Back to School for Those With Autism Spectrum Disorders

When it's time to take your child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder to school, it can be quite a turbulent time, to say the least. All routine is thrown out the window and replaced with sheer and utter chaos. New overwhelming sights, sounds, smells, and touches will all be experienced in the first day of class. In order to make this transition a little more peaceful there are a few steps you can take ahead of time to prepare your child for success in a mainstream environment.
1. Take your child to the school a couple of times before the start of the school year. Walk them around the halls. Let the feel the walls, adjust to the lighting, and get used to the pattern of the tile on the floor. This might be a good time to map out their routes, if they will be changing classrooms. Show them where the restrooms are in relation to their class room/rooms. Let them see their classroom and become familiar with it as well. I understand you can't do this to far in advance, but the more visits you can get in the better.
2. Introduce yourself and your child to the teacher. Communication between you and your child's teacher through out the school year is going to be key in their success. You might as well make your self known right away, and let then know you are an involved parent. Let the teacher know you are their to help however you can. During this time your child will be able to become familiar with the teacher as well. This should help the transition if there is a recognizable face among all the craziness.
3. Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse! Devote a little time each day to going over scenarios that your child might encounter while they are at school. What to do when you get upset at a student/teacher is a good one. What do you do if you get lost trying to find your room. Who do you go to if someone is picking on you or bullying you. For that matter make sure your child knows what bullying is and understands that it is not OK.
This is just a general guide. You know your child, if preparing them ahead of time will only make them perseverate on it, then this will not work for you. I hope this has been a help[ to some.
I have more resources on my website at http://autismspectrumresources.blogspot.com

Robert, http://autismspectrumresources.blogspot.com

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Why Children Who Suffer From Autism Benefit From Specialist Education

Autism is a condition that many parents find difficult to understand, but the important thing to realise is that they are not alone. It is possible for your child to grow up with a chance of living a relatively normal child hood and adult life, but it's important to consult with the experts to find out what services are on offer.

One of the biggest parts of any child's life is education. We often take our education system for granted, but for an autistic child the education process can be a totally different challenge.

This has been recongised and throughout the country specialist schools are now available where your child can feel more comfortable with their surroundings, class mates and more importantly be educated by experienced people who understand Autism and the needs of the sufferers.

These schools aren't just run by 'teachers'. They are run by specially trained teachers, residential carers, learning support assistants and therapists, who all work closely with parents to achieve the best outcomes for the child. It's not uncommon for different children to have different levels of autism, or differ in the way they react to certain situations, so it's important that the people in charge of the education of these children are aware of how to react to the different children who attend. Through experience a strategy can be put together for each child to ensure that they receive the maximum benefits from their education.

One thing that Autistic children can suffer with is a lack of confidence, and by attending a school that is focused on the needs of an autistic child, they can participate in exercises that can help them to interact with people, take on challenges and generally become more confident in their abilities to respond to situations that arise as part of growing up in todays world.

Specialist education provides the care, attention and understanding that normal schools cannot provide. The responsibility of a standard school is to provide pupils with curriculum based education and it has been proven that in most cases this just does not work for autistic children.

In summary, the specialist schools that are available for autistic children provide them with a foundation and framework to learn, adapt to real life situations, interact with like-minded children and prepare themselves for the coping with their condition in the real world.

Based in Derbyshire, High Grange is a Specialist Autism School for Young People with Autistic Spectrum.

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Treating Feeding Difficulties in the School Environment

There are many children within the school environment that have feeding difficulties. For these children, the task of eating lunch and snack at school is a daunting one. However, lunch and snack time can present the perfect opportunity for addressing feeding difficulties if given the necessary attention and intervention.

A team collaboration framework is necessary for the design and implementation of a successful feeding therapy program within the schools, with many people and steps involved.

Who is involved?

• The child is the primary person involved.
• The student's family is a key player in the success of the program.
• The school based speech/language pathologist or occupational therapist is typically the person responsible for designing and overseeing the feeding therapy program.
• Teachers and paraprofessionals play a major role in the direct implementation of the program.
• There may be other school personnel involved for each individual child and his/her needs, such as an autism teacher consultant, school social worker, special education teacher, principal, and/or cooks in the cafeteria.
• Outside team members may include the child's physician, nutritionist, psychologist, speech/language pathologist and/or occupational therapist.

