Saturday, July 8, 2017

Basic vocabulary that a 2 year old child should understand

Basic vocabulary list. Fruits: Apple, Banana, Orange, Grapes, Mango Vegetables: Onion, Potato, Tomato, Carrot, Brinjal, Lady Finger Common Day to Day objects: Mobile, Watch, Clock, Door, Window, umbrella, specs, iron, fan Vehicles: Road – Bus, Car, Cycle, Auto. Air – Airplane, helicopter. Water – Boat, Ship Family members: self, Mom, dad, siblings and names of each Body parts: Face - eye, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, tongue, hair, cheeks. Body – Face, hand, leg, stomach, back, shoulder Toys: ball, doll, teddy, drum, car, kite, skipping rope, blocks Colours: red, yellow, green, blue, black, white, pink Shapes: circle, square, star, triangle, rectangle Furniture: Bedroom: fan, bed, pillow, curtain, bedsheet, cupboard, mirror, lamp Kitchen: fridge, mixer, microwave, spoon, cylinder, fork, plate, glass, gas stove, frying pan, cooker, knife Bathroom: soap, bucket, mug, shower, commode, toothpaste, poweder , tooth brush, shampoo, towel, washing machine Living room: sofa, tv, remote, dining table, chair, newspaper Garden: swing, slide, see saw, merry go round, flower, fountain, grass, trees, plant School: black board, teacher, pen, pencil, crayon, eraser, sharpner, chalk, books, school bag, water bottle Birthday items: cake, party hat, balloons, chocolates, gift, candle, camera, photo Clothes: belt, t-shirt, shorts, pant, underwear, cap, shoes, slipper, socks, dress Eatables: noodles, bread, idli, fruits, milk, rice, dal, roti, biscuit, wafers, sabji, ice-cream, sabji/ bhaji, chicken, fish , egg Animals: domestic/pets – cat, dog, fish, turtle. Farm – cow, sheep, goat, duck, pig. Wild– lion, tiger, zebra, giraffe, elephant. Insects: butterfly, bee, ant, mosquito, spider Birds: pigeon, crow, sparrow, peacock, parrot Doctor: medicine, injection, bandage, blood, cream, nurse Barber: comb, scissors, haircut Sky: sun, moon, starts, clouds Seasons: summer, monsoon / rainy, winter Action verbs: eat, drink, give,take, sleep, jump, play, catch, throw, comb, brush, wash, hands, wear clothes, bath, fix puzzle, wipe face, stamp, feet, hands up, down, fold, hands, fly, butterfly, fold leg, blow, puff cheeks, reading, writing, talking, painting, cutting, smiling, laughing, crying, kissing, feeling, praying, kicking, push, pull, crawling, wave, walk, run, carry, swimming , paining Other words: hot, cold, up ,down, front ,back ,in ,out, big, small ,yes, no, pull, push ,

Friday, October 4, 2013

Special Needs Trust


What will happen to my child with special needs when I am gone or no longer able to provide care?” This question haunts many families. Whether your loved one is four or forty, you never know how long you will be here. Start Planning Now Write A Letter of Intent- with detailed written instructions about your child A letter of intent should include general information and background about your loved one, medical history, present and future housing arrangements, daily living skills, favorite leisure activities, rights and values you want to preserve, legal papers and their location, circle of friends and professionals, final arrangements and whatever else will help caregivers enable your loved one. . Select guardianship carefully When your child reaches 18 years of age, you need to become LEGALLY his /her guardian You also need to select the right person to be his future guardian after you are no more. The guardian should be able to make decisions as needed and according to the Letter of Intent. More often than not, however , few people are interested or willing to take on the responsibility. Discuss who will provide care Who is available to help? Don’t assume that other family members will take responsibility. Discuss the topic openly, so that each member can decide what role, if any, he or she will assume. Remember, these decisions often involve a lifelong commitment. If there are no siblings and if no one comes forward, consider forming a parent group or association Consider establishing a Special Needs Trust A special needs trust provides professional money management of assets and funds for your loved one’s care. A Special Needs Trust is of no value without funding. It is often recommended that minimal funding take place during the parent’s lifetime. Many people purchase life insurance on the parent, naming the trust as beneficiary. It’s also possible to make the trust the beneficiary of wills, annuities and qualified plan assets. Other family members and friends who want to help out can be encouraged to put money directly into the trust. Seek professional advice Many people will want to help, but few are qualified in this complex field. Find specialists with an expertise in special needs planning, including attorneys who specialize in special needs situations. Creating a financial strategy for a family member with special needs can be demanding, time-consuming and frustrating. But your effort will be worth it down the road, both for you and other family members. Above all, the preparations you make now can help assure your loved one with special needs will be financially secure when you are no longer able to provide for them.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

