Posts Tagged ‘autism spectrum’

CONQUERING social skills issues in children with autism

Friday, May 10th, 2013

Children with autism spectrum do not develop socially in the same manner as typically developing children. ASD (Autism spectrum disorder) is a neurological disorder affecting the way an individual’s brain develops.  

 

Children with an ASD have difficulty making friends and getting on well with their peers.

 

A child with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is far more likely to enjoy unusual interests not shared by their peers, for example an obsession with train timetables, clock mechanisms etc. This can in some cases cause the child to become socially isolated and unable to integrate fully with their peers.

 

All children with autism spectrum will have social skills impairments . However the individual’s social skills impairments will vary between children as no two kids will ever be exactly the same.

 

Having social skills impairments can make it hard for children with autism spectrum to understand how other children are feeling, their emotions, they will be unable to read the other child’s body language or facial expression.

 

Conquering social skills issues in children with autism spectrum can be difficult. However with time and perseverance, as well as autism supports like autism social skills stories  this can be achieved.

 

What are autism social skills stories?

 

A social skills story is a short story that has been written in a specific style and format. A social skills story gives information through visual images and text, providing clear, concise and accurate information about what is happening in a specific social situation.

 

The social skills story answers the “wh” questions – who, where, why, when and what. Showing visually what people do and why they do it, like a role model for the child with autism. This can help relieve anxieties and stress that can surround some social situations, for example making friends, asking questions, sharing, taking turns even respecting personal space, in-fact most social and communications difficulties can be addressed using autism social skills stories .

 

In fact the social skills story acts as a prompt for socially acceptable behaviours and can help the child with autism spectrum understand situations and skills and show them appropriate responses.

 

The social skills story can help children with autism spectrum prepare for routine changes and new situations, which can help reduce negative reactions and behaviours which stem from a lack of social understanding.

 

Conquering social skills issues in children with autism spectrum using autism social skills stories  has already proven successful, today social stories are considered one of the major autism supports and are widely used in homes, schools, colleges and out and about.

 

To learn more about autism supports such as autism social skills stories visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

Where you will also find a vast selection of autism social skills stories  which can be downloaded.

 

OR http://www.autismsocialstories.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand parenting an autistic child

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Grandparents, parents and siblings look to the future with much excitement, when a new baby is born into a family unit, plans are made and everyone gets excited.

 

Most of the time grandparents can breathe a huge sigh of relief when their grandchild is developing normally. However what if that precious grandchild is on the autistic spectrum?

 

The conclusion of autism will undoubtedly be a shock to all family members; this can turn to sadness and grief. All these emotions are perfectly normal. A conclusion of autism is never easy children on the autism spectrum do not develop in the same way as typically growing children.

 

Your first step will naturally be of support for the parents, find out about autism. Find out what a conclusion of autism will mean for the family. There are plenty of sites on the internet and books in your library explaining what is autism

 

So let’s look at what is autism?

 

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder affecting the brain of the individual. The typical indications of autism are deficits in social, communication both verbal and non-verbal, interaction and imagination deficits. These indications of autism are sometimes referred to as the triad of autistic impairments or autistic social skills deficits.

 

When you scan and read articles you will often see the term triad of autistic impairments or autistic social skills deficits all children on the autism spectrum will have these indications of autism but the degree of deficit will vary between individuals.

 

What role do you take when your grandchild is on the autistic spectrum?

 

You will want to consider what affect the conclusion of autism has had on the rest of the family especially the parents of your autistic grandchild. The parents of your autistic grandchild must cope with autism on a daily bases, this is not going to be easy parenting a child with autism can be extremely stressful.

 

Grand parenting an autistic child maybe confusing and stressful, unlike your other typically developing grandchildren, a child with autism may dislike cuddles; avoid eye contact your autistic grandchild may not want to join in family occasions become distressed sometimes quite out of the blue.

 

However there are treatments and therapies available to help you as the grandparent of an autistic child cope with your autistic grandchild, for example autism social skills stories.

 

Autism social skills stories have a significant impact on the behavior and social skills learning of any autistic child. They were first developed by therapist Carol Gray almost twenty years ago to help parents, grandparents, families and educators of children on the autism spectrum teach and re-enforce good positive behaviors, social, plus communication both verbal and non-verbal skills.

 

Generally written by experts in autism they help guide and teach social skills and positive behaviors to the child with autism.

 

Children on the autism spectrum tend to be visual learners and will respond better to visual cues and prompts for behavior and skills to be taught effectively the autism social skills stories embrace this concept and are visually rich, with appropriate text in language the child with autism can relate too and understand.

 

Grandparents of children on the autism spectrum report significant benefits when using autism social skills stories for their grandchild with autism.

Finding appropriate autism social skills stories has been made a whole lot easier with the introduction of sites like www.autismsocialstories.com

Which specialize in autism social skills stories and other resources for teenagers and children on the autism spectrum

 

Having a grandchild with autism can be rewarding, helping them develop vital social skills and live a fulfilling life is not going to be easy, but with the introduction of resources such as autism social skills stories this can be achieved.

 

To learn more about how autism social skills stories can help your grandchild with autism as well as getting immediate download of this essential resource in the treatment of autism visit any of the following sites:

 

www.autismsocialstories.com

 

www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

 

www.autismsocialstories.com/potty

 

 

 

 

Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Social Skills Stories

Friday, April 19th, 2013

Autism Spectrum Disorder social skills stories were first developed around twenty years ago as a method for teaching and communicating with individuals on the spectrum.

