Five  categories of functioning for  human beings include socialization, motor skills, reasoning, emotion and independence. Persons with autism often lack the socialization skills to easily form bonds with others. Their emotions are often self directed which allows for the ability to excel in some subjects such as music and art. They are not burdened by the cumbersome  task of dealing with the outside world, therefore allowing for a more thorough devotion and focus to information more to their liking. This is partly due to selectively tuning out information to their brain. Certain information  is allowed into the brain because it provides a benefit for their thinking process, otherwise, it would have been tuned out.  

The Foundation for Autism Support & Training has a new initiative called ARCHway. Our website is www.myarchway.org and our social networking site is www.myarchway.ning.com

On our website we have 60+ pages of content on developing a full menu of community housing options, finding/training staff,  assistive technology for greater independence and much much more.  This is a first of its kind site since it goes into a great deal of detail on this topic.

We just developed a public service announcement that is going out to 1200+ TV stations nationally.  It stars film and TV star Annie Potts.

Annie Potts is the Public Spokesperson for ARCHway. In this video, Annie tells us that there is a severe housing shortage for adults with autism and suggests that ARCHway can offer real solutions. She invites you to join with us to Turn a Perfect Storm…into a More Perfect World for adults with autism who need community housing options and supports.

See our public service announcement on You Tube at the URL below:

There is a severe housing shortage for adults with autism.

The Foundation for Autism Support & Training has a new initiative called ARCHway. Our website is www.myarchway.org and our social networking site is www.myarchway.ning.com

On our website we have 60+ pages of content on developing a full menu of community housing options, finding/training staff,  assistive technology for greater independence and much much more.  This is a first of its kind site since it goes into a great deal of detail on this topic.

We just developed a public service announcement that is going out to 1200+ TV stations nationally.  It stars film and TV star Annie Potts.

Annie Potts is the Public Spokesperson for ARCHway. In this video, Annie tells us that there is a severe housing shortage for adults with autism and suggests that ARCHway can offer real solutions. She invites you to join with us to Turn a Perfect Storm…into a More Perfect World for adults with autism who need community housing options and supports.

See our public service announcement on You Tube at the URL below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtdo6Zh4ok4

If Only People Could Understand What Children with Autism Want

 I get many questions from people who are frustrated.  They are dealing with behavior problems that are not easy for them to solve.   Here’s the question I ask.  “Why do you think he does that?” That question generally starts a discussion that reveals how well the person really knows the student. The better we know our students, the more likely we will be able to discover why they do what they do. Here are some thoughts. . .

If only people understood. . .  

Autism can be a mystery. . .a puzzle. . . It can leave us perplexed. . .bewildered. . . confused.   read more »

So, I know that my husband burnt the last toaster, not bad mind you, just a little flare-up. But we now have this little cutie which works great. So I shuffled the kitchen around and gave myself a great bit of counter prep area, by moving the coffemaker, bread box and toaster by parking the toaster width wise with the controls FACING OUT (ominous tone). Its been that way for a week without a problem (foreboding music). So here I was giving a lecture to little bro about why we don't jump on the dogs WWE style when I smell burning plastic. "Zare! What's burning!"

"Um, the Kitchen."

"What!" I leap into action, and see that there is smoke billowing (woops, forgot to put that back up) and flames leaping from the toaster to all the crap shoved in front of it, including my super cute cassarole carrier that I was going to clean, later. I threw that in the sink, turned around to find the fire extinguisher, thank you lord, unhook it, pull pin, and squeezed the trigger until all I could see was white.

"thanks mom"

I went out the back door and had a pity party for a minute, then I told the party they would have to go on without me.....because now I had to clean up all the powder crap that dusted my entire kitchen and living room. I guess I could have stopped squeezing a little earlier....

   The ability to control voluntary reactions to  situations, likely to cause stress, is less for the autistic population. Information is processed in the brain, at a slower pace. Expectations to what behavior is acceptable or "normal", need to be relaxed. 

   Case in point. My autistic son, was scheduled to be suspended from school, 8th. grade, because he stole an answer book, from one of his teachers. The suspension was retracted, after I explained to the principal that this severe punishment was unjust due to my sons lack of judgement.  Perhaps this is too much of a generalization. Feel free to express contrary views.  

My wife and I had a baby on Thanksgiving. We named him Benjamin Riley he was 6 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long. Such a great way to spend Thanksgiving!!

   The mood swings of a person with autism tends to be disproportionately higher than the general population. Care must be taken to diffuse a quick build up of tension, before it gets out of hand. This allows for the opportunity to  redirect this energy into something positive. 

Watching your autistic child grow can be like examining a whole elephant by standing about six inches from the animal’s side: It’s hard to get the complete picture from too-close a look. So it’s good to step back now and then and recount how Alex is moving forward.

Dressing: Used to be a bitch, especially on school mornings when, as Jill’s late great mom used to say, every minute is 45 seconds long...

jeffslife.tripod.com/alextheboy

As every year Thanksgiving comes to our house, here its known for as the day before they start selling Christmas trees, but its not as big here as in other households. Derek loves food but not the usuals that are traditional for a Thanksgiving dinner so as it is alot of times here we have 2 dinners made our turkey and fixings and his Lasagna. He decided that he would take the week off this year so he has been having a Disney movie marathon everyday and loving life.....and waiting for the Christmas trees to show up.

I am thankful for every little adventure he takes me on everyday and for my family and freinds.

