Autism and Trying New Things

Does the title of this blog send you running for the hills at the thought of introducing something new into your child or student's life. It could be as simple (to you) as switching from the blue crayon to a red one or as complex as going through the grocery store in a different pattern. You know that what can be a simple “trying of something” for some kids is simply not that easy when an individual has Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Structure and organization, patience and time! They are our best friends in easing the anxiety in individuals with ASD and trying new things. The anxiety these individuals feel can limit their knowledge about their world and opportunities to find things they enjoy. So if we structure these experiences through planning and preparation, we can help ease anxiety and set up the situation for success.

• Trying New Things Story—Use this as you would a social story. Individualize it to the situation and the person, then review it often well in advance of the planned “new experience”.
• Select the new thing to plan and prepare for.
• Complete the Circle form graphic organizer to lay out the steps (see below)
• Follow the plan in the Circle Form

Check here for more information on "Trying New Things".  Have fun trying new things and we wish you much success!  

Let's Talk About STRESS---Do2Learn Can Help

Individuals with Autism have a really hard time labeling their own emotions and the emotions of other people. There are many ways to approach the challenge of teaching this vital skill and Do2Learn has designed a wonderful set of materials and activities that can be used at home, in the classroom, small group, or one-to-one setting.

Home Emotion—is the way you often feel when alone with no input from anyone else. D2L has a great Emotional Check-In/Check Out worksheet for use in the classroom as the students enter and exit each day.

Emotion And Scenario Cards—D2L offers 3 Levels of FREE printable cards to be used with individuals in role playing and learning more about emotions in different scenarios.

Signs of Stress—it can be very helpful for individuals with Autism to be able to identify the physical signs of stress. This way if they can identify those signs it may help in preventing meltdowns. Do2Learn has a wonderful worksheet to assist in going through Psychological Responses to different feelings. I recommend having a word bank for the individual to chose from with words that are familiar to that individual to make this activity less stressful.

What are Stress Triggers—what makes your student stressed? D2L's worksheet is designed for the individual or a parent to complete.

The worksheets above are great to use periodically during the year as benchmarks to see how on individual is making progress towards a goal. Often teachers will use these during IEPs to provide information to the rest of the IEP team in a structured and organized way.

Below are more worksheets available under Do2Learn's Social Emotional Skills section of their website. All of this material has been made available to you FREE of charge. You will not that there are explanations for how to use the materials and suggestions on what type of paper to use, when warranted. 

Please see our website to check out the rest of the worksheets that will assist you in teaching about STRESS and then ways of relieving that stress.  You be happy to have discovered a structured way of doing so.

Vacation with Autism

We are heading out for a week long vacation tomorrow. Yay us! Lots of vacation memories have flooded my mind this week as I have prepared for this vacation. Packing for vacation is a breeze, now. Hubby packs his and I pack mine, give Kaitlin her list and then I double check her packing. Pretty simple, NOW, but you know when you toss in a young child with Autism and go on vacation, the game changes!

Is a family vacation even possible when you have a young child with Autism? Sometimes that answer is just a flat out NO for some families. When faced with that situation where the whole family can not go on vacation together, there are lots of options. One really great option is to find an appropriate respite or camp situation for your child with Autism for a week and the rest of the family can go and enjoy a week of fun too. When Kaitlin was really young she could not tolerate traveling for long periods of time in a car nor the sound of the ocean. She really LOVED camp though! It was a win-win time for us and we learned to not feel guilty about those separate vacations when she enjoyed a week at camp and we took her older sister to the beach.

So maybe family vacations are possible, but you know there are going to be bumps on the way. How do you make it smoother? Take your structure with you! Prepare for the vacation by using a social story ahead of time. The social story can highlight some of the events that are expected to happen during the vacation. I suggest that you add visuals into the story that will make the story interesting to your child. You can read this before the trip, on the trip and after the trip to remember the vacation by. I would also take along any picture schedules and other portable forms of structure you have or could make. Use a daily check off form to write in activities and have your child check off the activities as they are completed. Add just one or two activities at a time, in case there are changes. 

Pack familiar items from home that bring comfort. Be ready for lots of down time! Being in a different place, with lots of different sensory input can make for lots of overload for our kids with Autism, so build in that downtime. I promise you that it will be needed. Do2Learn has lots of games that can be played with just a deck of cards (if your child is older) and/or a few other items you can bring along. So while you are planning checkout these "Homemade Games" and note the skills that your child will learn while having fun!

Lastly, breathe, it's vacation. You are there to relax and have fun. No battles on vacation...remember you may have to be the one that is the most flexible. If you find you spend your days doing nothing but watching the waves when the plans were originally to visit amusement park after amusement park, remember it's vacation and you are going to be rested! 

Support – Who is Holding You Up?

When you have a loved one with special needs you need support! Some days more than others, of course. Those early days right after finding out about a diagnosis may feel like a blur, but that is the time to begin to reach out and locate resources for support for you, your family and your loved one.

WHO—Who can offer support? Hopefully the professionals giving you the diagnosis will give you information on local resources in your area. Look to them for support. Perhaps there is a local, state, or national organization related to your loved one's disability or special need that you can connect with. Churches or other religious organizations offer support. Look to your friends and family, though they may be struggling themselves to understand what is happening with your loved one, they can still be a great source of encouragement. In fact, it would be very helpful to get them involved with your support search. There are professionals such as counselors, social workers, psychologists, etc. and you should never hesitate at any point to involve them in your search for support for yourself, or any member of your family! There are sibling groups, Father's groups, Mother's groups, and even Grandparent support groups for varying disabilities these days.  We now have the Internet and there are vast resources for support there, but be cautious about how and what you share unless you “know” the group in real life.

WHAT—What does support look like? Well it can be as simple as another person just listening to your story and offering encouragement. Support can be in the form of a group made up of people who have been through, or are going through and can relate to what you are going through and keep you from feeling like you are alone. It can be your loved one's teacher sending a note home telling you what a great job your loved one is doing! Sharing your moments that only someone “in the know” could laugh along with you, on Facebook at 1 AM is wonderfully supportive.

WHY—Why do we need support? Support is our foundation when we have our low points. Loving someone who has special needs is more than a full-time job and is like a roller coaster. There will be ups and downs and we need a strong foundation and lots of props to lean upon during those moments when we stumble.

No matter where you are on your journey with your loved one with special needs know that support is a vital part of that journey. You may be at the beginning stages or pretty far into the journey, but know that we are all in this together. Supporting one another is how we share information on coping strategies, medical interventions, public policy and financial information, camps, and loads more.

So go share, go support and be supported!