Stages has a new look! To celebrate, we’re offering 20% off our entire line of Stages products through May 22nd!
Tag Archives: ASD
Pick of the Week: 30% off select titles from Different Roads!
Take 30% Off our EXCLUSIVE Different Roads to Learning Titles- we work with the experts to bring you the best ASD materials, no matter what your focus is!
*Promotion is valid until April 28th, 2017 at 11:59pm ET. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases, combined with any other offers, transferred, refunded, or redeemed and/or exchanged for cash or credit. Different Roads to Learning reserves the right to change or cancel this promotion at any time. To redeem offer at differentroads.com, enter promo code DRTL30 at checkout.
Pick Of The Week: Introducing our brand new Play Idea Cards app!
Our new app is a complete play skills curriculum. As guided by evidence-based intervention principles, the curriculum strengthens students’ pretend and innovative play skills, all for just $9.99!
Evidence-Based Intervention
We give you a step-by-step guide on how to develop your child’s play. Practical and easy to follow, it’s also based on years of research that breaks learning pretend play into 14 levels. Find out what level your child is currently on, and what to do next. Clear instruction and easy, executable ideas help your child play with toys at home.
Easy To Follow Play Idea Cards
Our flash cards are easy to use while you (parents, therapists, & teachers) play with your child. Use our suggested play activities, or create your own based upon the ideas from the cards. Most of our ideas come from toys you already have in your home, so start today!
Key Features
- A clear instruction guide developed by experts in the field of ASD
- 14 step developmental play scale that works for any child with any language capability
- Simple play ideas using toys you already have at home!
- 100+ ideas for how to play with your child
- An outdoor option for every level so you can take your play outside!
Guide your young learner down the path of purposeful play!
Pick of the Week: Save 20% off our Fidgets!
Introducing our newest fidgets, The Fidget Cube and Spinners, to help keep students focused!
This week only, save 20% off your purchase of these select fidgets by using promo code FIDGETS17.
*Promotion is valid until April 3, 2017 at 11:59pm ET. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases, combined with any other offers, transferred, refunded, or redeemed and/or exchanged for cash or credit. Different Roads to Learning reserves the right to change or cancel this promotion at any time. To redeem offer at differentroads.com, enter promo code FIDGETS17 at checkout.
It Takes a Team: 4 Steps to Building a Stronger Therapy Team
For students on the Autism spectrum, having a strong and reliable therapy team to support individual needs can be an important factor in student success. When members of a therapy team are collaborating seamlessly, a student is more likely to have high quality support across all areas of development (communication, social, cognitive, play, motor, and adaptive skills).
The pervasive nature of ASD across these areas means that multiple disciplines are necessarily involved in effective intervention (Donaldson and Stahmer, 2014). When we work together and have a narrow focus, we can help our students make a great deal of progress. Gone are the days of a Speech Language Pathologist, Physical Therapist or Occupational Therapist taking a student away for traditional pull out therapy and leaving no time for debriefing with the classroom team.
Who comprises the therapy team is determined on a case-by-case basis. You may be wondering where to start with this sometimes daunting task of building a strong and supportive team. Below I will discuss some strategies that are evidenced-based and the ways that I incorporate them into my busy life as a speech language pathologist.
Pairing
One of the first things that I always try to do is build rapport with staff, which is known as a behavioral principle called pairing. It is important to build rapport and/or pair with team members, especially if you are new to the team or if other new members have joined. It may sound like very basic advice, but as clinicians we are very busy and sometimes we feel that we do not have time for this piece. I am urging you to put this time with staff on the top of your priority list. Once you have a good rapport with team members, it allows you to share ideas and collaborate more easily and more effectively.
Sharing
The next tip I have is to share the goals your student is working on. If you are the teacher, share the student’s IEP goals with the paraprofessionals and explain why you are teaching particular tasks. Knowledge is power! If you are the occupational therapist, please share your student’s therapy goals with the team. Therapy takes place all day, across settings and across instructors. If the team does not know what the goals are, they will have no idea how to address them across the school day.
Reinforcement
Students and professionals benefit from reinforcement! People feel good about the work at hand when they receive positive reinforcement. Let the paraprofessional know that they are doing a great job with their student(s). Everyone likes to get praise for a job well done!
Data
Another way that we can assure that our collaboration is helping the student is by collecting daily data on skills from all domains (i.e. behavior, academic, communication). When we, as a team, create a data sheet that captures the skills and specific targets we are addressing, we can use this across the student’s day. When we take this data and analyze the progress, we can all make informed decisions about a student’s programming needs. I have included a free team-based daily data sheet from Stages Learning. You can use this data sheet to track a variety of skills.
