique requests you may have.
  • Prepare in advance for any sensory concerns.  Bring noise-cancelling headphones, ear plugs, fidgets, etc. to have available, as needed.

Remember that long trips are difficult for all children, and many of the tips listed above are beneficial for siblings who do not have special needs.

Pick of the Week: Coin-U-Lator & Worksheets – Teach Money Skills in a Fun and Interactive Way

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Learn about money with this fun and interactive coin-counting calculator! Use the Coin-U-Lator to count money, teach the value of different coins, determine how much money is needed to make a purchase, and more! This week only, save 15%* when you order the Coin-U-Lator and/or the Coin-U-Lator Worksheets when you apply our promo code COINU7 at checkout!

Each realistic coin and dollar button on the Coin-U-Lator makes a sound when pressed. These sounds are inherently reinforcing and make learning about money and counting all the more fun for students! Use the simple +/- switch on the Coin-U-Lator to change the math activity from addition to subtraction, as well as amute button to turn on or off the variety of fun, realistic sounds. There are also two fun learning games, and when the correct answer is entered, players are rewarded with a “Good Job!” or “Way to Go!”. There’s also an Oops button to go back and fix mistakes. Batteries and instructions come included.

The Coin-U-Lator Worksheets comprise a hands-on program of 100 reproducible worksheets that teach the value of coins and money. These worksheets come compiled in a binder notebook and can be used with or without the Coin-U-Lator. The worksheets are arranged in progressive levels of difficulty for students with varying knowledge of math and money.

The Coin-U-Lator and Coin-U-Lator Worksheets are  available only in US Dollars. 

Don’t forget — this week only, you can  take 15% off* your order of the Coin-U-Lator and/or the Coin-U-Lator Worksheets by applying COINU7 at check out online!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm ET on May 27, 2014.  Not compatible with any other offer. Code is case-sensitive—be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Teaching Functional Living Skills to Children with Autism at the Grocery Store

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We hear over and over again how children with autism may need hundreds or even thousands of opportunities to practice a skill before acquiring it. It’s important to keep this fact in mind when it comes to functional living skills (e.g. making the bed, cooking a meal, etc.). Many of the parents I work with prefer to focus on academic skills rather than functional living skills. Some feel that by focusing on functional living skills, they’re giving up on larger goals for their child, such as being placed in a general education environment, having the opportunity to go to college, and/or having the opportunity to have a career.

I always encourage parents to focus on both academic and functional living skills. While it may seem unnecessary to start thinking about teaching a nine year old how to grocery shop, it’s really just providing them with many, many opportunities to practice the skill. Typically developing children “practice” grocery shopping from a young age by watching their parents and playing “store” with friends, but children with autism are unlikely to observe their parents while they’re shopping or to play such games as “store” without explicit instruction. By practicing the skill with your child early on, you’re promoting future independence.

You can practice these skills when you are in the grocery store with your child, and you may just find that your child enjoys shopping. (Grocery shopping is a favorite activity for two of my current students.) It may be beneficial for you to just start out with one skill, choosing the one you think your child is the most likely to experience success with or that your child will be the most motivated by.

 BEGINNER SKILLS
  • Choosing if you need a cart or a basket (Is our list long or short? Do we have big or small items?)
  • Using a grocery list (reading the list, crossing off items already placed in cart/basket)
  • Using supermarket signs to find items (understanding categories, knowing where to look for signs)
  • Greeting cashier
 INTERMEDIATE SKILLS
  • Choosing good fruit or vegetables (looking for bruises, identifying ripeness)
  • Giving money to cashier
  • Accepting change from cashier
  • Taking bags when it’s time to leave
 ADVANCED SKILLS
  • Comparison shopping (looking at unit price, comparing prices of two brands)
  • Making sure you received correct change
  • Returning an item that is damaged

You shouldn’t limit these skills to just the grocery store either. All of these skills are useful in department stores, pharmacies, book stores, and more. Your child may be more motivated to use these skills at the book store or a toy store. You can help your child learn the skills there, then generalize them to other types of stores.

If you need help getting started, you should ask your child’s teacher or therapist to accompany you on your first trip. They can help you identify the appropriate steps to put your child on the path to independence.

Pick of the Week: Spot It! Matching Game

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Our absolute favorite matching and visual discrimination game, Spot It! provides endless fun and challenge to learners of all ages.  Out of the 55 cards, there is always one, and only one, matching symbol between any two cards.  Players can develop a sharp eye and quick reflexes, as they play any of the five included games. This week only, you can save 15%* on your order of the Spot It! matching card game by applying our promo code SPOTIT3 at checkout!

