LEARNING STYLES - AUTISM

HI!!!!!! want to start this topic with the beautiful quote:
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
I want to grow up once again

Learning styles is a concept which attempts to describe the methods by which people gain information about the environment. Senses play an important role in how a person learning about things in and around him. We can learn things  by seeing( visual), hearing( auditory), smell(olfactory), taste(gustatory), touch(tactile) and by manipulating(kinesthetic). Kinesthetic by all means “hands-on learning”. Ex, reading a book, here we rely on one sense that is vision. Watching TV involves two senses co-ordination (vision and auditory). Cooking involves almost all the senses co-ordination (vision, touch, kinesthetic, gustatory and olfactory).

Learning style of each person is as unique as their personality, not every person learns in the same way. Generally, most people learn using two to three learning styles. In my case whenever I am studying I need to rock and read, it helps me to register better. One of my friends memorizes the stuff by tracing or underlining the lines of the paragraph with pencil. These learning styles rules out that, we both are strong visual learners. Another friend of mine registers stuff by asking somebody to read it to her; this learning style clearly indicates that she is an auditory learner. Our learning style usually affects by the teaching methods used in the class room or in therapeutic settings. Most of the teaching methods include auditory learning and visual.

Children with autism have problems with attention (poor attention span), on sitting behavior (unable to still in place for long time), and difficulty in focusing, this clearly justifies learning from one sense especially from auditory sense is real obstacle. It’s very essential to find out the learning style of your child.

Strategies:

JWell known educators mantra:
Tell me and I will forget
Show me and I will remember
Involve me and I will understand

Ø  Using VAKT (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile) method, teach a concept with all the senses involved.

Ø  If you are not sure about your child’s learning style, best way of teaching the concept could be involving all the senses; your child will get advantage of multisensory input.

Ø  Observe your child in different settings that gives you an idea about your child’s learning style. He will show you the ways of teaching him

Ø  As we strongly know most of our children are visual learners, so make use of this privilege.  Incorporate visual strategies in to their learning.

Ø  Show flexibility in teaching style ( make use of his strengths, rather than sticking to your style)

Ø  Learning style of your child helps you to determine the occupation he is going to be successful.( visual learners may tend to be involve in occupations like data processors, artists etc, auditory learners may tend to have jobs involve processing auditory information like sales people, musicians etc.

Ø  Identifying and using the learning style of your child helps you to reduce the stress (yours as well as your child’s.)

Ø  Make learning fun by involving your child in planning strategies.

Take care; make learning enjoyable

ASSISTING LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES

A warm welcome from me again , we are here to learn  more on language difficulty and find out the ways to fix this issue; dive in

The lack of language skills in autistic children has not only social implications but also safety concerns as they may not be able to explain if sick, confused, hurt or scared.

Some autistic children may make some verbal progress, even saying a few words, but suddenly stopped using any language while others may not move out of the grunting noise making stage. Some children who develop language skills become echo laic; repeating the last thing said. If asked, “Does your hand hurt?” They respond “hand hurt” – whether it hurts or not. But it is just the natural progression of learning since when we are teaching a child to speak; we do so by asking them to repeat what is said to them.

Simple tips to strengthen language skills:

J Get down to the child’s physical level and gain his/her attention.

 Ex,  Kneel down in front of your child and touch his/her face.

Talk to your child.

J  Describe objects in your child’s environment. Use props when they are available. Ex, “Red ball” (hold up ball) “liki’s truck” (hold up truck)

J Describe what is happening. Ex, “aunty is cooking” “Dog is  barking”

J Describe what you or your child is doing. Ex,  “Pouring juice” “ playing with puzzle”

J Use short simple sentences. Ex, “Jacket on”“Wear shoes” “Pant up”.

J Use lots of repetition. Stress important words. Use the same words each time to represent an object/activity. Ex, “There’s a dog. Big dog. Dog says woof woof.”

J Exaggerate your gestures and facial expressions. Ex, “Oh (raise eyebrows and open mouth) see dog!” (Point to dog).

