Maureen Bennie curates a news blog for Autism Calgary called "What in The World is Going On About Autism". Her blog often mines and expands on the articles and events that she has detailed in that news feed, as well as looking at current best autism resources, news stories, and events on a variety of topics about autism and ASD.
There is a new area of study emerging in autism called critical mass which means true mastery of a skill. Critical mass is the point where an individual has gained enough information to be successful in situations, activities, or skills for which instruction has not been provided. When there has been enough instruction and multiple experiences, a tipping point can…
I receive a lot of questions every month about toileting difficulties. One question I am asked is what to do about fecal smearing. It’s an upsetting behavior because of the smell, mess, and unhygienic situation. Parents worry that fecal smearing will happen when their child is outside of their home – at school, daycare, or in a public place. It…
June 2019 marks Autism Awareness Centre’s 16th anniversary. When I co-founded this company in 2003, my children were 4 and 6 years old. I was only four years in to the autism journey. Today my children are 20 and 22, young adults. So much has changed in the autism field these past 16 years. Some of our biggest advancements have…
What is stimming? Stimming – or stims – are a wide variety of self-stimulating behaviours that people with autism may exhibit when experiencing sensory overload or high levels of anxiety. Stimming can be a repetitive motion such as hand flapping, rocking, repetition of words or phrases (echolalia), vocalizations, or even the repetitive movement of objects. Stimming still puzzles many neurotypicals,…
Our guest blogger this week is Lauren Kerstein, a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in working with children, adolescents, adults and families. Lauren will be speaking at our Calgary Conference on November 16, 2019. In this post, Lauren discusses the challenges with flexible thinking and suggests ten strategies to try to teach a child to be more flexible in…
Bo Hejlskov Elvén is a Swedish clinical psychologist and author of several books on challenging behavior. He is also part of the Studio 3 Low Arousal Approach group. You may have heard Bo present at one of our Canadian conferences in Vancouver, Halifax, or Edmonton. Bo has a wonderful website where he blogs in English on a variety of topics…
I’ve just started reading Mark Durand’s new book Optimistic Parenting. Durand has studied the nature, assessment, and treatment of behavior problems in children with ASD. He has spent the past 3 decades working with individuals with ASD, their families and other professionals. He wrote this book to be a self-help guide for parents and suggests great strategies for children and parents.
What I like about this book so far is the personal stories from parents. What they say and experience raising challenging children rings true – feeling guilty, no time for themselves, fear of what the future holds, frustration and exhaustion. How can you have a good life in the world of special needs?
Autism is often defined and described in terms of deficits. This happens in order to determine what supports are needed, for program design and implementation, and level of funding; but always talking about what a person can’t do or do as well as their peers can be demoralizing. Improvement can be difficult to see and small but significant gains are…
The fine arts are a wonderful outlet for self-exploration, creativity and self-expression. They are another channel for communication, showing us a window into a person’s world. Experiences in the arts play a valuable role in helping a person to participate fully in the community and in society as a whole. They provide enrichment in life and can be an excellent…
Marie Kondo’s Netflix show Tidying Up has become a sensation. Her organizational method, KonMari, has inspired people to rethink how they organize their homes and workspace. Kondo asks people to hold the things in their hands and ask themselves, “Does this spark joy?” If it no longer does or is not useful in your life, she encourages you to part…
Parents of special needs children or adults need respite care to get a much-needed break from the stresses of their parenting situation. Most parents find it difficult to find good, reliable childcare – to leave their child with someone who may not have the experience in dealing with the problems of autism. Young people such as high school students can struggle with the demands of difficult behaviors. The job requires someone with maturity and experience.
A few years ago, I wrote a post about the experience of raising my two children with autism. I first wrote this piece from the point of view when my son and daughter were quite young. Recently, someone from China contacted me to ask if she could translate the post because it would encourage families and give them hope for…
The topic of toilet training or toileting issues continues to be my most frequently asked question. I’m asked what to do about withholding a bowel movement, toileting readiness, fecal smearing, constipation, continued use of diapers, elimination on the floor or other inappropriate place, and how to teach the toileting process. These are all very important questions that can be hard…
It’s not often that I write about personal issues I am facing with either of my children on the autism spectrum, but this struggle has to be told because I would hate to see other parents go through what we have for the past 3 months.
Our daughter, Julia, has been in an inclusive setting since kindergarten. We have been fortunate in our choice of school because class sizes has been relatively small, the teachers have been accommodating and caring, Julia has been with the same supportive peer group since kindergarten, and she has had the same aide since the first day of school. Even with a severe coding for her disability, her aide support has been gradually reduced from all day in kindergarten, to 2 pm daily for grades 1 – 2, and down to mornings only from grades 3 – 6.
Autism is a lifelong, nonprogressive neurological disorder typically appearing before the age of three years. The word “autism” means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication and social interaction.