Autism Speaks, Community, Family Services,

I came across an amazing website "Autism Speaks" recently. I was so impressed with how they had very detailed videos displaying what a typically developing child would look like for a particular play or language skill, and how a child with autism may look like doing the same task. Also on this site was a huge data base of different types of treatment in the various cities in each state. What a great source for a parent of a newly diagnosed child or for a family that will be moving to a new town! Here is the link with the names and numbers to some facilities in Texas:

Autism Speaks, Community, Family Services, Texas: Categories

Even though this link is for Texas, the other states are represented also. Some of the links include: ABA, early intervnetion (birth to three years), preschools, OT/PT/Speech therapy, biomedical interventions, doctors, and community support. I will definately be sharing information from this site with the families that I work with!

Fidget Toys

My family and I just returned from a week long vacation (3 hours ago to be specific). The one thing that helped my husband and I survive the 9 hour drive each way with two young kids was bags of toys, including fidget toys. I had a large bag of toys for each child to sort through and play with. So when my son got tired of playing with his cars, magna-doodle, and puzzle, the fidget toys were his next choice. He especially liked the stretchy, light up caterpillar fidget. On one of the "pit stops" I purchased a visual fidget; it is a 5 inch ball with a small fish and glitter inside it.

The term fidget basically just describes what a person would do with that toy...fidget. Fidgets are fun to turn around, pull, squeeze, shake, etc. Some children can benefit from them in the classroom to help them "wiggle" with their hands instead of getting out of their chair. For some kids, they have to be moving in order to listen or they zone out, so a fidget allows them to still be moving, just it is with their hands instead of their entire body. Fidgets are also beneficial for long car rides or waiting in doctor's office lobbies. When the child is playing with it, it keeps their mind off having to keep their body still. Some fidgets are textured which stimulates the tactile sense, whereas others are aiming at the visual, auditory, oral, or proprioceptive sensory systems. But you have to be careful with the auditory fidgets depending upon where you will use it, because you wouldn't want it to be too loud! Although fidgets are beneficial for many children, they are especially helpful for kids with sensory processing disorder (SPD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and ADD/ADHD.

Some things I had for my 2 year old son in his fidget bag for our long car ride included: small cars, fuzzy ball, stretchy caterpillar, zip up bag full of various action figures, wind-up fish, mini See-n-Say, aquarium tubing (for chewing), and other odds-and-ends that were too large for him to swallow had he decided to put them in his mouth. I'm not going to falsely say that for the entire 9 hours my son forgot he was strapped into his car seat against his will and was as happy as a lark, but I will say when he fussed, having toys as a distraction helped immensely! Now for my six year old daughter, she enjoyed her bag of toys also, but she has always been a champion traveler and wouldn't fuss even if she had nothing to do at all. But the fidgets made it more fun for her!

Still not sure what to use with your little one? Here is a link I found for some fidget toys that might stimulate some thought:

Toys for Learners: Trainers Warehouse Product Departments

I have also seen some great fidget toys at Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, and other retail stores. The dollar stores sometimes have good fidgets- just have to dig! Try to get a variety of fidget toys, because what works at one moment may not at the next, so it is nice to have quite a few in your bag of toys. I even save party favors from birthday parties my children have attended and toss them into the bag of toys. You might even want to go through your children's toy boxes to find fidget treasures. Another thing that makes good fidgets is the toys that come with a child's meal from a fast food restaurant as well as the prizes from cereal boxes. One of my favorite fidgets came from McDonald's over 4 years ago; in fact, I would go through the drive through to buy more kid's meals just for more of this toy; it was one of those intriguing toys that helps visual and fine-motor skills. By the way, I rarely eat fast food!

Bus Rides

My daughter thinks it is just the funnest thing riding the school bus. Yesterday, she glowed so big as she stepped off & as I took a photo! I wanted to know all about her first day at kindergarten, but all she wanted to discuss was how she loved the bus and that she sat next to one of the neighborhood girls. As I watched her "climb aboard" early this morning I stopped to think of how hard it is for some of the kids I work with to get on/off a school bus for preschool or to ride public transportation buses/subways. It takes balance (climbing steps, sitting in seat, and maneuvering between aisles/ seats), ability to wait in line, sensory processing (not getting motion sickness, not being bothered by visual input out of window and within bus, not being bothered by noises or the touch of anothe kid on the seat next to them, discrimination, alertness, self-regulation), sequencing and problem-solving (when to get off of the bus or when to stay seated, timing ( the exact timing to step up and walk or wait for door to close/ open), language (to talk to peers or bus driver), receptive communication (listen to peers, follow verbal instructions given by bus driver or other staff), attention span, & social skills. What a list! But so many of the kids with developmental disabilities such as autism (ASD), cerebral palsy, and other diagnoses have such a hard time in all of these areas! The bus ride is like therapy in which it gives these children opportunities throughout the school year to make progress in all of these areas of development!

