Autism Magazine

Managing behavior and building self-esteem Positive reinforcement is not only known to build self-esteem but also known as the best way to manage challenging behavior and to increase desired behavior. I reinforce my students for every good thing they do, could be following instructions very well or for getting a lesson right. Reinforcement can be used to teach children new behavior and skills. It does not only benefit us; it makes them feel good and as a result they will start engaging in a desired behavior more frequently. Praising children or applauding them every time they do good strengthens their confidence and helps them see their personal strengthens.   Examples of positive reinforcement Clapping hands and cheering Giving a high five Giving a hug or pat on the back Giving thumbs up Positive talk Telling the child how proud you are of them Offering special activity (playing games or reading books together) Offering praise Telling another adult how proud you are of th

Stages Of Development As a mother you become aware of every development in your child’s growth even though children develop at their own pace but there are milestones that give you a general idea of what to expect as your child grows. Expects have created different charts that help keep track of child development across different domains such as cognitive, physical, language and socio-emotional development. ASD is a developmental disorder and that’s why it is important to stimulate children frequently through play, learning and communication. Research shows that early diagnosis and intervention before or during pre-school are most likely to have positive effect on skills. Few things to teach your 2–5-year-old child Instruction following Number recognition Letter recognition Pencil grip (tracing lines,patterns and name) Identify two dimensional shapes Manage behavior and emotions Compliance People on ASD can benefit from treatment regardless the age, they can improve with

Toilet training I have seen so many posts of parents asking how they got their little ones to be fully toilet trained, well... all I can tell you is that every parent has a different story to share. I have been working with children on ASD for years and I have quite a few stories to share as well but for now all I can say is that it’s different for everyone. I am currently toilet training a three-year-old student and we have been toilet training for a little over a month now. The first few days he would not sit on the toilet,he is still not independent but he now at least sit on the toilet, he also understands when I tell him “Lets go to toilet” and he actually does wee when we get to the toilet. If you have been in this journey, you will understand my victory. Tips for toilet training Unfortunately there’s no specific method to toilet training because every child is different but the key to every child is consistency. You have to make toilet training part of your schedule and

Holidays are just around the corner and schools will be closed for a month. It’s a joy to have your little ones running around at home but it can be stressful when you constantly need to run after them just to keep an eye on them. A month can be a really long time to just rely on gadgets and television to keep your children entertained. Here are eight activities that will not only keep your child entertained but also prevent regression from all the things they learned at school. Practice handwriting Practicing hand writing is very important to help improve your children’s fine motor and writing skills. You can practice handwriting by drawing patterns, drawing vertical and horizontal lines, tracing numbers and letters. There are so many ways to practice handwriting (depending on your child’s development) you can also practice writing sentences. Reading stories or picture discussions You probably thinking how are you going to get a child that’s on ADHD to sit and actually li

Manage meltdown                                                                           full article  

Meltdown I can tell you; you have received remarks such as “you can’t control your baby; they are too naughty or your baby is too spoiled”. You probably also have had incidents where your child had intense aggressive behavior such as kicking, biting, banging head on objects or screaming. That’s what we call a meltdown, meltdowns are unconditional emotional outbursts. They can be caused by multiple things such as change of routine, anxiety, unusual fears, sensory overload etc. unfortunately meltdowns appear with no warning sign at all. Some people mistake tantrums for meltdown. Tantrums usually occur when a child is trying to get something (eating dessert before finishing their food) or escape from something (avoid to eat all their vegetables) and they are usually much shorter than meltdowns. There are many things that can trigger meltdowns and it’s good to know how to prevent or handle a meltdown when it occurs. It may not be the easiest thing to conquer but you can avoid a lot i

   Stimming and repetitive behavior Have you wondered why your child is so overly obsessed with the washing machine or why they would rather rearrange toys instead of actually playing with them? Well, I’ve got news for you, it’s also part of stimming. I once worked with a student that always spoke about sonic the hatch hock, I ended up watching every sonic movie. Isn’t it weird how people with autism  influence us? Repetitive behavior also known as stimming (self stimulatory behavior) can be marked by physical movements, sounds, words or moving objects. Stimming varies in appearance and frequency, it helps people on ASD to regulate their feelings by calming them down and it also helps to stimulate their auditory, visual, tactile and olfactory senses. In other words, stimming is a coping mechanism that serve a lot of purpose.  We all stim unaware sometimes when we are anxious or stressed we would  maybe click on the pen a lot or constantly touch our hair., the only difference is people