Strategies to plan for a more fun Halloween for children with autism

Halloween is just a weekend away and when we have a child with autism in our family, it won't be as easy as throwing on a costume on the evening of and going treat-or-treating. Halloween comes with a barrage of changes from regular routine for any child but more so for a child with autism who might have severe challenge with unplanned transitions from familiar to unfamiliar. The event is a big change from routine. Everything from clothing, decorations at home and at other people's homes in the neighbourhood, lights and sounds, food items, social demands, unfamiliar faces and loud crowd in some cases. But with a little planning, Halloween can be fun for kids with autism as well.
So, how to prepare for Halloween?
Make a list of points to consider. For example:
1. Costume: Some costumes are more abrasive or smell more than others and might bother a child with autism who has physical sensory problems. Some might find the wigs itchy even for a brief period of time. Just have him go without or if possible, apply some colour on the child's hair if absolutely necessary.
2. Social script: Write a short script (keep it to five or six lines) or draw a picture of what it would mean to go trick-or-treating, where you will go, what will happen at the doors of people, what can the child expect to hear and get from homeowners at their doors, what their decorations might look like, a few days before Halloween and read it or go over it together with your child. It would be great to post it on the fridge so the child can look at it every day until Halloween.
3. Route: practice going on the route that you plan to take with your child on Halloween evening and depending on your understanding of your child's patience and temperament, plan for the number of houses that you will be going to and tell you child that number so that the expectations are clear and stick to it.
4. Food: If your child has food allergy, make a clear rule for your child that candies and food items that he or she is given during treat or treating can only be eaten at home after your inspection.
5. Plan B: If your child simply cannot tolerate going trick or treating in the busier neighbourhood where there are lots of children or where the decorations are likely to trigger a meltdown, take your child to quiet streets or just role play at home with family members.
Hope you and your child will have a great time at Halloween this year!

Perspective on impact of autism on the whole family

If you have time, read the whole article at this link but I thought the following excerpt would give you an idea of how autism affects not just the individual diagnosed with autism but the whole family. This, from people who know, the experts in the field who wrote this piece.
http://www.kidsmentalhealth.ca/documents/EBP_autism.pdf

"Families of Children and Adolescents with ASDs
Having a child with an ASD is one of the most difficult things that can happen to a family. Although most families cope remarkably well most of the time, they have some toughchallenges along the way. The needs of families are quite variable, and depend on:
• the particular characteristics of their child (age, level of functioning, particular
symptom severity, response to intervention, and so on);
• the parents' own intrapsychic and interpersonal resources; and
• the availability and effectiveness of supports and services.
Having a child with Autism can have a devastating impact on parents' mental health (most of this research is based on Autism; little has been done on other ASDs). In fact, family stress research has repeatedly demonstrated that parents (especially mothers) of children with Autism experience greater stress, depression, and mental health difficulties than parents of children with other types of disabilities or no disability. Different aspects of life with a child with ASD may affect mothers as opposed to fathers, and evidence indicates that mothers bear the greater burden (although fathers' experiences have been much less studied). Also, the family's culture is an important factor in the meaning they attribute to having a child with ASD and their tendency to seek help outside the family. Other significant stressors include:
• the poor understanding of Autism in the community;
• inferences or outright accusations of improper parenting when the child "looks
normal" but acts "strangely" in public;
• difficulty experienced in the process of obtaining a diagnosis;
• the exhausting process of advocating for scarce intervention and educational
programs; and
• the financial strain of certain therapies.
There are certain issues or needs that parents and siblings (and sometimes extended family members) may have at various times throughout their life with a child with Autism. These needs have important implications for family support services and case management. Table 6 in the full text of this document highlights child and parent issues and clinical responses appropriate at each developmental stage. It is important for mental health professionals to help families work actively on transition-planning at two main junctures: from preschool to school (about age 5 or 6), and from high school to early adulthood (about age 18–21). Intensive case
management and concurrent emotional support may be needed at these times."

Off to his first full-day summer camp ever!