What steps are involved in setting up a feeding therapy program?

• The first order of business is to identify the children who could benefit from feeding therapy. This can sometimes be a difficult task; but observant teachers or cafeteria workers can assist in determining those children who eat the same thing day after day, or who refuse to eat anything but graham crackers for snack every day. These are the children for whom feeding therapy may be appropriate.
• The team that will be collaborating on each child's plan needs to be established. Once the team is in place, a meeting should be held to discuss the child's needs.
• The school based speech/language pathologist or occupational therapist conducts an evaluation to determine the child's specific needs. This evaluation will look at the child's sensory and oral motor abilities, as well as what the child will and will not eat.
• A feeding therapy plan will be developed based on the results of the evaluation and will include a sensory diet and a baseline feeding continuum which will be updated throughout the year.
• Training for the specific individuals who will be implementing the program will be held. Typically, paraprofessionals would be responsible for implementing the program.
• Written documentation will be used during each feeding therapy session, and periodic evaluation will be conducted to measure progress or need for adaptation.

What would a sample feeding therapy program look like? (The list that follows is meant only as a general guideline, and should not be implemented without appropriate training.)

• Each session would begin with a sensory time specifically designed to meet the needs of each individual child. Some children need activities to arouse their system, such as jumping on a trampoline; while other children need activities to quiet their system, such as swinging.
• A mealtime routine would be established, such as preparing the table.
• The adult implementing the program would then begin introducing the foods planned for that day, beginning with a preferred food. Several new foods would be tried at each session. Foods would be similar in size, shape, color, or texture.
• The session ends with cleaning up the leftover food, and washing the table.

These programs may be carried out individually or in small groups, depending on the needs of each individual child. These sessions may be implemented 1-2 times per week or everyday, depending on scheduling. While daily implementation is ideal, consistency is really most important for success. Paraprofessionals usually carry out the programs, but the entire team is involved in ensuring its success. Parents should be involved in the sessions as much as possible hopefully to assist in carry over within the home setting. Continued team meetings will also be important in making sure that all of the child's needs are being met by the plan.

Feeding difficulties can be very complex, requiring the need for a team approach and a comprehensive understanding of what is truly involved for each individual child. A commitment on the part of the whole team is necessary for the expansion of a child's feeding repertoire.

Autism specialist Erin Roon, of the Horizons Developmental Remediation Center, provides practical information and advice for families living with autism and other developmental disabilities. If you are ready to reduce your stress level, enrich your child's development, and improve your family's quality of life, get your FREE reports now at ==> http://www.horizonsdrc.com/

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Autism - Are The Schools Prepared For The Epidemic?