They were developed to aid communication in both verbal and nonverbal autistics, the goal being that individuals on the autism spectrum were able to use the Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Social Skills Stories as a tool to help them clarify and understand information and directions.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Social Skills Stories provide the child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder explanations and possible behavior suggestions for situations, skills and behaviors that they may find difficult or confusing.

Used effectively as a tool to teach social and communication skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder the  autistic social skills story uses visual cues to show the child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder what is expected of them as well as what they can expect from others.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder have social skills impairments which make social and communication skills difficult to master.

ASD social skills stories therefore help to teach social and communication skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder, visually almost like a comic strip script, the skill or behavior in terms of relative social cues and prompts making it easier for the child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder to understand the “wh” question (who, where, When, what and why)

Research shows us that teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder is made easier when visual aids are used.  

Consequently, parents with autistic children and teachers use visual tools such as social skills stories for teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder. The social skills story is visually rich and is used much like a step by step visual plan detailing the skill being mastered.

Showing the child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder visually possible outcomes, giving focus to the key points, showing the child with autism spectrum disorder how another person may re-act or feel in the situation by describing another’s point of view.

The autistic social skills story can also be used to help with routine changes, teaching skills and behaviors, explaining rules and so on…

ASD social skills stories use a specifically defined style and format. They are mainly written by experts in autism.

Many parents with autistic children, teachers as well as other professionals use social skills stories for autistic children to teach even the most basic social skills such as tooth brushing to complex social skills like attending a wedding, a birth even explaining how to make friends, have conversations, ask questions and more.

To download Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Social Skills Stories for autistic children on a variety of issues visit any of the following sites:

http://www.autimsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/sensory

http://www.autismscoialstories.com/social_skills

 

Teach conversational skill tactics to children on the autism spectrum

Monday, March 25th, 2013

For children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) lacking appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills is an issue. This absence of verbal and non-verbal communication skills is mostly due to social deficiencies, often described as social skills deficits, which are a common indicator of autism.

There is no cure for autism spectrum disorder, but there are remedies for autism which can help overcome the hurdles thrown up by an individual’s social deficiencies. Although communication concerns are a common indicator of autism, many parents struggle to find suitable methods that will help their child learn verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

Social exchanges can be difficult for children with ASD. Lacking the appropriate skill to be able to read another persons facial expression or body language can be a huge hurdle and undoubtedly lead to social MISTAKES.

All children with autism spectrum disorder experience problems with the appropriate use of language. For example they may have problems with intonation, rhythm, and word and sentence meaning.

Sometimes kids with ASD may COPY certain things for example scripts from the T.V like commercials, or shows that are of interest to them, they may repeat a line from a book, radio show or song and continually want to repeat this phrase.

Other kids with ASD may have phrases that they use in situations, for example some children on the autism spectrum may introduce themselves at the beginning of conversations, or introduce their parent each day at the start and end of school.

Many parents, care givers and teachers look for ways to teach conversational skill tactics to children on the autism spectrum

Studies suggest using autism social stories to teach conversational skill tactics to children on the autism will help the child’s communication concerns.

Certainly your first step will be to consult a speech and language pathologist to have your child’s communication concerns evaluated.

Using autism social stories to teach conversational skill tactics to children on the autism spectrum can prove successful. Autism social stories are short EXPRESSIVE visual step by step plans that show in clear no frill detail the skill or behavior being grasped. So for example with communication concerns a parent may present a suitable social story showing the child with ASD how this can be realized helping to make them more relaxed with the skill or situation. 

To learn more about autism social stories and how they can be used to help children with ASD learn social and communication skills and behaviors effectively. Plus get immediate downloads visit:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

 

 

Autism learning difficulties

Sunday, February 24th, 2013

A normally developing child learns in several different ways:

Visually…through sight

Auditory…through hearing

kinesthetically …through touch or manipulation.

Mainstream schools will normally include a variety of learning techniques, the children will learn visually through reading books and texts. They also learn through listening to their teachers, and through touch or manipulation…for example tech., art, textiles etc…

Kids with autism spectrum special needs students they will nearly always be visual learners. However some kids with autism spectrum may also be kinesthetic learners and may well benefit form their teacher or helper actually guiding their hand while they undertake tasks.

So with that in mind an autism special needs teacher or assistant will need to asses each autistic child individually to determine which method of learning they appear to prefer.

The special needs teacher or assistant will then be able to steer the lesson planning for that child to suit their particular method of learning and therefore build on their individual strengths.

One very important thing to remember when planning lessons for the autistic child is their need for repetition…Autistic children like repetition and sameness. So this needs to be kept in mind when setting lessons.

As with a normally developing child autism learning difficulties, can be enhanced by the introduction and implementation of autism social skills stories…

Autism social skills stories are used as a tool for teaching kids with autism spectrum and special needs vital social information and skills.

By introducing autism social skills stories you will enhance learning skills in the autism special needs student.

Autism learning difficulties…can be helped by these excellent visually rich autism social skills stories. They are easily implemented and can be adapted to suit all children.

To obtain school related autism social skills stories or social stories for all situations, events and abilities. Which can be downloaded immediately and used for teaching kids with autism spectrum please visit:

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

For all other autism social stories visit:

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocailstories.com/hygiene

www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

www.autismsocialstories.com/asperger_adolescents

www.autismsocialstories.com/autistic_teens

  

 

 

 

Autism goals for interaction

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological disorder affecting the autistic individual’s brain; this can affect how the person with autism spectrum thinks, re-acts, acts and behaves.

