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.
As most of you know World Autism Awareness Day was on Saturday, April 2nd. Every year, the United Nations determines a theme for this day and this year it is Inclusion and Neurodiversity. Most people understand the concept of inclusion, but neurodiversity is a relatively new topic that is gaining traction. What is Neurodiversity? Neurodiversity is the concept that humans don’t come…
Happy Autism Awareness Day! This year’s theme is inclusion and neurodiversity. This post was originally published on Judy Endow’s site, and is reposted here in honour of Autism Awareness Day. French Translation: Se faire violence pour « passer sous le radar » de l’autisme http://www.judyendow.com/french-blogs/se-faire/ It is a lot of work to look non-autistic …and yet, looking non-autistic is the ticket to…
Adapted from an article by: Elizabeth Sautter, MA, CCC-SLP Phrases like “pay attention” and “listen carefully” ring out in classrooms across the country. Moms, dads, and other caregivers can be heard saying some version of these same words to children everywhere. Paying attention and listening to others are not only considered essential for social communication, but also for learning to be…
Predictability is the ability to know and understand what is coming up next in your day. Many of us feel less anxious when we know what is expected of us, and how we are going to navigate our day to day lives. For someone on the spectrum, where even knowing which washroom to use -unless it is exactly like the one they are used to using at home- can be a major challenge. Predictability is a way for someone on the spectrum to assuage their anxiety over the unknown, and empower themselves into their daily tasks. For some of the spectrum, not knowing what to expect at a new school, in a new restaurant, or while on vacation can make life unbearable for themselves and their caregivers.
In my last blog post, I spoke about John Simpson’s triad for autism spectrum disorders. I wrote about the first aspect which is need for predictability. This week’s post is about second part of the triad – motivation.
INTEROCEPTION: THE EIGHTH SENSORY SYSTEM by Kelley Mahler Sit back and close your eyes. What do you feel inside your body? Is your heart beating fast or slow? Are you breathing deeply or shallowly? Do you have to go to the bathroom? Are your muscles tense or loose? How does your stomach feel? Most of us are able to feel…
John Simpson is a young man with Asperger Syndrome who resides in the
Raising more than one child with autism in a family is a unique experience and not without its challenges. Those of us that parent two or more children on the spectrum are not as small in number as you might think. When I tell people I have a son and a daughter with autism, they ask questions like, “Is is common to have more than one child with autism? Is it harder than having one? How do you cope? I’ve never heard of a boy and a girl in the same family – does that happen often?”
While I don’t have exact statistics on multiples with autism in a family, I can tell you I am meeting more families in this situation all the time. We are not as rare as you might think. I have no neurotypical children so have no idea what it’s like to parent normally developing children. I am in awe when I get together with friends and see how their children interact with each other. My stories about the weekend don’t sound like anyone else’s I know. Parenting two children on the spectrum is relentless – one is always off the rails. It’s hard to keep things on an even keel, yet there are some great rewards.
As parents and supporters of autistic children, we are often put in situations where our children are being physically restrained during meltdowns. Whether it is in a school situation or at home, restraints and holds have been the norm for many years for individuals on the spectrum. What I love about the Low Arousal Approach is that it offers a…
Many parents and caregivers have witnessed the fireworks of anger and emotion from a person with autism, and for many people they look exactly like the tantrums that children have when they are young. While they may look similar in external behaviour, it’s important to understand the difference between the two because tantrums need one kind of response, but that same response will only make things worse for a person have an autistic meltdown from being overwhelmed by sensory stimuli.
There is almost no literature available on training the older child with autism. Traditional children’s books all use the potty chair to teach toilet training. Animated characters on videos do not explain the elimination process or show exactly what to do. It took us nine years to get my son Marc using the toilet on his own, and here is how we did it.
Many of us fear what will happen to our children with autism as we both age, particularly those of us with children who will require life-long care. Aging in autism however, is a much understudied phenomenon. While there are many resources available to help parents of young children with autism, very little is discussed or available for those over forty. So…
Anxiety is a natural and essential part of daily human existence. We all live with worries and stress from time to time, but when anxiety begins to interfere with a young person’s life – when they can no longer face school, or have problems interacting with friends, or performing simple tasks – what can we as parents and caregivers do to…
Many autistic adults have difficulty being accepted in, and carving a niche in the working world. While they may have troubles communicating verbally, they might still be able to, and want to contribute in a meaningful way through work. Most provinces in Canada have programs available to help autistic people find work, and there is a growing number of provincial…
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine where our kids will be several years from now. What will their life look like once they leave home? What skills will they need to be successful as an adult? What is a meaningful life for this adult with ASD?
These questions swirl around in my mind all the time. My children aren’t many years away from accessing adult services. I often think of the skills they will need to be successful. Those skills will vary for each child depending on their functioning level.