Awhile back, we told you about AMC Entertainment offering special monthly viewings for children with autism spectrum disorders where they dim the lights and turn down the sound to make movie watching less of an overwhelming experience for children with sensory issues. Well, as the latest Harry Potter movie makes its way to theaters, a movie theater in Richmond, Virginia is offering special opening weekend screenings for individuals who are hearing and sight-impaired. We think it’s fantastic that more mainstream outlets are taking individuals with special needs into account!
Preparing for Thanksgiving at School
This is an interesting article about students with special needs at Dexter Middle school “practicing” a Thanksgiving meal. We thought this was a fantastic idea! By preparing children for what to expect at a holiday gathering and meal, either in school or at home, perhaps some anxiety and behavioral issues can be avoided. Do any of you “practice” the holidays to avoid stress and make the event easier for your children?
How and When to Help?
So, I’ve been falling a little behind lately with my blog posts. The main reason is that I’ve been feeling overwhelmed.
My current caseload is four very different children and their even more dramatically different families. I’ve been doing this work a long time and can easily move from case to case implementing programs ranging from simple gross motor imitation to reciprocal conversation to complicated play schemas involving a peer. In fact, I’m feeling invigorated by the current challenge of having children who are in such different places developmentally. When it comes to the kids, right now I’m bringing my ‘A’ game.
The thing that is leaving me feeling a bit discouraged is how difficult it can be to present the same information to different parents and caregivers especially when it comes to family training sessions. One parent wants me to be a straight talking express with no holds barred. Another needs me to tip toe around sensitive issues while modeling techniques and strategies. This discrepancy has left me feeling confused and frustrated. I haven’t felt that it was an appropriate blog topic because quite frankly, the last thing parents need is to listen to me complain about not always knowing when and how to help them.
But then I started thinking… who better to ask than the great group of people we have reading the Different Roads to Learning blog? I would love to hear from parents and professionals alike about their successes and failures regarding communication with each other. Tell us your stories!
Free Rethink Autism Tip: The Building Blocks of Having a Conversation
From our buddies at Rethink Autism, another great video tip! When socializing with another individual, it is important that your child develops foundation skills to carry a meaningful conversation. This tip covers important skills when having a conversation, such as: what to say, when to say something, how to say it and how to maintain eye contact with your conversation partner.
At the Age of Peekaboo, in Therapy to Fight Autism
This is a really interesting article in the NY Times about early autism diagnosis and the steps taken by one particular family. The treatment is based on a daily therapy, the Early Start Denver Model, that is based on games and pretend play. Do you think your child’s outcome would have been effected if they had received a diagnosis by age two?
From Stim to Power Reinforcers
We’ve been through a ton of stimming. Pin wheels, spinning toys, pouring sand, watching water move from container to container were all familiar stims at our house.
The only one that really struck fear in our hearts was flipping the pages of magazines. At first it was only a particular kind of magazine, but later, any would do. Flipping the pages of a magazine always led to a little tear, then a lot of tearing, which led to trying to fix the pages (by us), which led to hopeless fixes and “help me, please” and then aggressive behavior. Some of you knew where this was leading at “flipping the pages”.
This behavior started very early, at age 3. We were unable to control the behavior. Instead by the time she was 5, we wiped out magazines, hid books and reams of paper, everything flippable was gone from the house. We never read a newspaper, never looked up a recipe in a cookbook and kept computer paper high up on the shelf.
Many years, later, that same obsession is a power reinforcer. The magazine is controlled under specific circumstance, perhaps a haircut or a difficult medical treatment.
The whole premise of Applied Behavior Analysis is working to get what you want. As Joanne Gerenser used to say, “Most people work for the most powerful reinforcer: Money!”
I wish we had understood and used the concept of reinforcement at the beginning and used it to the family’s advantage. I was too scared to introduce it but braver parents can use those stims and obsessions to shape behaviors and make life smoother by creating the right delivery of rewards.
– Julie
YouTube!
Here at Different Roads to Learning, we’re doing our best to keep up with the ever shifting changes in technology. There’s a ton of wonderful stuff on the internet and on YouTube but who has the time to sift through endless videos, trying to find one that is age-appropritate and addresses the skills you’re working on with your children and students. To take advantage of some of the great, free stuff out there, we’ve created our very own Difflearn YouTube Channel! Stacy, our fantastic and tireless Behavioral Consultant, has been assembling quality videos that you can use for Feeding & Nutrition, Reinforcement and she’s got a whole section for Play.
Please let us know what else you’d like to see up there or what you’re using for reinforcement or teaching play and social skills. We look forward to hearing from you!
Special Education Apps for Ipad
We’ve been talking so much about using the Ipad to teach individuals with autism and other special needs and it looks like Apple has been paying attention. There is now a Special Education category in the AppStore. The section titled “Special Education” launched recently and includes 72 applications for the iPhone and 13 applications for the iPad in 10 categories ranging from communication to emotional development and life skills. Have any of you tried these apps? What do you think of them?
Children helping children!
I am always moved to learn about inventive developments in the fields of education and intervention for children with autism. But how often do you hear about interventions being designed for children BY children? Well that is exactly what Zak Kukoff did when he developed Autism Ambassadors. Zak, a typically developing 15-year old, created a curriculum that “will engage typical children and children with ASD’s in a mutually beneficial relationship.” There is research that supports the efficacy of using peer models to facilitate observational learning with children with autism but how often have you seen examples where it has been successfully implemented? We would love for you to share your stories regarding peer modeling or your experience with Autism Ambassadors!
Halloween Tips!
Here’s another free, great tip from Rethink Autism on Halloween.
And don’t forget to check out the Difflearn YouTube channel for Halloween pre-teaching videos and schema on pirates, superheroes, astronauts and more. We hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween with lots of treats!