A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Social Skills & Autism/Aspergers

Once again, Jed Baker has created resources that are invaluable.  Children on the spectrum struggle with social situation and are visual learners.  Using this information, Jed Baker has created two wonderful books 'The Social Skills Picture Book' and 'The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond'.  Both of these books have vivid pictures of real children, adolescents and adults in social situations. 

*TIP:  Parents, you can probably get by with just the book if you are using it with just your own child.  Therapists/Teachers, buy the CD in addition!  Both books have a CD that can be purchased with the books.  This CD allows you to print full color pages from your computer that are exactly like the pages of the book. 

'The Social Skills Picture Book'

This book is a great resource for children to learn a range of social skills.  Parents and professionals can read through the various sections of the book to discuss specific areas of need.  Introductions, appropriate greetings, empathy, play skills and emotional awareness are a few of the many topics.  This book features large pictures and short descriptions on each page to not overwhelm the individual with words.  Additionally, there are many examples highlighted of the 'right' and 'wrong' way to approach situations.  A variety of children are depicted in the pictures in many situations.  This book is a wonderful resource for any child with social difficulties whether on the spectrum or not!

 

'The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond'

This book is similar in the format of the previous book.  Being that the first social picture book features younger children, this is a great book for those adolescents that social situations may differ.  The High School book, shows older adolescents/teens that other individuals this age may identify with easier.  Although it is described for High School students, many of the situations and pictures would be appropriate for Middle Schoolers as well.  This book features similar topics around friendships, conversations and other social skills but also targets areas more specific to teens.  Some of these focus areas are with appropriate topics of conversation, dating, interviewing for jobs, giving class presentations, working in groups and much more.

Learn more about Jed Baker and order books here.  These books are a must have for those working on social skills.  The pictures are of great quality and much easier to understand than line drawings or written/verbal descriptions.  Amazon lets you see some of the pages inside the book by using their 'click to look inside'.  Take a peek on Amazon:  The Social Skills Picture Book  and The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond

-Abby 

Does My Child Have Autism?

This is a question many parents may be asking themselves, but it can be a difficult one to find answers to and for so many families, it's a difficult question to even ask out loud. Does My Child Have Autism? by Wendy Stone is a book that helps to answer this question and to provide parents with a direction of what to do and where to go if they have this suspicion or gut feeling that something may be different about the development of their child. Wendy Stone is a clinician, researcher, professor, and parent who provides invaluable insights and gentle guidance in asking the hard questions, seeking professional help, and taking the first steps in intervention. She is extremely sensitive to the vulnerability of the situation and writes her book accordingly. 

The book is divided into the following chapters:

What Exactly Are Autism Spectrum Disorders?

What Should I look For?

The Early Diagnostic Process

Early Intervention 

Working With Your Child at Home

She also includes the diagnostic criteria for ASD, as well as a modified checklist for the M-CHAT, a developmental screening tool for autism in toddlers. You may have heard of the M-CHAT or perhaps your pediatrician has used this tool at your child's check-ups. We're moving in the direction of this being standard protocol, however, from what I hear from parents, many professionals are not using it and may dismiss parents concerns when they inquire about autism. This is really upsetting to me and it means that parents need to be even more diligent in advocating for their children and finding professionals who will listen. The M-CHAT is actually available online (click HERE go to the site) and I encourage parents to use this tool as to ask their pediatricians about it.

Dr. Stone talks about common comments she hears parents say before they know whether or not their child is on the spectrum. Some of the ones she mentions are:

"It's hard to get his attention- he likes to do his own thing"

"Everything she does is on her own terms"

"He gets things by himself"

"We thought she couldn't hear"

"He is always jabbering, but doesn't use words to communicate with us"

"He plays with toys by lining them up"

"He is a creature of habit-likes to have everything in its place and order"

"He hasn't figured out toys yet, but enjoys exploring cabinets and drawers"

Maybe you can identify with some of these statements? What I love about this book is that the author is careful to to describe the range of behaviors that can be associated with autism spectrum disorder, but reminds readers that no two children on the spectrum are exactly alike and reminds us that we need to look not only at the frequency of behaviors, but also the quality of the interaction/communication. She addresses common myths about autism and helps to clarify what ASD actually is. I love this paragraph she writes on page 5 of the book:

" In truth, if you had the opportunity to view a room of young children with autism, you would see some children talking and others using pictures or sign language to communicate. Some children would be sitting with their peers, others sitting by themselves. Some would be working at a table, others running back and forth along a wall or climbing on furniture. Some might be laughing during a tickle game with their parents, others having a tantrum and throwing toys. Looking at this group, you would wonder, "Which of these children have autism?" The simple answer is that they all do."

Wendy Stone helps walk the readers through the diagnostic process so they know exactly what to expect, provides advice in how to tell family members about the diagnosis, and helps parents navigate through tough decisions, like picking a preschool, choosing an intervention, and working on skills at home. I think this is a wonderful resource for parents who are new to this process that can certainly be extremely overwhelming and anxiety provoking. 

I would love to hear from our readers-- thinking about your experiences early on in this process 

What did you find helpful?

What was NOT helpful?

What resources did you use?

What do you wish you knew

 or wish that someone would have told you?

How did you know what services to seek out?

Please, if you are interested, we would LOVE to hear from parents. Email us at theautismangle@gmail.com if you would like to be a guest blogger and write about your experiences when you were going through the diagnostic process. Nothing is more powerful than parents hearing from other parents who have been there. Thank you SO much and HAPPY AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH! 

- Molly

A Resource for Beginning Learners: Where to start teaching those with autism

Happy World Autism Awareness Day! 

Although this is the day that the world shall hopefully be more aware, we hope that we can attain that awareness each and everyday.  Spread the word!

In looking at being more aware of autism, let's start at the first stages of learning.  Often it is difficult to know how to begin teaching skills.  Beginning learners are not always understanding the expectations of others, how to manipulate materials and when something is truly complete.  After years of working with students, we still find ourselves having having to make adjustments to activities.  It can be quite overwhelming for parents and professionals to know how to start working with an individual that doesn't yet know how to follow the directions of others or the sequence of an activity.  Disorganization, fine motor difficulties, short attention span, are a few of the roadblocks that we face. 

ShoeboxTasks® are a great resource for those working with these beginning level students.  Originally designed with actual shoe boxes, these self-contained tasks are perfect for individuals getting started.  These activities take the anxiety of knowing where to start in teaching students or your own child.  They are very sturdy and well made so they can stand the test of time.  Find out more on their website

Two of our favored tasks are:

Red Buttons Into Water

Drum Roll

These tasks are motivating activities for most of the individuals we see.  'Red Buttons into Water' is a visually fascinating/stimulating task for he/she to watch the button float to the bottom as they put each one in.  Many of the individuals we work with love water and this can be a very calming task. The 'Drum Roll' is lots of fun to watch as well as hear.  The ball spins around the oil drum with a fun whirring noise before dropping down into the hole.

In addition to offering a great resource for those starting to learn skills, the work experience for those on the spectrum is invaluable!  Individuals with autism have the chance to help in packaging and building the tasks as part of the Centering on Children, Inc.  This organization designs, manufactures and packages ShoeboxTasks® in Asheville, North Carolina.  Visit the website to find out more information and check out their videos part 1 and part 2 for great information about the tasks, work experience and how to begin teaching.


-Abby