Tag Archives: Different Roads to Learning

Happy Fourth of July!

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Happy 4th of July!

The Fourth of July is a time of celebration for families and friends to enjoy the summer with barbecues, fireworks, and patriotic music. We hope that you will be enjoying the long weekend this year with your loved ones, whether you will be staying at home or going away.

The displays of fireworks are beautiful and inspiring. But we know that these displays do not always bring smiles and wonder to children with autism. Here are a few helpful tips we found by ABPathfinder on making your Fourth of July evening more enjoyable for you and your children:

Prepare your child. If they’re old enough to understand, tell them about the fireworks. Let them understand what will happen and emphasize that it is a safe, fun way to see some beautiful displays.

Let them in on the planning. Let the child take part in the planning. Have a picnic, determine what you’ll bring, where you’ll go. Try to provide a set time for each activity, including bringing a timer. If the child is enjoying the display, you can always turn the timer off. If the child is not enjoying the display, you can help them refocus by telling them “Look. Just 3 more minutes on the timer!”

Show them videos of displays. Help the child prepare for what they’ll see by watching videos of past firework celebrations. There are some great sources on YouTube, and it will allow the child to see the beauty of the fireworks while still in their controlled setting.

Fingerpaint some fireworks. Let the child explore the beauty of the fireworks by helping them fingerpaint their own display. Use black construction paper for the night sky and colorful paint for the exploding colors!

Provide ear plugs. Obviously, if your child has auditory sensitivity, you’ve already got this covered. But the report from some of today’s fireworks can be overwhelming. Be prepared up front for it.

View displays from a distance. There’s no reason you have to be right under the displays. Most fireworks displays are better viewed from a distance. Find out what displays are occurring in your town, then scope out some parks or parking lots where you can get a good view of the event.

Provide comfort items. Taking along a favorite blanket or teddy bear can be just the thing the child needs to keep calm. Simply holding it can provide the child with comfort and control over their environment.

Let them explore child-safe fireworks. There are a number of child-safe fireworks available that can give your child an opportunity to participate in the fun. Champagne poppers and snaps are a good way for your child to join in. Be careful with sparklers and smoke bombs, in case your child has an urge to grab the flames.

Join another special needs peer. Joining with another special needs family can also be helpful. Not only does it give your child someone to play with, but it also provides your child with a peer that can model appropriate behavior for the celebration.

Have fun. Last but not least, be sure to have fun. Showing you child that you’re not worried can be the first indicator on how they should react. Hopefully, they’ll join you in the fun!

The Fourth of July can be one of the most challenging holidays for families with Autism, but we hope that these tips can make it a fun, safe event for the whole family.

Different Roads to Learning Thanks You For 19 Years in Business

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Since our inception in 1995, Different Roads to Learning has helped meet the needs of parents and professionals working with children on the autism spectrum. This year marks our 19th Anniversary, and we would like to say thank you to all of you, our wonderful friends, customers, and community.

Happy 19 Years!

Our focus here at Different Roads to Learning is on the student with autism spectrum disorder, their teachers, and their families. We strive to give every young student on the autism spectrum the right tools they need to reach their highest academic and social potential. We would not be where we are today without the loyalty and referrals of our customers, so we thank you today for continuing to help us achieve our goal of helping you find the best learning tools for children on the spectrum.

Here’s to a fantastic 19 years of business and many more in the future!

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.

The MotivAider is back in stock!

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DRT_382_MotivAiderOh, MotivAider, how we’ve missed you! Our favorite tool for providing a private prompt is back in stock after a long manufacturing delay. We wonder how we survived without it these past months!

We’re all breathing a collective sigh of relief that this versatile and invaluable resource is back and available to ship right away.

Going, Going…Gone! Shop now for big savings

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GoingGoingGoneWe’re bursting at the seams here and need to make room for all of the fabulous new items we’re going to be adding this summer. Visit the Going, Going, Gone section of our site for limited time savings. We’ve slashed prices by anywhere from 15-40% to make room for our new inventory. We have limited supply so once they’re gone, they’ll be gone forever so shop now and don’t miss out!

