Maureen Bennie’s blog on a wide variety of subjects pertaining to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Maureen is a mother of a son and a daughter ages 24 and 22 with autism. She has managed an at-home Intensive Behavioral Intervention Program for eight years for her children. She has written hundreds of articles and book reviews that have appeared in publications and on websites throughout North America and the UK. Maureen also gives presentations both live and online across Canada on various topics about autism, available books and resources and how to use them.
We’ve all been there: watching as our child completely breaks into uncontrollable rage/tears in front of us. Sometimes it’s in the privacy of our own homes, but when you have a child with autism, more often than not it will be in public as well. Up until recently, there has been a common misconception that poor communication/low verbal skills in people with…
Becoming an independent adult with ASD involves a large skill set that needs to be planned out over the lifetime of your child. I recently posted an article on establishing clear guidelines around sexuality early on. Money management is no different. Being able to pay for items and stick to a budget is a barrier to successful independence. Many people –…
My daughter, Julia, and I discovered a public library program called Story PALS back in 2009. The program is designed for reluctant readers ages 6 – 12. A child comes to the library and reads aloud to a dog once a week to make them less anxious about reading aloud in front of people. The dogs come from an organization called…
For many of us with children on the spectrum, support people like doctors, therapists, extra school staff, teachers, aids etc…are a big part of life. We depend on the help we get from various sources, but what happens when a situation goes badly? Even more important, how can we create predictability for our kids with autism so we can ensure greater…
One of my most popular Facebook posts this month was about University of Regina’s Sarah Elizabeth Ivens’ thesis about parental fatigue entitled Fatigue in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The role of parental and child factors for mothers and fathers. While most parents of newborn children have experienced some level of fatigue, many of us who have children…
Autism Calgary celebrated its 25th Anniversary on February 22nd with an exciting event – an evening with Temple Grandin. Temple spoke at the Calgary Hyatt Regency Hotel to a huge, enthusiastic audience of nearly 1200 people. She was in top form, delivering a two hour talk full of insight and practical information. Temple’s energy and enthusiasm for the subject of…
The most frequently asked questions I get tend to be about toileting training the child with ASD. The biggest quandry is knowing when to start the process. In many cases, you can’t use the typically developing child guidelines as these may not apply to a child with developmental delays. Although I have never found a study to confirm this, I feel that language development may be a factor in toilet training/readiness. The more limited the language skills are, the more delayed toilet training is. I am not saying, though, that a child with no verbal skills can’t be toilet trained. Both of my children were late talkers (almost 5 years of age) and both were late toilet trainers. My son was 9.5 years and my daughter 6 years old. They were both trained for uriniation earlier than that, at about age 4, but it was the bowel movement that was the hardest thing to train.
I attended an excellent seminar last night sponsored by the Autism Calgary Association. The guest speaker was Penny Gill, President of the Autism/PDD Family Alliance in Southern Ontario. Her presentation, Overcoming the Challenges: Teaching Someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Cook Really Well, showed us that you can teach someone with an ASD the important life skill of cooking provided the challenges are understood and the right supports are in place. Penny runs a cooking school out of her home for people with ASD ages 18 and over. Her eight week sessions work on more than just cooking; her students work on social skills, sensory issues, motor challenges and food aversions.
I have talked with many parents who, like me, have placed their autistic child on a special diet eliminating mainly dairy products and gluten. The elimination of dairy and gluten from the diet is also known as the GF/CF diet.
People who feel significant gender distress because their gender identity differs from their birth sex have higher than expected rates of autism. This is a growing topic of study and discussion as our acceptance for those with gender dysphoria grows. What is gender dysphoria? Gender dysphoria (GD), also known as gender identity disorder (GID) is the condition of distress (or…
Making eye contact has been a long debate in the autism community. Eye contact is a necessary skill for navigating social landscapes at work and school. Lack of eye contact is one of the hallmarks of autism, but should we insist on it? Why do children find it difficult to make eye contact? A new study, published in November in…
When you are a parent of a child with an autism spectrum disorder, you worry about the child’s future as an adult. Will they be able to live on their own? What happens if a parent is no longer able to care for their adult child? Canadian psychologist Dr. Lillian Burke believes only 3% of adults with Asperger Syndrome are able to live independently with no support. With this statistic in mind, what services and supports need to be in place to make the transition from the parental home to independent living? Can independent living be an option?
Shopping for the older child with autism can be more challenging. When toys are no longer appealing, what other options are there? Here are 10 ideas to take the guesswork out of gift giving. Passes to Attractions – movies, museums, special attractions such as amusement parks, gyms, swimming pool, recreational facility – see what’s available in your city or town.…
The holidays are just around the corner. Most schools are out on Friday, everyone is busy Christmas baking, shopping for Christmas gifts, the malls are packed, company is coming, presents need to be wrapped, and the tree needs decorating. The holidays are magical from some and stressful for others. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this time of year can cause anxiety and be particularly overwhelming on the senses. Lights, crowds, traffic, line-ups, and visitors can be upsetting for children who need predictability and routine. Most therapy programs are in low gear during the month of December, school programs break for two weeks, and respite care is hard to come by. How to you keep children with autism on an even keel during the hectic holidays?
Sensory processing disorder (SPD) has long been associated with autism, and its external manifestations are often what lead a parent to getting a diagnosis. For a many years SPD was seen as a “symptom” of autism, but a breakthrough study in 2013 found that this disorder had a biological basis that separated it from many other neurological disorders. More recently it was found…