J  Repeat your child’s sounds or words. Ex,  child:”ba”, parent :”ba” child:”wa wa”, parent ”wa wa”

J Model and expand your child’s attempts at words. Ex,  child: “cah” parent : “car” (model) parent : “car go” (expand)

J Avoid yes/no questions. A child will use one word to respond. Ex, parent: “Do you want more milk?”-child responds: “yes” instead go more with open ended questions “What do you want?”-child responds: “more milk”

J If your child is not verbal, interpret his/her gestures. Give your child the words to use in the future. Ex, when she wants you to come and pulls at your arm, say: “Come? You want me to come? Okay, I will come. Come”

Note: Remember, when you expect your child to use a word or gesture, pause. Ex, parent: “What do you want” (count to 5 silently) parent: “What do you want” (count to 5 silently) If there is no response the parent says: “milk”.

J Pretend that you don’t understand his/her words, that way he will try saying it again (repeat) or trying using phrases.

J You can facilitate language when your child is watching tv. Ex, see the uncle is drinking juice in the tv.

J Last but not least use lot of visuals to strengthen language ability 

i am sure  you are well informed to assist the language issuues, take care.... c u soon

HELPING OUR KIDS FOR EASY TRANSITIONS

Hello folks,
i am very much delighted  to share this impressive topic to you, get ready

Transition refers to a change

A transition occurs when a child is required to change location, activity, environment or position. Transitions are often difficult for many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Types of transitions:

Transitions between activities

Transitions between multiple settings

Transitions between programs

 Maya is a 5 years old girl. She enjoys playing with same puzzles repeatedly. When her mom announces that it is the time to clean up and sit in the chair for study time. Maya gets very upset, she throws toys  and when her mom comes near to Maya she starts screaming.  This could be because she has difficulty with transition.

Why are transitions difficult?

• Transitions are often difficult for children with ASD.

Due to their neurological differences, children with ASD have a hard time maintaining and shifting attention.
It may take them longer to physically move them from one activity to another.
It may be difficult for them to understand the need to change activities.
It may be difficult for them to manage their own behavior during the transition. Transitions take time.

Children often spend lot of time waiting for the next time.

 Transitions can be stressful and frustrating.

Anxiety is often associated with transitions.

Anxiety may be a by-product of resistance to change.
Many children experience anxiety over the possibility that they will not be able to complete a routine.
Anxiety many take many forms. The child may ask preservative questions about upcoming events or engage in other stereotypical behaviours.

Transition Tips

• Prepare for all transitions ahead of time. Give ample warnings (i.e. 5 minutes left, 2 minutes left, 1 minute left, and time to switch).
• Once children are at the next activity, they should not have to wait for “setup”; circle time should begin as soon as the children are seated.
• Use a transitional object to help the child remain calm during the transition. It may be a calming toy (squeeze ball) or an item related to the next activity (paint brush to move to the paint centre).
• Use transitional signals such as a sign, a noise or song. Eventually the child will learn to associate the signal with change and will understand that the signal means to stop what they are doing.
• Use a visual schedule to indicate what will happen next.
• Give one clear direction at a time.
• Use a specific relaxation strategy.
• Remain calm even when the transition appears chaotic.
• Reward for easy transitions.
• Plan your daily schedules to include the minimal number of transitions times possible.
• Provide verbal and nonverbal cues before transitions.
• Photos, pictures to show them what’s next.
• Allow children adequate time to play with objects and activities.
• Provide positive attention and feed back after easy transition.

Finally we are here to help our kids to have smooth transitions. Take care

UNDERSTANDING AND WORKING WITH EMOTIONS

Oh emotions........its tuff to understand, as someone rightly  mentioned  "its easy for me to understand words than the unwritten expressions and fellings in the face."

Identifying, understanding and responding to the emotions of others are very important social skills for all of us to have. These skills help us to understand and develop relationships with other people. Not everybody responds to one emotion in the sameway.

When we know that someone we care about is sad, we might offer them a hug or a few kind supportive words to cheer them up. When we think that someone is afraid, we may try to comfort and support them. These types of interactions help us bond with each other.