Meet Hannah Toale, Client Sales & Relationships Coordinator

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Hannah ToaleWe’re so pleased to introduce you to the newest member of our team, Hannah Toale.
Hannah joined us in October and has been brightening our days since. That warm and welcoming voice you hear when you call? That’s Hannah. She joins us out of Smith College with a degree in Physics and fresh off a stint as Onsite Sales Supervisor at the illustrious High Line here in NYC.

Hannah has been hard at work coordinating all of our conferences and events, presenting Different Roads from Philadelphia to Ohio, New York to North Carolina (we’re trying to make our way West!). If you have an upcoming event, be it a conference, support group meeting, or professional development day, shoot her an email at hannah@difflearn.com and she’ll find a way for us to participate.

In addition to planning all of our conferences and outreach, Hannah is also our primary customer service person. It’s Hannah’s lovely, helpful and kind voice you hear when you call. She’s a delight to have in the office with her can-do attitude and willingness to always go the extra mile for all our customers. We’re sure anyone who has talked with her will agree!

Natasha asked Hannah a few questions about how she’s settling in so far…

Tell us a bit about yourself. You were a physics major and worked at the world famous High Line. How is the transition to client sales and conference coordinator going?

I studied physics at Smith College with the end goal of being a teacher. I think that many people are so intimidated by math and science they find it difficult to even approach the subjects. I truly believe that people are much more capable then they believe themselves to be and that with patience and approaching a topic from different angles there is so much room to learn and grow. These ideas were what drew me so strongly to Different Roads to Learning. The people and products here help teachers, parents, and care givers work with young children to accomplish a great deal with conventional and unconventional tools. For example the MotivAider, which can be used to help form or break habits for children and adults. Or the Time Timers to help visualize the passing of time. All of the products that Different Roads to Learning has cultivated over the past 19 years are to make learning and developing less intimidating and more fun and attainable and I am very excited to be a part of it.

What part of your day do you most enjoy?

I have really enjoyed answering the phone, even if that sounds silly.  I love being able to help people in whatever way I can and to make the ordering process as easy as possible. I have been able to speak with people all over the U.S. and occasionally receive calls other countries. It is so amazing to me that there are people all over the world with the same goal -helping young learners and Different Roads to Learning seems to be a place they can all go for materials and guidance. Being the first person a customer will talk to and either helping them, or asking someone who can makes it so much fun to work here. Also… working in an office with all of these games and toys is indisputably awesome.

VOTE to Name Our Worm!

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Thank you to everyone who participated last week in suggesting a name for our worm! We had a blast reading through all the wonderfully quirky and creative suggestions. Out of hundreds of submissions, we’ve narrowed down the choices to our top 4, and now we’d like for YOU to vote on the best name!

Vote to Name Our Worm!

Cast your vote here! Results of the poll will be shared next week, so don’t forget to check back here or our Facebook page.

Julie Azuma featured in the new Marlo Thomas book It Ain’t Over…Till It’s Over: Reinventing Your Life-and Realizing Your Dreams

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Julie_Azuma_It_Aint_Over_PhotoWe are beyond excited to announce that our wonderful president and founder, Julie Azuma, is featured in the new Marlo Thomas book It Ain’t Over . . . Till It’s Over: Reinventing Your Life–and Realizing Your Dreams-Anytime, at Any Age.

It Ain’t Over . . . Till It’s Over introduces us to sixty amazing women who are proving that it’s never too late to live out a dream—to launch a business, travel the world, get a PhD, indulge a creative impulse, make a family recipe famous, escape danger, find love, or fill a void in life with a challenging new experience. Julie’s story of leaving her career in the fashion industry to start Different Roads to Learning after her daughter’s autism diagnosis is featured and will leave readers feeling uplifted and inspired.

Brimming with anecdotes that will inspire smiles, tears, and—most of all—hope, It Ain’t Over speaks to women of all ages with an empowering message: The best is yet to come! Congratulations to Julie on the well deserved recognition for her incredible  and inspiring efforts!

We Want YOU to Name our Worm!

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Name that Worm FB

We thought it was past time that our worm had a proper name, and we’re turning to YOU to decide what it should be! Suggest your names by clicking here to enter your name suggestion now.

Suggestions will be received through May 20th. Please be as creative as you like!

In the words of the great Dr. Seuss: “So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Today is your day!” Our worm needs a name! So get on your way!