AAC DEVICES ALTERNATIVE AND AUGMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION


http://barrierbreak.com/resources/communication-with-aac-devices/

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

six-practical-tips-to-help-improve-conversation-skills-for-students-with-autism-spectrum-disorders


http://www.challengingminds.com/six-practical-tips-to-help-improve-conversation-skills-for-students-with-autism-spectrum-disorders-.html

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

23-ways-to-communicate-with-a-non-verbal-child


http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2013/04/16/23-ways-to-communicate-with-a-non-verbal-child/

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Realistic And (Almost) Totally Free Ways To Get Respite for special needs parents


When it comes to talking about respite for special needs parents, the most common piece of advice seems to be 'It's important to take time out for yourself away from the kids’. But there’s something about this that I really want to know... Is there a parent out there who isn’t already doing that if they have the option? This bit of advice is based on the stereotype that special needs parents are stoic martyrs who need to be encouraged to take a break. We don’t need to be reminded that respite is important, every parent knows that it’s the key to preventing burnout. The truth is that this kind of relief is out of reach for many special needs families, and if they do manage to get some it’s nowhere near enough. What do you do when taking time for yourself isn’t an option? When you don’t have family or friends who can look after your kids? When you can’t afford a babysitter, even if you could find one to cope with your kids’ needs? When you’re a single parent who can’t tag team with a partner? When the waiting list for respite services in your area is months or even years long? The reality is that the parents who are the most in need of respite are the least likely to get it. This is a dangerous situation which is rarely talked about, most likely because it’s a problem for which there are no easy solutions. But this is exactly what many special needs parents need to know - how to survive when taking time for yourself is impossible. So let’s look beyond the easy answer and talk about respite options that are available to everybody. Finding realistic ways to get relief Knowing that you desperately need a break but are unlikely to get one makes you feel hopeless and powerless, which just sends you hurtling even quicker towards this thing called burnout. So we need to change the way that we think about respite, to talk about more realistic options that help us to stay afloat every day instead of saving our sanity occasionally. Because burnout isn’t caused by one big entity called Special Needs. It comes from a ton of little (and not-so-little) challenges that en masse create an overwhelming, unrelenting and unbearable amount of stress. So preventing burnout isn’t as simple as waiting for the Magical Respite Fairy to appear on your doorstep once a month and take the kids out while you sink into a bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book. The realistic solution to respite is finding ways to give yourself the breaks that you need even when you can’t get time to yourself. It’s about getting relief by doing a lot of little things, every day, to stop the escalating cycle of pressure that this kind of parenting stress can bring. And it starts with the realization that as a special needs parent you need lots of different types of respite - emotional, mental and physical: A break from the intense barrage of feelings and the roller coaster of highs and lows Relief from information overload and a mind that’s working overtime to find solutions Periods of rest and physical recuperation All of these count towards reducing the cycle of pressure that leads to burnout. This is good news because you can get consistent doses of this kind of respite every single day, even when the kids are around and without spending a lot of money... it just requires a lot of thinking outside the box. So take a look at your day and find the places where you can take an emotional, mental or physical break, no matter how small. Block out sound You can keep an eye on the kids without listening to them. Give yourself a break from the constant sensory onslaught by blocking out noise with ear plugs or listening to some soft music with headphones - stealing a few moments of peace will give you the chance for some mental rest or to actually finish a thought or two. Take an emotional holiday Press pause on the frustration, disappointment and anger by spending time looking through a good day library of things that trigger happy memories. Flood your mind with images of fun days, smiley faces, successes and achievements. Go for a drive If your kids don’t mind being in the car, use that to your advantage. Pick up a drive-through coffee and take the scenic route or park somewhere interesting. There have been days where this has literally saved my sanity - the change of scenery, something yummy and knowing that the kids were safely contained in their carseats gave me much-needed mental breathing room from the constant vigilance and cabin fever of being at home. Read less Arming yourself with knowledge is important, but there’s only so