tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19887913323453598232024-03-12T23:14:48.086-07:00autism gamescompanion blog for <b><a href="http://autismgames.googlepages.com/">autismgames.org</a></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-65218387427548150772023-03-20T16:36:00.002-07:002023-03-20T16:36:38.168-07:00The Loudest Girl In the Room Podcast, Hosted by Lauren Ober Over the last few days, I have been listening to a podcast which tells the story of a woman who is newly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Lauren Ober. Lauren is a professional journalist and story teller, and thus, this may partially explain why this podcast is excellent. She has story telling skills. She builds emotional tension, then relieves it with humor but Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-46353647305106010992022-10-01T22:05:00.003-07:002022-10-02T08:13:51.633-07:00Halloween Games to Prepare Children with Autism for the HolidayHalloween is coming and like all Holidays, it can be a delight or a stressor for children with Autism. Wearing a mask or costume may be your child's favorite thing or may be a sensory challenge. Seeing other people in masks and costumes may be fun or horrifying. Going in the evening up to a house and knocking on the door one house after another is a behavior that children may Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-33062912832405358512022-09-27T19:14:00.003-07:002022-10-01T16:18:13.297-07:00Resuming Autism GamesHello Again. It has been a while! Since I last posted, I spent a decade working in an elementary school, still seeing many children with autism in the school setting. My head fairly swirls with possible posts related to working in this setting as I found many wonderful ways to teach students though play in the school. Modifying games that I had used in an early childhood clinic Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-51518221659237059672011-08-31T21:57:00.000-07:002011-08-31T21:57:13.031-07:00What I Did This SummerMy summer began late in May when my parents came back from their annual winter trip to California. They stayed longer this year because my dad was not feeling well enough to drive back across the country. He and Mom visited with all of their grandchildren in California but it was hard for him and he rested more than he visited at each home. Finally, my parents decided to come Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-37503933296436875842011-05-24T21:44:00.000-07:002011-05-25T11:35:04.494-07:00Making Choices with Interactive Musical Video The underlying principle for how I choose or create games and activities is:
I pick/create some activity that has a lot of predictability about it (this is the hook that snags the attention of a child with autism) and then teach a single concept by varying some aspect of the activity. In addition, I am always looking for a sensory payoff for the child to make the activity Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-17523997727944644102011-05-05T20:53:00.000-07:002011-05-16T17:22:17.583-07:00Playing in the DirtI am a gardener now but I began a happy relationship with dirt as a child of dirt tolerant parents. This week I watched children playing in a park sandbox and thought "this is a pale imitation of the experience a child can have while playing in good rich black dirt". I was transported back several decades to the yard where I grew up and to the summer when my dad bought a big mound of rich Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-72194677937833292882011-04-23T17:17:00.000-07:002011-04-23T17:23:07.118-07:00Dirty Fruit and Naked Babies: The Dark Side of ToysI once heard that the pretend play area in most daycare centers was a collection of "dirty plastic fruit and naked baby dolls". This description brought to mind the toy basket in my living room when my children were young. We had a large plastic laundry basket filled with toys. That basket always caused me discontent. My children spread them around the house daily but Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-2673721846469814632011-04-14T08:35:00.000-07:002011-04-14T08:39:36.881-07:00Alison Hietala LeeMy heart is shattered by the news that Alison Hietala Lee, a beautiful, bright, capable, curious, loving, unique young woman has slipped away from this world as she gave birth to her daughter. What a loss. What a loss.
I can't find words to describe the grief that I feel and my time with Alison was brief. A few short years. Just long enough for me to fall in love with her lovely spirit and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-23920865860814823492011-03-31T17:16:00.000-07:002011-03-31T17:23:53.855-07:00Video Modeling New and Strange ActivitiesA video model is a video clip made to show a child what is going to happen or what the child should do. One of the best reasons to make a video model is to help a child through new and strange situations. Many of the things we do with and to children must seem very strange. We talk most children through these new things, offering encouragement, reassurance, and explanations verbally.&Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-78633535270082985762011-03-25T13:05:00.001-07:002022-09-27T14:05:38.638-07:00My Child Has Autism, Now What?My friend and colleague, Dr. Susan Larson Kidd, published her first book recently! My Child Has Autism, Now What? Ten Steps to Get You Started. At the clinic, where I work, we were all happy for her and so we hosted a book signing event at a local art museum. I had the opportunity to introduce Dr. Kidd and this meant thinking about her, her work, and our relationship. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-27809512022748682472011-03-15T14:47:00.001-07:002011-03-15T14:47:43.909-07:00Thinking about Children in Japan TodayEarthquake/Tsunami relief organizations:
Save the Children: http://bit.ly/eOve24
Red Cross: http://bit.ly/i4H6gj
Oxfam Japan: http://bit.ly/hkEzZdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-38723326184862059082011-03-14T20:22:00.000-07:002011-03-15T11:06:26.718-07:00iPhone or iPod Touch Solution to Shopping TantrumsWhat if every time you went to a store with toys, your child believed that he or she must, absolutely, have a toy?
