Category Archives: Daily Living Skills

Pick of the Week: Sensible Pencil

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Save 15%* this week on Sensible Pencil, an easy-to-use handwriting program for both parents and professionals to use with their learners. Children learn to print upper- and lowercase letters and numbers, using eleven basic lines. Use our promo code PENCIL3 this week only to redeem your savings on the Sensible Pencil handwriting workbook.

Designed to help new writers achieve success quickly, this carefully structured program contains sequential worksheets that move ahead in short easy to achieve steps. The child can start with simple horizontal and vertical lines that are presented as fun, and then moves on to the other basic lines needed for handwriting skills. Sensible Pencil includes 200 worksheets, a progress chart, and a manual. Worksheets can also be copied so children can master the tasks at their own pace.

Don’t forget to apply our promo code PENCIL3 at checkout to save 15%* on your copy of Sensible Pencil this week only!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on August 5, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Simplifying the Science: Are You Giving Your Student Enough Freedom?

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One of my favorite research papers was published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in 1990 by Diane J. Bannerman, Jan B. Sheldon, James A. Sherman, and Alan E. Harchik. The title is Balancing the Right to Habilitation with the Right to Personal Liberties: The Rights of People with Developmental Disabilities to Eat Too Many Doughnuts and Take a Nap. It’s an in-depth look at the level of control practitioners can exert over the individuals they serve, and the implications of that control.

It’s important to consider the ethical implications of requiring the individuals we work with to complete specified exercises at scheduled times, eat a healthy diet for all meals, and limit TV. I have seen situations in which the practitioner is holding the individual with developmental disabilities to a higher standard than they hold themselves! Most of you reading this can probably quickly rattle off the name of the last TV show you “binge-watched” or the delicious ice cream you enjoyed too much of.

So how do we teach making appropriate choices to individuals with developmental disabilities without denying the personal freedoms we all value?

One quote from the paper states, “Not only do people strive for freedom in a broad sense they also enjoy making simple choices, such as whether to engage in unproductive, though harmless, activities, like watching sitcoms on television, eating too many doughnuts, taking time off from work, or taking a nap before dinner.” In an effort to teach our learners independent skills, we often neglect to teach meaningful decision-making that reflects the types of decisions neurotypical adults make every day. Since the paper was originally published, there has been more work done on promoting decision-making skills for learners with developmental disabilities, but the issues described in the paper are still relevant today.

Here are a few key considerations described:

  • We need to consider client preference when creating daily schedules, goals, and access to preferred activities.
  • A client’s refusal to participate in an activity may not be a failure to teach appropriately but an expression of preference.
  • It is important for practitioners to teach choice-making. The paper states, “Many people require teaching to help them discover their own preferences and learn to make responsible choices.” We should consider this as an essential step towards promoting independence in our clients.
  • Inflexible schedules for clients can sometimes be obstacles to opportunities for choice-making.

The paper goes on to cite multiple research articles and laws for both sides of the argument about the right to choice for those with developmental disabilities. You can read the full text here.  Overall, I consider this article to be essential reading for anyone working with clients with disabilities. It provides a lot of information to support its final conclusion that “all people have the right to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap” and we have the responsibility to teach clients how to exercise such freedoms.

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, msed, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals.

Simplifying the Science: Using Evidenced-Based Practices to Increase Food Variety for Children with Autism

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An essential part of ABA is providing evidence-based treatment. Research is consistently being done all around the world to determine best practices for working with learners with autism, as well as addressing many issues outside of the realm of special education. This week, we’re pleased to introduce the first in a new month series: Simplifying the Science. In this feature, BCBA Sam Blanco will highlight one paper from the world of research to help provide you with a deeper resource base. She’ll delve into the study and offer some strategies on how the findings apply to your programming needs. Our hope is that these monthly tips will shed a different light for you on the importance of looking to research for guidance.

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When faced with feeding issues, many parents or caregivers may not consider seeking out help from a BCBA or behavior analyst. There is a tendency to associate ABA with sitting at a table and completing discrete trials, but this is only one tool in a behavior analyst’s extensive toolkit. Whether you are providing intervention for feeding issues or seeking more information, it is essential to look to scientific research for help.