In my 14 years practicing in the field, the majority of people that I encounter are driven by a desire to see their students. However, even with the best intentions, we may face barriers in collaborating with other staff members. Follow the tips mentioned above and reach out to colleagues who seem to need additional support. I try to continually assess the needs of the teams I work with throughout the year. Maybe the team needs a refresher on a certain skill area – see if you can work this into your yearly professional development time. When we work together as a team, we can help so many students achieve their goals!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rosemarie Griffin, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA is a licensed speech language pathologist and board certified behavior analyst. Currently she splits her time between a public school system and a private school for students with autism. She is passionate about lecturing on effective communication services for students with autism and has done so at the local and national level. Rosemarie also enjoys spending time with her family, playing the harp and shopping.
Article originally posted on Stages Learning Materials Blog.
Pick of the Week: Save 20% on 2D to 3D Learning Tools!
We’ve got all the tools you need to develop imaginative play skills with our favorite hands-on learning storybooks and games!
This week only, save 20% on your purchase of these select 2D to 3D learning tools by using promo code 3D2017 at checkout!
*Promotion is valid until March 27, 2016 at 11:59pm ET. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases, combined with any other offers, transferred, refunded, or redeemed and/or exchanged for cash or credit. Different Roads to Learning reserves the right to change or cancel this promotion at any time. To redeem offer at differentroads.com, enter promo code 3D2017 at checkout.
Medication Considerations
What do you do when your doctor recommends medication? In this month’s ASAT feature, Megan Atthowe, RN, MSN, BCBA, offers insight on a variety of approaches parents can take when medication is recommended for children exhibiting aggressive behaviors. To learn more about ASAT, please visit their website at www.asatonline.org. You can also sign up for ASAT’s free newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment, and like them on Facebook!
My son with autism has developed aggressive behavior, and his doctor is considering whether medication could help. What can I do to prepare for this conversation?
Answered by Megan Atthowe, RN, MSN, BCBA
First, you should know that there is no medication that specifically treats autism. Medications approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other conditions can be useful only to lessen symptoms. That said, off-label use of pharmaceuticals is by no means unique to autism and is common practice for many health conditions. So while research on the use of particular psychotropic medications in the autistic population is growing, our body of knowledge is still limited. In addition, medications can and do affect every individual differently, and children can respond differently as they develop, so it is likely to take time to find the best medication at the appropriate dose. Medication management, in other words, is a complex and an ongoing process and one that is highly individualized. It is a good idea, then, to be prepared with the right information before every visit to your health care provider.
Do you know how often the aggression actually occurs? Bringing data like this to the visit can be very helpful. You may want to ask your son’s teachers to share any information they have about the aggression with your health care provider, too. (They would need your consent to talk with him/her or to share any confidential information such as behavior data.) If you have not been keeping track of the aggression, now is a good time to start, even if there are only a few days until your visit. An easy way to do this is to use a calendar. Record specifics about when the aggression happens, what the behavior is like, how long it lasts, and whether you have noticed any recent changes. It is difficult for anyone to recall these details accurately, especially if the behaviors happen frequently, so writing them down will help you to share the most meaningful information you can with your health care provider. If your son’s school team is not already collecting data, perhaps they should start as well.
In addition to information about the current levels of the behavior, be prepared to describe how the school and your family are addressing the behavior and how long that plan has been in place. Has your son’s team considered or tried Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to treat the behavior? Research supports ABA as an effective intervention for decreasing problem behaviors such as aggression as well as for teaching children with autism new skills. It is important to be sure that a qualified behavior analyst is supervising any ABA interventions, as they must be implemented correctly to be effective. Your health care provider may be able to refer you to a local ABA provider, or you can find a list of board certified behavior analysts at the Behavior Analysis Certification Board’s website.
Before your visit, prepare a list of the names and doses of any medications your son takes, as well as any over-the-counter medications, vitamins, or other supplements. If your son receives other therapies, share what they are with your health care provider. He or she will want to ensure that any new medication is safe to take and will not interact with other medications.
If you and your health care provider decide to start your son on a medication, decide what the goal is. How will you know when the medication has been effective? How will you know if it is ineffective? Be specific and write the goal down. Schedule a date when you will check in with your health care provider on your son’s progress. He or she may have specific suggestions about what type of data to keep.
Finally, there are some important questions that you should have the answers to before you leave. Make sure that you ask any questions you have—a responsible health care provider will want to know that you understand how to use the new medication correctly. If you think of questions later, do not hesitate to call and ask your physician, nurse, or pharmacist.
Key Questions:
- What is the name of the medication?
- What is the medication used for?
- When and how should I give it to my son, and how much do I give?
- Should I give this medication with food?
- What effects should I expect to see?
- What are common side effects?
- How long will it be until I notice the desired effects and side effects
- What side effects are serious, and what should I do if I notice them?
- Will side effects lessen over time?
- Is there anything I should avoid giving my son while he is on this medication?
- If I decide that I would like to stop giving him the medication, what should I do?
- What should I do if I miss a dose?
Please note that there is information about research related to medications elsewhere on the ASAT website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan Atthowe, MSN, RN, BCBA, LBA, is a registered nurse and behavior analyst who has worked with people with autism and other special needs in educational, home, and healthcare settings for over 15 years. Currently she consults to educational teams who serve students with autism in public schools.