I hear this or a similar story so often that I asked the last parent who told me his shopping woes if I could repeat my advice on my blog. So, I will tell this story with one delightful little boy named Aaron as the pretty much real character in the drama but substitute any Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-41291594143721550852011-03-01T20:13:00.000-08:002011-03-09T12:39:12.745-08:00My Second List for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum DisordersHere are the five skills that I often start with as I teach parents to become better communication partners to a child with Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Learn to read your child's behavior as communication and respond to what your child is trying to communicate rather than to what your child does. Example: You take a toy away from your child and he or she hits you. You respond byUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-1658099085626870372011-02-28T07:57:00.000-08:002011-02-28T09:56:39.437-08:00My First List for Parent of Children with Autism Spectrum DisordersWhen I start working with a new child and that child's parents, here is a list of goals that I usually try to hep parents accomplish within the first six months.
Daily Life Changes:
Find and learn to create good learning environments. Many environments compete with you and win your child's attention when you are trying to play or interact with your child. Some children can pay attention toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-64744316738008553722011-02-10T15:11:00.000-08:002011-02-10T15:12:45.671-08:00The Magic of 21st Century Puppet Tiering
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(See previous blog post for the first five)
Watch the video below first and then see ideas for using this app to teach communication skills.
6) Planning and Sequencing
In order to learn how to make a plan, it is helpful to plan the same Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-82965651486553515942010-12-05T08:27:00.000-08:002010-12-09T07:52:28.415-08:00iSupports for Children with Autism: Cookie Doodle Language Therapy
Ten Ways to Teach Communication Skills Using Cookie Doodle iPad App.
I invite you to watch the video below first before reading about some of the learning objectives you might target while using this app.
1) Joint AttentionWith many young children who have autism, it is difficult to establish Joint Attention (JA is when two people are doing, looking at, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-36435255075430669162010-11-11T21:31:00.000-08:002010-11-11T21:39:41.379-08:00iSupports for Children with Autism: Photo-Sort and iCommunicateMy first goals for helping parents start to use the iphone, the ipod touch or the ipad to support their child with communication are:
1) Teach parent to communicate with a child using inexpensive programs (apps) that can be put on the ipod touch, the iphone, and/or the ipad. Many parents have purchased one of these devices because they already use photos or picture symbols with a child andUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-88775577100595829362010-10-15T09:48:00.000-07:002010-10-15T10:04:47.601-07:00iSupports for Children with Autism---Rules for the ComputerAs I post a series of blog posts on ways to use the i-Phone, the i-Pod Touch, and the i-Pad with children, I worry that I am going end up promoting too much screen time for children who are already vulnerable to spending too much time on the computer. In an effort to guard against this, I will direct your attention to an article that I wrote a few years ago on the topic of setting rules forUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-27894258806921804262010-10-14T17:09:00.000-07:002011-01-03T20:01:04.932-08:00iSupports for Children With Autism----Grocery ShoppingThe easiest way to use an iphone or ipod touch to support a young child with autism is to put useful photos on the device. I will show you more about how to put photos on the device in a organized way in my next post but here I will show you an example of how the device can be used while grocery shopping.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-42297191643397858422010-10-12T12:13:00.000-07:002010-10-15T10:09:15.663-07:00i Supports for Children with Autism------Basic ConceptsI am excited to start a series of blog posts on using the iphone, the ipod touch, and the ipad with young children who have autism. For the past couple of months I have been working with an ipad, and an ipod touch in our clinic and helping families use these tools in their homes. My experience with these tools does not make me an expert but already I am finding so many Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-77751418055026085242010-10-01T18:59:00.000-07:002010-10-02T19:15:00.566-07:00Willow Marsden's Video BlogsI have just spent a fascinating afternoon with Willow Marsden via her Video Blogs. She explains on one video blog that she knows she is pronouncing Asperger Syndrome wrong but she does not like the hard G so she is going to say it the way she likes--with a soft G. It is a tiny little detail and just for the record, I too think the soft G sounds better. Like so many little details thatUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-18627135585740646092010-09-06T15:53:00.000-07:002010-09-06T15:53:14.590-07:00Five Years Ago, Autism Was DifferentI had conversation with a parent, not long ago, where I told her that I thought she was right, her daughter did appear to have a mild form of autism. She appreciated the confirmation of what she believed to be true. Doctors and educators who recently evaluated this little girl did not agree with us. "But, there is not a right or wrong on this question" I said. "Five years ago" I told Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1988791332345359823.post-7531955774340556592010-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:002010-09-05T19:32:24.359-07:00The Disposition to CommunicateCommunication is not simply a set of speech and language skills, it is a complex social behavior that occurs or does not occur based on a number of factors. I have been thinking about this lately and trying to sort out the important factors that keep me communicating with others or get in the way of communication. Extrapolating from my experience, I am thinking also about what keeps Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4