There are several studies available about feeding issues, and many of these studies are specific to feeding issues in individuals with autism. One such study was published in 2010 in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) by Hildur Valdimarsdóttir, Lilja Ýr Halldórsdóttir, and Zuilma Gabriela SigurÐardóttir. “Increasing the Variety of Foods Consumed by a Picky Eater: Generalization of Effects Across Caregivers and Settings” provides one detailed case in which a five-year-old boy with autism refused to eat anything beyond meatballs, fishballs, fruits, and cereal. While his school had had some success with getting him to eat a few new items, the boy’s parents were unable to reproduce the same results at home.

The intervention the researchers used involved multiple steps that would require the assistance of a BCBA or skilled behavior analyst if you wanted to replicate it at home. In order to increase the number of foods this boy ate, the intervention included several behavioral techniques such as escape extinction (not allowing the child to escape mealtime upon refusing to eat or engaging in inappropriate behavior), stimulus fading (setting goals of increasing difficulty), and a schedule of reinforcement (frequency of reinforcement for appropriate behavior) that was systematically thinned as the child experienced success. By the end of the intervention, the boy was consuming 39 new, “non-preferred” foods, including 14 vegetables.

You can read the research study here, which I recommend you share with your child’s ABA provider. I also suggest taking a peek at the references listed at the end for insight into other resources. This particular study is of a five-year-old boy with autism, but you may find studies that are more relevant for your particular child.

In the end, when you’re feeling at a loss for strategies on improving your child’s eating, there is a lot of research out there. It takes time to go through it and set up a similar system for your own child, but the end result can have a huge impact on your child’s health as well as the stress-level in your home during mealtimes. It is definitely worth the effort to attain more information.

Written by Sam Blanco, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals.

Pick of the Week: “The Cow Says Moo” – 10 Tips to Teach Your Toddler to Talk

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Teach your child to communicate with words and expand his or her language skills with the new early intervention guide The Cow Says Moo. And this week only, you can take 15% off* your purchase of The Cow Says Moo by entering in our promo code MOO15 at check out!

The Cow Says Moo is an early intervention guide that teaches parents easy-to-use, common-sense strategies for helping their children learn to communicate. The 10 tips and appendices filled with songs, checklists, and resources rely on the same methods that practitioners use when providing direct home-based speech therapy to toddlers and their families.

Tips focus on things like giving your child a reason to talk, using sign language, oral motor exercises, finding the right word, pairing movement with sound and more.

This simple guide delivers speech therapy activities that any parent can implement right away.

Save 15%* on your order of The Cow Says Moo this week by mentioning or entering in promo code MOO15 at checkout.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on July 1, 2014. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no dashes or spaces in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: Decisions ColorCards – Teach reasoning skills in problem situations

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Inspire rational decision-making with Decisions, a set of 30 beautifully clear images printed on large photo cards. This week only, you can take 15% off* your order of the Decisions ColorCards by entering in promo code DECIS6 at checkout!

Each card depicts an unexpected, unwelcome, or difficult situation to encourage logical thinking, using reasoning skills, and making prompt and rational decisions. Each scene presents a problem or requires specific decisions to be made, and varies from minor difficulties that upset daily life (e.g. missing a bus, waiting for a visitor) to elements of risk and danger (e.g. finding a pan on fire in the kitchen, stopping a water leak from the ceiling).

With the Decisions ColorCards, students will learn to:
  • make responsible choices
  • develop independent thought
  • keep safe
  • recognize consequences of intervening
  • understand the differences between minor difficulties and emergencies
  • find a balance between acting quickly and considering all aspects of a situation

Also included in this set is a CD-Rom that features printable versions of each card and graphic organizers that are useful for prompting meaning conversation.

Don’t forget—this week only, save 15%* on your purchase of the Decisions ColorCards by using or mentioning promo code DECIS6 when you check out online or over the phone with us!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on June 24, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Different Roads iOS Apps Now Feature Family Sharing

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Apple has recently introduced a new Family Sharing feature, which allows up to 6 family members to browse and access each other’s iTunes, iBooks, and App Store purchases, as well as share photos, calendars, and locations with each other. We’re excited to announce that all of our Different Roads apps in the iTunes App Store have also begun to support this feature. Family Sharing also includes parental controls, enabling parents to approve purchases and downloads initiated by children first.

Different Roads to Learning Apps

Clean Up Cateogory Sorting AppClean-Up: Category Sorting  This highly-rated interactive program develops language, reasoning, and sorting and classifying skills in young learners. Players must “clean up” by putting 75 photographic images of toys, food, and clothing away in the correct shopping cart, refrigerator, or toy box. Each target is introduced by its label (“Where does the Apple go?”) in each round where players see 15 unique images. Correct responses receive visual and auditory reinforcement while incorrect answers are corrected by a visual prompt of the correct answer flashing. This app builds foundational sorting skills for students just developing their sorting and classifying skills. Available on iPhone and iPad.

