More Than Words and The Hanen Centre E-Seminars {giveway}

It's been a long time, friends! I hope all is well with all of you.  I have to apologize. The last couple of months, I have been busy trying to somehow stay balanced with two jobs and time with family and friends.   During my time away, I've been doing some research, discovering new/ new to me products, and have begun some awesome new packets for my students.

With my clinic job, I see a wide range of kids.  They range in age (birth to 21) and range in abilities.  I realized pretty quickly that there were some gaps in my knowledge.  I have spent hours researching for each individual client I see because I want to be the SLP for them that I can be. One of the areas I realized I wanted more information on was helping parents with young children who have a significant language delay.  I had some ideas, but I wanted more.

I remembered back to grad school and my preschool placement. My clinical supervisor kept talking about The Hanen Centre and was raving about their books.  We even had a speaker come in and talk to my class.  So one of the resources that I recently was reminded of is their book/DVD called More Than Words.

 It arrived just in time for me to sit outside in the beautiful weather and read it.

More Than Words is a book geared towards parents with children with autism, which is perfect for this month (Autism Awareness Month). According to the Hanen Centre, it's a book that address very specific challenges that children with ASD face and strategies to help with those challenges. It is designed to improve the understanding of language and the ability to have back-and-forth interactions.

What I love about it is that it's written for parents. I can recommend these strategies and parents will understand them.  I also love that they are research based.  You can read more about their research here. I love that they address every day situations that parents will encounter.  The DVD is a great companion resource to give parents real-life examples of each situation discussed.

If you want to learn more about More Than Words, check out The Hanen Centre's website here.  You can view sample pages, see the outline of the chapters, and read about the research behind the book.

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, The Hanen Centre has also graciously offered to provide one of YOU with a code for a FREE e-seminar. They are 2 hours long, and I bet you can count them towards your certification maintenance hours for ASHA ;)   Enter below if you're interested.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a great rest of your week!

Note: I was contacted by The Hanen Centre and a copy of More Than Words was provided for my review.  No other compensation was received. All opinions expressed are mine.  

Stars in Her Eyes: Navigating the Maze of Childhood Autism {book review}

One of my favorite things to do is read.  It always has been.  I also really love our field.  So you can imagine my excitement when I found out about this brand new book called Stars in Her Eyes: Navigating the Maze of Childhood Autism!  It combines two of my interests! Perfect!  Additionally, my caseload this semester was full of children with autism, so I found the book interesting, timely, and helpful.

Here's the synopsis from the back of the book:

"Stars in Her Eyes is designed to help parents and teachers navigate the dizzying maze of autism.  Dr. Barboa shares heartfelt narratives from parents and teachers who have gone before and paved the way.  Each contributor gives practical advice from her own unique experiences.  Stars in Her Eyes includes powerful yet light-hearted vignettes relating to each topic.  The reader will feel that he is sitting in the same room with these authors, enjoying the enlightening conversation of those living with autism on a daily basis."

The contributing authors include a speech-language pathologist, a teacher, a mother, and a psychologist.  Each truly do bring unique perspectives.  They all look at autism and the children's abilities from a slightly different angle.  As a soon-to-be therapist, I benefited from better understanding each of these approaches.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the wide variety of issues or topics discussed.  These include the following:

• The Basics- Demographics, Diagnostic Process, Causes, Prognosis
• Red Flags- Communication, Sensory Issues, Social Skills
• You are Not Alone- Know Your Team Members- Educational and Medical Professionals, Parents, Community
• Interventions- Behavioral, Biomedical, and those based on Learning Theories
• Schools- Choosing a School, Programming
• Resources- Knowing Your Rights, Respite Care, Camps, Funding
• Home Life- Self-Care, Disruptive Behaviors, Family Life, Relationships

Wow that's a lot, huh?  Every section includes perspectives from each of the authors, not just one.  I loved reading the stories and the practical suggestions these women made.

Another aspect of this book that I really like is that it is HONEST.  When the authors agree on a topic, they agree.  When they don't agree, you will read about their differing points of view.  This is why we work in a team.  Everyone brings different information and experiences to the table, and each are valued.  I cannot stress that enough.

So would I recommend this book?  Absolutely!  It is an easy quick read, yes.  But more than that, it is an important read.  I would recommend it to anyone.  This includes therapists, parents, students, and any other professional working with children with autism.

Don't wait to get this.  You will be sorry you waited!  As of right now, it is listed at $12.99 (Prime) for the paperback and $8.49 for the Kindle version on Amazon.

Happy Reading!

Note: A copy of this book was provided to me for my review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions expressed are mine. 