I'll start off by saying that ever since Brandon started to talk we have been amazed by his memory- numbers, colors, shapes, the alphabet, phrases from his favorite cartoons (mostlly Backyardigans), and especially books.  I always say he has his own library because he has so many books and can say various phrases from most of them.  He also even knows the authors to most of them too!! (He's only 3!) He sometimes will recite phrases at random times and even something I haven't read to him in awhile.  We joke and say he is going to be an actor because he can memorize so good and he likes to entertain us!  For his first Christmas my sister gave him How The Grinch Stole Christmas. He was really little then but she always liked the Grinch so she wanted him to have it.  Every year since then it's our tradition to read it the whole Christmas season.  I pack it away every year after Christmas is over so I was excited today when I was bringing out the Christmas stuff (a little early-I know!) to bring out our Grinch book. I showed him and he wasn't very interested- at first. He then walked over to it and said "Grinch Christmas." Then he brought it to me and said "read mommy."  I was suprised that he halfway remebered the title from 1 year ago, even with his good memory.  So of course I read it and to my astonishment, he remembered alot of the phrases from it!  I think it is incredible that a 3 year old can remember a book that he hasn't seen in a year!  Maybe I'm also bragging a little too (that's what mothers do!) but I thought this was a funny and cute story to share! I like to think about the positive things cause if I just thought about the negative things I would drive myself crazy!

    Autistic individuals may favor one interest over all others. This interest can be used an an inducement to learn new tasks.

 ____  Autistic individuals need to be told that they are loved. Express your love consistently.     

 ____  Keep tasks simple. Too much stimulus will lead to a breakdown. 

 ____  Keep all tasks easy to accomplish. Small succesfull steps allows the confidence needed for daily living. 

Hi ~ my son began piano lessons 4 weeks ago.  I posted a blog with a video clip of his progress.  Click here to check it out and please leave a comment if you have had any experience with music lessons for your son/daughter.  Any recommended resources, etc. would be appreciated! :)

~Peace

   Offer praise often and consistantly. A special link is held between the caregiver and autistic person. Treasure the reationship. Reciprical acknowledgement for your efforts is sporadic at best. 

"I was being metaphorical about the heart and you just got all confused and just couldn't relate," John smiled as he said it.  We were talking about Saturday night after we got home from an evening out.  I remember I had started explaining why the heart and mind act that way because of chemical processes that go on in the mind and body.

Then he started laughing so hard!  I wasn't offended because he never laughs AT me, just with me.  But, I had no clue what was so funny.  He just reached over and cupped my cheek in his hand and kissed me.  He said, "Yup.  I'm Captain Kirk and you're Mr. Spock," still chuckling.

Then I continued, "Yes, I suppose I'm a combination of Mr. Spock and Data."

"Who?"

"Data, from The Next Generation."

He laughed again, "Sorry, love, I am not up on my sci-fi like you are."  I realized what he was talking about and I thought, "OMG, am I the stereotype of a geek where from a lot of these Asperger's online tests came from?"

I said, "You know, love, I've actually had a secret desire to go to a Star Trek convention and dress up and the whole bit, but there are too many people there."

He started laughing even harder.  Again, he was NOT laughing at me.  It's a common joke between us that I do NOT want to go to the Minnesota State Fair every year like he does with the kids because the sheer dizzying cacophony and visual flashes just kill me to the point that I have to leave, and NOW.  It's an extremely serious issue for me, but we laugh about it to take the edge off and to show that he accepts me the way I am.  We laugh because he knows never to ask me to go to the State Fair or any other super-crowded venues.  read more »

TUCSON, AZ (November 18, 2009)—The first-ever Grubb & Ellis Emergent Entrepreneur Award was presented to Tucson-based PlayAbility Toys (a company specializing in the design of toys for autism and other special needs) at IdeaFunding 2009, an annual one-day workshop devoted to showcasing promising new companies and their products sponsored by IdeaXchange.  The new award was established to recognize innovative products and services that represent clear market opportunity, show evidence of clear business perspective and stand to contribute significantly to the economic and social landscape of Arizona.In presenting the tribute, which comes with a $5,000 cash prize, Grubb & Ellis senior vice president Bob Davis said, “PlayAbility Toys has a solid business model with intelligent, compassionate people behind it.” He added, “These toys make a real difference for our community, especially for special needs families, and Grubb & Ellis is proud to support its endeavors”.  read more »

Hello,

My name is Pierrette d’Entremont. I have a daughter with Tourette Syndrome, sensory issues and OCD. My background is in jewelry design and kinesiology. My daughter has been mouthing things her whole life and this seemed to escalate. With a newborn in tow, a parent-worn chewy for distracted infant-toddlers seemed a good idea too!

At work and with my growing child, I realized that other parents were also looking for alternatives to “loud” fidgets or types of chewable jewelry that can be too childish, lengthy, pvc, metal, enameled or have unknown dyes in cording.

 - aside: As a child care article manufacturer, you can contact me for information about ASTM toy safety standards and the new CPSIA regulations that deal with 3rd party testing. We deal with plastics and textiles every day and it's not always straight forward. If I can't answer, I can point you in the right direction. 

The most common comment was that growing children with special needs (ASD, ADD/ADHD, SID, Tourette’s etc) are often finding traditional fidget and chewable products too childish. As parents, we want to help our children cope with daily challenges, these include belonging to a peer group. A flashy "loud" toy can end up hiding in locker or making a youth feel alone. Commercial fidget toys also seem to lend themselves to getting lost or to dropping to the ground for germ pick-up!  read more »

Alex has lions, a lioness, giraffes, a gorilla, a mallard, whales, a tiger, two cows, a penguin, and something just emerging from an eggshell. And, I will say in my defense, already about five chickens. These figures range from $2 to about $7. The three lions (two now: Alex lost one) range from two inches to six inches long; an elephant and a turtle are about the same size; a tabby cat is two inches tall. All sound about the same hitting a hardwood floor.