 

Autism impairs the autistic individual’s social interactions and communication skills and can cause restricted and repetitive stereotypical behaviors.

 

Typically kids with autism spectrum disorder have difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication this can impact on their abilities to socially interact.

 

Autism is characterized by several developmental challenges. The autism symptoms can include:  Language may develop slowly or not at all. The autistic child may use words without attaching meaning to them. They may use echolalia, and have poor attention spans.

 

The child with autism will probably prefer to spend time alone rather than with others, shows little interest in making friends, and be less responsive to social cues such as eye contact or smiles.

 

These autism symptoms impact on the autistic individual’s ability to interact effectively and can cause isolation and social blunders. Consequently, when deciding on Autism goals for interactions these autism symptoms should first be looked at.

 

Typically developing children learn social skills such as social interactions naturally through play, from their peers, parents and those around them. This ability is missing in kids with autism spectrum disorder and social skills should be taught directly.

 

Generally kids with autism spectrum disorder rare visual learners and will better understand any social skills teaching when taught and re-enforced visually; this is achievable using visual supports for autism spectrum disorder such as social stories.

 

Using visual supports for autism spectrum disorder can make the implementation of autism goals for interactions much easier. By careful observations parents of autistic children can determine which social interaction skills their child is finding difficult and an appropriate social skills story can be put in place to help them overcome this.

 

Many parents of autistic children use social skills stories to help teach social, communication, imagination and interaction skills with great success rates.

 

The social skills story is visually rich with short appropriate pieces of text set out in a specific format. Developed almost twenty years ago social skills stories are probably the most significant autism tool used to help kids with autism spectrum disorder overcome social interaction difficulties.

 

To find appropriate Autism goals for interactions social skills stories as well as social skills stories for other social skills teaching such as making friends, answering questions, appropriate touching and many more visit any of the following sites and gain immediate downloads:

 

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/Halloween

 

Autism spectrum and mind reading

Wednesday, January 16th, 2013

When we think about reading minds we would probably think more of psychics or fair ground gypsies. This is not the case though all typically developing children and adults have the ability to read minds; this is called the theory of mind.

 

It is the ability to look at another person and guess what they may be thinking or feeling by looking at the person’s facial expression and body language and guessing at what that person is feeling or thinking about this is the theory of mind.

 

The theory of mind is nevertheless complicated our minds are comprised of emotions, beliefs, desires, perceptions, and intentions. By using these various attributes within our own minds we can predict how another person is feeling.

 

The ability to read minds in autism is missing. When looking at Autism spectrum and mind reading we need to first understand the deficits associated with those individuals with autism. These deficits with autism are social, communication, imagination and interaction deficits and are present in varying degrees in all individuals with autism.

 

Individuals with autism have social skills deficits in non verbal communication or mind reading. They lack the ability to read faces and body language; this autism social skills deficits can however be helped through the use of autism social skills stories for teaching those individuals with autism social skills deficits.

 

Autism social skills stories are used by experts and parents to teach social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder and adults such as Autism spectrum and mind reading. Written by experts in autism, autism social skills stories use appropriate language and images to teach social skills and behaviors like: happiness is a good feeling and when other children are upset.

 

Autism social skills stories teach children with autism spectrum disorder how to act in social situations, what to expect and suggest appropriate actions, reactions and behaviors as well as explain visually what to expect from others and what others expect of them.

 

Endorsed by experts download autism social skills stories for autism from

 

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

 

Handling Your Child with Autism Spectrum’s Behavior

Monday, July 16th, 2012

How do you help your Child with Autism Spectrum deal with difficult and everyday situations?

Autism Spectrum is a complex disorder, which affects mainly boys. There is no cure for Autism, but there are resources available to you as a parent of an Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Living with a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder is stressful; you can’t just spontaneously take the family out for the day, or turn up at school in a new car, or surprise them with a party.

Although these are all normal activities, your other children would love; it undoubtedly will throw your child with Autism Spectrum Disorder into a state of panic, which can cause a tantrum and so on…

Things need proper planning, Thats where Autism social stories come into their own!

They allow the child with Autism Spectrum a chance to rehearse the upcoming event, or practice the already learnt skill.

They also give you the opportunity to express your thoughts and feelings these can easily be added into the social skills story. A social skills story is like a visual plan or framework a constant reminder of how we act.

Handling your child with Autism Spectrum’s behavior using social skills stories will give reassurance and the right social cues. They are constant, repetitive and will act as a kind of security blanket for your child with Autism Spectrum.

The upcoming event, like a new baby, a new puppy, a new pair of shoes even can be discussed, even role played on the first couple of readings of a new story.

You will be giving your child an insight into what will happen, or what already happens, why it happens, what it happens for and how they are meant to act, or what they are meant to do.

Handling your child with Autism Spectrum’s behavior – for example: saying Hi, or excuse me, things we do automatically, but to an autistic mind these things are just silly, why do you want to say Hi to someone you don’t know, or don’t really care for, or even want to.

Politeness is a learnt skill, we learn it and it sticks in our minds, the autistic mind needs a gentle reminder of this skill until it is properly stuck in their, which can take a while!

