Tag Archives: family struggles

Teaching Interactions – Strategies for Teaching Students with ASD by Autism Partnership

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Teaching Interactions

 Teaching Interactions (TI’s) are another instructional format that can be invaluable in teaching children skills.  This instructional technique was developed at the University of Kansas as part of the Teaching Family Model for delinquent youth.  TI’s have several benefits as it allows for structured training of more complex, often sophisticated skills in a highly natural, interpersonal, expanded conversational format.  TI’s are designed to teach complex skills (e.g., social skills, problem solving, etc.).  They utilize shaping and reinforcement to teach a skill and rely on a task analysis format.  The teaching style is typically conversational and flexible in nature, providing the student multiple opportunities to participate in the teaching process.  Although flexible, the technique approaches teaching skills systematically, and requires planning for generalization.  Following are the 6 steps of a TI and both guidelines and considerations when utilizing this teaching technique.

 

  • Initiation & Labeling
  • Rationale
  • Demonstration
  • Practice
  • Feedback
  • Consequences

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

Toilet Training Tips

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So, I’ve taken to spending the majority of a weekend when necessary, with families when it comes to toilet training their child.  It’s highly glamorous, really.  Just the mom, the dad, the child and me cooped up in the family bathroom for six or more hours at a time.  I brought donuts on the second day just in case anyone was in need of a morale boost since I left the parents on their own at the end of the first day.  They had a fresh pot of coffee on and were still in good spirits.  All kidding aside, it’s really the only way to do it.  During the weekend you are free from the week’s distractions and you have the entire family there for carry over, which in the long run is the deciding factor in a child’s success and generalization.  So, while I’ve been helping families with toilet training for years this was the first time I spent two full days helping to implement the protocol.  I thought I could share with you my general tips from years of experience along with some new insights from my newest adventure in toileting that I like to call the “weekend warrior”.

 First, we will start with the general tips:

 Prepare, prepare, prepare! This means talking about toileting every chance you get.

  • Learn your child’s routine (when do they typically “go”)
  • Watch videos about toileting
  • Read books or social stories about toileting
  • Use a doll for pretend toileting
  • Allow your child to watch you use the toilet
  • Provide opportunities to “try” without any pressure

 Gather materials. You want to have it all before starting.

  • A comfortable potty seat that fits over the toilet
  • A footstool for resting their feet and providing postural support
  • Data sheets
  • A timer
  • Lots of underwear!
  • Highly preferred snacks and drinks
  • As many reinforcers you can identify as highly motivating

 Several days before you begin:

  • Increase fluids to make sure child is well hydrated
  • Eliminate access to all items identified as highly preferred reinforcers to maintain potency

 What did I learn?

  • Adherence to the protocol is important but above all there needs to be a discussion regarding what makes the most sense for the family.  This was more apparent to me than ever having been in the home for so many consecutive hours.  For example, I feel strongly about going straight to underwear from diapers without using an intermediate type of coverage.  However, the stress of cleaning up possible accidents resulted in anxiety on the part of the parents, which in turn led to stress on the child (reducing success).  So, after two days in underwear we went to pull-ups and guess what, the child kept it dry the majority of the time!  This experience should be a collaborative partnership with the family, whatever protocol you are using; if it doesn’t make sense to the parent it won’t work.  It is our job as providers to individualize the plan for each family in a way that empowers them without compromising the core details of the protocol. 
  • I also feel rather strongly about starting on the regular potty instead of a little child potty.  However, we ended up doing a combination of both with great success.  It turns out that the child did better with the postural support provided by the child potty.  Since, he didn’t show any fear surrounding the use of the actual toilet we decided it was ok to use the potty and later transition to the toilet. 

If you think your you and your child are ready these are my “go to” references.  Best of luck!

Azrin, N.H., and Foxx, R.M. Toilet Training in Less Than A Day. New York, NY: Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1976. 

Kroeger, K. and Sorensen, R. (2010), A parent training model for toilet training children with autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54: 556–567. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01286.x.  (Click the title to download the full article).

 

Unpacking My Suitcase and Reflecting

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I’m just back from a two-week vacation in California where I spent the time with a good friend and her 22-month-old son.  Now, with a couple of days in New York City before returning to work I find myself reflecting on the time spent and the lessons revealed that could inform my work with children with special needs.  Since I have no kids of my own I spend the majority of my time with children in a work capacity with therapeutic intentions in mind.  It was fascinating and refreshing for me to just be present in the moment (as much as possible after 15 years in the field) and enjoy his company and play together.  