Auditory Sensitivity

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my daughter. This gets me to thinking where did the summer go? Then, I reflect back on the 2 vacations we had, the various barbeques and outings we attended as well as the various relatives who came to visit. The summer flew by! During this chain of thoughts, I got to thinking back to the last family vacation we took back in July. Although it was fun overall, I didn't get the best quality sleep. The reason was multi-fold. Who really sleeps that great in a hotel? No matter how nice it is, it isn't the bed you are used to. Another reason my sleep wasn't the best quality, we were overly tired from all of the tourist activities. But I do believe the number one reason was the snoring I endured was the number one culprit to my sleep problem. My sister-in-law joined us on the trip...so I had 2 snorers, my husband and her. My husband has been using a CPAP machine and slowly getting used to wearing it, so he doesn't last through the night with it. So, I used the earplugs I brought along, but for some reason I could hear a man (I assume it was a man by the voices I had heard) snoring in the next room over....I have always been unsure of why hotel staff would have the two neighboring rooms with beds along the same wall. I heard these people's late night and early morning (6 am!) conversations in addition to the not so lovely snoring. In the middle of the night when all you want is sleep, you have to wonder if it just wasn't meant to be when you hear 3 people snoring! Now, I am not usually one of those people who can hear ever little ticking of the clock or chirping of a bird.

This did let me get a small glimpse of what the kids with auditory sensitivity go through. No wonder so many of them are grouchy! So many of these children can't tune out the background noises (e.g. lights, other conversations, air conditioner) from the foreground noises (e.g. teacher's voice, TV), therefore all noises seem to be the same volume and intensity. Also, some of these noises are actually perceived as painful to them. Thank goodness I only perceived the snoring as annoying, but definately not painful. These children may cover their ears due to the pain or may shutdown by tuning everyone out. That is why they may not respond quickly when their name is called. They may also seem to be in their own little world. Now, some of these children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but many do not. And because of their "shutting down" and tuning people out, they may get wrongly diagnosed. This is one reason it is so important to address the sensory processing problems (SPD), so that the child gets the accurate kind of help. Some of these children may or may not have a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), but this can only be tested for once the child is 7 years old by an audiologist. There are accomodations to help the child with noise sensitivity (e.g. flush the toilet after they leave the bathroom, change the ringer tone on the telephone, etc.), but that can't help in all environments. Intervention from an occupational therapist or speech language pathologist with training in sensory integration treatment may be necessary. Also, sound therapy may help such as Tomatis, Therapeutic Listening, AIT, and other programs. I am trained in the Therapeutic Listening program and have seen many children benefit from it. These sound therapies not only help with noise sensitivity, they often help with coordination, muscle tone, attention span, and language skills.

Preschool Readiness: Explaining Disabilities to Other Young Children

t's time to start preparing for back-to-school or the first time to attend school. I work with children with disabilities under the age of three years of age. So, when they go to "school" it is usually one to three days a week at a local preschool or at a church's Mother Days Out (MDO) program. A couple of worries that many of the parents have in sending their young child with special needs to school is "Will the other children understand my child's issues?" and "How will I explain my child's disabilities to the other young children?". I usually respond by telling them to meet with the teacher ahead of time and discuss how you will handle it. Usually giving the other children a short explanation on the first day of school solves the problem. I think that this is a hard thing for some of these parents due to past experiences. Maybe they had other children just stop and stare at their child in public. Or even worse, they have had another adult do the same thing. Typically developing children are more understanding than we give them credit. It is often the parent of the typically developing child or another adult in their life that mishandles the situation or causes a fear reaction. Because if you just give the child a short explanation when they are staring, and tell them not to stare, that usually fixes things.



I like to think that my children will learn from example. I try to treat all people with respect. When I see another person in the elevator or stand next to someone in the grocery store line, I look them in the eye and talk to them...no matter the race or if they have a disability. So, teaching my children to treat others with respect hasn't been hard so far, because they see their parents doing it already. This can be the root of the problem in explaining disabilities to other children...they haven't seen their parents interact with persons with a disability or haven't seen them show respect. This includes making fun of people or insulting someone by calling them "retarded"....how rude can you get! When I hear another person do such a thing, I am sure to set them straight!



When I am explaining a child's (or adult's) disability to another young child, I keep my explanations simple. I am thinking back to how I explained things to my now 5 year old daughter when she was 2 1/2 or 3 years old...I definately kept is short and simple. Although I am an occupational therapist and have taken my daughter to birthday parties of some of my young clients, she has also been exposed to persons with a disability elsewhere including church, stores, and our home.



When I explained to her about a child or adult who is visually impaired, I simply said "Her eyes do not work the same as ours do. Her hands and the special "machine" she has helps her to see." I did not explain the diagnosis or why the child was visually impaired nor did I talk about all of the intricacies of the adaptive equipment the child might have had. For young children, the simpler the better.



When I explained to her about a child or adult who uses a wheelchair, I simply said "His legs do not work the same as ours do, the wheelchair helps him to get to places." The only problem I had with adults in wheelchairs who were strangers was my daughter asking if she could take a ride. This is because one of our good friends who is paralyzed lets her sit on his lap and "go for a spin".



When I explained to her about developmental disabilities such as an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Down Syndrome, I never told her the "diagnosis". I simply said, "He can't talk or play the same you and I do." This was enough for her, and she would play with them on the level that they could play. She even learned more sign language than I had initially taught her.



I think that my daughter now understands all of this better than some adults do. This last school year in her preschool class she enjoyed playing with a young boy with a severe speech impairment. She liked "translating" what he had to say or meant by his gestures. She had fun giggling and playing with him, and wasn't even the slightest bit bothered by his disability. She even seemed understanding when he had meltdowns and tantrums!