Tag Archives: Resources

Special Needs Summer Camps

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Summer time can be full of excitement for children. Time away from school, vacationing, family events, and of course, summer camp!

For parents of children with special needs it can be a challenge finding a local camp that is able to support yours child’s specific needs. There are a variety of options available for campers with special needs ranging from day camps to overnight camps.  Some programs are need specific while others camps are able to offer a more inclusive setting.

Summer camps can be beneficial for children in various ways. Camps offer environments where children can learn social skills, verbal skills, work on everyday independent tasks, learn new hobbies such as biking, swimming, art, musical instruments and more. While at camp children make important bonds and connections with camp staff as well as other campers. All of these activities and new bonds help campers gain independence, build confidence and raise self-esteem.

Summers camps aren’t only beneficial to the children participating in them. Camps are also a great opportunity for parents to meet, greet and network with each other to share resource information.

To help find a summer camp that meets your child’s special needs try this site:

Special Needs Summer Camps

Interested in reading about some unique summer camps? Check out these additional sites

Social Skills Camp

Bicycle Camp for Speical Needs

Goulds Camp

Know of a great summer camp?  Let us and other parents know!

Learn the Lingo

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automatic punishment  Punishment that occurs independent of the social mediation of others (i.e., a response product serves as a punisher independent of the social environment).

Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

Preventing Bullying of Students with ASD

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Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month? In an effort to raise awareness around issues of bullying for students with autism, we’re honored to feature this article on preventing bullying of students with ASD by Lori Ernsperger, PhD, BCBA-D, Executive Director of Behavioral Training Resource Center, on some tips and information for parents on protecting their children from disability-based harassment in school. 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!

We have a nine-year old daughter with ASD who started 3rd grade in a new school. She is coming home every day very upset due to other students calling her names and isolating her from social activities. We wanted her to attend the neighborhood school but how can we protect her from bullying?

Answered by Lori Ernsperger, PhD, BCBA-D

Unfortunately, bullying and disability-based harassment is a common issue for individuals with ASD. As parents, you have a right to insure that the school provides a multitiered framework of protections for your daughter to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment and free from disability-based harassment. Start with educating yourself on the current legal requirements and best practices for preventing bullying in schools.

 

Recognize
Recognizing the startling prevalence rates of bullying for students with ASD is the first step in developing a comprehensive bullying and disability-based harassment program for your daughter. According to the Interactive Autism Network (IAN, 2012), 63% of students with ASD were bullied in schools. An additional report from the Massachusetts Advocates for Children (Ability Path, 2011) surveyed 400 parents of children with ASD and found that nearly 88% reported their child had been bullied in school. According to Dr. Kowalski, a professor at Clemson University, “because of difficulty with social interactions and the inability to read social cues, children with ASD have higher rates of peer rejection and higher frequencies of verbal and physical attacks” (Ability Path, 2011).

In addition to recognizing the prevalence of bullying of students with ASD in schools, parents must also recognize the complexities and various forms of bullying. Bullying of students with ASD not only includes direct contact or physical assault but as with your daughter’s experience, it can take milder, more indirect forms such as repeated mild teasing, subtle insults, social exclusion, and the spreading of rumors about other students. All adults must recognize that laughter at another person’s expense is a form of bullying and should be immediately addressed.

Finally, recognizing the legal safeguards that protect your daughter is critical in preventing bullying. Bullying and/or disability-based harassment may result in the violation of federal laws including:

  1. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 93-112)
  2. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 2008 (PL 110-325)
  3. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 (PL 108-446)

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), along with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), have written guidance letters to all schools to clarify that educational institutions are held legally accountable to provide an educational environment that ensures equal educational opportunities for all students, free of a hostile environment. Any parent can access and print these Dear Colleague Letters and distribute them to school personnel working with their child.

  • US Department of Education/Office of Civil Rights (October 2014)
  • US Department of Education/Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (August 2013)
  • US Department of Education/Office of Civil Rights (October 2010)
  • US Department of Education (July 2000)

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Pick of the Week: 15% Off Handwriting Tools

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Get a head start on helping your child improve their handwriting skills before the school year begins! This week, take 15% off our handwriting programs and tools with promo code WRITE15 at checkout!