Most of us learned skills such as how to “read” other people’s   facial expressions, voice and body gestures very easily and naturally when we were very young. We learned through social interactions with peers, parents and other adults. We somehow picked up this important social information without it being explicitly taught to us.

For our children with autism, identifying and understanding emotions does not come so easily. Most of the time our sweet hearts does not notice important nonverbal cues (such as the shape of a person’s eyebrows, the movements of the body or the tone and pace of the voice) that are used to tell the difference between emotions. Without being able to correctly identify and understand the emotions of others, children are more likely to respond inappropriately during interactions.

For our children, emotions must be taught explicitly or very clearly.

By four to six years old, most children can recognize and understand the basic emotions: happy, sad, angry and afraid. More complex emotions (such as pride, guilt and shame) are built on the basic emotions. A child should have a good understanding of the basic emotions before she is introduced to the more complex emotions.

As a parent, and teacher we can try these games and activities with your  child to introduce and practice the recognition of emotions.

1.  Bringing your child’s attention to emotions

Our children need to be taught to look at faces to get social information. Find as many opportunities as possible for your child to practice recognizing, labeling and responding to her/his own emotions, as well as other people’s emotions. Here are a couple of examples:

• If your child is angry because she cannot have a second candy, say, “You are angry right now because you want another candy and I said ‘No’. Your hands are folded and you are using a big, loud voice.”
• If your child is happy that she gets to colour, say, “You are happy because you get to colour.” Your mouth is smiling and your eyes are big and wide. You are using a happy voice.

Use naturally occurring opportunities to help your child recognize emotions. When someone in your child’s environment is expressing an emotion, point this out for her/him and say, “Look, Liki is smiling. She feels happy.”

Here are some other suggestions:

J While watching TV or videos use your remote control to pause a scene and point out and label a specific emotion.

J When someone (family members, teachers, friends, etc) is expressing an emotion, use this opportunity to label the particular emotion

2.  Learning the Names of Emotions

Once your child is looking closely at faces, it is time to teach the names of the emotions. Start with the basic emotions: happy, sad, angry, and afraid.

• Start by using realistic photos or concrete pictures. You can use familiar faces through photographs, pictures from magazines, etc.
• Show your child a picture and label it, “happy”, “sad”, etc. Depending on your child’s ability, you could say, “The boy is feeling happy.”
• Place two different emotion pictures on the table in front of your child and ask her to point to or give you an emotion (e.g., you can say “Give me a happy face”). At first, you may need to help your child give you the correct picture.
• When your child can select the correct picture without any help, introduce a new emotion.
• Increase the number of pictures your child has to choose from until there are four different emotion pictures for her/him to choose from.
• When your child has learned the names of the basic emotions using realistic pictures, use a variety of other pictures and drawings of emotions to help her/him “generalize” the emotion and the name. In other words, to recognize the emotion on different faces and in various settings.

3.  Saying the Names of Emotions

When your child knows the names of the four basic emotions, it is time for her to try to say the names.

• Show your child a picture of someone expressing an emotion and ask, “How is she feeling?”
• You might have to help your child at first by saying (modeling) the name of the emotion for her to copy.
• Introduce a new emotion when your child can successfully label the emotion on which you are working.

4.  Acting out the Emotions

Now it is time for your child to try acting out the emotions.

• Stand in front of a mirror with your child and take turns “making faces”. For example, make an angry face and ask, “How do I feel”? If your child can label your emotion, tell her, “Now you make an angry face”.
• Explain to your child what you are doing to make the emotion (“My eyes are getting smaller and my mouth is getting tight, like a little ball”).

5.  Role Playing

Depending on your child’s ability, you could try to “role play” situations in which certain emotions are likely to be felt. For example, you could pretend that you are going to buy ice cream and feel happy about this.

• Take turns with your child acting and guessing the emotions.
• Use exaggerated nonverbal language, gestures and facial expressions at first. As your child becomes more comfortable with recognizing emotions, you can act more naturally.
• Set up dramatic play situations at home to practice expressing and recognizing emotions.

6.  Video Modeling

Many children love to watch TV. You can use this interest to help teach your child more about emotions.

