Social Stories to Improve Behaviors

I am a big fan of social stories to teach young children and/or children with special needs (any age) when there is a problem with a behavior or the child is anxious about a situation. The concept originated by Carol Gray. Although social stories are often used with children with an autism spectrum disorder, I have found that you can use them with many children with developmental delays or young children with no delays. Here is a link on how to make one:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5135970_use-social-stories.html

This link probably gives ideas for grade school children, and adapting it for the toddlers would mean doing more of the work. I have had my own children help me by coloring some of the pictures in the book.

I have made quite a few for my own children, and they like to read them even after the issue has been solved. Back when my daughter (now 7 years old) was three years old, she was very scared to go to swim lessons. So, through reading the story to her daily she became less anxious. That is because the predictability of the lessons lessened her anxiety. So often, children act up when they do not know what to expect, and through writing an individualized story about what may happen and what is expected of them, their anxiety may lessen.

Some of the stories that I have taught families to write for their child have included: going to the dentist, airplane rides, gymnastics class, swimming lessons, birthday parties, Christmas day, potty training, the choir singing at church, and the list goes on. Remember, when writing a social story to stay as positive as possible and emphasize the behavior you want from the child and don't say a bunch of "no" and "don't". For example, if the child has a problem with running in the hallways at school you may say in the book "we walk in the hallway quietly and slowly while listening to the teacher" as opposed to "we don't run in the hallway and disobey the teacher".

I would love to hear stories about some of your favorite social stories that you have helped write!

Is your child ready for preschool?

Since most children are going back to school over the next couple of weeks, I thought I'd post a link on preschool readiness. Preschool is important for many children, especially those with learning disorders or developmental disabilities. If they go to preschool, then they may perform better in kindergarten. ..they may even have fun in kindergarten!

First 5 | California

I have a friend who used to be a kindergarten teacher. She once told me that the best thing a parent can do for any child to prepare them for kindergarten is to send them to preschool or another part-time program such as Mother's Day Out or daycare the year or two before starting kindergarten. It is hard to learn in kindergarten if the first part of the school year is full of separation anxiety... get that out of the way in preschool!

Halliwick Method to Teach Swimming

It's that time of year when most everyone wants to cool off in a pool, especially if you live in the southern USA like I do...too many days where it is 100 degrees F or above! For many of us, we want our kids to feel comfortable around the water, have safety awareness, and also learn how to swim. Some kids are harder to teach swimming to than others, and especially if the child has a medical or mental disability. Here is a link about the Halliwick method that can be used to teach swimming, it was created by a physical therapist who is an aquatic specialist. He has techniques for a variety of special needs including pediatric and orthopedic disabilities.

Halliwick

So go ahead, gather up your intertube, rubber duckies, and towel and head off to the swimming pool!

ZERO TO THREE: Self-Control 24 - 36 Months

Although my son turned 3 years old earlier this month, I do not expect him to never have tantrums or meltdowns. Yet, I already noticed over the past couple of months that they occur WAY less. Here is a link on the behavior and self-control of a two year old and some strategies to use:.

ZERO TO THREE: Self-Control 24 - 36 Months

Toddlers are SO much fun, but they are also unpredictable! So, it's always nice to have a better understanding of why they behave the way they do.

Simply Thick Lawsuit: Free Consultation with Attorney necrotizing enterocolitis NEC

Please spread the word about this important information regarding a recall on Simply Thick and a possible link to NEC:

Simply Thick Lawsuit: Free Consultation with Attorney necrotizing enterocolitis NEC

Animal Assisted Therapy for Special Needs Children

In honor of my family getting a puppy 2 weeks ago, I thought I'd post this link on how animals can help children with special needs:

Animal Assisted Therapy for Special Needs Children

When I worked at a rehab hospital for adults with neurological injuries I really enjoyed seeing the trained dogs come in and mingle with the patients. So many of the adults were so happy to see the dogs, and it was amazing how some of them tried to move an injured arm or speak more around the pet! I've also seen this same effect with children with special needs. Even children with only developmental delays do well with dogs. A few years ago I was working with a 16 month old boy who wasn't walking; he had mild sensory modulation problems, but other than that just a delay with walking and talking. His mother adopted a 2 year old dog, and guess what, the boy began walking and talking within 3 weeks of the family getting the dog. These two were best buddies, and it was so amazing to see how this gentle dog helped this boy. The little boy was motivated to walk so he could keep up with his best friend! I have many stories about how dogs, cats, and horses have helped the children I work with. I would love to hear your stories too!

ZERO TO THREE: Sleep Challenges in Infants and Toddlers: Why It Happens, What to Do

Whether it be from my friends or parents of children I work with, I get asked a lot of questions about how to help babies and young children sleep better. Here are some good ideas on the challenges of sleep:

ZERO TO THREE: Sleep Challenges in Infants and Toddlers: Why It Happens, What to Do

I've been lucky that my son slept through the night (7 hours or more) by 6 weeks of age and my daughter slept through the night by 8 weeks of age. Unless they were sick or teething, they have been excellent sleepers. Of course, there has been the occasional night mare or delay tactics in going up to bed, but overall I've been lucky in the area of "sleep". My husband and I put the children down at the predictable time of 7:30 for my son (he'll be 3 years old in June) and 8:00 on school nights for my 7 year old daughter. They have the potential to get 11 hours of sleep at night on a weekday, and then my son may or may not also take a nap at preschool or home (depends on if it is a day I work). For that age group children need 10-14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period, and my children get that. So often, a child's behavior problems or school difficulties can be lessened by making sure they have a proper amount of sleep...notice I didn't say the problems vanish, just maybe lessen depending upon the child.

Feel free to post sleep problems and solutions that you have had with your child or a child you work with!