Posts Tagged ‘pre-school’
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013
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In honor of Autism Awareness Month, several apps for kids are being offered at discounted prices or for FREE. Here are four sites featuring apps you should look into! Email Erin@woodallkids.org to give a shout out to your favorite apps- tell us why you like them! Also, look back at the Brent Woodall Foundation’s “Apps to Go!” blog post for information on other apps we like!
The I Teach Hub offers a comprehensive list of applications, organized into relevant categories, including Early Intervention and Curriculum, Social Skills, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Daily Living, and Speech and Language Development.
The iMums website features several apps that are now FREE for Autism Awareness Month. It won’t hurt to try at least some of them!
Smart Apps for Kids features more discounted or free applications and has included the dates for these limited time offers!
Let us know what you find by emailing Erin@woodallkids.org!
Related blog post: Apps to Go!
Tags:ABA therapy, Analysis International Services, applications, Applied Behavior Analysis, apps, autism, Autism ABA, Autism ABA Coppell, Autism ABA Dallas, Autism ABA DFW, Autism ABA Fort Worth, Autism ABA Irving, Autism ABA Southlake, Autism Applied Behavior, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis Dallas, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis International Services, autism awareness day, autism research, Autism Services Coppell, Autism Services Dallas, Autism Services DFW, autism services fort worth, Autism Services Irving, autism services irving texas, Autism Services Southlake, autism services texas, autism treatment, behavior, brent woodall foundation, communication devices, communication skills, computer games, developmental disabilities, developmental disability, early autism, early intervention, education, games, Guided Access, home therapy, interactive learning, ipad, ipod, language, learning, non-verbal, parent involvement, parents, pre-school, speech, speech therapy, speech tools, three-year-olds, Tracy Pierce Bender
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
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Travel is filled with unpredictable moments and for a child with autism, these moments can be disastrous. So let’s talk about some ways to make it easier to travel with your 1 in 88.
Expectation:
Show your child what is expected of him/her and what is to be expected of the trip. This is a great time to get your visual schedules out that we discussed in a previous blog, Serious Schedulers. Include on your schedule the steps it takes to travel from packing to the security line to sitting on the airplane to getting to your hotel room. Have your child watch videos about your destination. If it’s Disney Land, talk about all of the characters you might see and the rides you might go on. Look at pictures of the nearby beach. Watch travel shows about Disney Land and Anaheim, California with your family before you go. Use this as an opportunity to teach and get yourself and your family excited about an adventure!
Motivation:
Choose trips that tailor to your child’s interests. You can use activities that you know your child LOVES doing as reinforcement for trying new things. Perhaps use a visual choice board to help your child understand his or her options.
Special Passes:
Keep a look out for special passes for families with disabilities. Most large theme parks provide passes that will let families with special needs easily skip through the ridiculously long ticket lines.
Awareness:
No matter how much you prepare, it is very possible there will be hiccups in your plans. Let’s expect this and plan accordingly! Just in case you get separated, have your child wear identification. Many parents also have their children wear a bright blue “I have autism” shirt to make others aware of what their children and families are working with. Use this opportunity to teach others about autism, which will in turn help others be more patient, respectful, and understanding of your situation.
Downtime:
Let’s be honest. We all need down time- you and your family. No matter who you are, traveling is stressful. Allow yourself some time to relax and be boring in your hotel room. Think of this as fuel for your next awesome activity.
Flying:
Recently there has been a big push by the autism community to make flying easier. According to this NY Times article, several airports have begun to offer “’mock boarding’ experiences” so that families can practice all of the steps it takes to successfully walk through those big glass doors of the airport with your luggage in hand, ready for your adventure. NY Times also mentioned TSA Cares, a hotline to help people with disabilities and their caretakers through security checkpoints. PEOPLE magazine said to look out for a newly developed nonprofit, AIR (Autism Inclusion Resources), recently developed by a Philadelphian physician, that “helps families soar” through the skies to their destinations.
Tell us about your travel tips and adventures!
