Tips to foster a happy holiday season for children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic

Amid stay-at-home orders, remote learning and other changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many families are faced with finding different ways to celebrate the holiday season than they’ve done in years past. The holiday season can still be a joyful time of the year. For families with a child who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), following a few tips from the Thompson Autism Center at CHOC can help ensure everyone enjoys the festivities in their own way.

11 Ways to Make Your Autistic Child's Life Easier

 

Loving that autistic child of yours with all your heart is a wonderful, precious experience. If you’re not autistic yourself, though, even the purest love won't help you understand how being autistic affects your child’s body, their senses, and how they interact with the world.

You don't want to inadvertently make your beloved child's life harder than it has to be, so please consider the advice below -- advice I’ve gleaned about autistic experiences, gathered during twelve years of listening to autistic people, professionals, and parents. Some of these factors are common knowledge in autism communities and circles, but others are really not talked about enough, and every last one bears repeating.

Tips to Help Children with Autism Wear Face Masks

 

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Shares How to Build Tolerance for Face Coverings for Kids on the Spectrum.   

COVID-19 has led to many changes in daily life and routine. From “sheltering in place” to social distancing to wearing a face mask, it is a lot for anyone to absorb. These changes in routine can be especially challenging for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Autism and Schizophrenia: Related Disorders

The clinical connections between schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have long been recognized. More than a century ago, Bleuler ascribed 4 primary symptoms to the group of disorders he termed “schizophrenia”:

 

1)  autism (turning inward to oneself)

2)  ambivalence

3)  affective disturbance

4)   and loosening of associations

A Social Stories Intervention on Playing Games and on the Social Skills

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is a neurobiological disorder, have features that are apparent in early childhood. The most obvious feature of ASD is difficulty with social interactions (cf. Kuoch & Mirenda, 2003).

On one side of the spectrum are children who wish to be alone and avoid other people; on the other side are those who wish to communicate with others but do not know how to initiate and maintain communication, and thus, their communication is usually inappropriate.

Video shows what it's like to live with autism... Can you make it to the end?

A video has been made to convey the experience of living with autism. The video highlights the sensory overload experienced by many autistic people during everyday activities.

Understand autism, the person and what to do. The short film, entitled 'Can you make it to the end?', was released by The National Autistic Society to coincide with World Autism Awareness Day, April 2nd.

11 things you should never say to the parent of an autistic child

(Picture: Daniella Birtley for metro.co.uk)

These are just a few things that no parent of an autistic child needs to hear.

1. He’ll grow out of it

No, he won’t. He’ll get older and possibly learn to manage his autism, if he gets all the help and support he needs.

But he will always be autistic.

10 Signs Your Child May Have Asperger’s Syndrome

Asperger’s syndrome is a neurological disorder in the family of autism spectrum disorders. Because every child exhibits a different set of symptoms, there is no precise checklist of behaviors that must all be present for a diagnosis. Instead, there are many behaviors that may be signs of Asperger’s syndrome. Here we’ve rounded up 10 of the common behaviors to watch for, as shared by moms whose kids have the condition.

12 Tips for Helping Individuals with Autism Have a Happy Holiday Season

While many happily anticipate the coming holiday season, families of people on the autism spectrum also understand the special challenges that may occur when schedules are disrupted and routines broken. Our hope is that by following these few helpful tips, families may lessen the stress of the holiday season and make it a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The following tips were developed with input from the Autism Society, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Easter Seals Crossroads, the Sonya Ansari Center for Autism at Logan and the Indiana Autism Leadership Network.

15-Year-Old With Asperger's Syndrome, May Be Smarter Than Einstein...

When Jacob Barnett was 2 years old, he was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Doctors told his parents that the boy would likely never talk or read and would probably be forever unable to independently manage basic daily activities like tying his shoe laces. But they were sorely, extraordinarily mistaken.

Today, Barnett -- now 14 -- is a Master's student, on his way to earning a PhD in quantum physics. According to the BBC, the teen, who boasts an IQ of 170, has already been tipped to one day win the Nobel Prize.

