Hi all and a Happy New Year 2012.

Ph.D. Psychology Student Autism Research

The first post for this year is about research being conducted by a Psychology student at Walden University in the USA.

Kristin Yodock is looking for volunteers that fit the criteria, Autistic youngsters who may be able to help her in her research into Autistic Children’s Pragmatic Language,Conflict Resolution & Social Skills.

Below are the details and information provided by Kristin Yodock. If your youngster fits the requirements please contact Kristin and help her and other researchers improve the quality of life for our all persons within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders.

Autism Children Volunteers Needed for Research

“I am a student at Walden University working on my Ph.D. in psychology. My study is entitled: An Examination of Pragmatic Language Problems, Conflict Resolution, and Social Behaviors in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I have IRB approval and I am searching for either a nonrandomized subset of an existing Play and Language for either Autistic Youngsters (PLAY) Project pool of 20, 6-12 year old, autistic children with IQ’s of 70 or above or data on this group. My study will use the Test of Pragmatic Language, Second Edition (TOPL-2) to pretest and posttest their Pragmatic language, conflict resolution, and social skills. I can provide all PLAY, testing materials via mail, email, or fax, and an IQ test if necessary. If you would like additional information or feel that you could help me please email me at kristin.yodock@waldenu.edu or call me directly at: 760-742-1319″.

The implications for social change from this research will include providing hope to parents and those dealing with older autistic children. Social change will be achieved by demonstrating that because of the brains malleability and plasticity, older autistic children will also benefit from participating in a four-week Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters (PLAY) enrichment project. Dr. Solomon’s PLAY has been shown to increase language usage and social skills in younger autistic children however my research will benefit educators, psychologists, and other researchers who are searching for methods to enhance older autistic children’s pragmatic language, conflict resolution, and social skills.

If you can help please contact Kristin directly.

© 2012, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

It is important that any therapy is fun for the child

Occupational Therapy For Independent Living

According to various Occupational Therapy Associations, Occupational Therapy helps individuals achieve and hone skills which allow them to live an independent life. These are skills that can be specifically targeted to children and adults within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders.

Occupational therapy is widely used for helping accident and stroke victims, which may have suffered brain dammage and or physical injuries, regain their motor skills which may have been affected due to their injuries.

Occupational therapy is also widely used for children who may have developmental delays. Occupational therapy can help the child by improving their day to day living skills such as handwriting, tying shoe laces, dressing themselves, and even for play.

Occupational Therapy Helps Children With Autism

How can Occupational Therapy help children within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders?
It is well known that persons with autism often lack basic skills in socializing and motor skills associated with day to day independent living, as well as sensory integration (difficulty processing information through the senses).

Occupational Therapy uses techniques which have been developed to help the child or person with autism, to better control their bodies and minds to achieve the skills required for independent living in all aspects such as:

• Structured play activities which instruct and help the child in communication and socializing skills with others. Floortime is an example of a play therapy developed to build intellectual and emotional skills as well as physical skills.
• Interventions to help the child respond appropriately to the information communicated by their senses. Examples of intervention may include, playing with shaving foam, swinging on a swing, playing bat and ball, it can be a swag of different activities.
• Develop strategies to assist the individual deal with changes, such as from one setting to another, to different persons they encounter, and the different phases of their lives. For a child with autism this could be ways of managing the different setting from school to home etc.
• Working with the child to overcome or work around specific individual disabilities as a result of their autism.

Seek Out a Good Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapy can deal with many facets of disabilities and delayed development. It is always a good idea to do your homework and look and ask around for an Occupational Therapist that specializes in children and or children with autism.

Isybee has been going to a fantastic Occupational Therapist for quite a few years, she enjoys it so much she counts down the days to her next session. This is always a good sign of a therapist that is good for your child. Isybee has a great time and enjoys every minute of her time there without exception, we can see that she has developed many life, sensory and play skills as a result.

And as we always say – the best way for a child to develop and learn is to have fun while doing so.

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

Autism Spectrum Disorders Diagnosing Criteria will change in May 2013

DSM-5 Autism Disorders

The way in which Autism Spectrum Disorders, including Asperger’s Syndrome, are diagnosed are going to radically change in May 2013. At the moment the DSM-4 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ) criteria is being used to diagnose and categorise Autism Spectrum Disorders, within the Spectrum there are currently 2 main categories – Autism and Aspergers. With the new criteria of DSM-5 Apergers Syndrome, CDD (Childhood Disintegrative Disorder) and PDD NOS (Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified)will also fall into the general category of Autism Disorders/Autism Spectrum Disorders. The new proposed DSM-5 (DSM-V) will do away with Aspergers all together and they will all fall within one label – Autism Disorders with specific symptom identifiers.