Send us a picture of your family while on vacation and let us know if you have any travel tips! We will touch back on the topic of traveling before the next holiday! Email pics/tips to erin@woodallkids.org.
IEP Pointer of the Week:
Make sure that all goals are written to independence in your child’s Individualized Educational Plan so that your child has a chance to reach his or her fullest potential!
Web resources:
www.autismtravel.org
www.medicaltravel.org
http://www.autismontheseas.com/
Tags:ABA therapy, airport, Applied Behavior Analysis, autism, Autism ABA, Autism ABA Coppell, Autism ABA Dallas, Autism ABA DFW, Autism ABA Fort Worth, Autism ABA Irving, Autism ABA Southlake, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis Dallas, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis International Services, autism research, autism services, Autism Services Coppell, Autism Services Dallas, Autism Services DFW, autism services fort worth, Autism Services Irving, Autism Services Southlake, autism treatment, behavior, brent woodall foundation, children with autism, dallas, developmental disability, early intervention, education, home therapy, irving, mental-health, non-verbal, parent involvement, parents, pre-school, security, speech therapy, texas, three-year-olds, Tracy Pierce Bender, travel, traveling
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
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ABA works for everyone. Some of the therapists at the BWF like to joke that they use ABA on their overbearing parents, some on their stubborn husbands… :)
So why is this?
Think of ABA therapy as dealing with *skills* rather than with *bad behavior.* All children have strengths and weaknesses no matter their developmental abilities. ABA builds upon each child’s strengths and teaches them more skills by breaking them down into smaller tasks that are taught in a consistent, structured manner. Regardless of your child’s abilities, ABA is always helpful because it focuses on understanding why behaviors occur, rather than merely inserting procedures. ABA is concerned with, not just modifying behavior, but really changing behavior, and can be used to teach a variety of skills to overcome developmental deficits, as well as successfully decrease behavioral excesses.
IEP Pointer(s) of the Day:
In almost every meeting with BWF founder Tracy Pierce Bender, the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process is brought up because it can be a very daunting challenge for a parent to deal with. Starting today, we will post an IEP Pointer of the Day on every blog post. Hope this helps!
DO NOT sign your child’s IEP before reviewing the goals the plan supports for your child BECAUSE once you have signed the IEP, it is very difficult to change it. An IEP can always be reviewed, you can always request a meeting to make changes to your child’s IEP, but it is a long process that can get in the way of your child’s progress. Why not start the year off on the right start from the beginning?
Schools base IEPS off of a 1- to 2- hour assessment of your child, which offers a tiny glimpse into your child’s abilities and potential. So it is completely okay to request another assessment and further evaluation before signing off on your child’s IEP. Don’t be afraid to ask and to ask again.
Tags:ABA therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis, autism, Autism ABA, Autism ABA Coppell, Autism ABA Dallas, Autism ABA DFW, Autism ABA Fort Worth, Autism ABA Irving, Autism ABA Southlake, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis Dallas, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis International Services, autism research, Autism Services Coppell, Autism Services Dallas, Autism Services DFW, autism services fort worth, Autism Services Irving, Autism Services Southlake, autism treatment, behavior, brent woodall foundation, children with autism, developmental disability, early intervention, education, home therapy, mental-health, non-verbal, parent involvement, parents, pre-school, speech therapy, three-year-olds, Tracy Pierce Bender
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
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In almost every Coffee Chat, Tracy Pierce Bender has stressed the importance of creating a schedule for you and your child to follow. Regardless of what you are introducing—a new word, skill, food item, etc.—schedules are important because they show your child what is expected and they help you as the parent stick to a consistent system. Having a schedule takes part of the responsibility to enforce off of you, the parent, and puts the responsibility onto the schedule. It also shows your child (and YOU) that there is a light at the end of the tunnel; once you work through steps 1-3, you get a break and positive reinforcement. Below are some examples of schedules you could create for your home.
Let’s say your child is beginning to imitate sounds. Focus on 5 words your child is most motivated to learn, decide which sound(s) you want to teach in relation to the words your child is motivated to learn, and then prioritize. Once you have this down, create daily opportunities to practice these sounds. For example, Sally loves cookies and knows that there are cookies in the pantry. Lock the pantry door and only allow Sally a cookie if she approximates a sound related to “cookie.” Or maybe Sally just learns “o” for “open” at first. Make your schedule consistent at home and at school.