What Parents of Autistic Children Want Educators to Know

Several Parents of children with Autism and Asperger's have written what they would like Educators to know about having a child with autism in their class:

1.  Please let us know if our child has had a good day.  It means SO much to parents to receive encouragement.  Just simple things like our child participating in a group discussion can be the highlight of our week!

The signs of Autism during childhood

Although autism is present at birth (congenital), signs of the disorder can be difficult to identify or diagnose during infancy. Symptoms of autism are usually noticed first by parents and other caregivers sometime during the child's first 3 years.

Parents often become concerned when their toddler does not like to be held; does not seem interested in playing certain games, such as peekaboo; and does not begin to talk.

Sometimes, a child with autism will start to talk at the same time as other children the same age, then lose his or her language skills.

Robots Help Teach Social Skills to Kids with Autism

Researchers believe robots hold the key to early diagnosis, as well as teaching social skills. What can they do that humans can’t?

It is well known that individuals with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) often have social anxiety. Experts explain that learning social interactions via a less threatening interface, a robot, may help individuals with autism better identify emotions and use specific social skills with humans, like holding a conversation. 

"The Misunderstood Child"

 A poem about children with hidden disabilities,  

by Kathy Winters

 A great poem,  with such true words, fantastic for autism awareness, to show people who just don't understand these special children. And so important as well, to always have it in the back of your mind. Because every child is precious and born to be loved no matter what...

I am the child that looks healthy and fine.
I was born with ten fingers and toes.
But something is different, somewhere in my mind,
And what it is, nobody knows.

Assistive Technology for Children with Autism

by Susan Stokes Autism Consultant

For years, different modes of technology have been used to improve the quality of life of people who have various developmental disabilities. However, the varied use of technology for children with autism continues to receive limited attention, despite the fact that technology tends to be a high interest area for many of these children.

Structured Teaching: Strategies for Supporting Students with Autism

North Carolina TEACCH Autism Program

 by Susan Stokes Autism Consultant

Structured teaching is an intervention philosophy developed by the University of North Carolina, Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children). Structured teaching is an approach in instructing children with autism. It allows for implementation of a variety of instructional methods (e.g., visual support strategies, Picture Exchange Communication System - PECS, sensory integration strategies, discrete trial, music/rhythm intervention strategies, Greenspan's Floortime, etc.). The following information outlines some important considerations for structured teaching to occur. It is one of many approaches to consider in working with children with autism.

Effective Programming for Young Children with Autism (Ages 3-5)

by Susan Stokes Autism Consultant

Introduction                                          

The positive outcome of early intervention programming for any child with developmental delays/disabilities has been documented in numerous research articles and publications. However, unlike many other developmental disabilities, children with autism are typically not diagnosed until between the ages of two and three, as there are no medical tests to make a definitive diagnosis of autism at an earlier age. Many medical professionals prefer to take a "wait and see" approach, due to the wide range of "normalcy" in early developing children. Thus early intervention programming can often be delayed for these children, resulting in the "loss" of several critical years of intensive intervention during which significant developments in the brain are occurring. Due to this time factor, once a diagnosis is given, early intervention programming becomes crucial to appropriately address the child's needs in all developmental areas and, most importantly, to develop the child's ability to function independently in all aspects of his life.

Features of successful intervention strategies for children with autism

An intervention programme developed in Manchester which focuses on teaching social communication skills to autistic children at an early age, has actually been shown to reduce the autistic symptoms of the children. 

Effective interventions for young children with autism are based upon the presence of certain fundamental features.

What Causes Autism?

People have been searching for the cause of autism for decades. For most of this time, autism was looked at as an affliction—something that is acquired, as a disease would be. But autism isn’t something that you catch, like influenza. Rather, it is something that you are, like tall or left-handed or female. 

Autistic people were born that way. They will die that way, after living an autistic life. It is a characteristic of who they are. Having said that, there is no single expression of autism. More than a spectrum, autism is a varied landscape.

How to spot autism in school children

There is no genetic or blood test for ASD; diagnosis is based on behaviour. But, we look specifically for three things, when deciding whether someone has an Autism Spectrum Disorder.