This rambunctious little boy reminded me of just how much variability there is from child to child when it comes to development.  He is always busy, on the move, and loves his toy vehicles.  As a child who is being raised bilingually his expressive language isn’t yet robust but he can communicate his wants and needs clearly.  Much of this variability is what we might call personality and I couldn’t help but think that perhaps in our efforts, as professionals, to facilitate development we can easily overshadow the personality and idiosyncratic interests of each child that deserve to be revered and honored.  For example, an interest in trains is sometimes just that, an interest in trains.  Dumping items on a hard wood floor so that you can hear the sound they make when they drop is sometimes what a two year old does when exploring the properties of the items in their environment.  Wanting to pretend to have a birthday party over and over again with fake candles because you just figured out the magic of what it all means is again, what a young child sometimes does in order to gain mastery over their environment and experiences.  Of course, with a typically developing child these things are of no concern as they can be with a child with autism but it reminded me that sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees and can get lost in the details while losing valuable opportunities to connect and teach.

 I also walked away from my vacation thinking about the fact that many of my clients who are close to the same age as my friend’s child have a definite leg up on him in the academic department (all things explicitly taught by the team of course) but the things that he could do that my clients don’t do were the skills that really resonated with me.  Within a day we developed our own silly little thumbs up signal to each other as a means of connecting and building a friendship, within two days he was calling my name at the top of his voice when I wasn’t where he could find me, and when he looked at me he really looked at me with sparkles in his eyes.  These are the things that are so hard to teach but really are a core deficit of autism spectrum disorder.  I know I strive in my work to foster these skills along with cognitive skills but was reminded on vacation of just how early these skills develop and that maybe just maybe the prepositions or sequencing can sometimes wait a little bit longer.

~Stacy

Miranda and her Handbags

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Everyone knows Julie, the president extraordinaire of Different Roads to Learning! For more than 16 years, she’s been sourcing new product, providing guidance and support on the phone, and helping families and organizations in the autism community. For those of you who haven’t had the privilege of talking to Julie, she’s an amazing storyteller. Every Monday morning, she has all of us in the office bent over with laughter or tears as she regales us with the stories of her weekned. As many of you know, Julie’s daughter Miranda has autism. The adventures that Julie and her family go through, the incredible highs and lows, are what inspire all of us every day. We’ve been encouraging Julie to share some of her stories as they’re what link us all together. So, here’s last weekend’s adventure….

Our daughter, Miranda, loves handbags.  She has a ton of them.  Some boys on the spectrum love trains and cars, she loves handbags and hairbands. We have actually had to build storage for her handbag collection.  I recently had to hide my handbags in the office closet to keep them out of her collection. 

 If we go to Kohl’s or to Target, she knows she gets another handbag.  She goes directly to that department. No matter how hard we try to say no, she always finds a way to get that handbag.  We go in for other things but come out with a handbag.  

The last time we went to Kohl’s, she needed a winter coat. Before we left, over and over again, I said “What are we going to get at Kohl’s?” and she said “handbag”.  I said “No, coat.”  She replied “coat”.   “What are we going to get, Miranda?”…the correct response came: “Coat.”  And we did that routine over and over again. Once in a while she would mutter “handbag” but I was on point!  “What are we going to get?”  “Coat!”

 Just before we went into the store, I reminded her of the other issue.  No screaming!

When we get inside, ”no screaming!”

 We walked into the front door of Kohl’s and Miranda is so excited and delighted to get there, she lets out a loud shriek of happiness!  The entire store goes quiet….and then a voice from Check Out #2 says “NO HANDBAGS for you today!”

Autism Moms Have Stress Similar To Combat Soldiers

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We came across this article from a few years ago but thought that the content was certainly still relevent: mothers of adolescents and adults with autism have stress levels that match that of soliders in combat!? According to the study reported in the Disability Scoop, mothers of children with autism spent a greater portion of their day caregiving, were twice as likely to be tired and three times as likely to have experienced a stressful event compared to mothers of children without disabilities. In addition, their bloodwork indicated that a hormone associated with stress was very low, consistent with people experiencing chronic stress such as soldiers in combat.

That said, the mothers in the group were just as likely as their peers to report a positive experience, volunteer their time and help out their friends, in spite of more stress and less sleep. How much more amazing can one group of people be?

As parents, particularly, the moms out there, do you feel you’re able to manage your stress effectively? Do you have any advice for other parents out there?

Special Needs Talk Radio has debuted!

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Coffee Klatch, a corporation dedicated to providing resources and educational programs for families with special needs children, has a new sister company called Special Needs Talk Radio which features interviews with leading experts, advocates and more in the field of Special Needs. Special Needs Talk Radio debuted on September 6 and will present six new shows hosted by twelve different moderators. This new network is aimed at providing parents with the most current news and information covering a wide range of special education topics.

