Autism: Communicating With PECS

When I first started teaching autistic children I was amazed with how easily those with non-communication skills usually adapted to PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). While I had been trained to use the system it really did not mean much to me until I entered the classroom and put it into practice.

Most of you are aware of the PECS basics: in the classroom each student has his/her own communication board that has been plasticized (doing this gave it a much longer life and we were able to keep each one clean). My staff and I used pieces of construction paper, taped them together so each one was long enough to accommodate the number of icons we would use each day.

We then used the computer to choose the different icons we needed. Some of those, such as the bathroom, bus, and playground icons we printed in quantities; while others, such as cash register, office, and bicycle we printed in smaller quantities. Once they were ready we placed them on a piece of construction paper and plasticized them. We then put Velcro on the communication board, and the icons, so that one would attach to the other (the extra icons we made were put in an icon book so they were readily available when needed).

There were times we faced the problem of not being able to find an appropriate icon for a specific need. This happened sometimes when we took the children to a certain restaurant. We wanted to prepare them by placing the icon on their board so they would know what we were doing and where we were going once we left the classroom and started walking toward the office. Preparing the students with this information, in advance, often saved a tantrum or another behavior from a child who became anxious. We tried to be as creative as possible. Sometimes one of the paraprofessional educators had a strong artistic ability and could draw an appropriate picture that we turned into an icon. If we did not have an 'artist' in our classroom we would try to find a picture in a magazine or find a similar icon that we could adapt.

During my memorable years of teaching autistic children I always tried to convince parents that their child should have a similar communication board and icons in their home. This offered consistency and it also helped the child to understand what would be going on during the evening and on weekends. Often parents complained that they did not always know what they would be doing during the evening. One evening, they would say, they wanted to watch TV while another evening they wanted to go out to dinner. They said that the decision may not be made until minutes before the activity was selected. I tried to reinforce the fact that 'some' preparation, in advance, was better than no preparation. Others found the communication system to be 'bulky' or 'time-consuming.' This is true; however, using PECS can save a parent a lot of time by preventing melt-downs and anxious moments. The parents would also be concerned because the 'icon making program' is expensive. We tried to meet this situation by offering to make the icons for the family. Some families also discovered that some non-profits or governmental agencies would help purchase this for them. Also, there are some wonderful pictures you can download, for free, on the internet.

If you are open to the idea of making the transition of communication from home- to school-to home consistent - I strongly suggest you look into the PECS program for your non-communicative child. It offers your autistic child a way to communicate - and this opens a whole new world.

By Jack E. George

http://www.jackegeorge.com
http://www.theautismhandbook.com

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The Effects on the Development of Non-Autistic Children When They Have Older Autistic Siblings

Autism is currently affecting 1 in 150 children, but children who suffer from the effects of Autism are much higher. In a family with more than 1 child who have a child with Autism, the effects on the non-autistic sibling can be life long.

For a family whose Autistic sibling is the eldest, it creates an entirely different family structure with the younger non-autistic child either taking on a caregiver or guardianship role or emulating the behaviours of the child with Autism.

Children with Autism take up a lot of the parent's time and energy often leaving little for the younger non-autistic sibling. Sometimes a non-autistic younger sibling feels that they have to compete for their parents attention and that the extra attention somehow means that the child with Autism is the more loved child. This can lead to resentment of their disabled sibling and sometimes negative behaviour. To these children, any attention is better than no attention - even if it is negative.

On the other side of the coin, a younger non-autistic sibling can sometimes copy their Autistic older brother or sisters mannerisms leading to a concern that this child may have Autism as well. Even in a normal household, this is what would happen. Younger children learn a lot from their older siblings and if the behaviour is not regarded as acceptable, how are they to know.

With early development, the non-autistic child is going to watch and copy what the older child is doing. They will learn their behaviours, the flapping, the stacking of blocks and sometimes, the gutteral sounds that replace speech in approximately 50% of children with Autism. Care needs to be taken that the non-autistic sibling does get a chance to socialize with other children to encourage a healthy development. Even something as small as a playdate with a neighbours child or at a daycare with other non-autistic children of a similar age.

The beauty of children is, that unless they are taught to do so, they are going to treat their Autistic sibling like one of the family and accept their behaviours. They may not always like what they do, but, they will understand that the child with Autism is part of the family and will love them as such. They may take on a caregiver role, speaking for them, helping them with things etc and therefore the roles of older and younger sibling will be reversed.

