Flying is something we take for granted these days, but for children on the autistic spectrum, it can be an overwhelming experience.
Understanding that taking an autistic child on an airplane may require some advance planning and preparation, many airports now have programs that provide them with a flying experience without ever lifting off the ground.
Here is a list of 15 airports currently offering an Airport Rehearsal Program.
Have you seen the new Autism Wandering PSA yet? Watch and share to raise awareness!
The University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) partnered with the Coral Gables Police Department and the Disability Independence Group (DIG) to create ID cards so people with ASD can present themselves as such when interacting with law enforcement.
The idea came about after some young adults with autism were arrested for exhibiting “suspicious” behavior after being pulled over while driving when, in fact, they were simply responding with behavior that is characteristic of ASD.
With the help of the ID card, police officers will be able to know why a person may not be making eye contact, speaking, or reacting in an expected way.
The card features a bio-dot section, which allows drivers with autism to show how they are feeling by pointing to one of four options: relaxed, calm, nervous or tense.
I love this idea because it not only gives people with ASD a tool, but increases law enforcement’s awareness of ASD with that same tool. I think every state needs this!
I typically do not post articles as long as the one that follows. However, I saw this article by Dr. DeAnna R. Burt in an autism newsletter I receive and thought it was relevant at the beginning of a new school year. I was encouraged by the information and hope you are, too!
Fostering Collaborative Partnerships with Your Child’s Educators
By Dr. DeAnna R. Burt
School is in session. For a child with autism, this often feels like embarking upon another unfamiliar and unpredictable experience; it’s unnerving and unsettling. This is how it feels for many children with autism who grapple with change.
Each school year presents a new learning opportunity for the child, his family, and his educators. At least that is how it was for my family; a new school year brought with it a new classroom environment, new sounds, a new teacher, a different set of expectations, new school policies, a new set of friends, a new class schedule, and a different lunch hour. Every year was full of change or, as I chose to see it, new opportunities.
Now the mother of a 20-year-old son with Asperger’s Syndrome (among other spectrum disorders), I knew very little about autism nearly 20 years ago when Mark was first diagnosed. But, what I failed to realize at the time was, that was also the case for the educators in his life.
Twenty years ago, we knew much less about autism than we do today. Oh, did I fail to mention that I too am an educator? Perhaps, this (among other reasons) contributed to my parenting journey being one marked by passionate advocacy for my son’s learning.
Still today, I maintain the opinion that everyone can learn within a supportive environment, but not every environment is conducive to learning. Some children require differentiated support in order to learn. We understand this better today in academics, but in those early years of my son’s life, my passion was often misunderstood; my presence resented by some of my fellow educators. But, that all changed. By the time Mark reached 4th grade, a collaborative and mutually respectful partnership had emerged between my family and his educators. So, what changed allowing us to foster such a supportive learning environment for Mark?
Honestly, I think we all changed. My son changed. I changed. And, his team of educators and administrators changed. We were on a continuum of learning, growing, and trusting one another. Perhaps, once we began to realize that we all wanted the same thing — a common outcome—a healthy, thriving, and successful learner—that is when Mark began to reap the benefits. We became partners toward his education.
So, in the category of “Helping Someone Else Along the Way,” I offer these tips toward fostering a collaborative partnership with your child’s educators this school year.
Have a safe and collaboratively positive school year.
Dr. V. Ruth Pinney has been researching and working with autistic individuals’ brain chemoreception pathways with a view to changing the reactions to the specific sensory perceptions.
About one-third of people on the autism spectrum are hypersensitive to odors, and these reactions can lead to eating disorders and other behavior disorders. Hypersensitive autistic smellers and tasters tend to have poor appetites, gag easily when offered food and eat only a few foods that they can tolerate the smell of. Even normal or pleasant odors may be perceived by them to be malodorous and disturbing.
Dr. Pinney created NOXO Sensory Balm™ to help “tone down” the perception of smells by the brain by providing a scent that is calming to the brain’s emotional centers. When this balm is applied topically, under the nose, an individual can find relief from odors that trigger coping responses.
This balm was first marketed under the name “NOXO Autism Balm” because of the obvious application for those on the autism spectrum with sensory integration difficulties who need to eat a greater variety of nutritious foods. It is reported to be safe, easy to apply, and non-invasive.