Whats that Sound App

What’s that Sound? Learning to Listen and Identify Sounds  This interactive and easy-to-grasp game develops auditory discrimination and processing skills in young learners. Players will improve their skills by matching objects and their associated sounds. Simple auditory processing skills lay the foundation for learning how to read, speak and spell.
Available on iPhone and iPad.

 

What Goes Together App

What Goes Together?  This interactive program develops language, discrimination, and reasoning skills in young learners. Clear, colorful images of everyday objects promote an understanding of functions and the relationships between items that children encounter on a daily basis. With built-in reinforcement and error correction, this game provides a solid foundation in building critical expressive and receptive language skills. Available on iPhone and iPad.

Tell Me About It App

Tell Me About It!  Featured as Editor’s Choice on Best Apps for Kids, this universal app is specifically designed for children with autism and other speech and language delays. Based on the Applied Behavioral Analysis approach, this program mimics an actual one-on-one instructional session with a therapist. The app provides 15 categories of language targets, such as body parts, household items, clothing and food, and six levels of difficulty, which progressively become more difficult, from labelling to shared feature, function, and category. This app also features an easy-to-read report card, which provides tracking data for each child and an option to e-mail the report card results. Available on iPhone and iPad.

To discover all of our current apps and what Family Sharing can do for your family, visit our iTunes App Store page.

Tip of the Week: Teaching Money Skills to Students with Autism in Natural Social Situations

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Recently I took a thirteen-year-old boy with autism grocery shopping for the first time. We had practiced all of the steps for paying: looking at the total on the register, taking out the necessary bills or coins, waiting for change, making sure we had correct change, returning the money to the wallet, etc. While I thought he was ready to do this in a natural environment, I did not expect what actually happened.

Standing at the counter with a line of people impatiently waiting behind us, my student dumped all the change from his wallet on the counter and slowly began counting out the exact amount. I could hear other store patrons grumbling behind us when my student finally finished paying, then dropped coins all over the floor, and swept his remaining money back into his wallet.

The concern here is that some of the behaviors associated with autism can place an individual in danger if misunderstood by a cashier or store patron. My student appeared to be oblivious to the frustration of the people around him, offering no apology or explanation. There are many resources out there for teaching children with autism about identifying coins, counting out exact change, etc. But it’s essential that we think beyond the fundamentals of managing money to the more complex skills of managing the social situations that arise during money transactions on a daily basis.

Here are some social skills related to money to practice with your students:

  • Keep your wallet in your hand, do not lay it on the counter.
  • Look for the total on the register. If there is not a place to see the total, ask for it after all the items have been rung up.
  • Put the money in the cashier’s hand.
  • Put your hand out to receive change.
  • Once you have completed payment, make sure your wallet is securely back in your pocket or bag.
  • Understand how to respond if a cashier asks “Do you have exact change?” or “Do you have a smaller bill?” or any variation of those questions.
  • Pay with speed.
  • Understand how to ask to put an item back if you do not have enough money.
  • Know basic scripts for what to say in challenging situations, such as if you accidentally bump into someone with your shopping basket or you are taking a long time and another patron says something rude about it.

My takeaway from this experience was that I needed to provide practice in the natural environment much sooner than I had thought. I must consider the fact that we simply can’t contrive the broad range of possible interactions with strangers in a home or classroom setting. My students require dozens, if not hundreds, of opportunities to practice a skill before mastering it, and generalization is frequently challenging, so presenting them with a variety of natural environment experiences is important. I also must recognize that a student’s behavior will often vary from one environment to another, so the sooner I know what he or she is doing in the natural environment, the sooner I can implement meaningful instruction and intervention to address any problems. Finally, because ABA providers and teachers have more limited access to the natural environment than parents and caregivers, we should provide specific goals and teaching strategies to help them practice with the learner when we’re not present.

Pick of the Week: Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock

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Teach elapsed time with this classroom tool featuring two analog wristwatches with correlating digital clocks. The Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock is a simple, non-electronic, and clear way to teach elapsed time. This week only, save 15%* on your order of the Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock by using promo code WATCHIT at check out!