Today, my son went to a full-day summer camp for the very first time. Of course, I didn't sleep very well thinking about it last night. Maybe it's going well for him today or maybe it's not. We'll see about what happens tomorrow - whether or not he'll continue his camp for the rest of the week. His camp is called Computer Game Design. Exciting stuff! He was fairly excited about it at the time we signed him up for it last month. He chose it himself from among the myriad of camps listed and I thought that that was the way to go. Let him choose, I thought. I figured that by letting him choose for himself, it might interest and motivate him enough to get up early and go to the camp. The theory was not spot on this morning because he was tired from staying up last night. Also, he's not the most expressive of people so I can't be hundred percent sure that he was ecstatic about going to the camp. But he got ready on time so I presumed that he was ready to go. Well he's there now and I'm here writing about it.
I did my homework prior to the camp as usual, of course. I called up the staff, who was a bit overwhelmed when I said aloud the word "autism" in connection with my son. She asked if my son has a TA or teacher assistant at school and I said yes but one whose 20 minute time in the classroom is thinly spread among 5 or 6 students. Then she said that summer camp instructors are not equipped to deal with children with disabilities. I'm not sure if she heard me say that my son has mild autism and high-functioning and independent and easy going and laughs a lot and very much verbal. I guess it might have been too much to drop the autism "bomb" on an unsuspecting person like her. But I wonder how establishments that run these programs for ALL children can afford to not know what autism is and at least the basics of what works for them. I'm thinking basics such as information on what the day looks like, when the breaks are, where they will have lunch etc. etc. So, I decided that I'll have to handle this the same way as I did other new situations involving my son. I went on a tour of his camp location, walked him back and forth from the washroom so that he'll be able to do it himself, talked to his instructor and found out the details of the day and the type of computer tools that they'll be using during the camp. This all happened within the week prior to his camp starting. All these steps so that the day will become predictable for him and reduce his anxiety of the unfamiliar. All I can do right now is hope that I did enough to make him comfortable and be successful at his first ever day camp. So exciting and at the same time a nail-biting experience this!

Great app list for parents of children with autism

Parents are always looking for ways to help their children with autism build skills both at home and at school. The arrival of iPad, iPhone and other mobile devices that allow these parents to make use of the myriad of apps out there to support their child's learning is a godsend. I simply cannot get over how far such versatile and engaging devices have come to play in changing the lives of children with disability. Here is a great list I came across recently http://ipadinsight.com/ipad-in-education-2/10-great-ipad-apps-for-students-on-the-autism-spectrum/ These apps, targeted towards younger children learning self-help skills, independent skills, processing information and following step-by-step directions, are highly visual, interactive, colourful and interesting. I think they would go a long way supporting the visual needs of children with autism both at home and at school.

Getting past the feeling of parental embarrassment over "misbehaving" child with autism in public

When children with autism decide to throw a tantrum, sing loudly, swear furiously, throw things or just decide to completely go au naturel in public, do their parents experience a momentary feeling of embarrassment? Maybe they wished that it didn't happen just that once? Maybe that feeling made them turn around and punish their child for behaviour they knew very well that he or she could not control? A veteran mother of an autistic child is long past any embarrassment over her child's behaviour in public but this could become a huge hurdle for parents of children newly diagnosed with autism. They may not even understand the behaviour of their child. Maybe they've been dealing with the diagnosis and everything that came with it - the severe behaviours, the child's inability to control his or her actions - all on their own at home without professional help. But they see very well that the "misbehaving child" drawing attention is their child and that they should be able to do something to make the situation go away, maybe exert parental control etc. so that they can continue to have the appearance of "a regular family" out and about doing errands, much like other families. These parents new to autism will need to work hard to get past their natural embarrassment a parent feels when their child misbehaves or behaves in a socially unacceptable manner. These parents will need to consciously choose whether or not they are going to be driven by the opinions of people around them. They will need to focus their energy on calming or redirecting their child the best way they know how and not worry about people around them who may or, giving them the benefit of doubt, may not be judging their parental skills. I say this because it is human tendency to look in the direction of any unexpected noise - whether a crying child or one that's hitting herself or biting her parents or pulling stuff off shelves at a grocery store etc.  But if those people are looking and openly judging, then they are doing so on a child with special needs and that says a lot about them than it does about the child's mother or father's parenting skills. Truth is, a parent one will likely experience feeling embarrassed at some point in the beginning by watching their child with autism become centre of negative attention because of seemingly socially unacceptable behaviour in public. But a parent can make that wilful choice to remain calm and ignore rude, judgmental looks and opinions from others. It's a lot easier said than done, of course, but it couldn't hurt to try and to keep trying. One day, those negative and hurtful public opinions will be just a  breeze that simply does not have the power to ruffle one any more.

