Now the school holidays are upon us, we have the tricky task of entertaining the kids. This task is even more tricky when your child is autistic, as the sensory overload can sometimes be too much.
I had an email from our local Parent partnership the other day and it was all about autism friendly cinema screenings. I think these are a great idea as my son often finds cinema frustrating. There are too many adverts and the noise is too loud and scary. We had to take him out of the cinema once because he was screaming and crying because of the volume levels.
Autism friendly cinema screenings have these special features:
1.The lights will be on low
2.The volume will be turned down
3.There will be no trailers at the beginning of the film
4.You'll be able to take your own food and drinks
5.You'll be able to move around the cinema if you like, although no running is allowed.
If you live in the UK, there is a dedicated website showing where all of the special screenings are due to take place nationwide. The site is called Dimensions and the link is here.
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Friday, 28 June 2013
SMART Targets
An IEP is a document that parents and teachers work on together, creating up to 3 short term goals for the child to work on.
The goals are expected to be SMART, which means:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time Related.
In other words, the goals shouldn't be vague things like:
"Jimmy must improve his letter formation"
Rather, it would be:
"Jimmy must work on writing the letters a, e i, o and u over the next 8 weeks."
It is also a good idea for the IEP to include an idea of what help can be given and how often and also how progress will be measured.
The parent, teacher and child will sign the IEP and everyone gets a copy to keep. The child may be given a "Child Friendly" version.
The goals are expected to be SMART, which means:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time Related.
In other words, the goals shouldn't be vague things like:
"Jimmy must improve his letter formation"
Rather, it would be:
"Jimmy must work on writing the letters a, e i, o and u over the next 8 weeks."
It is also a good idea for the IEP to include an idea of what help can be given and how often and also how progress will be measured.
The parent, teacher and child will sign the IEP and everyone gets a copy to keep. The child may be given a "Child Friendly" version.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Stimming
Not heard of stimming before?
Well, most of us do it!
If you tap your toes, drum your fingers on the table, bite nails or shuffle around when bored or nervous, then you are stimming!
Autistic people do it a lot. When my son was younger, he used to stim by tapping parts of his body with his hands. He did grow out of that behaviour, but sometimes does it if he is very angry or frustrated. Apparently, about 10% of people with autism stim.
This weekend, he started a new one. He started drumming the furniture with his hands. Sometimes he gets quite loud. I don't mind it too much, but it can get a bit disruptive if we are trying to watch TV, or if we are out and about in public.
There are lots of good articles on the internet about stimming. Here are a few of them:
http://autism.wikia.com/wiki/Stimming
About.com article
http://myspecialsweetpea.com/stimming.html
I am not overly worried about his stimming habits and if they help him calm down, then I don't have a problem with it.
Well, most of us do it!
If you tap your toes, drum your fingers on the table, bite nails or shuffle around when bored or nervous, then you are stimming!
Autistic people do it a lot. When my son was younger, he used to stim by tapping parts of his body with his hands. He did grow out of that behaviour, but sometimes does it if he is very angry or frustrated. Apparently, about 10% of people with autism stim.
This weekend, he started a new one. He started drumming the furniture with his hands. Sometimes he gets quite loud. I don't mind it too much, but it can get a bit disruptive if we are trying to watch TV, or if we are out and about in public.
There are lots of good articles on the internet about stimming. Here are a few of them:
http://autism.wikia.com/wiki/Stimming
About.com article
http://myspecialsweetpea.com/stimming.html
I am not overly worried about his stimming habits and if they help him calm down, then I don't have a problem with it.
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Friends at School
Up until recently, my son was a loner and spent playtimes wandering around by himself. I was so concerned that I asked the Senco for help and she helped to set up a "buddy" system at school.
He is now interacting with the other kids really well. I mean REALLY well. He has become Mr popular all of a sudden.
Part of his meteoric rise in popularity is his love of Playstation games. he is obsessed with Skylanders and all the kids like to talk about it at school. Of course, my son is the expert, so now everyone want him to come over and bring his skylanders to their houses.
Now I have a new problem. The idea of him going to the other kids' houses.
On the one hand, I think it would be great. it would help his social skills no end.
On the other hand, I am going to have to explain to the other moms that his behaviour can be a bit unpredictable, he is prone to meltdowns and gets very anxious. Oh, and he is a very fussy eater.
Of course, there is the chance that the other moms will refuse completely and won't want the hassle. I suppose I always have the option of letting their kids come to my house instead.
He is now interacting with the other kids really well. I mean REALLY well. He has become Mr popular all of a sudden.
Part of his meteoric rise in popularity is his love of Playstation games. he is obsessed with Skylanders and all the kids like to talk about it at school. Of course, my son is the expert, so now everyone want him to come over and bring his skylanders to their houses.
Now I have a new problem. The idea of him going to the other kids' houses.
On the one hand, I think it would be great. it would help his social skills no end.
On the other hand, I am going to have to explain to the other moms that his behaviour can be a bit unpredictable, he is prone to meltdowns and gets very anxious. Oh, and he is a very fussy eater.
Of course, there is the chance that the other moms will refuse completely and won't want the hassle. I suppose I always have the option of letting their kids come to my house instead.
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Volunteering at School
Helping out at school is a great way for me to see my son in his "natural environment". I can see how well he interacts with the staff and other pupils. I have found it a real eye-opener.
The teacher asked me to help out in maths today because they were doing money again and my son really struggles with money.
