The winter holidays are almost here. INDEX staff updated two fact sheets that people might find helpful. Holidays can be fun. They may be stressful for many people and families.
We have updated Summer Camp resources for children with disabilities. Camp listings are for day and residential camps. Camps are located in Massachusetts, New England, and beyond. Check our listings for specific camp information and openings. Cost varies by type of camp and programs offered.
Camps offer a big range of programs and activities. Camps may have available openings and wait lists. Each camp has its own eligibility requirements. If you have questions, please contact each camp for details.
Emily Rubin, Director of the UMass Chan Medical School Shriver Center’s Sibling Support Program, shared information about siblings experiencing aggression from autistic brothers and sisters. In a Q&A session with Autism Speaks, Emily discussed aggression and other severe behaviors.
Families interested in the Sibling Support Program: A Family-Centered Mental Health Initiative can contact Emily directly at emily.rubin@umassmed.edu. They will receive information about the program, a permission form and Zoom link to log in.
At CANDO, we are acutely aware that unexpected changes require thoughtful support for persons with ASD or NDD. We have put together a list of resources to help with explaining COVID-19, ideas for creating supportive schedules for the day, and various activities to support positive interactions and successful engagement, including indoor movement activities! Please note that it is important to consider the youth’s developmental level when applying these strategies.
As a BCBA, I teach people how to use Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. AAC devices help people communicate who have trouble asking for things they want.
The good results:
An AAC device enables people to do more in their home and community. When an AAC device is successful:
The whole team works together.
The team uses the AAC device to communicate.
The AAC device is setup for the person.
The AAC device enables the person to get their favorite things.
When everyone works together, an AAC device can enable people to get their favorite things.
The Bad results:
When the wrong program used, or the AAC Device is setup wrong. It often ends up going unused. This happens because:
The AAC is too complicated.
People don’t use the AAC device.
The person’s favorite things are not added to the AAC device.
AAC Devices can help people. Work with an expert when you start working with an AAC device.
Autistic people should be treated fairly at the doctor’s office. As an autistic adult myself, I’ve been treated well by some doctors and badly by others. Here are some tips for doctors, nurses, and other medical workers who work with autistic adults.
I’m an adult and should be treated like one. That means taking me seriously when I tell you how I’m feeling or what I need.
Sometimes the world around us can be really overwhelming. Things can be too noisy, too bright, or too rough.
Autistic people don’t all look or sound the same. We can be of any race, gender, age, or background.
Many autistic people like to be called autistic people, including me. That’s because we see it as an important part of ourselves. Don’t call me a “person with autism.” If you’d like to learn more, you can read this article about autism and language by Kate Ryan.
Some people can’t speak, but they can still talk to you in other ways. These ways include computers, tablets, letter boards, and other kinds of assistive technology. I do speak myself, but I know people who don’t.
You may need to break things down to make them more understandable. I don’t have a hard time with medical language, but some people do.
Autistic people still care about others, even though it may be hard for them to show it. There’s a difference between feeling something and being able to express it.
Hello, my name is Felisha Thomas and I work as a behavior therapist in a public school.
Therapists and teachers use ABA to help work with children. ABA stands for Applied Behavioral Analyst. This means the science of behavior. ABA is not just for children with autism. ABA is used to help all children with their behaviors.
Therapists and teachers learn ABA in school. They learn about the 3 ABCs of behavior.
Antecedent: what are they doing before the behavior?
Behavior: what are they doing?
Consequence: what are they doing after the behavior?
Therapists and teachers use ABA for lots of things.
Help children make better choices throughout the day.
Help children who are sad.
Help children who are mad.
Play with children at the playground.
Keep children safe.
Help children follow directions in class.
Help teach children the rules.
Help children learn the class lessons.
Therapists and teachers go other places outside of school to help children too.
We go to museums.
We go to zoos.
We go to parks.
We go to the pool.
We try to help children anytime there is a need.
Therapists and teachers are friendly. We let children know that we are their friends who like to help.
SKEPTICAL CHILD BY ARIESA66 LICENCED UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS CCO
I am a developmental-behavioral pediatrician in training. I am often asked to see children for concern about autism spectrum disorder (ASD). During my visit, I watch how children behave. I then decide if ASD is the diagnosis that best fits their behavior. I see children of all ages. This is about children less than age 3.
Why Toddlers are Different
Children with ASD tend to respond better to treatment when they are diagnosed early. (National Research Counsel, 2001). Many children can be diagnosed as young as 18 months of age. But most children are diagnosed between 3-4 years of age (Filipek, 1999).
One reason is because the early symptoms are hard to see. Some of the best-known symptoms may not show up until a child is older. These include flapping their hands and repeating parts of TV shows.
Toddlers with ASD often don’t learn the skills they need to interact with others. Children who are behind in just their ability to use language still try to interact. They will often use eye contact and gestures to work around their struggles. Children with ASD have trouble with this.