• Make short videos of other adults or children expressing an emotion in an appropriate situation.
• Watch the video with your child and help her label the emotion.
• Point out the important features such as the shape of the mouth, eyes and eyebrows, specific body movements and gestures and the sound of the voice.

7.  Games

If you child enjoys playing board games, use this great opportunity to practice what you’ve already taught about emotions.

8.  Story books

Books are another great way to help your child learn about other people’s emotions in different situations. Look for books with your child’s favorite television or movie character to make the learning fun. Here are a few other books that you may find helpful to read with your child

  take a safe flight to emotions tour , go get ready. I could see you guys packing  your bags!!!!!!!!!!!!! all the best

MANAGING INSTRUCTIONS IN POSITIVE WAYS

HI…….WELCOME BACK

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS:

How do I get my child listens and responds to me? This is the question most of my parents ask, when interacting with their children. It can be often difficult to know, how to get their child to follow through once you ask them to do something.

Strategies:

Let’s look at the strategies and techniques to follow and to keep it in mind J

Set realistic expectations: As a parent it is important to know what your expectation prior before giving instructions. Always consider child’s ability before setting instruction (or goal)

Set your child up for success: Thinking strategy for the child where he/she sees success in the first attempt especially if he is learning a new skill. This means
Ex: moving a garbage can little closer to the child, when you ask him to throw away something.
Arranging all the necessary items if he just learning how to wash hands

Expect follow-through: when giving instructions it is important to expect follow through, avoid asking instruction if you are not prepared to assist your child in completing the task if he has difficulty. Not following through tells your child that it is ok, not to respond when he is asked to do something. This pattern that can be hard to break once it is established.

Provide assistance if necessary: if you ask him/her to do something, if he does not respond provide as much as assistance as meaning to complete the task. When giving an instruction one of the most important things to ensure is that you have your child’s attention.

Get down to your child’s level: getting down to your child’s level by using his name, will help him understand you speaking to him. Ex, Rohan this is the time for you to do puzzle.

One more minute, then……: if your child is engaged in play activity consider giving him a warning prior to instruction. Ex, one more minute- then tidy up all the toys. This may help to produce difficulty with transition and may assist with follow through once the instruction is given. Even he does not have yet the concept of time he will begin to learn, that he needs to start finishing the play, when the warning is given.

State your request clearly: it is good idea to state your request clearly, using the words your child understands. Consider whether or not your child understands language concepts such as in, on, under

Make sure directions are brief: you also want to make sure your directions are brief; sometimes your instructions may get lost by using too many unnecessary words.

Use visual to help your child understand: visuals are any objects or materials that are used to enhance spoken language. Visuals includes: gestures, photographs, objects, words, picture symbols.

“Model “what you want your child to do: you may wish to model the desired action or use objects or gestures to increase receptive language. Ex, it’s time to put on shoes by holding child’s shoes you are pairing up visual cue with spoken language.

Picture symbols increase comprehension: as visual needs, picture symbols supports to spoken language, and increase comprehension. Ex; first and then board (first wash hands then eat, this gives clear visual message to the child and understands what is expected.)

Use positive language: it is important to say your request positively tells your child what you want him to do rather than what you don’t want. Do this t emphasizes positive and make him to know what is expected.

Do not ask if there is not choice!!!!!!: always state a direction rather than giving in question form, by asking child “ can you put your shoes on” you are giving an option for your child to say no instead “it’s time to put the shoes on” or “shoes on”.

Allow enough time to process what you have said: some children may need up to 10 seconds to fully process your instruction/direction. Say it once and wait, I mean stay through the request for some time. Say it once and wait within first 10 seconds if your child does not respond. Avoid repeating instructions, repeating can be more confusing may interrupt in processing and required him to start from the beginning. If your child does not respond within 10 seconds provide assistance really needed.

Providing choice with in a direction: at a time its best practice to provide choice with in the direction. If your child is having difficulty completing direction you may state: For ex, when it’s time to switch off the tv you can give direction like” you want me to turn off the tv” or “you will turn off the tv by yourself”. This way the expectation is set , when you are certain that when your child understands direction but difficulty follow through.

