Monday, February 24, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Update and new programs.
I am so proud of all the kids! They are all doing so well!
MJ received Student of the Month for November (the 2nd time since last year) and is getting mostly "happy" faces at school with an occasional "straight" face, meaning the days are going really well or just ok and she has NOT gotten any "frowny" faces meaning a bad day at all! A far cry from last year where she was in the assistant principals office every day for 2 weeks before Christmas break. Since that time last year, MJ's whole school staff received autism training twice, her teachers received one on one training from autism specialists and MJ herself, worked really hard! The teacher and I are a team and she knows it too! I am such a proud mama! MJ is receiving occupational therapy both in school and private, speech therapy, music therapy and just now started receiving ABA therapy for 27 hours/week. She also is taking gymnastics. She LOVES therapy and I'm so thankful for the resources in South Carolina to help all the kids grow and become all they can be! This past January MJ also had horse therapy which she enjoyed for that time!
Thank you for all your support and prayers!
P.S. would someone pass this along to Scotty? Thanks!
MJ received Student of the Month for November (the 2nd time since last year) and is getting mostly "happy" faces at school with an occasional "straight" face, meaning the days are going really well or just ok and she has NOT gotten any "frowny" faces meaning a bad day at all! A far cry from last year where she was in the assistant principals office every day for 2 weeks before Christmas break. Since that time last year, MJ's whole school staff received autism training twice, her teachers received one on one training from autism specialists and MJ herself, worked really hard! The teacher and I are a team and she knows it too! I am such a proud mama! MJ is receiving occupational therapy both in school and private, speech therapy, music therapy and just now started receiving ABA therapy for 27 hours/week. She also is taking gymnastics. She LOVES therapy and I'm so thankful for the resources in South Carolina to help all the kids grow and become all they can be! This past January MJ also had horse therapy which she enjoyed for that time!
Lydia, since last year has gotten happy faces every
single day! And she also received the bus rider award twice too, one
last year and one this year! She is getting more independent and is
almost completely potty trained, which we are working on. However, along
with independence she has gotten more bold about running off from me or
others she is with. She ran away, while I was getting Nathan out of the
van and into our house on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and was
missing for almost 2 hours.I called 911 for help and friends and
neighbors helped to look for her. Our friends who live down the street
from us found her streets away. She had lost her shoes and was cold and
wet. Other than a few scratches, she was ok. I still don't know the full
story on our friends found her. Since then, she's been wearing her
harness backpack constantly and sometimes I put it on backwards so she
won't get out of it. One of the policemen told me about a tracking
anklet we can get and I asked for 2 of them, one for Lydia and one for
MJ too. I am just thankful that God protected her and found her for us!
Lydia is receiving occupational therapy both in school and private,
speech
therapy, music therapy and just now started receiving ABA therapy for 30
hours/week. She also is taking gymnastics. Lydia loves all the therapy
too but especially loves GYMNASTICS!
Nathan gets a
sticker every day from preschool and when he gets off the bus the
sticker is usually on his forehead, silly boy! He's doing really well
and progressing too! He was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy and
muscle weakness earlier this month by our neurologist. Nathan is getting
more and more independent also and is working really hard! He is
receiving occupational therapy, speech therapy (both in school and
private), physical therapy (private), early intervention services and
music therapy. Nathan LOVES everything he is involved in and can't wait
until he turns 5 so he can take gymnastics with his sisters.
I have also discovered some AWESOME programs that I am
praying the children will be able to be involved in when the time is
right. Prayers for this also is greatly appreciated!
The
first one is a grant program for private schools with special needs
programs. Here's a link to the webpage, if you'd like to check it out. http://www.independented.org/
I've been checking out Hope Christian Academy for years now and hoping
that MJ can go starting in 6th grade for middle school and also for
Lydia and Nathan to attend also when the time is right.
