How a Special Needs Mother Does It On a Typical Day

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Nicole Zeitzer Johnson and her family. (NY Times)

How do so many special needs parents do it? We were incredibly moved and inspired by the story of one special needs mother, who explained a typical day with her 7-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter who suffers from FoxG1, a rare genetic neurological condition associated with seizure attacks and impaired development.

This article reminded us of the bravery and commitment of all the parents in our community, and how positivity is really the best way to “do it all.”

How Nicole Zeitzer Johnson, Communications
Director and Special Needs Parent, Does It

Pick of the Week: Audible Time Timers – For Smooth Transitions Back to School

Transitions back to school can be difficult after a summer of changed routines. When it’s time to go back to school and reset day-to-day routines, a visual timer can make all the difference in timekeeping and easing the stress of structuring activities for your child or student. This week only, we’re taking 15%* off your order of the 3-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch Audible Time Timers to help you help your learner with their transitions. Just enter promo code TIMETIMER at checkout to redeem your savings!

Recommended by Autism and ADHD experts, the Time Timer is entirely intuitive to use. This visual timer is great at solving time perception problems at all ages and ability levels, and is perfect for easy portability and in one-on-one and group settings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A graphic clock-face gives the child visual understanding of time elapsing. This is ideal for timed activities and for getting ready. When the colored portion elapses, time is up. There is also an optional audible component that you can turn on so that the timer BEEPS when time is up. All Time Timers run on battery-operated quartz movement, and can be free standing or hung on a wall.

Don’t forget to save 15%* on your purchase of the 3-inch, 8-inch, and/or 12-inch Audible Time Timers this week only by using promo code TIMETIMER at checkout!

Read “Time Timer: Time to Build Independence,” an exclusive article by a parent about how she used the Time Timer to help her son challenge himself to get through a timed activity.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on September 9th, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule Plus Add-On Kits—Get off on the right start for school!

Help your child structure their daily routines to get off on the right start for school with the EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule. Teach independence, responsibility, self-discipline, and sight-word recognition with this handy magnetic chart.

And you can save 15%* on your order of the EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule, along with its three add-on kits: Chores & Special Times, Family & Extracurricular Activities, and Get Dressed & Bathroom Routines, when you enter promo code EASYDAYS at check-out online.

The EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule comes with 18 magnets covering everyday activities such as “get dressed,” “do homework,” and “bath time.” You can also use the “To Do” and “Done” columns as a reward system.

The add-on kits offer an easy way to schedule daily chores, routines, and events, and helps to keep track of a child’s earned special times.

 

Chores & Special Times Add-On Kit comes with 21 amazing and durable illustrated magnets: Book/Quiet Time, Clean Bathroom, Clean Bedroom, Computer Time, Dishes, Feed Pet, Field Trip, Garbage/Recycling, Help Set Table, Put Clothes Away, Sweep/Vacuum, TV Time, Walk Dog, 2 blank magnets, and 6 blank clock magnets.

 

Family & Extracurricular Activites Add-On Kit comes with 18 durable illustrated magnets: Dance, Dentist, Doctor, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Movie Night, Music, Party, Play Date, Play Outside, Shopping, Skating/Hockey, Soccer, Sports, Swimming, and 3 blank magnets.

 

 

Get Dressed & Bathroom Routines Add-On Kit comes with 18 helpful, prompting magnetic components, such as: Coat, Comb Hair, Dress/Skirt, Dry Hands, Flush, Lights Off, Pants, Pull Down Pants, Pull Up Pants, Sit on Toilet, Shirt, Shoes, Sock/Stockings, Underwear, Wash Hands, Wipe, and 2 blank magnets.

 

Don’t forget to redeem your savings this week on the EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule and the supplemental packs for chores, family and extracurricular activities, and getting dressed and bathroom routines by entering our promo code EASYDAYS at check-out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on September 2nd, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: NEW! Caterpillar Token Board – Reinforce and monitor behavioral success

Reinforce and monitor behavioral success with our brand new Caterpillar Token Board, a versatile chart that’s perfect for focusing on a specific task, behavior, or goal. This week, you can save 15%* on your Caterpillar Token Board by entering or mentioning promo code CATERP1 online or over the phone during check-out.

With a cute, furry friend, kids will be motivated to work and stay on task both at home and in school. Use the Caterpillar Token Board for a short-term goal, such as helping your child sit still at the dinner table, or getting their homework done without complaining, as well as tracking long-term goals. This token board serves as a portable reward system to encourage positive behavior and reduce anxiety. The Caterpillar Token Board comes with 8 reusable reward stars, a magnetic strip on the back for easy display, and a Suggestion Guide. Measures approximately 9 x 5 inches.

Don’t forget to take 15% off* your order of the new Caterpillar Token Board by applying CATERP1 at check-out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on August 19, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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: EasyDaysies Classroom Management Tools

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: Visual Schedules

schoolSummer is winding down and for most it’s time to get back to a routine. For many of our students and children that means getting a handle on a busy new schedule of self-care, school, therapy sessions, extra-curricular activities, play dates and special occasions. A visual schedule or an activity schedule can help pull all of the parts of a hectic day together for a child and increase independence, build organizational skills as well as improve comprehension skills. A visual schedule provides clear expectations, utilizes a child’s visual learning strengths, can reduce anxiety or difficulty with transitions, and can increase flexibility.

This week, we’re offering a 15% discount on some of our favorite products to help you get a visual schedule up and running. Just enter the Promo Code BLOGVS13 to redeem your savings and get organized.

DRP_928_Clear_Schedule_Token_StripClear Schedule with Token Strip: This is an option that is easy and portable for those who want to customize and create their own schedule pictures. There is a token economy that runs alongside which is great for learners who require a thick schedule of reinforcement and need to earn a token for each step of the schedule and can be used for any age.

DRP_062_On_Track_Responsibility_Chart

 

On Track! Responsibility & Behavior System: This product is a great tool for children 8 and up. It is a wonderful resource for keeping the whole family on track across multiple daily routines and behavioral objectives. The detailed instructional guide walks you through the implementation and execution of the system is an added bonus.
DRP_916_EasyDaysies_Magnetic_Schedule

 

 

EasyDaysies Magnetic Schedule for Kids: The simplicity of this is fantastic. The Magnetic Fold & Go schedule board travels with you easily and can adhere directly to any metal surface. The imagery is very clear and easy to understand and the To Do and Done Columns are intuitive and easy for even the youngest child to use. The starter kit includes 18 magnets that cover all the basics in your learner’s daily routine but as proficiency increases there are supplemental packs are available to include more specific magnets covering Chores & Special Times, Family & Extracurricular Activities, and Get Dressed & Bathroom routines.

*This offer expires on September 24, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces in the promo code at check out!