National Autism Resources

A fun and simple oral motor activity that kids love is a bubble factory.  All you need to make it is a straw and a clean empty yogurt cup.

 To make it cut two holes in the top of a yogurt cup:

Cut a small hole on the top of the lid and a larger hole on the bottom. Fill the yogurt cup half full of bubble mix. Insert a straw in the small hole and let the child blow bubbles. If you are worried about the child sucking up the bubble mixture, cut a hole in the straw about one inch down. This will keep them from sucking up the bubbles.

Grocery shopping with a child on the spectrum can be challenging. Some autistic children want to touch everything in sight. One mother shared that all her child wanted to do was touch the wrapped meats until he poked a hole through the plastic.  Then he picked the meats up and smelled them. Needless to say she hated going to the grocery store.

 Here are a few tips to make grocery shopping easier:

 1. Give your child a special toy or fidget to hold their attention while you are shopping. Some ideas include bubble wrap, a stress ball or bendy toy. Try to only give this toy to the child when you’re in the grocery store.

 2. Another interesting idea is to cover part of the shopping cart with press and seal plastic wrap. Before going into the store cover a section of the cart and let your child poke holes in it.

 3. Plan to go shopping at less busy times of the day. This will minimize distractions and allow you to get your shopping done faster.

4. Contact your grocery store ahead of time. Many stores will gather your groceries for you or get your basket started as a service for your business.

5. Set up a simple reward system. If you don’t know how to create a reward system talk to your child’s teacher or therapist. Behavioral therapists are especially trained to create these types of systems.

6. Ask a neighbor to check with you before they go to the grocery store. Often neighbors and friends want to help they just don’t know how. Keep some money on hand to pay them to pick up an item or two that you might need. This will save you a trip and give them an opportunity to be helpful.

If you have a tip please share!

Mark your calendars for the next AMC-Autism Society Sensory Friendly Film, Despicable Me, on July 17.  The movie will start at 10 a.m. in participating theatres accross the United States. New locations will be: Champaign, Ill.; Chicago; Denver; Evansville, Ind.; Indianapolis; Madison, Wis.; Omaha, Neb.; Peoria, Ill.; Phoenix; Providence, R.I.; Rockford, Ill.; Sacramento, Calif.; and South Bend, Ind.  To find a location near you visit the Autism Society of America.

In April, AMC Entertainment and the Autism Society launched a program that would change the way autistic children enjoyed themselves at the movies. The Sensory Friendly Films program, which kicked off on April 10, allows for thousands of children with autism to see one of 93 sensory-friendly screenings across the nation in over 45 cities across 30 states.

One of those films, How to Train Your Dragon, explored cinematic magic in an autism-friendly setting. Lights are dimmed but remain on, volume is lowered, and the movie starts without previews. Families with special dietary needs were allowed to bring in special snacks from home and children were allowed to talk, respond, yell, dance, or even walk around the theater throughout the film.

Thankfully, this program that caters to those with developmental disabilities will be held on Saturday mornings once per month in all of the participating theaters and cities. All of the films are newly released and featured either a G or PG rating.

To learn more about the Sensory Friendly Films program, check out this featured article in TIME Magazine or you can visit the official site.

On June 8^th, best friends around the nation will come together to celebrate a very special day: Best Friends Day. Unfortunately, for many autistic children, celebrating this occasion can be challenging. It can be difficult to foster and encourage friendships between autistic and non-autistic children. However, there are some things that you can do to plant the seeds of a beautiful friendship that can last a lifetime. Here are some ways that you can celebrate Best Friends Day with your child by giving him or her a chance at making a friend.

First off, friendship starts when you’re a parent. You are your child’s role model, so to help your child develop the skills needed to form friendships you have to practice them yourself. Talk to your child about his or her interests, listen, share, and play. Acquaint your child with the behaviors found in a healthy friendship.

Next, introduce your child to other children and work with support staff to have your child socialize in a classroom or even in a group of other autistic children. Expose your child to different social atmospheres while being conscious of your child’s sensitivity to certain stimulation. Be patient and be understanding. It takes time.

Finally, talk to other parents and create opportunities for your child to connect. Take fieldtrips with the classroom. Work in the community to develop a playgroup for developmentally challenged children. Work with others to develop a network that your child can tap into to form friendships.

Once you’ve gathered ABC behavioral data, it’s time to actually put it to work. The next step in using ABC data is to look for patterns in the student’s behavior and form a hypothesis.  Once you form a hypothesis you may need to gather more evidence to to make sure your hypothesis is correct. You can gather more information about the child’s behavior through interviews with members of the child’s IEP team, parents, and other support staff. The cause of a behavior usually becomes more apparent when there are consistencies in both ABC data observations and functional assessment interviews.

ABC data should be used every so often to track the progress of IEP goals, along with classroom observations, and interviews. Essentially, the main goal of ABC data is to help the IEP team learn about patterns and functions of behaviors present in a particular student. ABC data can also help the IEP team to evaluate behaviors, behavioral plans and make modifications as needed to address problems or challenges associated with an autistic student.