And the next program is for all the children to attend
college at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. The program is called
ClemsonLIFE and is specifically for students with special needs. Yes,
this is years to come but it's never too early to be thinking about
college! Here's the link, if you'd like to check this out too. http://www.clemson.edu/hehd/
Scotty's family are HUGE Clemson fans and many family members have graduated from Clemson. Would love to continue the legacy!
Thank you for all your support and prayers!
P.S. would someone pass this along to Scotty? Thanks!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Rewards, Discipline, and Children with Autism or Special Needs
Children with autism or special needs, certainly are a puzzle to
figure out, especially when it comes to rewards and discipline. It is
often hard to distinguish between what the children can understand,
whether they are in rebellion, having sensory issues, or just plain
voicing their opinion. As parents, we are constantly looking at the
context of the behavior, studying our child and doing our best to do
what is needed. At times, we are extremely guilty of spoiling our child
with autism or special needs because we are just unsure what to do. Then
when our children grow into teenagers and young adults, their meltdowns
become downright dangerous due to their physical size and strength. In
order for our children with autism or special needs to grow into the
people they are meant to be, rewards and loving discipline is extremely
necessary!
ABA therapy is really great at using the rewards system to help with behavior for both sensory and rebellion issues. These can be applied at home also.
The rewards system gives the child with autism or special needs a feeling of accomplishment, purpose and a sense of consistency that they desperately need. Instead of allowing the children to have complete and total access to their "favorites" all the time, the reward system should be utilized. This is how the rewards system works. When the children either complete a task or exhibit desired behavior, then they "earn" and are rewarded with one of their favorite sensory activities and can also earn points/money towards "the store" so they can purchase a toy, favorite food, or special activity, such as computer time, game time, movie time or accumulate points for a fun outing. If they do not complete their task or exhibit undesired behavior, then first, get to the heart of the issue, to determine the next step of action. If the undesired behavior is due to sensory issues then those need to be addressed with sensory-friendly solutions. If it's due to rebellion then the children have not "earned" their reward and therefore do not receive their reward and must continue to work to earn it. Sometimes, a "break" is needed to help the children calm down and refocus. The children can then go to a quiet place for just a few minutes to do so. Then the children can rejoin the activity and complete their task or desired behavior. One thing that is helpful is to always give the children the continued opportunity to earn their rewards, instead of simply taking the rewards away for an undetermined time. If rewards need to be taken away specify for how long and give the children more chances to earn the rewards back. Children with autism or special needs sometimes have a very hard time with the unknown and they may feel the reward is taken away forever, which is why it is important to set the time frame boundaries.
When I use the word discipline in this context, it is meant to "disciple" or to teach in love (as opposed to punish or harm) . First, and foremost, it is extremely important to get to the heart of the issue before doing any type of action to correct behavior. This requires asking a lot of questions and looking into the context of the behavior. If the child with autism or special needs is verbal, calm the child down as much as possible with sensory techniques and then calmly ask some open ended questions that start with why, how, what, etc.. If the child has difficulty with those types of questions then ask closed questions with answers of "yes" or "no" or give some other choices for the child to answer. If the child is either nonverbal or verbal ask the other people involved in the behavior event these same questions to discern the heart of the issue. If the behavior was due to sensory issues then those issues need to be addressed with sensory-friendly solutions and discipline is usually ineffective due to the children literally could not help their behavior. Sometimes, the children put themselves in very dangerous situations. It is best to study the children to determine the type of discipline that is effective in these situations because every child reacts differently. Sometimes, the children need to be removed from the situation, other times the object that is causing dangerous behavior needs to be removed and sometimes constant supervision and safety precautions are needed to keep the children safe. If children with autism or special needs are wanderers (or runners/explorers) then safety measures such as door, window and other child-safety locks are needed, harness backpacks need to be worn, or the children, if they are small, to be kept in a stroller while out and about might be needed too. Whatever is needed to keep the children safe is paramount. This takes a lot of effort, time and money but it is worth the peace of mind knowing that the parent has effective safety measures for the children in place. Sometimes the children might need very distinct discipline that will help them to remember to keep safe at all times. At times, removing dressers and other furniture from the children's bedroom is necessary. Also having simple furnishing and décor and little or no clutter in the rest of the home is effective too. Every child with autism or special needs is different so what is needed to keep the child safe is also different.
