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Parents seek help for anxious teen … from Jeffrey Wood, PhD, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Three Autism Speaks research grants support Dr. Wood’s work on adapting cognitive behavioral treatments for children and teens with autism. Editor’s note: The … therapy is a widely accepted psychological approach for breaking severe cycles of anxiety. Through extensive research, our group and others have shown that modified forms of cognitive-behavioral therapy can work particularly well with children and … you to work with the school system to evaluate your daughter’s needs and develop a comprehensive educational plan that supports her re-entry. What school placement, grade level and accommodations does she need? A qualified psychologist can …
Parent Worries: Adult Son with Autism Still Obsessed with Barney… 24 and is on the autism spectrum, diagnosed with PDD-NOS as a child. He works part-time at Home Depot and attends a social-support group called Community Connections twice a week. While he continues to get more involved with the adult world at his job, he … Peter Gerhardt. Dr. Gerhardt, who serves on Autism Speaks’ Family Services Committee, has more than 30 years of experience supporting teens and adults with autism in educational, residential, vocational and community settings. Thanks for your …
Travel & autism: Five tips for success with toilet issues while on the road… etc. But they may still commonly fail to use these skills at the right times. This seems to be particularly true for two groups of children: Those who have recently learned the skill of toileting but for whom it’s still not yet an established … a public restroom or otherwise following a vacation schedule. Here are some techniques for doing so: #3 Consider visual supports On your next vacation, it may be helpful to use a visual support such as a schedule board with bathroom breaks listed or “First-Then” boards (e.g., “First bathroom, then trip to the …
Autism and drooling… socially stigmatizing when it continues beyond infancy. It’s also unhygienic – an important issue as your son enters group settings such as preschool. That said, drooling in some situations – for instance, while sleeping – is generally … spill from parted lips. The therapist can help you position your child in ways that encourage proper trunk control and head support. Build oral muscle strength and control. Therapists use a variety of playful oral-motor exercises to help children …
Auditory Processing Disorder… that her EEG cap is on. These insights, we believe, are the first step to developing personalized interventions that can support communication and improve quality of life. I’m pursuing this work under the mentorship of Helen Tager-Flusberg, … need it most Around a third of children and adults with autism have severe language impairments, and we believe that this group is likely to be more affected by auditory processing disorders. But it can be challenging to study auditory processing …
Thriving at Home during the Pandemic: Authentic Tips for Resilience… tasks in blocks of time rather than longer sustained arcs. “Chunk” tasks like cleaning or responding to emails into groups to avoid exhaustion. This will leave longer blocks of time for recovery from tasks or demands. Adapt your interests … Being at home can actually be a plus when it comes to sensory needs. You can build or access your preferred sensory supports. The current situation may disrupt your meal preparation and personal hygiene routines. Tips: Frequent handwashing …
Autism and taking turns… to process a lot of verbal instruction. In these situations, it’s important to create an environment that encourages and supports turn taking. (More about that below.) Explaining how and why to take turns can work well with many older children and those on the less-severely affected end of the autism spectrum. With these groups, we can also teach higher-level turn taking skills. (Also described below.) To put it another way, learning how to … with turns that involve rolling dice, spinning a wheel, picking up a card and so on. You may find it helps to use visual supports as a reminder or signal for when it’s someone’s turn. For example, consider giving each player a card that’s red on …
Autism and Eye Contact… Is he more likely to look up at you when you engage him on these subjects? This is a wonderful way to encourage him. Visual supports Of course, it may be that your son doesn’t make enough eye contact for you to be able to reinforce it on a regular basis. In that case, you might try some strategies to “catch his eye.” This can be as obvious as us using a visual support or touching the corner of your eye with a motion that starts within his range of sight and then reinforcing. … “ Visual Supports and Autism Spectrum Disorder .” Follow the link for free download. Behavioral therapy and social-skills groups If your son is already seeing a behavioral therapist, eye contact and attentiveness are wonderful skills for them to …
Autism and Exercise: Special Benefits… and Nutrition, at the University of Delaware. He conducts research on physical activity adapted to the needs of special groups. The phrase “exercise is medicine” is a common refrain among fitness experts and health practitioners. A wealth … even be a “peer tutor” – another child who understands how to communicate with your child and can provide some one-on-one support. Routine. Most of us need routine, and this appears to be especially true for many people on the spectrum. I … the physical activity program. Create a visual schedule to help reinforce the routine. (See the Autism Speaks Visual Supports Tool Kit link above for instructions on making a visual schedule.) Get visual. Many people with autism are visual …
Benefits of Exercise for People with Autism… and Nutrition, at the University of Delaware. He conducts research on physical activity adapted to the needs of special groups. The phrase “exercise is medicine” is a common refrain among fitness experts and health practitioners. A wealth … even be a “peer tutor” – another child who understands how to communicate with your child and can provide some one-on-one support. Get Visual: Many people with autism are visual learners. Visual supports such as task cards, physical demonstrations and video modelling often prove very helpful. Routine: Most of us need …