Easy to learn but never boring, this is a great resource for developing visual perception, focus, and reaction time.  This game is easy enough to include students of all skill levels but challenging enough to keep everyone interested in playing.

Take 15% off* your order of Spot It! this week by mentioning or using code SPOTIT3 over the phone with us at (800) 853-1057 or at checkout online.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm ET on May 13, 2014. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: EasyDaysies Classroom Management Tools

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Say goodbye to spending valuable time making your own classroom organizers. These classroom magnets can easily be used on a whiteboard or in a pocket chart so that students can confidently understand their daily routines in the classroom. With clearly printed text and fun illustrations on each magnet, these classroom organizers will help reduce students’ anxiety while improving cooperation throughout the school day. This week only, you can save 15%* on your order of our newest EasyDaysies Classroom Management Tools for PreK through K and Grades 1 and Up. Just mention or apply our promo code EASYDAYS9 when you place your order with us over the phone or online.

Each set contains 18 magnets measuring 2.5 inches long.

The Kindergarten Kit includes Art, Centers, Circle Time, Clean Up,
Exercise, Exploration, Field Trip, Language, Library, Lunch, Music, Numbers,
Pack Bag, Play Outside, Snack Time, Wash Hands, and 2 blank magnets.

The First Grade Kit includes Art, Assembly, Clean Up, Field Trip, Gym,
Language, Library, Lunch, Math, Music, Science, Silent Reading,
Snack/Recess, Special Guest, Social Studies, and 3 blank magnets.

Don’t forget—this week only, save 15%* when you order the Pre-K/Kindergarten and/or the First Grade sets of EasyDaysies magnetic organizers when you use our code EASYDAYS9 at checkout!

*Offer expires at 11:59pm ET on April 29, 2014.  Not valid on past orders or with any other promotions and offers.  Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: The Incredible Flexible You Preschool Curriculum

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Help your young  learners develop the skills they need to be flexible social thinkers and problem solvers with the brand new Incredible Flexible You Curriculum: A Social Thinking Curriculum for the Preschool and Early Elementary Years. Because Social Thinking is a thought-based approach that is explicitly taught through describing and demonstrating concrete concepts through structured play, it is best utilized with students who have the capacity to learn through language. To help you get started on the Social Thinking curriculum with your early learner, we are offering a 15% discount* on your next order of The Incredible Flexible You Curriculum set. Just use promo code DRLTIFY1 at checkout!

In this curriculum, the authors describe the social development process in easy-to-understand terms. Students will learn about the social mind, social expectations, their own thinking, and that of others, to help them make better decisions. Better yet, teachers and caregivers will learn how to explain these abstract concepts to them.

Detailed instructional lesson plans, complete with Teaching Moment specifics, motivating in-classroom structured activities, educational plan goals, and learn-at-home family letters give educators and parents the knowledge and tools they need to help young children develop better social skills.

The set consists of a 200-page curriculum manual, 5 story books, a CD, and tote bag. This curriculum is specifically for use with children ages 4-7, as it combines a social learning framework used in schools with music and dramatic play activities that appeal to early learners. Play is the learning environment of young children, and this curriculum capitalizes on this idea.

Don’t forget – you can save 15%* on your set of The Incredible Flexible You Curriculum by applying our promotional code DRLTIFY1 at checkout!

*Offer is not valid on previous purchases or with any other offer. Promo code expires on April 1, 2014 at 11:59pm EST. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Snap Shots Critical Thinking Photo Cards

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Promote higher-level thinking with these cards that combine critical thinking and visual literacy to teach students to look at the “big picture” as they investigate complex ideas and reach reason-based conclusions. Save 15% on your order of the Snap Shots Critical Thinking Photo Cards this week only by entering in our promotional code SNAPSH6 at checkout!

Sample

We have two beautiful sets of photo flashcards available for students in PreK and Grades 1 and up. The photos on these cards are all brain-teasing, eye-sharpening scenes that press students to look a little deeper as they develop complex ideas such as cause and effect, predicting, and making inferences. Each photo flashcard depicts a scene on the front and contains four accompanying questions on the back of each card. Over 150 prompts in each set encourage personal responses from students and help boost speaking, listening, and writing skills.

The PreK set contains photo cards that depict scenes of young children in various playtime, home, and classroom activities, such as cooking, reading, gardening, blowing out birthday candles, playing piano, and much more.

The photo cards in the Grade 1 set depict scenes of nature, as well as children and adults in various situations and settings, such as hitting a baseball, packing and moving, cooking, grocery shopping, and much more.

Remember – this week only, you can take 15%* off your purchase of one or more of the PreK and Grade 1 levels of the Snap Shots Critical Thinking Photo Cards by using code SNAPSH6 when you check out online.