Sometimes he sets them up in rows, sorted by type and never ever just by color. Sometimes he walks around with them and trembles on the edge of real imaginative play. Mostly, however, he dumps them across the floor just to know they're there. God knows I woke up many a morning a lifetime ago excited to mess around with some enticing new hunk of plastic, and I know having everything out and often lined up is how the autistic often process information. I also know what a hard plastic snout feels like on the bottom of my bare foot...

jeffslife.tripod.com/alextheboy

I have known for years this stuff is bad!  It does not surprise me about this, I have known about this for years(with the study on the dogs), that is why I am writing about autism and other related topics to help others.  I don't believe this thimerosal entirely causes autism, but it may be part of the reason why kids are autistic.  

   read more »

Well, since Monday's fiasco, things haven't been great, but we've calmed down a little.

 Since Monday night, David has not repeated the behavior of very lightly hitting us and then "spanking himself".  He has not been aggressive since.  For the most part, he has been very schedule compliant (including last night when I just did without the visual aspects of the schedule entirely - I notice one of you said that some kids do better orally.  Maybe this is the case with David, some of the time.  He's done a couple of "keep away" games but fairly minor.  He got his full positive reinforcers on both yesterday morning and evening.  He was a bit cranky this morning, and resisted getting dressed, so he lost one positive reinforcer but got the others for following the rest of his schedule.  He's also been fine on the bus.  We've been positively reinforcing him every chance we get, continuing to use the neutral expressions when he acts up, and being very patient with him. 

We'll see how he continues to do.  In the meantime, we've made a follow-up appt for next Monday with the Kaiser behaviorist (yes, the one who advocated spanking) and still have to talk to the Regional Center re: a new in-house behaviorist.  We also have a parent-teacher conference tomorrow, and his IEP is coming up.   read more »

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]>

<![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> <!--[if gte mso 10]>

<![endif]-->

Strength Beyond What Is Normal…A Mother’s Story…

                                                                                           (this is a true story)  read more »

    Care must be taken to predict any situation likely to cause undue stress. With limited capacity to process information, sensory overload must be kept to a minimum.  

So, follow-up on my last entry. 
 
After trying all other forms of positive / negative reinforcement we could think of, and using a behavior plan consistently without success, we finally decided to go with the Kaiser behaviorist's recommendation of spanking.  In this case, not in response to David not following directions, but in response to his physical aggression. 
 
David hit me.  I turned him over my knee, pulled down his pants and spanked him with my palm on his bare bottom six times.  He cried, and wanted me to hold him afterwards.  I did so, telling him that I loved him but that he could not hit.  David took some time for himself in his bedroom.  Then, although this was not specifically the intent, he completed his schedule with minimal prompts and received his positive reinforcement.  He even performed a skill we'd been trying to teach him for the first time. 
 
However, not an hour after I had spanked him, he hit his mother.  She, in turn, spanked him again.  Again, she told him not to hit afterwards and reassured him that she still loved him through cuddles.
 
The next morning, David went through his schedule with minimal prompts.  He did his keep away thing a couple of times, but for the most part, he behaved, and got his positive reinforcers including praises and physical affection from us.  
 
The troubling moment:  When we were helping David get dressed, he repeatedly made motions to spank himself.  We told him, "No spanking", but needed to tell him that a couple of times before he would stop.  He did stop, and continued on throughout the morning fine.  read more »

Well, My worst fears were realized today.  Sure...I knew my son was different.  He flaps his hands, he is obssessed with turning lights on, he has tantrums. I knew he was probably on the autism spectrum. "He's too social and happy" my relatives would tell me. "He's fine , he'll catch up." was another one.  Mason never caught up. He can only say a handful of words, he has some strange behavior. Sick of the wait and see game...I took him to U.V.A. Medical center. The center is reknowned for diagnosing autism and developmental disorders.  The verdict, autism and maybe fragile X? The fragile X caught me off guard.  My life is now changed forever.....and I know I should be upbeat and happy he's in our lives....but right now I feel like my life is over.  I might be changing diapers until I am 80. I am always going to need a babysitter , my son will most likely never go to college or get a job.  I had hopes of my son becoming a doctor or lawyer.....and they are now gone....in one appointment.  Worst....he will be ridiculed....he will be in special classes, he will never know what it is like to have friends over to ride bikes or later---, sneak out of the house or drive a vehicle. What do you do? Someone please tell me how do you cope?  What do I do when I can no longer take care of him? How will I ever afford the flurry of medical bills that are about to devistate my family.  I guess I am going through the "depression" and "anger" part of the process.....any advice would be helpful.

Help spread the message of LINK by sharing the video. Sometimes the best way to make a difference is by helping someone else to.

My sons new school does not seem to be going well. They have not figured out how to get him to behave and I am often shocked to hear of things he is doing there such as spitting, kicking, hitting and throwing things. He never does these things at home so needless to say I am spending a lot of time at the school in meetings trying to figure out why he may be doing these things. I think they fail to understand that at home being his mom I can force him to do things they cannot. I am out of ideas and it seems like he does this stuff to go to their sensory room because he loves it there. I really was hoping he would excell there and that does not seem to be happening.  How frustrating.

My name is Jon Singer and I just joined the group. My daughter Rebecca is 13 and has a rare genetic disorder that causes autistic tendencies.

I have posted excerpts from my soon to be published Special Needs Parent Handbook on and would appreciate any feedback.