So let’s take a look at autism social stories, they are with you constantly, a little reminder and a solid  descriptive, straight forward, never deviating, or spontaneous, friend, to help your child with Autism Spectrum feel comfortable with situations, activities and events.

Autism social stories:

Can be a very useful tool they are used to teach social skills to children with Autism Spectrum.

A social skills story is a simple description of an everyday social situation, written from the Autistic a person’s perspective.

Autism social stories are designed to help with social situation as well as normal everyday events and activities.

They are also used to prepare for upcoming changes in the autistic persons routine and help the autistic person deal with other situations that are out of their normal daily routine like for example: a birth, marriage, death or other situation or activity.

The idea behind these Autism social stories is to allow the person to accustom themselves with the up-coming event, or daily activity or situation.

So that the Autistic person is aware of what is going on and can deal with it and the hope is that the social skills story will help with the person’s behavior.

What Are Autism Social Stories Like?

Autism social stories are always written in the first person, in the present tense, and from the autistic person’s point of view.

The social skills story should be written in a way that the child can understand. It should match their level of vocabulary and be as specific as possible, all of our social skills stories are editable and can be personalized quickly and easily.

Once the story has been written a responsible adult, parent, teacher, therapist etc. should read the story with the child at least two to three times before the child is given the story to read themselves.

This is to ensure that the autistic person understands the important elements in the story.

This can be done by re-reading the story and going over the important elements with the autistic person. You may find a check list approach or role playing the situation in conjunction with reading the story helpful.

For younger children who can’t read, or find reading difficult their Mum, Dad, Teacher or adult will need to read the social skills story for them.

The overall effectiveness of each story should be monitored, with the story being tweaked and or changed as the behavior is learnt.

What is the theory behind it?

Autism social stories were created to help autistic people improve their social understanding and interactions.

It was found that in children and adults with Autism Spectrum, by giving them simple and clear descriptions and instructions, social cues, to appropriate behaviors they were able to manage much better.

However, it is still not clear why Autism social stories work better for children and adults with Autism Spectrum, than picking up social cues from their everyday environment.

Researchers believe this is due to the Theory of mind. Which is basically that autistic people have problems understanding why we do the things we do. They find our lives confusing; they prefer repetition and things to remain the same at all times.

There are a number of ways Autism social stories help improve the Theory of mind.

One theory is that by giving prompts and suggestions to specific social cues and behaviors for situations, using Autism social stories may actually help to improve the autistic person’s problem solving abilities.

Autism social stories are also used to help the autistic person manage certain situations. Which will then help them to deal with tasks, activities and situations that they previously found difficult and confusing or upsetting?

They also help autistic people to understand what is expected of them, and what they can expect from other people.

Do Autism Social Stories Work?

Research has shown that Autism social stories do help reduce problem behaviors. They also help to increase the autistic person’s social awareness, and have been found to help re-enforce an already learnt skill or teach a new one.

Autism social stories are more useful to children with Autism Spectrum and adults who have basic language skills.

Although you can get Autism social stories in audio and pictorial formats. It is not known if Autism social stories work when sign language is used.

There are no known negative effects of Autism social stories reported and it is believed amongst the medical and social professionals that Autism social stories are beneficial to the autistic person.

The belief is that the social skills story can be used to teach the autistic person social skills that he/she would otherwise not know how to use appropriately.

This in itself is a good thing and can help alleviate what could otherwise be stressful situations for parents.

So What Does a Social Skills Story Look Like?

Autism social stories are made from different sentence types.

Descriptive, Perspective, Directive and Control and may also include Affirmative and Co-operative sentences.

Descriptive sentences provide information about specific social settings or situations, for example they provide cues to what the person sees, who is involved, and what happens, For example: At lunch time most of the children will go to the dinner hall.

Perspective sentences describe the feelings, emotions, thoughts, and/or mood of other people. Describing the way a situation is viewed by some body-else, many kids with Autism Spectrum have difficulties understanding how others see things. For example: Usually, when people are happy, they smile. Smiling makes people feel good. 

Directive sentences provide the autistic person with information about what they should try and do, to be successful in the situation. For example: If I stay calm in class, I will learn more.

Recommended Formula For Writing Autism Spectrum Social Stories:

The recommended formula for writing Autism Spectrum Social Stories is: two to five Descriptive sentences for each Directive sentence, which may include Perspective and control sentences. Research shows that many stories which follow this ratio will be successful.

Children especially children with Autism Spectrum respond well to learning through pictures, these children tend to be visual thinkers and learners which means that they use visual images as a first language and speech secondary.

Pictorially rich Autism social stories are thought to be better and easier for the child with Autism Spectrum to understand.

Autism social stories can be designed for all age ranges and abilities.

A good social skills story will help in all areas as long as it is introduced properly as explained earlier, then monitored for its overall effectiveness.

If a story is deemed not to be working, it should be tweaked and then used. If it is still not working, the story should be looked at, is this the right story? Or maybe a different story would best suit the situation.

At http://www.autismsocialstories.com  we aim to provide pictorially rich, specific Autism social stories that can be printed off and used for various ages.

With all of our stories we offer a full money back guarantee.

Please feel free to contact us if you need any more information on Autism social stories at admin@autismsocialstories.com

I hope you found this report helpful and now have a better understanding why Autism social stories work and what they can be used for.

 

How autism has an effect on teenagers

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

Research suggests that 1 in every 150 children born will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

Boys are generally 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The reason for this is unconfirmed although there are theories on the reasons.

