Autism Activities

Autistic Kids At The Movies Where Shhhh Is'nt Allowed

2010-04-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

On April 10, thousands of children with autism will be able to do something that for many of them was impossible until recently: go to the movies. They'll see How to Train Your Dragon at one of 93 "sensory-friendly" screenings in 47 cities across 30 states. The lights will dim but remain on, the volume will be lowered, the movie will start promptly at 10 a.m. with no previews, families with special dietary needs will be allowed to bring snacks from home, and if the kids yell or even stroll around the theater, no one will complain.

April Autism Awareness Month marks the first anniversary of the Sensory Friendly Films program, a joint venture of AMC Entertainment and the Autism Society. Screenings of the G- or PG-rated movies, all newly released, are held once a month on a Saturday morning. Expansion to other cities is planned.

A regular at the screenings is Marianna Pollock of Virginia Beach, Va., and her 6-year-old son Xander. "We attempted a regular movie a few times," says Pollock. "We always ended up having to leave within the first 15 minutes because Xander gets so excited that he flaps and makes noise. It was very stressful."

Xander's behavior at the movies is typical for many people with autism, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates affects 1 in 110 children. "One of the challenges for people with an autism spectrum disorder is coping with strong sensory stimulation," says psychologist Sandra Harris, who runs the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "They may be overwhelmed by loud sounds, bright lights, crowds of people. A person of any age with an ASD may flap his or her hands, twist her fingers, call out or rock when she is excited by an event such as a movie."

Silvia Townsend of San Diego took her 12-year-old son Bailey to a regular movie. Once. "It was horrible," says Townsend. "He was terrified when the lights turned off. And when the loud music started, he was covering his ears and started screaming in obvious pain." Now Bailey loves attending sensory-friendly films.

So does 18-year-old Matthew Kay, who has severe autism and attends the films with other young adults and the staff of the group home he lives in near San Diego. The last time Matthew was able to attend a regular movie, he was 4.

The idea for the films first came about in 2007 when Marianne Ross, of Elkridge, Md., took her then 7-year-old daughter Meaghan, who has autism, to see Hairspray. Ross purposely picked an early matinee, when there would be fewer people. "Meaghan loves Zac Efron, so when he came onscreen, she just danced, twirled, flapped her hands and jumped up and down." Several patrons complained, and the manager asked the Rosses to leave. "I was so frustrated, angry and upset," recalls Ross, "because Meaghan had been so happy. I thought, There's got to be a lot of children in the same situation."

The next day, Ross called her local AMC movie theater in Columbia, Md., and spoke to manager Dan Harris. She asked if he'd be willing to set up a special screening. Harris, who had never known anyone with autism, met with Ross, heard her suggestions and came up with some adaptations to make the screening more sensory-friendly to kids with the disorder.

Ross put the word out about the upcoming screening through her local Autism Society chapter. "We didn't know if we'd have an empty auditorium," says Harris. "We had 300 seats, and we had to turn people away. I knew we were on to something."

Harris held three more monthly screenings, then contacted AMC's national headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., where he spoke with community-relations manager Cindy Huffstickler. She thought it was a great idea and was surprised no one had thought of it before. Huffstickler then contacted the Autism Society's national headquarters, which got its chapters behind a few national test screenings that proved just as successful.

"Attending a film where you know everyone in the theater is either in the same situation as you or is at least informed that the 'Silence is golden' policy doesn't apply today takes the tension away," says Angela Vandersteen of Greenwood, Ind., who takes her 5-year-old son Ray to the screenings. When Marianne Ross takes Meaghan to the movies, she also takes along her 8-year-old son Gavin, who does not have autism; he has developed a network of friends who are siblings of autistic kids at the screenings.

Even families of children without autism but with other special needs, like those with physical disabilities, have started attending the screenings, citing the sense of acceptance they feel there.

"Our children are constantly under scrutiny," says Xander's mother Marianna. "They look normal, so people often think they're just misbehaving. It becomes exhausting trying to validate their right to be themselves. At a sensory-friendly movie, we as a family finally get to go to a movie and relax. Boy, does that feel wonderful."

SM, ASP celebrate National Autism Week

2010-01-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines - The SM Committee on Disability Affairs, under the CSR umbrella of SM Cares, together with the Autism Society Philippines (ASP), is celebrating the 14th National Autism Week with the theme “Giant Leaps...Transcending Boundaries” simultaneously in all SM malls nationwide until Jan. 24.

Engineer Bien Mateo, chairman of the SM Committee on Disability Affairs, was made by the ASP as this year’s honorary chairman of the 14th National Autism Week Working Committee.

The celebration took off on Jan. 17 at the SM North Edsa Skydome with a Holy Mass and Family Fun Day. It will culminate with “Angels Walk for Autism” on Jan. 24 at the SM Mall of Asia.

The National Autism Week, which is celebrated every year, aims to raise public awareness on the need to provide a supportive environment among communities to enable children and adults with autism to live with dignity and enable them to function independently and contribute productively to society.

Autism is a lifelong disability and getting people to understand and support ASP activities can make a real difference to the lives of those affected with autism and their families.

SM, through its Committee on Disability Affairs, has been very supportive of the causes of the ASP.

It has offered SM Malls as a venue for all their activities and hosted last September the first-ever sensory film showing of the Disney animated movie “Up,” which was attended by some 100 kids with autism and their families.

Because of its success, the sensory film program will be rolled out nationwide in SM Cinemas and will be scheduled in close coordination with ASP.

Autism Treatment Crisis: Insufficient Number Of Providers To Meet Alarming Increase In Need

2010-01-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

According to a study recently released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, it is estimated that approximately 673,000 children aged 3 - 21 have been diagnosed with autism nationwide.

Leading researchers and autism treatment providers agree that children with autism need increased access to evidence-based interventions, including applied behavior analysis (ABA). Endorsed by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics, ABA is the only treatment for autism that has been consistently validated by independent scientific research.

However, the CDC Study implies a huge gap between the number of children who need autism treatment and the availability of evidence-based autism treatment. Gina Green, PhD., executive director of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, estimates that there are only approximately 4,900 Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (who must be supervised by BCBAs) "worldwide" who work with individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Rethink Autism hopes to address that gap. "As the prevalence rates of autism are now estimated to be one in 110, we must identify innovative ways to address this National Health Crisis so that children with autism will receive the intervention they so desperately need. Rethink Autism's groundbreaking web-based curriculum empowers parents of children with autism to begin intervention today," said Dr. Bridget Taylor, Senior Clinical Advisor and Board Chair of the Rethink Autism Scientific Advisory Board.

"The alarming autism incident rates just published by the CDC coupled with the staggeringly low likelihood of families gaining access to ABA interventions should be an immediate call to action," said Jamie Pagliaro, executive vice president of Rethink Autism. "The need for new technologies and scalable solutions to deliver best practice treatment has never been greater than now. Developed by some of the nation's leaders in the field of autism, Rethink Autism offers cost-effective research-based intervention tools to anyone with an Internet connection."

About Rethink Autism:

Rethink Autism, Inc. seeks to ensure that every child on the autism spectrum has access to effective and affordable research-based treatment options by providing professionals, parents, and family members with the tools and information necessary to teach children with autism in a way that is easy to understand and apply. Rethink Autism was founded in 2007 and has its headquarters at 19 West 21st Street in New York City.

Children With Autism Use Alternative Keyboard To Communicate With Their Families And Their World

2010-01-23T01:01:00.000-08:00

Autism can build a wall of poor communication between those struggling with the condition and their families. While a personal computer can help bridge the divide, the distraction and complexity of a keyboard can be an insurmountable obstacle.

Using a unique keyboard with only two "keys" and a novel curriculum, teachers with Project Blue Skies are giving children with autism the ability to both communicate and to explore the online world.

At the heart of the project is a device called the OrbiTouch. Human-factors engineer Pete McAlindon of BlueOrb in Maitland, Fl., conceived of the concept behind the OrbiTouch more than a decade ago as a way to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and provide computer access to people with limited or no use of their fingers.

Developed with the support of two National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research awards (9661259 and 9801506), the concept of representing keyboard strokes with paired movements was critical to the design from the start.

"If you are unable to use a keyboard and mouse effectively or at all because of a physical disability, what chance do you have of using a computer?," asked McAlindon. "The OrbiTouch is designed to keep people with physical or developmental disabilities connected to their computers."

The Project Blue Skies curriculum is based on the functions of the OrbiTouch, which allows a user to input letters, symbols and any other command by independently manipulating two computer-mouse shaped grips forward, back, diagonally and to the sides.

For people with carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as other hand and finger ailments, the motions driving the OrbiTouch are far kinder than those for a keyboard.

With Project Blue Skies, the hardware is matched to lesson plans, training aids such as games, and assessment tools. The two-grip device is ideal for people with autism because it is less distracting than a keyboard and does not require finger motion.

In addition, the various letter and number combinations are created by matching color schemes indicated on the two grips, so the training curriculum matches well to a game-like environment.

Get Active For Autism, UK

2010-01-23T00:58:00.000-08:00

If your New Year resolutions are already fading fast, The National Autistic Society (NAS) may have the perfect opportunity to get back on track.

The UK's leading charity for people affected by autism is inviting people to join its 2010 active challenge team and raise vital funds to help and support people affected by autism. Whatever your ability there really is something for everyone, from 5k fun runs to 500k cycles.

Ella Moffat, NAS Fundraising Events Manager, said: "Lots of people make New Year resolutions to get fit and what better way to do it and do something really worthwhile at the same time? Last year we had over 970 supporters who raised an amazing £750k for the NAS. This year with your help, we could raise even more!"

Walk, jog, run or cycle in any organised event and as a valued member of the NAS team you'll receive training and fundraising support every step of the way.

Emily Beet, who completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon for the NAS in 2009, said: "When I originally signed up I wasn't known for my running talents or sporting prowess! But I'm proud to say that with a bit of hard work and determination I jogged the entire distance and raised over £2,000 for the NAS. I wasn't the quickest of runners, but wanted to do what I could to help make a difference to people affected by autism and support the work the National Autistic Society does for people like my son. I would urge anyone thinking of setting themselves a challenge for the New Year to go for it and choose the National Autistic Society!"

All funds raised through active challenges will be used to support NAS services including Advocacy for Education service, Befriending scheme, Parent to Parent support service and help! programme.

- £20 - will mean we can provide specialist one-to-one befriending support for one person with autism or a member of their family for a month

- £50 - will mean ten more people getting the understanding and help they need through our telephone support

- £100 - will help pay for a full diagnosis of a child at our internationally respected and renowned NAS diagnostic and assessment centre

- £200 - will mean one more adult meeting others, doing things, going places and feeling less isolated for a year at a NAS social group

For information on NAS active challenge events call the events team on 08450 509 001 or visit http://www.autism.org.uk/events

How do I talk to a kid with autism?

2009-08-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

From Tina Cruz, a Fullerton writer who has two children on the spectrum:

1. Ask questions about things you are interested in. Get him to talk about what you want… lead the conversation. If he starts in on Indiana Jones, change the subject…make it something related. “Yes, Indy was a really cool movie, but what did you think of Wall-E?” “Really? What did you like about it?” If you steer the conversation, it will go more smoothly.
2. Bring someone else into the conversation, and throw my son a bone…er, rather, a thread of conversation that he and the other person has in common. Once he is talking to the other person, escape! Yes, I am mostly kidding with this one! Besides, he would just catch you…
3. Be HONEST. Just tell him you can’t talk about that right now. That you are busy, maybe later you can discuss it. He probably won’t be hurt by it, he will appreciate your candor. But if you tell him this, know he has the memory of an elephant and long after you have forgotten? He will find you.
4. Play a game. I Spy, “I’m Thinking of a Word…” “When I Go To the Moon I’m Bringing…” these are all good choices. But don’t be surprised if he kicks your butt. The kid has an amazing attention to detail and his memory will blow you away.
5. Engage in an activity you both enjoy. Go to a ball game. Do a craft. Find time for one-on-one. Just know we are working on good sportsmanship to board games and video games…win or lose, he will shake your hand and say, “Good game!” Be prepared.
6. If all else fails, shoot me a look. I will rescue you both. Under no circumstances be unkind to him…he will remember it. You may not get a second chance.

Virtual world teaches real-world skills

2009-03-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

Game helps people with Asperger's practice socializing

If home is where the heart is, then home for a dozen people with Asperger Syndrome could be a 16-acre island blessed with lush gardens and rolling green hills.

The island is called "Brigadoon," but unlike its literary namesake, this place is real — or real enough in a 21st century way. "Brigadoon" belongs to a public virtual world called "Second Life," a popular online 3-D environment frequented by tens of thousands of users.

If home is where the heart is, then home for a dozen people with Asperger Syndrome could be a 16-acre island blessed with lush gardens and rolling green hills.

The island is called "Brigadoon," but unlike its literary namesake, this place is real — or real enough in a 21st century way. "Brigadoon" belongs to a public virtual world called "Second Life," a popular online 3-D environment frequented by tens of thousands of users.
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"Brigadoon" is a real-world experiment in social skills made virtual, a private enclave limited to a select mixture of caregivers and individuals with Asperger Syndrome, a higher functioning form of autism. The inhabitants, or "Dooners" as they call themselves, enjoy the same privileges as those in the more public arenas of "Second Life." They are free to create their own digital representations of themselves, called "avatars," build virtual houses and seek out friends. And, most importantly, they are free to create a "second life" with a level of social interaction that, for reasons of their condition, has been hard to come by in their real lives.

Is gaming a good thing?
Talk of video gaming can set off feelings of unease among parents — no one wants a kid to be glued to a screen for hours on end. But the stakes for children with Asperger's and other autism spectrum disorders — who have difficulties with social interaction — tend to be higher.

At issue is the importance of developing enriching personal relationships and becoming a part of society. While video games can be educational and entertaining, their reputation as a solitary activity can present an impediment to progress for people with autistic disorders by limiting their exposure to social situations.

Researchers are also concerned that playing video games could simply become one of the many repetitive activities that an affected child engages in.

"One feature that highlights the risk of video games is that the behavior of children with autism can be repetitive. They like sameness and routine," says Sally Ozonoff, an associate professor of psychiatry at the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis. This preference for repetition and familiarity often limits their experiences and prevents them from learning how to adapt to new situations.

But if used correctly, video game technology could be beneficial. "Children with autism have a natural inclination to video games and television," Ozonoff adds. "The goal is to try to exploit that inclination therapeutically."

New technology in the works
Researchers around the world are now attempting to do just that. At the University of Victoria in British Columbia, cognitive psychologist James Tanaka is using a custom-built game called "Let's Face It!" to teach facial recognition. Actually a suite of mini-games, the program uses photos, sounds and positive feedback as part of a scoring system to encourage kids with autism to learn.

"You can have kids do an exercise, but they usually don't have the richness or the continuity [of the video game]," says Tanaka.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Glasgow Caledonian University are creating video games to study cognitive skills in children with autism using a revolutionary interface: gesture recognition software that registers the players' movements and transfers them to the screen.

"From my work, I know that a lot of children [with autism] have production skills we never would expect," says Maggie McGonigle, leader of the project and an expert on non-verbal communication. "So I'm hoping that language-like skills are locked up in their brain even if they can't speak."

But in the small world of video games with real-life applications for people with autistic disorders, "Brigadoon" stands out.

When "Brigadoon" founder John Lester, an information systems director at Massachusetts General Hospital and research associate at Harvard Medical School, discovered the virtual world "Second Life," one of the first things that came to mind was how he could share the experience.

A decade earlier, Lester had founded Braintalk Communities, a self-help support site dedicated to neurological conditions. "I'm big on creating spaces where patients and caregivers can share experiences and emotional support and essentially help themselves," he says.

"Second Life" was different. Although not exactly a game, it was rooted in 21st century game technology. In gaming parlance, "Second Life" was "immersive," a world that's both three-dimensional (think "Halo 2") and "persistent," meaning the world is always up and running.

"A lot of what's happening in 'Second Life' is social," says Lester. "And I thought that this could be a fantastic place for people dealing with Asperger Syndrome. Give them a simulated environment and let them practice social skills in a three-dimensional space."

Individuals with Asperger's usually aren't comfortable in social situations, but many display an innate understanding of computer technology. These two factors — social deficiencies and computer knowledge — made them perfect candidates to test "Brigadoon."

Last year Lester purchased a virtual island in "Second Life," invited participants from Braintalk Communities to establish a claim, and in July 2004, "Brigadoon" was launched.

Although virtual, it's possible to explore "Brigadoon" like a real-world island. On a recent personal tour, Lester and "Brigadoon" resident Jamison Read, a mother of a son with Asperger's, showed off the sights.

The tour began inside the Temple of Zeus, a meeting place positioned at the top of "Brigadoon's" highest hill. There are meeting places throughout the island — precisely the type of spaces that individuals with Asperger's would avoid in the real world.

"That's what most of the spaces around "Brigadoon" are focused on," says Lester.

The tour led to a valley and past an aquarium inhabited by a jumping shark created by an individual with Asperger's who goes by the online name of Coos Yellowknife. Nearby, a virtual screen mixed snapshots of past "Brigadoon" social events, like a virtual lobster dinner, with photos from the real-world.

"People with Asperger Syndrome get pretty 'beat up' by society," says Read. "Here they can go at their own pace and move into the mainstream."

Read originally joined "Brigadoon" to discover if the game would help her son who has Asperger's. He is still figuring out if he wants to join, but for Read there was something about "Brigadoon" — its whimsy, the ability to be creative with colorful virtual gardens and homes, and its reputation as a safe haven — that compelled her to stay.

"I have learned a lot about [Asperger Syndrome] from the adults here, so I am trying to help my son counter some of the problems he will have as an adult," she says.

