Over the course of the quarter, I learned so much about different resources for Autism that I did not know were out there. I believe that I will be a better teacher (an aunt) because of the things that I have learned. It is interesting to look back on all of the things that were brought to my attention, and how now, when people come up and talk to me about autism I can say "oh yeah! I read about that!". It's a powerful tool to be informed and connected.
So I leave you with two resources-
A website from the NEA for teachers which has an abundance of websites, phone numbers, and other information if you ever need information about autism: http://www.nea.org/home/15151.htm
And http://www.autismweb.com/. A website devoted to helping parents understand their children's autism.
Both of these cover much of what I have discussed on here, just very condensed. They are good things to know!
Friday, June 1, 2012
FINALLY some therapy!
As I have discussed previously on this blog, my nephew Carter is on the Autism Spectrum. This is one of the reasons I was so interested in researching this topic, because it directly impacted someone I love very much.
Well Cater has been on the waiting list for therapy at Children's Hospital for about 6 months. That is a loooong time to wait for something you are so excited to get started! But sometime last month, someone called and finally it was set up!
Carter's first session was on Thursday, they called it the 'friendship meeting'. Children's has a special building just for therapy. They went inside and his parents filled out a questionnaire. On it were lots of different behaviors, and it asked the parents how much they wanted to work on it.
Carter is a bragger/boaster for sure. One of the questions was does your child brag a lot? And how concerning is this issue to you? After they filled out the forms the therapist looks at them and figures out what they are going to work on. Another wonderful thing about this group was the person running it invites parents to ask questions that they may have, or behaviors that the parents specifically want to work on. It is a living group, so if a child has a fire drill in class for example- and it REALLY bothered him. The parents could let the people know and they will talk about it in group!
On Thursday, they played a friendship game, and played a reporter who's job it was to collected information about each other, to learn about each other. This was great for Carter because it helped him find questions to ask his new friends about themselves. He was able to take a concept that he knew (What do reporters do?) and apply it to gathering information about another person.
I am excited for Carter to continue to grow over the summer in this group! I think it will be very good for him.
Well Cater has been on the waiting list for therapy at Children's Hospital for about 6 months. That is a loooong time to wait for something you are so excited to get started! But sometime last month, someone called and finally it was set up!
Carter's first session was on Thursday, they called it the 'friendship meeting'. Children's has a special building just for therapy. They went inside and his parents filled out a questionnaire. On it were lots of different behaviors, and it asked the parents how much they wanted to work on it.
Carter is a bragger/boaster for sure. One of the questions was does your child brag a lot? And how concerning is this issue to you? After they filled out the forms the therapist looks at them and figures out what they are going to work on. Another wonderful thing about this group was the person running it invites parents to ask questions that they may have, or behaviors that the parents specifically want to work on. It is a living group, so if a child has a fire drill in class for example- and it REALLY bothered him. The parents could let the people know and they will talk about it in group!
On Thursday, they played a friendship game, and played a reporter who's job it was to collected information about each other, to learn about each other. This was great for Carter because it helped him find questions to ask his new friends about themselves. He was able to take a concept that he knew (What do reporters do?) and apply it to gathering information about another person.
I am excited for Carter to continue to grow over the summer in this group! I think it will be very good for him.
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