The rewards system and loving discipline for children with autism or special needs helps them feel secure and helps with behavior and keeping everyone safe as well as enabling the children to engage in activities they might otherwise miss. All of this makes for happier children and family!
ABA therapy is really great at using the rewards system to help with behavior for both sensory and rebellion issues. These can be applied at home also.
The rewards system gives the child with autism or special needs a feeling of accomplishment, purpose and a sense of consistency that they desperately need. Instead of allowing the children to have complete and total access to their "favorites" all the time, the reward system should be utilized. This is how the rewards system works. When the children either complete a task or exhibit desired behavior, then they "earn" and are rewarded with one of their favorite sensory activities and can also earn points/money towards "the store" so they can purchase a toy, favorite food, or special activity, such as computer time, game time, movie time or accumulate points for a fun outing. If they do not complete their task or exhibit undesired behavior, then first, get to the heart of the issue, to determine the next step of action. If the undesired behavior is due to sensory issues then those need to be addressed with sensory-friendly solutions. If it's due to rebellion then the children have not "earned" their reward and therefore do not receive their reward and must continue to work to earn it. Sometimes, a "break" is needed to help the children calm down and refocus. The children can then go to a quiet place for just a few minutes to do so. Then the children can rejoin the activity and complete their task or desired behavior. One thing that is helpful is to always give the children the continued opportunity to earn their rewards, instead of simply taking the rewards away for an undetermined time. If rewards need to be taken away specify for how long and give the children more chances to earn the rewards back. Children with autism or special needs sometimes have a very hard time with the unknown and they may feel the reward is taken away forever, which is why it is important to set the time frame boundaries.
When I use the word discipline in this context, it is meant to "disciple" or to teach in love (as opposed to punish or harm) . First, and foremost, it is extremely important to get to the heart of the issue before doing any type of action to correct behavior. This requires asking a lot of questions and looking into the context of the behavior. If the child with autism or special needs is verbal, calm the child down as much as possible with sensory techniques and then calmly ask some open ended questions that start with why, how, what, etc.. If the child has difficulty with those types of questions then ask closed questions with answers of "yes" or "no" or give some other choices for the child to answer. If the child is either nonverbal or verbal ask the other people involved in the behavior event these same questions to discern the heart of the issue. If the behavior was due to sensory issues then those issues need to be addressed with sensory-friendly solutions and discipline is usually ineffective due to the children literally could not help their behavior. Sometimes, the children put themselves in very dangerous situations. It is best to study the children to determine the type of discipline that is effective in these situations because every child reacts differently. Sometimes, the children need to be removed from the situation, other times the object that is causing dangerous behavior needs to be removed and sometimes constant supervision and safety precautions are needed to keep the children safe. If children with autism or special needs are wanderers (or runners/explorers) then safety measures such as door, window and other child-safety locks are needed, harness backpacks need to be worn, or the children, if they are small, to be kept in a stroller while out and about might be needed too. Whatever is needed to keep the children safe is paramount. This takes a lot of effort, time and money but it is worth the peace of mind knowing that the parent has effective safety measures for the children in place. Sometimes the children might need very distinct discipline that will help them to remember to keep safe at all times. At times, removing dressers and other furniture from the children's bedroom is necessary. Also having simple furnishing and décor and little or no clutter in the rest of the home is effective too. Every child with autism or special needs is different so what is needed to keep the child safe is also different.
The rewards system and loving discipline for children with autism or special needs helps them feel secure and helps with behavior and keeping everyone safe as well as enabling the children to engage in activities they might otherwise miss. All of this makes for happier children and family!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Unpackaging the Holidays
As we just celebrated Valentine's Day, I am reminded of some helpful hints with the holidays and birthdays or any gift giving/receiving events.