100% of the proceeds from the sales of this book will support Advocacy for All, a new initiative to help families receive free guidance from special education advocates and attorneys.

Thanks for your input.

Jon

P.S. The complete first edition is available for free download with a $10 donation.

................................................................

Drive For Rebecca, Inc. 201 567 3699

2 Valley Pl., PO Box 225

Tenafly, NJ 07670

http://www.DriveForRebecca.org

Building better lives for individuals with autism (TM)

Get free excerpts from The Special Needs Parent Handbook

................................................................

From a reader...There have been lots of successes with using visuals.  But, for two older, high functioning girls who also struggle with mental health issues, using a "FIRST calm down, THEN we can talk" really worked for them and made a difference for the family.

My son Alex enters sixth grade this fall. He is 11, diagnosed PDD-NOS, and for six years, counting kindergarten, he’s been in the same elementary school. There they taught him to add a number or two, eat the cafeteria chicken, sit through a movie, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, say his name when asked (so they claim – he hasn’t done it for me), and wish a good weekend to classmates on Friday afternoons. Six years. He may never be in one school so long again, and the time has come for him to leave. I should feel glad...

In the latest Autism/Asperger's Digest, at

http://www.autismdigest.com/Portals/0/docs/TheBig6_Nov09.pdf

by: Jen Woyner

http://blog.skillsprout.com/problematic-behaviors/new-problematic-behavior/

Emotional Regulation, Uncategorized Comments (1)

by: Amy Shymansky

Some children with autism have difficulty expressing and responding to their emotions. Sometimes their emotions can be disproportionate to the sitution (i.e. small problem = big emotions). Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders as an Executive Functioning Disorder can be helpful in understanding difficulties with emotional regulation. Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders must directly be taught emotional regulation skills in order to develop appropriate responding and control of their own emotions.
Consider the following objectives related to teaching emotional regulation:  read more »

Teaching Self-Monitoring Skills to Children with Autism

Emotional Regulation, Problematic Behaviors, Teaching Children with Autism Conversation Comments (0)

by: Amy Shymansky

The ability to self-monitor your own behavior is a necessary social skill. For many children with autism self-monitoring skills can be taught very directly, developing the child’s ability to monitor his or her engagement in appropriate social skills, on-task behaviors, problematic behaviors, etc.

 Developing the child’s ability to self-monitor targeted behaviors can also serve as a last phase of development toward generalization of new skill. Once a child has developed an ability to engage in a targeted behavior, try using self-monitoring procedures to assist in pushing the skill out into the natural environment.   read more »

by: Amy Shymansky 

Many times as young children with autism develop language they develop an ability to imitate language from others to assist in getting their needs met. What a great success to reach this milestone!

Sometimes after language imitation emerges parents report their child uses the language from an inaccurate perspective. For example, if their child wants ice cream, he/she will bring ice cream to the parent and say “Do you want ice cream?”, not because the child is asking the parent if they want ice cream, but because this is what the child has heard from the parent previously before getting the ice cream.

A quick and helpful strategy to use in the home to for parents teach appropriate responding in these situations is to model the language from the child’s perspective. For example, when the child brings ice cream to the parent instead of the parent asking the child “Do you want ice cream?”, the parent can model the appropriate language for the child to imitate (i.e. “I want ice cream.”, “Can I have ice cream?”, etc).

Once your child begins imitating the appropriate response try fading back your prompt (”I want ice cream.”) and adding more natural parent responses (i.e. “What do you want?”, child responds “I want ice cream”) to work toward independent responding with this skill.

 http://blog.skillsprout.com/teaching-requesting-to-children-with-autism/developing-requesting-skills-in-your-child-with-autism-beyond-imitating/

http://blog.skillsprout.com/teaching-conversation-to-children-with-autism/teaching-joint-attention/

by: AmyShymansky

When developing programming for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) parents and professionals should consider spending time on developing core characteristics or skill deficits of the disability. When improvements are made on core characteristics of a disability, the end result is a less affected child.

In many children with ASD, joint attention is a major skill deficit area which contributes to core characteristics of the diagnosis of the disability itself. To assist in developing joint attention skills parents and professionals should consider targeting objectives related to the following:

1) Attending to others

2) Tracking eye gaze of others

3) Sharing eye gaze of others

4) Monitoring and shifting attention 

5) Sharing emotional states with others  

6) Drawing attention too and sharing experiences with others

So, David will be 6 in December.  Again, he has moderate Autism with mild retardation and his sister has PDD-NOS.  They are both in kindergarten.  David has three behaviorists.  The school behaviorist - Well, we haven't really seen much from the school behaviorist so far.  The Kaiser behaviorist is a likable individual, however, his suggestions haven't been very helpful.  Almost a year (or more) ago, he told us that we had a year to get my son to follow directions or it would be past the point of no return.  David would be too big to control and he would have insurmountable problems.  (No pressure, of course.)  This doctor also is the only professional (or non-professional for that matter) that I know of who advocates spanking.  Behaviorist #3 is provided by the Regional Center.  She is on-site so she can see the behaviors and is the only one who has crafted a behavior plan.  We have crafted a visual schedule for the kids for morning and evening routines.  With all this in mind, this is what we are facing:

 David is a child who enjoys physical play, including tickling, kissing, and most of all, chasing (which comes into play later).  He has several other positive reinforcers including video games, favorite shoes, and specific toys.

