Yesterday, we posted about using special interests to create prAACtical communication opportunities, our AAC intervention strategy of the month. Today, we share this Video of Week on the same topic. The team at ConnectAbility presented this video workshop on Special Interest Areas and Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD
Please check out the most recent set of suggestions here. We love getting EVERYONE involved in Autism Awareness Month. We like to take a goal focused approach to our Autism Awareness Month activities by choosing projects that facilitate positive attitudes & discussions. We pass out materials, have contests, go to events, do extra talks, and try and engage EVERYONE we know and even some we do not know. We do a lot of shopping (with small amount of money, but we have to EAT and accessorize). Our families, pets, friends, and students all participate. It is a month filled with purposeful fun. Here are some of the things we will be doing. Please share any activities or projects that you know about. Bake, share, & eat some desserts. Need inspiration?.. try these Puzzle Piece Rice Crispy Treats Join the webinar Autism Explosion by Dr. Coplan will be shown... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD
Rainy days and movies go together like peanut butter and jelly. We had a dreary afternoon the other day and it seemed like we would never see the sun again. I settled in to watch a documentary that I’d bookmarked awhile ago but couldn’t quite bring myself to watch. Refrigerator Mothers is a look back to the 1950’s-60’s at the devastating experience that families of children with autism had during an era when medical professionals attributed the cause of ASD to poor mothering. It follows the stories of several American mothers and their adult children who were challenged by autism but traumatized by the professionals whose help they sought. – Surely we know better than this, right? One would thank that we’d never again blame families for causing a disability. And one would be wrong, as this article from the Huffington Post points out. The Bruno Bettelheim era is... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Just returned from the 19th Annual Statewide Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) Conference (under full disclosure, I am the Director of the CARD Grant at NSU). It was a very busy long weekend that began with a free pre-conference educators day and ended with one of the 47 session options. I have tweeted some educational highlights that included a keynote by Dr. Amy Wetherby about the new DSM 5 (thats right no more Roman Numeral) diagnostic features for Autism Spectrum Disorder (that’s right again, no ‘s’ on the end) and a dinner party talk by Dr. Temple Grandin (wow!). I tend to look at conference information as a teaser… first information is highlighted and then I do a more in-depth review and analysis into specifics that are related to me. Quick Info on My First 3 Favorite Topics/Resources The Learning Curve– resources that include interesting and interactive materials for teachers of... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, CARD, conferences