I don't know about your kids with autism or special needs but mine love seeing their presents or gifts in the package and are ready to play with them right then. Well, this poses a problem because it takes time to get the toys or gifts out of the package, during which time major meltdowns happen, causing stress for the person getting the gift out of the package, therefore taking more time, causing a chain reaction of major stress and the day ending up not being fun, when it was meant to be a celebration time with smiles.
So recently, I started unpackaging every gift, including the candy, the night before or at least sometime before the gift is received. I get the gift ready to be played with immediately so that there is no lag time between receiving the gift and the gift being played with.
With electronics, such as an iPad, Kindle, iPod, computer, etc. it's best to get it out of the package, power it up, register it, get a few apps, music, or programs downloaded to the device so it is ready to be used as soon as it is given. I did this with both the iPad that Autism Speaks gave us and the Kindle Fire my family gave us and I am so glad I did because it took probably an hour just to get each ready to even download apps and then another hour to download the apps. So two hours set up time for EACH device just to be ready to use. That would have been a nightmare if I had waited to do these things until after I gave these electronic gifts to the kids on Christmas day. However, I did not even think about unwrapping the candy we had and I ended spending the morning unwrapping candy for my youngest but the other two threw the wrappers on the floor creating a huge mess.
For Valentine's day, I gave my oldest a baby doll complete with clothes, feeding supplies, a bottle and a diaper bag. For my middle child, I gave a small pop-up tent and for my baby a Lullaby Elmo. All with ties to be untied to get them out of the package. It probably took me 30 minutes to do just those toys. I decided to also put the gifts in their rooms to be discovered by the kids at their leisure. And this time I also unwrapped the Hershey's kisses and the chocolate Hearts we got and put them in a candy dish ready to be eaten. Whew, that went by so much better with not near the mess or meltdowns that we've had in the past. We actually had a celebration! It was a nice, fun, relaxing time!
I don't know about your kids with autism or special needs but mine love seeing their presents or gifts in the package and are ready to play with them right then. Well, this poses a problem because it takes time to get the toys or gifts out of the package, during which time major meltdowns happen, causing stress for the person getting the gift out of the package, therefore taking more time, causing a chain reaction of major stress and the day ending up not being fun, when it was meant to be a celebration time with smiles.
So recently, I started unpackaging every gift, including the candy, the night before or at least sometime before the gift is received. I get the gift ready to be played with immediately so that there is no lag time between receiving the gift and the gift being played with.
With electronics, such as an iPad, Kindle, iPod, computer, etc. it's best to get it out of the package, power it up, register it, get a few apps, music, or programs downloaded to the device so it is ready to be used as soon as it is given. I did this with both the iPad that Autism Speaks gave us and the Kindle Fire my family gave us and I am so glad I did because it took probably an hour just to get each ready to even download apps and then another hour to download the apps. So two hours set up time for EACH device just to be ready to use. That would have been a nightmare if I had waited to do these things until after I gave these electronic gifts to the kids on Christmas day. However, I did not even think about unwrapping the candy we had and I ended spending the morning unwrapping candy for my youngest but the other two threw the wrappers on the floor creating a huge mess.
For Valentine's day, I gave my oldest a baby doll complete with clothes, feeding supplies, a bottle and a diaper bag. For my middle child, I gave a small pop-up tent and for my baby a Lullaby Elmo. All with ties to be untied to get them out of the package. It probably took me 30 minutes to do just those toys. I decided to also put the gifts in their rooms to be discovered by the kids at their leisure. And this time I also unwrapped the Hershey's kisses and the chocolate Hearts we got and put them in a candy dish ready to be eaten. Whew, that went by so much better with not near the mess or meltdowns that we've had in the past. We actually had a celebration! It was a nice, fun, relaxing time!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
I've got Potty Power!