Our goal is to have David follow his visual schedules.  In the mornings, this consists of dressing, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, washing face and brushing hair, then he gets a positive reinforcer if he completes these without problems (which I'll note momentarily).  In the evenings, this consists of putting away his toy trains, putting on pajamas, brushing teeth and washing face, then positive reinforcer.    read more »

Hi everyone. I am trying to find out information on an HBO special I say a couple of years ago about a Dad that was worried his son with aspergers would never be able to leave home. He then discovered the program at Marshall University in W Va that gives support to these kids that allows them to leave home but still have a backup system of support for them. I have been trying to find this show for ever!

A story just out from the Boston Herald state: Survey finds 90% of autistic kids bullied. The story starts out with:

A shocking new online survey has found that nearly 90 percent of autistic children in the Bay State have been targeted by bullying so violent and ruthless that a state lawmaker says teachers and school systems must be held accountable.

All kids are bullied to some extent, but I have no doubt that autistic kids get much more than their share of bullying.

Click on the newslink to read the entire story

Thanksgiving looms, and from Bar Harbor to Honolulu families all across America will soon be salivating over turkey, cheering over football, and chasing Alex.

Maybe not the Alex part, at least by that name, unless you happen to me. I haven't had a Thanksgiving for 10 years, really. We usually spend it with some branch of Jill's family, and as she gets wrapped up in family gossip Alex usually refuses to sit still. Three Thanksgivings ago, while Jill helped with the turkey and I fried a pair of Hebrew Nationals for Alex's dinner, he pulled down a small bookcase in the home of Jill's cousin, and though I was assured by a parade of in-laws that they cared nothing for what had been broken, Alex could have been hurt.

I'm standing there frying hot dogs for my autistic son's Thanksgiving dinner, and I have to be informed that Alex could've been hurt. Autism's wall between the purest of hearts and best of people.

This year we're going to grandpa's new apartment...

http://jeffslife.tripod.com/alextheboy/

My friend Craig posted a hilarious blog in which he shared pictures of a “book” he wrote when he was 9.  Craig had his first book published by a publisher this month, so it was really neat to journey back in time to view this young literary prodigy at work.  Check it out:  http://craiglancaster.wordpress.com/

My son Cooper loves to illustrate stories.  Because his language is so delayed, I love the insight his books give us into his thoughts.  I have a portfolio of his “books.”  This link: http://www.forthesakeofjoy.com/young-talent/  goes to my  web site where I posted pictues of a story he wrote about how he envisioned Christmas Eve. (I couldn't put that many pics into this site's blog space)  He writes how he talks – leaving out words in the sentence and using many sound effects.  We use story writing in his therapy to work on sentence structure; phonics; reflective thinking; and many other skills.  I will continue to encourage him in his writing ~ maybe one day he too will be a “Craig Lancaster”  : )  Peace!  ~kp

Do you need some ideas for unique holiday gifts?  Ali-Pat Publications offers a variety of fun handmade items for sale!

• Christmas Wreaths 18" and 14"
• Bells
• Ornaments
• Magnets
• Back Pack Clips
• Jacket Pulls
• Bird Feeder
• File Folder CD's
• Puzzle Piece Craft Kits

Visit our products page for more information on all of these products!

www.alipatpublications.com/AwarenessProducts.html

If you have questions regarding these items please contact us at info@alipatpublications.com

            Alison and Patty

 I thought that I would post this link below, as I myself have tried diet for my child with autism.  It is good for some kids and not for others.  It is a trial and error type of diet.  Really having a lot of key things in place is important when doing something like this.  It is imperative that you use supplements as well.  Plus a load of of information for this diet is needed.  There are not a lot of supermarkets where you can do a one stop shop for this diet.  However, I have found one in my area that does and it is great!  The key really to doing the diet is not giving up!  Don't give in to the tantrums that follow either!  I know, I have been there, it is like a child coming off of drugs when attempting this diet, but you CAN and will survive and your child will thank you in the long run!  The last link in this blog is the very first diet site I used.  It has a lot of informative stuff on it and print outs.

Cheers,

Renee 

http://www.autismweb.com/diet.htm

http://www.gf-cf.com/

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/

You've heard it said that the eyes are the mirrors of the soul....well did you know also that the eyes are a window into the brain as well?  I just read this most interesting article written by Dr. Nelson Mane' , highlighting some of the amazing success that "Hemispheric Integration Therapy" has had on one of his patients...a 6 year old little boy.  It is absolutely facinating!  I thought that I would pass along the link for anyone that would like to read the story.

http://www.hitautism.com/medical-articles/autism-spectrum-disorder-he-no...

My nine year old son was dx'd at age 3 with autism.  He is doiing very well now, im so thankful and feel very fortunate.  He's in third grade, inclusion classroom all day, just gets pulled out for speech and adaptive phys. ed.  He still has speech delay, and social issues.  I did aba therapy for a year and a half back when he was 4.  I feel that helped him so much.  I feel uncomfortable saying how well things are going, knowing what some people are going through. 

I stopped all therapies outside of school about 3 yrs ago.  Well, we were going to the local autism center about 2 years ago, but decided that he didnt quite fit in there.  My reason for that was he was aware of how some of the other kids were behaving differently.  ( for instance, he was taking karate there.  i felt he was capable of more, and enrolled him in a regular karate school.  He stayed for 1.5 years and earned 3 belts.  he wanted to quit because of the sparring, he was just crying too much getting hit  .  the teacher offered to make concessions, but his mind was made up to end it. )   He really doesnt display any behaviors except being bratty mouthed and defiant. ( always says no to most things ) which are quickly changed with a reminder of what privilages he'll lose if it continues.   Deep down , I feel that the autism center or other special needs social groups aren't the best thing for him.  Maybe its denial, I just don't know.  I feel stuck, he has no interest in sports, and probably wouldn't be a great team player until he matures a little more.   read more »

I am interesting in hearing from parents and educators about programming and treatment options available to students with ASD in public schools that they view as being successful.  