"Brigadoon" is still an experiment. It is small in size — just 16-acres if the island existed in the real world — as well as in population. The world may be rich in color, but communication is limited to instant text messaging. When compared to the $10 billion video game industry, "Brigadoon" and its host world "Second Life" register as a mere blip on the radar.

But in a field where the quest to lead an enriching and "normal" life is measured by even the smallest steps, "Brigadoon" may be a sign of how video game technology can be used for good.

Lester is already convinced. "[The inhabitants] have learned a lot about themselves in how they socialize and they've gained confidence," he says.

And, as the "Dooner" named Coos wrote in a "Brigadoon" blog, "We are aliens in this RL [real world]. SL ['Second Life'] has showed me it is OK to be an alien in a strange new world!"

Friendship House Autism Center plans announced

2009-02-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Muted lighting, soft colors and quiet plumbing — what sounds like interior options for a spa actually will be a carefully calibrated environment for autistic children.

“A lot of children with autism have issues with hypersensitivity, whether it’s a light flicker or the swish of a flushed toilet,” said architect Brian Doran, who conducted research and consulted behavior therapists for a modern vision in designing Friendship House’s $1.4 million Northeast Regional Autism Center expansion.

Friendship House officials on Thursday announced the 14,000-square-foot project, expected to begin in March, with a display of architectural renderings and a short tour of the proposed site, a former warehouse at Friendship House’s Maple Street offices.

Mr. Doran, with the Scran�ton design firm Hemmler & Camayd, also is the father of a mildly autistic child.

“We’re trying to create the right environment for therapists to execute their work,” he said.

Friendship House’s existing autistic program treats 60 children 2 to 21 years old at a building two blocks away on Derby Avenue. The expansion will move the program to Maple Street after the project’s expected completion in October.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, autism is a condition in a group of developmental disorders characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication problems and limited activities or interests. It is estimated three to six children of every 1,000 will have autism, and boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls, the institute said.

Teaching Kids With Autism The Art Of Conversation

2009-01-15T01:02:00.000-08:00

Math and numbers are easy for 10-year-old Alex Lee. He can tell you what pi is out to 100 digits.

But Alex doesn't do so well with chitchat. On a late fall day, he meets with psychologist Brian Freedman.

Alex asks Freedman if he knows how to play the piano.

Freedman starts to reply that the two weren't having a conversation about pianos, but Alex interrupts him: "What instrument do you play?"

"Hang on," Freedman repeats, "were we talking about me playing the piano?"

"No."

"What were we talking about?" Freedman asks again.

"What instrument do you play?" Alex continues.

"Were we talking about me playing instruments?" says Freedman.

Finally, Alex replies, "No."

"No," Freedman agrees.

Social Studies

For children like Alex with autism, social interactions are a struggle. But Freedman is part of a team of researchers at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute that has developed a course to help these kids improve their social skills. The program is called Building Up Development of Socialization, or BUDS.

Alex says he is doing better than he used to since starting the program several months ago.

"I had a perfect week last week," he tells Freedman. "I was never going into the red zone." That refers to a number of behaviors that get Alex in trouble.

Alex and several other children with mild autism have been meeting every week with Freedman and autism specialist Elizabeth Stripling. The idea is to teach the social skills that most kids pick up without even thinking about it.

Freedman says the gap between kids with autism and other kids isn't so wide when they're in kindergarten. But after that it can become a chasm.

The kids in Alex's group are between 10 and 12 years old. "They're starting to move toward middle school," says Freedman, "and the social rules are changing all around them, and so it's incredibly hard for them to keep up. So that's why we need to have a group like this."

Conversation 101

During the sessions, Freedman and Stripling give pointers on how to do things as basic as keeping a conversation going.

For instance, they're told, if someone says he likes music, ask what kind of music. Freedman and Stripling remind the kids to make eye contact and listen when someone else is talking.

Freedman says it's all about coaching and practice, not just rules.

"One of the problems that kids with autism can run into is that when they're taught very rigid rules, they only stick to those rules," Freedman explains. "So we try to help them understand some nuances within interaction."

On this November afternoon, only two boys have shown up, Alex and another 10-year-old, named Joseph Santana.

A few minutes into the session, Joseph says he wants to talk about something that happened to him. Freedman and Stripling help Alex respond appropriately.

"On Sunday, I went to the emergency room," Joseph says.

"Oh, my gosh," Freedman replies.

"Because I couldn't breathe," Joseph continues.

Stripling jumps in: "Oh, my goodness!"

Then Alex takes their cue, "Were you dying or what? So sorry to hear that."

Freedman praises Alex for picking up the conversation and asks him what other questions might be appropriate to ask Joseph about his trip to the ER.

It's not completely spontaneous or natural. But Freedman says the conversation shows how far Alex has come. He is clearly listening, and his responses even suggest empathy.

And for Joseph, just telling the story is a big achievement. He has trouble communicating with other kids. But he has been trying hard with the children he's met in these sessions.

Freedman says the first thing Joseph did after getting out of the hospital was send an e-mail to the entire group.

"The e-mail wasn't just to check in and say hi, but it provided context to say that something had happened to him," Freedman says. "The next sentence was followed by, 'I'm OK.' And all of that was followed up by emoticons that showed the feelings that went along with that. So I would say especially for a kid like Joseph, that was tremendous progress."

Joseph grew up loving The History Channel, but hating school.

"Kids would pick on him, beat him up. You know, they were really not very kind to him at all," says his mother, Kathleen Santana.

When kids at school handed out invitations to birthday parties, Joseph never received any.

"In the beginning he just wasn't aware," Kathleen Santana says. "But now that he is getting older and learning more that that is happening, he is becoming more aware, and I think that is a hurtful situation for him."

Eventually, Santana decided to teach Joseph at home.

Alex has been doing OK at school. But his father, Hugh Lee, says his son is lonely.

"He wants to make friends with other kids. I think it's just a disability in him that he doesn't know how to," says Lee.

Final Exam

After many weeks of practice, Alex and Joseph are getting ready for a kind of final exam — at the Baltimore aquarium.

The boys spend a December afternoon at the Australia exhibit, checking out animals and asking each other questions about what they're seeing and what the animals are doing.

Their parents, meanwhile, are awarding points when the boys do well and taking points away when they don't.

At the end of the visit, the scores are tallied. Alex is told that he gets a lot of points for initiating conversations. But he also has a few deducted.

This is the sort of conversation Alex likes. It's about numbers.

"OK, so 18 minus 3 equals 15. So I have more than 10, and I have exactly 15. So a large prize," Alex happily says.

For kids like Alex, the stakes are high. They're more than smart enough to go to college, find jobs and live on their own.

But Freedman says his goal is to make sure they acquire the social skills to accomplish those things.

'Like going to Disney World every Saturday'

2008-07-31T03:53:00.000-07:00

Horse-riding program has healing effects on Waukegan boys coping with disorders

July 31, 2008

BY CHARLIE ADELMAN

Despite suffering from numerous health crises, two Waukegan boys have found solace in the unlikely therapy of horseback riding.

For Evan Dustan, 9, and his 2½-year-old brother Ian, life hasn't been such an easy ride.

At age 3, Evan was discovered to have autism, and just two weeks ago he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.

His brother, meanwhile, has suffered from an undiagnosed digestion problem that prohibits his stomach from processing any food. He has been connected to feeding tubes since shortly after he was born.

Both boys have been going through therapeutic horseback riding sessions at the Midwest Therapeutic Riding Program in Racine, Wis. since they were toddlers.

"It's a place where kids don't have disabilities and kids are kids," said the boys' mother, Jamie. "It's the best therapy we've ever given them. Ian said his first word on a horse."

For the family, who lives in Waukegan, Evan's recent diagnosis has been a huge blow.

"We were not even prepared," Jamie said. "We were so ignorant, we had no concept of what we were looking at."

Only a day after Evan was diagnosed, Jamie and her husband Chris took the boys up to Milwaukee to begin Evan's treatment.

"Evan's had a really rough beginning," Jamie said. "He had a seizure disorder that has resurfaced since undergoing treatment."

Playing supermom to her children, Jamie admits Evan's latest developments have been a struggle.

"Having a second child already medically fragile, this complicates things a bit," she said.

To ease their stay in Milwaukee, the family has moved into a suite at a Ronald McDonald house there and will likely stay until January while Evan goes through chemotherapy.

With all the recent tribulations, it's not surprising Evan is looking forward to getting back on a horse, although, "it's going to be a little while," said Jamie.

"The program is really a place where kids' dreams come true," she said. "It's been like going to Disney World every Saturday. It's been life-changing for the entire family."

Autism swim program designed to save lives

2008-07-31T03:41:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 31, 2008

COURTESY SOMERSET HILLS YMCA

Statistics show that the highest rate of accidental death of autistic children is through drowning.

In response to this disturbing fact, in January, 2008, children from the Mount Prospect Pre-School Autistic Program (ages 3-5 years) began swim lessons each week at the Somerset Hills YMCA using the ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) methodology, a systematic step-by-step approach to learning that is implemented specifically in teaching children with autism.

The cooperative program between the YMCA and the Bernards Township School District is the brainchild of Jean O'Connell, Supervisor of Special Education, Bernards Township Schools, and Anna Scanniello, Director of Aquatics and Safety at the Somerset Hills YMCA in Basking Ridge.

Named ABA Swimming -- A Better Approach to Swimming -- the program is based on the ABA methodology that extends the use of the principles of applied behavior analysis to teaching children with autism. Lessons are held at the Somerset Hills YMCA training pool, where lead teacher, Allyson Sudol, pre-school Speech pathologist and former competitive swimmer, has developed a curriculum, based on her 12 years of experience teaching children with developmental difficulties.

With additional swim instructors and pool space provided at no cost by the YMCA, children are learning this vital life skill.

At the same time, the children learn essential social skills as they ride the school bus, change in and out of swimwear, navigate their way around the pool, and interact with instructors.

"We must continue to enable families to better face autism by providing the support services that they desperately need," stated Dr. Joseph Morandi, board-certified family physician and chairman of the Medical Committee for the Somerset Hills YMCA. "The ABA swimming program teaches essential skills, both in and out of the water, which these children might not otherwise learn. When you think about the YMCA's core principles of helping the people in our community grow in spirit, mind and body, this program is a perfect example that encompasses all of those values and leaves us with that warm sense of accomplishment and purpose."

Anna Scanniello of the YMCA insists that teaching the children to swim is a gift to the instructor and child alike and, at the same time, allows the children to increase their own independence for community involvement.

"This pilot program will hopefully be the first of many to address this issue," adds Scanniello.

Optimism is high that this program's success will encourage the widespread development of similar programs and trigger more grants to help underwrite operating costs such as instructor training, transportation, etc., so that other age groups can benefit from this opportunity.

For more information, visit www.somersethillsymca.org or e-mail Anna Scanniello at ascanniello@somersethillsymca.org.

The Somerset Hills YMCA is a community service, mission based, 501c3 non-profit organization of dedicated staff and volunteers, serving all individuals regardless of gender, age, race, faith, ethnic heritage, mental/physical ability or economic circumstance.

Each year, the Somerset Hills YMCA provides over $550,000 in financial assistance and program subsidy through the Strong Kids Campaign. Located in Basking Ridge and dedicated to helping people grow in spirit, mind and body, the Somerset Hills YMCA is guided by the core principles of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Penn State Conference to Provide Lessons for Educators and Families of Kids with Autism

2008-07-31T03:21:00.000-07:00

Thousands expected to attend as the number of diagnosed autism cases continues to increase

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Educators, interested professionals and families of autistic children who hope to create effective educational programming will descend on Penn State's 2008 National Autism Conference, August 4-8 at the Penn Stater Conference Center.

According to the latest figures by the U.S. Department of Education, the number of diagnosed autism cases has increased 172 percent since 1990. The amount of new cases continues to be a challenge for those who are educating and treating people with autism.

"As awareness of autism continues to grow, this conference will remain a vital forum for educators, providers and families to discuss the latest findings in treating and educating students with autism spectrum disorders," said Nancy Eckard, conference planner. "We host close to 400 conferences and meetings at the Penn Stater and the Autism Conference is one of the biggest."

The conference, which averages approximately 2,500 participants, will feature experts in autism, educators, autism advocates and people with autism and their family members. Speakers at this year's conference include:

-- Eustacia Cutler, author and speaker, whose studies in autism and retardation led to two television documentaries: The Disquieted, on disturbed children, and The Innocents. Her book, A Thorn in My Pocket: Temple Grandin's Mother Tells the Family Story, is in its third printing.

-- Rachel Marie Brooks, Miss Pennsylvania 2007, promoted her platform -- "Autism Awareness: Unlocking the Mystery" -- across the state. A graduate student in the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government, she advocates for legislation and policies designed to benefit the autism community at the local, state and federal levels.

-- Joe Gans will share his challenges -- and successes -- as a 20-year-old Penn State student with autism.

The conference is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Information about the conference is available at http://www.outreach.psu.edu/programs/Autism/ online.

Hundreds attend Autism Summit in Temecula

2008-07-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

By CLAUDIA BUSTAMANTE
The Press-Enterprise

TEMECULA - There's no magic bullet for autism, but family and friends of children who have the condition learned Tuesday about various health therapies, research and communication methods.

Hundreds of people attended the area's first Autism Summit at Rancho Community Church in Temecula. The event drew more than 50 vendors, both local and from nearby counties.

There were tables from schools such as Oak Grove in Murrieta, lawyers specializing in special education, nutrition information and autism research centers.

Parents, Professionals Share Experiences At Autism Summit

2008-07-31T03:10:00.000-07:00

Just one year ago, Casandra Oldham's life was changed forever with one word: autism. Before that her then-two-and-a-half year old son was normal, she said.

"He had words, he put them together; he would play. He slowly regressed over the winter," Oldham said. "He got to the point where he would sit in the corner all day, chewing on his shirt and playing with the shadows that came in through the window. He lost all his words. He lost his communications skills. He lost his ability to play."

Her story was one of many shared during Monday night's Autism summit held in Lansdowne to focus attention on the needs of children with the brain development disorder and on proposed state legislation that could help families afford treatments.

Oldham said her family had only moved to the area about a year before her son's diagnosis. They started an applied behavior analysis program for her son, a costly treatment not covered by health insurance, but which has received much praise in recent years as an effective treatment for autism. When the family's car broke down and as bills began to pile up, they eventually had to shut off part of their water to continue paying for their son's treatments.

Oldham then watched as her second child, only 17 months old at the time, began to regress. He lost the ability to point, and to chew, she said. Her younger son was then tested for mitochondrial disease, and the test came back positive. She had her older son, then three years old, tested as well. His test also came back positive.

"They were born normal," Oldham said. "They acquired the mitochondrial condition that brought about their autism."

"Let me say this about the [applied behavioral analysis]: the ABA works on both my children. But I had to sit there, and I had to choose. Do I pay the $3,000 to have my kid potty trained, or do I ask if my child can speak?" she said. "These are the choices I had to make. Do I help my baby, who at least they caught sooner, and might have more hope, or do I help my three year old?"

After her sons' were diagnosed, Oldham turned to the community of parents with children suffering from autism, and was able to get help for her 17-month-old child this summer. Her three year old started school last year, and while she praised the teachers who work with her son, both she and the teachers know it is not enough, she said. But the cost of treatments is just too high.

"They're young, and they have potential," she said of her children, "but we just don't have the resources."

When she started her 17-month-old child's ABA treatments, the cost of 21 hours of treatment every week was $3,600 per month. Her doctor recommended 40 hours of treatment each week. To treat both of her children at the doctor's recommendations, her family would have to pay more than $14,000 every month.

Parents at Monday's Autism Summit also heard testimony from experts in the field of autism treatment about advances in treatments, and from state legislators backing a bill that would require insurance companies to provide coverage for autism treatment.

Jane Barbin was at the event representing the Association for Science in Autism Treatment. The association works to spread scientific information about the treatment of autism. Barbin spoke in favor of ABA treatments, citing studies by several task forces, including the New York State Department of Health of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.

"And what that office has said," Barbin said, referring to the Surgeon General's report, "is they have concluded that there is over 30 years ... demonstrating the effectiveness of applied behavioral analysis in decreasing inappropriate behaviors," such as aggression, hand-flapping, and non-functional vocal responses.

Barbin said the Surgeon General's Office also concluded ABA "is effective in increasing certain behaviors that are important," such as communication and social skills.

Delegates Robert Marshall (R-13), David Poisson (D-32), Thomas Rust (R-86), Charles Caputo (D-67), and Senator Mark Herring (D-33) attended the event, hosted by the Loudoun County Autism Network, and expressed their support for House Bill 83.

The bill, which was introduced by Marshall, after working with one of his constituents, originally sought to address the lack of insurance coverage for services for all children with developmental disabilities, but has since been amended to focus only on those children who have been diagnosed in the autism spectrum.

The bill was left in committee during last spring's session, but it has been regenerated with a public hearing anticipated in Richmond some time this fall.

"Every child is special. And we need to remember that providing these services is expensive, but it is an investment. And most importantly, it is an investment in children," Rust said Monday.

Children with autism who receive treatment early can eventually enter the work force, instead of becoming wards of the state, which would offset the costs of covering autism under insurance programs, he said.

Marshall spoke about how parents and advocates need to network to gather contacts from around the state who can petition local delegates and senators to support the bill, especially those on the State Corporation Commission's mandated benefits commission, and the commerce and labor committees in the House of Delegates and Senate.

Marshall was able to recruit four volunteers from the crowd to serve as phone organizers for northern, southern, western, and the tidewater regions of Virginia, and encouraged everyone present to give their information to Pat DiBari, a Lansdowne resident whose grassroots efforts spawned the Autism Summit and who founded The Loudoun Project, an online community and resource for parents of children with autism.