Having children with Autism in the family can also sometimes lead to social isolation. It is difficult at best to take a child with Autism on some outings as sometimes their behaviours are not socially acceptable, e.g. the screaming and the flapping. Despite recent media attention about Autism, there remains quite a large number of the public who still are uneducated and look upon Autistic children as being naughty and undisciplined with bad parents.

For families with little or no outside help, it means less time going out as a family and also, unfortunately, less time that the non-autistic child gets to do things that other children their age are doing.

Educating the younger non-autistic sibling about Autism and how it is affecting their older sibling in an age appropriate manner is a good way of helping the younger child deal with some of the things they may not understand. Explaining to them that the older child is not always in control of what they do and that just because they behave in such a way, it does not make it right. Encourage the non-autistic sibling to discuss their feelings and encourage them to come up with ways that they can help out, thereby freeing up a bit more of their parents time for themselves.

Autism affects the entire family and it is only natural that the non-autistic sibling have some issues with role reversal and development but by communicating and being open, this can all be built on positively enabling the non-autistic child to build a healthy relationship with their Autistic sibling with little detrimental effect to their own development.

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

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Mason

Autism Spectrum Disorders - What Does the Term "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (ASD) Mean?

Medical professionals often use the term Autism Spectrum Disorders (or ASD for short) to explain the large variety of symptoms, signs and characteristics associated with a diagnosis of Autism.

As we all know, more and more children are getting diagnosed with Autism everyday. According to the Center for Disease Control, Autism now occurs in one out of every 150 individuals. Some researchers account for the increase in Autism due to us better understanding the entire Autism spectrum.

The Autism spectrum, however, is sometimes difficult for parents to understand. Some parents say things like: "My child has Autism, but he does not do that!" or they will ask "My child will interact with other kids, does he still have Autism?" The answer is simply that Autism is a spectrum, but what exactly does this mean?

A spectrum means that there are children with Autism symptoms on one side, the other side, and everywhere in between. For example, let's take a look at communication and the Autism spectrum. You might have one child on one end of the spectrum that is non-verbal and will only use gestures to tell his or her needs. Then, you might have a child on the other end of the spectrum that can tell you every small detail and then some about his favorite dinosaurs. Both of these children have Autism, but they are on opposite ends of the Autism spectrum for their communication skills.

All of the fundamental deficits of Autism are a spectrum: communication, social skills, and behavior. Each child with Autism has skills that vary on each of the spectrums. Also, all of the types of autistic disorders make up this "Autism spectrum". The different types of autistic disorders include: Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

For more information on Autism Spectrum Disorders including signs, symptoms and treatment options, you should download our Free Special Report on Autism. This popular, jam-packed resource guide is available for download right now at http://www.AutismSymptomsChecklist.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Brooke

Are You Concerned That Your Child Has Autism? 22 Signs and Symptoms of Autism to Look Out.

How Do YOU know if YOUR Child has Autism? Are you worried that YOUR child may have Autism?

Would you like to Learn to spot the Signs and Symptoms of Autism to look out for?

My background

I am a mother who has an autistic child who was diagnosed when he was just two and a half years old. So this is written from a real person with first hand practical experience of dealing with Autism. It is an article written by an experienced person not a Ghost Writer writing about Autism!
Want to learn more?

Here are just 22 Signs and Symptoms of Autism to look out for. Most of these signs and symptoms were displayed by my Autistic Son. The list is not exhaustive.

Just a few of these symptoms will give you the knowledge to determine whether Your child may have Autism or is showing signs of Autism.

22 Signs and Symptoms of Autism

1 Difficulty in expressing needs
2 Little or no smiling
3 At 1 year: no babbling, no pointing or these have stopped
4 At 16 months: no words or words have disappeared
5 At 2 years: no phrases or phrases have dropped
6 Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
7 Displays odd play such as playing with doors, fixated with spinning objects, stacking toys, lining up toys or more focused on part of a toy
8 Your child likes playing on their own - solitary play
9 Repetitive behaviour
10 Repeating words or phrases in place of normal responsive language. Even echolalia
11 Laughing or showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
12 Unexplainable excessive crying
13 Aggression which is unexplained
14 Little or no eye contact
15 Not using age appropriate words to communicate
16 Enjoys movement and is calmer when rocking, swinging or jumping or shaking body or head
17 Over sensitive to certain sounds such as vacuum cleaner sounds, dog barking, lawnmower
18 Self injurious behaviour such as head banging may be present
19 Flapping hands, tiptoeing or biting
20 Resisting change to set routines
21 Delay in spoken language
22 Completely indifferent to others feelings

Remember that no one single thing alone means autism. Autism is notable by a pattern of symptoms rather than any one single symptom. The main features of autism are impairments in communication, restricted interests with repetitive behaviour as well as social interaction difficulties.

