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Paul created the clever illustrations, and Bill composed and performed the music. Both are friends diagnosed with autism.
Welcome to a unique Saturday edition of FAQautism.com – a brief post reminding you of our VODcasts – short video segments posted on our website http://FAQautism.com. Click here to listen to valentine songs and learn to cut paper valentines. Click here for creative, fun, and inexpensive ways to say “I love you” to your friends with autism in meaningful ways. Enjoy!
In my corner of the world, February 14 is Valentine’s Day – a day of expressing love and friendship with family, friends, fellow students, and others whom we see daily. Today we’ll share some ideas for helping our friends of all ages with autism join in the fun. And take a minute to click on our recent VODcast for a quick, 4-minute video with even more ideas
Some children, teens, and adults with autism frequently strike out at other people. Why do our friends hit or pinch strangers, family and friends, or their fellow students at school?
Several families and teachers have posed questions about kids and adults with autism who constantly flush toilets. This obsession not only wastes water, but it also distracts our friend with autism from interacting with other people and disrupts the classroom or family routine.
Sometimes very simple, everyday substances can solve complex, challenging issues related to autism. Today we are talking about one such “magical” substance: white school glue, sometimes known as Elmer’s glue.
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 decreasing this disruptive, potentially destructive habit.
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.
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.
How should we respond to our friends with autism who murmur under their breath, some only occasionally but others with a constant stream of conversation, nonsense syllables, the alphabet song, or movie scripts?
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 high school students and teacher with constant fidgeting and rocking? Or someone who compulsively puts small objects in his mouth? One sure-fire strategy is to change the changeable.
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The realities of autism can bring on a flood of challenges, a situation that causes parents, teachers, therapists, and other to scramble in efforts to change behaviors, teach new skills, deal with issues, and otherwise shape our friends with autism. Over time, we realize we cannot fix everything. When establishing priorities about issues that are most pressing, we need to take a step back, consider a single issue carefully, and ask the question, “Does it matter?”
Last year we posted a podcast on FAQautism.com – Mom vs. Dad – that continues to be popular. Because of the pervasive nature of conflict in families and between husbands and wives, we are looking at the issue again. Unfortunately, disagreements are part of human nature, and, in many families, conflict over child-rearing practices is the norm. Autism just adds another bone of contention into the stew of family feuds.
Everyone join me in singing, “Happy 700th anniversary to you…..!” We are posting our 700th FAQautism.com podcast today, and we haven’t even scratched the surface of the myriad of issues that arise in the daily lives of individuals with autism. The challenges keep coming for all of us, but, fortunately, the supportive autism community – family members, teachers, therapists, caregivers, medical professionals, friends, and individuals with autism – keeps churning out creative solutions.
We are all aware of the value of interacting casually with our friends with autism, but we also know of many issues that stand in the way of making personal connections. Our time and energy are limited. Some individuals with autism actually resist social interaction, seem to ignore our friendly conversation, or even appear oblivious to people in their lives. How can we overcome these stumbling blocks?
Autism is complex, touching many facets of a person’s life. Where do we begin? Among the myriad of issues related to autism that demand our attention, what is the top priority? Where do we focus our attention and energy as friends, teachers, therapists, family members, medical professionals, and others?
The term “picky eater” can be quite an understatement when autism is involved. Part 1 of this conversation about inflexible or restrictive eating habits includes examples of the types of food issues common in autism. The podcast Food-Part 2 overviews the process involved in pinpointing the specific problem encountered by an individual with autism and scouting out all the factors contributing to the issue. In this third and final segment of the food discussion, we will look at just two basic strategies to consider when tackling restrictive food habits.
What factors contribute to various food-related problems common in autism? How can we effectively address these challenging situations? Obviously, we cannot answer those questions in a brief podcast, so let us just consider one specific, real-life situation, that of a youngster who insists on eating just one food for breakfast, lunch, and supper.
For a variety of reasons, some individuals with autism have issues with food. To begin this discussion about food and autism, we will look at some of the challenges that arise in the lives of individuals who have difficulty with their eating habits.
Among other things, sudden loud noises or constant murmuring can be attempts by youngsters with autism to communicate, to get attention, to avoid chores, to protest changes in routine, or to irritate other people. But sometimes repetitive noise-making seems to be more of a habit or a “stimming” activity.
For a variety of reasons, some individuals with autism occasionally make loud, startling sounds that do not seem to be attempts to communicate. Others talk out loud, absent-mindedly mumbling repetitive nonsense phrases or bits and pieces of conversations or movie scripts. The sudden outbursts or constant chatter can disrupt others at home, school, work, and in the community. Is there anything we can do to keep our noisy kids quiet?
