Happy 2012 Everyone!  Here are the top ten most viewed articles from 2011:

1. 10 Fun Gifts That Teach Children with Autism Social Skills

2. Helping Children Focus in the Classroom

3. He Got the Picture, But at What Price?

4. How Much Weight for Your Weighted Blanket

5. 5 Back to School Sensory Strategies for Teachers

6. How to Talk to an Autistic Kid

7. Preparing a Child with Autism for Their Birthday Party

8. 5 Strategies to Help Kids with ADD/ADHD and Autism focus in the Classroom

9. Calming Vibrating Toys & Gifts for Autism & Aspergers

10. All about Emotions Flash Cards

An important aspect of the educational experience for a child with autism is the social interactions he or she will have with other students.  Creating, maintaining, and reinforcing relationships with other students is important for an autistic child.  Interacting  with general education students in the classroom can help increase an autistic individual’s ability to function in society.

Here are a few techniques that educators can use to help foster relationships in the classroom:

1)    Find students who have similar interests as the autistic student and arrange the seating order so that they are near one another.  If each student has a similar interest, it may promote interaction.

2)    Identify students who are more receptive to the autistic child and encourage the receptive student to offer assistance.  Examples could include in-class assignment help, tutoring, pairing for projects, etc.  A student naturally inclined to be helpful can help foster classroom relationships.

3)    Be sure to incorporate lessons and activities into your weekly lesson plans that promote social interactions.  Each autistic child may respond differently to other students, instructions, or activities.  Having a regular session of social interaction, and monitoring how the autistic child responds, can help you refine techniques that can help the autistic student cultivate relationships.

These are just some of the techniques that can help foster friendships in the classroom.  Of course each child is different, so these techniques may need to be adjusted to match the personality of the child.

By: Angela Nelson

These days nearly everyone knows a friend or family member who is touched by autism. Perhaps it’s your own child or your sister’s child. Perhaps it’s the child of your neighbor, your dentist, your mail carrier, or hair dresser.

With the holidays fast approaching, you may be asking yourself: what gifts are appropriate for an individual with autism or related developmental challenges?

Autism is a complex developmental disorder that affects a family in many ways.  It can be emotionally draining, demanding on time, and challenging for relationships… but, perhaps above all, autism is expensive! Rather than a scented candle or a box of golf balls, consider selecting gifts that will support your friend or family member’s efforts to teach their special child.

If you are a parent of a child with autism looking for a gift for your child’s teacher, consider giving educational tools and toys that he or she can use in the classroom. Teachers spend so much of their own money on supplies; they would certainly welcome a box of language cards or a set of manipulative puzzles over a crystal apple or another box of chocolates!

Children with autism face special challenges when it comes to learning through play.  Some educational toys that help most children are not always appropriate for a child with autism. Perhaps the best thing you can give to that child, are tools to help develop language and skills to help them play with their siblings and peers in the future.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Best wishes for a happy holiday and a new year filled with growing, learning and thriving.

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.

By: Angela Nelson

Labeling and Requesting are the most basic of all full sentence activities, and provide a basis for your student to understand that communication requires more than single word utterances. The following list of activities offers just a few examples of the many lessons you can use to help build full sentences and a more complete system of communication with your child.

Adjectives

You can use picture cards to discuss adjectives or descriptive words. Some adjectives are clear from the pictures, such as “the apple is round” or “the frog is green.” Other adjectives draw more on a child’s real-world experience, like “the bunny is soft” or “the banana is sweet.” To teach adjectives, you can start with a receptive task. Place cards in front of your child and ask them to “find something green” or “point to something that is round.” This receptive language activity will allow your student to hear some of the adjectives you use, before trying to come up with their own descriptive words when you start to build sentences with them.

To transition this activity to expressive language, you can hold up a picture and ask your student, “What color is the frog?” You will need to prompt your student at first either verbally or using a cue card method as described above.

Wh question

Use a picture of a common item to teach adjectives and WH questions.

Picture cards provide a great opportunity to practice “Wh” questions. You can show your student a picture and ask him or her to answer questions such as “What color is the frog?” “Where would you find a plate?”  “When do you use a pillow?” “Why do you use soap?”

To start, some of these questions will fall easily out of the adjectives lessons you have already practiced, such as “What color is it?” Other questions will provide a new challenge for your student.