I’ve not yet tried this product, so I welcome the feedback from parents who have. Please let us know about your experience. It truly takes a village…
[Click on the image for more company information]
With the new school year upon us, many parents will be working with their children’s schools to implement IEPs. The Autism File Magazine’s Vaughn K. Lauer has compiled and published a list of top 10 tips to help get the most out of the IEP process (I especially appreciated tips #5 and #7). Although he’s written a book on how to conduct a truly collaborative IEP meeting, these tips were actually gathered from parents in a survey he conducted.
Michael Dorfman is a Michigan special education lawyer who represents students and their families to resolve conflicts within school districts. He’s come up with a wonderful back-to-school tool for our children that I love!
He reminds us that two children with autism–or ADHD, for that matter–are nothing alike, other than having the same diagnosis. That is why each child with a physical and/or learning disability attending school needs an “owner’s manual” to accompany them. This pamphlet communicates your child’s disability, needs, likes, past successes, and triggers for your child’s school teacher and paraprofessionals.
Click here to learn about how to write an “All About Me” Pamphlet for your child.
It’s going to be a great year!
The National Autism Association has published a Student Profile Form for the new school year. It’s a free download and they want to share it with everyone. Click on the picture of the form to download your copy.
Last Friday, President Obama signed into law funding for autism research, intervention, and help for young adults with autism. It’s called the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act, or Autism CARES.
Significantly, this is the first legislation that focuses on the needs of adolescents and young adults, and it also tasks the federal government with researching and anticipating the needs of young adults with autism who will be aging out of the school system in upcoming years.
There is a lifetime pass to U.S. national parks and recreation areas that’s available to U.S. citizens who have been medically determined to have a permanent disability. The disabilities include permanent physical, mental, and sensory impairments.
As a caregiver, you can get the pass for your child and use it whenever the child is with you. The pass is valid for the lifetime of the child, and covers everyone riding in the vehicle with him/her.
The pass gives you free access to national parks, as well as a 50% discount on camping and a discount on other access fees.
Here is information about how to obtain the Access Pass:
http://usparks.about.com/od/natlparkbasics/a/accesspass.htm
I think it’s time to plan a camping trip!
I ran across this wonderful article by Brian R. King about rolling pins and five other simple sensory solutions for children on the autism spectrum. We tried this last night and it was an instant success with 11-year-old Corban. I share the article in its entirety here.
By Brian R. King, 2/15/11
After a very exhausting day yesterday, my dear wife tried rubbing my shoulders to give my nervous system the deep pressure that always makes me feel better. Unfortunately, her hands were sore and she just couldn’t muster the strength.
Being the gifted outside-the-box thinker she is, she said, “Wait right here.” A few moments later I felt a rolling pin going up and down my back. She was using it as she would to roll out dough, and I have to tell you the feeling was heavenly. It was like she was rolling the tension out of my muscles, and I almost fell asleep sitting there, it was so calming.
Since that was a success she moved to my calf muscles. It was so calming, so fast that I could hardly speak. I hope she didn’t realize she’d accidentally discovered a way to shut me up.
We tried it on our sons (at their request) and they loved it. This was too good to keep to myself, so I shared it with my friends on Facebook, and they loved it. Some reported trying it with their own children who experienced similar results. Others jumped into the discussion and offered additional at-home sensory solutions that are simple, practical and worth adding to your collection of solutions.
1) Rolling Pin
For all of the glorious reasons I mentioned above.
2) Hanging Bar
If you’re not set up for this in your home, you can find one at any local park (monkey bar) or at the gym. I have found that hanging from a bar is a way to quickly organize my nervous system. It stretches my upper body muscles in a uniform way and opens up my vertebrae with a calming stretch that relaxes my whole body and helps me feel focused in only a few seconds.
3) Indoor Trampoline
Usually about 3 feet in diameter, they are small, portable and easy to store. They are highly effective at helping a child who has been held up in school all day to get fast, intense proprioceptive input to blow off a lot of steam, anxiety and feel calmer and focused.
4) Bean Bag Chair
For a spectrumite with poor upper body tone (including me), holding their body up in a standing or sitting position can be exhausting. The student who keeps lying on their desk in class for example. A bean bag chair is a simple way for someone to sit in a relaxed position and still remain alert. I have a similar foam chair I used to use for long periods of writing. What the heck am I thinking, I need to start using that again.