Voluntary autism registry can be a win-win for the child with autism and emergency responders

I'm pretty excited to hear that a voluntary autism registry will be taking place in our city of Belleville on May 29. I think it's an extremely important step that allows emergency responders to know vital information about your child with autism that may one day save him or her from a life and death situation. Here's a scenario of a mother (The Globe and Mail article) who had to call the police because her son was chasing her around the kitchen with a knife one day. Panicked calls brought the police to her home almost immediately. But they didn't charge inside with guns drawn or loud aggressive explosive sounds or shouting at the boy to drop the knife. From the information gathered on the child in the registry, the police knew that talking about hockey calms the boy so that's what they did. They arrived and dealt with the situation with a hockey talk. What a story!! The situation could have ended in a horrible mess, possibly in the death of the boy shot by the police. But prior information on the boy helped the police to come better prepared with the tool they needed with this unique situation. This is something that could happen during a fire. The child might hide himself out of sheer fear and being overwhelmed by the smoke, loud shrieking of the fire alarms or people screaming. He might even arm himself and attack the responders. The child also might not want to come out with the firefighter, might not want to be touched or carried out. When he does come out, he might bolt or wander away when people are not paying attention. All of these possible scenarios could be avoided when the child is on placed on the autism registry. The information on the registry would also allow other community agencies such as the Red Cross at the scene to let them properly assess the family situation and their child's needs in terms of accommodation and continued care and support. Same thing with a child/teen with autism at school, who for whatever reason has escalated behaviourally to the point where the police had to be called. When the police arrives, they would have enough information on him to help in the de-escalation instead of jumping into the situation, which easily put both parties in danger. This kind of preparation will no doubt help the child as well as the emergency responders deal with the situation effectively and quickly. Read more on the topic and its advantages here http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/registries-of-autistic-children-arm-police-with-information/article4085778/

Parents have the power to help their child with autism

A world renowned autism specialist Susan Bryson was once noted to have said this. "The brain is so much more plastic when a child is young... There's now evidence showing that behavioural interventions can enhance connections between brain cells." Bryson was at the time doing a test study on a new parent-based treatment for children with autism at the IWK health Centre in Halifax in Canada. She was then studying the benefits of treating children in the presence of their parents. The parents, too, were taught how to employ the special intervention techniques themselves. Intensive intervention for a child with autism suddenly became accessible and affordable with this new idea. This early intervention method was named Pivotal Response treatment, which was found to be highly successful with preschool children with autism. Parents are taught the method and were encouraged to use the techniques with their child at home. Children with autism were taught in familiar surroundings of their own home rather than at the therapist's office. Bryson's idea left the parents empowered to be able to help their children themselves. Personally, I totally believe in Bryson's home treatment idea because there's no one more motivated and more available than parents of a child with autism. No matter how many private therapists are available out there, the cost of hiring one just to do an hour job once a week seems futile to me. From my own experience, I find that my willingness to be heavily involved in giving my time and attention to the progress of my child with mild autism simply works. Therapists and other professionals are willing and able but paying for their time may not be within the means of most families. I believe parents are the first and foremost responders to their child's needs. They do not need to wait in long lines for professional intervention. The key is to believe that they can and make that time to contribute to the progress of their child. Seek outside help if necessary but do not just wait for your child to move up the waiting list for professional help. Parents can do much on their own. Learn, take courses, attend workshops, watch the therapists, if any, at work with their child and employ the techniques any time when presented with the opportunity. Parents have the power to bring about progress in their autistic child's life especially in the early years. No doubt.