A visual strategies success story from a reader..."Even though my son is a teenager, he was still "climbing" into the car - putting his knees on the seat first, and then turning himself around and sitting down. We took pictures of him getting in the car "the right way" and the "the wrong way" and now he gets in the car "the right way" 99% of the time."

We are no longer able to keep both my sons in their private school.  So I have this plan.  My seven year old was suppose to integate back to the public school this year (he had gone mute in the public system at age 4).  He has just not been ready.  I want to place him in a typical kindergarten classroom with a paraprofessional.  I want to be his para.  I know his needs and I want him to succeed.  He is reading and will be more advanced than most kindergarteners.  But, he still needs one on one help with working on his own.  He has very few (if any) behavior issues and is a quiet child.

My questions is not should I do it.  I did it part time with my first child who had autism, as a volunteer.  I have three children with autism and this child is compromised the most by his autism.  So the question is how do I convince the principle and then the district that it is a good idea?  Is there any examples of this type of arrangement?  I have to move quickly.  Please respond with any suggestions.  Sometimes the seemingly most insignificant detail can lead to a great outcome.

I am watching college football and my Alma mater is losing to the team that was our biggest gymnastics rival when I competed for Penn State.  Yes, JoePa and the Nittany Lions are being outplayed by Ohio State.  (Stupid Buckeyes.)  Although I have nothing to do with the outcome of the game and I have no financial interest in who is the victor, I still want my team to win and the fact that they will lose has made me just a wee bit grumpy.  I know this grumpy feeling will last approximately 64 seconds after the game actually ends, and then it will be gone.  Because even though I wanted them to win, my mood for the day does not depend on it whatsoever.  

Shift gears...   Cooper currently has two favorite songs.  One is titled "The Best Day Ever" and is sung by Spongebob Squarepants.  The other song is "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter.  Best Day Ever and Bad Day.  I find it interesting that the extremes of "best" and "bad" are what appeals to him.  It makes some sense though.  He has trouble finding the middle ground.  Usually he is at one or the other end of the emotional spectrum....Completely happy and satisfied or agitated and inconsolable.  When he was younger, if he was having a day living in sad-ville everything would become all about getting us back into happyland.  We would do everything we could to get him out of the funk.

On Wednesday of this week he had a really hard transition from school to home.  By the time we got home he was in such a state that he and I sat on the landing of our stairs for a good 20 minutes.  I just held him while he sobbed.   At some point he said, "I'm sorry mom."  
I said, "You have nothing to be sorry about." (big pause)  Then I said, "I hate to see you cry."  
His response was, "I know.  Me too.  I can't help it."  read more »

By AmyShymansky on October 7th, 2009

The “art” of social conversation is a very abstact concept. How do we teach concreate learners, such as children with Autism Spectrum Disorders appropriate social language skills? By making it concrete of course! When developing an understanding of what appropriate social conversation “looks like” there are some rules and structures we can begin to develop to assist children with autism to develop appropriate conversation skills. Consider the following objectives when looking at building conversation skills in your child:

1) Develop rules, examples, and a lot of practice on how to initiate conversations with others. Teach your child to understand the intent of the conversation to assist in developing strategies to initiate the conversation. For example, when the intent is to build a relationship with the person we might consider learning more about the person or talking about things the person themself is interested in. When initiating a conversation in this type of a scenario we would teach a child to develop initiation statements based of interests of the conversation partner, or initiating based-off of asking questions to learn more about the conversation partner.

2) Additionally, consider directly teaching your child strategies to maintain and join conversations. Developing your child’s ability to ask questions and make statements within conversations.

3) If your child has perseverative topics of conversation consider developing his/her ability to monitor engagement in perseverative topics and discriminating when it is “ok” to engage in perseverative topics, and when it is not. Additionally, work on developing other topics of conversations that may be of interest to peers.

4) Developing your child’s ability to ask questions to engage and expand conversations may also be a critical skill when developing his/her social language skills.  read more »

Teaching children with autism to answer wh ?’s questions is an imperative skill for improving comprehension and social language skills. Answering wh?’s can be broken down and taught using rules and concrete concepts. When teaching who, what, and where questions begin first by teaching rules.   

  Rules

• Who =person
• Where= place
• When = time

Person, Place, Time

Once your child can list or describe the “rule” for the targeted wh ? begin developing the concepts of person, place, and time. Make sure you target the questions individually, for example first teach who, then where, etc. To begin developing your child’s concepts of person, place and time ask your child to list, or categorize “banks” of examples of each. For example, child “lists” 5-10 persons (siblings, parents, relatives, friends, teachers, etc). Be sure your child can list unfamiliar and generic (i.e. Mr. Smith, Johnny, etc.) community helpers (i.e. doctor, policeman, etc.). 

Teach in a Sentence

Once your child is able to list or categorize familiar/unfamiliar persons,places, and times, begin using in a sentence and asking questions. You may need to have a visual of the rule present to pre-teach or error correct with your child.

Example:

Give your child a sentence, (example)”Mom when to the store.” , ask your child “who?”

Child responds “Mom”  read more »

Insurance Coverage for Behavioral Services for Children with Autism

By AmyShymansky on October 24th, 2009

Many state and federal initiatives are in place to end insurance discrimination for families with children with autism. The following link shares current information on your states current and pending legislation as well as prospective federal legislations.

http://www.autismvotes.org/site/c.frKNI3PCImE/b.3909861/k.B9DF/State_Initiatives.htm

Even if your state has laws in place to mandate insurance coverage for children with autism the process of getting services covered can be involved.

