Teaching an autistic child can be both rewarding and challenging at times. If this is your first time teaching an autistic person, it can feel overwhelming figuring out what to do or how to best support that child in order to set the stage for optimal learning. Educators must teach to children’s strengths, create a predictable environment, and be aware…| Autism Awareness
This book is valuable for preparing your exceptional student for independence in the real world.| Autism Awareness
As time elapses, the red disk gradually disappears under a clear and durable lens, making the new Time Timer PLUS an ideal time management tool for all ages.| Autism Awareness
This book presents ways to facilitate time-management skills for learners with autism spectrum disorder. This book encompasses individuals across the lifespan, as time management is a skill that can be developed throughout one's life.| Autism Awareness
Life skills encompass a broad range of skills such as cooking, self-care, household chores, employment, personal safety, self-advocacy, money management, and executive function skills. Practice of these skills is on-going and ever changing as needs, circumstances, and goals evolve. Knowledge, understanding and the successful execution of life skills can enhance quality of life, increase self-esteem, and support overall well-being. Contributing in a meaningful way at home, school, on the job, ...| Autism Awareness
Executive function is a term that is widely used in autism circles to describe a broad array of skills that have to do with an individual’s cognitive function . Some sources say that up to 80% of those with autism suffer from executive function disorder, leading to difficulties managing time, completing tasks, and making what for many of us would be…| Autism Awareness
In The Interoception Curriculum, Kelly Mahler outlines a systematic, guided process that professionals can use to develop and build interoceptive awareness in their clients using evidenced-based principals.| Autism Awareness
Redefining Wellness as Felt, Not Forced What if wellness wasn’t about what you do—but how you feel? For far too long, wellness has been shaped by checklists, trends, and “shoulds.” Track your steps. Follow a 30-day challenge. Cut out gluten. Take deep breaths and think positive. These rules may work for some, but for many they can do more harm than…| Autism Awareness
Misophonia is an extreme sensitivity to certain sounds such as chewing, pen tapping, sniffling, throat clearing, or scratching. Its main symptom is a strong negative reaction when hearing triggering sounds. Small sounds can be unbearable and cause a fight or flight response to these triggering sounds. Some sound triggers may cause such distress that a person will avoid situations where…| Autism Awareness
Sensory processing involves the effective registration and accurate interpretation of sensory input from the environment and from one’s body. Information received through the senses such as touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing must be noticed, processed and then responded to appropriately. Sensory processing issues arise when there is difficulty organizing and responding to this information that comes through the senses.…| Autism Awareness
Featuring Paula Aquilla, OT Parents and children are spending more time together during COVID. Schools have been closed and restrictions have been made on community spaces, making home ‘the space’ for everyone. In this webinar, you will learn what to consider when designing your space and how to enlist your child in designing the space they will use. The same space can have more than one purpose - learn how to change the space with multiple purposes in mind.| Autism Awareness
Carol Stock Kranowitz, MA, author of the best-selling The Out-of-Sync Child, and expert occupational therapists, including Stacey Szklut, MS, OTR/L and Lynn Balzer-Martin, Ph.D, OTR, have assembled an extensive and easy-to-use set of checklists and other tools that are invaluable to every teacher and parent who has children with sensory integration challenges.| Autism Awareness
Regular exercise is essential to good health, but did you know it can help a person with autism or ASD self-regulate and manage stress?| Autism Awareness
Motivation is a key factor when working with autism, and the key to what motivates can often be found in a person’s special interest.| Autism Awareness
A visual support can be anything that shows a student what to expect and/or what is expected on the student. The image itself may take any one or a combination of forms: objects, photographs, line drawings, printed words. The benefits of using visual supports with students with ASD are well established and can be obvious to even the casual observer in a classroom, home or community setting.| Autism Awareness
There is a new area of study emerging in autism called critical mass which means true mastery of a skill. Critical mass is the point where an individual has gained enough information to be successful in situations, activities, or skills for which instruction has not been provided. When there has been enough instruction and multiple experiences, a tipping point can…| Autism Awareness
There is almost no literature available on toilet training an older child with autism, but after nine years in diapers, here is how we finally got my son on the potty.| Autism Awareness
The traditional view of the Triad of Impairments in Autism is heavily negative, but UK's John Simpson has his own version that has a much more positive view point| Autism Awareness
Autism Awareness Centre is a Health on the Net Accredited site that strives to offer the best list of resources for understanding autism and ASD in Canada, the UK and beyond.| Autism Awareness
