Autism Products

By: Angela Nelson

Language development varies from child to child, and there are wide ranges of expected “normal” language development in young children. If you have concerns about your child’s language development, you should discuss this with your pediatrician.

By the age of two a child should be able to:

• Follow simple commands or instructions
• Point to an object or picture when it is named for him or her
• Recognize names of familiar objects, body parts and familiar faces
• Repeat words spoken by others
• Use simple phrases and 2 – 4 word sentences by 18 – 24 months

As we all know, there is no “typical” child with autism. Children on the Autism Spectrum may meet some of these objectives, all of these objectives, or none of these objectives. The goal is to identify your child’s specific language deficits (the areas you see them falling behind) and takes steps to help them catch up.

The first stages of language development,  involve listening to words, imitating words, and building a basic vocabulary. In your child’s education program you may have heard professionals use terms like Receptive Language, Echolalia, Modeling, Matching, or Expressive Language. Don’t let these terms intimidate you. Really, they just mean… listening to words, imitating words, and building a basic vocabulary.

Encouraging Emerging Language Skills

A basic step in typical language development is imitation. Many parents are surprised to learn that a parent imitating their child is almost as important as the child imitating the parent! When a 12 month old child looks at his or her mother and says “mamamama,” the mother almost instinctively replies back, “that’s right ‘mama.’” This feedback reinforces the child’s vocalization and encourages them to keep on chatting. Although children with autism may have delayed onset of this type of behavior, or may have some setbacks along the way; it is important to remember to continue to imitate vocalizations with your child to encourage verbal behavior.

Imitation will also provide the first steps in the formation of words for your child. This time I mean your child imitating you! While you are hoping to hear your child imitating full words, remember, this starts with imitating vowels, consonants and syllables. If you say “aaaaa” and your child responds back with “aaaaa,” this is a cause for celebration. You are one step closer to your child saying “ma” or  “apple” than you were before they could (or would) imitate your vocalization. Eventually, modeling words will become the way you build your child’s expressive vocabulary!

Language Builder Picture Cards: Identical Matching

Developmental Psychologist, Jean Piaget, observed that a child first becomes aware of a concept and then acquires the words to convey that concept. Think about this for a moment: a child has to know that an apple is a distinct and separate item, before they know they should give it a name. They have to realize that the apple is different than, say, a cup. This is where matching comes in.

To teach this concept you can use pictures of objects.  Place two pictures on the table in front of your child, one picture of an apple, and the other of a cup (or some non-apple picture). Hand your child an identical picture of an apple. Ask your child to “match” the apples, or to “put with same.”

When your child can consistently match the two cards, regardless of the position of the cards, they likely understand that the apple is a distinct object. Now we are one step closer to giving that object a name!

Building Receptive Vocabulary

Receptive language refers to the thought process involved in hearing, processing and comprehending spoken language. When we mentioned above that a two year old child should be able to follow simple commands, point to objects when they are named, and recognize names of familiar objects; these objectives were examples of receptive language skills.

There are a number of ways to help build your child’s receptive vocabulary. Using photo cards, like the Language Builder Picture Cards,  is one basic and concrete vocabulary building tool that you can do at home. Place pictures of common objects on the table in front of your child. Ask your child to “touch the cookies” or “give me the hat.” When your child can follow the command and consistently select the requested picture, you have added a new word to their receptive vocabulary.

It is likely that your child will need help selecting the correct card… especially the first few times you try this task. Here is a trick to help make picking the right word easier. Start with just one card on the table and increase the number of pictures slowly. For example, if you are trying to teach the word cookies

1. Start with just the picture of the cookies on the table.
2. After your child has learned to touch the cookies picture on request, add a blank card to the table. Ask your child to touch the cookies picture several more times, rotating the position of the two cards each time.
3. Then, add a second picture to the table, and a third, and a fourth.
4. Once your child can select the cookies picture each time, introduce new words using the same method!