Below are some suggestions for simplifying the process:

1) Find a primary care physician who is supportive and understands the benefits of behavioral interventions for your child.

2) Contact your insurance company to find providers in your area, develop an understanding of the provider approval process.

3) Be persistent! Many insurance companies are just beginning to identify providers for these services.  Find people within your insurance company who can answer your questions related to obtaining coverage. If necessary, identify billing codes to share with your insurance company related to your requested behavioral services to assist in quickly communicating your families needs.

Check out this link as an additional resource to assist in the process of obtaining insurance coverage for your child:  read more »

By AmyShymansky on October 26th, 2009

Quick Strategy: To assist children with autism in learning to answer and ask “why” questionsdevelop your child’s ability to understand cause and effect relationships.

Try using sequencing picture cards initially to assist in developing your child’s understanding of cause and effect relationships.

Purchase or develop sets of 3-5 pictures representing a sequence of events (EX: child running to school because he is missed his bus, etc.) Pair “why” questions with the sequenced events. EX: “Why is the child running to school?”, etc. Use pictures from the sequence to prompt appropriate responses. Use many examples of picture sequences to develop your child’s understanding of cause effect relationships.

http://blog.skillsprout.com/teaching-conversation-to-children-with-autism/teaching-children-with-autism-to-answer-and-ask-why-questions/

Teaching Children with Autism to Answer How Questions

By AmyShymansky on October 26th, 2009

Quick Strategy: To assist in teaching children with autism to answer and ask how questions develop their ability to describe steps in a process.

For example, ask your child to list or describe steps in the process to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. Use visuals if necessary. Be sure to consistently use and teach key phrases such as “first”, “next”, “last”, etc. to help provide a structure for your child to use when responding.

Once your child can describe steps in a process begin asking “how” questions, and pairing the description of the steps to the appropriate process. Use visuals initially to assist in correct responding if necessary. Fade visuals as your child begins to understand the concept of answering, and eventually asking how questions.

http://blog.skillsprout.com/uncategorized/teaching-children-with-autism-to-answer-how-questions/

New Parents of Children with Autism

Consultative Services, New Parents of Children with Autism, Uncategorized Comments (0)

For new parents of children with Autism, where to begin? www.autismspeaks.org has an excellent new parent kit to help new parents quickly become aware of important information, resources, etc. in the world of autism.
In the home too, there are important things “to do” on a new parents list. As a parent of a newly diagnosed child with autism begin networking and seeking out other parents. Parents who have traveled the road before you can be an enormous resource and support to new parents.
Some things to consider…  read more »

I am the president of our local SEPTA.  We are in the process of writing a newsletter and would like to include information to educate the parents and childen of regular education students of our special needs children.  I am having trouble locating any written literature on this subject.  Does anyone have any suggestions for finding information on this subject?

 read more »

The Autism Research Institute calls for further investigations into the use of chelation therapy for individuals with autism  SAN DIEGO, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two studies published by the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in the October issue of BMC Clinical Pharmacology investigated the use of oral dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), a prescription medicine approved by the FDA for treating lead poisoning, and used off-label in these studies for treating heavy metal toxicity in children with autism.    In the investigations, DMSA was given to 65 children with autism (ages 3 -8 years) to determine its effects.  The researchers found that DMSA dramatically increased excretion of several toxic metals, including a 10-fold increase in excretion of lead.  In terms of safety, the study found that there was no adverse effect on standard safety tests, including no effect on kidney or liver function.    Of greatest interest was a surprising finding that DMSA therapy had a dramatic effect on glutathione levels.  Glutathione is the body's primary defense against toxic metals, and it was very abnormal in children with autism.  Treatment with DMSA for only 3 days normalized glutathione levels for at least 1-2 months in almost all children.  DMSA therapy also had promising effects on possibly reducing some of the symptoms of autism, including improvements in language, cognition, and sociability.  However, a formal randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study is needed to confirm those results.  The study was led by Matthew Baral, N.D., Chair of the Department of Pediatric Medicine and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM) and James B.

Matt is 17- nearly 18.  He is now beginning to talk in sentences and express his opinions. We introduced him to a communication device a few months ago.  He was non verbal most of his life, but lately he has begun to use language.  I was told it was hopeless to try to work with kids over the age of 10, but suddenly he is learning and talking.  Why?  I don't know.  But the relief of being able to ask him what he wants, and how is day was, and actually get an answer is so amazing.  i;m not sure that it is ever too late.  Based on our experience, i think you need to just keep trying everything. It's hard.  But this result is so empowering for him.  I think maybe he needed a tool that allowed him to prompt himself for words, rather than waiting for us to guess what it is that he wanted. Even though he doesn't have the device all of the time - it is at school - it seems to have made a huge difference.  

well joey and i have made it thru the flu,i think.he is better ,lungs clear and no coughing or fever.my lungs still not well.i want to move us out of tampa as there has been no joy for us here.want to find a city with a good asd community,dr.s and suport.everyones storys touch me deeply as ive lived thru most of them.im hoping for direction.

By far the loudest “Ooooo” I usually get from audiences when I tell them about Alex is from the bit about his leaving the apartment.

This hasn’t happened in a long while, but, like breaking a tooth on food, when it happens once it’s over fast but lives long in memory. Basically, Alex, 11, semi-verbal and PDD-NOS, had been zipping out of our apartment and down the hall as far as the elevators for maybe a few months, usually when nobody was watching.