Reinforcing social skills at school

Parents of children with autism do all they can to help their loved ones at home. But when they are at school, which is usually 6.5 hours a day, these children are among their peers. They may often find themselves outside peer circles because they don't know how to interact with them on a social level. Such a situation is compounded inside school environment because of how rapidly conversation topics and gestures or expressions on people's faces change. Conversations could be accompanied with sounds of laughter that might distract a child with autism from listening well. Many other sensory triggers such as other children moving around, different groups doing different things, children seemingly breaking classroom rules by sitting or standing on tables, others talking at once and yet some others tossing stuff and so on can affect how the child with autism receives messages from his peers. Children with autism spectrum disorder often approach and respond to their peers and adults inappropriately as well. One reason they do this is because they are unable to read another person's body language. They might also be sending out unintended body language of their own, for example, looking away from the speaker because they felt anxious. They might be standing too close to show their interest in the speaker and so on. The teacher and educational assistant in the classroom or in the playground area during recess could keep an eye on the social behaviour of a child with autism while among his peers by grabbing teaching opportunities and by redirecting him or her towards appropriate behaviours whenever the opportunity presents itself. Prompts, praises and suggestions at appropriate times could go a long way towards helping a child with social skills at school. Depending on the frequency of these opportunities, the child would gradually be able to hone his or her way out of his isolation and into some form of social interactions at school. Once he or she is able to handle some of these demanding social skills on their own, they will move on to the next phase of establishing friendships for longer periods of time and at other environments such as birthday parties and other social gatherings with their peers.

Why visual schedule is essential in a classroom with ASD students

Experts in the field have already established the fact that individuals with autism learn best in an environment of predictability and structure. They are often known to benefit from visual supports and schedules. In plain words, when they know what is coming up next on their day, they have a better chance at coping with their anxiety, of having to face the unknown. Just like the average adult who need an agenda and a planner to schedule their day, an individual with autism need a visual schedule to eliminate uncertainties of the day ahead of them. If the child is able to read, the visual schedule can simply be written down but for a younger child or one who is yet to read, a picture format schedule would be the best choice. Whatever the format, it is a tool that would help teachers eliminate anxiety in ASD students and consequently, remove behaviour problems that might come up due to the students inability to process his environment and the information swamping him at any given time. The visual schedule becomes a point of reference for the student to know that even if he is not enjoying or understanding his current activity, he might be able to look at the schedule and see something else on it that will keep him going. Knowing that although he is doing math at the moment and that he really doesn't understand it which might show up in difficult behaviours, he might see music or gym, his favourite part of going to school, on the afternoon part of the schedule. Maybe knowing this will be his reinforcement and help him get though the day. Setting up a visual schedule should be simply a part of a teacher's preparation for the day. With this in place, there's a much higher chance for a better day for both the teacher and the student. For further reading go here http://autismclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/magazines/AutismClassroomMagazine_March2010.pdf

Summer programs at Quinte CTC

If you are looking for some stuff to do for your child with autism, check out the varied groups Quinte Children's Treatment Centre in Belleville is running this year. The details for the group programs can be found here: http://www.quintectc.com/index.php?/programs/groups. Quoting the info on their website: "In the PT gym, the group works on balance, coordination and strengthening programming. The group also incorporates life skills and activities of daily living with OT. They enjoy swimming at the CFB Trenton RecPlex to work on strengthening goals and dressing skills before and after, menu and meal preparation, money management through mall trips, self-care fine motor tasks such as tying shoes, learning addresses and phone calls." As for the teen group, it says: "The Teen Group at the QCTC allows for teens ages 13-16 with physical disability to come together to explore every day topics while having fun. The group provides an opportunity for teens to have positive social interaction, learn life skills and activities of daily living, promote healthy self-esteem and lifestyle. Topics addressed during Teen Group included recreation, self-care, food preparation, communication skills, and community use." Only problem is you might have to be a patient there already or be involved in their many consultation programs to be able to participate in any of the above programs. But, if your child qualifies, it might be worth looking into. After all, some days summer days feel like they could go on forever and no amount of books could keep it alive and exciting than some great company. So, check into the programs and give them a call.

Aurora theatre killer might have been on the spectrum??

