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

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have social deficiencies these are familiar to autism; it is due to these social deficiencies that the autistic child may be unaware of the rules of social conduct, how to act in public or interactions. Even though all autistic individuals have social deficiencies the level of disability and the combination of symptoms will vary from person to person.

Having social deficiencies is familiar to autism and at times can leave the autistic child open to bullying especially at school.

For many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder understanding language can also cause problems.

Generally kids with autism that display communication difficulties will misunderstand simple directions or questions and may take what is said too literally. For example; metaphors, humour, sarcasm, irony and other figures of speech (such as “watch what you say”) can all be confusing.

Due to their social deficiencies sometimes kids with autism can come across as rude or aloof. But while they may appear emotionally flat, the reality is that autistic child is far from unfeeling. What may appear like indifference or insensitivity is actually due to social impairments, the inability to see things as other people do.

However using management tactics of autism for communication struggles in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder will be beneficial.

There are many management tactics of autism available with social skills stories being probably the most significant for communication struggles in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Social Skills Stories are used effectively by parents, teachers, care givers and other professionals to help improve and teach social, imagination and interaction skills and behaviours as well as addressing communication difficulties in children with autism.

Social skills stories are management tactics of autism that are easy to implement and need no formal training to use, they can be downloaded from the internet or provided by your child’s OT, speech therapist and sometimes school.

Social skills stories help overcome social deficiencies by communication struggles in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, by helping the child with autism learn appropriate social skills and behaviours.

The social skills story provides the child with a step by step visual plan detailing the key points or goals, allowing them a chance to rehearse the skill or behaviour they are struggling with. Which will make the child feel more comfortable with and in the situation they are struggling with and less likely to become stressed or agitated.

To find out more about social skills stories for communication struggles in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

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 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

One of the biggest problems for autistic kids is difficulty in social interaction.

This problem is heightened by their difficulties with speech and language. Autism also seems to create problems with the ability to mind read, or being able to tell or guess at what another person might be thinking.

Normally developing children will observe others and guess, through a combination of tone and body language, what the other person may be thinking or feeling.

However in children with autism spectrum disorder this naturally developed skill is missing and so the ability to predict what another is feeling or thinking is not there…

This lack of being able to mind read can lead to social mistakes even for those with high functioning autism….And of cause social mistakes may lead to the person with autism causing hurt feelings, asking inappropriate questions, acting oddly or generally open themselves up to hostility, teasing, bullying and social isolation.

Quite often parents and educators of children with autism spectrum disorder feel unable to communicate and interact with their autistic child.

Sometimes the child on the spectrum may appear not to hear what has been said to them, they will often fail to respond to their name and can sometimes be indifferent to any attempts of communication with them.

By careful observation it can often be determined which way the child communicates, in this ways the educator or parent can build on this strength.

For example, if the child is non-verbal, rather then communicating with them by using words, try using gestures. The child with autism may use some of the following to communicate: crying, taking the adults hand to the thing they want, looking at what they want, reaching, using pictures and echolalia. 

Echolalia is the repetition of other people’s words and is a common with the child on the spectrum. Some autistic kids will constantly repeat a rhyme or something they heard on TV.

Echolalia is a good sign it means speech is developing, in time the child may repeat something that was said to them, like drink or toilet.

Developing communication with your child on the spectrum will be a slow process, but eventually you will make progress.

Autistic kids tend to be visual learners, using pictures and images is a good way to communicate what you are expecting of them or wanting from them.

For, example at dinner time a picture or image of the family sitting around the table and a plate of food will tell the child it is time to eat.

You can introduce autism social skills stories to help with this…A good well written social skills story will have high pictorial content as well as text.

These short pieces of text, normally one page long will have pictorial cues as to what is happening and what the child is expected to do. In time the child on the spectrum will recognize the stories and will naturally re-act in the way the story intends them too.

For example…Dinner time a social skills story may have a picture of the family sitting around the table…a plate, cutlery, maybe a cup, some food…The adult can show the child on the spectrum the story with the colorful images and they can then read the short descriptive pieces of text will pointing to the appropriate image.

…These autism social skills stories are normally printable so they can be used time and time again, in-fact they can be used for every situation you need help with.

These autism social skills stories can become like a best friend to the autistic child giving the clear and precise instructions of how to act in all situations, Plus they are a fantastic communication device for a parent-giving you the tools you need to help communicate with your autistic child.

