autismfamilystory. com

 I decided to start a podcast autismfamilystory podcast even though there are lots of podcasts already out there. There were a few reasons for it. Every family's journey in the world of autism is different and unique as they say if you have met one person with autism you have met one person with autism. I know firsthand parenting a child with autism or any other special needs is overwhelming and isolating as people do not understand our struggles. I have been on this journey for over a decade and have learnt so much over the years. I wanted to share our story with other parents who are starting this journey as I was there once upon a time in their shoes. I want to help other parents to know they are not alone. A community of special needs parents out there are willing to share and help parents in this journey. I want to let parents know some people get it and understand it as they have dealt with the same things in the past. The most things for parents are to accept their child...

  One of the hardest things for our kids on the spectrum is transitions. This can be transitioning from a preferred activity to a non-preferred one. This can also include transitioning from one setting to another.  Children with autism thrive on a routine so any change in routine can be hard for our kids. There are several supports we can put in place to make transitions easier for our kids. kids on the spectrum are visual learners. Visual processing is their strength. They may struggle in comprehension or following multi-step directions. Use of visual schedules. Visual schedules are very important to support our kids on the spectrum. Visual schedules can show our kids the events which will occur in their day so they know what to expect without any surprises.  This can help in transitions as it decreases the anxiety associated with the changes. Visual Schedules can be customized for each child as per their needs. It can be a picture schedule or a written schedule if your ...

  It is very common once our kids get an autism diagnosis we are always told about the limitations and the kinds of things our children will not be able to do. It is like the doctors already know what our child’s future will look like when an initial diagnosis is made. We must always take this with a grain of salt. Our children are capable of making progress. There will always be limitations but still, progress can be made. It is essential as parents we need to have a growth mindset as we need to believe despite the limitations progress can be made. I have experienced this personally, as twelve years ago when my son was diagnosed with autism we were given a long list of things he won't be able to do. It was very devastating for us as parents to hear this. At the same time, I decided as a mother I was going to do everything possible to help our son. The kids do make progress, our son did too but on their own timeline. For this to happen as parents we need to be positive and believe ...

  It is a well-known fact most children on the spectrum struggle to communicate. Most of them are non-verbal. We must provide our kids with a way to communicate. It can be low-tech systems like PECS or high-tech AAC devices. I am not a speech therapist myself but have been on my son's AAC journey for the past 8 years. I have learned different strategies from his SLP which I want to share with you all. The child needs to have access to their device. We need to ensure our kids always have access to their devices. They need to be charged every day and always be available to our children. They need to be taken everywhere so our kids always have a way to communicate. We need to model using the device . We cannot just give the child a device and expect them to use it. We must model using the device for our kids. Our kids need to see us using their devices to talk to them so they can learn using it too. We don't need to model every word. We must point to the word on their device to sp...

The year 2020 is almost coming to an end. We continue to live in the pandemic since March. The holiday season is here Many students have started their winter break. Some will be starting next week  We all know how our kids thrive on routine and consistency so it is important to prepare them for the break. Use Social Stories. Social stories are a great tool to help kids with autism understand the world around them. They can be used to prepare kids for upcoming changes or events in a concrete way by using visuals.  There are many holiday social stories already available online which you can use to prepare your child for the upcoming holidays. Use Calendars Kids with autism tend to experience lots of anxiety. So we can use a calendar to prepare them for an upcoming holiday. This way they will know when the break starts and when the school will begin in the new year.  Use visual schedules. Visual schedules are a great tool to use with our kids with autism as they help them to...

Parents spend the maximum time with their kids on the spectrum. Parents need to know some strategies they can use to help their kids with autism to work on their goals and help with skill generalization. Use simple language Many kids with autism are non-verbal and struggle with receptive language. We must use simple language with our kids as they struggle with auditory processing. It is also very important we give our kids some processing time or wait time before we jump in to help them.    .Always try to pair your language with visual supports as it will help them remember and process what was said to them. Always follow-through This is very important. When we give our children any instruction and they refuse to obey we must teach them to comply with the instruction. This is a very important life skill. We might have to use some prompts to help them. Use Reinforcement with your child to teach them any skill. Reinforcement is something that will increase future behaviours. In ...

 Functional Literacy by: Sasha Long, MA BCBA There is a misconception that academic and functional skills are mutually exclusive. We for some reason got stuck in this thinking that tells us that instruction and activities are either academic or functional but cannot be both. When our students get older and we begin to transition to more functional tasks – that doesn’t mean that we are leaving academics behind. It’s our responsibility as late elementary and high school teachers to ensure that our academic instruction has a functional component since that looming 22nd birthday isn’t far off. So let’s talk about our academics and functional skills can live together in perfect harmony. We can still challenge our students and teach them important academic skills while preparing them to be independent adults. Selecting literacy goals for some students is easy or obvious. Some students are following some type of skill sequencing and we can quickly identify where to go next. For other stud...