"As soon as I heard about this shooting, I knew who it was. I knew it was a young, white male, probably from an affluent neighborhood, disconnected from society. It happens time and time again. Most of it has to do with mental health; you have these people that are somewhere, I believe, on the autism scale. I don’t know if that’s the case here, but it happens more often than not. People that can walk around in society, they can function on college campuses—they can even excel on college campuses—but are socially disconnected." Words Joe Scarborough, MSNBC commentator, was noted to have said in the course of discussing the recent Aurora, Colorado, movie theatre shootings. He actually said that the shooter, James Holmes, now under custody might have been on the autism spectrum disorder. Not surprisingly, Joe is now the star of a petition making the online rounds on facebook and other social media networks demanding him to retract his statement. Now, it leaves me to ponder that if a person of his position lacks the basic curiousity and information on facts of autism, what can we expect from the rest of the regular Joes in our communities. He looks like a complete idiot now and hopefully will take back his ignorant public comment about what he saw as a potential connection between someone who'd planned his evil act for months and then calmly walking into a theatre full of innocent people including little Veronica and shooting them in an unbelievable act of cruelty and a person living with a disability like autism. Scarbourough not only needs to retract his less than intelligent remark, he also needs to apologize publicly to all families and individuals living with autism. These individuals are already looked at askance for the numerous behaviours such as flapping their hands, hopping, rocking back and forth, repetitively obsessing about stuff, walking around in circles or not being able to control the tone of their voices or emotions that they sometimes display in public. They certainly don't need the added status of having the strong potential to be cold-blooded murderers that's Holmes. In fact, I'll have those of you who are not quite so familiar with the disability know that individuals with autism know their boundaries, they loved their rules and consistensies and when given the right and early appropriate intervention, they make a lot nicer company than most of their typical counterparts. They are respectful, full of love for those they know and are capable of a whole lot than we really know. It is simply ridiculous to even draw a connection between the mental status of an attention seeking egomaniac like Holmes to individuals with autism for whom any attention seeking activities are rare just because they just don't get a whole lot of pleasure from making someone else happy by being on their best behaviour. I am now done on this topic and will not waste a minute of life pondering on idiotic words from equally idiotic ignoramuses like Scarborough

Social referencing

My son and his younger, typically developing sibling were in a semi-private swimming class together recently. Every day they eagerly looked forward to the lesson. After every lesson they get rousing hi-fives from both their coach and I. They are both eager to discuss what they did really well in their class that day and what they need to do better. But during every lesson I would notice my youngest looking over at me looking for signs on my expression to indicate to her whether I'd seen her swim backwards or forwards or treading water or her strokes etc. Every time I'd give her a thumbs up or clap silently or give her animated smiles. She loved those silent interactions with me from across the pool and sometimes even in the middle of her treading water with her little face struggling to stay above the water. It's as if by locking eyes with me she'd keep herself afloat and keep treading. The silent interaction between my daughter and I is what is called social referencing. This never happens with my son who is mildly autistic. He loves to go under water and would follow the coach's instructions to a T but would never look around to see if I am looking at him or whether I'd seen a particular skill he was practicing. Nope, none of that. If I hi-five him at the end of the lesson, he's okay with that. If I praise his efforts verbally when he's out of the water, he smiles up at me. But he would not look to draw attention to his efforts. He does what he has to just because he enjoys it. His pleasure does not increase or decrease because I was watching and smiling at him from across the pool. Joint attention was something we struggled with him from when he was toddler. He'd never follow with his eyes where we were pointing and he'd never ask us to go look at something with him. Same thing with social referencing. In typical children, social referencing behaviour begins to emerge toward the end of the first year of life. But in individuals with autism, this behavior, along with several other aspects of social cognition, is mostly impaired. This is something we can continue working on by constantly engaging in social referencing behaviour with other people so that he'll be exposed to that behaviour often and learn that it's an acceptable behaviour. It is important to continue to improve on that aspect of his social development because it will allow him to connect more with others on an emotional level as well as improve his ability to read emotional expressions on other people's faces and reciprocate appropriately.

