Our Blog
ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised)
ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule)
CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale)
VABS (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales)
TELE-ASD-PEDS (TAP)
We provide testing and evaluation for children using evidence based tools including, but not limited to the following:
ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised)
ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule)
CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale)
VABS (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales)
TELE-ASD-PEDS (TAP)
When your young child learns differently, navigating preschool can be challenging. Whether your child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), an autism spectrum condition, or an as-yet undiagnosed behavior issue, every call from or visit to the school can feel fraught with judgment — especially if you’re not yet sure what the root cause of your child’s behavior is. If you’re not quite sure how to handle a meeting with your child’s teachers to discuss his or her special needs, here are some tips to remember to get the best possible outcomes for your child:
1. Know Your Legal Rights
Remember that your child has the legal right to be educated in the “least restrictive environment” possible. That means that, whenever possible, your child should be kept in the classroom with developmentally typical peers. It’s common for over-taxed teachers to assume that your child needs a special placement (i.e., a special school or classroom), but this should be the last resort. You’re perfectly within your rights to request that classroom staff be trained about your child’s condition to better understand how to work with him or her. Accommodations should be tried and assessed for effectiveness before placement changes are considered.
2. Understand That Behavior Problems Often Stem From Physical Needs
Behavior issues can be tricky to diagnose in young children, especially because the common assumption is that parents aren’t employing appropriate discipline methods. In reality, preschool students with behavioral challenges need a thorough assessment done by a developmental pediatrician or clinical psychologist. There may be other professionals that your child’s pediatrician recommends. A specialist trained to recognize Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and can suggest the right therapy services during the school day.
In many cases, students with SPD act out in order to have their sensory needs met. For example, a student who is bothered by loud sounds could act out until he or she is removed from the noisy setting. Unfortunately, maladaptive behaviors like screaming or having a tantrum are rewarding the child; he gets what he needs by being removed from the sensory-overload situation. If maladaptive behaviors have set in at preschool, your child may require the services of a behaviorist as well.
3. Request a Consultative Service Delivery Model
The most common services included in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the legal document that outlines which special educational services the school must provide to your child, are “pull-out services.” These are times during the school day when your child works in a therapy room with a specialist instead of learning in the regular education classroom. This isn’t enough to properly deal with behavioral issues, though. A consultative model that allows the regular education teacher to text or email the specialist frequently is much more effective, as your child’s behavior — and effective ways to deal with it — will be properly interpreted by an expert. If the frequency and type of consultation service delivery isn’t spelled out in the IEP, it’s unlikely to happen at all, due to time constraints. It’s definitely worthwhile to advocate for consultation services when the IEP is being written.
Remember: You are your child’s best advocate, and you should never hesitate to insist on the best educational services possible. Working with a professional behaviorist or therapist can make a huge difference in academic outcomes, and you’re also within your rights to bring your own experts to the school to discuss your child’s unique and important needs.
Are you the parent of a child with autism? Do you struggle to find resources to assist you with your child’s ever-changing needs? There a growing number of mobile apps available to those living with the challenges of autism behaviors. Review the following five iOS autism apps to see which ones will be beneficial to you and your family.
Offered by Track & Share Apps, the Autism Tracker Pro application lets parents track their child’s daily behaviors. Monitor aggressive outbursts, track self-injury episodes, and keep a running total of successful interactions with caregivers. You can rank the severity of your child’s actions, watch for cyclical patterns, and visualize your child’s behavior patterns thanks to this app’s helpful graphs and charts.
(itunes.apple.com/app/autism-tracker-pro-track-analyze/id478225574)
Available from Kim Scott, the PandaPal education app offers communication tools to families living with autism. Use this download to create schedules for your child, teach image recognition skills, and collect data on your child’s successful interactions with the app’s teaching tools. Available teaching tools include emotion recognition, food recognition, and bathroom behaviors.
(itunes.apple.com/app/pandapal-autism-communication/id492860458)
Avaz
If your autistic child struggles with vocalization, the Avaz app might be just what you need. This application helps your child communicate their needs via interactive images. Your child can indicate their wants by tapping on images on your smartphone or tablet. You can track your child’s successful communications and even share their successes on social media sites like Facebook.
(itunes.apple.com/app/avaz-help-kids-autism-speak/id909574843)
Birdhouse offers a helpful tracking app for parents of autistic children. Monitor everything from sleep patterns to nutrition intake. Document their therapy sessions, mood swings, bathroom habits, and even their behavioral meltdowns.
Provided by Touch Autism, the Autism Apps mobile application connects parents with a detailed list of apps for those with autism. Discover everything from language-building apps to emotion-managing apps.
These five iOS apps are only a small sampling of the helpful mobile tools now available to families living with autism. Maintaining an awareness of new autism tools not only introduces you to new resources, it can also help you feel like you have a small amount of control in a challenging environment. Will you be adding any of these handy apps to your iPhone or iPad?
Studies conducted on childhood development and education concludes that children benefit tremendously from early learning programs. Waiting until your children are school age before educating them soon proves a lost opportunity. While early learning aids typical children, they are especially important for those children with Asperger’s Syndrome. The advantages these children gain from early learning often makes the difference in their future success.Here are five Reasons the Asperger’s child benefits from early learning programs.