Here are some free websites and videos to help anyone who cares for young children. This information shows what we call the “red flag signs” for ASD.
not sharing their interests with the ones they love;
not making eye contact; and/or
not using gestures to let people know what they want.
There are other resources on this website. However, not all of them are free.
How a Toddler with ASD Might Look
Here are some videos from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showing how a toddler with autism spectrum might look. There are also toddlers that do not have the warning signs of autism. This enables you to see how they differ. All the videos are on the CDC video library. Some of the videos are linked below.
Looking at someone when their name is called
Here is a video of a 12-month-old who responds to his name by looking at his mother and smiling. He also points at her. This is what we expect a toddler to do when their name is called.
Here is a 17-month-old toddler who is not showing pretend play with a phone. He also does not copy the adult when she tries to show him how to use it. These are both warning signs of ASD.
Parents and early-childhood workers interact with young children the most. They often are the first to know something is wrong. They can be important to get a child with ASD the help they need. These links and videos can help anyone who is interested better know the warning signs for ASD.
Works Cited
Filipek, P. e. (1999). The screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 439-484.
National Research Counsel. (2001). Educating children with autism. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
As of 2012, autism can be found in 1 in 68 children. 1 It was noticed that boys are more diagnosed than girls (1 girl to every 4-5 boys). 1 Is autism really more common in boys than girls? Or are we missing autism in girls?
Autism in girls can be hard to see. Girls with problems dealing with people can be seen as shy. They may live for years without knowing they have autism. This delays diagnosis and treatment. Boys are noted earlier than girls by 2 years.
Most of the time, a child with autism has problems dealing with people, and has repetitive behavior. Girls are aware of these problems but they are good at hiding them. Girls with autism want to deal with people, but don’t know how. They may start copying what others do. ‘They pretend to be normal’. 2Girls with autism get tired from copying. “It is like math all the time”.2
Unlike boys, girls don’t flap their hands or jump all the time. They may not play with wheels of cars or trucks.These are other reasons for the delay in diagnosis.
Some teen girls love numbers and focus on their weight. They start counting every food they eat. This may end up having an eating problem. An eating problem may be a ‘face’ of autism in girls. Girls with an eating problem and girls with autism have similarities. They are both rigid, love details, and hate changes. Some children with autism are picky eaters with a strict diet.
Autistics can’t read between lines. Girls miss that someone is creepy. They are more at risk for abuse and taken advantage of.
Girls with autism want to make friends. They play with regular toys (dolls or Barbie). They have fewer behavioral problems. They have fewerrepetitive moves. They are more at risk for feeling down or worried. They are more at risk forabuse
Girl with autism will need special help. Girls benefit from social groups that teach them how to:
Hey, my name is Sara. I’m Autistic. I have other Disabilities too. I like to say a laundry list of them. I’m going to talk about Autism and grad school here. And why I’m going. And how long it took me to get a regular college degree, and why.
I’m scared. I feel like graduate school will be a next level to regular college. I have trouble with organization. I have trouble with time management. Depression makes me tired and low energy.
I have already been talked to about going off topic in class in the first week. It wasn’t really off topic. The rest of the class and the teacher can’t see the patterns I see and how all of it was connected. I think another Autistic would have. The teacher was nice about it.
A classmate talked to me too. I thought she was being nice, then I wasn’t sure. I took it as I heard it, and then I started to wonder. Was it about my ‘lack of social cues’ or about their lack of comfort? The thing about Autism is I can’t know which it is. If I asked, would people tell me the truth or not? Thinking about this kind of tiny little social lie makes me crazy. It feels like betrayal to tell them. But people do it all the time. I can’t tell them or know when to tell them or when not to. Wouldn’t it be better if we all just didn’t? How is it polite? Makes me feel even more apart.
When I get in to school early, I take time to separate off and play simple games on the iPad or iPod to relax my mind and be less affected by lights and sound. So I can have enough energy reserved for getting through classes.
The next week, I got things said to me I’ve heard before, but are never easy to hear and are never cool. I hate hearing them. They make me feel not.
Not Autistic enough.
Not Disabled enough.
I don’t need help.
I don’t need support.
I don’t
Not as much as others, so it doesn’t
Life isn’t a competition. It hurts even more because my mother always compared my and my brother’s levels and types of Disabilities. If you don’t ‘look Disabled’ or ‘act Disabled’ then you always seem to get doubted, and people get mad at you. Like there’s a pot of Disability to reach into and smear across your face.
I wish my child was able to do all you can.
You need to understand not everyone is like you.
My child is so much more
My child is much lower
If my children could just sit there, their lives would be amazing.
Way to suck the worth from my life. I am not here to be compared to. I am a person all on my own. This needs to be. I need to be. I am made less human if not. I wrote a poem about all this.
Here. This video will help. It’s called “Shit Ignorant People Say to Autistics.” Maybe you can relate. I love this video. It always makes me laugh and nod along.