To operate the clock, simply move the minute hand on the first watch to your desired start time and the minute hand on the second watch to your finish time—the digital clocks underneath will automatically adjust. Then, slide open the cover on the answer window to see the elapsed time or keep it closed to quiz students. You can also use it to teach reading analog time and for practice on adding time. No batteries are required.

The Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock comes with two large, analog-geared wristwatches, two correlating digital clocks, an elapsed time answer window with a push-button quiz door, and a Teacher Guide with multilingual instructions (i.e. English, Spanish, French, and German).

This week only, take 15% off* your purchase of the new Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock by mentioning or entering promo code WATCHIT when you check out by phone or online.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm ET on June 17, 2014. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!

Tip of the Week: 5 Ways to Structure the Summer for Children with Autism

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As the school year comes to a close, it can be quite challenging to figure out how to fill all those summer hours for any child. But if your child has autism, the challenge to provide structure can prove especially difficult. Below are a few tips to assist you in that endeavor.

Create and communicate a new routine. Introducing a new routine can be valuable in easing the transition from full days at school to full days at home. You can set the new routine to be as flexible as necessary to meet the needs of the entire family. It may start very similarly to the school day routine: getting up, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, etc. You may then include specific times of the day for outdoor play, eating lunch, going with a babysitter, or playing on the computer. Think about the activities and toys that your learner enjoys the most and provide access to them as part of the routine. Providing visual cues such as activity schedules or to-do lists can also be beneficial.

Provide social opportunities whenever possible.  In the summer months, it’s quite possible that your learner will have much less interaction with peers. You can ask the school if there are any students who might be a good play date match for your learner. You can also look into day camps, summer sports activities, or board game nights. Think about what is highly motivating for your learner and consider possibilities for related activities that could involve peer interaction.

Look at potential camps.  There are many camps available for learners with special needs. If you’re unsure about camps in your area, ask the professionals who work with your child if they are aware of camps. You can also click here to see camps for children with autism.

Provide a summer calendar.  This calendar can be created based on your learner’s current skill level. For example, with some learners, you may just have pictures showing different activities (such as a picture of a nearby water park you’re visiting in July or a picture of your learner’s grandparents if they’re visiting one weekend). With other learners, you can have a written calendar, or even have them help create the summer calendar. Each day, the learner can refer to it and anticipate what activities and events are coming up.

Set one or two goals.  Summer may prove to be the perfect time to set goals around daily living skills that can be practiced without the rush of trying to meet the school bus. Chores such as making the bed or packing a school lunch can be taught with the goal of promoting independence and continuing those skills once the new school year begins.

Remember to consider what works best for your entire family as you plan for the summer. The goal is to create opportunities for a more relaxing home environment for everybody.

Pick of the Week: Robot Turtles – The Game for Little Programmers

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We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of the highly-rated game Robot Turtles: The Little Game for Programmers to our store. Robot Turtles an innovative board game that teaches the fundamentals of computer programming to kids as young as 4 years old without a screen. That’s right – no screen, no keyboard, no special effects; just great design and an innovative concept! And this week only, we’re offering a 15% discount* on this great new game. Just enter TURTLES3 at checkout to redeem your savings on your set of Robot Turtles.

With its origin as the most backed board game in Kickstarter history, Robot Turtles sneakily teaches the fundamentals of programming, from coding to functions, while making silly turtle noises! This game takes seconds to learn, minutes to play, and provides endless learning opportunities. With 4 different levels of play, including basic game play, unlocking obstacles and lasers, unlocking a “write program,” and unlocking the function frog, Robot Turtles is a wonderful game for preschoolers to grow with.

Each set of Robot Turtles comes with:

  • 1 game board
  • 40 game tiles
  • 4 robot turtle tiles
  • 4 jewel tiles
  • 4 code card decks, with 45 cards each

As the best selling board game in all of Kickstarter history, Robot Turtles has been highly anticipated by game creators and consumers alike, and has received a considerable amount of mainstream press. In a recently published New York Times article, creator of the game Dan Shapiro explains his rationale behind creating the game. “Those [game] pieces are intended to represent the commands of a computer program.” Children are required to select cards to move their pieces around the board, pushing or destroying obstacles in their way. With the glowing reviews it has received on trending social media sites, Robot Turtles is sure to teach young learners the fundamentals of a necessary skill in modern technology in a fun and interactive way.

Don’t forget – this week only, take 15% off* your purchase of the brand-new Robot Turtles game by applying code TURTLES3 at checkout!

*Offer is valid through 11:59pm EDT on June 3, 2014. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!