To obtain downloadable autism social stories, visit: Autism Social Skills Stories – Autism social Training

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

www.autismsocialstories.com/hygiene

www.autismsocialstories.com/autistic_teens

Generally when looking at the behavior characteristics of autism it shows us that typically before the child’s third birthday the behavior characteristics of autism will begin to become apparent. Parents of kids with ASD will normally have noticed something is not quite right, their child may be displaying odd behaviors and may not have reached milestones.

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder which affects the brain in individuals. Generally all kids with ASD will have autistic social skills deficits these deficits commonly make up the symptoms of autism.

These autistic social skills deficits are social, communication, imagination and interaction skills deficits and will always be present to a certain degree.

All kids with ASD are different and the degree of autistic social skills deficit will also be different some kids with ASD are low functioning and may never develop speech they may also have other educational disabilities. While at the top end of the autism scale is high functioning and asperger syndrome these individuals are often average or above average intelligence and have often been referred to as “geeks”.

The symptoms of autism can be severe in some cases while in others mild to moderate.

Generally looking at the behavior characteristics of autism WILL also SUGGEST sensory issues in all or some of the senses, sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound.

Kids with ASD view the world in a different way to typically developing children they do not process sensory information in the same manner. The child on the spectrum will not naturally learn social, communication, imagination and interaction skills unlike a typically developing child that will learn naturally the skills needed to function normally. The typically developing youngster learns social skills through their environment and their own senses.

The child on the spectrum does not do this and will need direct teaching of behaviors, social and communication skills. This can be achieved through the use of autistic visual supports such as PECS cards and social stories for autistic children.

Many parents of kids with ASD as well as teachers and other professionals are already using autistic visual supports around the home, school, college and anywhere the individual with autism needs extra support or help to understand or cope.

One of the most significant autistic visual supports available to help kids with ASD is social skills stories. Developed almost twenty years ago social skills stories for autism are now probably one of the best known resources for teaching and re-enforcing social, communication, imagination and interaction skills to children with autism.

Reports suggest children with ASD respond very well to social skills stories for autism because they represent the skill being mastered in a way that children with ASD can understand and remember using appropriate language, and visual representation of the skill.

The internet now makes it easier for parents of kids with ASD as well as teachers and others involved with the care of an child on the spectrum to find and source expertly written social stories for autistic children.

Sites such as www.autismsocialstories.com offer immediate download of social stories for autistic children as well as support for all those involved in the care of an autistic child.

Social skills stories for autism are used to teach behaviors and social skills effectively. They are used to help with the looking at the behavior characteristics of autism by providing concrete support and visual representation of the skill or behavior the child with autism is struggling to master.

Download social skills stories from www.autismsocialstories.com and see for yourself how easy they are to use and how affective they can be.

Other sites offering downloads are:

www.autismsocialstories.com/sensory

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

All individuals with autism spectrum disorder will have social impairments or lack the theory of mind, which means they will lack the ability to “mind read”, understand body language and facial expression.  As typically developing beings we take these skills for granted.

Generally social impairments become apparent early in childhood and continue through to adulthood.

For children on the autism spectrum having a distinct lack of social skills can mean social interactions are difficult. They will almost certainly be less likely to approach other children spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, and still not grasp the concept of turn taking.

Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for children with ASD social development is not learnt naturally.

Children on the autism spectrum like typically developing children do need friends…and as a parent or teacher of an autistic child there are ways in which you can help them understand the importance of social development and friendships.

Parents can help their child with autism learn skills such as making friends, sharing and taking turns etc. using autistic social stories.

Autism social stories are a strategy used to explain social and communication skills, by answering the important “wh” question who, where, why, when and what as well as giving an insight into the thoughts and feelings of others.

Autism social stories tend to be visual; this is because children with ASD are generally visual thinkers and learners, meaning they think in pictures which makes autistic social stories an ideal strategy. 

Helping autism social development using autistic social stories is beneficial. Autistic social stories are written in the first person, using appropriate language and images in a manner the child with autism can understand. Images are a powerful means of communication which are understood by all, this concept if followed with autistic social stories.

The social story is a visual plan or framework much like a comic strip conversation which can act as a role model for the child with autism, helping them understand the skill or behavior that they are struggling with.

Autism social development using autistic social stories will show your autistic child in a clear helpful manner how, why, where and when they should do something. They will give the appropriate responses the autistic child may expect and also the responses they themselves should expect from others.

Studies show children with ASD respond well to printable autism social stories, with marked improvements in social understanding and behaviors.

To obtain printable autism social stories which you can download and use visit

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

www.autismsocialstories.com/hygiene

www.autismsocialstories.com/autistic_teens

Autism spectrum disorder is a pervasive developmental disorder affecting the autistic individual’s brain; which impairs the autistic individual’s social interactions and causes restricted and repetitive stereotypical behaviors.

Generally kids on the autism spectrum have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication which can impact on their abilities to socially interact.

Having autism spectrum disorder makes it hard for kids on the autism spectrum to understand and relate to the world we live in, they fail to grasp social skills, which typically developing children and adults will naturally learn.

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 objectives 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 on the autism spectrum and social skills should be taught directly.

Generally kids on the autism spectrum are visual learners and will better understand any social skills teaching when taught and re-enforced visually. This is achievable using visual support tools for autism such as social stories.

Using visual support tools for autism can make the implementation of autism objectives 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 autistic 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 autistic social skills stories are probably the most significant autism tool used to help kids on the autism spectrum overcome social interaction difficulties.

To find appropriate autism objectives for interactions autistic social skills stories as well as autistic 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_resources

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior     

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/Halloween

Autism is one of the most common developmental disorders yet still it is misunderstood.

There is no cure for autism, raising a child with autism spectrum is probably one of the toughest challenges a parent could face, the physical and emotional challenges faced can be overwhelming.

Unfortunately, the typical symptoms of autism can be severe in some children which undoubtedly will have an affect on the autistic child’s entire family.

Although there is nothing that can be done to reverse autism, there are strategies parents of children on the autism spectrum can use to help with the typical symptoms of autism.

Research has shown parents of children on the autism spectrum suffer more stress than parents of children with learning disabilities.

Therefore finding the right resources for children on the autism spectrum is essential.

Which resources and children with autism are available and how can you access them quickly and easily?

Parents of children on the autism spectrum are using resources for children on the autism spectrum such as autistic social skills stories.

Studies into the use of resources and children with autism; show that there is a significant improvement in teaching autism social skills and good behaviors to children on the autism spectrum, once autistic social skills stories have been introduced.

Autistic social skills stories are used effectively for teaching autism social skills and behaviors to children on the autism spectrum; written by experts in autistic behaviors, autistic social skills stories can help an autistic child learn vital social skills and appropriate behaviors.

The social story is typically written in first person text and will normally have visual images/pictures which show the child with autism what is happening and why.

The social story aims to answer the ever important “wh” questions- who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and will offer the child with autism an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of considerable weakness in most children on the spectrum.

Consequently, parents of children on the autism spectrum are able to find better coping methods, which can in turn help alleviate some of the stress parents find themselves under.

Therefore, teaching autism social skills and good behaviors to children on the autism spectrum by using this valuable autism resource can be very beneficial.

The internet now makes finding this autism resource much easier and less time consuming.

To download autistic social skills stories that help parents of children on the autism spectrum find better coping methods, for behaviors such as screaming or even autistic stimming visit a good autism resource site such as:

www.autismsocialstories.com

Astonishingly up to 50 percent of kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder will never develop speech, whilst the others will develop some form of early communication skills.

Typically autistic children rarely engage in effective communication and may struggle to read “social and communication cues”

To fully appreciate how difficult it must be for many Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder to engage in effective communication first we must look at communication on the whole.

Speech – language we refer to the body of words, the formations of sounds, as well as the structures and forms used to construct speech. 

Communication on the other hand can occur either verbally through speech or non-verbally through the use of spoken words, gestures, signs, or by pointing to printed words or symbols.

To communicate effectively, we must firstly be able to understand why we need to communicate with others, have the desire to communicate, have somebody to communicate with, have something to communicate about, and have a means of expressing ourselves.

Consequently as typically developing children develop, they begin to explore their environment and start to understand the cause and effect around them. For example when they are thirsty they can point to the fridge or a cup…When they are wanting a cuddle or are tired they may raise both hands to picked up.

With autistic children sometimes this inquisitiveness is missing, the lack of interest in their surroundings and the lack of effective eye contact make learning communication and the need to engage in effective communication very difficult.

By the time a non-verbal autistic child starts school, they may already have seen a speech therapist to establish a program to aid with the development of effective communication. The speech therapist will need to determine some appropriate objectives and goals, a base level of communication will be established by carefully observing the non-verbal autistic child within the school setting. 

In certain cases it may be necessary for the non-verbal autistic child to learn a new form of communication. For example the child may cry or scream when they need something and this is their form of communication. But this is not going to be effective in a classroom full of children. Therefore new forms of communication will need to be established.

Social skills stories can be used as a form of autism communication tools for children on the spectrum.

Autism social stories are short but descriptive pieces of text with appropriate pictures and images to support the story – or instruction.

So for example if the new skill is to help the autistic child understand the need for quiet reading at school, the appropriate autism social story would be selected and implemented.

These autism communication tools for children on the spectrum will pictorially show as well as the text the reason why the children are expected to be silent, who is expecting them to be silent, and what the consequence of not being quiet is as well as the consequent or reward for being quiet.

Autism social stories answer the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” an offer an insight into the thoughts feelings and emotions of others which is an area of considerable weakness for most kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autistic children tend to be visual learners, which is why studies have shown that autism social stories are an excellent aid in developing good foundations for behavior and social skills for autistic children and adults. A good place for autism communication tools for children on the spectrum can be found at:

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

www.autismsocialstories.com/autistic_teens

www.autismsocialstories.com/hygiene

In a study of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder it was found that this set of children were disadvantaged in the way they play.

Characteristically preschool children with autism spectrum disorder find it difficult to play as a normally developing child would. This lack of play skills can aggravate the child’s social isolation from their peers, and only underline their differences from other children.

So what is play?

• Play should be fun and enjoyable.
• Play should have no set goals imposed on it from outside influences; it should be imaginative and sometimes impulsive.
• play should be spontaneous and voluntary
• play should involve some kind of active involvement on the part of the player
• play can be solitary or enjoyed with friends

The Development of play

Children’s play should go through a number of developmental stages

• Sensory motor play, stimulation from objects, for example a baby gym.

• exploratory and manipulative play, for example Lego
• physical play including rough and tumble
• social play, playing with their peers, playground play
• pretend play or make believe

Why do children need to play?

Play allows our children to learn new skills and practice them in safe supportive surroundings.

Sensory motor play teaches babies and young infants about their own bodies and about objects in their immediate surroundings. The bright colored toys stimulate the babies mind and he/she will reach out to grab and explore the toy.

Manipulative and exploratory play teaches older infants about various objects, what they do; sound like, how they react together and how they influence the world they are living in.

Physical play, rough and tumble play, teaches toddlers and pre-school children some gross motor skills, which will provide them with the experiences of whole body interaction with others.

Social play is vast right from the mother and baby interactions to children’s make believe play, for example, playing mummy’s and daddy’s, which teaches children about social relationships in the world they live in.

Typically the autistic child on the other hand likes repetition and things to stay the same, and may display stereotypical, repetitive and stimming behaviors, mostly their play will be solitary.

Preferring their own company to that of others, an autistic child will find interactive, make believe play strange and may not understand the reasons for this kind of play.

So how do you help your Autistic child play?

One method it through direct teaching, typically children on the autism spectrum do not learn play skills naturally and like social and communication skills direct teaching is often needed.

One method of direct teaching for children on the autism spectrum is the use of social stories for autistic children.

Significantly social stories for autistic children can be implemented to help teach and re-enforce play skills and other skills the child with autism struggles with.

Social stories are short explanations using visual images, much like a comic script to detail the skill or situation from the child’s own point of view and in a manner that they will understand.

Social stories for autistic children follow set patterns, are generally easy to use and implement need no training to use and will be editable making them ideal for all.

To view and learn more about how social stories visit:

www.autismsocialstories.com

For most children with autism lacking social interaction skills is common. Many children with autism will want to make and have friends but will find this process confusing and stressful.

Lacking social interaction skills is often referred to as the autism triad of impairments but those autism triad of impairments will vary from child to child.

The actual degree a child is affected with the autism triad of impairments will generally depend on the individual’s social development.

Some children with autism on the lower end of the autism scale may have little or no language and may have other related disabilities. On the other end of the autism scale those children with asperger syndrome will often be schooled in mainstream schools and be of average to above average intelligence. This set of individuals will probably desire friendships.

Those children with asperger syndrome or mild autism will probably want friendships but making and maintaining those friendships will be a struggle, unfortunately it is believed around 40% of autistic children in mainstream education will at some point be a victim to bullying.

For most typically developing children recess and break times are a time of fun and a chance to run around and interact with their peers, this is “normal behavior”

However this is not the case with an autistic child, often the sound of the bell can fill them with fear and dread. Autistic children prefer structure, routine and dislike surprises, noises and the unstructured chaos of free time. They find choice making difficult and can sometimes be overwhelmed by recess and break times.

A lot of autistic children find recess confusing, there are a lot of choices to be made, what to play with, who to play with, what to do, so many choices a “typical child” will take for granted and enjoy, this is not the case with an autistic child.

For example a simple game, the autistic child may choose to join in with their peers, but may find comprehending the rules confusing, they may not understand the need for the rules, and then just as they start to understand the rules may change or the game may stop.

The other end to this is those children with autism that will stick rigidly to the rule and this can sometimes take the fun out of the game for the other normally developing children, they may loose interest and unfortunately the autistic child may not understand why this is and become distressed.

Some autistic children can become overwhelmed by noise, which can make recess or break time a painful and stressful time, you may find them pacing up and down in their own little world until recess is over and they can return to the routine and structure of the classroom.

All these factors can make autism and finding friends difficult to say the very least.

So how can you help with the problem of autism and finding friends?

Generally as we discussed earlier kids with autism prefer structure and routine, this can be achieved by the use of autism visual supports such as autism visual schedules and social skills stories, these resources are used in the classroom to add structure and routine the child’s day.

These autism visual supports can also be used to help kids with autism cope with recess and break times taking away some of anxieties they may feel around this time of the day.

The autism visual supports can also be used to help autistic children understand how to maintain friendships, by teaching the autistic child how to use conversation, how to pretend play, how to be kind, respect peoples feelings and personal space, how to share and make choices and so on, all social skills we take for granted, but an autistic child will need to be taught these social skills directly.

Therefore the perfect place to start with autism and making friends is with autism visual supports such as autism visual schedules and social skills stories to teach the autistic child the social skills necessary for making and maintaining friendships and dealing with recess and break times.

You can find appropriate social skills stories and other autism resources for kids with autism for download at:

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocialstories.com/stories.html

www.autismsocialstories.com/sensory.html

Probably one of the most significant difficulties that parents with an autistic child report is their child’s behaviour issues.

It is important to remember that unlike typically developing children a child on the autism spectrum is far less likely to misbehave “just because” and that most if not ALL autistic behaviour WILL happen for a reason an internal or external factor.

Typically children with autism HAVE social skills deficits in three main areas of development: social awareness, communication – both verbal and non-verbal and imagination skills, as well as sensory processing issues.

It is these social skills deficits and sensory processing issues which WILL contribute to the majority of behaviour issues in autism.

Managing autistic behaviour issues can BE ACHIEVED through the use of Intervention Strategies.

Intervention Strategies ARE put in place to help the autistic child manage their behaviours and find coping methods for skills and behaviours that they are struggling with.

Intervention Strategies like social skills stories and visual social story cards ARE probably the most significant of the Intervention Strategies for helping with managing autistic behaviour issues.

Social skills stories ARE short descriptive stories written to help children with autism overcome social skills deficits. A social skills story CAN act like a visual plan or framework of the skill or situation the autistic child is struggling with.

A social skills story WILL use appropriate first person text and be from the child’s won perspective. It should be written in word format to allow for editing and personalization as this is important for children with autism and we all use different terminology with our children.

Social stories for autism behaviour difficulties USE visual images/pictures to help show the child on the spectrum visually what is happening making them feel more comfortable with and in the situation.

Typically children with autism ARE visual thinkers and learners this means that they think in pictures and find visual information easier to understand.

Social stories for autism behaviour difficulties answer the “wh” questions – who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and offer the child on the spectrum an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others which is an area of marked weakness in most children with autism.

To learn more about managing autistic behaviour issues using Intervention Strategies like social skills stories visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

Or http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you will find downloads of approx. 100 social stories.

Intervention strategies ARE mainly used to help OVERCOME the deficits and abnormal behaviours often displayed by children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder Interventions CAN help increase the quality of life as well as help the autistic child reach his / her full potential. Interventions ARE typically tailored to individual needs, for example a non-verbal autistic child may find PECS and picture cards more suitable, while a verbal autistic child may find social stories more beneficial.

Studies show that Intervention strategies ARE beneficiaul to ALL children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder once the correct strategy is in place. For the purpose of this article I am going to focus on social stories and communication picture cards.

Social stories ARE one of the most significant Intervention strategies that has been introduced over the last twenty years. The social story is a short almost comic like description of a skill or behaviour that is broken down in to smaller easier to understand sections.

For example: most children with autism struggle to hold and start conversations, this can have a knock on affect and the child may struggle to amke and maintain friendships. A social story can act as a visual framework or plan and break down the steps needed to approach and ask another child to play, reducing stress and anti-social behaviours.

A child with autism is typically a VISUAL learner, this means that they will find visual information easier to use, with speech / language as secondary, thus social stories ARE commonly VISUAL.

Using visual images / pictures the social story answers the “wh” questions - who, what, where, when and whay 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 children with autism.

Characteristically social stories ARE written in first person text and will always be from the autisic childs own perspective. The social story should be editable and easy to personalize as no two individuals will ever be the same and we all use different terminology with our own child.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder Interventions like communication picture cards (flash cards) ARE typically used to help with communication difficulties. For example a non-verbal autistic child can have a selection of communication picture cards enabling them to communicate their own needs. At snack time the child may wish to have an apple for example so will give the teacher the card showing an apple in return for the card the teacher will give the child the apple and so on…

The communication picture cards can have a variety of uses - on visual timetable, now and next boards, choices boards, displayed around the home and classroom as a reminder for example of where the toilet is, coat pegs and so on. The communication picture cards ARE also used for communication the teacher can show the child with autism what is expected of them for example - recess, assembley etc by pointing to a picture card, giving the child a gentle prompt as to what is happening or about to happen, again reducing stress and confusion.

To learn more about social stories and communication picture cards and to see an example visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com
http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

Looking at Communication Difficulties in Autism - USING VISUAL SUPPORTS

Children with autism have difficulties with communication skills, and will often not develop effective communication . It is believed that up to 50% of children with autism spectrum will NOT develop speech, while others will develop speech slowly.

When we think of speech we are thinking of the body of words and the formation of sounds, as well as the structure and forms used to allow speech.

However with  communication this can be either verbally through speech or non-verbally through gestures, signs and pointing to printed words or symbols.

Typically children with autism spectrum WILL struggle with all forms of communication verbal and non-verbal and will use speech as a secondary language. Children with autism spectrum ARE generally VISUAL thinkers this means that they
think in pictures / images, this is their first language.

It is therefore beneficial for teacher and parents to consider visual information as a means of communication and use speech / words less. Visual communication supports for autism can be in many forms - social stories, visual social story cards,
PECS, flash cards, visual timetables and so on.

As children develop they begin to explore their environment and learn cause and affect - for example a thirsty child may point to his cup, a tired child may raise their arms to be picked up, this is cause and affect.  This inquisitiveness for exploration to learn this cause and affect is typically missing in children with autism.

By the time a non-verbal autistic child starts school chances are they will already have been seen by a  speech therapist. In many cases it will be necessary for the autistic child to learn a new form of communication -  a child that screams and tantrums to
get what they need is not going to “fit in” at school. A new means of communication will be needed to control the need for the screaming - for example visual communication supports for autism such as visual social story cards, PECS and flash cards can be introduced.

Visual social story cards are small laminated cards approx. 8cm by 11cm that can be introduced to help the child learn new skills or understand behaviours that they find difficult to master, for example break time, using the potty, time out and so on.

The social story cards are short visual stories much like a comic script that are used as a visual plan or framework of the skill or behaviour, always from the autistic child’s own perspective and in first person text. The social story cards will describe the skill or behaviour and give possible outcomes.

Visual social story cards answer the “wh” questions - who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and provide an insight into how others may be feeling, which is an area of marked weakness in most autistic children.

To learn more about how social stories can be used to help autisitic children and communication difficulties in autism visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

I often get asked How do I choose a social story for my autistic child?

To begin with you need to understand what a social story is:

Social stories are short visual descriptions of a skill, behaviour, activity or event, written in first person text and always from the autistic child’s own perspective.

Social stories are written to help the child with autism develop social awareness skills and behaviours as well as social understanding, and better communication skills.

A social skills story can also help the child with autism better understand that not everyone shares their opinions, likes and dislikes and that we all have different objectives, thoughts and feelings.

The social skills story is generally written in word format and can be adapted to suit all needs and abilities. It should also be easy to edit and personalize, as no two individuals will ever be the same and we all use different terminology with our children.

Typically children with autism spectrum are visual thinkers, meaning that they think in pictures and use language as a secondary.

This makes social stories ideal as they ARE predominantly visual and colourful.

Social stories answer the ever important “wh” questions - who, what, why, when and where as well as “HOW” and will offer an insight into how another person may precieve the situation, their emotion and feelings, this is an area of marked weakness in most children with autism spectrum.

Acting as a visual framework or plan the social story can help giude the autistic child, suggesting possible responses and outcomes, promoting positive behaviours.

Social stories and visual social story cards ARE used for ALL situations and skills that the child with autism is struggling with, for example: asking other kids to play, waiting their turn to talk in the classroom, recess, being a good sport and so on.

Many parents find social stories and visual social story cards an excellent tool around puberty, by helping to explain what is happening and what the child / adolescent can expect.

Through observation you should be able to determine which skills and behavours your child is finding challenging and implement an appropriate social story. However if you do not see any improvement after two weeks maybe the story needs tweaking, or perhaps you have read the situation wrong and a different story is needed.

For example a child that has a tamtrum during circle time, may not be having a meltdown due to circle time itself, there could be a number of reasons, such as not getting to show and tell first to, who they are sitting next to. Through observation you should be able to determine the cause of the tantrum and introduce an appropriate story.
To lean more  - How do I choose a social story for my autistic child visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

Generally kids with autism find social situations confusing due to social skills deficits, all autistic individuals will have social difficulties this is common to autism and due mainly to EACH INDIVIDUALS  own individual social skills deficits.

For the majority of parents with an autistic child, helping their autistic child to develop social skills is a primary focus.

Consequently, many treatments of autism have been researched and developed to help parents teach social skills to their child on the spectrum. 

Teaching social skills to kids with autism can lead to an increase in positive behaviors and self-confidence.

There is a variety of treatments of autism that may be suitable for your child on the spectrum, your G.P. will point you in the right direction and offer advice. For many parents and teachers of autistic kids strategies such as social skills stories help them in teaching and increasing social skills in kids with autism.

An autism social story is a short descriptive story that acts like a visual plan or framework of the situation or skill being developed or taught, the social skills story is almost like a comic script.

The goal of an autism social story is to focus on the key points or social cues of the situation or skill. The social skills story uses first person text and visual images to describe the skill or situation by answering the “wh” questions - who, where, why, when and what as well as “HOW” and will give an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others.

Social stories are used for a wide variety of situations and skills that the child may be finding difficult to master or is causing stresses, for example: A shopping trip; meeting new people; recess; school dinner; assembly even a trip to the dentist. Any of these situations can be dealt with using a simple autism social story.

The autism social story can be used to help practice skills and behaviors, manage negative behaviors, explain changes to routines and make confusing or stressful events and situations understandable by allowing the child with autism a chance to rehearse the skill or situation in advance.

Typically kids with autism are visual thinkers; this means that they will have more successes using visual information rather than written or spoken direction and information.

Increasing social skills in kids with autism is effective using direct teaching such as: autism visual supports like social skills stories. A social skills story can make an otherwise confusing or stressful skill or situation more routine.

For a child with autism having a step by step action plan in the form of a simple autism social story; that they can read and understand that is visually rich and easy to follow, can be a tremendous benefit and reduce their fears and sensitivities.

Increasing social skills goals for kids with autism such as tooth brushing, hygiene, asking questions and calming down can all be tackled using social stories as a strategy.

To learn more about using social stories as a strategy and how they are used to benefit a child with autism visit:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

Other sites that offer social skills stories can be found at:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school_resources

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

A diagnosis of autism spectrum can be upsetting for many parents all of a sudden your world is upside down. However a diagnosis of autism spectrum need not be met with fear. Autism spectrum is more common than you probably thought with 1 in every 150 babies born being given a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

As with typically developing children, all children with autism will also develop at varying rates, with no two kids on the spectrum having the same autism characteristics.

Some children with Low functioning autism may have other problems such as little or no speech, seizures and will normally have educational difficulties.

Those children with autism characteristics such as asperger syndrome will have average or above intelligence, however their speech may still develop slowly but will develop. This set of individuals are often referred to as the little professor or geeks!

However typical to all children with autism ARE “The Triad of Autistic Impairments” or social skills deficits.

Each individual’s deficits will vary, some kids on the spectrum may display severe social deficits whilst others may display less severe social deficits and be able to function quite well socially.

There is no cure for autism spectrum but there are various treatments for autism that will help teach social and communication skills to children with autism

Significantly many treatments for autism use visual information, this is because typically kids on the spectrum ARE visual thinkers and learners, meaning they think in pictures and language/speech is secondary.

Typically most kids on the spectrum find treatments for autism like social skills stories, visual social story cards and flash cards beneficial.

Probably one the major concerns for many parents of children with autism spectrum is their child’s difficulty with social development skills and behaviors for example making friends, asking questions, respecting personal space and so on.

A social skills story acts like a visual framework or plan of the skill or behavior that the child with ASD is struggling with. So for example id the child with ASD is struggling to approach and make friends with their peers the social story can outline the appropriate social cues and help guide the child with ASD to make friends.

For parents of children with autism spectrum, caregivers, autistic educators and other professionals using social skills stories as a strategy that will help teach social and communication skills to children with autism can be a real help.

Using social skills stories as a strategy that will help teach social and communication skills to children with autism was first introduced almost twenty years ago and has since proven to be one of the major jumps forward in the treatment of autism.

Autism social skills stories are short, descriptive and visually rich. The social story will generally follow a set formula of sentence type and will always be from the perspective of the autistic child.

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

Autism social skills stories are an effective tool strategy that will help teach social and communication skills to children with autism. Typically written in word format to make personalization and editing simple the social story also needs to be portable for convenience

Giving key focus to the vital points the social cues autism social skills stories are much like a comic strip, showing a detailed visual step by step plan of the skill or behavior being taught or re-enforced.

For immediate download of autism social skills stories that will help teach and re-enforce social, communication, imagination and interaction skills to ASD kids visit one of the following sites where you will find autism social skills stories and visual support cards for children and young people with ASD

www.autismsocialstories.com

www.autismsocialstories.com/visual_aids

www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

There are various tools that can be used to teach social skills for children with autism, probably one of the most significant of these is the social skills story.

Teaching social skills for children with autism using social stories

Social stories are used as a tool for aiding communication and teaching social skills. The social skills story is typically written in first person text, always from the point of view of the autistic child, and will use images to help describe the skill or behaviour in terms of relevant social cues.

The social skills story will provide accurate information, with no hidden extras. Social stories for children with autism answer the ever important “wh” questions – who, what, where, when and why 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 children.

The characteristics of autism

A lack of appropriate social skills is one of the characteristics of autism. Many parents struggle daily to teach “everyday” life skills such as appropriate hygiene as well as other skills like making friends and social awareness skills to their autistic child.

Teaching social skills for children with autism using social stories is beneficial. The social skills story acts like a visual framework or visual plan of the skill, helping the child to understand what is happening, why and what is expected of them.

Download: social stories for autism

While many sites offer downloads of social stories for autism, they may not always be colourful, editable and easy to implement.

At http://www.autismsocialstories.com you will not only find downloads of 100’s of well written social stories, the social stories are also colourful, editable, convenient and easy to implement.

To learn more about social stories for autism and how they can benefit your child visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

The Festive Season is here once more, for the majority of us it is the season of fun and festivities, but for many families with an ASD child Christmas can be fraught with stress and anxiety.

For many children on the spectrum Christmas time is more likely to be filled with difficulties, stresses and anxiety. Their routines can be disrupted and the stability they rely on can go out the window, and be replaced by the sheer chaos of Christmas.

And as any parent of an autistic child knows no matter how small the changes are they can be difficult for the ASD child to cope with.

For many families with an ASD child Christmas and all its sensory overloads is dreaded. However there ARE Intervention Strategies designed to help children on the spectrum deal with many of the issues surrounding Christmas.

Intervention Strategies such as social skills stories, visual social story cards, flash cards, PECS and other strategies ARE used to help children on the spectrum at Christmas time.

These Intervention Strategies can help with skills, behaviours and activities such as decorating the Christmas tree. Many autistic children fail to understand why a tree is decorated.  Consequently Intervention Strategies like social stories ARE used to explain why in a way the child on the spectrum can understand.

For many families Christmas with an ASD child is stressful, intervention strategies can HELP remove some of the stress by helping the autistic child gain a better understanding of Christmas.

Social skills stories are short descriptive pieces of text, written from the point of view of the child on the spectrum, and using visual images or pictures to show the situation or skill much like a comic strip.

Using visual images is known to work with children on the spectrum as they are mainly visual thinkers and learners, meaning they think in pictures, making visual intervention strategies like social skills stories excellent resources to use.

Many situations and skills can be addressed using social skills stories, a good social story will act as a role model or visual plan, breaking the situation down into smaller sections showing in a concise manner the “wh” questions – who, where, when, why and what, plus “How” as well as giving an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others all helping to reduce anxieties, stress ad confusion.

A social story may be edited and personalized for convenience, to learn more about Christmas with an autistic child and how social stories for Christmas can help visit:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/christmas

Other social stories can be downloaded from:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

where you will find information and a selection of social stories for Christmas with your autistic child. Other social stories can be found at: http://www.autismsocialstories.com