much advice and information you can cram in before you start hitting information overload. Your mind has to work harder to process and remember new things, so give it a break by pacing yourself and mixing in some easier stuff for it to do. Phone it in Allow yourself one day a week where you do the bare minimum needed to keep your family afloat - feed people, clean anything unhygienic and keep everyone out of trouble. That’s it. That’s the sum total of your goals for the day. Schedule the rest of your week around it so you don’t have to interrupt your break with errands, groceries, appointments or anything else that requires you to change out of those pajama pants. Swap the kids I’ll be honest, at every play date there’s a moment where I look over at the other parent and wonder why we both have to be there. We’re done with the coffee and the small talk, the kids are off playing... one of us could be home taking a nap. If your kids have friends they like to hang out with, don’t squander the potential. Arrange to look after the friends at your house for an hour/afternoon/day, with their parents returning the favour the next week. It’s win-win. Say yes to screens 
If you have kids who will sit independently to play a computer game or watch TV then use that time to take a break - and don’t feel guilty. Those limits surrounding healthy screen time were made for someone else with a different set of challenges and priorities. Phone a friend Don’t wait until you have a spare moment to sit down or when the kids are quiet, because that moment's never coming. Get yourself a hands free headset so you can talk to a buddy while running around or doing housework. Sharing your day with someone else gives you a reprieve from doing it all alone and can help to relieve that pressure valve just a little. Get off Facebook Yes it can be an important lifeline of support and friendship, but your feed is also a VIP ticket to ride the emotional roller coaster. Sad thing, funny thing, angry thing, puppies! Hop off that train every now and then to take a break on more steady ground. Take a break from worry You don’t have to solve all the problems today... but your mind doesn't know that. Every time you worry it sets your mental gears into overdrive as they try to come up with a solution. So give yourself a break every day where you don't allow yourself to fret about how you're going to afford that equipment or whether you should be doing more hours of therapy or trying a gluten-free diet. Set up a play pen The need for constant vigilance is exhausting. If the kids are able to be contained somewhere safe where they can still play and you can see them, then do it. Or conversely, use it to block them from getting into areas that cause a problem - play chess with their brother or drink your hot coffee inside the play pen. Bribe a teenager Okay, so the reality is that you’re never going to be able to leave your kids home alone with the teenage babysitter next door. So flip it - take the kids with you and leave her at home to vacuum or do your laundry in exchange for a bag of Doritos and some alone time. Feed a therapist Early intervention and physical therapists are often college students or recent graduates who might be glad to swap some extra babysitting for a home-cooked meal. The bonus is that they’re someone you can trust who already understands your kid’s needs. Share the driving Set up a carpool with a friend or other local school parents for drop-offs and pickups. Not only will it free up the driving time for other things, it will give you a break from the mental stress of traffic and all those transitions in and out of the car. Learn to say no There’s only so much of you to go around and right now your kids need it all. So until you find yourself overflowing with energy, give yourself a reprieve from volunteering for the bake sale or helping your cousin move house. You’ll help out when you can afford the time and right now you’re broke. Find the funny Laughter is your body’s natural pressure valve - it lowers anxiety, boosts your immune system and releases pain-killing endorphins. But the best part of laughing is that it’s like a little holiday from your mental day job, getting you out of your headspace even if just for a moment. So spend more time with people that make you laugh, make a slideshow of funny photos, play with your dog, join in with the kids’ games... surround yourself with stuff that makes you smile. Start a respite gift fund People want to give you gifts. You know they’re going to do it, they know they’re going to do it, so why not make it easy for them to give you something that you really, really want... a fricken break. Set up an account where friends and family can contribute to a specific gift like ten hours of babysitting, or set one up on a site like Shareagift. The bottom line Respite can be a realistic goal for you. You don't have to put your sanity and health on the shelf while you wait for that elusive break away from the kids. Taking small mental, physical and emotional breaks every day can add up over time to give you a more sustained relief from the pressure and challenges that you're facing.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

teach kids to tell time


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2970837767571&set=o.402026923158242&type=1&relevant_count=1