The number of Autistic children are growing. Currently there is 1 in 150 children this year who will be diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum.
What is being done to prepare for this onslaught of Autistic children who will be entering the school system?
The Autism Spectrum encompasses a large scale. There are literally thousands of Autistic children with varying degrees of Autism joining the school system yearly. Some of the schools would never have seen a child with Autism and are ill prepared to deal with it.
Each Autistic child is an individual and the Individualized Education Plan cannot be mass produced and needs to be geared solely towards the needs of that child.
No two Autistic children are the same so you can't have a one size fits all IEP.
In the new age no child left behind school regime, what is being done to prepare the teachers for the new evolution of students that they are going to be teaching?
Children with Autism come with multiple challenges that the teachers are going to have to face, one of the main ones being communication. Approximately 50% of Autistic children never speak.
Effective methods of communication between the teachers and the Autistic student will need to be developed. Some include picture boards, where the student can pick the item that he wants, the pecs system, which basically works the same with an expansion of objects and sometimes just gesturing.
Some unfortunately display their Autistic symptoms more than others. The stimming, usually displayed as flapping and the child with Autism's sometimes inappropriate obsessive fixation on certain objects may be misunderstood by teachers and other students who may never have seen this before.
Some of these Autistic signs and symptoms are used by the child with Autism to regulate themselves and a place may need to be provided where the child can do this in order to cope with the overwhelming changes being in a different environment with a larger number of strangers will bring.
Also another factor which will need to be addressed is the privacy of the Autistic child. Obviously sometimes, these children behave in manners that a regular child does not and a stricter policy for privacy should be maintained to stop teachers and staff discussing this outside of school. The Autistic child is not always in control of their mannerisms or behaviors and they deserve the same dignity that a regular student has.
Are our Autistic children going to be lost in the shuffle?
Doomed to spend their days in a classroom where they are being babysat at best by teachers who quite frankly have no idea how to help them?
More emphasis needs to be placed now on recruiting and training Special Education teachers who want to make a change in the Autistic child's life.
Those that have been doing Special Ed for a long time need classes updating their skills and introducing them to the challenges they are going to face with the children with Autism.
A lot has changed since the first days when Autism was first diagnosed and treated with electric shock therapy.
There are many documented cases now where children who have received effective early intervention lose some of their Autistic signs and symptoms and go on to live productive lives e.g. Temple Grandin.
Children with Autism flourish with one on one instruction. Schools need to be aware that they may need to hire more auxiliary staff to help with the Autistic children.
They also need to be aware that burn out is a high risk for teachers with children with Autism and time needs to be allowed during the day when they can switch out with another teacher thereby refreshing themselves.
Regular class teachers need to be educated as the higher functioning Autistic children will be in their classes. The teaching format can and should be adjusted to assist the child with Autism in their learning process. This is not to say that time for the other students should be taken away, merely that this is where other staff can be incorporated to assist the Autistic student.
Regular communication between the families and the educational staff should be scheduled.
Parents should be encouraged with their input as to the Autistic child's education.
Quite a number of parents of Autistic children are relentless in their endeavours to improve the prognosis of their child with Autism, extra activities, exercises and the use of treatments to name but a few.
By working together as a team, they can all help the child with Autism grow more productively.
Headmasters need to be educated regarding Autism and the implications that it will have on their school in regards to extra staffing and the way the Special Ed department works, as officially as it is in their school, they are meant to be supervising it.
Ignorance is not an excuse and it will not be accepted by the parents of the Autistic children who want a decent education for their affected child.
If the no child left behind policy is going to be wholly effective for Autistic children as well as the average school child, then changes need to be made now.
The numbers of children with Autism are increasing annually.
If the schools wait to make changes, then the child with Autism will be left behind.

Donna Mason has been a Registered Nurse for the past 16 years. She is the mother of 6 children, 3 of whom have varying degrees of Autism. For more information on Autism signs and symptoms, and to learn more about this mother's battle in the fight against this misunderstood condition, visit us on the web at: http://www.autisticadventures.blogspot.com

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Back to School Routines for Special Needs Parents

Children with ADD, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities and other special needs often have difficulty with the social or academic aspects of school and they can be reluctant to return to the demands of the educational environment. Parents who build in support with routines established and maintained during the summer help their child feel safe and secure as they venture back to the world of school and friendships.

Begin the transition process early

At least a month in advance, show your child on the calendar when school will start. Include a little drawing of something that symbolizes fun to your child, such as a kickball or an artist's palette-something that he connects with school.

Back plan from that date, writing into the calendar times to go shopping for clothes, school supplies, and a cool new book bag.

Also plan ahead for end of summer fun experiences such as a day at the beach or a barbeque with friends. Be sure your child knows these great events are coming up and looks forward to them.

In fact, start this year by establishing a special celebratory event as an end-of-the-summer-custom that will ease your child's transition back to school in the years to come!

Remind your child of some favorite fall activities such as football games, apple picking and Halloween, and connect the return to school with these favorite activities.

While you're looking at the calendar, be sure to show your child times for relaxing and being with family and friends, such as weekends and holidays.

Children need routines to be at their best

We often relax bedtimes and other routines during the summer, but August is the perfect month to begin the gradual transition back to the structure of academic life.

Start now to put more structure into the schedule-don't wait until the week before school resumes, or your child will have much greater difficulty getting into the flow.

Make bedtime a bit earlier each week, until your child is going to bed at the "school bedtime" by the third week of August-children's bodies need to make the new bedtime a habit in order to adapt and be ready for learning.

Be sure to have structured academic time each day. This can be a couple of hours in the morning or in the afternoon, but it's important to give your child the structure of learning. Making academic gains is often more difficult for our kids-they can't afford to fall behind. For tips on fun ways to practice academic skills (at any time of year!) download free audio files from my website.

Be sure to discuss the structure that will be in place for homework time when school starts. Before school starts is a good time to talk with your child about the homework rules of the house. It's best to develop these rules in collaboration with your child so you both feel they are fair. Discuss homework time as part of your child's job as a student.