Jumbo triangular pencils are just right for the student who is making the transition from using grips to regular pencils. These pencils are fatter and have a soft dot comfort zone for a non-slip grip. The box comes with 12 pencils, all in black lead.

Get your Jumbo Triangular Pencils here!

 

We’ve compiled the Writing & Art Kit to support students in their writing and arts & crafts skills. This kit contains: a pair of child-safe scissors, lined paper for upper- and lowercase writing, and a jumbo grip triangular pencil that improves a child’s grip directly on the pencil.

For the arts, we’ve included triangular crayons, triangular glue sticks, both for a better grip, and glossy colored paper for bright, shining artwork.

Sensible Pencil, by Linda C. Becht, is a handwriting program that contains 200 sequential worksheets to help new writers achieve success quickly and pain-free. Children start with simple horizontal and vertical lines that are presented as fun, and then go on to the other basic lines needed for handwriting skills. The program also includes a progress chart and a manual for teachers and parents. Notebook format.

 

 

View our entire sale here.

*Code is valid for one-time use through August 16, 2016 at 11:59pm. 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 WRITE15 at checkout.

Science, Pseudoscience and Antiscience Theories In Autism

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Finding effective treatments for their children with autism is one of the most difficult challenges parents face. In this month’s ASAT feature, Gina Green, PhD, BCBA-D and Lora Perry, MS, BCBA share insights about the many pseudoscience and antiscience theories and claims that are made about treatments for autism, and suggest some questions parents can ask to help them decide which treatments are most likely to help. 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!

Science, Pseudoscience and Antiscience Theories in Autism:
Gina Green, PhD, BCBA-D and Lora Perry, MS, BCBA

The Importance of Informed Treatment Decisions
“Your child has autism.” With those words, a parent’s world comes crashing down. What to do? Choosing a treatment is one of the most important decisions the parents of a person with autism will ever have to make. How do parents find truly effective treatment for their child? In an ideal world, the person who dropped the autism diagnosis on a family would provide the answer. But the unfortunate fact is that many who make this diagnosis are not well informed about the wide array of autism treatments, and the degree to which these treatments have proven effective (or not). So until the day comes when parents can count on data based professional guidance, they will need to become very discerning about the various treatments, therapies, and programs that are claimed to be effective for autism. The same applies to those who are concerned with helping families get effective services. There is a need to do a lot of homework, and to do it quickly. Why the urgency? Because the stakes are high, and every moment is precious.

 

Children and adults with autism can learn, and there are effective methods for helping them develop useful skills and lead happy, productive lives. At the same time, research has shown that many currently available interventions for autism are ineffective, even harmful, while others have simply not been tested adequately. Every moment spent on one of those therapies instead of effective intervention is a moment lost forever. Besides, common sense suggests that it is wise for parents and professionals alike to invest in interventions that can be reasonably calculated to produce lasting, meaningful benefits for people with autism—that is, interventions that have withstood scientific testing.
As parents and professionals seek information about autism treatments, they discover a long and perplexing list of “options,” many of them promoted by sincere, well-meaning, persuasive people. Everyone claims that their favorite treatment works, and parents and practitioners are often encouraged to try a little bit of everything. This can be very appealing to people who are seeking anything that might help. How does one choose wisely? To quote the late Carl Sagan, “The issue comes down to the quality of the evidence.” So the first step is to find out exactly what evidence is available to support claims about autism treatments. But all evidence is not created equal. How does one sort pure hype from solid proof, wishful thinking from rigorous testing?
Science, Pseudoscience, and Antiscience in Autism
Approaches to answering fundamental questions about how the world works can be grouped into three broad categories: science, pseudoscience, and antiscience. Science uses specific, time-honored tools to put hunches or hypotheses to logical and empirical tests. Some of those tools include operational definitions of the phenomena of interest; direct, accurate, reliable, and objective measurement; controlled experiments; reliance on objective data for drawing conclusions and making predictions; and independent verification of effects.
Science does not take assertions or observations at face value, but seeks proof. Good scientists differentiate opinions, beliefs, and speculations from demonstrated facts; they don’t make claims without supporting objective data.