Here’s another example: You’re trying to teach Bobby how to say or approximate the word “drink” and you know he loves to sip his apple juice before he goes to school. Create a schedule: Get dressed- Drink- School. This schedule shows what is expected and this routine will elicit a routine in language; it will help Bobby understand the function of language.
Have a schedule that works well for you? Send a picture of it to erin@woodallkids.org and we’ll post it on this blog!
Tags:ABA therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis, autism, Autism ABA, Autism ABA Coppell, Autism ABA Dallas, Autism ABA DFW, Autism ABA Fort Worth, Autism ABA Irving, Autism ABA Southlake, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis Dallas, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis International Services, autism research, Autism Services Coppell, Autism Services Dallas, Autism Services DFW, autism services fort worth, Autism Services Irving, Autism Services Southlake, autism treatment, behavior, brent woodall foundation, children with autism, developmental disability, Dr. John McEachin, early intervention, food, home therapy, language, limiting food, non-verbal, parent involvement, parents, pre-school, schedule, speech, speech therapy, speech tools, three-year-olds, Tracy Pierce Bender
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
(Picture by Riley Woodall- enjoy!)
Today in Coffee Chat we talked about different ways to cope with your child beginning to limit his or her food. Children in their 2s and 3s have been coined the “opposite kids”— they want to do everything opposite of what you say. They are a totally different kind of bread. When kids are really young, their taste buds are very sensitive, and they begin to restrict their foods around 3-years-old. When you have a typical 3-year-old PLUS autism, it can be rough. So here’s a few things that Tracy Pierce Bender suggested trying.
1) Train your child’s palate (rule of 11)
- It takes 11 tastes before your palate is trained so work towards this goal. This helps the palate get use to something that is different.
2) Little steps at a time
- If you’re working on eating a whole muffin, try working on one piece of a muffin at a time.
- 90% of this process is compliance. Once your child is compliant with eating one bite, begin to increase the amount of bites needed to receive the reinforcer.
3) Pace yourself
- Do one trial a day at first. Create a schedule for your child to follow. This shows your child what is expected and that there will be an end to this HORROR. ; )
4) Make the reinforcer great.
- You eat the grape, you get the whole box of yogurt covered raisins.
We also talked about doing ABA therapy with your child at home:
“My child is in his own world at home. He is more responsive at his therapeutic center. I want to give him his space, but I just can get him to respond to me at all when doing ABA therapy at home.”
- Go to the Brent Woodall Foundation’s training sessions and ask the therapists to give you tips. Show the therapists how you work with your child at home and let them train you.
- Yes, it is important to give your child his space, but if he is always in his own world, that begins to interfere with his learning.
How can I teach my child at home and be successful?
- Sometimes kids look at you as their parent and not their teacher so it can be hard to give direction at home. Determining what is appropriate to work on at home is very important. Maybe the programs your child is working on at his or her therapeutic center are not right for the home environment. Ask your child’s case manager to help you gather programs and create a schedule for the home environment.
- Observe your child’s therapy sessions with more than one therapist and ask the therapists to work on the programs your doing at home. Watching different people work with your child will give you a variety of ideas of things you can do yourself.
One parent: “Even in leisurely time, I’m still working with my child. Even when watching TV, I’ll be pointing things out to him, staying engaged and keeping up the conversation.”
Tags:autism, Autism ABA, Autism ABA Coppell, Autism ABA Dallas, Autism ABA DFW, Autism ABA Fort Worth, Autism ABA Irving, Autism ABA Southlake, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis Dallas, Autism Applied Behavior Analysis International Services, Autism Services Coppell, Autism Services Dallas, Autism Services DFW, autism services fort worth, Autism Services Irving, Autism Services Southlake, brent woodall foundation, food, home therapy, limiting food, pre-school, three-year-olds, Tracy Pierce Bender
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