Did you know that the presence of guinea pigs in a room can increase social behaviors in children with autism? Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia recently published a study demonstrating a significant measurable increase in talking, smiling, laughing, looking at faces, making tactile contact and social approaches when children with autism and their [...]
Part Five is the final post of a series that concentrates on the inherent benefits of play for children with special needs. In this post we focus on how toys and the experience of play help with social development. Part One was devoted to toys and the development of gross motor skills. Part Two of the [...]
Someone asked me this question after I wrote a blog post regarding overcoming fear as a parent of a child with special needs. They were arguing with their husband who was pushing back at plans to get their daughter a cell phone. He insisted it was unsafe and that she may end up purchasing apps via [...]
Social interactions don’t come easy for children with Asperger Syndrome, Autism and other special needs. Many children with special needs need to be taught social skills and appropriate behavior the same way other kids are taught math and spelling. One of the most well known ways of teaching social skills is through reading social stories. Social stories help children [...]
For many children with special needs social stories are very helpful for staying on task and ensuring that the child is prepared for future events and activities. Social Stories can: Improve a child’s behavior when there are changes in routines. Encourage a child to complete less-preferred tasks. Reinforce or teach abstract concepts, such as time (e.g., [...]
Parents, therapists and educators who buy emotion flash cards have high hopes. Face-blindness and an inability to recognize emotions are factors in some cases of brain injury, autism and other neurological conditions. At this time, there is no known treatment for face-blindness, and results from teaching emotion recognition have been inconsistent. But we can still [...]
When a student with special needs attends school, it is not just academics that he or she is faced with learning. There are independence, life and social skills lessons presented in and out of class-time. While home and school are not the same environments, there are some things that can be worked on at home [...]
This time of year, we ask a lot of our kids: to keep calm, respect space, modulate and control their responses to lights, music, and gift anticipation, to keep secrets, try different foods and to use a more formal behavior than usual. On top of all that, we ask them to be thankful for what [...]
Making friends can be a challenge for some children and adults with special needs. They may lack confidence or have difficulty developing the necessary social skills. But there are ways you can help teach your child to overcome their fears and make friends. Friendships and social interaction are extremely important for self-esteem. But it doesn’t [...]
Between June and September my kids have 82 days of summer vacation, and I’ve promised them something fun every single day. That means I need 82 fun summer activities for one child with a developmental disability and one child who refuses to participate in most activities. It’ll be a piece of cake, right? Borrowing the [...]