Always use praise!!!!! When teaching new skills or when giving new directions it is essential to reinforce immediately, when he tends to follow through again upon completion of the task.  As adults our paychecks are reinforcement for the work we do, when somebody gives compliment on the meal we cooked, we are being reinforced. It is important to remember Kids need reinforcement too!

Consider what will motivate your child: as each child is different may be social reinforcement such as verbal, physical, gestural may be combination works. Social reinforcement is often preferred as it is the most natural type of reinforcement.  

Describe what your child has done well!!!! Verbal praise should always describe the behavior that is practiced. Simply “stating good girl sesha” does not provide the child with enough information about what it is she has done well, if you describe the behavior itself like “wow sesha you did tidy up the place”. Then she is clear about what you like about her work, therefore will be more likely to repeat the behavior in future.

Social praise can be paired with reinforcing objects or activities:  all times social reinforcement may not be enough motivating for your child at these time social reinforcement can be paired with preferred items such as toys, food or tangibles. Sometimes your child will be motivated more if you allow him to do his preferred activity. Remember social reinforcement never needs to be reduced.

Difference between reinforcement and bribery is, reinforcement comes after the task is completed, bribery is usually offered before.

Independence and self esteem: watching your child learn new skills and become independent can be a wonderful experience and knowing that you helped him/her in the way of success is extremely joyfulJ

I hope to find them useful!!!! Try some of these ideas for your child to rock QQQQQ

SIMPLE VISUAL REPRESENTATION

Communication is very easy with visuals..........yep, yep its right

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9wul7NDafw&feature=player_embedded#!

TEACHING TIPS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH AUTISM

Hi, happy morning

TEMPLE GRANDIN Ph.D in her own words, as you all know she is a person with AUTISM.
Good teachers helped me to achieve success. I was able to overcome autism because I had good teachers. At age 2 1/2 I was placed in a structured nursery school with experienced teachers. From an early age I was taught to have good manners and to behave at the dinner table. Children with autism need to have a structured day, and teachers who know how to be firm but gentle.

Between the ages of 2 1/4 and 5 my day was structured, and I was not allowed to tune out. I had 45 minutes of one-to-one speech therapy five days a week and my mother hired a nanny who spent three to four hours a day playing games with me and my sister. She taught 'turn taking' during play activities. When we made a snowman, she had me roll the bottom ball; and then my sister had to make the next part. At mealtimes, every-body ate together; and I was not allowed to do any "stims." The only time I was allowed to revert back to autistic behavior was during a one-hour rest period after lunch. The combination of the nursery school, speech therapy, play activities, and "miss manners" meals added up to 40 hours a week, where my brain was kept connected to the world.