SHARED-Autism and the Dentist – Tips for the Visit


SHARED-Autism and the Dentist – Tips for the Visit One aspect of health care than can be considerably more difficult for kids with autism is seeing the dentist, autism and the dentist don’t naturally mix. Dental care is made more difficult because kids with autism have so many sensory issues. The dentist office can be a scary place, even for people without autism. There are so many things that make noise and feel weird, so many people close by you who want to put things in your mouth and do strange things to you that may hurt. What can you do to help your child with autism at the dentist’s? Autism and the Dentist – Special Needs Dentistry There is actually a subset of dentistry called special needs dentistry. A special needs dentist has usually received at least some training on how to work with kids and adults with a variety of disabilities. Some will devote all or most of their practice to working with special needs patients. These dentists can be good to seek out, because they have experience in how to make the visit as comfortable and tolerable as possible for your child with autism. You can google the term “special needs dentist” with your city and state, or ask your doctor or autism society if they know of anyone in your area. Autism and the Dentist – How to Make the Appointment go More Smoothly Seeing a dedicated special needs dentist is not always possible, however. Sometimes, you just need to find a patient dentist who is willing to be educated. You can share tips with them about how to make the appointment work for your child. 1. Call dentists in your area ahead of time and tell them you have a child with autism. Tell them that you may require more time in the visit. Talk about the unique challenges that your kid has. What tends to put them at ease? What sensitivities do they have that you have to avoid? Do loud noises bother them? Does touch bother them? Etc. 2. Consider sedation. There is actually a whole specialty of dentistry called sedation dentistry, which helps people with either a lot of fear of the dentist or other problems be able to be calm enough to withstand dental treatment. This can be done using nitrous oxide (otherwise known as laughing gas), or short-term acting anti-anxiety medications like Ativan. You can discuss these options with the dentist when you meet him or her. 3. Talk to the dentist about your expectations and their policies. Some kids with autism have trouble lying or sitting still for very long. You will want to think about how you can manage that. Some dentists will have a policy of restraining special needs kids who can’t sit still. You want to make sure that you are on the same page as the dentist on issues like this before any treatment starts. 4. Allow your child to have some control over the process. Try to visit the office ahead of time to familiarize your child with it, to give them time to see what it’s like. During the appointment, if they can do little things like holding the tubes that squirt water and so on to keep their mind off what is happening, it may help. 5. Keep in mind sensory issues. You may want to reduce the amount of lighting in the room, or have your child wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare. Music can be a great distraction – bring an IPOD with their favorite music on it. Make things as quiet as possible, and tell your child what is going to happen before it happens. 6. Something is better than nothing. With some kids, you won’t be able to get as much as you want accomplished at first. In fact, you may only be able to accomplish a cursory visit to make sure nothing is majorly wrong. Take what you can get and keep your expectations realistic. 7. Be aware of the risk factors for autism and dental problems. Kids with autism are often sensitive orally, which can make teeth brushing and other oral care routines difficult. Also, parents may avoid going to the dentist as often as they should because it’s such a difficult thing to do. Habits such as chewing and biting can alter certain tooth structures which may need attention. Using candy as a reward for things can increase the risk of cavities. Autism and the Dentist – Things to Consider When Choosing a Dentist There are several factors you should take into account when choosing a dentist. Experience You don’t always want the dentist with the most experience. Sometimes, a dentist with less experience and enough patience and knowledge to work well with kids with autism will be the best choice. Don’t put medical knowledge above all else. It is important, yes, but so is ability for the dentist to work well with autism. Insurance Sometimes the dentist that is the best fit for your child will be out of your network of approved dentists. Find out how much it will cost to go out of network, and if your insurance will pay anything. Ask if the dentist will submit paperwork. Personality You want the best possible match for your child with autism, and personality is important too. You want someone who is patient and willing to accommodate your child’s needs. Someone who will try to understand them and build a relationship with them. We all respond better to people who try to build relationships with us rather than just treating us like a number on a chart. Those with autism are no different – they can sense if someone really cares or not. The right dentist can make a lot of difference for the anxiety issues your kid may have. Issues with autism and the dentist can be tricky, but the right dentist will make it a lot easier. Tips for Improving Oral Health of Kids with Autism 1. Try to give your child control over the tooth brushing routine. Let them choose the toothpaste – try several different flavors and kinds. Some might want a fruity flavor, some are okay with mint. Some might be reactive to certain inactive ingredients in toothpaste like sodium lauryl sulfate. In this case, it is fairly easy to locate a toothpaste brand without it. The toothbrush may be too big for their mouth, or perhaps they can’t grip it well. Try using a visual timer to count down how long they should brush for. 2. For young kids, try not to let them suck on bottles for too long. The sugar in the milk can be damaging to the teeth. This goes for hard candies or anything else with sugar in it. 3. Mouth guards may help. If your child is unsteady on their feet, bangs into things, or has meltdowns that include head banging, you might want to consider getting a mouth guard to protect their teeth, especially their front teeth. If you follow these tips, rest assured that dealing with autism and the dentist will likely become much easier for you.