"Has everyone given their name and number and e-mail to Pat here?" Marshall asked during his speech. "If you haven't done it, you have to do it before you leave the room. You will not be allowed to leave to room until you do so," he said, drawing much laughter from the audience.

James Lafferty, president of the Autism Advocacy Coalition whose son was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and has undergone ABA treatments, spoke to the crowd about his own experiences with autism.

Lafferty told the audience about the anger he experienced when his son's teacher told him that his son did not need speech therapy, because he could not speak, and the pride he felt about being able to drop his son off for the his first day of regular kindergarten this fall.

He agreed with Marshall's ideas for organizing people at a local level to help influence legislators when it comes to autism matters, saying the audience would "have to be ready for the fight of our lives."

Micro-lending blog funds controversial autism treatments

2008-07-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Tori Tuncan didn’t know Logan Rogers or his mom, but she posted their request on her blog:

Logan, 10 years old, is unable to ride his bike because he has “absolutely no muscle tone.” He needs occupational therapy. Insurance will cover it, but his mom needs $250, immediately, to pay for the evaluation up front.

Can you lend his mom the money?

Within eight hours, Tori had raised the funds for Logan’s mom, thanks to five strangers who agreed to the loans. For Tori, it was on to the next kid.

A month ago, Tori quietly launched a very ambitious blog. At Lend4Health.blogspot.com, parents of autistic children who seek biomedical treatments — chelation, visits with DAN! doctors, hyperbaric oxygen treatments, and more — can ask for micro-loans from Tori’s readers.

Those biomedical treatments are used by thousands of parents who swear by them, but they’re often difficult to get insurers to pay for because they are not accepted by mainstream doctors as safe, effective treatments for autism. (For more on DAN! treatments, read our primer.)

The first loan took about a month to fulfill — $266 for food sensitivity testing. The second, Logan’s, took just eight hours. The third was posted Tuesday afternoon.

For a community of parents who are already comfortable getting treatment advice, sharing health problems and dishing on their kids’ diets online, this goes a step further: It gives them a chance to be actually invested in another family’s autistic journey.

Tori is a consultant in the Washington, D.C. area. She has a 3-year-old son with a sensory processing disorder (not on the autism spectrum), though she suspects he had autism. Because her son is on a gluten-free/ casein-free diet (a biomedical treatment for autism), she spends a lot of time on message boards with parents dealing with autism. (She also blogs about GF/CF diets, and — really — poop.)

“Everyone (on the message boards) is like, ‘We’re $30,000 in debt, we had to sell our house, our car, we’re living with my parents, insurance doesn’t cover any of this stuff,’” she said in an interview. “Most stuff you do with a DAN! doctor is not covered by insurance. Getting your olive leaf extract is not covered by insurance.”I haven’t read Jenny McCarthy’s next book, but I’m guessing a huge part of what she’s going to talk about is all the stuff moms have to go through to heal their kids. And it takes a major financial toll. But you do what you gotta do because it’s your kid.”

When she got the idea last month — inspired by Kiva.org, which facilitates micro-loans to developing countries — she ran downstairs to tell her husband. She vowed not to launch it until she lost 20 pounds — hoping the excitement of the idea would be the motivation she needed to lose the weight. But she couldn’t wait. She’s still working on the 20 pounds.

Loans are made and and repaid through PayPal, and borrowers sign a written loan agreement. The terms of the loan are set by the borrower. One of the moms is paying it off in a month; another, over the next year. I ask her if they pay interest. “Of course not,” she says.

She admits she rushed into the idea. She requires references, and she checks them out, but she doesn’t know what she’ll do if somebody defaults. “I have a FAQ section I haven’t done yet, and I know that’s one of the questions.”

But she doesn’t think that’ll happen. “I don’t think people will. It’s such a big deal. These moms are excited, like ‘Oh my gosh I can’t believe a bunch of strangers will lend me $10 to help my kid.”

I ask her if, when somebody asks for a loan, she takes their credit card number or something so she has some official leverage.

“No, but thank you. That’s a good idea.”

Autism Baseball League First in Chicago

2008-07-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

The Autism Awareness Kids Baseball Program, a summer baseball league taking place on Sunday mornings in Humboldt Park, is Chicago’s first sports program for children with autism. The league was conceived by Alex Cruz, who was reluctant to place his autistic son in a competitive environment where he might be teased or ignored. Local families came together to help make the idea a reality, and now with the support of former White Sox infielder Alex Cintrón, the league has plans to expand into four little league teams for children with autism and with other special needs. Future plans are to expand the program into indoor soccer, basketball, and floor hockey.

For more information, contact Alex Cruz at 773-663-8909

Autism partner dog helps Horry County family

2008-07-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

Dru Forster
Published: July 29, 2008

In their Horry County backyard, they seem like the picture perfect family, but the Clemants have had there fair share of challenges. Both of their sons have Autism.

Monique Clemant says, “No two kids with Autism are alike. They say it’s the disease of three-hundred and sixty degrees and it really and truly is like every degree is different and makes a child with autism that much more different.”

Monique and her husband Jim have needed all the guidance they can get with their sons, seven year old Daniel and six year old Thomas. They turned to “The North Star Foundation”, a non-profit program that helps children with developmental disabilities.

Someone made an anonymous donation to the foundation and changed the Clemant Family forever by bringing an Autism partner dog into their lives. Autism partner dogs are trained to provide comfort and guidance and that is exactly what “Bennie” is doing for the Clemant family.

”He’s larger then we thought he would be but he’s fits right in with the craziness of our family everyday,” says Monique.

Bennie has been with the Clemant’s for more than a year now. Jim says it’s made a difference watching his sons play free now. He also sees that the interaction between Bennie and his sons makes a huge difference in their lives.

Gina Crist, Bennie’s trainer says, “The dog naturally reduces anxiety, stress and blood pressure in the child.” Gina’s main goal is to get the families used to Autism partner dogs.

The Clemant family is thankful for Bennie and Monique says he will be a part of her children’s lives for many years to come, and will always live up to his title of boy’s best friend.

If your interested in the program or have a child struggling with autism. You can call “The North Star Program” at 843-449-0554.

Swimmer aims for his dream

2008-07-29T05:27:00.000-07:00

Trying to conquer Lake Ontario

By JORDAN PRESS, SUN MEDIA

In early May, Jay Serdula dreamed that he was swimming across Lake Ontario, each stroke bringing him closer to the Toronto shoreline.

He could see the CN Tower looming larger. His body felt fresh and he was feeling good about making it ashore.

Yesterday that dream came true for the Kingston resident. Setting out from Niagara-on-the-Lake at 10 a.m., he is trying to swim across Lake Ontario to raise money and awareness for Asperger's syndrome, a disorder on the mild end of the autism spectrum that makes it difficult for people to adapt to new things.

He is scheduled to end his swim at Toronto's Marilyn Bell Park today between 3-6 p.m.

Serdula, 36, was born with Asperger's. He has prepared two years for this moment, and it's the preparation, he said, that should help him finish the swim.

How Adults Cope With Autism In The Workplace

2008-07-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ― Alex Ashkar is a model employee at the Bull Run coffee roasters. And he has autism.

"You know, its one thing to have somebody who works well, but it's also something to have someone whom you like," said Bull Run owner Greg Hoyt.

At Bull Run, Ashkar's autism is a non-issue. He typically works in the packaging department putting stickers on the boxes of coffee and taping them shut.

For Ashkar, finding meaningful work has been a lesson in understanding his limits. His first job at a local retailer didn't work out.

"They had him in a situation where he ended up working in isolation, you know, just straightening the cans, making sure that they're all facing the right way," said Alex's father Sean Ashkar.

For Alex Ashkar, a true people person, it wasn't a good match. So his family turned to Partnership Resources Incorporated, a nonprofit agency helping people with autism and other developmental disabilities find work.

With autism rates on the rise, PRI finds they are helping a lot more people who have the disorder.

"In the old days, you maybe would have out of 10, one or two. And now today, in 2008, we have eight out of 10 are on the autism spectrum, and that presents a whole different set of challenges and opportunities for us," said PRI's Dan Reed. "There's absolutely no reason they can't be extremely successful and happy in the community."

Through PRI, adults with autism or other developmental disabilities are set up with a job coach whose only job is to see that the worker succeeds. The coach devises supports that help supplement their skills, such as the counting board Alex's job coach created to keep track of how many bags of coffee go in a box.

"Alex can meander mentally a little bit, but that's part of where the job coach comes in," Reed said.

Alex and his family have had the advantage of knowing he had autism since he was only 2-years-old, but there are a lot of adults who are just now finding out they're on the spectrum.

"It explained so much. It was a relief," said Rich Cracraft, an adult with autism. "To finally have an answer to why I am the way I am."

Cracraft was diagnosed just last year. He'd suffered through countless jobs before finding success as a historical guide at the Oliver Kelly Farm in Elk River, Minn.

"It's a great mix of physical and mental," he said. "I'm not stupid. I'm a college graduate and everything like that, but my brain works slower than other people and I don't work as quickly as other people."

Cracraft sought out a diagnosis after learning his son was on the autism spectrum. He and his wife recognized a lot of common traits.

"Little things that a normal, a typical person would normally slough off are a little more sensory for him," said Lora Cracraft, Rich's wife.

Looking back, Rich Cracraft now sees symptoms that were always there.

"I can remember having a mantra of look normal, look normal, look normal, as I'm walking down the halls at school," he said.

Rich Cracraft received a diagnosis through the Autism Society of Minnesota.

"You have to be ready to accept the information the that you get," he said.

He also said he wishes there were more services for people like him, who mostly just need help understanding the social aspects of work, someone to help explain "when you walk in and there's a group of people standing there, what's the protocol for saying 'hi'."

"We have an obligation not to simply serve someone on one end of the spectrum or the other. It's an entire spectrum," said Shamus O'Meara, the head of the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities.

He added that a goal for the State of Minnesota is to implement more vocational services and spread the word about services that already exist. He said assembling a single resource guide for people with developmental disabilities has taken years, but there's finally a result and people with autism helped put it together through a unique digital imaging program conceived by the Governor's Council.

"I think our state is starting down an innovative road to matching technological innovation with the needs of people with disabilities," O'Meara said.

Through the digital imaging program, state and local agencies as well as private businesses are eliminating paper files.

"Technology, if used in the right way, is a great equalizer with people in the disability community," O'Meara said, adding he believes the next step is an autism task force. "I think that our state legislature needs to realize that these are families with disabilities, that there are a lot of us out there, that we're Democratic, Republican and we're not going to go away."

Day camp lets special kids get their kicks

2008-07-26T02:54:00.000-07:00

Summit Academy fits the bill

By Richard Price CORRESPONDENT

LEOMINSTER— As far as summer camps go, this one isn’t much to write home about to mom and dad.

There’s no archery, no lake for swimming, no campfire sing-alongs. There’s not a marshmallow to be found for roasting.

Yet parents from as far away as Andover are driving past the traditional summer camps to Leominster, where they drop off their son or daughter at a day camp in the Summit Academy School at 365 Lindell Ave.

To 7-year-old Brandon Moss, it’s the best camp in the world, even though he travels 45 minutes each way to attend. Here, he learns martial arts and loves it. For his mother, Kelly, it means a 5 a.m. wake-up and $80 a week in gas to drive round trip from Oxford.

Inside the school’s small auditorium, the class — mostly boys 7 to 10 years old — practices an age-appropriate, therapeutic version of martial arts.

They shout out the numbers 1 to 10 in Japanese while performing a series of jumping front kicks and arm-pumping thrusts.

They live with Asperger’s syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder), attention deficit disorders or other developmental disorders.

Standing on checkered floor mats, Brandon doesn’t see this as therapy to build strength, self-confidence and respect. He thinks it’s just fun.

But this modest day camp is the only one of its kind in Central Massachusetts — and only one of five in the state, according to campresource.com. Frustrated with the limited options in their communities, parents of children with learning and social disorders are willing to commute long distances every day despite the early morning wake-up time and high gas prices.

Children such as Brandon usually don’t qualify for summer programs in their towns because they are classified as highly functioning, meaning they won’t lose their skills over the summer, unlike those with severe cases of autism, said Susan Loring, director of the Autism Resource Center in West Boylston. Her state-funded center is a resource for more than 1,200 families in the area. Since these children have poorer social skills, it’s challenging for them to fit in with others at a regular day camp. Ms. Loring said the Summit camp is a welcome relief in Central Massachusetts.

Half of the children who go to the camp travel 30 minutes or more. Designed for children who struggle in a traditional public school setting, the Summit Academy is a private, year-round school with a modified program for learning and social disorders. The camp, which is in its inaugural season, costs $150 per week and runs until Aug.1. There is no financial assistance, but some school districts, Groton-Dunstable for one, have paid for six students to attend.

Daniel DiMezza, director of the Summit Academy School, said more than 40 children per week have signed up. Since building on the child’s emotional and social needs is important, the camp takes advantage of teaching moments when they happen, he said.

Jimmy Nason, 7, enrolled at Summit in April. As a first-grade student at the Hubbardston Center School, he was often overwhelmed in class and would curl up under his desk. He was diagnosed at age 3 with PDD-NOS, which is similar to Asperger’s syndrome.

Lissette Nason, Jimmy’s mother, said he is at par with other children his age academically, but socially he was evaluated way below his grade level. At times disruptive, he often spent four of his six-hour school days in the principal’s office, sent by frustrated teachers because he couldn’t grasp the imaginary elements of particular school assignments.

“He couldn’t write a story about being a bear,” Ms. Nason said. Equally frustrated with the way her son was treated, she added, “You wouldn’t penalize a child who couldn’t run a 50-yard dash.”

Since coming to Summit, Jimmy appears to be doing better. At the start of the martial arts class, he bows as he enters the room and stands on his spot on the mat, marked with a T. Wearing a blue Nike basketball outfit and skinny as a string bean, Jimmy shouts out commands with the others, “When I control my ‘T,’ I control me.”

Tammaris Mitchell is the teacher, or sensei. Referring to the program as martial arts therapy, she said the goal is to work on the whole child, not just the academic portion. Aside from developing eye-hand coordination, the program also focuses on how to identify and manage personal space and establish non-verbal communication, traits not easily learned by children like Jimmy and Brandon.

In class the students recite their creed: always to do their best, accept responsibility and show respect for others.

The lessons learned in Ms. Mitchell’s class enable the children to function for the rest of their camp day, which includes tennis, arts and crafts, and an extended school year of math, science and English.

Late in the afternoon Jimmy heads home with his mother, eager to teach his sister how to count in Japanese.

The parking lot is jammed with cars as Brandon begins his long ride home. He will rise early to attend his next martial arts class on time. This is important, according to the school handbook, because anyone can be a sensei if willing to be dedicated.

Autism and Athletics

2008-07-26T02:40:00.000-07:00

By: Kathy Sweeney

For years, children with autism were often left on the sidelines, based on the belief that it would be too hard for them to handle a team sport.

But, some local boys are making a real splash in their chosen sport.

Miller Ogburn, Matthew Holman, and Danny Janisse can all be described using a single word...autism.

But, these three boys all carry another label, one they are very proud of. They're all gators, swimming on the Cape Girardeau team.

Danny Janisse, 14, loves to swim, but he's not too crazy about cameras, but he put his fears aside to talk with Heartland News.

"I've got to dive fast out there, because I pay attention good," Danny said.

While research shows autistic children benefit from staying active, the social interaction and rules of a team sport can often become too much for them to handle.

Kim Holman's son Matthew struggled in soccer, but now he's a strong swimmer with the winning ribbons to prove it.

Swim mom Kelley Pujol knows a lot about autism. She teaches music therapy at the Judevine Center for Autism in Sikeston. Kelley says this kind of repetitive activity really helps these boys from the inside out.

Danny and Matthew aren't the only winners in the pool. While they're learning each stroke, they're teaching their teammates compassion and empathy.

Flying Can Be a Rough Ride for Autistic Children, Families

2008-07-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

Parents of Autistic Children Face Special Challenges When It Comes to Travel

By REBECCA KAPLAN

USA TODAY

With heightened security regulations and frequent delays, airplane travel can be an unpleasant ordeal for anyone.

For a child who becomes anxious in close quarters, may have trouble communicating and is sensitive to loud noises, it can be terrifying.

Those are common characteristics of autism, a developmental disability that affects about one in every 150 American children and one in every 94 boys, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The condition has been getting more attention in the past five years through advocacy groups such as Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America. But it still gets negative attention: Last week, syndicated talk radio host Michael Savage said on his show that 99 percent of the time, a child with autism was just "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out." The comment drew protests from the advocacy groups.

His comments probably refer to the behavior autistic children can exhibit when they feel anxious, particularly in unfamiliar situations -- they can have meltdowns that involve crying, screaming or kicking. Last month, Janice Farrell of Cary, N.C., and her 2-year-old autistic son, Jarret, were removed from their American Eagle flight after Jarret began crying and screaming uncontrollably. (The airline says Farrell also refused to stow her bag in the proper place, which she denies.)

Airline travel, which is a necessity for many families, has many characteristics that can trigger such meltdowns. In addition to the break in the normal routine -- which many autistic children find stressful because they have trouble anticipating what will happen -- airplane travel involves sitting still for long periods and being surrounded by crowds, says Rebecca Landa, director of the Center for Autism at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.

"Take all the issues (normal adults) have with flying, magnify that by 100, and put that into a child's body," Landa says.

James Gillespie of Philadelphia, whose 14-year-old son, Brendan, has autism, says: "You will run into any number of well-intentioned people who just look at you as if you're a bad parent. There was a time that I was pretty defensive about it."