Going out to a restaurant to eat with your ASD child

I recently watched the “What Would You Do?” ABC program segment on autism where a child with autism goes out to eat at a restaurant with his family. As usual, the people in the show are actors who are acting out a scenario, which is intended to test out the reactions of other people to an unusual series of behaviour from a child with autism in a public place. While the family of actors ate at one table, other real customers are seen enjoying their meals at other tables. When the child with autism first began to obsess about an item of food, demanding it louder and louder, people began to look over at the family. Some smiled indulgently and others continued to eat seemingly not bothered by the boy's behaviour although the noise level he was creating was enough to encroach on their air space. Finally, one irate man (later identified as another actor) objected loudly to the boy's behaviour asking his parents if they could not control him and suggesting to them to take him home. Other customers listening to the exchange began to stir, a lot of them looking over to the irate man giving him dirty looks. Finally, a woman spoke angrily told the man to shut up and another man began to yell at him across the room. The irate man decided enough's enough and threw down his napkin and walked out of the restaurant accompanied by the cheery applause of the customers inside the room. Of course, the tv crew came inside then and congratulated all the offended customers who decided to speak up for the family.
The truth, however, is ... the world outside is most of the time ugly and most of the time, the child with autism and his family would encounter people who get ugly when their leisure time gets disturbed by such incidents at restaurants. To be fair, some children, especially young ones are hard to control in public and they seem to take an absolute delight in rebelling against their parents despite the glowering looks and deep frowns they are rewarded with for that behaviour. The child with autism in the tv segment obviously displays other behaviours that clearly tell others who do not know him that he has disability of some sorts. In that way, the irate man's behaviour is boorish and comes from being an ignoramus. But parents of children with disability such as autism can't totally expect situations to turn out as positive as on this tv segment always. People are not always going to be kind because no matter how much one would like everyone on this planet to be aware of autism, it is going to take time to reach just a quarter of that ideal goal. The only thing they can do, that they can really take control of, is to invest in some preparation time before they go out to eat outside. For sheer fairness to the child himself/herself, they will need to clearly understand the child's needs right down to how much time he/she can endure in public space, understand what information they need to give the child to enable a clearly outlined transition time, what kind of food he might want and ask for, a sitting area where they might be shielded from the crowd etc. A visual social story answering all the questions he/she might have about the outing, how they'll get to where they will be eating, who will be there, how big it is, what the tables and chairs might look and feel like, what sounds he/she might hear at the restaurant, how long they might stay there etc.etc. He/she might have all these questions but may not be in a position to ask. So it falls on to the caregiver to make sure he/she has these questions answered as comprehensively as possible before doing something like eating out, which is throwing him off the routine right off the bat. Children with autism needs routine and structure and anything else derails them and causes anxiety which might manifest itself in unpleasant situations whether one likes it or not. So, in my opinion, the parents are also in a position to make the outcome a whole lot better themselves with better preparations for such an outing – for simple fairness to the child they love and ... never mind all those ignoramuses out there.

Teaching new skills

Most parents of children with autism are aware of an applied behaviour analysis process called task analysis whereby a skill is broken down into smaller teachable steps. One would break it down into first, next and then routine, which is a lot easier to handle or to accomplish than simply giving a child a do something. A child is set up for sucess when he or she is led slowly towards a task in small steps and if done routinely and consistently, the process can one day lead the child to do the entire task on his/her own.
Task analysis process falls under two categories: one is the specific task analysis which can be used for activities such ass handwashing, baking cookies, making juice, putting on pajamas or outdoor clothes. The second one, a general task analysis, can be used during meal or snack times or when the child is accompanying family members or caregivers in and around the community.

Preparing your child for a happy easter egg hunting experience

What do all children like to do at Easter? They like to go egg hunting. For typically developing children and their parents, this is an event they can simply look forward to as usual. They would go to the place, take part in it and come away loaded with chocolate eggs. A happy day indeed! But for parents and families of children with autism, this is yet again another occasion, which their children might have to either miss altogether or be prepared for mentally even days before the actual event to be able to participate even if just for part of the occasion. The chaos of small children running amok, sights of people dressed up as bunnies, infinite variety of smell of being in a crowded place, sounds of many people talking at once and other noises related to the event such as announcements on loud speakers, weather-related sensations, not knowing what the event is and what to expect next could set off these children into a major melt-down. Some parents might shrug this off and go with their child anyway but for those who might want to be prepared to enable the best experience possible for their ASD child, check out this link for a social story for easter egg hunting. http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/Story_EasterEggHunt.pdf I strongly believe in the power of a social story to prepare a child with autism for an event. This particular story is filled with very pleasant visuals and easy to read text. So, help yourselves, print it out and read to your child frequently in the days leading up to the event, help her/him have the best experience of this fun event.