potty training


http://einstein-syndrome.com/development/potty_training_description/

CAPD activities


http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html#a_How_Can_I_Help_My_Child_

Sensory Diet


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1DaJtXzRn91N2JlYzEwNTAtZjUyOC00Y2U4LTk5MTUtM2VlZTcyMjhkZGU5/edit

Monday, October 3, 2011

i pad aplication for children with Autism

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-ipad-autistic-children-find-a-rewarding-learning-tool/853238/

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

18 Auditory Processing Activities You Can Do Without Spending a Dime!

18 Auditory Processing Activities You Can Do Without Spending a Dime!
January 12th, 2009 | Tags: ADD, ADHD, Autism, CAPD, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, LD, learning difficulties, learning disabilitiesLeave a comment | Trackback


Many of you have asked about additional activities to do with your kids or students that have auditory processing difficulties due to CAPD, ADD, dyslexia, a learning disability, a learning difficulty or autism. I’ve compiled a variety that you can choose from whether you are tutoring a student, homeschooling, or a concerned parent tutoring your own child.

Auditory processing is a critical component to reading success. We work on a variety of auditory processing areas every time we do activities from the Reading Pack: Five Minutes to Better Reading Skills, Making Spelling Sense, Ten Minutes to Better Study Skills, and The Comprehension Zone. For example, The Comprehension Zone is a game where we play for both auditory memory, auditory comprehension, and reading comprehension. Making Spelling Sense is where we work on auditory discrimination, auditory closure, and auditory memory.

Computer work adds to the hands on work we have already done. I don’t use computerized programs exclusively because I strongly believe that students need the one-on-one feedback and modeling from peers, siblings, parents, and teachers. The increase in self-esteem that a student gets from this interaction with you while working on their skills is priceless.

Computer programs enhance the progress. There are a variety of good programs out there. Earobics and Fast Forward are the two that I’m most familiar with. They are both sound programs and do help with auditory processing difficulties. But, again, I would NOT use computer programs exclusively because students gain so many more benefits from one-on-one and small group work. Student reap a triple impact when you work directly with them: in addition to their skills improving, their auditory processing improving, their self-esteem also improves dramatically.

Here are some other activities you can do with things you typically have around the house or in the classroom to strengthen auditory processing.

These activities are from Children With Learning Disabilities by Janet Lerner

These activities can be done at home whether you are homeschooling or helping your child after school. These activities help those children with dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADHD, auditory processing problems such as auditory memory. Teaching strategies are just that, teaching strategies. A strategy can be done by a parent that is interested in helping thier child improve their auditory processing skills.

Auditory Sensitivity to Sounds

Listening for sounds. Have the children close their eyes and become auditorily sensitive to environmental sounds about them. Sounds like cars, airplanes, animals, outside sounds, sounds in the next room etc., can be attended to and identified.
Recorded sounds. Sounds can be placed on tape or records and the child is asked to identify them. Planes, trains, animals, and typewriters are some of the sounds that may be recorded.
Teacher-made sounds. Have the children close their eyes and identify sounds the teacher makes. Examples of such sounds include dropping a pencil, tearing a piece of paper, using a stapler, bouncing a ball, sharpening a pencil, tapping on a glass, opening a window, snapping the lights, leafing through pages in a book, cutting with scissors, opening a drawer, jingling money, or writing on a blackboard.
Food sounds. Ask the child to listen for the kind of food that is being eaten, cut, or sliced: celery, apples, carrots.
Shaking sounds. Place small hard items such as stones, beans, chalk, salt, sand, or rice into small containers or jars with covers. Have the child identify the contents through shaking and listening.
Auditory Attending

Attending for sound patterns. Have the child close his eyes or sit facing away from the teacher. Clap hands, play a drum, bounce a ball, etc. Have the child tell how many counts there were or ask him to repeat the patterns made. Rhythmic patterns can be made for the child to repeat. For example: slow, fast, fast.
Sound patterns on two objects provides a variation on the above suggestion; for example, use a cup and a book to tap out sounds patterns.
Discrimination of Sounds