Language Builder Picture Cards: Receptive Labeling Can Progress from One Card to Multiple Cards

Angela Nelson received her BA and JD from UCLA where she studied and practiced behavior psychology under Dr. Ivar Lovaas. As Founder and CEO of Stages Learning Materials, Angela has created autism and special needs curriculum products since 1997.

Do you have a student with autism or ADD/ADHD in your class that has a hard time sitting still or focusing?  Often providing small opportunities for movement can actually increase your special students concentration.  The key is to find something discrete that allows for some movement, but doesn’t become a distraction to the class.  Here are our top five strategies:

Use an Exercise Band around the Student’s Chair legs.

A simple exercise band wrapped around the front of a student’s chair legs allows a child to kick and get their energy out, increasing focus and decreasing distracting movements.  Best of all if the student is sitting at a desk it’s completely quiet and out of the site of other students.

Give the Child a Small Hand Fidget.

There are a couple of hand fidgets that work really well in the classroom depending on the student.  Small stretchy frogs have long been a classroom favorite.  These work well because they’re inexpensive, discrete, and are great for squishing between fingers.  This is a nice option for mainstream kids who tend to lose things.  Usually they come in a bag so a teacher can keep a supply in her desk for the times a student really needs it.

Isoflex balls work well with older students who may also be dealing with anxiety.   Squeezing the ball or putting it between a student’s hands to squish can instantly relieve tension and increase focus. A micro bead filling provides enough give so that it takes some effort to squeeze, but not too much effort.  However, the skins of these balls are made of several thin layers of latex.  So if you have a destructive student, or one with a latex allergy, look at another option.

Tangle Relax This fidget can be broken into two smaller rings, is very sturdy, and fairly inexpensive.  It comes with a bumpy rubber skin that is a very pleasant tactile experience.  Extremely durable, this is a nice option for elementary age students as well as adults.  However, it is designed to snap open and shut and can break into small parts that could pose a choking hazard for young children or those with cognitive challenges.

Let them Sit on a “Wiggle Seat“

A simple wiggle seat a student  can sit on can encourage exercising the student’s  core muscles.  These small core exercises can keep energy levels down, decrease distractions and help with focus.  If you have a student  with posture issues you may want to get a Move N Sit. This is a wedge shaped cushion that encourages the pelvis to tilt forward aligning the spine.  Thankfully, there are discount versions available that are just as good.

Let them chew something.

Do you have a student who is sucking or chewing on their clothes, hands or pencils?  If so this may be a calming or focusing strategy.  Why not give them something appropriate to chew on?  There are a variety of inexpensive chewable jewelry options as well as clear pencil toppers you can use in the classroom.  For younger children (preschool and under) a popular option is a Teether Ball.  Not only is it a chewy, but it can keep hands busy during circle time.

Try a weighted vest, or Lap Pad.

Easily distracted students may respond positively to the additional weight of a weighted lap pad or  a weighted vest provides.  In a recent review article from the Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders the author noted:

“Five of the seven studies reported some improvements in behavior of children with ASD.  Weighted vests seemed to reduce stereotypic (repetitive) behaviors in some of the children. The vests increased attention or on-task time for some children.  However, these were small studies and could not measure behaviors reliably.”

Every child is different.  Sometimes finding a focus strategy for your special student takes some trial and error.  If you have a helpful focus strategy please share it!

We know this sounds crazy but sometimes we get to meet rock stars. Not traditional rock stars, but people who rock our world. One of our rock stars is Mary Cushing. Mary is from the Speech Pathology Associates the inventor of the original Chewy Tubes, our most highly recommended oral motor product.

Chewy Tubes were originally created by Mary for a Jaw Rehabilitation program to help build biting and chewing muscles for people who had strokes or low muscle tone. Since that time they have been used by all kinds of people, including children on the autism spectrum.

We always recommend Chewy Tubes when a parent or therapist has a child that’s chewing or sucking on their clothes. The design is terrific. The handle has ridges making it easy to hold and the tube itself is not too long. The length of the chewy tube insures that the person will not gag themselves. If you have ever seen a kid gag on a mouthing product then you know why this is important- especially right after lunch! This is a major reason why we prefer Chewy Tubes over several other oral motor products.