Proposed DSM 5

Autism Spectrum Disorder must meet criteria 1, 2, and 3:

1. Clinically significant, persistent deficits in social communication and interactions, as manifest by all of the following:
   1. Marked deficits in nonverbal and verbal communication used for social interaction;
   2. Lack of social reciprocity;
   3. Failure to develop and maintain peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.
2. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities, as manifested by at least TWO of the following:
   1. Stereotyped motor or verbal behaviours, or unusual sensory behaviours;
   2. Excessive adherence to routines and ritualized patterns of behaviour;
   3. Restricted, fixated interests.
3. Symptoms must be present in early childhood (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities).

(American Psychiatric Association, 2010)

Autism Population Explosion

The new ASD diagnosing criteria may have the affect of exploding the rate of Autism within the community, which currently sits at 1 in 38 children or 3% of the population (recent figures from a large study in South Korea). The new criteria proposes to simplify the diagnosis and increase the accuracy of specific symptoms associated within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders, CDD and PDD. This will have the potential effect of increasing the rate of Autism by including these disorders under the one banner.

Rationale

Because autism is defined by a common set of behaviors, it is best represented as a single diagnostic category that is adapted to the individual’s clinical presentation by inclusion of clinical specifiers (e.g., severity, verbal abilities and others) and associated features (e.g., known genetic disorders, epilepsy, intellectual disability and others.) A single spectrum disorder is a better reflection of the state of knowledge about pathology and clinical presentation; previously, the criteria were equivalent to trying to “cleave meatloaf at the joints”.

ASD Community Concerns

There are concerns within the Autism / Aspergers community that an identity will be lost as there will be no future Aspergers labels applied to diagnosis. This may have a social impact in that currently many persons with Aspergers can identify and relate to their condition by the definition of symptoms within that diagnosis, they can differentiate from Autism and feel a sense of “knowing who they are” and why they are perceived to be different from the “general population”. Aspergers varies considerably from Autism in that they do not have an intellectual disability and are generally high functioning with a sense of others perceptions and feelings.

For more information visit the DSM-V (5) web page: http://dsm5.org

Information provided by:
- Alison Roach (Family Advocacy)
- American Psychiatric Association

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

Explaining Physical and Emotional Changes

At some stage your child within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders will reach puberty. It can be a difficult time for a child and parents of a child without a disability, and so for a child with a disability like Autism it can be all the more difficult.

How do you go about explaining to an Autistic child who has difficulty in communicating and understanding, about how and why their bodies and feelings are making such a drastic change at puberty?. For girls it can be an even greater challenge as they go through major physical changes to which if they don’t understand can be a very traumatic event.

Expel Myths and Fears

For some cultures and religious beliefs this can be a very difficult situation as it can be deemed taboo to talk about such subjects, however if you want you and your child to get through this unscathed it is time to put these beliefs away. As a parent or carer of a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder you have to take the approach that you have to prepare the child well in advance of the changes and attempt to make them understand or at least be prepared for what is about to come.

When you look at it in a logical way it is only something natural, it is part of who we are and even though it is considered a very personal matter you must make every attempt to make the child feel comfortable to discuss it. Even for a child without a disability this applies.

Resources and Advice

There are some disability services which can help and or guide with tips and reading material on the best methods for getting the child to understand about puberty, however they differ from state to state and country to country. However always seek out as much information as possible – don’t be shy, as it is only a natural part of life, always try to see it that way.

We can speak from experience and pass on information which helped us with our daughter’s “puberty blues”, and thanks to her mum – Liz and her foresight and no nonsense approach it was not an issue.

Recommended Books

There are three books that we used and can recommend, here are the details:

• Secret Girls’ Business
  by Heather Pritchard, Rose Stewart, Julie Davey and Fay Angelo
• More Secret Girls’ Business
  by Heathwer Anderson, Fay Angelo and Rose Stewart
• Secret Boys’ Business
  by Heather Pritchard, Rose Stewart, Julie Davey and Fay Angelo

The books aim to:

• Present a simple brief account of changes to boys and girls at puberty
• Celebrate changes to the body
• Dispel myths, legends and fears by presenting accurate information in a colorful, friendly format
• Promote comfortable discussion
• Enhance confidence and self-esteem
• Provide hints for parents, teachers and carers.