Some research into the reasons for autism identifies chemical imbalances in the brain as one of the reasons for autism. These imbalances are believed to be caused by something in our genes. However recent research suggests autism is not the fault of a single gene (an autism gene) but a combination of genes.

Autism can’t be cured but can be treated, medication is given to control some autism symptoms like aggression, seizure, and other related behavior issues connected to autism symptoms.

Autism is a triad of developmental deficits; Autism symptoms:

Social deficits

Communication deficits

Imagination and interaction deficits

Mostly autism is treated with therapies such as, speech therapy, occupational therapy, music therapy, medications, dietary changes and vision therapy.

By the time an autistic child reaches their teens, they should already be receiving regular therapy sessions and have appropriate dietary and medication needs under control.

What are teens with autism like?

How autism has an effect on teenagers and how can they be treated…

…Due to the triad of developmental deficits the autistic individual will NOT process information in the normal manner and will struggle with things we take as granted, this can make the teen with autism appear odd at times even weird!

Therefore looking at how autism has an effect on teenagers – typically the teen with autism may lack appropriate social awareness skills and have trouble making and maintaining friendships. The teen with autism may find conversations difficult, prefer to be alone, have difficulties joining in activities and lack imagination.

 

The autistic teenager may be sensitive to light, touch, sound and smells they may avoid being touched and shrug away from physical closeness making relationships difficult.

The autistic teenager may be passive and withdrawn.

On the other hand they may be aggressive display tantrums, shout and generally be difficult to control which can cause stress within the classroom and home as the autistic teenager grows so does their strength and capabilities to be destructive.

Self-harm can become a very real issue in teens with autism.

Many teens with autism may continue to have intellectual and learning problems. They may lack the ability to express their emotions like anger, fear and frustration in ways that are acceptable, they might express themselves in ways that are inappropriate.

Some teens with autism will have trouble with their physically changing body and emotions due to the normal hormonal changes associated with puberty.

Research suggests teenagers with autism respond well to help with social skills training for autism.

Social skills training for teenagers with autism helps reduce the anxieties and explain what is happening to their changing feelings and bodies.

Social skills training for teenagers with autism can be done through the use of autism social skills stories.

Autistic teenagers respond well to autism social skills stories finding them clear precise and easy to understand. No matter what the issue implementing an autism social skills story can help alleviate the stress and anxiety felt by the autistic teenager.

Studies into the autism effects on teenagers showed those teens with implemented social skills stories for teenagers were socially more able to cope than those without implemented social skills stories for teenagers.

What are teens with autism like?

Teens with autism can find coping methods and behavioral strategies by using autism social skills stories. The social skills story gives focus to key points and helps the teenager with autism find answers and techniques for those situations the struggle with.

Autism social skills stories can be immediately downloaded to help the teenager with autism cope and manage behaviors including self-harm, masturbation, swear words, social kissing, appropriate touching, calming down solutions and personal hygiene issues, as well as various other topics teenagers with autism will find difficult.

For immediate downloads of social stories for helping the autism effects on teenagers  can be found at :

 

www.autismsocialstories.com/autistic_teens

www.autismsocialstories.com/asperger_adolescents

 

For all other social skills stories visit one of these other sites:

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

 

Using social stories to teach social skills to kids with ASD

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

Commonly children on the autism spectrum HAVE difficulties WITH AND IN social situations.

The social awareness skills we take for granted – the ability to “read” peoples body and facial expression ARE NOT skills that children on the autism spectrum learn naturally.

A lack of social awareness skills makes it difficult for these children to make and keep friends and can lead to social isolation.

However, using social stories to teach social skills to kids with ASD has proven effective. The social story is typically visual, and as we know the majority of children on the autism spectrum are indeed visual thinkers and learners.

Therefore this type of teaching aid is going to work and give better results.

The social skills story can be adapted to suit all ages and abilities and there is NO formal training needed to be able to use this autism resource.

Introducing social stories

Typically using social stories to teach social skills to kids with ASD is beneficial in all area of social awareness skills teaching for example: making friends, sharing, calming down, Visiting the Dentist and so on…

·         The social story uses first person text and visual images to describe the skill or situation from the child’s own perspective

·         The social story breaks the situation/skill down into smaller easier to understand sections

·         The social skills story acts like a visual plan or framework

·         The social skills story answers the “wh” questions – who, what. why, when and where

·         The social story also explains “HOW”

·         Social stories should aim to also give an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others

·         Social stories should offer possible outcomes

For the vast majority of kids with autis,  social awareness skills ARE very difficult to learn and direct teaching is generally needed, this is what the social skills story WILL DO!

Parents and teachers report success in teaching social awareness skills and a drop in communication difficulties once social skills stories have been introduced.

To learn more about how social stories work and gain immediate access to 100 social skills stories downloads visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/stories.html

Social Skills Development Resources for Autism

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

Individuals with autism typically HAVE difficulties with social interactions, such as reduced responsiveness and or a disinterest in other people.

They may appear selfish and rude and be unable to communicate effectively with others. This is due to “The Theory of Mind”, which affects how individuals with autism socially interact, communicate, thinks, act and react to those around them.

For example the characteristics of autism spectrum can include:

Children on the autism spectrum; will not normally adopt the anticipatory posture or raise their hands to be carried or picked up.