Near or far. With eyes closed, the child is to judge what part of the room a sound is coming from, and whether it is near or far.
Loud or soft. Help the child learn to judge and discriminate between loud and soft sounds.
High and low. The child learns to judge and discriminate between high and low sounds.
Find the sound. One child hides a music box or ticking clock and the other children try to find it by locating the sound.
Follow the sound. The teacher or a child blows a whistle while walking around the room.The child should try to follow the route taken through listening.
Blindman’s bluff. One child in the group says something like an animal sound, sentence, questions, or phrase. The blindfolded child tries to guess who it is.
Auditory figure-background. To help a child attend to a foreground sound against simultaneous irrelevant environment noises, have him listen for pertinent auditory stimuli against a background of music.
Awareness of Phonemes or Letter Sounds

For success at the beginning stages of reading the child must perceive the individual phoneme sounds of the language, and he must learn to discriminate each language sound that represents a letter shape from other sounds. Such abilities are essential for decoding written language.

Initial consonants. Have the child tell which word begins like milk. Say three words like “astronaut, mountain, bicycle.”
Ask the child to think of words that begin like Tom.
Find pictures of words that begin like Tom, or find pictures of words in magazines that begin with the letter T. Find the word that is different at the beginning: “paper, pear, table, past.”
Consonant blends, digraphs, endings, vowels. Similar activities can be devised to help the child learn to auditorily perceive and discriminate other phonic elements.
Rhyming words. Learning to hear rhyming words helps the child recognize phonograms.Games similar to those for initial consonants can be used with rhyming words. Experience with nursery rhymes and poems that contain rhymes is useful.
Riddle rhymes. Make up riddles that rhyme. Have the child guess the last rhyming word. For example: “It rhymes with book. You hang your clothes on a _________.”
I hope you found this helpful.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET



http://www.bonnieterry.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/18-auditory-processing-activities-you-can-do-without-spending-a-dime/

How one mom -- with three autistic daughters -- finds hope and happiness By Kim Stagliano


A new study in Pediatrics says the recurrence risk of autism in younger siblings is higher than thought. Hardly comforting to autism families who want a second or third child and not surprising to me, Mom of three (!) daughters with autism.
In 1999, my daughters Mia and Gianna were 3 and 4 years old. Both girls were in school for speech and other developmental issues, which made my life as a Mom more stressful and full of questions than most others.
But I adored babies, and had always planned to have three, four, maybe five children. Pregnancy and infancy were a blessing to me. (Mmm, maybe not the sleep deprivation part of those first months.) However, with two girls who were obviously developmentally delayed, we also wanted answers. Would autism strike all of our children if we chose to have more?
We had a pediatrician in Philadelphia when the girls were very young who told me, “I’ve never heard of a family with more than one child with autism.” Then Gianna began to exhibit the signs. Uh oh. When baby “Rocco Stagliano” started to appear in my dreams, I decided to ask my doctor what I should (could?) do.
Related content: 1 in 5 kids with autistic older sibling share the condition
At his advice we sought genetic counseling. The geneticist at a top Children’s Hospital said the chance of a third child with autism was perhaps 25%, which sounds a lot like this current study, some 11 years after I had asked for a probability number. He told us it was at best a guess. We set aside our plans for a third child, unsure of what to do. Well, New Year’s Eve 1999 arrived; Mark and I partied like it was 1999 as per the Prince song. Nine months later Bella arrived! Despite her autism (which is very different from her sisters’ version) she is an angel and the perfect bookend to our family.
If you have a second (or third) child on the spectrum, your experience with your first will make the process easier. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but knowing how to look for signs and ask for help eases the pain somewhat. I’m not going to tell you it’s easy – you’d know I was fibbing straight away.
There’s hope for new treatments, therapies and an army of families making sure that our kids have every tool to grow into a safe, successful adult life, whether they have Asperger’s Syndrome or full blown autism. In short, you won’t be alone. We “old timers” will not let that happen.
I hope I serve as proof that a family can thrive and prosper. Children aren’t appliances; they don’t come with warranties and guarantees. My girls are my joy. Just as I’m sure your child with autism is your joy too. And while I’d take away their autism for their sake, their Dad and I love them just the way they are.
Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism and author of "All I Can Handle: I’m No Mother Teresa," available from Skyhorse Publishing. Visit her website at www.kimstagliano.com.