These books are great for reading to the child, Liz started reading these books to Isy around two years before she was a teenager. Liz also made up some social stories explaining how these changes would affect Isy and what she needed to do when it happened. Liz also bought some cheap pads and showed Isy how to put them on dolls and dolls underwear so she was comfortable with the idea.

Prepare Autistic Children

The end result was when the time came Isy had no surprises, it was all exactly how she had read about it, had been told about it and was prepared for. She now can look after herself in that respect so the preparation was well worth it.

For boys it’s pretty much the same, possibly not as challenging as their situation requires somewhat less however the same principles apply. Preparation and understanding, so when the changes occur they are expecting them and know how to deal with them.

As Liz always says, with children in the Autism Spectrum of Disorders planning and preparation are the main key factors for everything. You have to give them plenty of time to soak up the information and be comfortable with the outcome.

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

What is an Autism Related Meltdown?

A child with Autism can be very prone to meltdowns in public and unfamiliar places. Meltdowns can be described as a tantrum or fit of rage as the child may be confused or stressed due over loaded sensory inputs or an unfamiliar place and situation.

An Autistic or ASD meltdown can be difficult to control and can be a very emotional trauma for both the ASD child / person and the carer. It can also put the ASD child / person and carer in danger of personal injury purely from a reaction to a situation, event or even emotional vibes.

To add to the drama of a meltdown in public places there is always the onlookers and concerned individuals. It is only human nature to be concerned if a child / person is acting in a manner which may be perceived as if the person is in danger or in trouble. It would be a sad world if this wasn’t the case, as in a recent event in China where a small child was hit by a vehicle and ignored on the street by passers by. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15331773.

I recall when Isybee was just 3 or 4 years old, one of the first outings we had in a busy shopping centre, the surroundings, lights, noise and crowd was too much for her to handle and she had a meltdown. For passers by it would have seemed as if we were trying to harm her or kidnap her, people were trying to intervene and looked upset and concerned, we felt like we had to try and explain that our daughter was Autistic, however at the time your focus is on calming the child. Some even went as far as commenting on what terrible parents we were. We ignored them however it still affects you.

Coping with an Awkward Situation

So how do you go about coping with these sort of situations? Everyone would have their own way of dealing with such an event, and you have to quickly learn to not let others perceptions bother you. You could try and avoid outings, social gatherings or anywhere where there might be a chance of the ASD child having a meltdown, however at some stage you will have no choice and at some stage you will need to accustom the child with Autism to everyday living situations and slowly modify their behaviour by making them feel comfortable and understanding what is going on around them. Here are some tips on Exposing an Autistic Child to Social Events and Outings.

One clever way we found to handle onlookers and concerned citizens when a meltdown or perceived disruptive behaviour occurs by your miss-understood child with Autism, is to hand out an Autism Awareness card that gives in brief, an explanation of why the child is in this state. It can be a very effective way of communicating without having to go into verbal explanations and allows you to focus and deal with the task at hand – calming your child! See example below.

Download a Print Friendly Business Card style version

Print Your Own Autism Awareness Cards

We made up the Autism Awareness cards into a template which can be printed out into business card style and size cards. These can be printed out directly by any home Ink Jet or Laser printer using the IJ39 Business Cards format which matches most word processor software formats. Printing sheets are available at any Office Supplies outlet. This template will print 10 business style cards per sheet.

Free Autism Awareness Card Template Download

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

Having fun in the sun!

The Stresses of Autism

For parents out there that are new to Autism Spectrum Disorders and have just had your child diagnosed, the impact of realisation can be quite traumatic, however things could be worse – much worse.

For parents out there with children on the Autism Spectrum that have been struggling to keep some semblance of sanity with years of therapies, supplements and lifestyle change, there is hope!

For anyone having to deal with caring for a child within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders, don’t be disheartened, there are many, many other persons in the same or similar boat – you gotta have faith!

Possibly the worse thing you can do for your Autistic child is panic, stress and be unhappy. I know this is easier said than done, but it is something you have to keep in mind, it is something you have to be very aware of if you want a good outcome for your situation.

What you Think is What You Get

There is no doubt that what you think, your thoughts, manifest into your reality, like it or not! Your mood or emotions affect the choices you make and ultimately the path you take! Everything that has happened to you in your life is a result of the choices you have made – you can not blame anyone or anything else!