It is vital to find a few moments everyday to give each of your children undivided special attention. Treat yourself and your child to exclusive, one-on-one time together each day. Develop joint interests and pursue them passionately.

Children with special needs can be fearful and uncomfortable with transitions, making it important for parents to give special consideration and care to the back to school season! With careful attention to routines and advance planning, our kids can handle transitions with calm security.

Dr. Kari Miller is a Board Certified Educational Therapist and Director of Miller Educational Excellence, Educational Therapy in Los Angeles. She began her career almost twenty-five years ago as a special education resource teacher. She has worked with students in a vast array of capacities, including special education teacher and educational therapist. Dr. Miller has a PhD in Educational Psychology and Mathematical Statistics, a master's degree in Learning Disabilities, Gifted Education and Educational Diagnosis, and a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and Behavior Disorders.

To contact Dr. Miller
Email: klmiller555@sbcglobal.net
Website: http://www.millereducationalexcellence.com
Phone: 310-280-9813

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Autism Treatment - Causes of Regression

I want to cover the issue of regression, and particularly since the holidays are over, the issue of regression after the holidays. There are several children that I see in my practice who have been very impacted by regression and it is very disturbing for their families. When you have a child who is progressing, has good eye contact, language and socialization and suddenly regresses, losing eye contact, language and is now engaged in more self stimulatory and sensory seeking behaviors, you must ask what is going on?

With the holidays there are always special concerns to address regarding regression, the first is dietary infractions. Maybe over the holidays a child has gluten or dairy that they are not used to eating and that is contributing to regression. Another dietary issue over the holidays is increased sugar and artificial ingredients intake and that can also contribute to regression. Between school parties, parties at friends house, etc, there are more opportunities for dietary infractions that can all add up to regressive behaviors. And if your child has a yeast sensitivity, increase sugars can contribute to yeast overgrowth, leading to issues with eye contact, self stimulatory behaviors and sensory issues.

With the holidays also come changes in schedule and routine that can impact regression. School schedules change with holidays, there is a lot of excitement, maybe even travel involved. That change can make a big impact on a child with Autism and can even cause regression for some kids. And when school starts back up for school aged children after having a few weeks off, that can also cause regression. And when school aged children have to return to school after being off for a couple of weeks, that transition can also spark regression. And if therapy schedules had to be altered during the holidays, that can cause regression as well. The holidays can be very overwhelming and any combination of these things can all increase the possibility of regression. So it may take a parent looking back over a time period to see what has changed in their child's diet, routine or environment to find the cause of their regressive behavior.

Autism really is treatable! Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving, or even even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis. For lots more free biomedical autism intervention information and videos from Dr. Woeller, go to http://www.AutismRecoveryTreatment.com.

Dr. Kurt Woeller is an biomedical autism Intervention specialist, with a private practice in Southern California for over 10 years. He has helped children recover from autism, ADD, ADHD, and other disorders, and has the information you need to help your child. Download his free ebook at http://www.AutismActionPlan.org.

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5 Tips For Making Back to School Easier

It's that time of year again; time to go back to school. While many children are excited about returning to school, children with autism often experience a great deal of stress and anxiety during this time of year. Even if your child is going to the same school building they attended the previous year, this still means change for your child as there will most likely be new children, there may be a new teacher, and possibly a new classroom. Because these things can cause children with autism to have some major melt downs at the beginning of the school year, this article will outline five tips to help make this transition go more smoothly for you and your child.

1. Get Prepared

A few weeks before school starts, talk to your child about the coming end to the summer routine. Start talking about how things will change when they go back to school. Talk about what things will change for them such as will they have a new babysitter, will they ride the bus etc. Try to help them understand that their daily routine will be different soon and then explain to them how.

2. Meet with Team Members

It may be important for you to meet with the members of your child's team. This includes the principal, therapists, teachers, assistant teachers etc. Doing so will give you an opportunity to share with them your child's strengths as well as their weaknesses. It will also give you a chance to give them some tips on how to help your child work through difficult moments that may happen during the school day. You can also share or revisit the IEP so that everyone is familiar with your child's goals. This will also give the school staff a chance to ask you any questions they may have. This meeting can be beneficial for everyone involved.

