Even if youngsters with autism get along pretty well in school, the transition to a new school can be challenging. For example, when moving from elementary to middle school, students are expected to listen to and remember about various procedures and rules given to an assembly of the whole student body on the first day [...]
At the tender young age of three, youngsters with autism often embark on an exciting and challenging adventure: pre-school. By its very nature, pre-school requires youngsters to function in three different spheres – group time, free time, and transition from one to another. Each sphere requires different skills, many of which are foreign to little [...]
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 [...]
“It seems like we are never able to relax,” commented the parents of a fourteen-year-old with autism. “We need to constantly keep watch our son to prevent him from hurting himself or from breaking or tearing up items around the house. He pulls clothes from closets, items from drawers, food from cabinets, and books from [...]
“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 [...]
“In spite of years of effort by dedicated teachers and therapists and lots of attention from a loving family, my son isn’t able to talk or read anything but functional words,” commented a father of a young adult with autism. “But he has been given many opportunities over the years to use what gifts he [...]
“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 [...]
“My daughter has outgrown her favorite childhood toy, and the stuffed puppy is simply worn to shreds,” commented a parent of a 4th grader diagnosed with autism. “I realize that she is dependent upon her puppy to help her stay grounded during the day and to reduce the trauma of transition, but her favorite stuffed [...]
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 [...]
Although we do not intend to be disrespectful, our words or actions occasionally step on the toes of other people. It would probably be a good idea for all of us to take a close look at our interactions with our friends with autism. Sometimes we need to make some adjustments in our conversations or [...]
Some compulsive or repetitive behaviors displayed by individuals with autism are annoying or socially inappropriate. But some actions are dangerous. If a person chews on or swallows soap, dirt, coins, rocks, paper clips, or anything else that fits in their mouth, there is a potential for serious illness or injury. Because constant vigilance is difficult [...]
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 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 [...]
You can jazz up snack time by encouraging individuals of all ages who are diagnosed with autism to mix up their own snack mixes at the beginning of the week. They can put their own hand-selected mix in small, snack-sized ziplock bags and keep them handy for road trips, school lunches, work breaks, or t.v.snacks. [...]
“Our son seems bored and listless when he has free time,” said parents of an older elementary youngster with autism. “We don’t want to just keep buying him new stuff, but he quickly looses interest in any items after just a few days.” A teacher and a residential care staff member expressed similar concerns about [...]
Sometimes we might feel as if we are taking one step forward and two steps back when helping our friends with autism learn new skills and enjoy life. Many individuals with autism have uneven abilities in a vast array of areas, including language and communication, social interaction, behavior, adaptive skills, personal care, academics, job skills, [...]
“As long as he had three meals a day, my son would probably be happy just sitting on his bed, flapping his hands and rocking,” commented the dad of an eight-year-old youngster diagnosed with autism. “I’m concerned about his physical health and emotional health, so I’m looking for some ideas for getting him out and [...]
“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 [...]
Family members frequently bring up the issue of problems at bedtime with their youngsters diagnosed with autism. “All my kids resist going to bed,” commented one mom. “But my son with autism explodes every evening, and doesn’t calm down until after midnight. Our whole family is suffering.” Other parents mention resistance to bedtime, ranging from [...]
Some individuals with autism are extremely resistant to change. Meltdowns often occur when they encounter a change in routine or food or clothing or other aspects of their daily lives. Although we might be bored with the same, predictable routine every minute of every day, we need to acknowledge that resistance to change is a [...]