Tell me about

Use pictures with which your student is already familiar. The best pictures will be the ones you have practiced extensively on the Adjectives and Wh Questions. Show your student a picture and ask him or her to tell you about the item in the picture.

The first things that your student should be able to tell you about the pictures are the responses that they learned in Adjectives and Wh Questions. The difference with this drill is that you student has to generate the content themselves rather than respond to your question. When you ask your student “What color is it?” they know color is the relevant detail. In the Tell Me About lesson, students have to decide for themselves that color is a relevant thing to tell you about the picture.

You can start with scripted responses, using the picture to cue your student. Then you can progress to more creative responses that might not be so obvious from the picture. For example, show your student a picture of a duck. Ask your student, “Can you tell me about a duck?” By looking at the picture, your student can get some basic answers. “A Duck has feathers.” “A duck has webbed feet.” “A duck has a bill.” As your student becomes more familiar with this activity, you may progress to things about a duck that are not readily apparent from the picture. “A duck can swim.’ “A duck says ‘quack quack,’” “A duck lays eggs.”

The Tell Me about Lesson also gives you the opportunity to increase the length of your student’s verbal activity. Start by requiring the student to tell you only one detail about the picture. Then move up to two, or three or more details. Of course, if you ask your student to tell you three things about the picture, you may have difficulty if they haven’t mastered counting skills. Here’s a trick: hand your student three blocks and have them toss a block into a bucket with every detail they tell you. This is a great way to help your student count their answers, and it makes it fun for them!

Storytelling

The next step in this language building series is Storytelling. Again, this activity builds on the previous lessons. Show your student a familiar picture card and ask your student to “Tell you a story” about the picture. The first elements of the story will likely be familiar from the Tell Me About lesson. For example:

“Tell me a story about a duck.”

“There was a duck, it had webbed feet, feathers, and a bill. The duck went for a swim in the pond, then it laid some eggs and said ‘quack quack’”

As your student’s language skills grow, so will the creativity of the stories!

Generalization

The setting in which you begin to teach language skills is very structured and formal. However these new skills will become more valuable as they generalize across time and setting, and with various communication partners. To help promote generalization, you can start by moving your therapy session to different places – starting even with different rooms in the house.

Next, it is important that the skills your child has learned in the formal therapy session be practiced throughout other aspects of the child’s life, such as during family time and at school. Make sure to bring the cards (or have second sets) to dinner, to the store, to school, etc. Whenever you communicate with your child, require the same full sentences that are expected during therapy. Stop and take the time to use the prompt cards if necessary.

Finally, keep good records and good communication channels open with all of the other professionals and family members in your child’s life. You should send a notebook back and forth to school, or perhaps start an electronic communication log to make sure teachers are requiring the same sentences, using the same words, and bringing in the same prompts as you are at home and in therapy. Consistency is a major key to building and generalizing successful language skills to help your child interact with the world around them.

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.

By: Britt Collins M.S., OTR/L

Its back to school and the children are arriving and you have spent all this time decorating your classroom.  During the first week, you notice that one of your kids is squinting at the board and doesn’t seem to be paying attention.  You notice another child is staring off at the busy bulletin board looking at the bright colors and you have another child who cannot sit still in their seat and is constantly bouncing around.  What are you supposed to do?!?!

• Try to give all the children in your classroom sensory movement breaks throughout the day.  Incorporate these into your lesson plans.  For math, have the children jump to count and go through an obstacle course to read sight words (i.e. walk across a balance beam, jump over a log, climb up onto the bean bag, call out the flash card sight word and throw a bean bag into the bucket) Children will learn to love learning and we have to MOVE in order to learn.

• If you have a child who is visually distracted by stimuli, maybe move their seat, or make sure your classroom is not overloaded with stuff on the walls.  It doesn’t have to be boring white, but too much in the classroom can be overwhelming for a sensory sensitive child.

• For that mover and shaker, have them sit on a therapy ball, or a move-n-sit in his/her chair.  Give them a fidget toy to squish to help them pay attention and create rules around not throwing it, or pulling it out to distract other children.

• If a child is having trouble copying from the board, give them a slant board to write on and have them copy from their desk. They may have visual perceptual issues that make it difficult to transfer what is written on the board to their paper.  Consult with your OT to see how you can help any child that is struggling in the classroom.

• For a child that may seem like they are not listening, see of the OT or Speech therapist can help with possibility of auditory processing issues.  That child may need 30 extra seconds to process what you are saying to them, or it may be hard for them to filter out what you are saying from the lawn mower outside.

Don’t be afraid to call in your Occupational Therapist to help provide sensory strategies for your kids in your classroom.  If you do not have an OT that is available, feel free to check out the OT in the School DVD for more helpful advice.

Britt Collins is the co-author of Sensory Parenting: Newborns to Toddlers www.sensoryparenting.com and co-creator of an award winning OT DVD series. 

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!

By Britt Collins M.S. OTR/L

With your child going back to school, your child may be experiencing anxiety, stress, excitement, nervous feelings and more.  You may also be experiencing those same feelings.  Here are some sensory tips for back to school for kids.

• Prepare your child ahead of time about being in a new school or new classroom.  Tour the classroom ahead of time and meet the teacher if possible.  Write a social story about going back to school and add real pictures of the school classroom, the bus, friends that your child has, activities that they will be participating in like recess, reading, lunch etc.
• Give the teacher information about your child’s specific sensory needs (i.e. Sam needs sensory breaks every 20-30 minutes which include jumping jacks, heavy lap weights, fidget toys and bouncing on a therapy ball)
• When your child comes home from school, make sure you give them a break.  Maybe have a snack and some quiet time if needed, or maybe they need to blow off some energy.  Provide them an appropriate outlet to do that.  Play outside, jump on the trampoline, create an obstacle course in your living room with a tunnel, bean bag chair, hopping over toys and pushing the laundry basket full of toys down the hall for calming heavy work.  Maybe they need to relax with a good book, or take a cat nap depending on their age.  You should not immediately put strong demands or require them to do homework right after they get home from school.
• Other general sensory strategies can include; making sure your child’s sensory needs are met.  If they are a sensory craver (they seek out a lot of sensation) give them deep pressure, massages, give them opportunities to swing, jump, climb to help organize their sensory systems.  Don’t overload them and watch for signs of getting too hyperactive.  If they are over-responsive to sensory input (they avoid swings, don’t like to touch sticky or gooey, get scared with movement or touch etc) slowly introduce them to various sensory input.  Slowly have them swing in your lap, play with various media like cornstarch and water, or moon sand.  If they are under-responsive (they are hard to motivate, like couch potatoes) try to engage them in something they like, besides video games and TV.  Have them create something, build something, get them outside riding a bike.  ALWAYS consult your occupational therapist to know what type of sensory kid your child is before using the above suggestions.

For more helpful information from Britt visit  www.sensoryparenting.com

Britt Collins M.S. OTR/L is a national speaker, Co-author of Sensory Parenting: Newborns to Toddlers and Co-creator of award winning DVD series: OT in the Home, OT in the School and Yoga for Children with Special Needs

By: Bonnie Arnwine

On Father’s day I was reading the Bible. I came across Genesis 29:32-35. It’s a passage from the story of Leah a woman who’s husband didn’t love her. Her husband really loved her sister Rachel, but he was tricked into marrying her and after one week of marriage her husband married her sister too.

Genesis 29:32-35:

Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah.

I was struck by this passage for a couple of reasons, first of all thank God I’m not Leah! I can’t imagine the heart ache of sharing a husband AND not being the favorite. Had I been in her situation I would have begged for change too. I would have looked at every wonderful thing happening and been sure that God was fixing my situation and making it better…

but some things can’t be fixed.

Some things can’t be fixed. Does that statement bother you the way it bothers me? I know God is all powerful, I know He can do anything, I know with determination and God’s help I can accomplish great things. But I have found that no matter how many band-aids, prayers or hours I put into some things – they just can’t be fixed because we live in a broken world.

However, some things can change and what I noticed in this passage was that Leah’s perspective changed. She moved from “now my husband will love me” to “I will praise the God who loves me.” Subtle but huge. Did she still wish her husband loved her? I’m gonna take a guess and say yes. Was this wish her central focus? After the fourth son, no.

When we’re caught up in what we want fixed we miss out on what we could already have. I can think of nothing better than enjoying a loving God who is close to us, interested in the daily stuff of our lives, who works things out for our good in the end, who gives us peace, guidance and the unconditional love all of us crave (including Leah)!

Some things can’t be fixed, but God is waiting to walk with us if we’ll change our perspective.

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.