Elopement refers to the act of leaving a designated area without permission, supervision, or the knowledge of those responsible for the individual. In the context of autism, elopement involves autistic individuals wandering away, running or bolting from safe and supervised environments, putting their safety at risk. The Curriculum for Autism lists the following as examples of elopement: Climbing out of…| Autism Awareness
Video technology can be a powerful teaching tool for autistic people. The use of visual supports is a well-established and commonly used strategy with families and professionals. Using video technology for modeling takes visuals to the next level by combining the visual supports strategy with technology to create an even more effective teaching tool. Video technology is readily accessible through…| Autism Awareness
Both my children with ASD are categorical and systematic thinkers .After watching Marie Kondo's show, I wondered– could this method of organization help my two young adults with autism gain further independence?| Autism Awareness
Featuring Amy Gaffney Strategies that provide structure and predictability help individuals on the spectrum better understand a given situation, which leads to greater success and independence. This webinar will discuss three structured strategies that can be used throughout a person’s day: structured language supports, visual schedules, and work systems. These strategies are often introduced at school but should also be extended into a child’s home and community, and continue to ...| Autism Awareness
I recently participated in a UK study on using the Low Arousal Approach at home. Answering the research questions and talking about the positive impact that the low arousal approach has had on our family got me thinking about how we’ve adopted this practice and made it work for us. I also hope by writing about it answers some of…| Autism Awareness
The month of June marks Autism Awareness Centre’s (AACI) 22nd anniversary. When I co-founded this company in 2003, my children were 4 and 6 years old; I was only four years in to the autism journey. So much has changed in the autism world. We are hearing more autistic voices, improving our understanding of autistic neurology, moving away from compliance… The post Autism Awareness Centre Celebrates 22 Years appeared first on Autism Awareness.| Autism Awareness
Exercise and physical activity have numerous benefits for autistic individuals. It builds strength, stability and motor planning skills, all of which help a person perform daily living activities. Autistic people are more likely to experience health and mental health issues; engaging in physical activity reduces these risks and improves overall well-being. Incorporating exercise, movement, and outdoor play can improve a…| Autism Awareness
A structured environment describes the conditions under which a person should be taught and supported rather than where they should be taught or what to learn. This is a system for organizing environments, developing appropriate activities, and helping people understand what is expected of them. A structured environment is comprised of the physical set up of a room/space, schedules, work…| Autism Awareness
The importance of understanding and keeping time is all around us in our daily lives. Schedules, bedtime, mealtimes, cooking and baking, work, classes, concerts, movies, appointments, social gatherings, and using public transportation all involve timing. Not understanding time and how it works can make us late, rushed, not able to finish a task, miss out on an event, take too…| Autism Awareness
I recently had a very upsetting thing happen. My adult autistic son’s daily living and medical benefits were abruptly terminated. I learned of this by hearing a brief message left on my phone. The person from the AISH benefits office said my son no longer met the eligibility criteria for his benefits because his assets amount was too high. We…| Autism Awareness
Presuming competence with autistic individuals means that they are valued as whole individuals with the right to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. It also includes the right to communicate, the right to be treated age appropriately, to have their views and feelings respected, and to be involved in decisions about their lives. Autistic individuals will need accommodations and supports…| Autism Awareness
Info dumping (or infodumping) is a type of communication that autistic people do. Also referred to as monologuing, it involves an autistic person talking excessively and in detail about a topic involving their interests and passions. It feels like a natural way to communicate because of its directness and focus on facts and logic. Erika Sanborne, autistic educator and researcher,…| Autism Awareness
Physical activity has soared to the top of the priority list since COVID-19 started to support health and well-being. It should be a part of everyone’s week throughout their lifespan. Regular exercise lessens anxiety, improves sleep, increases endurance, builds muscles, develops motor skills and offers opportunities for socializing. Whether being involved in organized sports on a team, solo activities (swimming,…| Autism Awareness
Predictability is a way for someone on the spectrum to assuage their anxiety over the unknown, and empower themselves into their daily tasks.| Autism Awareness
Autistic individuals may have difficulty with planning and organizational skills because of challenges with executive functions. Planning skills involve the ability to think ahead, set goals, and create a strategy to accomplish tasks or activities. Organizational skills involve managing time, materials, and information in a structured manner. Both of these skills are essential for autistic individuals to navigate daily activities…| Autism Awareness