I am starting to introduce potty training to my 2.5 year old. I started backwards with getting underwear and pullups, but he just isn't ready for any of that yet. So I decided to get the same DVD that I found and used for my 8 year old and 6 year old. It's called "Potty Power" and I found it on amazon.com here for a great price!
We are also using the Signing Time! Potty Time! video as well, which is a great supplement especially for those kiddos who are nonverbal. I love the song "Stop and Go!" that's on there. You can find the DVD here and at checkout look up Ronda Page as an instructor and you can get a discount. Or if you'd like a digital download version (here) of Potty Time! put rondapage for the coupon code and you get a discount on the digital version. (can be played on iOS ((ie iPad, iPhone, iPod etc.)) systems as well as your computer)
I play these videos for the kids until they get interested in potty training and show some signs by sitting on the potty, saying potty, watching others in the family go potty. And then when I feel they are ready, I start taking them every 30 minutes to sit on the potty with their clothes and diaper on and just for a minute or so. Then after I feel they are comfortable with that then we have a "potty day" where we set aside a whole day to hang out in the bathroom for at least half the day.
On "potty day" (adapted from the book Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day by Teri Crane found here) the child stays seated on the potty until he/she goes and then a short break to drink his/her favorite drink, play with a favorite toy and maybe a snack, and then right back on the potty until success again! And then another short break and back on the potty. I tried the potty doll with my kids and they didn't really understand the concept especially with the girls having autism, so I am skipping that step with my son, who also has developmental delays. Ms. Crane gives a ton more suggestions and feel free to do what works and skip what doesn't work for your child.
After "potty day" then it's underwear time and I take my child to the bathroom every 30 minutes consistently until they start saying potty or going on their own. When we are running errands or traveling then I take them potty right before we get in the van and then again as soon as we arrive at our destination and then again right before we leave. A lot of times we still use a diaper or pullup for naps and night time but every child is different so I just try to pay attention to the child's needs and go from there.
These are just some things that we've done/doing for potty training with my children who have autism or delays. I hope this helps you too! Do you have any potty training tips for children with special needs?
We are also using the Signing Time! Potty Time! video as well, which is a great supplement especially for those kiddos who are nonverbal. I love the song "Stop and Go!" that's on there. You can find the DVD here and at checkout look up Ronda Page as an instructor and you can get a discount. Or if you'd like a digital download version (here) of Potty Time! put rondapage for the coupon code and you get a discount on the digital version. (can be played on iOS ((ie iPad, iPhone, iPod etc.)) systems as well as your computer)
I play these videos for the kids until they get interested in potty training and show some signs by sitting on the potty, saying potty, watching others in the family go potty. And then when I feel they are ready, I start taking them every 30 minutes to sit on the potty with their clothes and diaper on and just for a minute or so. Then after I feel they are comfortable with that then we have a "potty day" where we set aside a whole day to hang out in the bathroom for at least half the day.
On "potty day" (adapted from the book Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day by Teri Crane found here) the child stays seated on the potty until he/she goes and then a short break to drink his/her favorite drink, play with a favorite toy and maybe a snack, and then right back on the potty until success again! And then another short break and back on the potty. I tried the potty doll with my kids and they didn't really understand the concept especially with the girls having autism, so I am skipping that step with my son, who also has developmental delays. Ms. Crane gives a ton more suggestions and feel free to do what works and skip what doesn't work for your child.
After "potty day" then it's underwear time and I take my child to the bathroom every 30 minutes consistently until they start saying potty or going on their own. When we are running errands or traveling then I take them potty right before we get in the van and then again as soon as we arrive at our destination and then again right before we leave. A lot of times we still use a diaper or pullup for naps and night time but every child is different so I just try to pay attention to the child's needs and go from there.
These are just some things that we've done/doing for potty training with my children who have autism or delays. I hope this helps you too! Do you have any potty training tips for children with special needs?
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