Children on the autism spectrum are not normally cuddly babies, in-fact most babies with autism will stiffen or resist being held, they normally avoid snuggling up. They will normally prefer to be held facing outwards with their back to the person holding them.

Infants with autism will sometimes not recognize their own name or be inconsistent in recognizing it.

Probably the most noticeable of the characteristics of autism is the individuals lack of eye contact, a typically developing child will give and maintain eye contact, an infant with autism will look away quickly and avoid eye contact.

A typically developing child may stare into the mother’s eye noticing their own reflection, an infant with autism will show no interest in their reflection and choose not to stare or maintain any eye to eye contact.

Generally children on the autism spectrum will not pay much attention to the typical growing up games like peep-a-boo and pat-a-cake, preferring solitary play.

A distinct lack of social interaction skills can be the first alarm bell for many parents of a child with autism.

All children on the autism spectrum WILL have impaired autism social skills, however the degree of autism social skills will vary dependent on the individual.

Social skills development resources for autism social skills training can be affective, in helping your child on the spectrum better cope and manage their behaviors, thoughts and feelings. One such way is introducing autism social skills resources such as visual intervention strategies.

Probably the most popular of the autism social skills resources is autism social skills stories. These are an excellent proven technique for assisting an infant with autism with the development of social skills.

Autism social skills resources like: Autism social skill stories provide the child on the spectrum with support and an understanding by answering the ever important “wh” questions who, what, where, why and when as well as “HOW”. As well as giving an insight into the thoughts and feelings of others and try to explain what they can expect from other as well as what others will be expecting of them.

Introducing social skills development resources for autism like autism social skills stories early is going to be beneficial; however social stories are flexible and can be introduced at any point.   

Typically most children on the autism spectrum prefer repetition and sameness and will not like any changes to routines or patterns. By introducing social stories you can help the child on the spectrum feel more comfortable with skills and routines making things feel more routine which will reduce stress and meltdowns.

Autism social skills stories HELP teach social skills like using the bathroom, good eating habits, respecting personal space, transitions like starting preschool or school, as well as other skills like saying Hi and thank you and accepting changes to routines.

All helping your autistic infant being accepted within their own peer group as well as within today’s society…

To download autism social stories visit one of our many sites all specializing in autism and asperger social skills stories as well as offering friendly support advice and help

www.autismsocialstories.com

 

Building autistic social skills

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Autism is a developmental disorder which has no known cure. That said THERE ARE plenty of excellent resources which can be used to help those diagnosed autistic.

Characteristically those diagnosed autistic WILL have social and communication difficulties, this is due to social skills deficits which ARE apparent in all people with autism but to varying degrees.

Typically people with autism WILL prefer visual information and teaching, it is therefore believed that resources and teaching styles should be more visual.

This is easily achieved through the use of visual resources for autism such as social skills stories, PECS, picture communication cards and so on…

Using visual resources for autism is beneficial, and typically will need no formal training to implement and use.

For example social skills stories ARE visual resources for autism which ARE used specifically for building autistic social skills and helping to overcome communication and social awareness difficulties.

Having social skills deficits can be challenging for many children on the autism spectrum and can at times even lead to extreme behaviours, even bullying.

So how does the social story work?

The social skills story is a short visual story much like a comic script which is used as a visual framework or step by step detailed plan of the skill or situation that the child on the autism spectrum is finding hard.

Many children on the autism spectrum struggle with the chaos of recess, by implementing a social skills story the child will have a concrete plan of recess. This plan WILL explain what is happening and why, which WILL help the child on the autism spectrum cope and feel more comfortable.

Social skills stories show the skill or situation from the child’s own point of view and use first person text. The social skills story describes the situation using images and short descriptive sentences or words.

The social story should answer the “wh” questions:-who, what, why, when and where. The social skills story should also answer “how” and provide an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in most children on the autism spectrum.

To view and learn more about visual resources for autism like social skills stories for building autistic social skills and to access immediate downloads visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

Adopting successful social skills teaching for children with autism

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

There are some very good resources available that can help children with autism to overcome social skills difficulties.

Adopting successful social skills teaching for children with autism is easier using visual support tools like: PECS, Social Skills Stories, Picture Communication Cards and so on…

We know that predominantly children with autism ARE visual thinkers and learners, which means that they ARE more likely to understand and learn from information that is presented visually.

Therefore it is believed that successful social skills teaching for children with autism is done visually using visual support tools. For example social skills stories use images/pictures to explain how and why.

The social story answers the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and should also offer an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in most autistic individuals.

Acting much like a visual step by step plan or framework of the skill or behaviour the social story will allow the child on the autism spectrum to rehearse the skill, reducing any stresses and anxiety.

Social skills stories use first person text in a positive manner and always from the point of view of the child on the autism spectrum.

The social story is easy to implement and needs “NO formal training to use”

The social story can be used for most situations, skills and behaviours such as asking questions and making friends. It can also be used for teaching kids on the spectrum skills like sharing, taking turns, respecting personal space, coping at recess and many other skills including self-help and hygiene skills.

To view appropriate information on adopting successful social skills teaching for children with autism using social stories and picture communication cards visit:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

Using Social Stories to Teach Social Skills

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Social stories ARE short descriptive pieces of text that will normally follow a set pattern of sentence type.

Social stories can HELP TEACH social and communication skills to children with autism and related conditions.

Developed around twenty years ago to aid communication social skills stories ARE now one of the major strategies used in teaching and supporting children with autism and related conditions.