April 2 Fifth Annual World Autism Awareness Day

I suppose we need a specific day like today April 2 to raise further awareness of autism and its effect on an individual. We are in a much better position than, say, 10 years ago because today we have programs and services, which, when a family is able to access them, gives them hope for a better future for their offspring with autism spectrum disorder. The programs, which are increasing in the array available to those who are financially able to access them, are indeed many and parents of these children believe that one of those programs that would fit their child. They have hope today. The general public too is today somewhat more aware of the nature of autism and they are in a better position to feel empathy for a parent who has taken the proactive step to counter disapproving frowns on people's faces when they have to watch the child scream or spin or flap their hands uncontrollably in public places. They know that it has to do with a disorder they don't fully understand yet and that the it's not caused by poor parenting skills. People are reading and listening about autism. They are curious about why individual with autism behave and think in a certain way. We now have an open mind that seeks to understand it and seek solutions. We have the government including programs and services for autism in its annual budget. It's not nearly enough because we still have long painful waiting lists for these services and children suffer for years before it becomes their turn. School boards are mandated to come up with support programs to assist these children academically. Teachers and educational assistants are growing in their awareness of the issues these children face in group learning environment. They are taking extra courses. Whether they are able to walk back into their classrooms and apply what they've learned as effectively as they should, it's a different matter. But, we have this help out there and when we talk more about it openly with those around us, we spread the word and more people get involved in solving this great mystery of autism that is stalking our children and members of our communities. So, that's why it's important that we continue to highlight autism issue and have it gain momentum each year so that one day we can reach that moment when we get to know what's causing autism and we are able to address it in the best possible way. Right now, we have theories and solutions. Parents of these children would go to the ends of the earth to find that hopeful solution and help give their child a better future. At this time, parents like these are fighting for their child as if in a fog. They see their child suffering and want to know why so that they can begin seeking help but the lack of knowledge as to what the cause of autism, these parents are left in a trial and error situations. The only way the general public can help these families for now is to show empathy for their daily struggles, at times loss of hope and frustrations. By helping to educate those around them and preventing an unkind word from reaching the child with autism and his/her family members, they are helping families affected by autism spectrum disorder in their own way. To them, I say read more and more to understand autism. Meanwhile, join in today in sharing the joys of a child with autism in families you already know.

This Teacher Gets It!

This morning I felt like weeping when a teacher, who teaches one of the subjects in my child's grade 3 class, said the TWO WORDS during a simple exchange of conversation when I asked her about an upcoming test in her class. She said "Communication Log". She asked me if my child doesn't have a communication log yet where she could be writing down ongoing topics and upcoming tests. None of that mattered to me except she said out aloud "Communication Log"! I stopped myself from hugging her right on the spot but I thanked her for showing that she knows the language which parents of children with disability come to adopt as soon as they know that their child with disability is entering school age. This teacher does not know how much she contributed in just that moment towards rebuilding my trust in people sharing her profession. Sometimes, that's all we need to know and trust that our children will be in good hands when they enter school grounds - that the staff knows what that child is about, what he/she must have to support her/him to do their best at school. Now, that's a Teacher! I simply had to come back home and write this down because I want parents out there to know that there are teachers like her and we should continue to believe that they are there for our children. There's always going to be those who are in there for their own agenda but when I meet one like her, I want to tell you all about how much it meant to me and my child.