5) Backpack with Handheld Weights
This is an inconspicuous way for a spectrumite to get deep pressure on their shoulder muscles to achieve the calm they need. They can take charge of this themselves and vary the amount of weight in the backpack to accommodate their needs at the time. Far more versatile than a weighted vest.
6) The Wall
It’s more than a Pink Floyd song. It’s also a sturdy, flat surface you can lean against and push with your hands, or lean against it with your back and push with your legs. The intense muscle contraction you use to push can create a good amount of proprioceptive input than can decompress anxiety and be very calming.
A few months ago, Corban’s super-supportive grandmother bought him a weighted sensory “toy” online from Future Horizons, a wonderful website of sensory resources for autistic children. Operating on the same principles of weighted blankets and vests, these colorful geckos help children with sensory issues by providing the extra weight to feel grounded, as well as to soothe, calm, and comfort themselves. Each gecko is about 30 inches long, weighs about seven pounds, and is handsewn. It’s filled with non-toxic milo (birdseed) and is irresistible! But does it work?
Visits to the dentist for Corban are very stressful times. When he had to go in a few weeks ago to get his teeth cleaned, he took his gecko along and laid it across his lap during the procedure. Not only was I amazed at how calm he was, the dentist and his staff were so impressed, they decided to get one for their office for other children to use during dental visits. How’s that for a testimonial?!
As is true with most good-quality weighted products, the gecko is not cheap. Each one runs about $35, but this therapeutic “toy” is worth every penny of the investment, in my opinion.
I just finished a fascinating and hopeful book called Disconnected Kids, by Dr. Robert Melillo. He shares in this easy-to-read book that conditions presenting as neurologically based — autism, Asperger’s syndrome, PDD-NOS, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, and ODD — show striking similarities in brain diagnostic imaging. He asserts that all of these conditions, which adversely affect behavior and learning are actually related to one problem: an imbalance of electrical activity between areas of the brain, especially the right and left hemispheres. Dr. Melillo calls this imbalance FUNCTIONAL DISCONNECTION SYNDROME (FDS).
Because FDS isn’t typically due to an injury to the brain, the disconnection can be fixed by brain-balancing, which is a non-invasive, drug-free, at-home exercise therapy that is based on the neuroplasticity of the brain.
This book helps parents determine if their child is right-brain or left-brain dominant, and then suggests at-home exercises to strengthen the deficient area(s) to balance the electrical activity. High-functioning autistic children, like my son Corban, are typically right-brain deficient with enhanced left-brain skill. My goal over the next 90 days is to work with the suggested exercises in the book to strengthen his brain’s right-hemisphere. I’ll keep you posted!
If you have an child with Asperger’s Syndrome who has an anger-control problem, use these tips to (a) prevent anger outbursts and (b) help calm him down once he has launched into rage or meltdown mode.
It’s a great go-to list of 50 tips to keep handy:
I’ve just finished reading The Autism & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg about dietary interventions for our children on the autistic spectrum. It’s a thought-provoking exploration of how modern society has come to accept dietary habits that are far from natural or healthy, as well as the price we pay in making medications our first response.
I was impressed with her balanced information about how families can embrace the sanity of sensible nutrition to improve the health of their child’s gut-brain connection.
This is a must-read for parents who are considering implementing a gluten-free, casein-free diet.
It is estimated that between 60% and 80% of Autistic children have difficulty sleeping. This can include trouble falling asleep, restlessness and poor sleep quality, thrashing about, and early rising.
To address the toll this takes on children and their parents, Autism Specialist Debi Taylor has written an e-book called 30 Ways To Get Your Child With Autism to Go to Sleep with easy and practical tips that can be done in your own home, including:
✔ Calming sensory routines
✔ Suggestions for safe supplements to give your child
✔ Foods that may be making your child hyper and keeping him awake
✔ An ancient Chinese massage technique that greatly improves mood,
behavior, and sleep patterns
✔ How the color of your child’s room may set off unwanted stimulation
✔ Links to helpful resources, and more
Debi is the founder of Spirit of Autism and is the parent of an autistic child. You can check out the book here.
Over 85% of children on the Autism Spectrum will be bullied at some stage in their school lives. And the uncomfortable truth is that bullying is getting worse. Sally Thibault has a wonderful e-book that addresses this sad fact and shows parents how they can make their child, on the Autism Spectrum or living with Asperger’s, bully resilient for school… and for life.