Both Landa and Kelly Ernsperger, who counsels families in the greater Indianapolis area who are coping with autism, recommend preparing children in the days leading up to the trip by making sure they know exactly what to expect.

"I encourage families to go online and try to get pictures of the airport terminals and planes and destination," Ernsperger says. These pictures, along with conversations about what the child will be doing, help families create "social stories" so children are better able to anticipate exactly what will happen to them.

Landa also recommends letting the child make some choices -- such as choosing his seat -- to defray some of the anxiety and creating simple rules to define the social situation. Gillespie made such a rule for Brendan to let him know what topics were off-limits on airplanes: terrorists, crashing and dying.

He and other parents say snacks and earphones for a child's favorite music or movies are also a must.

It's important to let the airlines know about the situation so they can accommodate the family as well. Many airlines have taken steps to make sure that flight attendants and airport employees are trained to assist customers with disabilities.

"A lot of it is just being forthright and making sure you prepare your child, and you prepare those people who are going to come in contact with your child," says Peter Bell, executive vice president for Autism Speaks.

The public can help too, Landa says. Her No. 1 rule: Don't judge.

"It's best to think, 'How can I be helpful?' " she says, whether that is refraining from making a critical remark or offering to hold something for the family.

Trouble-shooting specific toilet training problems

2008-05-29T06:15:00.001-07:00

Once a visually supported transition and sequencing system has been established, we continue to use a problem-solving approach to troubleshooting details. Whenever the child has a problem with any step of the process, we think about (1) what his perspective might be and (2) how we can simplify and/or clarify through visual structure. Examples follow:

Resists sitting on the toilet

* allow to sit without removing clothes
* allow to sit with toilet covered (cardboard under the seat, gradually cutting larger hole, or towel under the seat, gradually removed)
* use potty seat on the floor rather than up high
* if strategies are helpful for sitting in other places, use in this setting also (timers, screens, picture cues, etc.)
* take turns sitting, or use doll for model
* sit together
* add physical support
* help him understand how long to sit (sing potty song, length of 1 song on tape player, set timer 1 minute, etc.)
* as he gradually begins to tolerate sitting, provide with entertainment

Afraid of flushing

* don't flush until there is something to flush
* start flush with child away from toilet, perhaps standing at the door (might mark the spot with a carpetsquare and gradually get closer to the toilet)
* give advance warning of flush, setting up flushing cue system, such as "ready, set, go"
* allow him to flush

Overly interested in flushing

* physically cover toilet handle to remove from sight
* give something else to hold and manipulate
* use visual sequence to show when to flush (after replacing clothing, for example)
* when time to flush, give child a sticker that matches to a sticker on toilet handle

Playing in water

* give him a toy with a water feature as distraction, such as a tornado tube, glitter tube, etc.
* use a padded lap desk while seated
* cover the seat until ready to use
* put a visual cue of where to stand

Playing with toilet paper

* remove it if a big problem, use Kleenex instead
* roll out amount ahead of time
* give visual cue for how much, such as putting a clothespin on where to tear, or making a tape line on the wall for where to stop

Resists being cleaned

* try different materials (wet wipes, cloth, sponge)
* consider temperature of above material
* take turns with doll

Bad aim

* supply a "target" in the water, such as a Cheerio
* larger target as toilet insert
* (contact papered or laminated cardboard with target drawn on it), gradually moved down add food coloring in the water to draw attention

Retaining when diaper is removed

* cut out bottom of diapers gradually, while allowing child to wear altered diaper to sit on the toilet
* use doll to provide visual model
* increase fluids and fiber in diet
* may need to enlist doctor if serious bowel withholding, may give stool softener

These ideas are not intended to be an inclusive list of steps to take to teach a child to use the toilet. They are, however, illustrative of the problem-solving approach needed and the effort to provide visual cues to increase understanding, cooperation, and motivation.

V. Communication System

Another important step in teaching independent toileting is to plan for a way for the child to initiate the toilet sequence. At first trips to the bathroom may be initiated by an adult directing the child to a transition object or schedule. However, eventually the child will need a way to independently communicate his need to go. Even though he may begin to spontaneously go into a familiar and available bathroom, he needs to learn a concrete way to communicate this need so that he will be able to request when a toilet is not immediately available.

As always, the first step in designing a goal is assessment. Is the child currently signaling in any way that he needs to go to the bathroom, or is he totally reliant on an adult initiating the sequence? If there are behavioral signals that you as an adult observer can "read", these signals can show you the "teachable moments" when you can help the child learn to use a systematic communication tool. Is he able to use objects, pictures, or words to communicate in other settings?

Many children first learn to use expressively the same tool that the adult has used to teach him about going to the toilet. For example, if Mom has been giving him an empty "baby-wipe" box to mean it is time to transition into the bathroom to be changed, the child might begin to use this same box to let Mom know he needs to be changed. Or, if a photograph of the toilet has been used on the child's schedule to tell him when it is time to sit on the toilet, the same photograph will make a meaningful expressive communication tool.

A child who is sometimes able to verbally say "bathroom" may not always able to pull this word up at the appropriate time. When he is tired, in a new place, with a new person, with too many people, catching a cold, upset for any reason -- his higher-level verbal skills may fail him. A child who shows this inconsistency will also be helped by a visual support that (1) helps cue the word he is looking for and (2) serves as a back-up system when he cannot use verbal language.

Applying Structured Teaching Principles to Toilet Training

2008-05-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

Many children with autism are difficult to toilet train. Parents and teachers have tried many approaches to teaching the children to use the toilet independently. Not all children respond to the same teaching techniques. A method that is helpful in one child's situation may not be useful in another case. TEACCH consultants are often asked for suggestions for successful toilet training. This article is the compilation of several experienced teachers' and consultants' suggestions about this area of programming.

In thinking about setting up a program to help a child learn to toilet independently, the first TEACCH recommendation would be to try to look at the problem from the perspective of the student with autism. Another TEACCH recommendation would be to build in many elements of visual structure to help the child understand exactly what is expected. Look at each element of Structured Teaching to decide how visual supports can be added to build positive routines, clarify expectations, and reduce confrontational situations.

The child's perspective

Even in typically-developing children, toilet training is often a difficult skill to master. While the child may have good awareness and control of his body, there are other factors… social factors… that determine how easily toileting skills are learned. Small children do not feel an intrinsic desire to become toilet trained. Rather, they acquire this skill in order to please their parents and to gain the social status of " big boy" or "big girl". This social motivation is a critical factor in determining "readiness" for toilet training.

How might the characteristics of autism contribute to a child's difficulty in learning to independently use the toilet?

1. The child's difficulty with understanding and enjoying reciprocal social relationships would certainly interfere with this process. While other 2- or 3-year-olds might be proud of their "big boy pants" and might be happy to please their parents, this type of motivation is rare in a child with autism.

2. Given the characteristic difficulties in understanding language or imitating models, a child with autism may not understand what is being expected of him in the toilet.

3. A child with autism typically has significant difficulty organizing and sequencing information and with attending to relevant information consistently. Therefore following all the steps required in toileting and staying focused on what the task is all about are big challenges.

4. Further, the child's difficulty in accepting changes in his routines also makes toileting a difficult skill to master. From the child's point of view, where is the pressing need to change the familiar routine of wearing and changing a diaper? After 3, or 4, or 6 years of going in the diaper, this routine is very strongly established.

5. A child with autism may also have difficulty integrating sensory information and establishing the relationship between body sensations and everyday functional activities. Therefore he may not know how to "read" the body cues that tell him he needs to use the toilet. He may also be overly involved in the sensory stimulation of the "product"— smearing feces is not uncommon in young children with autism. The child may also be overwhelmed by the sensory environment of the toilet, with loud flushing noises, echoes, rushing water, and a chair with a big hole in it right over this water! A further consideration is that the removal of clothing for toileting may trigger exaggerated responses to the change in temperature and the tactile feeling of clothes on versus clothes off.

Elements of structured teaching

Structured Teaching is the term given to a set of teaching/support tools designed by Division TEACCH for people with autism. These tools are responsive to the characteristics of autism using their strong learning modalities (visual and motor skills and enjoyment of routine) to build bridges over some of the gaps in learning caused by their characteristic deficits. Structured Teaching not only increases the learning of new skills but also serves to increase independence and self-esteem, reducing behavior problems that result from confusion, anxiety, and over-stimulation. Structured Teaching combines the use of individualized assessment, establishment of proactive and adaptive routines, and the systematic use of visual supports to support learning.

I. Beginning step: Assessment

When hoping to toilet train a child with autism, one of the first things we must do is define a realistic goal, realizing that independent toileting may be many, many steps down the road. Each of the steps toward independent toileting is a goal itself. It is necessary to observe and assess the child's understanding of the toileting process in order to choose the correct starting point.

We should begin with establishing a positive and meaningful routine around toileting and collecting data about the child's readiness for schedule training or for independent toileting.

A simple chart can be used to collect the data needed about the child's readiness. On a routine basis, the child is taken to the bathroom for a "quick check" every 30 minutes and data is recorded on each occasion. A sample of one format for collecting this basic information is shown below.

Elimination Record
Child's Name: Date Begun:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7
Time
Pants

Toilet

Pants

Toilet

Pants

Toilet

Pants

Toilet

Pants

Toilet

Pants

Toilet

Pants

Toilet
7:00

8:00

9:00

10:00

11:00

Pants column – In the column marked PANTS you will record every hour either:
D if he is dry, U if he has urinated in pants, BM if he had a bowel movement, U / BM if he had both

Of course, you don't have to wait an entire hour. Anytime you think he is wet, check him, write in the time on the chart, and record the results.

Over a period of 1 or 2 weeks, patterns of data begin to emerge.

Is the child dry for significant periods of time?

Is there some regularity in his wetting/soiling?

Does he show any indication that he is aware of being wet or soiled?

Does he pause while wetting or soiling?

A child for whom the answers to all of these questions is "no" is probably not ready for a goal of independent toileting, although a goal of establishing a positive bathroom routine may still be very appropriate.

During the charting phase, we should also be assessing other aspects of the process of toilet training. As the data is being collected,

Is the child beginning to pick up on the routine involved?

How are the child's dressing skills?

Does he show any particular fears or interests related to the bathroom (reaction to flushing, water, toilet paper roll, or other bathroom fixtures)?

What is his attention span?

At the end of this assessment period, we will have the data needed to establish an appropriate goal to be working toward.

A task analysis of the steps of toileting can give a picture of all the skills needed. Assessing the child's current skills on each step of a task analysis will help us to choose a realistic goal and remind us not to try to work on several new skills at once. Task analyses can be global or very specific. Each step of a task analysis can be further detailed to determine teaching steps. Examples of a global task analysis and a more detailed analysis of one step are illustrated below.

Task Analysis Further Task Analysis

1. Enter the bathroom (Does not do fasteners)
2. Pull clothes down
a. Allows Adult to pull
b. Pull from calves
c. Pull from knees
d. Pull from thighs
e. Pull from hips
f. Pull from waist
3. Sit on toilet
4. Get toilet tissue
5. Wipe with tissue
6. Stand up
7. Throw tissue in toilet
8. Pull clothes up
9. Flush toilet

II. Physical Structure

One of the principles of Structured Teaching involves structuring the physical environment for success. Our goal is to create a meaningful context for an activity to take place. We accomplish this through the creation of clear boundaries and the reduction of distractions.

When beginning the toilet training of a child with autism, we want to help the child learn that this set of behaviors (elimination) is associated with a particular place (the toilet). Moving all diapering, cleaning, and toileting-related dressing to this setting helps the child realize the purpose of this room. Another way to say this is that we are trying to "isolate the concept" of where toileting-related behaviors take place. Some families assign a half-bath in their homes to toilet-training, since the full bathroom has many objects that are associated with other activities and may be very distracting or confusing (bathtubs and showers, bathing toys, toothbrushes, makeup, laundry hampers, scales, etc.)

A second goal for creating clear physical structure to assist in toilet training is to create an environment that is secure and not over-stimulating. The child will be calmer and more responsive with good physical support for his body. Think about adding foot support, side rails, opening reducers, or other physical supports. Think also about the plumbing noises and echoes of many bathrooms. Many children appreciate soft music playing or the addition of sound-absorbent materials.

III. Establish a Visually Supported Routine

After establishing an appropriate goal for the child, it is important that we teach using visual supports for each step toward this goal. We must create a visual system to let the child know the step or sequence of steps to completing the goal.

At the most basic level, a transition object may be used to let the child know that the toilet routine is beginning. An object that is associated with toileting may be given to the child to serve as the transition object that takes the child to the correct location. Or, this object may be placed in a zip-lock bag that is glued shut. Or, this object may be glued to a card. In any case, it serves to initiate the bathroom routine, helping the child know what is to occur and where. At a more abstract level, a photograph or drawing of the toilet or the printed word on a card may given to the child or placed on his schedule to accomplish this goal.

Once the transition to the toilet area has been made, it is important to continue to visually support each step of the toileting routine. We need to let the child know each step he is to accomplish, when the sequence will be finished, and what will happen when the sequence is finished. Again, using an object sequence, a picture sequence, or a written list are all ways to communicate this information to the child. It is important that the child sees the information, manipulates the system so that he recognizes it's connection to his behavior, and has a clear way to recognize when each step – and the entire process – is finished.

The inclusion of a concrete, visual "what happens when I'm finished" piece of information is an important part of this system. For some children this may be looked at as a motivator or even a reward. For many children with autism, it is equally or more important as a clear indication of closure. Task completion is a powerful motivator for most people with autism.

Visual Thinking Teaching Suggestions

2008-05-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

Teaching Suggestions

Replace the learned helplessness of "waiting for ideas to happen" with learned confidence. That confidence will be based on successful practice and achievement through disciplined visual thinking.

Teach students to let ideas evolve out of the practice of ongoing visual thinking rather than being determined by verbal reasoning.

Focus as an instructor on "scaffold thinking" even though the student may be deeply involved with verbal explanations of personal meaning.

Teach and personally value observational speed (quickness) in capturing visual events.

Insist that all mental events must be given some form in the exterior world of materials before they are considered valid visual thoughts.

Stress looking for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th "right" answers to every problem.

In order to pose the right hemisphere new challenges for synthesis, shift:

-The focus of attention

-The sequence of input

Make all activities and exercises specific to one thought process at a time in order to attain the maximum in learning efficiency

Attention exercises should teach that attention is undivided, follows interest, is dynamic, and is a constant process of discovery.

A New Social Network for Moms Fighting Autism Launches Today

2008-04-24T00:09:00.000-07:00

Web site brings moms coping with autism closer together to vent, cope and support.

Irvine CA (PRWEB) April 23, 2008 -- In honor of autism awareness month, an Orange County man launches a social network called Moms Fighting Autism (www.momsfightingautism.com). The social network aims to connect moms of children with autism.

Members of the Moms Fighting Autism social network can immediately setup journals, photo albums, interest profiles and friends lists. The social network allows users to comment on photos, journals and send notes of support to others coping with autism.

"The purpose of the Moms Fighting Autism social network is to provide a place for moms to cope, vent and support each other. Autism can be overwhelming and there needs to be a place to feel welcome. Fortunately other moms have gone through the same situation who are willing to help them," says Ernest Priestly.

Autism effects one out of 150 children in the United States and there is no known cause or cure for it. There are social networks such as Myspace and Facebook that are more general but MomsFightingAutism.com focuses on only autism.

"... Reading about moms who are going through some of the same challenges that I have with my son has lifted my spirits up. I'm not alone and that is the best feeling in the world. Even though they maybe miles away we all can reach out, share, talk and that's just great. It's worked for me so I just want to say thank you for this site," says member Keyanna Rogers.

For the past 4 months, the site has enrolled 1,500 beta test members evaluating the site features and performance. It was launched officially today.

About MomsFightingAutism.com

Moms Fighting Autism is a social network for moms of children with autism. This social network provides the tools and services that allow moms to vent, cope, support and learn from each other. According to Autism Speaks, autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in one in 150 children in the United States.

For more information visit www.autismfightingautism.com

CONTACT:
Ernest Priestly
press@momsfightingautism.com
714-335-8176

Autism Caught On Tape

2008-04-11T05:19:00.000-07:00

Computer Scientists Use Technology To Help Children With Autism

Computer scientists have devised two tools to help people interact with autistic children. Videotaping interactions allows teachers or parents to replay situations and evaluate the cause of particularly good or bad behavior. Cataloging actual data, rather relying on memory or interpretation, proves to be a more accurate measure of a situation.

Autism affects one in every 165 children. For the parents and teachers of those boys and girls ... knowing what works and what doesn’t can be key to their development. Now, new technology is helping them help these kids.

From riding on dads back ... to bouncing around the kitchen. There's little down time in the Abowd home. Both of Gregory Abowd's sons have autism.

"With Aiden you have to work really hard to get him to say anything. With Blaise you have to stop him from what he wants to say, to get him to actually communicate with you," Abowd told Ivanhoe.

It’s his boys who gave this human computer interaction professor his next project at Georgia Tech.

"It was very disappointing for me to see how much people were relying on their memory to figure out what was going on," Abowd said.

CareLog allows parents and teachers to catch moments on tape.

"So what happens here there is a camera in the living room actually pointing down ... if something interesting happens ... I just press a button. When that behavior occurs ... sometime before and sometime after the incident is now saved to go over and take a look at," Abowd explained. This takes the memory out of the picture.

For example, often times when a child is trying to get the attention of his teacher it can get frustrating. When she doesn’t see him ... he may begin hitting himself. Now the teacher knows why.

"Someone can observe it and describe it to you, or you can see it," Abowd said.