The social story WILL answer the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and will give an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in most people on the autism spectrum.

Typically people on the autism spectrum ARE VISUAL thinkers and learners, this means that they tend to think in pictures and WILL find VISUAL information much easier to understand.

Therefore, using social stories to teach social skills is beneficial. The social story WILL act like a visual framework or step by step plan of the skills or behaviour and allow the child with autism to prepare and feel more comfortable with and in the situation.

By detailing the important social cues and giving possible answers and outcomes the social story WILL give the child with autism more confidence and reduce stress and confusion.

Characteristically children with autism HAVE social skills deficits, the social story can help to address these effectively.

Always written in first person text and from the point of view of the autistic child the social story is easy to implement and needs no formal training to use.

Visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you will find information on using social stories to teach social skills and downloads.

Alternatively visual any of the following sites for downloads of social skills stories

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

Download and Use Autistic Supports with Your Child on the Spectrum

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

It is common for those with autism to have deficits in social awareness sills and behaviours.  This is due to the Triad of Autistic Impairments or social skills deficits.

The Triad of Autistic Impairments or social skills deficits means the person’s social, communication and imagination skills are missing or not developed sufficiently.

This can cause many difficulties for those with autism, for example lacking social and communication skills can make it hard for them to make friends, ask questions and join in with play.

The majority of children on the autism spectrum ARE visual thinkers and learners which means that they think in pictures and find visual information easier to understand. It is therefore a good idea to use visual autistic supports with your child on the autism spectrum.

There are various visual autistic supports available like social skills stories, PECS, picture communication cards and so on…

Download and use autistic supports with your child on the autism spectrum from sites like:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you will find various supports for autism which can be used effectively and with no need for any formal training.

Autistic supports such as social skills stories are designed to help you teach and re-enforce skills and behaviours that the child with autism is struggling with.

The social story WILL ACT like a visual plan or framework of the skill by answering the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and will offer an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in those with autism.

The social story should be written from the child’s own perspective, in first person text and in a manner the child with autism can understand. It should be use images or pictures to show visually what is happening and why, this is important.

Generally social skills stories are written in word format to make editing easy, none of us typically use the same terminology and no two children are ever going to be the same, so the ability to edit is important.

Download and use autistic supports with your child on the spectrum such as social skills stories by visiting:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you will also find picture communication cards and other supports for autism which can be used to help your child on the spectrum cope with and feel more comfortable in situations that he/she is finding stressful or confusing.

 

 

 

Motivating an ASD student

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Motivating an ASD student can be at times stressful and difficult. A student with ASD WILL NOT process information in the same manner as a typically developing student, this means that the student with ASD may think, act, re-act and behave very differently to the other students.

A child with autism spectrum WILL almost certainly have deficits in three main areas of development: social, communication (verbal and non-verbal) and imagination. These deficits can make teaching difficult.

There are various supports which CAN be used to HELP a child with autism spectrum cope and better understand skills and situations that they may or are struggling with.

Motivating an ASD student using visual supports like social skills stories, picture communication cards and flash cards is beneficial.

These visual supports for the ASD student can be easily implemented and are readily available from sites like

http://www.autimsocialstories.com/school

 Typically social skills stories ARE short descriptive pieces of text which look almost like a comic script conversation. The social story WILL answer the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and will offer an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of considerable weakness in most children with autism.

The social story should always be written from the point of view of the ASD student and use first person text, it should always adopt a manner that the child with autism can relate to and better understand.

Generally social skills stories ARE visually rich using images and pictures to help explain to the child with autism spectrum what’s happening and why.

The social story should be editable as no two children with autism will ever be the same and we all use different terminology, therefore editing is often needed.

For more information on social skills stories for students with autism and communication cards please visit:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

Where you will find immediate downloads of social skills stories for students with autism and related conditions.

General social stories can be downloaded from

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

 

Access Autistic Visual Supports

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

We know that the majority of children with autism spectrum ARE indeed visual thinkers and learners, meaning that they think in images/picture and for the main will better understand visual teachings and information.

It is therefore vital that we aim to teach and provide information more visually. For example using autistic visual supports like flash cards, communication cards and social stories etc…

Access autistic visual supports at:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com  there ARE various supports for children with autism spectrum available on this site.

Typically children on the autism spectrum have difficulties with social awareness and communication and will struggle to make sense of the ever changing and unpredictable world which surrounds them. These difficulties are often a major cause for stress and anxiety in many children on the autism spectrum.

By using visual supports for autism YOU can help your child with ASD better cope and understand things and situations which they find difficult, like for example asking questions, sharing, respecting personal space, asking other kids to play and so on…

Autistic visual supports such as social stories ARE designed to show the child with ASD what to expect and what is expected of them. The social story WILL answer the ever important “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and should also offer the child on the spectrum an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of considerable weakness in most children with autism.

The often aloof appearance of many children with autism can make them appear selfish, but this is not their intention or the case. This appearance is merely a lack of social awareness skills. Unlike typically developing youngsters the child on the spectrum WILL NOT learn social and communication skills in the normal manner – ie: people watching, from peers and the environment.

For children on the autism spectrum direct teaching is generally needed. This direct teaching is done using autistic visual supports.

Access autistic visual supports to help you teach and calm your child with ASD visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com  where you will find immediate downloads of social stories as well as information on how visual supports for autism work.