For any child with challenges, parents need a plan they can implement right away. In Healing and Preventing Autism, Jenny McCarthy teams up with top autism specialist Jerry Kartzinel, M.D., to offer a prescriptive guide to the healing therapies and treatments that have turned the lives of so many children around. While autism cases have grown over 6,000% since the 1970s, the medical community is still waking up to the epidemic, and parents need tools to begin healing their children and educating their doctors.
Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder is not only the riveting story of one family’s quest to treat their son’s illness, it’s an inspiring account of their search for answers and effective treatments. What Karyn discovers is that conventional thinking about autism’s nature, causes, and treatment is dreadfully wrong. And Dr. Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., Director of the Autism Research Institute, agrees. This book shifted the world for me.
Since 1975, the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan has worked to ensure our most vulnerable students stay in school, find success, and realize their right to a quality public education.
Their services include free non-legal education advocacy, fee-based advocacy, technical assistance, and dropout prevention.
Although their focus is broader than children on the autistic spectrum, they offer sound strategies for working and partnering with schools to prevent negative situations from becoming problems and resolving those issues that develop.
But perhaps their greatest resource is the sample letters they provide to make it easier for parents to write to schools and administrations about our children’s education issues — from requesting an IEP/IEE to writing a Memo of Understanding to requesting to view records to lodging a complaint.
Click here to see a complete list. Student Advocacy Center Sample Letters.
Dr. Kaarin Anderson-Ryan has a wonderful social skills group for children on the autistic spectrum at Isabel’s House in Spring Lake, Michigan.
Her program is designed for children who have social skills challenges related to autism spectrum disorder and Asperger’s syndrome. And it provides them with a chance to learn skills to help initiate and maintain conversations, develop friendships, improve their social confidence, and meet new friends in a positive and safe environment.
Dr. Anderson-Ryan is a fully licensed psychologist specializing in positive behavior support, autism spectrum disorders and child development, and cognitive behavioral therapies. She has more than 15 years experience working with children and adults with unique needs and developmental and social challenges.
Corban has been working with Dr. Kaarin for over two years, and I’m impressed with not only the skills he’s learning, but how easy they are to reinforce at home. I highly recommend her. She can be reached at (616) 843-1196.
(WZZM) Michigan’s state health officials are laying out comprehensive, long-term goals to improve services for children and adults living with autism in Michigan. The goals include creating a state resource center where families and individuals living with autism can get information and be connected to available services. The plan also calls for increasing screening for autism spectrum disorders by primary care and early childhood providers. Click here to see article.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed an executive order last year to create the Autism Council within the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH). The group will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Michigan Autism Spectrum Disorders State Plan.
Learn more about the council here: http://www.mi.gov/autism
“Social Security Benefits for Children with Disabilities” is a 20-page booklet in PDF form that you can download to your desktop. Click here.
When we received Corban’s diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder and ADHD and were discussing support options in December of 2012, the neuropsychologist told us to watch for developments in the area of biofeedback.
Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended Biofeedback as a Level 1 “Best Support” Intervention for ADHD (Attention and Hyperactivity Behaviors). A wonderful group called Neurocore uses a principle methodology of autonomic nervous system regulation through biofeedback, and they’re having wonderful success throughout the United States.
It’s an exciting development and offers a whole new way of looking at our children’s potential and the miracle of how their brains work.
Check out the article here.
The first book I read after receiving Corban’s diagnosis in December 2011 was Asperger’s, Huh? by Dr. Rosina Schnurr.
It was also the first book Corban read after his diagnosis, and it really helped him to understand why he was doing some of things he was doing.
This 50-page softcover book is a wonderfully simple, positive, and insightful view into the world of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome, handled with understanding and sensitivity by a clinical psychologist who has worked with ASD children for over twenty years.
I highly recommend this book to parents of children on the autistic spectrum.
Horizons is a West-Michigan-based service specializing in the evaluation and treatment of a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders from infancy through young adulthood.
I receive a newsletter in my inbox each week and am always impressed with the information and inspiration.
They offer a free downloadable resource guide called School Support Strategies for Students with ASD, ADHD, and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders that is a must-have for parents advocating for their children within the school system.
You can check out the Horizons blog and sign up for their email and free resource guide here: Horizons