Another tool called the Abaris also catches moments on tape. A teacher can compare video to her notes, taken down with a special pen and paper that automatically charts a child's progress on a computer. She may then realize a student is distracted. The teacher then can get more on his level to help him focus.

"They’d see themselves doing therapy and say oh my gosh, I didn’t even realize I was doing that," Julie Kientz, computing expert at Georgia Tech, told Ivanhoe.

Two ways technology is helping at home and in the classroom.

Autism:P.L.A.Y. Project

2008-02-13T04:19:00.000-08:00

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects young children and the number of cases are growing at an alarming rate.

Today a leading expert on autism visited the valley to talk about a therapy he created that is showing promise for a lot of children.

The number of children with autism is growing fast.

Dr. Rick Solomon, Autism Expert: "There's no doubt that it's gone from being recognized from one in 10,000 to one in 150. And among boys it's one in every 88. So something seems to be going on."

Dr. Rick Solomon is a leading expert on autism a brain disorder that begins in childhood and affects communication and social development.

Solomon created the "play and language for autistic youngster's project" known as the "P.L.A.Y. Project." consultants make monthly visits and train parents who have children with autism how to play with them in a way that promotes their development.
Solomon: "Children with autism tend to want to go off and play by themselves but if you know how to play the right way you can truly engage your child."

The play project is for kids from 18 months to five years old.

On Tuesday Dr. Solomon visited Fresno and talked to parents and therapists about it. Fresno started a "p.l.a.y. project" a year ago through the Easter seals and is working with 20 families.

Bruce Hinman, Easter Seals President: "Parents can't say enough about the progress they see with their children."

Therapy and treatment that normally costs tens of thousands of dollars a year is free for families thanks to two generous grants.

Hinman: "We're hearing stories that parents are getting a hug from their child for the first time at three or four years old hearing them say 'I love you' when they were told they would never talk. It's just phenomenal.

The two other cities in California with P.L.A.Y. projects are Monterey and Sacramento but it will soon expand into the Bay Area.

more playdoh recipes

2007-12-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

OAT PLAY DOH: (textured!)

Note: This play doh is for tactile stimulation. Young children love it. It has a rough texture and is great for exercising hand muscles. You should use this dough the same day you make it, as it will get moldy within a day or two.

2 cups water

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup flour

cinnamon (optional)

Heat water until boiling. Combine boiling water and oatmeal in mixing bowl. Add enough flour to make it dough. Add cinnamon for smell if desired.

EASY SALT DOUGH:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup salt

3/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, add more water if needed. Knead into soft ball of dough. Have fun playing with it.

FUN CLAY:

1 cup cornstarch

2 cups salt

1 1/3 cups cold water

paint

Put salt and 2/3 cup water in a pot and bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch and remaining 2/3 cup water in separate bowl and stir well. Add salt mixture to cornstarch mixture in bowl. Knead dough. Model or mold dough and let it dry for several hours. Paint when dry if desired. Keep unused clay in airtight container or Ziploc in refrigerator.

BASIC ART DOUGH:

4 cups flour

1 cup iodized salt

1 3/4 cups warm water

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Model as with any clay. Bake sculptures at 300 degrees until hard. Let air dry for a few days.

MODELING CLAY:

1 box baking soda (16 oz.)

1 cup cornstarch

1 1/4 cups cold water

food coloring, if desired

microwave

In a large mixing bowl, combine baking soda and cornstarch. In a two cup measuring cup, combine water and food coloring. Pour colored water over baking soda mixture. Stir until smooth. Microwave on high for 4 to 8 minutes, stirring after every minute until mixture is firm. Cover with a damp towel until cool. Knead until smooth. Store in airtight containers or Ziploc bags.

SHAMPOO DOUGH:

3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup white glue

1/4 cup thick shampoo

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Knead dough. Add more flour as needed for right consistency. Model or roll and cut as desired. Let air dry. Paint as desired.

Warning: Could be toxic if ingested

PLAY CLAY:

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup cornstarch

2/3 cup warm water

food coloring or poster paints

shellac or clear nail polish

Mix baking soda and cornstarch in saucepan. Add water and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat, boil and stir until "mashed potato consistency". Pour onto board to cool. Knead when cool. For color, knead food coloring into clay (after cooled) until blended, or paint after finished molding. When your shapes are dry, you can brush with shellac or clear nail polish.

Notes:

hardens quickly

will store in airtight container for several weeks

PLAY CLAY (WITHOUT FLOUR):

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup cornstarch

2/3 cup warm water

food coloring or poster paints

shellac or clear nail polish

Mix baking soda and cornstarch in pot. Add water and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat, boil and stir until "mashed potato consistency". Pour onto board to cool. Knead when cool. For color, knead food coloring into clay (after cooled) until blended, or paint after finished molding. When your shapes are dry, you can brush with shellac or clear nail polish.

Notes:

hardens quickly

will store in airtight container for several weeks

CORNSTARCH DOUGH:

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup cornstarch

Mix salt and hot water and boil in pot. Stir cold water and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to boiling water and stir. Cook over low heat, stirring until "pie dough consistency". Remove from heat and place dough on board. When cool, knead dough until smooth. Have fun playing!

Notes:

texture is grainy

hardens in 1-2 days

dough will be white

to speed dry, put in 200 degree oven for 1 hour

will keep for a long time if stored in a container

SNOW PLAY DOH:

1 cup Ivory Snow laundry detergent

2 cups warm water

food coloring

electric hand mixer or egg beater

Add food coloring to warm water, then add to laundry detergent. Mix well with beater until fluffy. Use just like regular play doh.

Warning: Could be toxic if ingested

SCENTED PLAY DOH: (smells awesome and the kids LOVE IT!)

1 package of sugar free gelatin; .3 oz size (use any flavor you want, as the dough will have that scent when done; I believe you can replace the gelatin with a Kool-Aid packet instead for even more scented varieties!)

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Mix dry ingredients together in pot, add the boiling water and cooking oil. Stir over medium heat until it forms a ball. Let it cool. Keep in air tight container in refrigerator when not playing with it.

CHOCOLATE SCENTED PLAYDOH:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup salt

1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar

1/2 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup boiling water.

Mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, and cream of tartar together. Add cooking oil and boiling water to mixture. Stir quickly and mix well. Cook over low heat until dough forms a ball. When cool, mix with your hands. Store in airtight container.

Note: It smells good enough to eat, but tastes awful! Is NOT EDIBLE.

MICROWAVE PLAY DOH: (scented, if use Kool Aid)

6 tablespoons cream of tartar

3 cups plain flour

4 tablespoons cooking oil

1/2 cup salt

3 cups water

food coloring/powder paint/or Kool Aid packet

Combine all ingredients in microwave proof dish and beat until smooth. Cover with cling wrap and microwave on high for 7 minutes, stirring half way through cooking. If the mixture is still gooey, microwave for another minute.

(Since all microwaves are different, be sure to watch the dough while cooking). Cool and store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Fun Playdoh Recipes And More: From Playdoh To "Gak", Fingerpaints To "Glop"

2007-12-10T05:12:00.000-08:00

Here is a great collection of play doh recipes :

Not only is making and playing with these recipes fun, but they also provide the following benefits...

development of fine motor skills

stimulates sense of touch and smell

development of finger/hand strength

development of eye-hand coordination skills

an overall wonderful and necessary sensory experience

PLAY DOH RECIPES:

UNCOOKED PLAY DOH:

3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup salt

3/4 to 1 cup water with preferred color food coloring

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients. Knead until smooth consistency. Keep it covered and in refrigerator when not using it.

COOKED PLAY DOH:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup water with preferred color food coloring

1 tablespoon oil

Mix all ingredients. Cook over medium hear until forms into a ball and becomes "translucent", not "milky". Knead dough. Store in plastic covered bowl in refrigerator when not using it.

SNOWMAN PLAY DOH:

1 1/3 cups salt

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tablespoon oil

water

Mix the salt, flour and oil together. Add a small amount of water at a time until you have a big ball of dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface until very smooth and elastic. If too dry, add water; if too moist, add flour to the surface. On a floured surface sculpt the dough into a snowman... to join 2 pieces of dough together, moisten both edges of dough with water and press together.

Hardening the dough:

let them air dry for at least 48 hours

OR, bake them in the oven at 325- 350 degrees on foil lined sheet, allow a 1/2 hour for each 1/2 each thickness or until surfaces turn golden brown. If the dough puffs up, turn your oven down and poke a hole in them to let the air out.

After drying, they can be painted with water colors, acrylics, enamels, or spray paints.

SAND PLAY DOH: (textured play doh!)

1 cup sand

1/2 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup water

Mix ingredients in saucepan and cook until thick. Allow to cool, knead and allow to harden enough for use. SAND MODELING DOUGH: (textured play doh!)

1 cup sand

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon Alum

3/4 cup hot water

food coloring if desired

Mix sand, cornstarch and Alum in bowl. Add hot water and stir vigorously. Add food coloring if desired. Cook over medium heat until thick. Let dough cool. Mold into desired shapes and let dry in the sun for several days. Store any leftover dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

10 Most Effective Teaching Strategies for Students with Autism

2007-11-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here are 10 of the most effective strategies for teaching students with autism spectrum disorders; they can be implemented in a variety of educational settings:

1) Visual SchedulesStudents with autism perform best when their daily routine is predictable, with clear expectations.

Establishing and following a visual schedule eliminates the unexpected and assists students in anticipating and preparing for transitions…………………….

2) Environmental ConsiderationsVisual and auditory stimulation in the classroom must be taken into consideration.

Many students with autism are sensitive to auditory input and have a more difficult time processing auditory stimulation. Their work stations should be placed away from excessive auditory stimulation and away from unnecessary movement.

Click here to download the classroom diagram.

3) Visual StructureThe environment needs to be structured visually to help the student clearly see and understand what is expected of him. Work stations must be clearly defined………………….

4) Alternatives to Verbal CommunicationMany students with autism have impairments in communication, particularly expressive communication. For those who are non-verbal, an augmentative communication system must be in place. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been very effective……………

5) Direct Instruction of Social SkillsThe majority of students with autism need direct instruction in social skills. Most do not learn interaction skills by simply being placed in social environments. They need to learn social interaction skills in the same way they learn other academic skills……………………………

6) Literacy Instruction

Because many students with autism rely on some form of augmentative communication, even if it is only a backup, literacy instruction is very important. If a student is literate, s/he will be able to communicate at a much higher level than if the child is forced to depend on communications devices that are programmed with limited vocabulary……………………….

7) Sensory OpportunitiesMost students with autism have some sensory needs. Many find deep pressure very relaxing. Others need frequent opportunities for movement. All students should have a sensory profile completed by an occupational therapist or other professional trained in sensory integration…………………………

8) Consistency

All students do best when the daily program remains consistent with clear expectations. All staff working with students with autism need to be well-trained and must implement the daily program as consistently as possible.

9) Take advantage of student strengths and interestsMany students with autism have particular strengths and interests and these should be taken advantage of in the classroom……………………………….

10) Functional Curriculum

Students with autism have a great deal of potential to live and work independently as adults. The curriculum should place a strong emphasis on following a functional curriculum. Skills that emphasize daily living skills, community skills, recreation and leisure and employment need to be incorporated into the curriculum…………………………………….

Surfing and Autism: Floating on Glory

2007-11-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

When Hal Rager took his 5-year-old autistic son, Ian, to see the animated film "Surf's Up," Ian's eyes lit up. "He cries, 'I want to go surfing,'" said Rager, "and we said, 'Really?'"

Directors Cut: Surfing and Autism

But six weeks later, when Rager brought Ian to the ocean, the movie, which shows elated penguins embracing the lucid Antarctic waves, was a far cry from the crowded California beaches.

"[He] was fine with everything, but then I think it was the sheer number of people, because crowds get him nervous," said Rager.

It may be surprising to learn that young Ian is not the first autistic child to take an interest in surfing. Many parents of autistic children have discovered surfing can be a valuable reprieve from a sometimes stressful life.

As they watch their children's rigid behavior and unyielding routines, the prospect of allowing them to experience surfing for the first time means a great deal. But as in most cases of autism, if there's one thing that's almost certain, it's that doing anything for the first time can prove traumatic.

'There's a Magic out There That Happens'

To be fair, serious surfing in serious waves -- who wouldn't hesitate the first time?
And so it happens. The children wail and flail as their parents place them into the arms of the volunteers who plan to take them out. No matter how gentle they are, it is nearly impossible to explain to autistic children that it will be all right. So at several points, the kids are physically forced onto the boards.

Episodes like this show the raw truth of living with an autistic child, and Paskowitz has no difficulty admitting it. The tantrums, the uncomfortable outbursts -- this was never part of his plans.

Nightline Webcast: Surfing and Autism

And as the volunteers begin to paddle the first unwilling child into the swelling sea, it's almost impossible not to ask whether this is really a good thing to do to these kids.

"Somehow, someway, there's a magic out there that happens," said Israel "Izzy" Paskowitz, the founder and president of Surfer's Healing, a surfing camp for autistic children. Paskowitz is also the parent of an autistic son, Isaiah. At 16, Isaiah can hardly speak, but at 250 pounds, he is enormously strong.

His size came into play one morning as "Nightline" witnessed an altercation between Isaiah and his father. Isaiah slugged his father twice, forcing Paskowitz to restrain his son on the tent floor.

'I Thought Isaiah Would Get Better'

Paskowitz was a former competitive surfer himself, and when his son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3, he found it hard to accept.

"He was my hopes, my dreams, my pro surfer who was supposed to be all that stuff when you were young," said Paskowitz. "And I just thought he would get better. I thought Isaiah would get better. And I did not like the fact that he never got better."

For a long time, Paskowitz simply walked away from it. When Isaiah was 13, Paskowitz admitted, he just didn't want to deal with it.

And then, by accident, Paskowitz discovered something he and his son had in common: the way the waves worked on them. They were at the beach one day when Isaiah was having one of his tantrums.

"[He] would resist going in the water," he said. "One fit on the beach led to me throwing him in the water, and led to 'Give me that … damn board' -- I put him on a board and we just paddled out, where we could be alone and have a cry."

And the tears didn't come only from Isaiah.

"I want to be the strong dad. I don't want to be crying in front of the kids or in front of my wife. So really, I just bawled my head off in the water with Isaiah and rode a few waves and I felt better, and he felt better. And that's it."

That's it: Those two words led to what occurred on the beach after Isaiah was forced out of the water by his father. He calmed down and off on the horizon, he and his father surfed in tandem. Something soothed Isaiah that day. Not a cure -- simply a good time, a respite.

Paskowitz has since began running events for kids with autism all over the United States and overseas. And in most cases, it ends with the kids exhilarated, triumphant and floating on glory.

Surfing's Soothing Powers

Ian Rager, who showed initial interest in surfing after seeing a movie, later became less willing to try it out. He is an only child, and he and his parents had traveled for five hours from their home in Las Vegas and checked into a Best Western, just so they could be in San Diego for the event.

"[I] want him to know that he could do things," said Rager. "Because a lot of times with being the way he is, being a … high functioning autistic, other kids aren't always kind to you, and especially if he's not able to do something at school because he's gotten emotionally overwrought or something."

The sight of other children smiling as they mounted their surfboards also had no effect on Ian. That's because for a child with autism, facial expressions are like a foreign language. For many, registering the emotions of others remains a mystery.

The other mystery -- why is surfing so soothing to these kids? A possible answer was discovered about 120 miles up the California coast, right off Santa Monica. "Nightline" met up with Steven Kotler, a surfing fanatic and a writer who has thought a lot about surfing's ability to heal.

Kotler said that when he was sick with Lyme disease a few years ago, he was hallucinating and confined to his house. Then a physical therapist friend called him one day and urged him to go surfing.

"And I just started laughing. At the time I couldn't even walk across a room," said Kotler of his persistent friend's call. "[She] dragged me out to the ocean, and ultimately what I was thinking was, 'You know what? I'm going to kill myself. I can't get any worse. I won't be able to surf, but I'll be able to see the ocean one more time,' and it drove me to the ocean."

Good for the Brain and the Body?

As Kotler recounts in his book, "West of Jesus," his friend was right. Somehow he got better, and he believes it was the surfing; he believes the risk-taking involved in surfing does something good to the brain and the body.

"Dopamine is the brain's principle happy drug," said Kotler. "It is also pre-performance enhancing drug. So muscles move faster, as does the heart. Norpromine, another chemical produced while surfing offers a similar result."

"[It is] good to be a little scared, and even if it's not a real fear, really, really small waves, you know, they can actually produce reactions," said Kotler. "And just the act of paddling, if you do it long enough, like any other cardiovascular activity, will endorse endorphins. These are serious pleasure chemicals."

Maybe that's what was working on the beach in San Diego. It wasn't just the kids who were smiling. So were their parents.

"They get tears," said Isaiah's mother, Danielle. "They never thought their kid could do something like that, and they're thanking me profusely, and I'm like, 'God, don't thank me. Thank you.'"

It was also good for these parents just to be around so many people who understood. This extreme-seeming thing they were doing, letting strangers wrestle their kids into the sea, has a logic to it -- an autism kind of logic.

And parents like Paskowitz believe this logic is not understood by everyone.

"From the outside? [People think] they're retarded, that they're weird," he said. "That they're crazy. That the parents are sh---y parents and they let their kid run around on the cliff and dart away or steal someone's soda. All these things with autism, the way they look are all normal."

'After a Couple of Waves, He Got Calm'

And so, for little Ian Rager, who resisted getting into the water, his parents, like so many others, had no problem forcing him in. Why? "They lock down and they either retreat to a safe zone or push on through."

Ian was overruled and out he went, so far out that his parents lost sight of him. But what none of us on shore could see was captured by the cameras. He was with a volunteer named Josh.
"After a couple of waves, he got calm, he got really calm and just kind of kept paddling," said Josh. "So it was really cool, it was really neat."