When you think about the bad things in your life, when you see only the negative and complain, blame and are ungrateful for what you do have, it has exponential repercussions that you may not be aware of. Not only does it affect your chemical balance in your body and cause disease and illness within yourself but it also affects those around you, particularly children with Autism as they are not aware of problems and associated emotions, they do however pick up very strongly on our vibes and this affects their ability to recover.

Resilient Biological Beings

The human body is an extremely resilient biological being it has been proven over countless events and stories of survival. The number one factor in how our biological beings cope with extreme circumstances is how our minds react. Our minds control every chemical reaction in our bodies, from how our digestive system works down to how effective our immune system is and beyond.

There is no doubt that supplements and bio-medicine do aid in restoring the balance in our biological beings, however it is merely an aid, the most important factor affecting our health and the health and recovery of our children within the Autism Spectrum is how we and they feel mentally and spiritually.

The Happy Autism Carer

Ok, enough of the cause and effect! As a parent or carer of an Autistic (ASD) child or person, what can we do in order to make light of our situation, be happy balanced human beings and increase the odds of our child or person recovering from Autism Related Disorders?

• Have a little Faith

  Have faith! You don’t have to be religious to have faith, you can believe in and pray to, whatever god or universal force you fancy! It is the having faith that works, because it gives your thoughts purpose, strength and focus and this in turn will inspire you to take a course of action which will have positive results.

• Aim for Goals

  Have goals, having goals gives you something to focus on, however don’t be disappointed if you don’t reach the goal to your expectations, instead be grateful for any progress you make, the goal is there to focus your direction.

• Powerful Tools for Achievement

  Pray, meditate, daydream, whatever you want to call it. See your life the way you want it, ask for guidance and know that you can get there. Thought and will are extremely powerful tools for achieving. Put it this way, the car you drive and the computer you use all started out in someone’s imagination, their will is what bought upon action and their faith in knowing they could achieve these things is what made it all come to fruition.

• The Fun Side!

  Have fun! The number one rule in healing and well being – HAVE FUN!!! Try to see the light (or bright) side of life, it puts the mind at the right vibration to attract more of the same.

• All You Need is Love

  Unconditional LOVE! Just as important as having fun is to love unconditionally. All those around you, in your life and particularly your child with or without a disability. Treat all your children with the same love and respect and you will have many rewards.

Free – Natural – Achievable

Just with these free, natural and achievable, methods you can improve the odds of your child or person with a disability or in the Autism Spectrum of Disorders to recover and to be a healthy, happy, independent human being.

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

Pets are great therapy for children with or without Autism

Are Dogs Good Therapy For Children With Autism

Yes, pet dogs are very good therapy for children with or without an Autism Spectrum Disorder / ASD, in fact for any one!

Certain breeds of dogs are better for children than others, mainly because of temperament and size, however the home environment and obedience training can be equally important.
Click here for more info on the best dogs for children.
So why are pet dogs such good therapy for children with Autism

Dogs provide companionship, loyalty and unconditional love. These qualities are very important to the health and well being of any being, however for a child with Autism, which usually has social integration problems this can be an especially important factor.

Pet dogs can provide an emotional outlet for children with Autism, they can relate to the pet as a friend and express love through the pet, equally the pet dog will reciprocate that love back unconditionally and without judgment.

It is also important for the child with Autism to interact with other children and not only their pet, common sense and balanced exposure is the key!

A child with Autism can also learn to play with a pet dog, anything that will bring joy to a child with Autism is a good thing and will always aid in brain healing, fun heals!

What Breeds of Dogs are best for Children

Below is a list of the most popular breed of dogs recommended for children:

• British Bulldog
• Australian Shepherd
• Cocker Spaniel
• Golden Retriever
• Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
• Labrador
• Boxer Dog
• Beagle
• Norfolk Terrier
• Poodle
• Bichon Frise
• Whippet

The list is comprised of dogs which have a more suitable temperament and size for children, however training (for both child and dog) is imperative, socialisation for the dog should also start at a very early puppy age. It is also a very good idea to get the child to interact with the dog as soon as possible and if possible to attend the dog obedience / socialisation training with them as well.

The Golden Rule

The one golden rule with children and dogs is to never leave them unsupervised, whether the child has Autism or not. It is always better to be safe than sorry, and no matter how well you think you know your dog, you can never be 100% sure.

