Oral Motor Exercises such as blowing bubbles, clicking tongue, wiggling tongue, vowel exchanges, pursing lips, making silly faces. Beneficial for articulation, apraxia, autism, attention/focus. Parents and professionals should always provide a model and have FUN.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ~TONGUE TRACKS~
Just what every parent and professional needs for oral motor exercise and fun!
I often feel that formal testing does not measure the right areas for my child. Yet, all educational goals are directed toward the results of those scores.
Build on a child’s strengths, not his/her deficits. One of my Ten Laws of Success for Children with Autism is “Success Builds Success.” It’s that simple. Einstein knew it.
I am not the original author or artist of this picture alphabet nor do I know who the author is. If you know, let me know.
I have been a speech-language pathologist since 1983—the last 11 years in the public school system. I’ve always loved my job and enjoyed knowing that I help kids succeed despite their obstacles and differences. But one day, my job and mission became very personal.
On Feb. 7, 2009, our precious 16-year-old son, Alex, took his life after being the target of bullying so intense he saw no other way out. My husband found his lifeless body near a big maple tree one-half mile off our property, shot through the heart with a note nearby stating, “I love you guys. I am sorry, but I just cannot take it anymore.”
Sadly, my husband and I did not even know the extent of what he had been enduring. All we saw was our beautiful, wonderful son. Alex was an amazing, intellectually gifted child (150 IQ), who was like his peers in so many ways. He was one rank away from being an Eagle Scout, participated on the tennis and ski teams at his school, loved video games, and had a nice group of friends, a girlfriend, and a loving, close-knit family.
But with his gifts, however, came social differences. Alex was shy and quiet until he came to know and trust you. This “quiet differentness” made him an easy target, one who did not fight back. All of us who work with kids know the ones who are “different” for any reason can become targets. If no one stands up for them, and they don’t stand up for themselves, they remain a target.
So, how did this happen to us, to our son? We have asked the same thing over and over and over. It seems many of our schools have become places where unkindness has become the norm.
When unkindness is allowed to flourish with no one calling students on their behavior, the norm is created. “Bullycide,” sadly, is now the vernacular more and more families are facing. Our son took his life after the bullying became too frequent, too intense. Yes, bullying has always been around, but with the influences of social and other negative media, kids cannot escape its grasp. It’s 24-7.
Those of us in education must to do a better job of watching what is happening outside our rooms, in the hallways, on the playgrounds, and in the lunchrooms. We can no longer say, “I don’t have time. It’s not my problem. I am sure they will work it out.”
I urge you to become involved in anti-bullying efforts at your schools. Every single staff member is responsible for making sure kids are in a safe and secure learning environment. It’s too late for Alex, but it is not too late for all of the kids in all of the schools we serve. Take a stand and help them.
Patricia (P. K.) Harrison, MA, CCC-SLP, is a clinician at Wexford Missaukee Intermediate School District in Cadillac, Mich. Contact her at tompkalex@aol.com. To honor Alex’s memory, visit his Facebook page, In Loving Memory of Alex Harrison (seeithearitstopit), or visit http://seeithearitstopit.org.
Fresh off the press, we’ve received news that doctors from the University of California Davis have identified two biologically different subtypes of autism in a breakthrough study.
Scientists say that the findings are a key step towards understanding the causes of autism and developing effective treatments – and maybe even a cure.
Researchers at the UC Davis’s MIND Institute have been studying the brain growth, environmental exposure and genetic make-up of 350 children since 2006 as part of the Autism Phenome Project.
So far, they have identified two different strains of autism. One group of children–all boys–had enlarged brains, and most regressed into autism within 18 months, while another group all appeared to have improperly functioning immune systems that contributed to their autism.
This kind of research continues to complement earlier findings that have linked some cases of autism with genetic alterations that affect brain development in children.
Again, the significance of this study is that it could help tailor treatments specifically to the child and therefore improve the ability of early intervention in changing some of the behavioral and social patterns affected by autism.
After all, for an autistic child with a damaged immune system, it would likely do little good to prescribe a treatment that targets the synaptic functioning in the brain.
I believe lead researcher David Amaral, a UC Davis psychiatry professor, made an appropriate comparison between treating autism and treating cancer when he said, “If we were trying to cure all cancer at the same time, it would be hopeless. Well, the same is true for autism. My guess is that there just isn’t going to be a single diagnostic marker for autism — there’s going to be a whole panel.”
My hope is, over time, scientists will continue to do groundbreaking work in identifying all the different strains of autism, so we can move forward in treating the condition and finding a cure.
Read more: http://www.askdrmanny.com/two-different-strains-of-autism-identified/#ixzz1XTKCMdA5
As parents and SLPs we need to stop asking so many questions and start making more statements. Here are some of the reasons why.
Statements afford the listener:
Practice this style of talking for at least two weeks and you’ll be hooked.
It works!
Children will respond to statements because:
I’m sure that all parents of children/adults with autism and ASD agree that this list is missing someone. BUT, it is certainly fun taking a look. Autism is not in the shadows anymore. People with autism are out in the world making their voices heard and their talents acknowledged.
The Top Ten are wonderful ~ so are the next million!
