Tag Archives: socialization

Pick of the Week: Social Skills Books!

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With school days rapidly drawing near, many of our kids may be challenged by the social situations that the classroom presents. To help your students and children prepare for what lies ahead, our pick this week is our entire category of Social and Play Skills Books. You’ll find everything from structured curriculum (Improving Social Behaviors) and Assessment (Social Skills Solutions) to books that visually show various social situations and how to handle them (The Social Skills Picture Book).

Using a combination of these books can help students understand and learn the intricacies of social interactions at school including making friends, turn-taking, cooperation, dealing with emotions and much, much more. We wish you all a productive, fun and successful school year!

This week, all of the books in our Social & Play Skills category are being offered at a 15% discount. Simply enter the Promo Code BLOGSSBTat checkout to redeem your savings.

*Offer expires on August 28, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

 

Pick of the Week: Know the Code at School – Social Skills Card Games

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Know the Code at School is a behavioral and social skill card game that illustrate 50 social skills in typical school scenarios. Each card shows a skill with a relevant photo, lists five sequential steps to accomplish the skill and suggests a talking point. The cards are great for games and role plays at an elementary or middle school level.

This week only, save 15% on the Know the Code at School cards by entering the Promo Code BLOGKC9 at checkout.

*Offer expires on April 3, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Pick of the Week: The File Factor Emotional Empowerment System

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The File Factor Emotional Empowerment System literally came into stock this morning and we’re thrilled! This is a new tool from TD Social Skills that helps individuals regulate strong emotions and constructively resolve conflicts to advance social learning and emotional growth. The File Factor is a wall pocket filing system that provides a structure to learn self-control. By breaking down complex negative emotions into understandable concepts, users can learn to analyze situations from different perspectives and change unproductive thought patterns to resolve conflict. The idea is for children to ‘file away’ negative emotions triggered by disappointment and highlight the positive events in their day.

You can save 15% on The File Factor through March 15 by entering the promo code BLOGFF11 at checkout.

*Offer expires on March 15, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer.

Special Playdate

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Specialplaydate.com helps parents connect with others to arrange play dates in their local communities. The site enables users to find a playdate for loved ones with or without special needs to create opportunities for them to build social and communication skills while making friends. Check out their site to learn more!

Pick of the Week: Be A Friend – Songs for Social Skills Training CD

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This week’s pick for 15% savings is this lovely CD filled with songs specifically written to help teach invaluable social skills. Created by Dr. Jed Baker and music therapist Jeffrey Friedberg, Be A Friend motivates children to attend and learn. The catchy tunes include: Be a Friend; Hello; Personal Space; Eye Contact; Volume of Speech; Sharing; Turns; Ask to Play; Compromise; Compliment; Sensitive Topics; Teasing; Accepting No; Making Mistakes; Calm Down and Feelings. The songs on the CD are aimed towards children 2 – 10 years old generally, but mostly 4 – 8 year olds.

Today through March 8, visit our site at https://www.difflearn.com to save 15% on the Be A Friend: Songs for Social Skills Training CD by entering the Promo Code BLOGSSCD at checkout.

*Offer expires on March 8, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer.

Pick of the Week: Emotions Flashcards

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Emotions Flashcards Sale You’re in luck because this week’s pick is a whole CATEGORY of products! We’re highlighting our wonderful Emotions flashcards this week and offering them to you at a 15% discount. Click here to see the full list of products on sale this week. There are basics such as the Emotions Language Cards which are an ideal introduction to teaching feelings to young learners as well as the more advanced Faces & Feelings Listening Lotto which is a creative way to work on auditory processing and emotions. With 9 different sets of Emotions Flashcards on sale this week, you’re sure to find a set that’s right for your child or student.

Today through March 1, visit Difflearn.com to save 15% on our Emotions Flashcards by entering the Promo Code BLOGEM22 at checkout.

 *Offer expires on March 1, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer.

A Coffee Shop in a Middle School Helps Children with Autism Gain Skills and Raise Money

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Woodrow Wilson Middle School in New Jersey has set up a coffee shop that their special class for children with autism or multiple learning disabilities is charged with running every Friday morning. The program aims to instill social skills as well as business and life skills to prepare these young students for life outside of the classroom. In addition to providing a service to staff and imparting concrete skills in the children, the program has raised money for field trips and and special activities that have been affected by budget cuts. We’re so impressed with the teachers who put these creative and effective programs together! Read the full article on their program here in the NY Times.

 

Children helping children!

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I am always moved to learn about inventive developments in the fields of education and intervention for children with autism.  But how often do you hear about interventions being designed for children BY children?  Well that is exactly what Zak Kukoff did when he developed Autism Ambassadors.  Zak, a typically developing 15-year old, created a curriculum that “will engage typical children and children with ASD’s in a mutually beneficial relationship.” There is research that supports the efficacy of using peer models to facilitate observational learning with children with autism but how often have you seen examples where it has been successfully implemented?  We would love for you to share your stories regarding peer modeling or your experience with Autism Ambassadors!

