autism daily

How Children With Autism Can Learn to Ride the Bus

Parents of children with autism desperately want their children to fit in at school and be liked by other children. Any parent wants that for their child and they are devastated when it does not happen. In the past children with autism were placed in different rooms, rode different buses to and from school and ate their lunch in a different cafeteria. As time has passed, many school systems are beginning to include more special education students into the mainstream classrooms as much as possible. This task can be challenging and does not always work, but the true hero's are the teachers who do not quit and find a way to make it work for the child.  One of the most gut wrenching things a mother does is put her child on the bus for the first time in either Kindergarten or in First grade. Many mothers tell stories about how they or their child are in tears and one or the other is rushing onto or off the bus. Having a child with autism usually means that this experience won't happen. Typically parents drop off their child at school or put on a special bus where they will not cause any harm to others or themselves. The question is, does this have to happen, or can a child with autism be placed on a bus and function. The answer is yes it can happen, but it takes a lot of team work by every member of the team at school as well as the parent at home. In order for this to get off the ground, the parents and the teacher need to be on the same page. Discussions at home as well as in the school need to begin with the steps it will take to get the child into the routine of getting on the bus. Remember children with autism are very literal and for the most part keep a schedule in their head. Once a child begins to feel comfortable with these conversations, it is time to move on to the next step.  That next step is to have the child read or be read a social story that describes everything about the experience. All the details need to be covered. The color of the bus, name of the bus driver as well as all of the rules. If a child is verbal and can read, they need to be the one leading the story. This gives them a sense of empowerment and control over the situation.  After the social story has been read the school should slowly take the child through the steps of getting out to the bus. This may begin with the child taking only a few steps toward the door they would go out to get the bus. The next day go a little further until the child is on the bus. Have the child and the bus driver get introduced and get to know each other so that the child trusts the bus driver. Have the teachers prompt less and less and fade any instructions until the child can get on the bus themselves. Once they are comfortable then the child can start riding the bus home. All of the skills used during this period are those of Applied Behavior Analysis. Understanding the nuances of ABA will make this process easier.  Having buddies on the bus is a key component. Taking 2 or 3 order students and having them shadow the child keeps the bus safe and also helps ensure the the child with autism gets off the correct stop. Of the three children try and have one who gets off the previous stop, one who gets off the same stop and one who gets off a later stop. Having all three students and the bus driver aware of the child prevents any issues from coming up. These three students also can keep the child in check if he or she gets upset. They can alert the bus driver and keep the bus safe.  Having a child with autism does not mean that they need to keep away from others. With the right amount of help, many children with autism can flourish in a school setting. Having the right people trained the right way and having them be proactive is the key.

How To Have A Positive Outcome In Your Child ' s IEP

Families who have children with disabilities often face an uphill battle when dealing with school systems. All children with disabilities have IEP's or Individual Education Plans. These plans are put together so the school system and parents can agree what goals to work on during a period of time in the school year. Schools often take the brunt of a parents frustration because parents feel that they are not getting what they want. In some cases the school system is to blame, but in many cases if the parents took a different approach, then things may work out differently. Families who have children with special needs have to take a proactive approach to working with their school district and obtaining the necessary services. To start this process, parents need to be visable in the school. What this means is that parents need to get to know as many people in the school as possible. Forming relationships with the Principle, Vice Principle, Special Education Director, PTA Board and teachers is essential. Having relationships with the administration most likely take down the walls that most school systems have up. This means attending pre school year functions, after school activities and if one parent does not work, volunteering at school. This will show the school that you are willing to work with them to make your child's school exprieence the best it can be. Know your rights. Schools are mandated to provide a parent with their rights before the IEP begins. Make sure that if you are concerned to call ahead and obtain a copy so you can read it over and understand every aspect of it. If things happen to get heated, your knowledge of your rights can make a big difference.  Be reasonable. Many parents who are frustrated with school systems do not realize that they are asking unreasonable requests from the school system. If you have a child with autism and they are non verbal, do not demand that they attend fourth grade math class for the social aspect, or demand that he or she is fully included. Doing this will only make it more difficult for your child, but also for the other students and the teachers as well. Before you go into the meeting try and get an understanding of what the set up is going to be. If you want your child to learn social skills, request that they be a part of specials such as Art , PE or Music. Learn about the schools resource room, inclusion policy and if there are special teachers for a disability. Understand you child. Parents who know the capabilities of their children typically have a better time in IEP's. You need to take a step back and be objective. We all want our children to be the best that they can be, but forcing a child into a typical reading class or history class when they are aggressive or can't read will only show an administration that you do not know your child. Before you make requests take an inventory of your child's abilities and challenges.  Be informed. Knowledge is power. Too many parents who utilize out side therapy, never do any follow up or try and understand what is going on in each session. For example, parents of children with autism often ask or demand that a school provide 40 hours of ABA for their child. The fact that few districts can pull that off is one thing, but if you as a parent know nothing about ABA and do not demonstrate that you are going to follow up with your child at home to help the school, there is a good chance that your request will be met with some push back. It is extremely important to know what therapy your child is doing outside of school and be able to talk about what your child has accomplished and what they are working on. If you can show a school that you are working as hard as they are, then you will probably have a better out come in your IEP. Be ready to compromise. IEP's are sometimes all about compromises. Go into the meeting with a hierarchy of what is most important to you and some things that are less important. Be willing to not force the school to deliver on some of the lesser requests, and push more for those higher on your list. By showing the school you are willing to compromise, will help you form a trusting relationship with them.  Deliver on what you say you are going to do. You will probably have at least two IEP's a year and depending on the severity of your child's disability will have them for his or her entire school career. If you say you are going to do something, make sure you follow up and do it. Consistently not performing will show a school that you are not willing to do the work. Finally, be positive. Many of our educators are doing the best they can with the resources they have. Their goal is not to fail or make your child's life difficult but to educate them. Having a positive parent only boosts morale. Make sure to point out in the IEP the good things that happened during the year. Do not always harp on the negative. Having a child with special needs is extremely difficult. Facing a showdown with a school system can make life miserable. As I stated above there are a few bad apples out there and no mater what you do, they will not work with you and unfortunately lead a family to arbitration and sometimes lawsuits. For the majority of us, the school staff is here to help. If we do our part then our children will have the opportunity to have a great school experience.   Christy is the mother of a 6 year old with autism and the founder of Maximum Potential Group. www.maximumpotentialkids.com