1. Many people with autism are visual thinkers. I think in pictures. I do not think in language. All my thoughts are like videotapes running in my imagination. Pictures are my first language, and words are my second language. Nouns were the easiest words to learn because I could make a picture in my mind of the word. To learn words like "up" or "down," the teacher should demonstrate them to the child. For example, take a toy airplane and say "up" as you make the airplane takeoff from a desk. Some children will learn better if cards with the words "up" and "down" are attached to the toy airplane. The "up" card is attached when the plane takes off. The "down" card is attached when it lands.
2. Avoid long strings of verbal instructions. People with autism have problems with remembering the sequence. If the child can read, write the instructions down on a piece of paper. I am unable to remember sequences. If I ask for directions at a gas station, I can only remember three steps. Directions with more than three steps have to be written down. I also have difficulty remembering phone numbers because I cannot make a picture in my mind.
3. Many children with autism are good at drawing, art and computer programming. These talent areas should be encouraged. I think there needs to be much more emphasis on developing the child's talents. Talents can be turned into skills that can be used for future employment.
4. Many autistic children get fixated on one subject such as trains or maps. The best way to deal with fixations is to use them to motivate school work. If the child likes trains, then use trains to teach reading and math. Read a book about a train and do math problems with trains. For example, calculate how long it takes for a train to go between New York and Washington.
5. Use concrete visual methods to teach number concepts. My parents gave me a math toy which helped me to learn numbers. It consisted of a set of blocks which had a different length and a different color for the numbers one through ten. With this I learned how to add and subtract. To learn fractions my teacher had a wooden apple that was cut up into four pieces and a wooden pear that was cut in half. From this I learned the concept of quarters and halves.
6. I had the worst handwriting in my class. Many autistic children have problems with motor control in their hands. Neat handwriting is sometimes very hard. This can totally frustrate the child. To reduce frustration and help the child to enjoy writing, let him type on the computer. Typing is often much easier.
7. Some autistic children will learn reading more easily with phonics, and others will learn best by memorizing whole words. I learned with phonics. My mother taught me the phonics rules and then had me sound out my words. Children with lots of echolalia will often learn best if flash cards and picture books are used so that the whole words are associated with pictures. It is important to have the picture and the printed word on the same side of the card. When teaching nouns the child must hear you speak the word and view the picture and printed word simultaneously. An example of teaching a verb would be to hold a card that says "jump," and you would jump up and down while saying "jump."
8. When I was a child, loud sounds like the school bell hurt my ears like a dentist drill hitting a nerve. Children with autism need to be protected from sounds that hurt their ears. The sounds that will cause the most problems are school bells, PA systems, buzzers on the score board in the gym, and the sound of chairs scraping on the floor. In many cases the child will be able to tolerate the bell or buzzer if it is muffled slightly by stuffing it with tissues or duct tape. Scraping chairs can be silenced by placing slit tennis balls on the ends of the legs or installing carpet. A child may fear a certain room because he is afraid he may be suddenly subjected to squealing microphone feedback from the PA system. The fear of a dreaded sound can cause bad behavior. If a child covers his ears, it is an indicator that a certain sound hurts his ears. Sometimes sound sensitivity to a particular sound, such as the fire alarm, can be desensitized by recording the sound on a tape recorder. This will allow the child to initiate the sound and gradually increase its volume. The child must have control of playback of the sound.
9. Some autistic people are bothered by visual distractions and fluorescent lights. They can see the flicker of the 60-cycle electricity. To avoid this problem, place the child's desk near the window or try to avoid using fluorescent lights. If the lights cannot be avoided, use the newest bulbs you can get. New bulbs flicker less. The flickering of fluorescent lights can also be reduced by putting a lamp with an old-fashioned incandescent light bulb next to the child's desk.
10. Some hyperactive autistic children who fidget all the time will often be calmer if they are given a padded weighted vest to wear. Pressure from the garment helps to calm the nervous system. I was greatly calmed by pressure. For best results, the vest should be worn for twenty minutes and then taken off for a few minutes. This prevents the nervous system from adapting to it.
11. Some individuals with autism will respond better and have improved eye contact and speech if the teacher interacts with them while they are swinging on a swing or rolled up in a mat. Sensory input from swinging or pressure from the mat sometimes helps to improve speech. Swinging should always be done as a fun game. It must NEVER be forced.
12.  Some children and adults can sing better than they can speak. They may respond better if words and sentences are sung to them. Some children with extreme sound sensitivity will respond better if the teacher talks to them in a low whisper.
13. Some nonverbal children and adults cannot process visual and auditory input at the same time. They are mono-channel. They cannot see and hear at the same time. They should not be asked to look and listen at the same time. They should be given either a visual task or an auditory task. Their immature nervous system is not able to process simultaneous visual and auditory input.