Another great feature of the Chewy Tube is that it is a tube. The tube design really gives the muscles in the jaw good proprioceptive feedback. Proprio what? The muscles and tendons in the jaw get a good chewy work out! This is the only product that does this. We also often recommend the Grabber XT especially for VERY aggressive chewers, but the XT is harder and doesn’t offer the same chewy satisfaction that the Chewy Tubes do.

Anyhow back to Mary’s rock star status. Mary rocks because she saw a need and invented an awesome product to meet that need and we love that about her. It’s not easy to come up with something really good. Mary put a lot of time, effort and thought into what she created – and it shows.  Chewy tubes continue to help a wide variety of populations including children on the autism spectrum. So yay for Mary – you rock!

For more on Chewy Tubes watch the Chewy Tubes instructional Video.

Since many children with autism spectrum have a difficult time understanding emotions we offer several varieties of emotion flashcards sets. We often get questions about these items, so here is a little information about each of our emotion flash cards sets.

Stages Language Builder Emotion Cards: In terms of emotion flashcards sets, this set is the cream of the crop. This card set features 80 3.5” x 5” photo cards that depict various facial expressions and emotions. The nice thing about this set is each emotion is featured eight times by different people. These emotions are: happy, sad, angry, surprised and disgusted. This is very helpful for generalizing recognition of emotions. The set also features 40 more images depicting real-life situations and activities that elicit a wide range of emotions. On the back of these cards are suggested conversation starters that are specific to each scenario. This card set is very popular for intensive behavioral programs, home use with parents and early intervention classrooms.

People and Emotion Photographic Learning Cards: This emotion card set offers a variety of ways to explore people and emotions. This set features 22 photographs of emotions that moves beyond basic emotions and looks at more subtle emotions such as shy, grouchy, or worried. This set also includes 23 photographs of families from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. 23 photographs of children engaged in common school and social activities. 22 photographs of people engaged in common careers that children see in their community. This set also includes a resource guide with additional teaching suggestions, activity ideas and word lists.  This set is very popular in preschool and early intervention classrooms.

Emotions Flash Cards: This set features 22 high quality photographic cards that represent a wide range of emotions. Each 8” x 5” card features a close-up of a young child’s face. The common emotions happy, sad, worried and angry are each featured three times, which helps with generalization. Several other emotions are also pictured including surprised, scared, serious, bored and disgusted. The size of these cards also make them a nice choice for circle time, bulletin boards or other small group settings.

More Emotions Flash Cards: The More Emotions Flash Card set is a continuation of the Emotions flash cards. This set continues to show pictures of happy, sad, and angry as well as lots more emotions such as lonely, surprised, sick and nervous. Use this with the Emotions Flash Cards to create an extensive high quality set of flashcards that examine emotions.

Facial Expressions Flash Cards: This flash card set features 45 4″ x  5″ photographs of children displaying a wide variety of emotions and facial expressions. Close shots of children’s faces ensure that learners will focus on the facial expressions. Emotions include happy, sad, angry, surprised, as well as more subtle emotions such as worried, upset or bored. The discussion and story starters include guided questions that develop expressive language skills while teaching children how to recognize emotions in others, describe their own feelings and demonstrate empathy.

By: Kimberly L. Gallo

“He’s acting weird,” words of concern from me to my husband. “Maybe he has autism,” I blurted out of nowhere. Autism… What is autism? Why did I just say that word out loud to my husband? Especially since I have no idea what autism is?

This was the start of our journey; the word came flying out of my mouth and I knew it must have come out for a reason. It was then that I looked up the word “autism” online. The year was 2003. After finding a list of signs of autism on my computer screen, and seeing that our son had all five signs, I was convinced.

The same week of his diagnosis, our younger son was born. It didn’t take long to see that our new baby was more interested in the letters on my shirt than looking into my eyes. Here we go again.