When developing an IEP for an autistic student, it’s important to observe the child’s behavior to look for patterns, functions, and preferences. Because autism spectrum disorders have a direct impact on behavior, it’s important to develop a plan using behavioral data so that it’s easier to tackle communications challenges, social interactions, sensory needs, and other important goals in an IEP.

ABC data is a type of behavioral research that utilizes observations to help develop a positive behavior support plan. ABC refers to three separate observations:

• Antecedent – the events, action, or circumstances that occur before a certain behavior. For example, a teacher asks a student to pay attention.
• Behavior – the behavior itself. For example, using the teacher and student interaction, the student ignores the teacher.
• Consequence – the action or response that follows the behavior. For example, the teacher repeats herself sternly.

If you are gathering ABC data on an autistic student, you may want to develop a three column chart that charts each ABC action (antecedent, behavior, consequence). Be sure to note the time and any environmental factors that could have contributed to the behavior.

Remember do not interpret or characterize the behavior. Identify what preceded the behavior, what the behavior looked like and how long it lasted, and what the consequences were. Its important to report the conditions as objectively as possible. It may help to act as if someone else were observing and reporting. Objective data can help the IEP team develop a plan of action for helping an autistic student deal with his or her behavioral and social challenges.

IEPs can be very stressful for teachers of any grade level or experience. However, there are things that parents can do to help reduce the stress on the special education teacher so that an autistic child gets the highest quality of care and guidance possible. A happy teacher can help to make a child’s educational experience – and IEP – even better. As an educator, it’s your responsibility to start building strong partnerships with parents, rather than administrators, to ensure that the IEP gets carried out easily and effectively.

Here are some easy things you can do as a teacher to reduce the stress of IEPs:
• Work with the parents to put a plan in place at the start of the school year so that you both have a roadmap of where the child needs to go (and what needs to be done).

• Get accurate contact information for the parents. Sometimes teachers overlook this simple information and when the time comes to contact the parent for assistance, it can become even more stressful. Take the time early on to establish contacts and contact guidelines.

• Set realistic expectations and goals for yourself as an educator. Besides IEPs, you have meetings, paperwork, lesson plans, maintaining parent communications, and students to teach. Reduce stress by managing your workload and setting expectations for what you can accomplish.

• Review successes in the IEP if you start to feel discouraged. Talk to the parents and recap on the progress the child has made.

• Organize your classroom and all of the paperwork associated with the IEP or the particular student. Organization can greatly reduce stress and make it easier to keep up with a student’s progress.

• Make it a point to address parent concerns and complaints as soon as possible. This will ensure a more proactive and positive relationship between you and the parent.

• Communicate with the parents over the child’s behavior outside the classroom. Try to form observations on certain behaviors and use them to develop a more successful IEP. Keep revisiting the IEP throughout the year to adapt it to the child’s needs and development.

As Summertime approaches, we are often asked, “What are some good travel toys for kids on the autism spectrum?”  So, we at National Autism Resources wanted to share with you a list of our best travel toys for those with autism:

Wikki Stix Activity Set:

Wikki Stixs are bendable, colorful yarn that sticks to a surface with just fingertip pressure.  These provide an interesting tactile experience and also help fine motor skills. Children can make all kinds of art projects with no glue or mess.  Fun Activity Kit includes: 96 Wikki Stix, Wooden shapes, Feathers, Pompoms, 4 blank faces that are great for exploring emotions, 2 greeting cards, Do-Wikki Gam,e Wikkidoodle sheets, a Travel Fun Book and more!  The activity set comes in a convenient carrying case.

Vibration Buddy:

We love vibration buddies, these soft musical buddies play music and vibrate when squeezed.  The soothing vibration is good for calming and soothing kiddos when they get stressed out.  We appreciate that the manufacturers have included volume control.

Squishy Dino Set:

This is one of our most popular toys.  These dinos are rubbery and squishy with little beads inside.  They are wonderful for imaginative play, incredibly sturdy, and provide great sensory input.

Knobby Teether Ball:

This is a teether ball that a child can hold and chew on. Many teachers use these during circle time to help kids sit who also need to chew.   These are nice for airplane and car rides, particularly if your child is prone to chew on things.

Mini Light Spinner:

It’s easy to keep track of the mini light spinner because it has a break away necklace.  Visually mesmerizing a child can  wear it and watch the lights spin and flicker.

Mini Dozer:

This small, inexpensive item is not meant to be durable.  However, depending on the child, it can keep them occupied for awhile.

Tangle Jr:

Tangles are great for keeping hands busy on trips in the car, on a plane or anytime. The Tangle Jr. has  18 interconnected pieces that a child can quietly twist keeping their fingers quietly moving. Tangles are a great manipulative toy that stimulates the brain as it helps increase finger dexterity.

Let’s Make Faces Book:

This spiral bound book is designed to be drawn in.  Kids can draw in faces, wipe them clean, and then draw them again! A wonderful tool for exploring emotions and easy to travel with.