14. In older nonverbal children and adults touch is often their most reliable sense. It is often easier for them to feel. Letters can be taught by letting them feel plastic letters. They can learn their daily schedule by feeling objects a few minutes before a scheduled activity. For example, fifteen minutes before lunch give the person a spoon to hold. Let them hold a toy car a few minutes before going in the car.
15. Some children and adults with autism will learn more easily if the computer key-board is placed close to the screen. This enables the individual to simultaneously see the keyboard and screen. Some individuals have difficulty remembering if they have to look up after they have hit a key on the keyboard.
16. Nonverbal children and adults will find it easier to associate words with pictures if they see the printed word and a picture on a flashcard. Some individuals do not under-stand line drawings, so it is recommended to work with real objects and photos first. The picture and the word must be on the same side of the card.
17. Some autistic individuals do not know that speech is used for communication. Language learning can be facilitated if language exercises promote communication. If the child asks for a cup, then give him a cup. If the child asks for a plate, when he wants a cup, give him a plate. The individual needs to learn that when he says words, concrete things happen. It is easier for an individual with autism to learn that their words are wrong if the incorrect word resulted in the incorrect object.
18. Many individuals with autism have difficulty using a computer mouse. Try a roller ball (or tracking ball) pointing device that has a separate button for clicking. Autistics with motor control problems in their hands find it very difficult to hold the mouse still during clicking.
19. Children who have difficulty understanding speech have a hard time differentiating between hard consonant sounds such as 'D' in dog and 'L' in log. My speech teacher helped me to learn to hear these sounds by stretching out and enunciating hard consonant sounds. Even though the child may have passed a pure tone hearing test he may still have difficulty hearing hard consonants. Children who talk in vowel sounds are not hearing consonants.
20. Several parents have informed me that using the closed captions on the television helped their child to learn to read. The child was able to read the captions and match the printed works with spoken speech. Recording a favorite program with captions on a tape would be helpful because the tape can be played over and over again and stopped.
21. Some autistic individuals do not understand that a computer mouse moves the arrow on the screen. They may learn more easily if a paper arrow that looks EXACTLY like the arrow on the screen is taped to the mouse.
22. Children and adults with visual processing problems can see flicker on TV type computer monitors. They can sometimes see better on laptops and flat panel displays which have less flicker.
23. Children and adults who fear escalators often have visual processing problems. They fear the escalator because they cannot determine when to get on or off. These individuals may also not be able to tolerate fluorescent lights. The Irene colored glasses may be helpful for them.
24. Individuals with visual processing problems often find it easier to read if black print is printed on colored paper to reduce contrast. Try light tan, light blue, gray, or light green paper. Experiment with different colors. Avoid bright yellow--it may hurt the individual's eyes. Irene colored glasses may also make reading easier.
25. Teaching generalization is often a problem for children with autism. To teach a child to generalize the principle of not running across the street, it must be taught in many different locations. If he is taught in only one location, the child will think that the rule only applies to one specific place.
26. A common problem is that a child may be able to use the toilet correctly at home but refuses to use it at school. This may be due to a failure to recognize the toilet. Hilde de Clare from Belgium discovered that an autistic child may use a small non-relevant detail to recognize an object such as a toilet. It takes detective work to find that detail. In one case a boy would only use the toilet at home that had a black seat. His parents and teacher were able to get him to use the toilet at school by covering its white seat with black tape. The tape was then gradually removed and toilets with white seats were now recognized as toilets.
27. Sequencing is very difficult for individuals with severe autism. Sometimes they do not understand when a task is presented as a series of steps. An occupational therapist successfully taught a nonverbal autistic child to use a playground slide by walking his body through climbing the ladder and going down the slide. It must be taught by touch and motor rather than showing him visually. Putting on shoes can be taught in a similar manner. The teacher should put her hands on top of the child’s hands and move the child’s hands over his foot so he feels and understands the shape of his foot. The next step is feeling the inside and the outside of a slip-on shoe. To put the shoe on, the teacher guides the child’s hands to the shoe and, using the hand-over-hand method, slides the shoe onto the child’s foot. This enables the child to feel the entire task of putting on his shoe. ( Teaching by steps)
28. Fussy eating is a common problem. In some cases the child may be fixated on a detail that identifies a certain food. Hilde de Clerq found that one child only ate Chiquita bananas because he fixated on the labels. Other fruit such as apples and oranges were readily accepted when Chiquita labels were put on them(using obbsession for success).Try putting different but similar foods in the cereal box or another package of a favorite food. Another mother had success by putting a homemade hamburger with a wheat free bun in a McDonald’s package

is n't it amazing to learn strategies from her.

take care c u soon...............