I craved eye contact and smiles from my sons. It didn’t seem fair that I had to work so hard for what other parents got naturally from their children. So I set out to make joint attention my goal. I had my face in my children’s faces as much as I possibly could. I remember one time singing “Row, row, row your boat” to my 4 month old son. I was smiling and singing while he cried and tried to get away from me. I had the advantage though, he was not mobile yet.

Being a constant cheerleader was the hardest thing I have ever done and the most rewarding thing at the same time. When I got a shared moment of happiness, I felt like I was on top of the world.

Knowing how hard it is to create that bond between parent and child with autism, and knowing how vitally important the bond is, I was spurred into action to create a product that would make interacting with ASD kids something to look forward to. I wanted to make products for parents and educators that could bring out the laughter and the eye contact in a way that was fun for everyone. My husband and I created “Playtime with Zeebu” for this purpose.

First and foremost, Zeebu games, DVD, books, and puppets are tools that help parents and educators connect with their ASD children. The DVD and all of the activity books come with user guides and games that help parents facilitate joint attention. The Zebu puppet acts as a bridge from the video to the real world enticing children with ASD to want to play along with their parents and care givers. In the back of each of our activity books there is a section called “Playing Together Games”. This section has my favorite face to face games; games that my children still ask to play today.

My journey is not over; my boys are now 8 and 9 years old. Like most parents of children with autism, I am constantly looking for a new key that will unlock the part of their brain that autism has closed off. I take it as a challenge; I enjoy the hunt for the key because when I find the key that fits, when that door is opened, it will give me more energy and a purpose to tackle the next locked door.

As an Occupational Therapist and co-owner of Sommerfly™, a therapeutic products company, I am very aware of the common misconception on the internet and elsewhere regarding what the appropriate weight is for a weighted blanket.  For a very long time there was no research done on weighted blankets.  In order to have some frame of reference, the research that was done on weighted vests and backpacks was misapplied to weighted blankets.  This is incorrect and unfortunate as weighted blankets are used in an entirely different way than weighted vests and backpacks are used.

The biggest difference is that an individual is not bearing the weight of the blanket while standing.  That is what the research on weighted vests and backpacks tested – weight bearing while standing. The useful weight for a Weighted Blanket is most commonly more than 10% of the person’s body weight. The Sommerfly Sleep Tight™ weighted blankets  follow the current, research-based recommendations of being heavy enough to be effective but light enough for the user to remove the blanket at will.

There is now finally some research on weighted blankets.  This research was conducted by Tina Champagne, an Occupational Therapist based in Massachusetts.  She also concluded that using the results of the weighted vest and backpack research to determine appropriate weights for weighted blankets was incorrect.  In fact, she found that people consistently sought out, and were comfortable with, weighted blankets that weighed well over 10% of their body weight.

I have determined Sommerfly’s™ weight recommendations for our Sleep Tight™ weighted blankets based on the many years of experience I have had trying different weights for the children I have worked with in my Occupational Therapy practice. The weights that I recommend are based on what we have found to be most commonly effective as reported by parents, the blanket users and my observations.  Some people crave more pressure and some people like less pressure but the guidelines that I have come up with work for most people, both children and adults.

What can we say we love Chewy Tubes!  We constantly get request from parents and teachers looking for a safe product a child can chew on to help manage stress or anxiety.  Our first recommendation is always Chewy Tubes.  They are non-toxic, latex free, lead free, and contain no PVC or phthalates.

 The Chewy Tube is designed by the Speech Pathology Association.  These chewy tubes were initially created as part of a jaw rehabilitation program. The tubes are different colors that represent different diameters of the chew tube.  The yellow tube has the smallest diameter, red is a medium diameter and the blue chewy tube has the largest diameter.

 There are many safe, well tested products for kids who need to chew.  Some people have given children animal toys.  Its important to remember that these chew toys don’t go through the same level of testing as products designed for people do.  Also, why would you give your child a dog chew toy when you can give them a Chewy Tube?!

 If you would like to purchase a Chewy Tube please visit our store.