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Pick of the Week: NEW! “Smile & Succeed for Teens” by Kirt Manecke

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A crash course in face-to-face communication, Smile & Succeed for Teens: Must-Know People Skills for Today’s Wired World provides teens and tweens with a quick, easy, and fun way to improve their social skills and job skills. This week, we’re discounting the book by 15%, so grab your savings by applying our promo code SMILE when you check out online or over the phone with us.

Developed by a team of teens, parents, and educators, the proven methods in Kirt Manecke’s book provide your kids with the people skills and confidence they’ll need throughout their lives. Whether your teen is looking for work, holding down a job, making friends, or taking part in leadership or service positions, Smile and Succeed for Teens will give them the education he or she needs to thrive.

Each lesson is presented in an entertaining style, with quips, tips, fun and informative illustrations and captions, and easy-to-adopt strategies that will teach your teenager the critical elements of good communication. Click here to read a guest blog post from Kirt on how he used strategies outlined in the book to improve the social skills of teens with autism at his local farmers’ market.

Check out this excerpt from the book — “Say Please and Thank You”.

In this book, your teen will discover how to:

  • Develop self-esteem and beat crippling social anxiety
  • Make new friends and speak with confidence
  • Sail through the most difficult of interviews for scholarships, programs, and jobs
  • Improve their school programs and community through effective fundraising
  • Succeed at work and stand out to their employer, and much, much more!

Smile & Succeed for Teens is an attention-grabbing, easy-to-use course that has already supplied thousands of teens with the skills to do better in school, develop meaningful relationships, and establish fulfilling careers. Don’t forget to use our promo code SMILE at the check-out this week to save 15% on this great new resource!

*Promotion is valid until July 19, 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 SMILE at checkout.

Pick of the Week: Executive Function Books & Curricula

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Executive function is a set of mental processes that help us organize, make plans, focus our attention, remember things, and juggle multiple tasks. This week, you can SAVE 15%* on any of our books on executive function in students with autism. Use use our promo code EXECFXN at check-out!

Executive Function Books

Unstuck & On Target is a robust classroom-based curriculum book that helps educators and service providers teach executive function skills to high-functioning students with autism through ready-to-use lessons, materials lists, and intervention tips that reinforce lessons throughout the school day. Topics touched upon include flexibility vocabulary, coping strategies, setting goals, and flexibility in friendship. Lessons will target specific skills, free up the instructor’s time, fit easily into any curriculum, ensure generalization to strengthen home-school connection, and best of all, make learning fun and engaging for students in the classroom! The guide also comes with an accompanying CD-ROM that contains printable game cards, student worksheets, and other materials for each lesson.

Solving Executive Function Challenges is a practical resource for parents, teachers, and therapists helping high-functioning students with autism improve on their executive function skills. To be used with or without the curriculum Unstuck & On Target, this book contains strategies to teach EF skills, including setting and achieving goals and being flexible, as well as ideas for accommodations and actions to address common problems, such as keeping positive, avoiding overload, and coping.

Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents explains how executive function processes develop and why they play such a key role in children’s behavior and school performance. With more than 24 reproducible checklists, questionnaires, planning sheets, and assessment tools, this manual provides step-by-step guidelines and practical tools to promote executive skill development by implementing environmental modifications, individualized instruction, coaching, and whole-class interventions.

*Promotion is valid until May 24, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases, combined with anyother 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 EXECFXN at checkout.

Autism Awareness Month: Free Cookie Number Matching Printable

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Cookie-Jar-Number-MatchingIf Cookie Monster could play any math literacy game, we’re sure this free Cookie Jar Number Matching activity would be the winner! This free printable from Totschooling.net includes three representations of numbers one through ten to help build counting and number recognition skills.