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

The Ten Best Books for Understanding and Treating Autism

We have done a great deal of research and reading over the years to get the best knowledge, understanding and methods for treating our daughter with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

We have come a long way on our journey but there is still a long road ahead. Patience, acceptance, loving and understanding are in our opinion the most effective tools anyone can use for a child or person with a disability, however there is a mountain of information out there for the taking, trouble is sorting through all that information to get what you need.

Below is a list of the ten best books we can recommend for information, ideas, methods and treatments for Autism. These are the books that we have read or have been recommended by others and or have been used for reference in a number of ways. When trying to fix something it always pays to know how it works, for a human being that is not easy but understanding and knowing about the problem can help in treating it!

The Books

Hover over the link for a description and preview

1. Son Rise by Barry Neil Kaufman
   
   
2. Teaching Individuals With Developmental Delays: Basic Intervention Techniques
   
   
3. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books)
   
   
4. Relationship Development Intervention with Young Children: Social and Emotional Development Activities for Asperger Syndrome, Autism, PDD and NLD
   
   
5. Relationship Development Intervention with Children, Adolescents and Adults
   
   
6. Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers (8th Edition)
   
   
7. Thinking in Pictures (Expanded, Tie-in Edition): My Life with Autism (Vintage)
   
   
8. A Work in Progress: Behavior Management Strategies and a Curriculum for Intensive Behavioral Treatment of Autism
   
   
9. Children with Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder
   
   
10. Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders
    
    

If you know of any other good books that you can recomend please let us and (everyone else) know by leaving a comment! Thank you.

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

Having fun and progressing slowly is essential to success

Autism Related Social Melt-Downs a Real Challenge

As many of you may already know, exposing an autistic child to social events or outings can be a real challenge.

Many autistic children are susceptible to hyper sensitivity and a melt down is always a grim possibility when faced with unfamiliar sites, sounds an smells. Another problem is also that they may not understand what is going on! This is a common problem with autistic children as they usually have problems with communication and so their world becomes a series of routines which they are comfortable with, however if the routine is broken all hell can break loose.

Curve Autistic Behavior with Social Stories and Schedule Strips

Although difficult, social and or non routine events can be introduced to them in a logical step by step fashion ensuring to be very careful to advance at the child’s pace. It is also important to know when your child has had enough and to be prepared to just pack up and leave when necessary.

Social stories are an integral part of preparing the child for an “out of routine experience”. Compics PECS and Boardmaker or alike can be used if the child can not read. It is important that the child has some idea that what is coming up will be something different. The sooner you can inform the child before the exposure the better, this way you can spend time preparing them, if however it needs to be a spare of the moment change due to unforeseen circumstances then you need to have a method in place.

For this reason it is important to start the social outings or out of routine experiences as soon as practicable – or the sooner the better! Be deliberate about planning events just to go through the motions of preparation and have a method you know will work.

Liz started off by using Compics, Pecs and Boardmaker style day strips and social stories. Once Isy started to be able to read Liz moved forward by using a combination of pictures and words – this also helped Isy to learn to read -. Eventually she advanced to word only type day strips and social stories, and now Isy uses a diary where Liz writes her daily schedule and any “different” events.

This works incredibly well, and if there is a sudden unexpected change Liz will cross out the previous plan (if there was one) and or write the new one and get Isy to read it. Once Isy reads the schedule she is usually fine with any changes.

Step by Step Slowly but Surely

These methods really have changed our ability to take Isy places, we can now take her just about anywhere without an issue. Just yesterday we went to the Adelaide Royal Show, this for an Autistic child is certainly a milestone, this is about the sixth year in a row, and for Isy it is the high-lite of the year. Now she patiently waits in cues for her turn on rides and the lights, sounds and crowds do not bother her at all but it has been a slow and arduous affair to get to this stage, but worth every minute and effort.

We started off very cautiously and slowly built up, Liz often takes Isy shopping, just for the exposure but she started off by knowing full well what was ahead by social stories and day schedule strips.

Steps to take to Accustom an Autistic Child to Outings and Events

Not every child is the same, particularly when it comes to ASD, but they do share many similar traits, below is a summary of the steps to take to accustom an Autistic child to social events and outings.