Develops their social skills
One of the key distinctions between a typical child and one with Asperger’s is the latter struggles with social skills. The Asperger’s child must learn social skills that come naturally for the typical child. Social cues and etiquette do not come through observation but through teaching and modeling. Early learning programs offer plenty of opportunities to interact with other children, which help with social etiquette. Teachers provide a framework for appropriate behavior through instruction and by modeling. If the child with Asperger’s learns these behaviors before formal education starts, it can eliminate many potentially hurtful and embarrassing problems later on down the road.
Encourages imaginative play
Although there is a debate about whether Asperger’s children lack imagination altogether, we do know they do not participate in imaginative play the same as typical children do. According to Autism Speaks, these children often are imaginative within their minds but do not express it outwardly. Early learning centers promote using your imagination to create, construct, and play. Children benefit from imaginative play because it encourages them to put action to their daydreams.
Helps with motor skills
According to the Autism Society, “children with Asperger’s Disorder frequently have motor skill delays and may appear clumsy or awkward.”Others struggle with the fine motor skills, which are necessary for writing. Early learning centers allow these children to refine their motor skills. Through group play and simple gym games, children gain practice in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. This builds their confidence. Arts and crafts, coloring, and drawing help sharpen fine motor skills.
Desensitization to sensory overload
Children with Asperger’s often have Sensory Processing Disorder. This means that they do not process things perceived through the senses the same as a typical child. Sights, sounds, smells, and so on can overwhelm the child. This is why they often have negative reactions to loud clanging bells, bright lights, or firm hugs. Being in an early learning environment gradually exposes the child to many sensory experiences. Over time, this may help desensitize the child before entering formal school.
Prepares them for changes
Another difficulty children with Asperger’s have is dealing with changes. They like to keep things the same and can be rigid about their routine. Teachers in early learning programs often use picture charts and schedules to show what to expect next. When a change is going to occur in the schedule, the children will see it or hear about it in advance. This prepares them for changes to routines but it does so in an expected manner. This may help ease the child into changes to his or her routine with minimal problems.
Although Asperger’s children face social and academic challenges, early intervention makes the journey smoother for both the child and family. Enrolling in an early learning program gives children a boost in life.
If your child has recently been diagnosed with autism, you likely feel overwhelmed, concerned, and even a little fearful. Having such a heavy diagnosis placed on your child and family can seem like the world is crashing down around you, but knowing how to proceed and what steps to take next can help you handle the diagnosis without panic or anxiety. Below are the top things you’ll want to consider and do as you move forward after your child is diagnosed with autism.
Don’t Panic
Panicking is the number one way to make any problem seem much more frightening than it is. There are many therapies and treatments that have been developed to help autistic children and adults, and many autistic children go on to live full and rewarding lives. While there are certainly unique struggles that accompany your current situation, there isn’t any need to panic. Take a deep breath and keep moving forward.
Remember That Your Child is Still the Same Person
Just because you know your child is autistic doesn’t change who he or she is. Up until now you’ve been living life knowing who your child is. Sometimes when children are diagnosed with autism parents feel as though they suddenly don’t know how to approach their child, how to relate to them, and so on. This feeling is not necessary, though, because your child hasn’t changed at all. The only thing that has changed is that you now have a professional “label” telling you that there will be unique challenges ahead. Everything else is the same.
Don’t Bombard Your Child with Therapies Immediately
Early intervention is key to successful therapy outcomes and autism is best treated early; so it’s certainly important to start looking into therapy options and treatments. However, autistic children have to grow and develop over time just like every other child does. Sometimes in an effort to do the most they can for their children parents rush into a battery of testing, therapies, behavioral interventions, and so on in a very short period of time. Take a deep breath and find a specialist or team who can help you develop a balanced, strategic plan for your child’s specific case.
Learn and Inquire
The two most important things you can do to help your child and family move forward in a productive manner is to read everything you can get your hands on about autism and to ask questions as often as possible. Books, articles, online databases, support communities, doctors, and other individuals with autism are all great resources. Read research studies, take notes, and always have an investigative mindset about autism. No one doctor or source knows everything there is to know about autism, so learning and staying inquisitive can help you and your child immensely.
Start Simply
There is a long list of treatments, therapies, and other sources of help that is available when it comes to deciding how best to treat your child’s autism. However, starting with the most widely available, best funded, and appropriate treatments is your best bet. Every child is different and each has their own individual needs. Not sure where to start, consult with the professional who diagnosed your child with autism or your child’s pediatrician. If they are not available many communities have local autism resources and support groups. Common therapies that are evidenced based approaches to autism include applied behavior analysis (ABA Therapy), speech, occupational, and physical therapy.
These five tips are certainly not a comprehensive source of things you’ll want to remember and consider as you deal with the initial diagnosis of autism. However, they do give you a good starting point from which you can move on, and they are practical tips that will help you cut through the initial emotions that often come with learning that your child has autism. Keep learning, maintain a clear mind, focus on your child’s individual needs, and start with the basics. Doing these things will help you set up a foundation for success for you, your child, and your entire family.
Parent training is an essential component of our ABA therapy program. When parents are active in their their child’s treatment, opportunities for successful therapy outcomes increase dramatically. Our parent training
Social skills are important to help us interact, relate and communicate with others. It’s not uncommon for children with autism to have difficulties with social skills, cues, timing and communication. We provide direct
According to the BACB Guidelines “Comprehensive”
ABA therapy “effects multiple affected developmental domains, such as cognitive, communicative, social, emotional, and adaptive functioning” as well as