Not that anyone could see that from shore, because they stayed out there a long time.
And what were Ian's thoughts as the waves pushed him back to shore? "Please take me to Best Western!"

So once was enough for Ian Rager. But he did it. And for a brief time, he rode the waves and floated on glory.

'Autism: The Musical'

2007-11-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

This documentary takes a look at the intersection of theater and therapy for children afflicted with autismby joanne mosuela

Traditional therapists couldn't reach Elaine Hall's autistic son, Neal. The appearance of Neal's autism, a brain development disorder that causes impairments in the areas of social interaction and communication, was a devastating irony for Hall, a performer and professional acting coach by trade. But her greatest role was as a mother, and she was not going to let Neal retreat into his own world. So Hall brought in theater people to act as therapists.

"If Neal needed to do crazy things, they would be crazy with him," Hall said. "They would join his world until he emerged into ours."

Part two of Elaine Hall's revelation about the positive effects of acting and movement is told in Autism: The Musical, a documentary about the six months preceding the opening night of a musical that a group of autistic children from Los Angeles star and sing in, as well as help create.
Hall's "Miracle Project" is as much for the children's benefit as it is for the families and communities that surround them. It is at once therapy, recreation and activism. Autism is much more diverse and complex than the stereotypical image of a child rocking in the corner of a room suggests. Director Tricia Regan sheds light on the diversity of behavior and ability found within the disorder by letting five of the Project's participants speak out about their own condition. Regan follows them from scene rehearsals to family dinners and even to the most debated space for autistic children -- the classroom.

Descriptions of the science or history of the "Miracle Project" and even of its final product -- we only see snippets of the musical's scenes and musical numbers -- are secondary to the voices of the autistic children and their parents.

The five children include Hall's son Neal along with Adam, a fitful, cello-playing 9-year-old; Henry and Wyatt, two talkative boys with high-functioning yet still debilitating autism; and the constantly smiling 14-year-old Lexi, whose mother doesn't know if she should give her daughter a talk about boys, or rather, if Lexi will ever need one. It is Lexi, singing a Joni Mitchell song near the beginning of the film that sets up the film's foci: the tense present and unpredictable future of these children plus the fear and stress of their parents. In her angelic voice, Lexi prophetically sings, "I get the urge for going but I never seem to go."

Not one parent, least of all Hall, is of the opinion that the harmonies of music will somehow translate into peace instead of the chaos that comes with raising an autistic child. Half of the profiled parents, including Hall, have had marital troubles (divorce, separation, an affair).

Despite the uplifting -- therefore misleading -- title, Autism: The Musical, the documentary is altogether bleak. Regan's fair view into autism offers hope that these children can enter our world but is far from saying each of them can eventually hold their own in it. The few successes the film celebrates seem to ride on the film's limited time frame. Hall's son Neal can type-talk now but will he ever be able to use his own voice? Hope exists because there are days ahead.

Autism: The Musical is a chance to stare straight into the eyes of autistic children, if only for a moment.

Build the Autistic, Don't Tear Him Down

2007-06-23T03:20:00.000-07:00

While most of the feedback I have gotten from this site has been quite positive, there have been a few letters (okay... two of them) from people that don't seem to get what I am saying. One letter is just a singular thing... two letters, even two letters among many times more letters saying the opposite, constitutes a pattern. I have to wonder how many others did not get it and did not write about it. Thus, I decided that I would address the issues directly right here. Now, certainly, I know that I cannot reach everyone, and that a good percentage of people that do "get it" will not agree with my opinions. That's fine, of course; I do not pretend to be the final word on anything. What you see on this site are my opinions, and while they seem to be pretty representative of those held by autistics, they are not intended to be interpreted to be anyone's opinions but my own.

The two letters of which I speak had a number of similarities. Both were from people who cared for an immediate family member (a brother and a son, respectively) that was profoundly autistic, and both questioned the relevance of my statements here on this site on the basis that I was obviously much higher functioning than the person they know. I suppose they think that because I am autistic and relatively capable, and their family members are autistic and relatively incapable, that I have nothing to offer them in terms of insight, that my views that we have a right to exist without being forced to be normal are just not relevant. While it is true that I am not as impaired as someone that is profoundly autistic, it is also true that, in each case, I am closer to being profoundly autistic than the person claiming that I am not autistic enough to write authoritatively on the matter. I would add that it is not about how autistic I am; I am not trying to get people to take what I say on my authority as an autistic person, and to believe it mindlessly because of my neurological configuration. I'm not... not by a long shot.

This site is offered to give people a glimpse into the perspective of one autistic person. I make no promises that other autistics will think as I do. That is so obvious to me that it seems silly to write it... one cannot expect all autistics to automatically agree on anything, any more than one would expect all neurotypicals to agree on something, just because they are all normal. This site is offered to provoke thought, to make people ponder whether curing their son's, their daughter's, their sibling's autism is really something that they should be trying to do. I do not expect people to swallow whole what I write, to accept it without skepticism because I have the right credentials (being autistic, of course). It has been a complaint of mine that NTs, the "big picture" folks that they are, tend to want their facts pre-chewed and served to them ready to accept, with no investigation or critical thought necessary. They tend to want you to tell them just the "gist" of what you are saying, and they will accept or reject that "gist" based on their perception of your credibility on that topic.

That is not my thought process at all. I am a detail-oriented being; when I am attempting to communicate a concept of some sort, I tend to include all of the detail, and to all but ignore the "gist." My mother used to always accuse me of "using a thousand words when a few will do." Maybe a few would do for her, or for most NTs, but they do not for me. I need to know how someone arrived at a conclusion; I am more interested in the facts that support that conclusion than the conclusion itself. I will take those facts and analyze for myself whether they fit the conclusion or not. I have no concept of being able to separate the "gist" from the supporting facts; although people tell me it can be done, it seems rather silly to do so, and I have never really been able to do it. As such, when I make an argument for something, I tend to do so with logical supports and a virtual barrage of facts. This is how I think. The articles on this site are certainly no exception to that. When I write an article for this site, I expect my reader to consider the facts that I have presented, to ponder whether the premises fit the conclusion, and to apply that to their own existing knowledge base on the topics on which I write, and to see how it fits. This, for me, is how every word I read, every word I hear, is interpreted.

Apparently, though, this is not how some people read this site. Maybe they skip over my supporting statements and work to extract the "gist," and then consider whether or not I have the credentials to make that statement. Maybe the title of the article itself is sufficent to give them the "gist." For a person that is big-picture oriented rather than detail oriented, and who is more swayed by such social hierarchy concepts as credentials or fitness to write about a given subject, I can see how that would happen. People that use the gist extraction method are easily fooled by salesmen, scam artists, politicians, and others that are able to make themselves appear more credible than they are (usually with body language). This method relies on someone else's ability to come to a conclusion about a given topic, and to accept or reject the conclusion that person reached without knowing what their premises were. I can't imagine that people would do that, but I see evidence of this kind of thought on a daily basis. I find it amusing that I am considered "impaired" because I do not think that way.

Critical analysis does not come naturally to NTs, apparently... I can recall much emphasis being put on teaching critical thinking skills when I was in college. NTs are often able to get by in life almost by instinct... their NT ways are so well accepted by the populace in general that critical thought hardly ever becomes an issue. For people that have no such social instincts, and for whom the very act of interaction is, on some level, unnatural, every little tidbit of information encountered must be subjected to analysis.

By now, at 31 years of age, I have become quite good with critical analysis and logic; it is only because of my abilities with logic that I have been able to generate cognitive approximations of normal brain functions, like theory-of-mind. I had to learn theory-of-mind; I did not have it when I was five years old or so, but I do now. Normal kids possess inborn theory-of-mind; mine is a logic-based simulation, springing from an observation I had years ago that others' thoughts and motives were different than mine. Many of my more normal-like abilities (like the ability to understand abstract concepts) are cognitive simulations of normal function, and at the core, are composed entirely of a set of concrete and logical rules. I have no idea how obvious this is to others, but I am patently aware of the cognitive nature of those things, as it does require significant thought to maintain these abilities.

It is my hope that people will take what I have written here and consider it on the basis of the premises that I offer. I aim to make people think about what they are doing with regards to their autistic children.

Most disturbingly, both of the writers seemed to think that my statements that autism should not be "cured," that the goal should not be to "fix" the child, were the same as saying that we should just let autistic kids be, and not try to help them in any way. I just do not see how anyone who has read more than the table of contents of my page can really think that is representative of my views. Probably the most oft-repeated statement on this site is that I would like every autistic person to be the best, most capable autistic person he can be. Nowhere in that statement can I see where one might "read in," as NTs are prone to do, that I am not in favor of trying to help autistics become self-sufficient, to overcome the disabling components of their condition, to be adults that do nor require guardians or institutions to get them through the rigors of daily life. I have written in a number of articles about the ways that I suggest that autistic children can be educated and prepared for their future as an autistic adult.

What I argue against is an attitude. I argue against the idea that autism is an enemy, a child-stealing demonic disease that must be battled back, in order to free the normal child inside. I argue against the notion that teaching methods that are designed to work with autistic kids instead of normal kids are something heroic, something that deserves to be called "intervention," whereas teaching methods for normal kids are simply called "teaching." I argue that it is wrong to assume that any progress on the part of the autistic kid is a sign that the war on autism is working, that the child is becoming more normal. I argue that it is wrong to assume that the autistic person is static, that no progress is possible, that no self-care or communication skills can be learned, without "battling back" the autism. These are the things for which I argue.

Inherent in this misunderstanding is the false dichotomy that many NT parents of autistic kids share. To them, the only two choices are "autism, the way he is now" and "complete recovery." If I argue against trying for "complete recovery," the assumption is that I must, therefore, support the other choice in that false dichotomy, which is "autism, the way he is now." Any argument against trying to normalize the kid is seen as an argument that the kid should be left as he is now, for the rest of his life. This is what some people think, despite my many statements about the things that can and should be done to give autistic kids the foundation for life skills that will help them to become as independent as possible. It is ironic, but this scenario seems a lot like a theory-of-mind error on the part of the NT. They think that there are only two choices with regards to how to parent their autistic kid, and so they fail to realize that others, like me, see other choices than the two that they offer, even when plenty of evidence that there are other choices is presented.

I do not take a static view of autism. By that, I mean that I do not have an assumption that an autistic person, especially a child, will remain exactly the same as he is now, unless some of the autism is removed. Parents that have nonverbal autistic kids that show no interest in others, that have behavioral problems, et cetera, assume that this "autism" thing cements the kid forever at that developmental level, and that the only way to make any progress is to chip away some of the autism. For them, speech skills, behavioral skills, et cetera, are normal things, and to teach those normal things to an autistic means that some of the autism has to be deleted to make room for the normal stuff. That's nonsense. I'm sorry to burst your bubble if you think this, but you do not get to lay claim to communication skills, behavioral skills, self-care skills, as normal behaviors. The acquisition of those things, in time, is normal for a developing NT child, and they are normal for a developing autistic child, too. Surprise. The goal, with an autistic child, is to find out where the barriers are to such development, and to work to remove those barriers. That's not battling the autism... that is simply being a parent. That is what parents do... they help their children to learn, to develop skills for the future. Why would it be any different with an autistic kid? The fact that there are many more barriers in the case of the autistic child only means that you, the parent, will have to work much harder than if the child were normal. That much is obvious.

The goal for an autistic child, once again, should be for him to be the best, most successful autistic adult he can be. I've written that a lot of times on this site, and I have assumed that its meaning was self-evident. In case it is not, let me explain what I mean, and have always meant by that. I want autistic kids to be able to develop all the self-care skills they need to be independent adults. I want autistic kids to grow to be able to communicate their needs independently (in other words, with no facilitated communication), whether by speech, by use of assistive technology, or with sign language. I want autistic kids to grow into adults that are effective in their ability to self-advocate for their needs. I want autistic kids to grow into employable adults that can make a contribution to society, and who will enjoy doing so. I want autistic kids to grow into people that can consider whether they want to have children themselves, to be able to have social relationships IF they want them... to live as happy, successful, capable autistic adults. I think that is a nice vision.

What I do not want is for the parents, the therapists, the doctors, to push the autistic kid to be normal. That is a losing game for us. We're never going to be as good at being normal as you NTs are. Autism is a neurodevelopmental thing; you are not going to remove the autism by training the behaviors away. All you are going to do is make the autistic ashamed of who and what he is, to think that his innate, real self is horrible, and that it must be hidden from view to gain the love and acceptance of the family and of society. I read a story in a recent issue of Autism-Asperger's Digest, wherein a mother assumed that her autistic child was too impaired to even have a concept of self. Thus, she thought that he could not have a self-esteem problem. Imagine her surprise and horror when her child told her that he was not happy, and that he wanted to die. This, from a child. The mother looked at her parenting technique, and she realized that while she had been saying "no" a lot, she had not been doing anything to let him know when he was doing well. Trying to train away the autism is, in effect, saying NO to behaviors that are inherent to autistics, that are a part of who and what we are. If you do not think that the kid is going to realize that his true self is being hidden by a mask of rote-learned normal behaviors, think again. Even low-functioning kids understand this.

I met, and got to know, an autistic male in his lower 20s. He still lived with his parents, who were overly protective of him. He was probably halfway between the upper limit for mental retardation and normal intelligence. His parents had done all they can to teach him to be normal. One day, after they had once again reprimanded him for some autistic behavior, he proclaimed, "I just want to be me!"

Unfortunately, the parents did not understand what he meant. I do, though, and I hope that the readers of this site will. The parents had been so busy teaching the kid to be normal that they inadvertently had engaged in a campaign to strip the youngster of his essence. He is autistic, and will always be so. In their efforts to help him live in this world, they assumed that only learning to be normal would really suffice. While they thought they were helping him, teaching him how to be as he should have been born, circumventing this nasty autism disease thing, the reality is that they were teaching him that he was unacceptable to them as he is, that he was unacceptable to the world as he is, and the only way to be acceptable is to be someone else. Even the lower-functioning people understand that the normal behaviors that we are supposed to learn are an act. We know that our innate selves are different, and that these rote-learned normality routines are not part of who we are. We "get it" when you tell us that our real selves are unacceptable, and that we must put on a mask and pretend to be one of you to be acceptable. This is not just a problem of the higher-functioning autistics like me... I have seen it in lots of autistics that are much lower functioning than I am. NTs underestimate autistics when they think that they are too impaired or low-functioning to form a concept of self.

The goal, as I have stated repeatedly in this article, should be to raise the best, most capable autistic person possible. The child should be helped to overcome the difficulties, the sensory issues, the anxiety that plagues all autistics, the barriers to communication. He should be helped to develop a set of skills that will help him live independently in this alien world. And he should have all of this done for him while his autistic self is preserved and celebrated. Teaching someone to talk, to care for himself, to live in the world, does not require an all-out campaign to make him normal. Educate the autistic kid, but don't try to destroy him and replace him with an NT. Teaching skills and coping mechanisms is a constructive process; trying to normalize and fight the autism is a destructive process. The autism is a part of the autistic, and fighting the autism is fighting a part of the person. You do not need to fight the autism itself to fight the disabling things that often come along with autism. Fight the disability, the dependence, the inability to communicate, but don't fight who and what the person is. Provide skills, but do not try to snuff out the essence of who someone is. Build up, don't tear down. Don't think that being normal is superior to being autistic... thinking that way leads to the illusion that forcing normality is building up rather than tearing down. It is not.

I hope that this clears things up.

Social Stories

2007-06-06T00:42:00.000-07:00

What are Social Stories?

Social Stories are a tool for teaching social skills to children with autism and related disabilities. Social stories provide an individual with accurate information about those situations that he may find difficult or confusing. The situation is described in detail and focus is given to a few key points: the important social cues, the events and reactions the individual might expect to occur in the situation, the actions and reactions that might be expected of him, and why. The goal of the story is to increase the individual’s understanding of, make him more comfortable in, and possibly suggest some appropriate responses for the situation in question.

A sample Social Story

Before we go too far into the specifics of Social Stories, let's take a look a simple sample story.

Lining Up

At school, we sometimes line up.

We line up to go to the gym, to go to the library, and to go out to recess.

Sometimes my friends and I get excited when we line up, because we’re going someplace fun, like out to recess.

It is okay to get excited, but it is important to try to walk to the line. Running can cause accidents, and my friends or I could get hurt.

I will try to walk to the line.

As may be evident, Social Stories are relatively short, straightforward descriptions of social situations, specifically detailing what an individual might expect from the situation and what may be expected of him.

The need for social skills intervention

Qualitative impairment in social interaction is a defining quality for a diagnosis of autism (DSM-IV, 1994) and is thought by some to be the defining characteristic of autism: social dysfunction may be what makes autism something more than just a language delay, etc.

Theory of Mind

Recently, the notion that those with autism may lack a theory of mind has circulated among those who study social impairments in individuals with autism. This deficit is essentially a lack of understanding that others have their own thoughts, feelings, plans, and points of view result in in difficulty understanding the expectations of others and an inability to predict what others will say or do in social situations. This theory of mind phenomenon appears to be unique to those with autism and largely independent of intelligence. Regardless of where an individual may fall within the spectrum of autism-like disorders they seem to exhibit this deficit, though it seems to be slightly less prevalent in those with Asperger's syndrome.

The benefits of Social Stories

How, then, do Social Stories help to address these special social needs and the often unique learning styles of those with autism? Social Stories attempt to address the "theory of mind" impairment by giving individuals some perspective on the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of others. They help the individual better predict the actions and assumptions of others. Social stories also present information on social situations in a structured and consistent manner, a particularly appropriate approach for kids with autism, especially when dealing with skills and behaviors which are so fluid as those involved in social interactions. Along that line, Social Stories also give individuals direct contact with social information, contact through pictures and text as opposed to speech or observation, notable areas of weakness for kids with autism. Finally, Social Stories provide a little distance between teaching and the possible stresses of the social situation itself; they give the child a chance to practice the skills often and on his terms.