First day of First Grade

Collin started school today. He will spend part of his day in a typical first grade class and part of the day in a resource room. He has an adult facilitator who will shadow him throughout the day except for lunch. When I woke him up today and told him it was a school day...he smiled! This was a very different reaction than last year. (a much better one) We are working on an earlier bed time so he will not struggle to wake up at 6;30am. We drive him to school each day as I do not see him able to ride the bus at this point.  Last year we had a problem with him not drinking at school. He would only drink out of sippy cups which are not allowed or a regular cup which he could not pour liquid in to. hH does not like juice boxes, bags, or any pre-packaged drinks.I do not know why???? BUT, this year we selected an awesome thermos from Target that is metal and has Spiderman on it. The best part is the functionality of it. You press a button and the top pops back and a nice heavy duty built in straw pops up. It does not leak or spill and it hold his drinks nicely. We have been practicing at home with it and he is operating it and drinking from it. Whew!(It's the little thinks you know.) We will take each day of First Grade one little step at a time just like we do each day and I will keep you posted on how it goes. Right now, we are getting ready to make an "All About Me" poster.

Explaining autism to Kindergartners

This past week Collin's school celebrated Exceptional Children's Week. This included a music presentation and awards and a day in which parents came into the classroom to help children try to feel what it is like to have a disability.In Collin's typical classroom where he spends part of his day, the kids learned about loss of hearing, loss of sight,and autism. The room was set up into stations and the kids rotated to spend 15 minutes with a parent at each station to learn about these disabilities. My husband and I worked the autism station. The teacher had provided an activity which included sand paper and the kids felt how rough the sand paper was and it was explained that this is what something as simple as a tag on a shirt could feel like to a child with autism. My husband and I brought our own ideas and demonstrated with a couple activities as well. We told the children to think of something that smells really great to them (like chocolate chip cookies) and helped them to understand that to a child with autism, this could smell really awful. We rearranged sentences to make nonsense out of them and explained that sometime when you talk to a child with autism, the sentence may sound like nonsense. We talked about how loud noises can really bother children with autism and a couple of other activities. Kindergartners are hilarious. One kid diagnosed his dog with autism because the dog hates loud noises like fire alarms and trucks. Makes sense to me! Many of the times when we would describe something, the kids would say"just like Collin does". I could feel tears well up in my eyes a couple times but I was not sure if it was because of that overwhelming feeling I get every once in a while of.."why my child?" or was it that these kids were so great. They never make fun of Collin. They think he is cool. They like that he is different and think it is great to help him with his lunch or point him in the right direction is PE. They tell their mom's that they can't have chocolate cake at their birthday parties because Collin can't eat it. They really find him interesting. I have been in the classroom many times and the kids don't make fun of him and enjoy helping him out. We couldn't ask for a better situation at his school this year. Collin has a typical kindergarten, a special ed kindergarten, an adult facilitator, kids assigned to help him at places like lunch and he receives OT and Speech each week.We call Collin the Mayor of New Prospect because it seems like every body in the school of 600 knows him.The front office staff knows him by name. (we are late frequently and they always walk him to his classroom). The school psychologist has been testing him and just loves him and is impressed by his development of skills. The OT loves   Collin and has a song he sang to her on her cell phone. Many different kids, parents and staff throughout the school know Collin and they know he is autistic or has some sort of disorder, but they welcome him and treat him like they should. I am very happy with his situationand hope it continues in the future. Exceptional Children's week was to celebrate children with disabilities but I found that the kids without the disabilities really have been exceptional too.

Cupcake

Well, Collin's special ed teacher just called from school. She wanted to go over Collin's report card because I had e-mailed his regular ed teacher with some questions, but this teacher can answer them better. She also called to let me know that a Mom at Collin's school brought  cupcakes and gave him one at lunch. Most of the parents are aware of Collin's diet. Collin has been gluten and casein free since he was two. We have not had many "accidents" in following this diet.  If there is a birthday at school, I just send in a gfcf cupcake or cookie so he can participate in the celebration. I really have started to dislike how so many meaningful events in life are centered around food and mostly food that is bad for us, but that is for another day. As far as the gfcf diet goes,in the beginning, I would say it took us a few months to get it all straight and under control. It seemed like gluten was everywhere. Once we found the right stores, websites, and things to look out for...it became easy. It was much easier starting him out on it at two rather than trying to start later in life. Many people ask us if we eat gluten free, but we don't. I have a 2 year old who does not eat dairy and my husband and I do not drink cow's milk and have limited dairy products. If we do they are organic. The gfcf diet helped Collin immediately and in a huge way. He started sleeping through the night just a couple days into this diet and he became more focused. The diet is just one of the many things we do, but it plays an important role to overcoming autism in our world. So, we will see what happens with the cupcake. I will let you know how the rest of the day and night goes when I post tomorrow. Christy Butch