The network will present six shows that will be broadcasted weekly and are currently scheduled to run through mid-October. They cover topics from Parenting Issues, Raising children with ASD, Special Education and the Law, Inclusion and more. The website also offers interactive features that allow users to be actively engaged in the content by suggesting topics, making comments, and asking questions that can be answered during the live shows.

To find the show schedule and to learn more about each program and upcoming guests, visit:

Special Needs Talk Radio

Congress To Consider Parent Financial Burden In IDEA Cases

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Parents who challenge schools over a child’s IEP are currently responsible for the cost of expert witnesses in due process cases no matter if they win or lose, but a bill introduced in Congress would change that. Read more on the Disability Scoop.

Defining ‘Essential’ Care

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With healthcare reform underway, this article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the differences between habilitative services and rehabilitative services and how those definitions will impact future insurance coverage. The article specifically looks at coverage for children with Autism and whether early intervention services will be covered or considered reimbursable expenses. More specifically, if services defined as habilitative are indeed covered, families would be entitled to behavioral therapy as well as speech and OT. Opponents claim that the costs would be too high. What are your thoughts on the issue?

Tips for Making a Move More Successful

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I’ve recently moved from one apartment to another one only two blocks away.  The funny thing is that it has left me completely discombobulated.  I leave the house improperly dressed for the weather because I have no idea where the hats, scarves and gloves are.  I’ve fallen behind in several tasks and generally just feel a bit ‘out of it’.

This started me thinking about what families with a child on the spectrum most likely experience when moving.  Many children with autism are disrupted by change and any variations in the daily routine can dramatically impact their level of functioning.  It would be important when moving, like most predictable events, to prepare your child ahead of time.   I only have one first hand experience working with a family who moved.  It went pretty smoothly because they were relocating in the same city and had family close by where therapy could take place while the new apartment was being set up. Additionally, this particular child is pretty easy going and isn’t as bothered by change as many of my other students.  However, I have a feeling that this is the exception to the rule rather than the norm.

Clearly, all children are different and this should be taken into consideration when preparing them for the move but in general there are some things to consider for all children.  I would suggest the following ways to try and lessen the stress and help facilitate a smoother transition.

Prepare your child for the move. – This one goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyway.  Just because you think your child might not conceptually understand a discussion about moving doesn’t mean you can’t begin to prepare them for the change.  There are many great children’s books about moving and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start reading these together several weeks before you move.  You can create social stories about what changes can be expected and even talk about some of the “what if’s” that can be encountered when moving.  If you are moving within the same city or town you can become familiar with the new neighborhood before hand by going to the new playgrounds or any other place you might frequent.  If you are not able to visit the new places you can put pictures of them in a photo book to review and discuss.  You can also count down the days until the move on a calendar so that the arrival of the actual day is predictable.

 

Keep the schedule the same as much as possible. –  This is always a safe starting place when unsure about how your child might react to change.  Whether a holiday or moving to a new apartment if you’re able to keep the schedule the same it will make everyone’s life a little easier.  It might also be helpful to reintroduce a visual schedule for a few weeks surrounding the move if you don’t have one in place already.

 

Keep favorite and comforting items accessible. – If there is a particular toy or item that plays a critical role in your child’s ability to self soothe when upset you will want to make sure you know where it is during the move.  The location will be changing but you want to make sure that it still feels like home by having familiar items available.  It is also a good idea to have the child’s room set up in a similar way in the new house so there isn’t too much of an adjustment in their personal space.  This isn’t a good time to update furniture or purge old toys as you will want to keep things as similar as possible.

Use Positive Reinforcement. – Moving is one giant transition but you can be sure that within that there will be a lot of little transitions and adjustments too.  It’s important to not lose sight of any success your child experiences with these smaller transitions up until and even after the move.  When your child transitions smoothly REINFORCE it!  Reserve a favorite toy or snack as reinforcement for transitions so that it remains powerful and meaningful to the child.  Even if these are transitions that no longer require reinforcement you can use it as an opportunity to emphasize their ability to transition and remind them up the upcoming move.

What is your personal experience with moving?  Were there things that were crucial to your child transitioning smoothly?  Are there things you tried that you would do differently if you had to move again?  What tips would you share with other families who are preparing to move? We would love to hear your story!

Billions of Dollars Allocated for Community Living

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According to Disability Scoop, part of the Health Care Reform Act allocates substantial funding to help individuals with disabilities access care within their communities and not in institutions. The money is available to help people with disabilities who are living in institutions transition into the community with services and supports. Read the full article here and let us know what you think.