We’ve been talking so much about using the Ipad to teach individuals with autism and other special needs and it looks like Apple has been paying attention. There is now a Special Education category in the AppStore. The section titled “Special Education” launched recently and includes 72 applications for the iPhone and 13 applications for the iPad in 10 categories ranging from communication to emotional development and life skills. Have any of you tried these apps? What do you think of them?
Tag Archives: special education
Children helping children!
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!
Night of Too Many Stars!
We had the best Saturday night ever! Julie treated the Difflearn gals to the taping of the Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education at the Beacon Theatre in NYC.
Hosted by Jon Stewart, we were treated to side-splitting appearances by Tina Fey, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, Steve Carrell, and many others with live performances by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings!
We won’t spoil it for you – the show is going to air on October 21, at 9 pm EST on Comedy Central – but some highlights included how much people will actually pay to meet George Clooney and what it’s worth to have Chris Rock call someone you’re really mad at. Temple Grandin was in the audience and our good friend Dr. Bridget Taylor was featured in one of the segments.
The event was incredible, both in the hilarity of the performers and in the intense generosity of the attendees. We were particularly impressed at how tuned-in the organizers were to the real and pressing needs not just of children with autism, but of their families and their futures and how it will continue to impact them across the lifespan.
This is the third time that Jon Stewart has teamed up with Comedy Central to put on this event and to date, they have raised more than $7 million for autism education!!!!
The money raised benefits a variety of autism education and family service programs across the country. In 2008, the benefit raised over $2.8 million dollars, with money going to:
- Establish the Autism Training Institute at Hunter College for teachers and therapists to learn how to teach children with autism. Many of these trained teachers have now entered public school systems where appropriately trained special education teachers can be scarce.
- Program Expansion for more than a dozen model schools for children with autism, especially ones that were struggling financially to keep their doors open.
- Development of a program that teaches public school students to become peer mentors and teach individuals with autism.
- Expansion of an innovative afterschool program that focuses on play and community from Illinois to several other states.
- Fund a program in Arizona that trains teenagers with autism for jobs at places like the zoo and library where they can work aside their typical peers.
- Fund a program in Seattle that helps teens develop social skills.
- Fund a program in Georgia that trains First Responders about autism.
- Support the New England Center for Children’s “Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia” which is an online manual that features lessons and programs that teachers can use to educate children with autism worldwide.
This year, one of the new initiatives is the Institute for Brain Development, an all-inclusive center positioned to undertake collaborative research into the most effective treatment of autism spectrum disorders. It will be a collaboration between New York Center for Autism, New York Presbyterian and it’s medical schools of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College.
Please tell your friends and do tune in on October 21 at 9pm. The show is fantastic and there will be more opportunities to contribute to an excellent cause.
Weekly Rethink Autism Tip: Generalize Skills from the Classroom to Everyday Life
This week’s free autism tip covers an important topic that helps enable your child to adapt to his/her daily surroundings. One of Rethink Autism’s special education professionals guides you through teaching your child how to apply what he/she has learned in a classroom setting to necessary skills utilized in everyday life. This tip is an effective tool to help your child develop these transferable skills.
Back to School Basics
You know it is officially back to school season when the grill in my backyard has been cool to the touch for days and I’ve had my yearly medical exam (PPD titer and all!). I hope it has been smooth sailing for you and your little ones as classes begin. If it hasn’t been, this is what I always try to keep in mind, for all people, big and small:
PREPARE!
It is best to join forces with your child and prepare for the year by making sure you cover what I like to call the 3 S’s.
SPACE
Make sure everything in your child’s work/play space at home is organized and equipped. Play continues to be an important part of learning even when school is in session so take this time to go through toys and arts and crafts supplies and weed out things that are broken or no longer developmentally appropriate for your child. Make sure there is a spacious and uncluttered work space stocked with all of the supplies your child will need to complete homework and school projects. It is also a good idea to keep a space near the work area for a visual schedule to help foster independence during homework time. Lastly, designate a spot near the entrance of your home where your child’s backpack, important papers and your keys can go each afternoon. The last thing you want is to add undue stress to your morning routine and risk missing the beginning of class.
SCHEDULE
We all know that with this population transitions can be especially difficult. First, take care of as much as you can the night before. Pack bags, sign paperwork, pack lunches, and pick out clothing. Also, don’t think that a a parent you are the only one responsible for this prep work. Incorporate as many of these things into your child’s evening routine as you can. Having your child participate will foster independence and build confidence. Again, visual schedules and token economies help facilitate independence and provide motivation respectively. Structure benefits children so it is good to develop a general school year routine and stick to it as much as possible. Predictability is helpful when it comes to transitions but also remember to build in components that have some element of change to them so that you can facilitate flexibility. One part of the schedule that shouldn’t change is the sleep schedule. Keep it as consistent as possible, even on the weekends. I suggest building a calming activity into the schedule before bedtime and using a timer to help with the transition to bed.
SOCIAL
Sometimes, people find it surprising when I suggest preparation for social interactions but there are a lot of creative ways to help children familiarize themselves with conversational topics, common games and salient information about their peers and teachers. I encourage all of the families I work with to print photographs of family outings or events that can be used as visual prompts for conversational topics. Especially good are things that happened over the weekend. If the picture book is reviewed Sunday evening they will be fully prepared to talk about what they did over the weekend. Additionally, you can find out what schoolyard games are popular with your child’s peer group and practice them at home with siblings or playdates. If it is an athletic game you might also spend time with your child making a book about the rules that can be reviewed periodically. Lastly, I like to construct a “friend journal” with a child at the beginning of each school year. You might need to enlist teachers or other parents to help with this but it is such a useful tool that it is worth the extra effort. Start by obtaining photos of each classmate and pasting them individually into different sections of the journal. On a daily basis you can help your child fill in something they have learned about their peers. This could range anywhere from favorite cartoon or tv show to their age or their family members names.
Going back to school can be a fun and exciting time. With a little preparation and creativity maybe it will be the best school year yet!
Welcome to the Different Roads to Learning Blog!
Family and community mean the world to us here at Different Roads. Technology has given us an incredible platform to reach out to the parents, teachers, grandparents, and consultants who love and educate children on the autism spectrum. We are thrilled that our blog, along with our Facebook and Twitter pages, has given us the opportunity to move beyond products and sales and be an active member in the autism community.
Our Difflearn blog was created specifically for sharing. We’ll be sharing our experiences, our concerns, new and exciting products and events and best of all, our collective treasure of information. It is our hope that you will find the information posted here helpful, practical, and interesting and that it will help all of us – especially our children – learn and grow.
We’re thrilled to have partnered with Stacy Asay, a wonderful, energetic creative behavioral consultant with 14 years of experience in the field. Her work with special needs children integrates a strengths-based, holistic approach to child and family with the tools of Applied Behavior Analysis. Her focus is on equipping children with the tools they need for learning and living while honoring their unique spirit. It is our joint hope that this blog will lead to a dynamic and exciting dialogue between parents and providers, where the free exchange of ideas promotes growth in both our communities and our homes.
And this is just the beginning…We hope that professionals and parents who have advice, information or a story to share will contact us and submit thoughts and ideas for blog posts. We intend for this to be a true community and all who are interested in the education of our ASD children are invited to participate.
Welcome! We look forward to hearing from all of you!
~Julie, Abigail, Jeana & Stacy