Noticing Progress
When we spend time with a person every day, we can inadvertently overlook strengths or simply not notice tiny steps of progress in target areas. Let us look at an example from a real-life situation.
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Archive | Daily Living Skills
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Winter Blues
I just heard a weather report forecasting several days of cloudy, windy, cold weather. The meteorologist described the upcoming days as “gloomy.” Many of us are prone to slugishness and low energy in the winter months because of the short days and cold weather. Kids and adults can bust the gloomies by staying active and [...]
Onto the Floor
If anything is on her desk or table at school, a teen with autism sweeps them onto the floor with her arm. She does the same when sitting at a table at home or in a restaurant. Needless to say, her knocking items to the floor causes major problems. Let’s look at a plan for [...]
Helping Hand
Although some individuals with autism are quite self-sufficient, others are limited in their abilities to care for themselves. But even people with significant limitations can lend a helping hand at home or school if given a chance. It is simply a matter of discovering a person’s strengths and giving them opportunities to be in charge.
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Underwear Issues
A few brave adults diagnosed with autism have asked about a taboo topic: underwear. Individuals with marked sensory issue often struggle to find clothing, socks, and shoes that are comfortable. Underwear is, of course, an important consideration for people with tactile sensitivities.
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Change the Changeable Toolkit
Behavior Issues Caregiver Support Communication Daily Living Skills Following Directions Rituals and Routines Social Skills
What options do we have when a student with autism screams loudly and scratches his arms when unexpected announcements are made over the loudspeaker in the classroom? Or when a youngster sneaks into the kitchen at night and eats whole jars of peanut butter? How can we help a person who inadvertently distracts her fellow [...]
Teaching Patience
Behavior Issues Caregiver Support Communication Daily Living Skills Rituals and Routines Social Skills
Some individuals with autism really struggle with patience. They may have an emotional meltdown when required to wait for a delayed meal or for a slow school bus. Some people become very agitated when required to wait while a parent talks on the phone or when stuck in traffic. How can we teach kids, teens, [...]
Ineffective Communication
We tend to look at communication simplistically, inadvertently lumping individuals into one of two categories: (1) verbal or (2) non-verbal. But, in reality, communication is a very complex process, and a breakdown at any point on the language highway can cause deficits in communication. And the intricacies of autism can impact language skills even further. [...]
Daily Chores
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of daily life, it is certainly easier to just take care of every detail of the lives of our friends with autism. In reality, all children and teens, whether they have autism or not, benefit from having the responsibility of daily chores.
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Making Slime
Making slime – a substance similar to Play-Dough – is a fun, educational activity that teaches the concept chemical reactions when different substances are mixed together. This activity isn’t right for every individual with autism e.g. individuals who might eat the mixture or individuals whose tactile defensiveness will not tolerate sensory slime. But many individuals [...]
Write or Type
Many people with autism can learn to type and write by hand fluently with no problem. But, for a variety of reasons, some individuals with autism really struggle with handwriting. What are the advantages of learning to write with a pencil and paper? Do those advantages outweigh the skill of typing?
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The Main Thing
Behavior Issues Communication Daily Living Skills Personal Interaction Quality of Life Social Skills
Without a doubt, there is a flood of information and resources for teachers, family members, therapists, doctors, job coaches, and others interested in the well-being of individuals with autism. Sometimes the sheer volume of information can obscure the single most important fact about autism.
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Building vs Fixing
It is easy to get into the mentality of needing to FIX our friends with autism. A friend who describes herself as “someone with autism” commented, “It seems like adults are always trying to fix something wrong in my life. I wish people could notice some of the things I CAN do instead of always [...]
Peace and Quiet
Occasionally I have an opportunity to visit an individual with autism in their home. Sometimes I visit young kids living with their family. Other times I visit individuals in a residential home setting or adults living independently. Interestingly, I always notice one common factor in any home situation – the kaleidoscope of sights and sounds [...]
Allowing Failure
Because all of us want others to succeed, we often reach out a helping hand to an individual with autism when they are struggling to complete a task, communicate with others, or follow instructions. Although our friends truly need assistance in some cases, we tend to jump in too quickly. As cold-hearted as it sounds, [...]
Emergency Evacuation
In response to our FAQautism.com podcast about developing an emergency kit, a friend talked to me about some ideas for teaching individuals with autism how to respond in an emergency. Today we will take a look at a few of her ideas about emergency evacuations, great ideas based on her many years of experience teaching [...]
Skip a Step
Teachers must examine an individual’s learning style and weigh a student’s strengths and weaknesses very carefully in order to develop effective IEP goals. For example, some students with autism may be proficient in a subject although they failed to not be able to master a pre-requisite skill. The trick in helping a student maximize potential [...]
Sketch Artist
I was talking to an experienced therapist about alternative methods of communication for a teen who is non-verbal. Despite many years of therapy and diligent work, this youngster had not latched on to any of the myriad of alternative communication methods that have worked for other individuals with autism. What could she do to help [...]
Noises All Around
Most of us spend time in noisy environments, even at home. If your friend with autism gets restless or seems irritated for no particular reason, take a noise inventory in your home or classroom or workplace. Autism can cause extreme sensory issues with sounds that most of us do not even notice.
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Sleeplessness
Sometimes we need to take a step back and scout out the clues to challenging issues related to autism. For example, several families have been struggling with issues related to sleeplessness for several months. After looking closely at the surrounding issues, they were able to help everyone in the family get a good night’s sleep. [...]