Identifying student needs

Of course, before one begins writing a Social Story, it should be determined exactly which skill or situation one wishes to focus upon. Before even this, though, it is often helpful to look at how a child socializes overall and to determine the possible efficacy of Social Stories in addressing his needs.

There are three broad categories into which we can classify social impairments:

Social avoidance -- Kids who would fall into the category of socially avoidant might be those who tantrum, shy away from, or attempt to escape from social situations. Often, kids that are this avoidant of social situations are doing so because they have some hypersensitivity to certain sensory stimuli. Consequently, those sensory needs must be addressed prior to attempts at teaching social skills. A kid who is constantly overwhelmed by his environment is likely not going to be successful in many interventions. Social stories may well prove to be useful tools with such children, but only after the sensory needs of those children have been met (through sensory integration, vision therapy, auditory integration, etc.).

Social indifference -- Social indifference is the social impairment common to the majority of children with autism. Children who are socially indifferent are those who do not actively seek social interaction, but at the same time, do not aggressively avoid such interaction. Social Stories are often quite effective with socially avoidant kids: they can simplify and illustrate social interactions, with the hope that increased understanding of those situations will make them more attractive and reinforcing for the child.

Social awkwardness -- Socially awkward children are typically higher functioning kids who may try very hard to gain and keep friends, but are hindered by a lack of reciprocity in conversation and interest -- they focus on their favorite topic or topics to the exclusion of most everything else -- and an inability to learn social skills and taboos by observing others. Social stories are often very effective with these individuals as they teach explicitly those skills and taboos that these children do not just pick up from their environment. Social stories provide them with a framework for successful social interaction: perspective on the thoughts, emotions, and beliefs of others in their environment, and suggestions of appropriate behaviors.

Having determined how a child socializes generally, one can now look to defining specific skills and situations to which focus will be given.

It is typically fairly evident to the child and whomever may be working with him which situations -- at home, at play, or at school -- are proving difficult. Even if the child has little language, careful observation can often determine difficult situations. Situations from which a child withdraws, from which he attempts to escape, or in which he tantrums, cries, or becomes frightened may be appropriate targets for a Social Story. As Social Stories primarily address problems of social cognition -- situations in which it is the child's misunderstanding of the expectations and intricacies of the situation which are driving the difficulty -- it should be determined that it is indeed that deficient cognition that is the root of the problem and not some other issue (a sensory processing problem, for example).

Ideally, anyone who works with a child at school or at home -- parents, teachers, instructional assistants, specialists, etc. -- should be consulted prior to the writing of a story. Each may have some unique insight into the situation.

As a Social Story is intended to be written from the perspective of the child, it is paramount that the author is able to obtain that perspective. With higher functioning children, they can assist in the writing of the story, discussing those areas where they are having difficulty and helping the educator or parent to write from that perspective. With nonverbal or lower functioning children this task will require more careful observation on the part of the author. Focus of the story should typically be given to the motivation of current behaviors and not necessarily to the behaviors themselves. For example, if a child begins to tantrum or cry when his assistant leaves the classroom, your first instinct might be to write a story about crying, when and where it might not be appropriate, etc. However, a more effective approach might be to write a Social Story about being scared or frustrated (if indeed you have determined that fear or frustration are the underlying motivation for the behavior), and what things might make him scared, and how he might go about dealing with that.

It is also very important that the expected response is clearly defined. To continue the above example, again one may be tempted to define the expected response as "Kevin will reduce the number of incidences of crying each day," or something similar. A better expectation might be "We will attempt to make Kevin feel more comfortable when his assistant is out of the room.

Writing a Social Story

Having determined those areas on which one wishes to focus, the writing of the Social Story can begin. Again, a Social Story is usually a first-person, present-tense story used to provide a student with as much information about a social situation as possible, so he is better prepared to face, and act appropriately in, that situation.

There are four types of sentences used to present this information in a Social Story:

Descriptive sentences objectively address the “wh” questions: where the situation takes place, who is involved, what they are doing, and why they may be doing it.

Perspective sentences give a peek into the minds of those involved in the story; they provide details about the emotions and thoughts of others.
Directive sentences suggest desired responses tailored to the individual.
Control sentences are authored by the student himself as something of a mnemonic device -- a sentence to help him remember the story or deal with the situation. These are not used in every story and are typically used only with fairly high functioning children.

Below is another sample social story. Each of the sentences in this story has been labeled to illustrate each of the above sentences (except for the control sentence -- I've not yet had a child that has opted to use them, so I'm not going to even pretend to be able to dream up a good one yet).

Sitting on the Carpet

Sometimes our class sits on the carpet. (descriptive) We sit on the carpet to listen to stories and for group lessons. (descriptive) My friends are trying hard to listen so they can enjoy the story or learn from the lessons. (perspective) It can be hard for them to listen is someone is noisy or not sitting still. (descriptive) I will try to sit still and stay quiet during our time on the carpet. (descriptive)
Carol Gray, the developer of Social Stories, has edited two books on Social Stories. Each contain dozens of sample stories and a very helpful kit on writing social stories. In those kits Ms. Gray recommends that a ratio of at least three to five descriptive or perspective sentences for every directive sentence be used for each story. As a child becomes more and more successful with Social Stories, those stories can eventually be written with no directive sentences at all, leaving it up to the child to determine an appropriate and successful response (which is of course, the eventual goal of any social skills intervention). Remember, Social Stories are not scripts detailing appropriate behaviors, rather, they are descriptions of social situations which set the stage for the child to design successful, positive interactions. Along that line, you should avoid the use of absolute, inflexible sentences in your stories. Replace phrases like "I can" and "I will" with "I will try" or "I will work on" in directive sentences. "Usually" and "sometimes" should be used instead of "always" in perspective and descriptive sentences.

When writing your stories, ensure that you are writing with the child in mind: use an appropriate vocabulary and an appropriate type size. Try to make each story resemble as closely as possible the other literature the child may be encountering at home and school. If you are working with a Kindergartner this may mean a single idea on each page, with an accompanying illustration. A middle school student might require a much longer story, maybe resembling a newspaper or magazine article: multiple columns, small type size, etc.
Presentation and authoring styles
While text on paper is likely the easiest presentation to prepare and use, it may not be the most appropriate for every child (non-readers, etc.). There are, however, a variety of presentation styles and options that can be used to meet the needs of a variety of children.

Illustrations -- The child (or parent/teacher) can illustrate each page of the story, or photographs can be taken of the child and his peers in the social situation. These pictures can add interest and visual support for the presented ideas. Be wary, though, of images that are too complex. Children with autism do not always focus on pictures as we would expect (they sometimes fail to focus on a prominent object in the foreground in favor of some other item in the background), so the pictures (photographs, especially) should be as visual uncluttered as possible.

Symbols -- The text of the story can be augmented with pictures representing various words or ideas. The Mayer-Johnson Picture Exchange symbols (often generated through their Boardmaker computer program) are typically good choices for this use. For beginning readers, PECS symbols or simple blackline drawings can be substitutes for written words not yet mastered. Or a single, large symbol can represent a complete idea on a particular page.

Social Stories on tape -- A reading of a particular story can be recorded on audio tape with a tone or verbal cue for the child to turn the page.

Video -- A film could be made of the student and peers acting out applicable scenes from the story. The text of the story should be edited in before the applicable scene, and the written story presented along with the video when it is presented to the child, however, with the hope of eventually fading the video for the written text (as the text is much less labor intensive to create and use than a video).

Story boxes -- The child and an adult can act out scenes from the stories with small figures, rooms made of shoeboxes, etc. This too, can add interest and increase understanding of the concepts for children who are not strong readers.
Implementation, monitoring, and fading out
Prior to the introduction of a story, the story should be shared with as many people who are involved in the child's program as possible. Accessing this variety of viewpoints can call attention to finer points that may have been overlooked or misstated in the initial authoring of a story. Before, or shortly after, the introduction of the story to the child, those who may be involved in the situation or with the skill targeted should be presented with a copy of the story. It is often helpful to actually have the child present the story to these other students, staff, or family members, and then to have those people read back or discuss the story with the child. These can help the child understand that everyone is on the same page, operating with similar assumptions and expectations. These other students, staff, or family members should be encouraged to refer to the stories when the appropriate social situations arise. As an example, if a child were currently working with a story about raising his hand before he speaks out at school, the classroom teacher might want to refer back to that story prior to circle time. But, as the child has to use this skill in other locations as well, the story should probably be introduced to his speech teacher, his music teacher, the librarian, and so on. Each of these individuals can refer the child back to elements of the story as the need arises.

A consistent schedule for reviewing each story should be maintained. At first this is typically once a day, usually right before the targeted situation (e.g. right before the bell dismissing the class to recess, if the story is about the need to take turns on the monkey bars). However, for some kids, especially during the first few readings of the story, the time just prior to the situation may be too exciting or busy to completely hold their attention for the story. For those kids, consequently, it may be helpful to read the story early in the day and then simply review the highlights prior to the activity.

The effectiveness of the story should be monitored consistently. If after a week or two of working with a particular story, there is little noticeable change, the story should be reworked. Elements that may be vague or confusing should be removed or rewritten. The motivation behind the behavior may need to be re-evaluated. Is the story truly addressing the reasons why the child may be confused or misreading a situation? Is the problem in the situation really one of cognition, or could something else be affecting the child (environmental stimuli, etc.).

As the child becomes more and more successful with the situations presented in a particular story, that story can begin to be faded out or changed to meet the new needs of the child. The number of review sessions can be lessened from once a day, to every other day, to once a week, to twice a month, and so on until they are no longer needed. Or the directive sentences in the story can be reduced or eliminated,

As each story is mastered, it should be kept visible in the child's environment for review when needed. Because the stories are so personalized, so much about the child, they can often be favorites, something the child might want to look through on his own, even when not working on them specifically. A special basket or notebook of mastered stories are good to keep around.

Activities with Fine Motor Manipulatives

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Pre-kindergartners benefit from experiences that support the development of fine motor skills in the hands and fingers. Children should have strength and dexterity in their hands and fingers before being asked to manipulate a pencil on paper. Working on dexterity and strength first can eliminate the development of an inappropriate pencil grasp, which is becoming more commonplace as young children are engaged in writing experiences before their hands are ready. The following activities involve the use of manipulatives which will support young children's fine motor development, and will help to build the strength and dexterity necessary to hold a pencil appropriately.

Fine Motor Activities

Molding and rolling play dough into balls - using the palms of the hands facing each other and with fingers curled slightly towards the palm

Rolling play dough into tiny balls (peas) using only the finger tips.

Using pegs or toothpicks to make designs in play dough

Cutting play dough with a plastic knife or with a pizza wheel by holding the implement in a diagonal volar grasp. (see attached diagram)

Tearing newspaper into strips and then crumpling them into balls. Use to stuff scarecrow or other art creation.

Scrunching up 1 sheet of newspaper in one hand. This is a super strength builder.

Using a plant sprayer to spray plants, (indoors, outdoors) to spray snow (mix food coloring with water so that the snow can be painted), or melt "monsters". (Draw monster pictures with markers and the colors will run when sprayed.)

Picking up objects using large tweezers such as those found in the "Bedbugs" game. This can be adapted by picking up Cheerios, small cubes, small marshmallows, pennies, etc., in counting games.

Shaking dice by cupping the hands together, forming an empty air space between the palms.

Using small-sized screwdrivers like those found in an erector set.

Lacing and sewing activities such as stringing beads, Cheerios, macaroni, etc.

Using eye droppers to "pick up" colored water for color mixing or to make artistic designs on paper.

Rolling small balls out of tissue paper, then gluing the balls onto construction paper to form pictures or designs.

Turning over cards, coins, checkers, or buttons, without bringing them to the edge of the table.

Making pictures using stickers or self-sticking paper reinforcements.

Playing games with the "puppet fingers" -the thumb, index, and middle fingers. At circle time have each child's puppet fingers tell about what happened over the weekend, or use them in songs and finger plays.

Scissor Activities

When scissors are held correctly, and when they fit a child's hand well, cutting activities will exercise the very same muscles which are needed to manipulate a pencil in a mature tripod grasp. The correct scissor position is with the thumb and middle finger in the handles of the scissors, the index finger on the outside of the handle to stabilize, with fingers four and five curled into the palm.

Cutting junk mail, particularly the kind of paper used in magazine subscription cards.

Making fringe on the edge of a piece of construction paper.

Cutting play dough with scissors.

Cutting straws or shredded paper.

Sensory Activities

The following activities ought to be done frequently to increase postural muscle strength and endurance. These activities also strengthen the child's awareness of his/her hands.

Wheelbarrow walking, crab walking.

Clapping games (loud/quiet, on knees together, etc.)

Catching (clapping) bubbles between hands

Pulling off pieces of thera-putty with individual fingers and thumb

Drawing in a tactile medium such as wet sand, salt, rice, or "goop". Make "goop" by adding water to cornstarch until you have a mixture similar in consistency to toothpaste. The "drag" of this mixture provides feedback to the muscle and joint receptors, thus facilitating visual motor control.

Picking out small objects like pegs, beads, coins, etc., from a tray of salt, sand, rice, or putty. Try it with eyes closed too. This helps develop sensory awareness in the hands.

Midline Crossing

Establishment of hand dominance is still developing at this point. The following activities will facilitate midline crossing:

Encourage reaching across the body for materials with each hand. It may be necessary to engage the other hand in an activity to prevent switching hands at midline.

Refrain specifically from discouraging a child from using the left hand for any activity. Allow for the natural development of hand dominance by presenting activities at midline, and allowing the child to choose freely.

Start making the child aware of the left and right sides of his body through spontaneous comments like, "kick the ball with your right leg." Play imitation posture games like "Simon Says" with across the body movements.

When painting at easel, encourage the child to paint a continuous line across the entire paper- also from diagonal to diagonal.

Activities To Develop Handwriting Skills

There are significant prerequisites for printing skills that begin in infancy and continue to emerge through the preschool years. The following activities support and promote fine motor and visual motor development:

Body Stability

The joints of the body need to be stable before the hands can be free to focus on specific skilled fine motor tasks.

Wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, and wall push-ups.

Toys: Orbiter, silly putty, and monkey bars on the playground.

Fine Motor Skills

When a certain amount of body stability has developed, the hands and fingers begin to work on movements of dexterity and isolation as well as different kinds of grasps. Children will develop fine motor skills best when they work on a VERTICAL or near vertical surface as much as possible. In particular, the wrist must be in extension. (Bent back in the direction of the hand)

Attach a large piece of drawing paper to the wall. Have the child use a large marker and try the following exercises to develop visual motor skills:Make an outline of a one at a time. Have the child trace over your line from left to right, or from top to bottom. Trace each figure at least 10 times . Then have the child draw the figure next to your model several times.

Play connect the dots. Again make sure the child's strokes connect dots fromleft to right, and from top to bottom.

Trace around stencils - the non-dominant hand should hold the stencil flat and stable against the paper, while the dominant hand pushes the pencil firmly against the edge of the stencil. The stencil must be held firmly.

Attach a large piece of felt to the wall, or use a felt board. The child can use felt shapes to make pictures. Magnetic boards can be used the same way.

Have the child work on a chalkboard, using chalk instead of a marker. Do the same kinds of tracing and modeling activities as suggested above.

Paint at an easel. Some of the modeling activities as suggested above can be done at the easel.

Magna Doodle- turn it upside down so that the erasing lever is on the top. Experiment making vertical, horizontal, and parallel lines.

Ocular Motor Control

This refers to the ability of the eyes to work together to follow and hold an object in the line of vision as needed.

Use a flashlight against the ceiling. Have the child lie on his/her back or tummy and visually follow the moving light from left to right, top to bottom, and diagonally.

Find hidden pictures in books. (There are special books for this.)

Maze activities. (You can buy these in bookstores, and Spags.)

Eye-hand Coordination

This involves accuracy in placement, direction, and spatial awareness.

Throw bean bags/koosh balls into a hula hoop placed flat on the floor. Gradually increase the distance.

Play throw and catch with a ball . Start with a large ball and work toward a smaller ball. (Koosh balls are easier to catch than a tennis ball.)

Practice hitting bowling pins with a ball. (You can purchase these games or make your own with soda bottles and a small ball.)

Play "Hit the Balloon" with a medium-sized balloon.

A Sample Sensory Diet

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An Occupational therapist or a SPED teacher can make this sensory diet or anybody in the field of Autism who is knowledgeable in the topic.

The following guidelines represent a kind of sensory diet for one particular child. Keep in mind that every child has a different regulatory and sensory profile, and that these activities are not appropriate or useful for every child. You should get guidance from an occupational therapist or other individual who is experienced with sensory integration.

In this particular example, the child would become disorganized on a regular basis. Although this has meant different things at different times, this child shows disorganization primarily by:

being extremely silly and unresponsive
laughing uncontrollably
losing control of his body--getting extremely limp and/or clumsy
becoming either hyper- or hypo-sensitive to pain and other physical stimuli
getting aggressive--pinching or spitting, usually in a taunting, almost maniacal way
humming and clicking while wandering around aimlessly

Engaging this child in sensory activities on a frequent, regular basis seemed to help him to remain engaged, focused, and in control more often. When this child does get disorganized, these activities help him to find himself again.

At the critical times during the day, plan on activating the child with these activities.

NOTE: Spin the child at every activation phase. Spin him in the swing 10 complete revolutions each direction, with a 20-30 second pause in between. Spin firmly and quickly. Do not repeat.