• Start off slowly and expose them to places and events that you know they might enjoy – for example a Wiggles show or some character or alike that they like.
• Use pictures to display what lies ahead of them, the more they are aware of wht is going on the less likely they will have a melt down.
• At the beginning avoid noisy crowded places – we know of some parents that take their Autistic child to car races or concerts – not because the child likes them but because the parents like the events – with no preparation or build up, and then they wonder why the child had a melt down!
• Slowly but surely build up from picture schedules and social stories to words only, using words and pictures in between – slowly but surely!
• When going on an outing reward the child with something they might enjoy, but don’t over do it. For Isy it’s usually some hot chips or donuts.
• As soon as there is a sign of meltdown pack up and leave – asap, or have some method prepared for calming the child!
• Have fun – it is most important that you and the child have fun, this will cement the foundation for future social events and outings.

Share your experiences – if you have any handy tips or methods that work for you please share them and leave a comment below, we and I imagine many others would love to know anything that may help!

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.

Having Fun is the Key to Teaching and Learning

Teaching Conversation to a Child with Autism

Teaching conversation to a child or adult within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders can be a challenge. Whether it be an individual with severe Autism or a high functioning individual with Asperger Syndrome, conversation and social skills would have to be the two skills that are the most difficult to teach.

How do we Learn Conversation and Social Skills?

How do you go about teaching something that for most of us is something that we just pick up as we go along? There is no curriculum or rigid protocols to follow as each interaction situation lends itself to personal translation and action, depending on the individuals perspective! It is probably one of the hardest things to teach, but not impossible!

We may not be able to teach a person with Autism or Asperger’s everything about conversation and socialising but we can try to give them the idea of what a conversation is and some loose rules to follow.

Small Talk

Conversation in many cases is just small talk, a way to break the uncomfortable silence between two or more persons. However in many cases it is a way to communicate information and to find out about another person, it can also be entertaining, however now days with electronic information and entertainment at our fingertips conversation is fast becoming obsolete.

To many persons on the Autism Spectrum of Disorders conversation may just seem like a waste of time, and I can relate to that. It is far easier to just say what we have to and not have to bother with small talk and niceties, but what would our world be like without those “small details”?

So here are some examples of what we have been doing to teach our daughter conversation. She has a fairly good vocabulary and can read, spell and tell us when she wants something – these are skills that can be taught, and we have largely used ABA style techniques to achieve this, however Isy can not start or carry on a conversation, it’s like – why bother! – too hard!

RDI or Relationship Development Intervention can be very useful for this task as it mainly focuses on developing friendships and social skills, and like I always say, if you can make it fun they will just soak it up.

Tips for Teaching Conversation to a Child with Autism

• Ask them lots of questions, when they come home from school or from an outing – whatever – ask them lots of questions and help them answer, by prompting, if you have to.
• Assimilate their favourite characters if they have any. Isy loves the Bananas in Pajamas and associated characters, we often pretend to be the Bananas eg Isy is B2 and I am B1. I can often start a short conversation by saying – “are you thinking what I am thinking B2” and so on it goes. Isy can relate to that as she sees the Bananas having conversations on TV etc and says thing they often say – it’s a start!.
• Tell them stories and get them to interact. I tell Isy a little story every night, she usually sets the subject and I just make it up as I go, however I always include her in the story, usually as a character, so she has to play a part, and in the story there will always be a conversation between the main characters – us!
• Always answer their questions no matter what they ask. And try to get them to answer their own questions by asking them why do they think that is? Or just ask another question back!
• Include them where possible in conversations with others. In other words don’t exclude them! Encourage them to partake, even if what they say doesn’t make sense or is not relevant, try and turn it around so it is relevant!
• There’s an app for that! – Isy loves to record herself saying things and then playing it back. There are quite a few ipad apps and computer “apps” that can either directly record and play back or comically play back what you say such as Talking Tom, this is actually quite powerful for teaching them language and conversation skills as it encourages them to talk. Make it fun and anything is possible!
• Get them to answer phone calls and say a few words, like “hello who is it – here’s my mum”. When I work away I always ring home and try encourage Isy to say a few words, I ask a lot of questions and try to strike up conversation on any subject!

These are just a few tips on what we do to encourage conversation with Isy. It is quite incredible what individuals in the Autism Spectrum of Disorders are capable of. They have the ability of being able to soak up knowledge and skills and have incredible memory, all without the everyday distractions that we experience. Their level of focus can in some ways be extreme, however it can be a challenge to direct that focus on what we deem necessary for their development. They can usually pick up skills and knowledge on things we don’t find important, however who’s to say it’s not important for them!

As always with teaching and learning – make it fun and the possibilities are endless!

© 2011, IsyB Family. All rights reserved.