In one task, he had to add 25p and 10p. He managed to add them up, but was then asked to find the coins to make a total of 35p. He grabbed a 20p piece but then looked puzzled, as there obviously was no 15p coin. He grabbed a 1p and a 5p and put them side by side. "15p" he said proudly.
He presumed that because there was a 1 on one coin and a 5 on the other coin, that it would total 15p if he put them next to each other.
I hope that we will be able to work on this together more in the coming weeks, as understanding money is such a vital life skill. At the moment, it is a complete mystery to him.
The teacher asked me to help out in maths today because they were doing money again and my son really struggles with money.
In one task, he had to add 25p and 10p. He managed to add them up, but was then asked to find the coins to make a total of 35p. He grabbed a 20p piece but then looked puzzled, as there obviously was no 15p coin. He grabbed a 1p and a 5p and put them side by side. "15p" he said proudly.
He presumed that because there was a 1 on one coin and a 5 on the other coin, that it would total 15p if he put them next to each other.
I hope that we will be able to work on this together more in the coming weeks, as understanding money is such a vital life skill. At the moment, it is a complete mystery to him.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Sense of Humour.
Jokes and humour are often lost on people with Autism and Aspergers as they cannot always understand what is funny about what is being said. My son reminds me a bit of Data from Star Trek when it comes to jokes.
He came home from school and said he had read a joke in his book, but he didn't understand it.
"Doctor Doctor, I feel like a pack of cards".
"I'll deal with you later".
Once I explained the joke to him, he couldn't stop laughing. He kept telling the joke over and over again. He now keeps making his own jokes, which are sometimes so bad, they are actually funny.
He has a little formula for inventing jokes, which usually involves changing a letter in a word. Here are some of his favourites, that he made up himself:
What do you call Simon Cowell if he is angry?
Simon Growl.
What do you call Simon Cowell if he was something that you dry your hands on in the swimming baths?
Simon Towel.
What do you call a horse that likes Star Wars?
A Force.
He came home from school and said he had read a joke in his book, but he didn't understand it.
"Doctor Doctor, I feel like a pack of cards".
"I'll deal with you later".
Once I explained the joke to him, he couldn't stop laughing. He kept telling the joke over and over again. He now keeps making his own jokes, which are sometimes so bad, they are actually funny.
He has a little formula for inventing jokes, which usually involves changing a letter in a word. Here are some of his favourites, that he made up himself:
What do you call Simon Cowell if he is angry?
Simon Growl.
What do you call Simon Cowell if he was something that you dry your hands on in the swimming baths?
Simon Towel.
What do you call a horse that likes Star Wars?
A Force.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Embarrassing Moments!
My son was on top form yesterday.
I had to pop to the local shop and I took him with me. He was pushing the trolley (rather erratically round the shop) and I was putting the things in. I realised that I needed to stock up on sanitary towels, but didn't really want him to notice me putting them in the trolley, so I sent him off for something and sneaked them in.
Anyway, we got to the till and I started loading everything up out of the trolley. He then spotted them.
"MOM?" he shouted, in front of everyone.
"What is that blue packet? What is in there?"
"Go and put the trolley back." I said, ignoring him and hoping that by the time he got back, I would have squirrelled them away in a carrier bag.
I grabbed the towels and shoved them in the bag, just as he got back, hoping his trip would have erased his memory.
It hadn't. He grabbed the bag and made a grab for the towels.
"Them. Mom? What are they? What's in the blue packet?"
By this time, there was a queue and everyone was staring. I gave him a coin to put in the charity box.
He went to the charity box and carried on shouting, asking what the packet was in the bag.
"I'll tell you when I get home." I whispered under my breath.
Thankfully, I distracted him enough on the way back to make him forget about the blue packet...
We then had to go to my big son's school, because he had lost his blazer and needed to go to lost property. At the lost property office, a rather butch looking lady (presumably a PE teacher), tried to help us with our enquiry.
As we walked out of the building, my son yelled:
"Was that a man or a woman? I couldn't tell!"
She must have heard. I was mortified.
I got him home as quickly as I could and suffice to say we didn't go out again after that!
I had to pop to the local shop and I took him with me. He was pushing the trolley (rather erratically round the shop) and I was putting the things in. I realised that I needed to stock up on sanitary towels, but didn't really want him to notice me putting them in the trolley, so I sent him off for something and sneaked them in.
Anyway, we got to the till and I started loading everything up out of the trolley. He then spotted them.
"MOM?" he shouted, in front of everyone.
"What is that blue packet? What is in there?"
"Go and put the trolley back." I said, ignoring him and hoping that by the time he got back, I would have squirrelled them away in a carrier bag.
I grabbed the towels and shoved them in the bag, just as he got back, hoping his trip would have erased his memory.
It hadn't. He grabbed the bag and made a grab for the towels.
"Them. Mom? What are they? What's in the blue packet?"
By this time, there was a queue and everyone was staring. I gave him a coin to put in the charity box.
He went to the charity box and carried on shouting, asking what the packet was in the bag.
"I'll tell you when I get home." I whispered under my breath.
Thankfully, I distracted him enough on the way back to make him forget about the blue packet...
We then had to go to my big son's school, because he had lost his blazer and needed to go to lost property. At the lost property office, a rather butch looking lady (presumably a PE teacher), tried to help us with our enquiry.
As we walked out of the building, my son yelled:
"Was that a man or a woman? I couldn't tell!"
She must have heard. I was mortified.
I got him home as quickly as I could and suffice to say we didn't go out again after that!
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