Video Modeling by Mary Beth Palo of Watch Me Learn

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Mary Beth is a dear friend of ours. Many of you know her as the amazing mother who used video modeling to help her son learn to speak. From there came the Watch Me Learn Video Series which has received near unanimous praise. Here are her thoughts on Video Modeling and how Watch Me Learn came to be.

“I was fortunate enough to see Temple Grandin speak years ago…. before she became a star….. I went to the presentation on a whim – I guess to get out of the house (pathetic right?)  Being the mother of an autistic child leads you to do things that a “normal” person wouldn’t be caught dead doing!  At the time, I believe that she only had one book published; Thinking in Pictures.

In that book and in her presentation she referred to her thought process as going back in her mind, retrieving a video tape from her mind’s library and then playing the proper video to think/see….  This hit me like a 2×4 across the head…. 

I am mostly an auditory thinker….. so I guess it didn’t dawn on me that this could be so impactful on educating. Couple this information with 2 years of therapy for my son with no progress, and a light bulb went off in my head.  Pure desperation led me to video modeling.  After my first attempt at VM, as a result my son was speaking within 2 ½ weeks.  Well, needless to say, video became my life and my son just kept learning and learning.  Video was our main teacher and our therapy hours were used for generalizing the skills he learned on video.

Video modeling can be used in sooooo many ways – self modeling, peer modeling, etc…  and it can be used to teach sooooo many skills – from simple receptive language, imitation skills to complex social skills.  Research supports video modeling as an evidence-based teaching method and it has been recognized by the CEC(Council for Exceptional Children) as a valid means of teaching.  The research exists and more will be coming. 

Now, when I teach my son, I always have visuals.  Of course, he was most successful with video, but after years of strictly video, we have been able to branch out into other visual inputs. The learning is always faster with visual inputs ….. even in 6th grade when we are using cookie dough and chocolate chips to make a visual model of the atom nucleus – who would have thought?

Why does it work?  Well, I don’t have the scientific answer to that – as I have yet to find a study researching the brain activity while watching VM.  Watching children for years and knowing how and what they react to, it is easy to see the reason why VM works.  Children love tv, children love other children, children have an inherent desire to be social and VM provides not only repetition but also removes outside distractions enabling a child to concentrate on one thing.

Today, there are many VM products on the market.  These products allow you an easy way to experiment with VM and a great learning opportunity for your children.  VM can also be done in the home, school, therapy and out in public.  You need to decide what is best for you and the child.

I am the proud mother of Brett Palo – a 12 year old boy who is now mainstreamed in 6th grade.  Without VM, he would not be there.  As a result of his success with VM and a zillion phone calls from other desperate mothers, Watch Me Learn Videos were created.  Watch Me Learn’s goal is to teach children in their natural environment – at home, in school and most importantly through play!  A child’s job is to play – let them do their job and learn at the same time!   They will learn without even knowing it!

The Eden II Running Club

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Eden II in New York has a wonderful Running Club for their students. We love the story behind it, the ease with which they implemented it and think it’s a fantastic idea for any school or agency as a way to get kids into shape and out into the community. Here’s their story:

 In early 2008, Randy Horowitz, Associate Executive Director of Educational Services at Eden II tried to get the staff together to run for better health. Johanne and Chickie, both behavior specialists, thought it could be a good way to include both students and teachers.  And so, the Eden II running club began with a small group of student who were selected by age, weight and the ability to be outside without engaging in difficult behaviors.

 Originally they had seven students aged 10 and above but the program grew as more parents found out about the club and wanted their children to participate in a mainstream activity.  There are now 58 members at two program sites.  A new club, the Pee Wee Running Club for students 5-9, began a year ago and already has 25 members.

Each club goes out once a week.  The older students go out to Clove Lakes Park or to the Eltingville YMCA indoor track, depending on the weather.  For safety reasons, the Pee Wee Running Club trains only at the Eltingville YMCA indoor track. 

 Every parent is asked about her child’s daily routine and current level of physical activity before individual training plans are created.  The goals are kept very simple, “will walk 20 consecutive minutes before stopping to rest”.  A familiar staff person from each student’s classroom is assigned to work with him during training sessions.  That staff person is responsible for keeping the child safe and hydrated as well as modeling and prompting stretching techniques.  Most students quickly adjust to the routine of walking and jogging around a track or along the park’s running path.

 Timers and verbal praise are used to encourage some students to continue walking orjogging until they can take a break. Students with fewer cognitive challenges are also learning about proper nutrition while working with staff during running club outings.   

 There have been a lot of surprises.  It was never expected that some of the kids jogging and even walking without prompting.  The kids genuinely like it and have fun doing it.  Some of them have lost weight, and many of them are a lot calmer for the rest of the day after getting out for some physical activity in the morning. 

 Johannes runs with a particular student every Monday. He loves trying to break his record and feels so proud of himself afterward.  One of the things his mom stressed when he became part of the running club was that he had little to no self-confidence, and she’s very happy that running seems to have helped immensely with his self esteem. To keep him motivated, he is given some kind of award certificate every time he breaks his record.

 Randy, Johannes and Chickie believe this model could work for other agencies, because it doesn’t require anything complicated.  Just keep the goals simple, and as long as safety, transportation and staffing aren’t issues, any school can start a running club.