Tag Archives: teaching tools

Discoveries Program at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art

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We just found out about this program and think it’s fantastic! Discoveries is a Sunday program offered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for adults and children with learning and/or developmental disabilities and their friends and family members.  Each Discoveries workshop focuses on a theme and includes a gallery tour followed by a related art activity. The program is free of charge but advance reservations are necessary. Here’s the upcoming schedule:

Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York
March 20
11 am – Ages 6-17
2 pm – Ages 18 and above

April 10
11 am – Ages 18 and above
2 pm – Ages 6-17

Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century
May 1
11 am – Ages 18 and above
2 pm – Ages 6-17

May 15
11 am – Ages 6-17
2 pm – Ages 18 and above

Group Residences and Organizations:

The Museum offers customized programs for adult group residences and other agencies that serve adults with developmental disabilities.  For scheduling and fee information, call (212) 650-2010 or email access@metmuseum.org.

For anyone living in or visiting New York, the museum is an absolute  gem and a lovely place to spend a day roaming about. We’re thrilled about the Discoveries Program!

Pick of the Week: Community Helpers Listening Lotto

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This week’s pick is the Community Helpers Listening Lotto at a 15% discount. This is a creative way to teach young learners about community helpers in their neighborhood. The 12 photographic game boards depict the mailman, firefighter, police officer, teacher and more. The audio CD asks players to “find the person on your game card that helps children learn to read and write.” This is a fun and interactive way to make the community come to life.

Today through February 22, visit our site at https://www.difflearn.com to save 15% on the Community Helpers Listening Lotto by entering the Promo Code BLOGCH3 at checkout.

 *Offer expires on February 22, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer.

Pick of the Week: Shopping List Memory Game

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This week’s pick is the delightful Shopping List Memory Game. The goal of the game is to fill your cart with all of the items on your shopping list. The fun is twofold as the classic memory game also develops personal and social skills.

Today through February 15, visit our site at https://www.difflearn.com to save 15% on the Shopping List game by entering the Promo Code SLDRTL2 at checkout.

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

Free Downloads

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I’ve never been busier during the start of a new year than I have been in 2011.  It seems like many of my students were off to an ambitious start this month as well.  Some students made such significant progress that the revisions seem to never end.  Other students have required a lot of creativity and extra effort in finding ways to reach them and facilitate learning.   I found myself re-evaluating many program books, behavior plans and strategies.  I won’t further bore you with my lengthy “To Do” list but I will share some of the rewards of my work.  The end result is that there are new and improved versions of the free DRL data sheets and graphs along with brief descriptions for each.  I hope you find them as useful as I have. You can find them under the “DRL Downloads” tab underneath the Different Roads to Learning banner.  Now off to work!

Enter to win a free iPad from the HollyRod Foundation

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The HollyRod Foundation is raising money to provide free iPads to families in need. Applications are being accepted until December 31, 2010. In trying to donate to the those in the most need, the guidelines stipulate that the child is non-verbal or minimally verbal and that the family falls below a certain income level. We applaud the HollyRod Foundation for trying to make a real difference in the lives of families in our community.

Fire Safety Resources

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There is no one piece of advice that I offer more than “Prepare your child.”  We all know that children with autism tend to be inflexible in their adherence to routine.  Any unexpected change in their daily schedule can present emotional and behavioral difficulties for all involved.  That is why it is important to prepare your child for any  potential disruptions.  This includes fire safety and it just so happens that the National Fire Protection Association has created some great resources to help you.  Check out the social story that can be customized to include your child’s personal information below!

National Fire Protection Association Fire Safety Flip Book

Sparky the Fire Dog Website

Thinking About All the Parents Out There…

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With the holidays approaching we all know that gift giving will soon be in full swing.  This undoubtedly means that your families will be generously bestowed with electronic cause and effect toys.  These types of toys help to stimulate development as your child discovers the function of the toy and how to elicit certain responses from the object.  Children with special needs tend to have a longer relationship with these types of toys as they often serve as powerful reinforcers, meet ongoing sensory needs and continue to provide opportunities to address language and motor development.  Additionally, it may take a special needs child longer to master this type of play before moving onto more imaginative and creative play.  What I’m getting at is that these toys are going to be in your house longer and some of them are LOUD.  So when I came across the following post on Apartment Therapy the other day it jumped out at me as a piece vital information for all of you special needs parents out there.  We are always thinking about adaptations for toys and games for the kids but what about the parents?  A former sound engineer for children’s sound books shares a secret on how to turn down the volume on these toys.

Check it out and Happy Holidays!

Bringing Down the Volume on Electronic Toys

Special Education Apps for Ipad

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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?

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!