Visual supports are the cornerstone of communication. They provide structure, routine, consistency and predictability. When a person understands the expectations and knows what to do, they are more independent and confident. Visuals can give a non-speaking person a voice or provide another way to communicate when anxiety and stress take over and words fail. There was a study that found…| Autism Awareness
The term “flow” was first introduced in 1990 by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Csikszentmihalyi described it as “the experience of complete absorption in the present moment” (Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi, 2009). Flow describes a mental state during which an individual is fully absorbed in what they are doing, losing awareness of time and feeling intrinsically motivated by the activity itself. Although flow…| Autism Awareness
The LILA Principle (Leave It Lying Around) & exposure to a wide range of activities builds connections, and helps create a rich life.| Autism Awareness
All behavior is viewed through a judgmental lens. This lens is influenced by several things: Our past experience – how our parents disciplined us, how we parent our own children, the culture/environment we were raised in Our beliefs – Do we believe that children should act and react in a certain way? Our knowledge and understanding – of neurological differences,… The post Changing Our Lens to Better Understand Behavior appeared first on Autism Awareness.| Autism Awareness
Originally published on Judy Endow's site, we are reposting in honour of Autism Awareness Day. This year's theme: inclusion & neurodiversity| Autism Awareness
Maybe you’ve heard the term autistic burnout and wondered what it is and how this term come about. We usually hear the term “burnout” used in professional life, which is characterized by exhaustion. The autistic community began applying the burnout term to all areas of life. Autistic adults have reported times when they could no longer cope, lost skills, had…| Autism Awareness
The arrival of summer can mean a change in routine because of the school break, summer camps and activities, a family vacation, visitors, longer lighter days, and more free time. Change can be upsetting for autistic people because it makes things feel new and unpredictable. Changes in routine may require some additional support to make them less upsetting. Some transitions…| Autism Awareness
Autistic meltdowns, often confused with tantrums, is a reaction to intense feelings of being overwhelmed, distressed, or dysregulated. Tantrums are different because they are goal-oriented and typically stem from the frustration of not getting what a person wants in that moment. A meltdown is never a contrived or pre-meditated act, nor does it have a goal. They can be a…| Autism Awareness
I recently featured an article on Facebook about age appropriate interests written by Christine Motokane, an autistic young adult. Some of her interests were deemed “inappropriate for her age” by well meaning people around her. Christine’s mother became concerned about her childhood interests as they continued into her high school years. She hired a behaviorist to teach Christine what age…| Autism Awareness
Research estimates that about 90% of autistic individuals have sensory processing disorder (SPD). Sensory issues are included as part of the diagnostic criteria for autism in the DSM-V. Having these difficulties can affect communication, social skills, and behavior. Every autistic person is unique and so are their sensory sensitivities. Here are some of the common sensory sensitives around the eight…| Autism Awareness
From the moment we get up in the morning, we begin making choices: shower or brush teeth first, coffee or tea, what to eat for breakfast, what to wear, and what’s on the agenda for the day. Not only do we have choices to make throughout each day, there are even bigger ones to think about such as where to…| Autism Awareness
Back in 1996, Martha Leary and David Hill began doing research on the types of challenges that autistic individuals have in regards to communication, challenging behaviors, and in the inability to control one’s movements. They called these challenges movement differences. Their definition: Movement difference is a difference, interference, or shift in efficient and effective use of movement. A disruption in…| Autism Awareness
Many autistic children are diagnosed in early childhood, but for others their signs and symptoms do not become apparent until adolescence. If a teenager is capable and academically able, they may not receive a diagnosis as a young child. This can sometimes occur more often in girls than in boys because girls are generally more adept at copying neuro-typical behaviors,…| Autism Awareness
Autistic individuals often have difficulty falling or staying asleep. It is estimated that 40 to 83% of autistic individuals have some form of sleep disturbance. Autistic children are twice as likely to have sleep issues as typical children or children with other developmental conditions. Disordered sleep is also one of the first concerns reported by parents. As diverse as autism…| Autism Awareness
Autistic masking, camouflaging, or compensating is a conscious or unconscious suppression of natural autistic responses. It is hiding or controlling behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that may be viewed as inappropriate in situations. Autistic people may feel the need to present or perform social behaviors that are considered neurotypical or may hide neurodiverse behaviors in order to be…| Autism Awareness