Bullying And Our Children With Disability

One hears a lot of conversations about bullying at school these days. It's not something new, some dismiss it. Others want to discuss it but feel there is nothing they can do. Yet others want to attack it vigorously for a few days and let it run out of steam. When the smoke clears, the bullying problem still looms over our children who are spending at least 6 hours, with or without support, in the midst of their peers at schools each day. When threatened by a bully, the child automatically looks around for an adult for help. So, is that adult there to see what has happened, right the wrong and make that child safe again? I doubt it. In most cases, these incidents happen when there are no authority figures around - in the bathrooms and at a distance from that one adult supervising the playground. So then, what needs to happen? What will help address that situation? The schools need to do something, parents demand. School administration says it has in place measures to address the problem and that parents need to do more to help their children by being more actively involved in spending time talking with their children. If we can picture the situation we have on one side parents and the other side school administration shoving the fate of those children back and forth. Both sides feel that they have done enough and the other party needs to do more. Meanwhile, an individual child caught in that situation goes to school every day and gets through his/her day as best as he/she could. Just picture the whole scenario in your head or draw it if you have to see and understand the plight of such a child looking at the adults surrounding him/her. But, the issue rarely gets outside the parking lot of the school where parents sometimes stand around and catch up with each other on school-related matters involving their children.
Us adults not doing anything is no longer acceptable. By not being concerned about it and proactively addressing the bullying issue puts all children, especially our special needs children attending regular schools, at serious risk. While typically developing children can most of the time come back home and tell their parents what happened at school, children like my son cannot. He cannot remember the details of what happened, who was there around him, who was responsible for the incident and what time of the day did it happen. His stories about challenges at school are so fragmented that I can't even make head or tail of it except know that he's been somehow bullied. How many such incidents must happen everyday and go unaddressed because our special needs children can't remember the facts of the story and makes it hard to get it straight even when you'd like to have it addressed?
If you're reading this and you're a parent of these more vulnerable children, you know it in your heart we have to be on a lookout for such situations involving our children at schools. The adults around them, us parents and the school administration, need to listen to each other and work together for a solution to help the child. He/she is dependent on us to keep them safe. He/she needs to trust that we can and will keep them protected by putting our heads together and coming up with solutions - for their sake!

Back to School After March Break

It is hard even for a typically developing child to go back to the long hours of learning at school after the leisurely hours at home or on out-of-town vacation during March Break. It is harder for a child with autism spectrum disorder to do the transition from a week-long break at home in mostly unstructured environment to have to adjust to the school routine and hours of focussing on academic learning. Parents have to be aware of the seriousness of the ordeal of such transitions. But there are ways to help that child better prepare for the return to school. The following are some of the ways a parent can help their child with autism handle the inevitable situation.
1. Review school and classroom rules and expectations:
It has been a week-only break but that might as well have been months or years or never at all for a child with autism. He/she might not remember at all what he is supposed to see, feel and hear at schools or what the rules and expectations are. So, it will be important for parents to make a visual (whether pictures or written) to refresh the list.
2. Tell him/her any new changes expected at school that you might know about.
3. Play a pretend school game with the child.
4. If possible, have the child go and play in the schoolyard the afternoon before and have him look around at the entrance, parking lot and talk about sounds and sights he/she might see.
5. Give appropriate reinforcement for paying attention to back-to-school preparatory activities at home.
I strongly believe that time taken to do the above will have an impact in how well the child transitions back to the school routine. All it needs now will be an equally prepared proactive staff ready to positively help the child back into the classroom with well-planned strategies that works the best with that child. So, good luck to us all tomorrow morning!

App for Sign Language

If I could personally thank the person/people who were responsible for creating this app for sign language, I would and in an instant. It means now parents of non-verbal children can access visually powerful and colourful demonstrations of sign language to help their children learn to communicate. I'd say the availability of such apps would generate a lot more interest from a child or individual struggling to learn signs to communicate his/her needs. Books and inanimate pictures are good and can sometimes be colourful, online videos are great too but the video windows are so tiny. On top of that, one has to keep coming back to a computer to look up the signs. So it really is not convenient environment for learning at will. But one can carry around an iphone or ipod so easily. It can go with him/her to school, to community events, to friends' houses, to family get-togethers and in some cases, religious gatherings. It will allow a child/individual to ask for things he/she wants or needs wherever he/she goes. Love it. Technology, it's just amazing stuff and so much potential to open up the world for individuals living with disabilities and those who'd love to connect with them.