http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/08/15/7377798-how-one-mom-with-three-autistic-daughters-finds-hope-and-happiness#.TkuyLdi4xtw.facebook

Monday, July 11, 2011

Invitation

Dear Friends,

Our first student has cleared the SSC Exams this year. We plan to felicitate Siddhanth Sudhakar for his achievement coming Saturday 16th July 12, 2011 at 4pm at Sapplings School, Little Angels, Sion, Near Sion Hospital. We wish to invite you to come attend this function and participate in the happiness with Siddhanth's family and congratulate him on his achievement. Please call on 32949595 for any further information.

Warm regards,
Chitra





--
Forum For Autism(FFA) parent support group Mumbai: www.forumforautism.net


www.autism-india.org
the parent body for Autism in India

Monday, June 27, 2011

speech therapy i pad applications

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49125628/iPad-iPhone-iPod-Android-Apps-for-Speech-Therapistshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/49125628/iPad-iPhone-iPod-Android-Apps-for-Speech-Therapists

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Social Thinking Workshop Dates and the registration form

Dear all,

Just a gentle reminder of the Work-shop registration. Kindly Note the dates
Delhi- 8th August 2011
Bengaluru- 12th and 13th August 2011.

The registration with earlybird discount is on.
Prefered option is DD; there is option for electronic transfer.

Kindly download this attached registration form with corrected pin-code. Do refer to the other attachments for work-shop details.

Mail or call me for any questions
Best regards
Lakshmi Satish
+9109844354292

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Dear friends, Dr. Matthew Belmonte, Professor at Cornell, who has done significant research in Autism is visiting Mumbai. Dr. Belmonte wishes to do a talk for parents and professionals of the Forum for Autism Venue : Hinduja Hospital, Conference Hall, Old Building Time: 7 pm onwards Date: 8th April Friday Topic: Understanding Autistic Behaviour as a Normal Human Reaction to a Disconnected Perceptual and Cognitive World Call at the FFA no. 32949595 to register your name entry free Lecture II for families and professionals : Friday The straightforward way to study autism is to confront the obvious deficits: What genes or what parts of the brain underlie autistic behavioural impairments? This approach falls short in at least two ways. First, in focusing on autistic deficits it fails to account for autistic superiorities; in fact, one and the same physiological and cognitive alteration may explain both autistic weaknesses in social communication and behavioural flexibility, and autistic strengths in perception of detail, exact memory, and understanding of explicit and immediate rules. Second, this approach from deficits assumes that autistic behaviours are produced directly by biological differences in the genes and/or in the brain; in fact, many of the things that people with autism do are most productively construed as adaptive responses, the reactions of a normal human mind maturing within an abnormal perceptual and cognitive environment. We all adapt within the constraints of our bodies and brains, and we all develop strategies that capitalise on our strengths and minimise our weaknesses. A child temporarily deprived of sight in one eye, for instance, will have learnt to rely on the intact eye; to force development of the bad eye, the good eye must be covered with a patch. Likewise, a person who has suffered a stroke will learn to rely on the good side of the body, and must be forced therapeutically to exercise the bad side. The situation in autism is less visible because it involves strengths and weaknesses not simply in overt sensory or motor skills, but in perceptual and cognitive skills: people with autism spectrum conditions learn to rely the capacities at which their brains excel, at the expense of skills that don't come as easily to them. Every human brain has a balance between local connections within single regions of the brain, and long-range connections between distant regions. More short-range connections may make individual parts of the brain very efficient at at working autonomously and independently, but correspondingly difficult to coordinate with each other. Autism seems the extreme case of such an altered balance, in which separate brain systems operate independently and in parallel, but with little or no coordination. This re-conceptualisation of autism as an extreme case of normal human cognitive variation opens the way toward new therapies for autism, and to a new understanding of ourselves: The more closely we examine autism, cognitively, genetically, and physiologically, the more we find ourselves gazing into a mirror. - Forum For Autism(FFA) parent support group Mumbai: www.forumforautism.net www.autism-india.org the parent body for Autism in India