3. Take Your Child to Visit the School Building and the Classroom

A couple weeks before school starts, if at all possible, take the child to visit the school building and the classroom. It's ideal if the new teacher will agree to meet you there so your child gets to see him/her ahead of time. It may also be helpful for your child to meet the principal and other office staff as well as any other important staff in the building. You can also take a picture of these staff members to use in your social story. Even if your child is not changing school buildings this is often helpful so that they know what to expect and can adjust to the change in classroom teachers or just a change in routine.

4. Use Social Stories

Social StoriesTM were developed by Carol Gray of the Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A social story is a short simple story, often with pictures, that talks about an event or situation. You can write your own social story or use one that someone else has already written, but it is always good to personalize the story so your child feels like it applies to them. You can use your child's name, the name of their new teacher or teachers, and/or the name of their school as well. Because most children with autism are visual learners, a social story will often help ease their anxiety. For more information about social stories or Carol Gray you can visit http://www.thegraycenter.org.

5. Use a Visual Schedule

A visual schedule is another strategy that's often helpful for children with autism. You can use pictures or symbols or simply words to let your child know what is going to be happening. Use a picture for each activity your child will be doing during the day. For example, getting out of bed, getting dressed, eating breakfast, getting on the bus, etc. You can also use a schedule to get the child through the school day. Often visual cues will go a long way towards easing the stress and anxiety and will help the child know what to expect.

No matter which of these steps you use, or whether you use any of them at all, the important thing is to find some way to help ease your child into the new school year. Three months is enough time for any child to lose touch with the school year routine, but because children with autism thrive on routines, readjusting to the structured school day can be even more challenging. Once summer has come to an end, it's important that the readjustment process be as easy and comfortable as possible for both you and your child.

Michelle Wagner is an Early Childhood Intervention Specialist and has a Master's degree in special education. For the past ten years, she's worked with children who have special needs and her passion lies in helping these children and their families adjust to, and overcome, the many challenges that autism brings about.

In 2007 Ms. Wagner started The Autism Connection; a support group and website in Marion, Ohio for families whose children are affected by autism and other disorders on the spectrum. Recently, she has expanded The Autism to include an extensive resource library as well as a listing of upcoming workshops and events related to autism.

If you'd like further information or have any questions about coping with autism, please visit Michelle's site at: http://www.theautismconnection.org

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Eleven Back to School Strategies to Reduce School Anxiety for Autistic Children

Transitions are very difficult for most children on the autism spectrum to make and going back to school may be the most challenging one there is. Preparing an autistic child for change can be time consuming and emotionally draining for any family. We all hope for a stress free and easy shift into a new school routine but don't always get what we want. If despite all your preparation the new school year did not get off to a good start, don't despair because it is never too late to turn things around. All parents want things to go smoothly and when they don't it is all too easy to place blame on yourself. But wait!

Before jumping to conclusions that you did something wrong or that your autistic child will never settle into a peaceful back to school routine let's approach this from a different perspective. When an airplane pilot develops problems flying an aircraft or a sea captain experiences difficulty with his ship the trouble could stem from a number of things. Most likely both of these skilled professionals will run through a checklist to assess the situation and determine the cause. The first step towards solving any dilemma is assessment and a checklist is a great way to examine most potentially problematic situations.

Having a checklist also helps one tackle a challenge with more confidence and less stress.Depending on the qualities that make your child unique and where he or she falls on the autism spectrum, your back to school experience will differ from every other parent. If you are experiencing turbulence or rough seas in your household as you try to settle into a stress free back to school routine here is a checklist for you to refer to that may help you identify some adjustments that will make for a smoother transition.

___ Are you paying attention to your child's sleep patterns and bedtime routine?If you weren't able to address changes in daily routines, such as bedtime, well enough in advance this could be the cause of any stress related behaviors that might be occurring. One cannot stress the importance of sleep and its impact on brain development, mood and attention span which many studies support. In addition to helping your child be more successful at school, making sure she receives the required amount of sleep will also improve her behavior at home.

___ Are you using a back to school calendar?If not, consider creating a special back-to-school calendar. Depending on your child's interest in arts and crafts, this can be a fun process that the two of you can do together. You may want to use words or pictures to indicate what will happen on each day of the week, if you need more room and can't find a calendar big enough, such as a wall calendar, make a book that has a page or two or for every day of the week. Reading the book or looking at the calendar can you're your child transition better from day to day.