Pick of the Week: Save 20% off Wh-Questions Flashcards
Help your students practice answering who, what, where, when, and why questions with our favorite selection of Wh-Question Flashcards! Each deck features vivid imagery and guided activity instructions.
This week only, save 20% on your purchase of these select Wh-Question Flashcard Decks by using promo code QUESTIONS20 at checkout!
Promotion expires 3/15/17 at 12:00am and applies only to items DRC 402, DRC 103, DRC 102, DRC 104, DRC 536, & DRC 113.
The Truth About Having A Sibling With Autism
Here’s the truth about having a sibling with autism. When we were younger, I tried so hard to reach out to my brother, but he seemed to reject me. I would try to play with him, and he would either push me away or run away. It was frustrating. I knew my brother had a disability, but I didn’t really understand the different characteristics of autism. I couldn’t understand why if I showed him how to catch a ball, he would just let it hit him or drop to the floor. He wouldn’t look at me when I called his name. He wouldn’t even stay in one place to figure out how to play the game. Whatever was going on in his own head was much more fun than his big sister, and it ticked me off.
Things are really different now. I’m much more educated about autism. I understand that individuals with ASD have communication deficits. The disability also makes it difficult for people to learn social skills. Observational learning is something that isn’t instinctive, but has to be taught. There’s also a piece to the disability where people are really rigid in their behaviors. They might engage in repetitive behaviors and that’s much more motivating for them to do than interact with others. It’s just the disability. Everyone has different manifestations of these traits, and to varying degrees with different combinations. They often say, “If you met one person with autism, you met one person with autism.” It’s so true.
Deborah with her brother and worship band.
In our mid and late twenties, my brother and I hang out much more. We even hang out with other people. This took over twenty years to develop. I don’t want to paint a picture that my brother and I had only painful memories in our childhood, because we didn’t. It’s just now, we have a much more interactive relationship. Not only with me, but with others. As you can see in the pictures above, my brother is just one of the gang.
This is us hanging out at a cafe after a band practice. My boyfriend and I are part of a church worship band. My brother comes to our practices and listens to us. He loves music, and live music amplifies the experience. He often paces the room, and listens to us sing. Afterwards, we often all go out to eat and hang. When we hang, my brother is just part of the gang. He’s just as much a goofball as our friends are, and fortunately, they all treat him like one of the gang. I can’t say how much it means to me that we can hang out with friends together. It’s not always picture perfect, but this night definitely was.
How did we get here?
- On my end, the more I understood about the disability, it made me realize he wasn’t being a jerk. There are things you have to teach him, such as looking at your eyes. Now he does that really well.
- It helps being a practitioner in the special education field. I’ve encountered some learners who never learn a new skill and some learn really fast. Everyone is different. It’s not lessening your expectations, but understanding that he may or may not acquire the new skill you just taught him. For example, even after 26 years, the man still does not catch a ball outside of his periphery. At this point, as long as he doesn’t let a ball hit him in the face, I’m OK with him and his hand eye coordination. That doesn’t mean I don’t play catch with him or try, but it just doesn’t discourage me or bum me out.
- I realized real quick that my attitude towards my brother affects how everyone else treats him. I’ve had strangers and acquaintances give weird or concerned looks towards us. Even now, I get that from time to time. Whatever. I love this man, who is my brother. Just let the love shine!
To any families out there… Be brave! Have hope! Press on!
We’re incredibly honored to publish this guest post by Deborah Chang, an autism blogger. Visit Deborah’s blog here. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post for our blog, please email elizabeth@difflearn.com for more info.
Pick of the Week: Sensory Tools for Staying Calm And Focused
Maintaining calm and focus can be a challenge in a busy classroom. Our solution? Help reduce fidgeting and reward good behaviors with these sensory tools for staying calm and focused: the Fidgets Kit and Reinforcer Kit. For this week’s Pick Of The Week, save 20% on these items by using promo code FOCUS20 at checkout.
Fidget toys can be a great and socially acceptable management tool for stereotypical or repetitive behavior in the classroom or community that may be distracting to classmates. While there are many reasons for fidgeting, including sensory overload, boredom, frustration, or anything in between, the good thing is that it can be easily managed. Some students find the repetitive action of “fidgeting” to be calming; thus, they are then better able to focus on the task at hand. Created in conjunction with our behavioral consultant Stacy Asay, LMSW, our Fidgets Kit includes an array of tools that provide a variety of sensory experiences: stretchy, chewy, spiky, twisty, bumpy, twisty, clicky, bouncy and smooshy!
Our Reinforcer Kit provides a selection of products that many children diagnosed with autism would not only want to play with but would be willing to “work for” during their one-on-one intervention. Although teachers can always use praise, food, candy and other toys, we think this bright and colorful kit of tools will help our families get a head-start on what to use for children wanting a favored object. The kit includes:
Spectra Spinner (battery operated)
Wooden Slide Whistle
Magic Mic (an Echo Microphone)
Magic Spring
Squishy Flashing Ball
Jelly Ring
Bubbles and more!