You will also be able to access autistic visual supports like: communication cards, flash cards and visual social story cards and folders.

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

 

Autism Behaviour Supports and Techniques

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

The main difficulties experienced by those on the autism spectrum are deficits in three main areas of development: social awareness, communication (verbal and non-verbal) also imagination skills.

It is these deficits which ARE common to all those on the autism spectrum in varying degrees, depending on the individuals own abilities.

Children with autism ARE typically visual thinkers and learners which means that VISUAL SUPPORTS are going to be easier for the child on the autism spectrum to USE and UNDERSTAND.

There is no known cure for autism but there ARE significant “Autism Behaviour Supports and Techniques” available which ARE visual and can be easily implemented.

For example – Autism Behaviour Supports and Techniques like:

Autism Social Skills Stories, Visual Social Story Cards, Communication Cards, PECS and so on…

All of these ARE visual supports which can be used to help the child on the autism spectrum OVERCOME their own individual challenges and deficits.

Autism Social Skills Stories - USE images/pictures and can act like a visual plan/framework of the skill or behaviour being tackled. For example a social story can be implemented to help the child with autism cope with group activities, learn appropriate social skills like asking questions, respecting personal space, taking turns and so on…

The social story WILL answer the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and WILL offer an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in those on the autism spectrum.

Autism Social Skills Stories ARE normally written in first person text and WILL usually be written from the perspective of the child with autism. The social story should also be written in word format to make editing and printing easier.

No two children with autism WILL ever be the same and we all use different terminology with our kids, therefore editing and personalization ARE important.

To learn more about Autism Behaviour Supports and Techniques such as Autism Social Skills Stories, Visual Social Story Cards and Communication Cards visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

 

Helping students with autism integrate

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Typically students on the autism spectrum WILL HAVE social and communication deficits.

These deficits ARE common to autism and affect how the child processes information, thinks, acts, re-acts, interacts, communicates and behaves; this is known as social skills deficits.

No two students on the autism spectrum will ever be the same and thus will display differing social skills deficits.

However although there is no known cure for autism spectrum there are various treatments and supports for autism which can are excellent for helping students with autism learn to overcome their social skills deficits and reach their full potential.

Helping students with autism integrate in to the classroom can be achieved using treatments and supports for autism like picture communication cards, flash cards, PECS, visual social story cards and social skills stories.

All of these can be implemented easily and need no formal training to use. Typically teachers and parents CAN USE supports such as social skills stories and picture communication cards equally as well in the home and the classroom/school.

Social skills stories were developed around twenty years ago to aid communication in children with autism, today they are used for much wider issues and behaviour difficulties.

For example a social story can be used to help with situations like visiting a dentist, what to do at recess, asking questions, joining in play, calming down and so on…

The social story answers the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and will offer an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in most autistic individuals.

Social skills stories ARE always written in first person text and from the point of view of the autistic student and WILL be in a manner that the autistic student can understand.

Typically most students with autism WILL be visual learners; which means that teaching styles which allow for this WILL be better understood. For example USE images, pictures, graphs and so on TO SHOW the autistic student what it is you are trying to get across.

Helping students with autism integrate in to the class is no easy task but with forward thinking and the use of visual information such as picture communication cards to highlight areas, tasks, rules and so on and social skills stories to teach social interaction and communication skills your task WILL BE a whole lot easier.

For example: picture communication cards can highlight the coat peg, pencil draw, bathroom, snack time and so on. They are also used as a means of communication – a card can be exchanged for a reward, behaviour etc…

To learn more about social skills stories and picture communication cards visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

Alternatively you can learn more about autism social stories and picture communication cards from http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

Autistic social skills

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Probably one of the most significant difficulties for children with autism spectrum is a lack of social awareness skills and behaviours, which is referred to as social skills deficits

These deficits ARE made worse due to deficits with communication both verbal and non-verbal. However there are various treatments of autism that CAN help a child on the spectrum OVERCOME many of their own social skills deficits.

Typically developing children WILL learn social awareness skills through observation, peers, family and their environment. This is NOT TRUE for a child on the spectrum this is due to the “theory of mind” a child with autism WILL NOT be able to read another person’s facial expression or body language.

This lack of the theory of mind WILL mean that the child with autism WILL have difficulties determining what is happening the” hidden social rules” which CAN lead to social mistakes and at times even isolation.

There is no cure for autism but the various treatments of autism CAN and WILL help OVERCOME many of the skills your child is struggling with.

Probably one of the most significant treatments of autism is autistic social skills stories which ARE used to help children with autism spectrum understand and learn skills and behaviours that ARE causing them stress or confusion, like for example self-help skills, asking questions, making friends and so on…

Typically autistic social skills stories ARE short descriptive pieces of text that ARE written in first person text and ALWAYS from the autistic individual’s point of view.

Commonly children with autism spectrum ARE VISUAL thinkers and learners this means that they find VISUAL information much easier to use and UNDERSTAND.

Autistic social skills stories ARE VISUAL, the social story USES images /pictures to detail the skill or behaviour in terms of the relevant social cues.

The social story acts like a VISUAL FRAMEWORK OR PLAN of the skill or situation helping to make the child on the spectrum feel more comfortable with and in the situation.

It should also answer the ever important “wh” questions – who, what, why, where and when as well as “HOW” and should offer an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in most children with autism spectrum.

To learn more about autistic social skills stories visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior