What is a person trying to communicate when they suddenly start screaming, hitting, or biting? What are they saying when they suddenly drop to the floor or scratch their arm or hit their face? Teachers, family members, job coaches, therapists, and others spend a great deal of time and energy attempting to translate these characteristic [...]
Gathering around a campfire is a traditional summertime experience that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and interests. There are few experiences more enjoyable than watching the flames of a campfire leap up from the logs, cooking s’mores with family and friends, singing some silly songs, then watching the embers glow and fade. [...]
Although we may have the best intentions, we can certainly fall into the trap of constantly nagging our family members or students with autism. It can be helpful to take an inventory of the words we speak every day and to move toward gentle nudging rather than constant nagging. Listen Now:
Before heading out for a spring break trip or a weekend at Grandma’s house, take a look at some of these ideas for personalized travel bags. These tried-and-true ideas have helped decrease travel anxiety for individuals with autism and their families, so you might want to give them a try. Listen Now:
Sometimes youngsters with autism are slow to follow directions, even when told to do something they enjoy. We can certainly expect nearly every kid to respond reluctantly when we ask them to finish an unpopular chore or to go to bed early. But, some of our friends with autism are very slow to respond even [...]
“My daughter rarely follow directions,” commented the dad of a pre-teen diagnosed with autism. “She doesn’t have functional speech, but she is able to communicate her needs and seems to understand much of what we say to her. We don’t know if she is unwilling to follow directions or if she is unable to do [...]
“Our son seems to always do the opposite of what we ask him to do,” said parents of an 11-year-old diagnosed with autism. “This is becoming quite a problem at home and at school. Last week, both of us told him very clearly not to go out the door, and out he went, right into [...]
“For several years, my son’s IEP has reflected the goals of his learning his alphabet and learning to count to 100,” commented a parent of a pre-teen diagnosed with autism. “He is beginning to pay more attention to academic concepts, so I don’t mind the continued effort in these areas. But it seems to me [...]
Sometimes our patience can be pushed to the limit, tempting us to give up on a strategy that doesn’t seem to be bearing any fruit. For example, a youngster functioning on the spectrum of autism may not seem to be noticing his peers or the words of his teachers or any of the activity swirling [...]
Sometimes we hear of incredible breakthroughs for people with autism Television often features individuals who have been “cured” of autism or who have excelled in music, art, sports, or academics. We might read of a non-verbal person who suddenly begins talking. Or an extremely withdrawn student in our child’s classroom may suddenly start interacting with [...]
As a mom and I were talking in the grocery store, her 10-year-old son diagnosed with autism started rocking, putting cans of soup in and out of the grocery basket, and making repetitive sounds. His mom said, “Oh, this is so frustrating. I wish he could just learn to wait patiently.” Red flags were flying [...]
A middle school librarian asked for some ideas for appropriate reading material for individuals with autism. “I have a growing number of students with autism,” commented the librarian. “It seems to me that fiction is just confusing to some of the youngsters. It is as if they have some difficulty separating fact and fantasy.” Listen [...]
A dad commented that his 12-year-old son didn’t seem to pay attention when given a direction. “He just seems to tune us out at home, and he acts the same with teachers, his soccer coach, his speech therapist, and his sister. He seems to understand language ok, so we’re not sure if he just doesn’t [...]
“I can’t believe my son loudly blurted out a graphic description of a temporary pain using anatomically correct words while we were standing in line at the grocery store,” said a parent of a young adult with autism. “It seemed like everyone in the store froze and looked at him in horror. Because he looks [...]
Casual conversation can be awkward with a person who is non-verbal. The grandfather of a youngster with autism said, “I sure like taking my grandson out for drives, but I don’t really know how to talk to him.” A teenager said of his sister, “All she does is repeat what I say, so it is [...]
“Our son seems really smart,” commented parents of a four-year-old diagnosed with autism. “He can count to 100 and recite the alphabet and he knows the words of nearly every song he hears.” Some pre-school children diagnosed with autism display extraordinary memories and an intense interest in sequences. The trick is to help these young [...]
For a variety of reasons, some of our friends with autism just plop down on the floor and will not budge. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the kitchen or the classroom is annoying and frustrating. Plopping down in the middle of a parking lot or street is dangerous. What choices do we [...]
My throat is beginning to heal and my ability to speak is finally emerging after 48 hours of virtual silence. As I am slowly becoming more able to communicate with the people around me, I am getting a brief glimpse into the world of my non-verbal friends with autism. Listen Now:
Those of you who are listening to this podcast can tell that my voice is still lost, and that it is difficult to understand what I am saying. Having spent over 24 hours without talking has made me realize some of the challenges of non-verbal communication. non-verbal_communicationListen Now:
This will be a very brief podcast because I have actually lost my voice. But take a minute to listen, because I have two quick stories to tell you. Listen Now:
