"Invisible" Autism (by Kate Altman)

Recently, a mother of a son with autism said to me that one of the hardest things about her son having autism, is that he “looks so normal” that no one understands why he might be acting differently than other children. She feels that other parents judge her when her 9-year-old son has a temper tantrum or think he is rude when he does not make eye contact when they speak to him. She suggested that children with more visibly apparent disabilities, like physical disabilities or Down syndrome, receive more understanding, empathy and support.

Roy Richard Grinker, an anthropologist, discussed the same phenomenon in his book, Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism:

“….people throughout the world tend to pass moral judgments on illnesses that have few obvious physical signs, illnesses with symptoms and causes that are confusing to people or that may be incurable….The philosopher Ian Hacking, who recently gave a series of lectures on autism at the College de France in Paris, wondered aloud which was worse: the child who never speaks and has no social life, or the child who seems almost normal? He didn’t think there was any real answer to the question but posed it as a philosophical exercise. At least the profoundly impaired person clearly has a disability (Grinker, pp. 69-70).”

What do you think? Are people with autism spectrum disorders especially stigmatized due to the “invisibility” of their diagnoses? Has the prevalence of autism in the media impacted that “invisibility”, and if so, has it made society more accepting and supportive?

Supporting Adults on the Autism Spectrum

I recently had the privilege of visiting The Coffeehouse Center of Bucks of Bucks County, a community support program for young adults with Aspergers and PDD-NOS as they transition to adulthood. As you will see in the video below, this wonderful program helps the young adults connect with and support one another in order to build social skills, self-esteem, and just have fun. Hopefully more programs like this one will develop around the country as children on the autism spectrum grow up and head off to college or out into “the real world.”

To learn more about the Coffeehouse, click here:

http://www.coffeehousecenter.com/

Fatherly Devotion in the News

Today's Philadelphia Inquirer features a front page story about a very special father who lives with and cares for his son, who is quadriplegic, on campus at Temple University. The story is a true testament to the best in parental love and support of a child with special needs. Read it here: http://www.philly.com/philly/living/20090927_Guided_by_his_father_s_hands.html?referrer=google

The Effects of Animals on Autism?

Check out this touching video of the positive effects a pet dog, Henry, has on a boy with autism, Dale:

Checklists for Teachers to Get, Focus, and Maintain a Child's Attention

Although these lists are intended to help school teachers work with children diagnosed with ADHD, I think they can be helpful for any "teacher" and child. 

Checklists for Teachers

By: Sandra F. Rief (1997)

Getting students' attention

• Ask an interesting, speculative question, show a picture, tell a little story, or read a related poem to generate discussion and interest in the upcoming lesson.
• Try "'playfulness," silliness, a bit of theatrics (props and storytelling) to get attention and peak interest.
• Use storytelling. Students of all ages love to hear stories, especially personal stories. It is very effective in getting attention.
• Add a bit of mystery. Bring in an object relevant to the upcoming lesson in a box, bag, or pillowcase. This is a wonderful way to generate predictions and can lead to excellent discussions or writing activities.
• Signal students auditorily: ring a bell, use a beeper or timer, play a bar of music on the piano or guitar, etc.
• Vary your tone of voice: loud, soft, whispering. Try making a louder command "Listen! Freeze! Ready!" followed by a few seconds of silence before proceeding in a normal voice to give directions.
• Use visual signals: flash the lights or raise your hand which signals the students to raise their hands and close their mouths until everyone is silent.
• Frame the visual material you want students to be focused on with your hands or with a colored box around it.
• If using an overhead, place an object (e.g., little toy car or plastic figure) to be projected on the screen to get attention.
• Clearly signal: "Everybody…Ready…"
• Color is very effective in getting attention. Make use of colored dry-erase pens on white boards, colored overhead pens for transparencies and overhead projectors, and colored paper to highlight key words, phrases, steps to computation problems, spelling patterns, etc.
• Model excitement and enthusiasm about the upcoming lesson.
• Use eye contact. Students should be facing you when you are speaking, especially while instructions are being given. If students are seated in clusters, have those students not directly facing you turn their chairs and bodies around to face you when signaled to do so.

Focusing students' attention

• Employ multisensory strategies when directions are given and a lesson is presented.
• Maintain your visibility.
• Project your voice and make sure you can be heard clearly by all students.
• Be aware of competing sounds in your room environment (such as noisy heaters or air conditioning unit.)
• Call students up front and close to you for direct instruction (e.g., seated on the carpet by the board).
• Position all students so that they can see the board and/or overhead screen. Always allow students to readjust their seating and signal you if their visibility is blocked.
• Explain the purpose and relevance to hook students in to your lesson.
• Incorporate demonstrations and hands-on presentations into your teaching whenever possible.
• Use a flashlight or laser pointer. Turn off the lights and get students to focus by illuminating objects or individuals with the light.
• Use study guides/sheets that are partial outlines. While you are presenting a lesson or giving a lecture, students fill in the missing words based on what you are saying and/or writing on the board or overhead.
• Use visuals. Write key words or pictures on the board or overhead projector while presenting. Use pictures, diagrams, gestures, manipulatives, and high-interest material.
• Illustrate, illustrate, illustrate: It doesn't matter if you don't draw well to illustrate throughout your presentation. Give yourself and students permission and encouragement to draw even if you lack the skill or talent. Drawings don't have to be sophisticated or accurate. In fact, often the sillier, the better. Have fun with it. These silly illustrations get and maintain attention and help students understand and remember the material (sequence of events, key points, abstract information, etc.).
• Point with a dowel, a stick/pointer, or laser pointer to written material you want students to focus on. If you can find a pointer /dowel with a little hand/ finger on it, even better.