*Valid through March 25, 2014 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Circle Time Learning Activity

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Teach math skills in an active way! Sharpen early math skills, along with shape, number, and color recognition through a variety of kinesthetic games with the All Around Learning Circle Time Activity Set. Gathering for circle time has never been so much fun. This week only, save 15% on your order of the All Around Learning Circle Time Activity Set by entering in promo code ALLCRC7 at checkout.

Circle Time Set

Learning through play will help encourage gross motor skill development and group cooperation skills, as well as increase self-esteem and positive attitudes in your students. This set includes: one lightweight, wipe-clean vinyl mat that measures 4 feet in diameter and folds easily for storage; five inflatable cubes (5 inches each); five canvas bean bags in red, orange, yellow, green, and blue (3 inches each); and an Activity Guide that offers suggestions for activities, such as Color Find, Circle Around the Colors, Number Line-Up, Number Toss, and more. This circle time mat is a wonderful addition to the classroom and in the home for more structured learning.

Don’t forget – this week only, you can take 15% off your order of the All Around Learning Circle Time Activity Set by using code ALLCRC7 when you check out!

Pick of the Week: “Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents”

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Executive function in individuals with autism has become a hot topic, and this is the bestselling guide that helped put executive skills on the map for school-based clinicians and educators.  This week only, you can save 15% on your copy of the second edition of Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents.  Just use our promotional code EXECSK5 at checkout.

This manual explains how these critical cognitive processes develop and why they play such a key role in children’s behavior and school performance. Concise and practitioner-friendly, the manual provides step-by-step guidelines and practical tools to promote executive skill development by implementing environmental modifications, individualized instruction, coaching, and whole-class interventions.

Included in this book are sections on developing behavioral objectives and measuring intervention effectiveness, strategies to intervene at levels of the student and the environment, routines in getting ready to begin the day, collecting homework, writing papers, studying for tests, managing open-ended tasks, managing anxiety, and much more. With these strategies, you will be able to address executive skills such as task initiation, sustained attention, working memory, planning, organization, time management, emotional control, and response inhibition, among others. More than 24 reproducible checklists, questionnaires, planning sheets and assessment tools are also included to empower readers to immediately help teach executive skills.

We’ve also included a sample chapter on our site so you can have a sneak peek at this edition!  Don’t forget – take 15% off your order of Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention by using EXECSK5 at checkout this week!

Visual Schedule to Improve Independent Play Skills in Children with Autism

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Parents, caregivers, therapists and teachers alike work so hard to teach a variety of play skills but what happens when your child or student doesn’t make that leap from facilitated play to independent play? Independent play is such an important skill that will allow him or her to better connect with their peers, build friendships, expand problem-solving skills and structure downtime.  A successful transition from demonstrating play skills with adult support to playing independently can be impacted by a myriad of variables.

Some of my students struggle with independent play because it is difficult to move from a thick schedule of reinforcement of 1:1 adult attention to a thinner one of just having an adult “check in” once in a while.  Other learners have impairments impacting executive function, specifically the organization and sequencing of steps for meaningful and reinforcing play as well as on-task behavior, task completion and working memory. Additionally, in some cases the skill of independent play is elusive because teachers struggle to find ways to fade out prompts or to successfully thin out the schedule of reinforcement.

Below is the visual schedule with data sheets for measuring acquisition and progress that I have created.  I have found it useful with learners with very different skill sets and abilities.  Click here for a comprehensive Task Analysis on teaching independent play using a visual schedule.

Keep in mind that this is for learners that:

  • Have successfully acquired a varied repertoire of play skills
  • Do not require visual schedules that break down every step of the play
  • Are able to complete activities with delayed reinforcement

In order to prepare this for use with the learner:

  • Set up a toy organizational system that has toys bins
  • Print the materials and laminate the schedule strip and the cut out shapes.
  • Attach Velcro dots to the bins, schedule strip and shapes and to the work surface if you like
  • Identify activities that are suitable for this schedule

Remember that any open-ended activities like building blocks or coloring can be turned into close-ended activities by limiting the number of pieces or by teaching the learner to use a timer.

As you would when teaching any schedule, use a most-to-least prompting strategy, only use verbal instruction for the initial direction or SD (e.g. “Go play.”), and prompt only from behind and out of view.

The schedule I have been using has a smiley face at the end of the schedule indicating a “free choice” time which all of my students understand.  However, if you are using this with a learner that requires a visual reminder of what they are working for, you could easily adapt this by putting a picture of the reward in the place of the smiley face.  Time to play!

*Don’t forget to download your free visual schedule and data sheets here!