Working with Children with Autism: Tips and Collaboration Ideas

I am SO excited about this post today!  To continue with Autism Awareness, I invited Sasha, over at The Autism Helper, to write a guest post about working with children with autism and their classroom teachers.  She teaches in a self-contained classroom with 10-14 year olds with autism! She is currently working on her Master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis!

Working with Children with Autism: Although I am sure I could write an overly long book about this topic I would love to share - what I think - are the most important things to know and consider! SLPs are BEYOND important in the world of autism! In my mind, building communication is priority number one. Communication opens the door to a wide range of other skills, environments, and opportunities. 

My tips :) 

Collaborate with the Teacher: One of my favorite parts of my job is collaborating with the clinicians that work in my classroom. I love getting another perspective and having someone to bounce ideas off of. I have been very fortunate to have some amazing therapists to work with. These therapists have melded perfectly within our classroom dynamic. I appreciate a clinician who: respects our classroom schedule {it's there for a reason and my students know when they are supposed to have therapy and when they aren't}, asks my opinion {we are a team, right?!}, communicates with me, and is flexible {sometimes things just don't go as planned!}.

Teach the Teacher: Like I said, I love collaborating. Leave the classroom teacher suggestions for how to incorporate your ideas and techniques into the student's day to day schedule. Give realistic suggestions that are doable! Yes, I would love to embed a communication opportunity into each and every activity we do - but sometimes I just honestly don't have time with a full classroom on my hands. Don't be offended if your suggestions aren't immediately taken up :)

Understand and Use the Behavior Plan: This might actually be the most important point. Children with autism can sometimes have very challenging behavior. If the teacher is using a behavior intervention that is successful - use it! Consistency is beyond important when implementing some interventions and it is imperative that expectations stay constant throughout the student's day. If you have questions about the behavior plan - ask! Make sure you feel comfortable with the system. 

Reinforcement: This is probably important point #2! Really look at what reinforces each students' behavior (behavior meaning communication!). Some children with autism are not reinforced by social praise as many other children are. Some types of communication may be initially challenging for students with autism because the social attention the communication results in is not reinforcing to them! Social skills deficits are a diagnostic criteria of autism and is something that needs to be targeted! When working on social communication skills or other new communication skills, use high magnitude reinforcers! Let the student work for break time, iPad, snacks, etc. You can always fade it out later - but many times you will need this to develop new skills! The example I always use is - you wouldn't come to work if you didn't get paid, would you? Our students need a reason to work!

Keep it Structured: Since most children with autism struggle with communication, unfamiliar transitions or activities can be difficult for them because they do not know what to expect. Children with autism thrive when the environment is structured and routine based. Make sure to come at a regular time. Ease in new activities slowly to allow students to adjust and become familiar with the task expectations!

Less is More: I am probably preaching to the choir on this one - but so often with my students less is more when it comes to language. Even some of my highest functioning students, have deceivingly low receptive language. They are often good fakers and can play along like they understand. But many times they do not.

Sasha has a lot of great activities in her TpT store.  She is the queen of file folder activities :) She also has a Facebook page where she will post pictures, tips, and activities!  To see her website, click on the picture below: 

 

I hope you learned a lot from her!! I know I certainly did! I will definitely be implementing these strategies with some of my students.  

 

World Autism Awareness Day

Today is Word Autism Awareness Day!  It's also Autism Awareness Month!
 

First, let me tell you why I care about autism.  One of our family friends has a daughter that was recently diagnosed with it.  I think when something hits close to home, it really starts to have an impact on you, and this certainly did for me! I heard stories of frustration over seeing specialist after specialist and getting rejected from various things.  I can't remedy their situation, but I can spread awareness, in the hopes that it is a way of giving back (kinda!).  

There are a lot of theories out there about where autism comes from/what it is caused by. I'm not interested in discussing that, because a lot of it is political. Quite frankly, there isn't enough research on it yet, either!  What I do want to talk about is basic facts and resources that can be used with children with autism.

FACTS:
-Characteristics include difficulties with social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behavior
-Autism is a SPECTRUM and includes autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, PDD-NOS, and Asperger syndrome  (NOTE: These will be all under the term ASD when the DSM-V comes out in May 2013).
-Associations: intellectual disability, difficulties with motor coordination, difficulties with attention, some difficulties with physical health
-roughly 1 in 88 children have autism (1 in 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls) in the United States...that's more than diabetes, cancer, or AIDS combined

RESOURCES:
-Autism Speaks 
-Autism Facts Sheet
-List of Autism Apps here
-The Autism Helper (blog)

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:

 -Find an Autism Speaks walk near you
-Build-A-Bear Autism Speaks Bear (they donate money from each sale)
-Clothing companies with positive messages about autism (more info on Autism Speaks website)

By the way, Smart Apps for Kids is throwing a giveaway just for this day!  You can enter to win an IPAD 2!!!  Enter here.