To play, all you have to do is print all the pages and cut out each cookie individually. You can then have the student either match cookies to the jar containing the written names of the numbers or the jar containing the corresponding numerals.  If you want to make the activity even more challenging, you can print out an extra numeral jar or an extra number name jar page and cut out each circle to create more options to match!

cookie-matching 2You can download the free printable by clicking here and don’t forget to share with us all the other creative ways you and your students build math literacy skills!

Pick of the Week: ABA Curriculum for the Common Core Books for Kindergarten & 1st Grade

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Use the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in this groundbreaking curriculum to teach the Common Core state standards in special education classrooms. Available in Kindergarten and First Grade, the ABA Curriculum for the Common Core drills down into each standard and breaks it into teachable steps. This week, SAVE 15% on the ABA Curriculum for the Common Core books for Kindergarten and First Grade. Use promo code KINDERFIRST when you check-out online or over the phone: (800) 853-1057.

Programs are presented in a format that supports data collection and ease of use. Clear teaching instructions detail the Teaching Procedure, Discriminative Stimulus, and the Materials needed for each lesson or activity. Each standard also list several targets that demonstrate the steps and goalposts needed for mastery.

What professionals have said…

“This highly organized and comprehensive curriculum is a must for all special education teachers working to implement the Common Core standards in the classroom. Every teacher and student need is anticipated and planned for. With this curriculum as a resource, the Common Core standards are no longer an obstacle, but instead an accessible program of study for all students.” — Linda McSorley, Special Education Teacher

“ABA Curriculum for the Common Core is bound to be the type of reference book every special educator will be reaching for. With its comprehensive, accessible, and task-analyzed programs, ABA strategies, and data collection sheets, Sam Blanco has created a compilation dream for all educators working with children who have special needs.” — Val Demiri, PhD, BCBA-D, Adjunct Professor, Endicott College

“Different Roads to Learning and Sam Blanco have developed the first of its kind: a user-friendly manual and kit of appropriate curriculum with materials for special needs students that aligns with the Common Core. The manual includes prepared data sheets and easy-to-read curriculum sheets. …  In addition, the focus of the skills targeted are prerequisites for lifelong skills the student will need throughout their education and beyond. Utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis, teachers will be able to use motivation and reinforcement techniques to enhance student learning.” — Cheryl Davis, Educational and Behavioral Consultant, MSEd, BCBA

Don’t forget to use our promo code KINDERFIRST to redeem your savings this week only on the ABA Curriculum for the Common Core books!

*Offer expires at 11:59pm EST on February 23, 2016. Promotion does not apply to past purchases. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code KINDERFIRST at checkout! Call our friendly customer service team at (800) 853-1057 with any inquiries.

Tip of the Week: Keeping Up With the Science

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A major tenet of Applied Behavior Analysis is that it is evidence-based. For decades, our field has conducted research about behaviors we can observe in the environment, and worked to create positive behavior change. But keeping up with research or determining what is actually evidence-based can be quite challenging.

One way that some organizations and schools address this is by having a “journal club” of sorts. An article is selected each month, staff read it, and then everyone comes together to discuss it. This is a great way to get people talking about evidence-based procedures, help introduce people to new concepts, and create an environment that relies on science rather than anecdotal information.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Poll your participants. What topics might they be interested in? What dates and times work best for them? What is something they want to learn more about? You can use this information to get off on the right foot.
  • Sweeten the meeting. Make it fun with snacks or themes. It’s amazing how free food can draw people in.
  • Create questions for consideration. When you hand out the article, provide five or six questions for participants to consider as they read. This will help guide their reading and your conversation when you meet.
  • Make it applied. Think about how the information in the article can be used in your own setting. Have people discuss what it would look like if they tried out the interventions themselves.

Finally, take a look at Reading Groups: A Practical Means of Enhancing Professional Knowledge Among Human Service Practitioners by Parsons & Reid. This article demonstrates the utility of such groups, as well as important variables for implementing them successfully.

Good luck, and happy reading!

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, 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. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.