Dear friends,
Dr. Matthew Belmonte, Professor at Cornell, who has done significant research in Autism is visiting Mumbai. Dr. Belmonte wishes to do a talk for parents and professionals of the Forum for Autism
Venue : Hinduja Hospital, Conference Hall, Old Building
Time: 7 pm onwards
Date: 8th April Friday
Topic: Understanding Autistic Behaviour as a Normal Human Reaction to a Disconnected Perceptual and Cognitive World


Call at the FFA no. 32949595 to register your name entry free

Lecture II for families and professionals : Friday

The straightforward way to study autism is to confront the obvious deficits: What genes or what parts of the brain underlie autistic behavioural impairments? This approach falls short in at least two ways.
First, in focusing on autistic deficits it fails to account for autistic superiorities; in fact, one and the same physiological and cognitive alteration may explain both autistic weaknesses in social communication and behavioural flexibility, and autistic strengths in perception of detail, exact memory, and understanding of explicit and immediate rules.
Second, this approach from deficits assumes that autistic behaviours are produced directly by biological differences in the genes and/or in the brain; in fact, many of the things that people with autism do are most productively construed as adaptive responses, the reactions of a normal human mind maturing within an abnormal perceptual and cognitive environment. We all adapt within the constraints of our bodies and brains, and we all develop strategies that capitalise on our strengths and minimise our weaknesses. A child temporarily deprived of sight in one eye, for instance, will have learnt to rely on the intact eye; to force development of the bad eye, the good eye must be covered with a patch.
Likewise, a person who has suffered a stroke will learn to rely on the good side of the body, and must be forced therapeutically to exercise the bad side. The situation in autism is less visible because it involves strengths and weaknesses not simply in overt sensory or motor skills, but in perceptual and cognitive skills: people with autism spectrum conditions learn to rely the capacities at which their brains excel, at the expense of skills that don't come as easily to them. Every human brain has a balance between local connections within single regions of the brain, and long-range connections between distant regions. More short-range connections may make individual parts of the brain very efficient at at working autonomously and independently, but correspondingly difficult to coordinate with each other. Autism seems the extreme case of such an altered balance, in which separate brain systems operate independently and
in parallel, but with little or no coordination. This re-conceptualisation of autism as an extreme case of normal human cognitive variation opens the way toward new therapies for autism, and to a new understanding of ourselves: The more closely we examine autism, cognitively, genetically, and physiologically, the more we find ourselves gazing into a mirror.







-
Forum For Autism(FFA) parent support group Mumbai: www.forumforautism.net


www.autism-india.org
the parent body for Autism in India

Monday, March 28, 2011

Summer camp for kids

MDA rocks this summer with a cool workshop for children!!





Summer is back and we have lots of activities planned for the vacation to enhance the mental, physical, and social development of your child. This year's Summer Camp workshop will comprise a combination:



Language through hands-on activities, stories & games.

Mathematical & Scientific concepts through observation & experimentation,

Brain-Body Integration Exercises with expert Kinesiologist Roshan Bahar,

A related field trip.



So kids, get ready to have a sizzling, fun-filled summer at MDA!


Dates: 2nd May – 20th May 2011



Timings: 10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.



Venue:

Little Angels School

267, Sulochana Shakti Marg

Behind Manav Seva Sangh Lane

Sion (W), Mumbai – 400022.



Age Group: 8 – 13 years



Fees: Rs. 8000/- per child,



Seats are fast filling up! Do rush in your child’s registration form, along with the fees to:

Maharashtra Dyslexia Association
003, Amit Park,
423, Lala Jamnadas Gupta Marg,
Deonar Farm Road,
Mumbai - 400088

For further details, please contact our Administrator, Ms.Divya Balgi on 2556 5754, or email us at mda@dyslexiaindia.com


Registration Form


Name of the Child: __________________________________________


Age: ___________


School: ______________________________________________


Class: ___________________________________________


Payment Details:

Cash: _______________

Cheque:
Bank: __________________________ Branch: _________________
Cheque #: _________________ Date: __________


NOTE : PLEASE ATTACH CERTIFICATE / REPORT OF LD WITH THE APPLICATION FORM .



Divya Balgi
Administrator
Maharashtra Dyslexia Association
003 Amit Park,
423,Lala Jamnadas Gupta Marg
Deonar ,Mumbai 400088
Tel : 25565754
www.mdamumbai.com
mda@dyslexiaindia.com

" If i can't learn the way you teach, will you teach me the way i can learn ? "