Warning: For some children, spinning is not useful, and can be overstimulating and dangerous. Before engaging in any of these activities (and spinning in particular), please consult a professional who has a solid understanding of sensory integration principles.

Chase Games

Tag
Follow-the-Leader
Obstacle Courses
Red Light/Green Light
Running Races

Exercise Games

Simon Says
Obstacle Course
"If You're Happy & You Know It"

Incorporate:

Jumping Jacks
Stretching
Situps and Pullups
Tumbling/Head Stands
Balance Beam
Standing on one leg
Wheelbarrow

Swinging/Bouncing

Inside swings
Trampoline
Hang-bar
Tire Swing
Outside swings
Outside trolley
Exercise ball

Squeezables

Nerf balls
Gak, floam, flubber, silly putty
Play catch with any ball

Incorporate those activities plus others listed in the box below into as many of your games as possible. Be sure to work in a sensory activity at least every half hour.

EVERY HALF HOUR AND ANYTIME

Other Sensory Stimulation

Everything on the other list plus:

Smelling Scents Game
Rubbing/Brushing (brush firmly and consistently--avoid stomach)
Rolling Up In Blanket
Crawling through a "caterpillar" (long tube of stretchy fabric)
Dragging/Sliding Around Room
Silly Walks (e.g., crab walk)
Ball and Bat
Imitating Songs
Hand Games
Stilts/Roller Skates
Jump Rope

CALMING ACTIVITIES

8:30AM Bath, Brushing, Deep Pressure

3:15PM Child's choice (e.g., biking)

6:30PM Supper, Bath, Deep Pressure, Free Play, Stories, Bed

Heavy work Acitvities That Parents Can Use for their Children

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1. Carry heavy items (baskets with cardboard blocks, groceries for Mom, etc.)

2. Mop the floors

3. Allow child to chew gum, eat chewy or crunchy foods, or sip water from a water bottle with a straw while doing homework

4. Push or pull boxes with toys or a few books in it

5. Pillow cases with a few stuffed animals in it for weight, pushing or pulling up a ramp, incline or stairs

6. Take the cushions off the sofas, vacuum under them, then put them back. Can also climb on them, hide under them, jump and "crash" into them, play sandwich games with them

7. Pull other kids around on a sheet or blanket

8. Roller skate uphill

9. Pull a heavy trash can

10. Yard work, including mowing the lawn, raking grass/leaves, pushing wheelbarrow

11. Housework including vacuuming and mopping, carrying buckets of water to clean with or to
water flowers/plants/trees

12. Shovel sand into a wheelbarrow, wheel the wheelbarrow to a spot, dump out sand and use a rake to level it out. (functional for filling in low spots in backyard)

13. Pull a friend or heavy items in a wagon

14. Push a friend in a wheelbarrow

15. Milkshake rewards sipped through a narrow straw

16. Suck applesauce through a straw

17. Scrub rough surfaces with a brush

18. Carrying heavy cushions

19. Pillow fights

20. Playing in sandbox with damp heavy sand

21. Have the child "help" by pushing in chairs to a table or push chairs into table after a meal

22. Push a child's cart filled with cans and then put the cans away on a low shelf where the child needs to be in a weight bearing quadruped (on hands and knees) position

23. After a bath, parents can squeeze child and rub him/her briskly with a towel

24. Use heavy quilts at night and tight flannel pajamas

25. Swimming. Also, have child dive after weighted sticks thrown in pool

26. Dancing

27. Activities such as gymnastics, horseback riding, wrestling, karate

28. Bathe the dog

29. Wash the car

30. Carry the laundry basket

31. Sweep, mop, vacuum the floors

32. Jump or climb in inner tubes

33. Fill up a child's suitcase with heavy items (such as books) and push/pull the suitcase across the room

34. When travelling, let child pull own small suitcase on wheels

35. Go "shopping" with a child's shopping cart filled with items

36. Child can help change the sheets on the bed, then toss the linens down the stairs

37. Go "camping" with a heavy blanket pulled across a few chairs. Child can help set up and take down the blanket

38. Child can help rearrange his/her bedroom furniture

39. Have child put large toys and equipment away

40. Wipe off the table after dinner

41. Help dust the furniture

42. Climbing activities (such as playground equipment)

43. Swing from the trapeze bar

44. Push against a wall

45. Fill up big toy trucks with heavy blocks, push with both hands to knock things down

46. Sports activities involving running and jumping

47. Two adults can swing child in a sheet. Watch child's face carefully to note when child has had enough

48. Have the child color a "rainbow" with large paper on the floor or with sidewalk chalk outside while child is on his/her hands and knees

49. Play "cars" under the kitchen table (or table in classroom) where the child pushes the car with one hand while creeping and weight bearing on the other hand

50. Hot dog" game where child lies across end of a blanket and is rolled (ends up inside the rolled up blanket with head outside)

51. Walk up a ramp or incline

52. Use theraband or tubing attached to a door and pull it then let it snap. Supervision necessary.

53. Wood projects requiring sanding and hammering

54. Play wrestling: pushing game where two people lock hands facing each other and try to see who can push and make the other person step back first. Use other body parts also, but be sure to have rules (no hitting, no biting, no scratching, one person says stop then both stop)

55. Open doors for people

56. Quiet squeeze toys such as the cow, fondly named by everyone as "Moo" . Kids can be taught to squeeze Moo or the likes of him on their laps under their desks so as not to disturb the class

57. Chew on fish tank (aquarium) tubing, theratubing, or refrigerator tubing, if appropriate. One therapist stated that "refrigeration tubing (the kind the water runs through to the ice maker in your freezer) is (FDA?) approved while aquarium tubing is not. I cut the tubing into 2-3 inch strips and put it on the end of the elementary school age child's pencil to be an appropriate 'chewy' when food is not allowed"

58. Chair push ups

59. Fall into a beanbag chair

60. Jumping and rolling games

61. Slowly roll a ball or bolster over the child, applying pressure

62. Bounce on a Hippity Hop ball

63. Sandwich games (child is place between beanbags, sofa cushions,

mattresses and light pressure is applied to top layer)

64. Play catch with a heavy ball. Bounce and roll a heavy ball

65. Push weighted carts or boxes across carpeted floor

66. Animal walks (crab walk, bear walk, army crawl)

67. Play "row, row, row your boat" both sitting on the floor, pushing and pulling each other

68. Rice play, koosh balls, water play, jello play, theraputty

69. Mini trampoline

70. Stack chairs

71. Two children can play "tug of war" with jump rope or heavy theraband. (If you use the theraband, children need supervision so they don't purposely let go of theraband and "snap" the other child)

72. Isometric exercise breaks

Motor Planning and Equilibrium Stimulating Activities

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Motor Planning: Child’s ability to organize, plan and then execute new or unpracticed fine motor or gross motor activity

Equilibrium: Child’s ability to maintain balance when shifting positions.

Walking the Line

Have the child walk along a rope place on the tactile path

Have the child walk along a beam, which is placed, on the floor

Have child hopping along the rope on the floor

Have child hop or jump over the rope on the floor

Roll and Bounce that Ball on the Wall

Using a large exercise ball, have the child move the ball along the wall by having the child’s stomach do the moving

Have the child now bounce body against the ball so that the body is bouncing against the ball and wall in a back and forth fashion

Follow the leader walks

Animal walks on the indoor tactile path using alternating legs which ever the leader chooses

Choo Choo walks with the engine leading the train along the path

Pushing the Object Games

Using broom push an heavy object along the indoor tactile path

Use a bat, yardstick, or dowel rod to push beanbags along the path

Use other heavy objects to be pushed along the path

Deep Pressure and Heavy Activities for School Age Children

Another form of sensory modulation is "Deep Pressure" or "Heavy work" activities. These are wonderful for providing children with the input they crave including deep proprioception and joint compression.

Vestibular Stimulating Acitivities

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Vestibular: is the child’s perception of movement due to the inner ear being activated and the position of the head being changed. These vestibular stimulating activities must be done with caution and calmly so as to prevent the child from falling or bumping head. Children who are non-verbal may not be able to tell you if they are hurting so be cautious.

Inner Tube activities

Use an old tire inner tube, or get the swimming pool inner tubes and have the child sit on tube and bounce

Having the child sit on the tube, now have child scoot on indoor tactile path to run a race

Have various objects and obstacles placed on the path to have the child tube over

Rolling Games

Play “follow the leader” by rolling over the indoor tactile path

Have child roll along the path faster and faster

Spinner Games

Use the scooter boards to have the child spin

Spin the child on a swing

Spin the child on a sheet on a slick floor

Ball Games

Have child bounce on the ball

Have child rock body on ball either facing down on ball or with back on ball

Whirling Games

Have child pretend being a top and whirl in room

Have child hold hands out and pretend you are tuning the arms like tightening a key on an alarm clock

Trampoline workout

Have a small indoor trampoline on which the child can jump on

Then have child sit on trampoline and bounce on it

Have the child run in place on the trampoline

Tactile Stimulating Acitivites

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Indoor Tactile Path

Create a path through your room, house, or classroom

Use duct tape or strong making tape to outline the path

Make sure the path covers carpeted, tile, and wood floors if available

Have the path go through any indoor areas like: sand box, water play pool, trampoline, small balls boxes, indoor cloth tunnels, play houses, etc.

Have certain rest stops on the tactile path which are delivery zones with “post-office” boxes each painted a different color

Use the tactile path for a number of indoor activities

Taking a Dry Swim at Home

Use an imaginary pool to swim in

Use different floor textures to swim on if available

After swimming use a beach towel to dry the child down using deep rubbing down strokes

As you rub each body part name the part or have the child name the part

Follow the leaders on the Path

Animal walk, have the child follow you on the indoor path playing an elephant, horse, alligator, dog, cat etc. walking on all fours as you follow the path and having the child make the sounds of the animal if possible

As you animal walk, now have the animals walk only on three legs rather than the four

Now be snakes and crawl the path hissing as you go

Now become logs which are being rolled along the path

Scooting the Path

Using a scooter board, have the child become the animals while lying forward on the scooter board

Try having the child be the animal lying on back and using the scooter board to get along the path

Have the child be a beetle crawling on scooter board along path

Have the child be a tugboat who is pulled by holding onto a rope you are pulling the child along the path or have the child pull the scooter board with a rope along the path

Large exercise ball activities

Have child lie face forward on ball and roll body on the ball

Have child lie on back on ball and roll body on the ball

Taking a ride on the “sheet slide”

Have child lay face down on the sheet slide and pull the child along the indoor tactile path

Have child lay on back on sheet slide and pull child along the indoor tactile path

Body part erasers

Use carpet squares or carpet samples as a chalk board and using soft chalk (like sidewalk chalk), or oatmeal, sand, aquarium pebbles, write something on the square and then have the child use feet to erase the words written or picture drawn

Do the same thing but this time have the child use hands as an eraser

Do the same thing but this time have the child use elbows as an eraser

Do the same thing but this time have the child use knees as an eraser

Body Chalk Board

Using your hand draw a number, letter, shape, or word on the child’s back and have the child try to guess what it is

Do the same thing but now on the stomach

Do the same thing but now on the bottom of the foot

Do the same thing but now on the palm of the hand

Body Painting

Using a variety of brush types pretend to paint different body parts of the child

Use three, two or one inch house paint brushes

Use large, medium, and small artist brushes

Use pastry, cooking, cleaning brushes

Paint pretend objects on the body, such as freckles on the face, hands, and arms

Paint glasses on the face

Paint various types of clothing on the body

Touch and Feel Box

Cut a hole in a shoe box with a lid on it

Put various types of textures on the floor of the box like carpet, sand paper, tile, wax paper and have the child feel the textures

Put various objects in the box and have the child try to guess what the object is

Proprioceptive Acitivites

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Proprioceptive: Kinesthetic or body awareness which provides information to child from inside the body from the muscles, ligaments, and joints. These are especially helpful for children who have low muscle tone and who are not able to be sure where their body is in space. They are in need of heavy work activities, which involve heavy weight for the body to carry.

Heavy load walks and hiking trips

Have the child walk the indoor tactile path with a loaded down back path

Have the child wear a heavy weighted vest on the indoor path

Have the child wear weights in pockets in the shirt and pants as walking the indoor path

Have the child creep with the heavy weights on along the path

Have the child cross an obstacle course with heavy loads on

Cocooning

Wrap the child up real tight in a sheet, blanket, or beach towel and then hold tight like a caterpillar in a cocoon

Climbing the Mattress Hill

Place the foot of the child’s bed mattress down on the floor and the head of the mattress on the top of the middle of the child’s bed, then have the child climb the mattress to get up on the top of the mattress hill

Tom Sawyer Travels

Using a carpet square or carpet sample have the child lie forward on the sample and use arms and legs to raft along a slick floor

Have child lie backward on carpet and repeat the raft travels

Have child rafting this time only with arms in both forward and backward position

Delivery Game

Have child pull a wagon, push wheelbarrow, carry large shopping bag or cardboard box (pretend truck which must be pushed or carried along path) filled with heavy objects of different colors and have child place each matching color object into matching color delivery stations, which are located on the indoor tactile path

Have child collect objects from each delivery station until the carrier is loaded with heavy objects and brought to the end of the indoor path

Animal walks

Similar to the tactile walks but have child use only three legs and alternate legs as the walk progresses along the indoor tactile path

Body Wheelbarrow Walk

Hold child’s feet and have child crawl on floor and play the wheelbarrow walk along the indoor tactile path

Now hold hands and have child walk along path leaning on your body for a reverse wheelbarrow walk

Jump up Game

Have child squat and wind up child and have child jump up when winding is done like a jack-in-the-box does

Have the child jump up every time you call child’s name

Have child play frog and from a squat position jump along the tactile path

Get that out of my hands

Pretend the ball or object given to the child is a “hot potato” which the child must get rid of immediately and keep the pace going fast

You can use large balls, bean bags etc in this “hot potato” game of catch

Paper Mountain

Have child crush up one at a time pages of newspaper and throw them into a designated site like an empty wading pool, or in a imaginary circular boundary until there is a huge mound of paper creating a paper mountain

Now have the child go inside the mountain and explore it

Have the child climb over the paper mountain

Have the child crush the paper mountain

Have the child throw the paper mountain away into a big waste can

Walls Moving In Game

Have child pretend the room’s walls are moving in and have child push against the walls to stop the movement

Rescue Game

Have child sit on carpet square or sample, wagon, scooter board, inner tube and pretend the child needs to be rescued and pull the child by arm so the vehicle and child can be rescued and pulled out of the indoor path to safety

Body windshield wipers

Have child lie on floor and use legs as windshield wipers

Have child lie on floor and use arms as windshield wipers

Have child sit on floor and use arms and legs as windshield wipers

Body Function Charades

Have child pretend brushing teeth, washing face, washing hands, washing body

Have child pretend dressing up with pants, shirts, socks, shoes

Have child pretend to eat, drink, and clean up the mess

Heavy Work Acitivties

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Heavy Work Activities List

The following are activity ideas that a classroom teacher and occupational therapist can choose selected, appropriate items to design a sensory diet for children with sensory processing disorders. These are "naturally occurring activities" that can be incorporated easily into a child's daily routine within the school environment. Keep in mind that programs for children with sensory processing disorders should be monitored by an occupational therapist. These activities are not to be used with every child, but should be specifically selected for each individual child in consultation with your occupational therapist.

Heavy Work in Classroom

q Place chairs on desks at end of day or take down at beginning of day

q Stack chairs

q Erase or wash chalkboard

q Help rearrange desks in classroom

q Cut out items for display with heavy paper (oak tag, construction paper)

q Have child pass out papers/objects to class

q Wash desks

q Staple paper onto bulletin boards

q Sharpen pencils with manual sharpener

q Use beanbag chairs in quiet reading area: lay on top of or underneath

q Prior to seatwork or during meeting, have child pinch, roll, pull theraputty or squeeze toys (such as stars, balls or balloons filled with flour)

q Give child firm pressure to shoulders

q Have child color using large newsprint pad on the floor on forearms and knees. You may put sandpaper or a sheet of bumpy hard plastic used to cover ceiling lights under page for extra input.

q Animal walks: crab walk, leap frog, bear walk, army crawl, others

q Isometric exercise breaks such as: push hands together, pull hands apart, chair push-ups, push ups on wall, push down on head

Heavy Work out of Classroom

q Help custodians empty wastebaskets or do recycling

q Fill crates with books to take to other classrooms. Teachers can ask kids to move these crates back and forth as needed.

q Have students carry heavy notebooks from class to office or to another class

q Have student move several packs at a time of Xerox paper from the storage area to the copy machine area.

q Have student deliver box with bricks inside from classroom to office, or vice versa

q Wear a weighted backpack when walking from class to class

q Help carry lunch bin to cafeteria

q Help physical education teacher move mats

q Help art teacher put up bulletin board displays

q Jog or run along a route around school building or school grounds

q Use letter cut-out machine with adult supervision. Student can collect orders from teachers and press out letters or numbers with adult supervision as needed. This can be very heavy work and is a great strategy for organizing behavior.

q Climbing activities in playground or ropes in gym

q Swing from trapeze bar; pull on rubber bicycle tires while swinging

q Bounce on therapy ball

q Sports activities involving running and jumping

q Open and hold doors for people

q Mini trampoline

Oral Strategies

q Chewy candy breaks (licorice, fruit roll-ups, starburst, tootsie rolls)

q Crunchy food breaks (dry cereal, vegetables, pretzels, chips, popcorn, gum)

q Sip from water bottle with straw or nozzle top; H2O, lemonade or Tang

q Non-food items that can be chewed (coffee stirrers, brain power pen holders, laces)