“Go get Alex!”

“Can’t you watch him!”...

http://helpingcommunicate.co.uk/blog/?p=22

My son has been doing pretty good lately.  I am still not sure if I need to get him behavioral therapy or not.  He has his moments and was pushing kids down at his preschool.  He seems to have stopped that for now.  He is very emotional at times but really doesn't have the complete and total melt downs that often.  I am really not sure.  This Monday I took him to his speech therapist and she advised that this was his best day ever.  She said that he didn't argue once with her.  He likes to argue and tell you no.  He does have problems with controlling his tongue and has a hard time sticking it out and touching his lips.  He seems to have the same problems with his fingers.   He sometime can give you the thumbs up and other times can't.  I am not sure if that means he needs occupational therapy or not.  If anyone has any advice on this I would greatly appreciate it.  I am a bit worried though that he will regress once I have my surgery.  I am going to be having a rectocele repair and hysterectomy done.   I know that he may regress and I am not sure what I can do to keep this from happening.  If anyone has any advise I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks!!!

I am new to autism blog and would like some advice!  My son (Brandon) turned 3 in September and was diagnosed with autism shortly after.  I thought I was prepared to here it because in my heart, I think I already knew. On Halloween it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Brandon did not like the feel of his costume (Pablo from the Backyardigans)but I expected that, I was not prepared for him having a breakdown in the neighbors yard because he was overwhelmed by all of the people.  He sunk to the ground and covered his ears.  We came back and spent Halloween night inside.  I had a bit of a breakdown because I think for the first time I realized that things that 'typical' children understand and enjoy, Brandon does not and it breaks my heart.  Brandon goes to preschool, gets speech and OT at school and also speech once a week. I try to work with him as much as I can at home too. He has progressed so much already so I have high hopes for him.  I know that I am doing everything I can for him but wish I could do more.  If anyone has any suggestions of things they do at home to help their ASD child progress or would just like to comment I would apprecitate it! I am very glad I found this website it has been helpful so far!

This morning’s argument is brought to you by the toilet.

It started when I asked Alex to bring me a new roll of toilet paper from the linen closet, which is where we keep our toilet paper because the closet is handy to one of our two bathrooms and it only makes sense.

“Alex, get a roll of toilet paper please and take it to mommy and daddy’s bathroom.”

I didn’t ask him to change the roll – the old roll had maybe a quarter-inch of paper left on it, far too little to feel safe – just bring a new roll to the bathroom.

I went to that bathroom a second later to find he’d spun all the remaining paper off the old roll and was trying to flush it all at once. “Alex no!”...

jeffslife.tripod.com/alextheboy

Location(s)

Dr. Fredrick Starr, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, will be the keynote speaker at an educational seminar in Santa Monica, CA on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 at the Preece and Toff Salon at Fred Segal from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m..  Dr. Starr has performed before treatment and after treatment qEEGs with this new transdermal homeopathic treatment and has found that the treatment normalizes the EEG within 3 weeks of initiating the treatment.  He has also observed significant reduction in the core symptoms of autism using this treatment.  Seating is limited so you must call to reserve a seat.  Call toll free 1-877-963-3338 to reserve a seat.  You can obtain more information regarding this treatment at www.neuro-med.net

Hi everyone.   We had a great time at the Triangle walk/run last month.  We now look forward to seeing new faces at the Maipalooza on the 8th of November.    It is put on by Mariposa school for children with autism in Cary, NC.   If you are able, come down and take part in the fun and festivities...We'll be there selling our materials and products.. and taking orders for the Christmas wreaths in our second annual Christmas wreath fundraiser for the school with a portion of the profits going to the school.  Check out our website or look on etsy at our other products.

 As always, we enjoy hearing from you.

Patty and Alison 

“Peas and Carrots” … “Cookies and Milk”… “Intelligence and Emotional IQ”

Two different things…both, just great on their own…but combine them…and it’s “Oh, so  good!”  Why?  Because they are compliments of each other., and together, they individually become enhanced.

So what about intelligence, and can it stand alone, if it only goes as far as “Head Knowledge”  Certainly, it can…as we have all known brilliant minds that have accomplished much in the way of humanity, technology, medicine, ect., and these individuals will go down in our history books as the “Great Minds” of our society.

And yet, in a social aspect…very few of these “great minds” if any, have much of a grip on “Emotional Intelligence”.  Usually, these great minds often grow up as “misfits”, or at the very least “enigmas”.  We have come to see that probably most of these individuals would fall into the “Autism Spectrum” as well.  And, while, because of their extreme intelligence, and circumstances in life, have led them to be successful in spite of the lack of emotional intelligence…what about all the other “great minds” out there that are never discovered, and end up unable to function in society at all.

The question begs to be asked, “Is it possible to have both intelligence, and emotional IQ?  And, if so, how could this be accomplished, when it seems that for most of these individuals, the emotional core of their brain seems to elude them?  How can we tap into that emotional center, so that “Thinking” can be complimented with “Feeling”.

ATclarabelle

A good friend of mine, Craig Lancaster has written a novel.  His main character is a 39 year old man who has Asperger's syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Because I have a son with autism, I was excited to read it.  What a treat this book is.  Craig has posted a blog about his new book on my blog site: http://www.forthesakeofjoy.com/600-hours-of-edward/   It includes a snippet from the book as well as gives insight into the writing of it.  Please read the post and make a comment at the bottom of it.  On Nov 6th we will select one commenter on the blog to receive a copy of the book for free.  ~Peace!