  * Note: Overhead projectors are the best tools for focusing students' attention in the classroom. You are able to write down information in color without having to turn your back on the students, thus improving classroom management and reducing behavioral problems. On the overhead, you can model easily and frame important information. Transparencies can be made in advance, saving you time. Then it can be partially covered up, blocking out any distracting, visual stimuli.

• Block out material by covering or removing from the visual field that which you visually don't want students to focus on. Remove the distracting clutter from the board or screen.
• Have students write down brief notes or illustrate key points during instruction.

Maintaining students' attention

• Move around in the classroom to maintain your visibility.
• Teach thematically whenever possible, allowing for integration of ideas/concepts and connections to be made.
• Present at a lively, brisk pace.
• Be prepared and avoid lag time in instruction.
• Use pictures, diagrams, gestures, manipulatives, and high interest materials.
• Use higher-level questioning techniques. Ask questions that are open-ended, require reasoning, and stimulate critical thinking and discussion.
• Decrease the amount of time you are doing the talking. Make all efforts to greatly increase student responses (saying and doing something with the information being taught).
• Use direct instruction techniques and other methods of questioning that allow for high response opportunities (i.e., unison responses, partner/buddy responses).
• Structure the lesson so that it can be done in pairs or small groups for maximum student involvement and attention.
• Alter the way students are called on to avoid calling on students one at a time. Instead, have students respond by "telling their partner," writing down or drawing their response, or other alternative way.
• Make frequent use of group or unison responses when there is one correct and short answer. While presenting, stop frequently and have students repeat back a word or two.
• Use the proper structure of cooperative learning groups (i.e., assignment of roles, accountability). It is not just group work. ADHD students do not typically function well in groups without clearly defined structure and expectations.
• Allowing students to use individual chalkboards or dry-erase boards throughout the lesson is motivating to students and helps maintain attention. If used properly it is also effective in checking for students' understanding and determining who needs extra help and practice.
• Use motivating computer programs for specific skill building and practice (programs that provide for frequent feedback and self correction.

Keeping students on-task during seat work

• Check for clarity. Make sure directions are clear and understood before sending students back to their seats to work independently.
• Make sure necessary supplies are available.
• Give a manageable amount of work that the student is capable of doing independently.
• Give other "failproof " work that student can do in the meantime if he or she is stumped on an assignment and needs to wait for teacher attention or assistance.
• Study buddies or partners may be assigned for any clarification purposes during seat work, especially when you are instructing another group of students while part of the class is doing seat work.
• Have students use signals to the teacher/aide for "I need help!" Some teachers use a sign or a colored signal that students may place on their desk that alerts any adult scanning the room that the student needs assistance.
• Scan classroom frequently. All students need positive reinforcement. Give positive comments with high frequency, praising students specifically whom you observe to be on-task. This serves as a reminder to students who tend to have difficulty.
• Consider using a timer for some students who work well with a "beat the clock" system for work completion.
• Use contracts, charts, and behavior-modification systems for on-task behavior.
• Reward for the certain number of completed items that are done with accuracy.
• Provide desk examples for reference.
• Use response costs and natural consequences for off-task behavior. Students might "owe you time" at the end of the day, before school, or for part of recess time. If they are on a point system, they may be fined points if a reasonable amount of work isn't accomplished.
• Make use of study carrels or quiet office areas for seat work.
• Teach students to self-monitor their own on-task behavior. Some teachers use an auditory signal (e.g., audio tape with intermittent beeps) and students reward themselves with points if they are on-task when the beeps go off.

THE ADD/ADHD CHECKLIST, copyright 1997 Prentice Hall Direct

Playing Hard to Get with Your Kids?

Slate.com features an interesting article on the discovery by the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic that sometimes the best way to elicit desired behaviors from children is to ignore them and offer no encouragement or praise: http://www.slate.com/id/2228559/

The Yale research team recommends this hands-off approach when the traditional model of modeling and rewarding desired behaviors (like eating veggies and picking up toys) has failed. The idea is that when parents seek those desired behaviors and the kids refuse to comply, parents become desperate, which pushes kids to resist further. The child feels pressure and so she reacts and rebels and becomes defiant. It is human nature to reject what we feel is forced upon us, even (or maybe especially) for kids. So, by failing to encourage or praise the child, the parent removes the sense of pressure against which the child is rebelling.

What do you think? Have any of you tried this approach, and what was the result?

Cultivating Patience

Patience. noun

1.	the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

2.	an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay: to have patience with a slow learner.

3.	quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence:to work with patience.

Tonight I find myself thinking about patience. In our busy lives, we may easily overlook the value of patience in our quest for accomplishment, efficiency and fulfillment. Patience under insult means not succumbing to anger, aggression or despair when threatened. Instead, it means being mindful of our reactions and emotional responses, and perhaps finding wiser ways to respond. Pausing, even for a moment, before reacting to a difficult situation is a powerful form of patience. Sometimes people find patience by changing their point of reference for understanding a challenging situation. (adapted from a talk by Gil Fronsdal, July 1st, 2003) How do you cultivate patience?