___ Have you used other school related resources to your advantage?If you have any books or movies about school this would be a good time to read or watch them repeatedly. If your supply of school related resources is scarce consider a trip to the bookstore to purchase a new book or the more economical option of the public library which allows you to take home more than one book or video. One can always find books about going back to school, such as "Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School," by Herman Parish.

___ Have you been talking about school in a positive manner?When talking about school with your child on the autism spectrum, it is always important to set up a positive attitude for the upcoming school year before and after it begins. Talking to them in the affirmative regarding teachers, friends and schoolwork will help them maintain a positive perspective and relieve any anxieties that might exist. If despite your positive attitude, your child is not enthused about the school year, focus on activities and events they find interesting, such as sports, arts, clubs, field trips, etc. If you really need to dig deep try to find something positive to say about what will happen after school.

___ Did you and your child have a private meeting with the teacher?If your child is exceptionally anxious about the start of a new school year and the changes that are involved, making a fifteen to twenty minute appointment to talk to the new teacher before or after school might help. The opportunity to have a private audience with the teacher to go over schedules and expectations as well as the chance to ask questions without other students around can give any child a gigantic jumpstart and sense of relief.

___ Have you reviewed previous school years by looking at pictures?If you don't have any pictures, start taking them now or if your school has a yearbook, make sure to purchase one when it is published. If using your own pictures consider putting them in a scrapbook this year, which may be fun to create together. Next year you can take the yearbook or scrapbook out at this time and look through it together, it can be a useful transition tool for returning to school the following year.

___ Have you held a family meeting about school?In addition to talking about school to your child individually, it's great to hold a family meeting so that everyone gets a chance to share their thoughts and feelings as well as discuss and plan for the week ahead. Meeting as a group sends the message that you are all in this together and that you care about each individual's experience. If you have never held a family meeting before, this is good time to start.

___ Have you and your child met with the school bus driver?If taking the bus, it can be very beneficial for you to meet with the bus driver and provide him or her with helpful information about your child. A school bus is a very sensory stimulating environment - bus fumes, noise, temperatures, stops and starts, etc. - not to mention an atmosphere that could be socially intimidating to your children with autism. You may even want to consider creating a driver tip sheet, especially if you suspect the bus ride is causing high-anxiety or sensory overload for your child. A tip sheet might include important information about your child and how best to communicate with him, simple strategies that work, tactics to avoid, seating preference or activities that will maintain his interest.

___ Have you addressed screen machine use?If you have allowed TV viewing, video games and computer use privileges to increase over the summer and haven't had a chance to cut back yet, begin now. Technology is important and useful but must be balanced with other activities that create an atmosphere where the brain is encouraged and allowed to think for itself. Quiet time for reading, homework and social interaction is vitally important for helping your child be successful in school. Once you adjust TV, video and computer use rules it is important to communicate them clearly and stick to them.

___ Are you encouraging social interactions for your child?A child on the autism spectrum often struggles with making and keeping friends, which is an important component in creating a positive school experience. If possible, invite old or new classmates that may have moved into the school system and invite them over so your child can get to know them better and practice her social graces. It can help your child immensely if you rehearse back to school conversation starters and group social skills with them to use with their friends, teachers and other adults.

___ Are you communicating clearly with your child?It is important to remember that all the preparation, planning and practice in the world won't get you to where you want to be if you aren't communicating effectively with your child - verbally and non-verbally. It is important to know what works best to effectively communicate with your child. Does your autistic child communicate best with words, or visuals and how can you tell when your message has been received and you have made a good connection?

Before you think about making changes to your back to school schedule, take the time to review this checklist and note what comes to mind. Be open and honest in assessing your current routine and then choose a few things to work on as you tweak your original approach. In order to create a more productive and enjoyable back to school routine for you and your child, make changes gradually and keep track of what works and what doesn't. Before you know it, you and your child will be experiencing a stress free school routine.

Imagine less worries and less concerns as a parent with a child on the Autism spectrum... and more happiness and joyful times as a family. That's what you get when have the support of Connie Hammer, expert parent educator and coach. For more than twenty years, this licensed social worker has worked with families to uncover abilities and nurture family opportunities that bring more love, more fun and more contentment, regardless of disability, into their lives.

For more great information on back to school strategies that work, visit http://www.parentcoachingforautism.com/back-to-school-course

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