Just becoming aware of the early signs of autism in a child AND seeking advice as soon as possible. Guidance from a Pediatrician is the first step, if you are worried that your child is displaying the signs and symptoms.
Early intervention is better the sooner it is received than later. Your primary concern is to get your child checked and ensure that help is given to support your child whether the child is Autistic or not. He may just have learning difficulties in some cases and it is still wise that early intervention will change both your outlook and your child's outlook.

This is Part 2 of the saga of a series of articles I am writing on Autism. Please check my website http://signsandsymptomsofautism.com

Sofina Aghios is a mother of an Autistic Child who lives in London. I have attended many courses to deal with Autism and to learn about the lifelong condition, including dealing with challenging behaviour of an Autistic child. I have supported my child with PECS to get him to communicate and successfully getting him a Statement of Education Needs (SEN) to help with his support at a Mainstream School, knowing that he could deal with it. Yes, mainstream school, some Autistic children can attend mainstream school with support in the UK.

My objective is to raise awareness of Autism and to bring my child up in a world where Autism is truly understood and is accepted.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sofina_Aghios

Day Schedule Strips to Teach and Calm Autistic Children

Schedule and Day strips are a great way to get an Autistic child to understand what is going on on a day to day basis. It teaches them language and can modify their behavior by understanding what is going on.

We found with our daughter and other Autistic children that one of the major causes of a meltdown is when they are confused about what is happening. This is often happens when a routine is changed and they don't know about it, or understand why.

By communicating with the Autistic child, by some means, well in advance, perhaps the day before, of what to expect for that day they will be exceptionally calmer even if it is a big change from their routine.

One way we found of communicating to the child is through pictures. Most Autistic children are highly visual communicators. They see the world in pictures, mainly because they can not process sounds and written words.

Compics, PECS and Boardmaker were developed for communicating with persons that have impaired or do not have language skills at all. They can be used for communicating and ultimately for teaching language step by step.

The day schedule strips are just one example of using pictures to communicate, but this for us was one huge step toward teaching and communicating to our daughter about what to expect for the coming day and any changes to her routines.

With this knowledge it was as if she was a completely different child, willingly following what was on the schedule, and accepting new and challenging experiences. However if the schedule had to change then there was a problem to contend with.

Over time however we found if things did change we would use the same method, only without as much advance warning, but it was just as effective in preparing her for the change.

How to make the Schedule Day Strips
The strips can be made up of laminated cardboard or plastic with a Velcro strip along the front. The pictures used for the strip are made up of either Compic, PECS or Boardmaker style pictures which have a Velcro pad adhered to them on the back. The strip is made long enough to fit sufficient number of pictures for the days events.

It is important to make the strips and pictures large enough to catch the child's attention and make it easy for them to see and read. The pictures should have words with them even if they can't read as this will aid to teach them words associated with the pictures.

How to use the Schedule Day Strips
For each day a schedule can be laid out in order of events from left to right. The child can see what day it is, for example F Friday and what they will be doing during the day. This can be slowly progressed in time as the child learns to read, or recognise the words, into cards with words or short sentences only, to describe the days events.

Now we have progressed Isy to using a diary which she refers to on regular basis during the day to see what her days schedule is. It is great to see her looking and reading her diary and knowing exactly what is in store for her for that day and coming days, such as planned events in the future.

It is important to know when to progress from pictures to words to sentences, and not done too early or too late. If done right they will transition easily and smoothly along.

To see the images for this article visit: http://isybeeautism.com/autism-teaching-aids/day-schedule-strips-to-teach-and-calm-autistic-children/

Hi, my name is Isabella, Isy for short. I was born in mid 1997 and was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. My parents originally started Isabella's Autism Pages and Isybee Autism web pages to help other parents in similar circumstances, and to give recognition to other people and organisations who have helped them help me. We hope to cover a lot of ground writing articles and providing information and resources for families and persons affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Please visit my website for more information and resources:

http://isybeeautism.com - Autism information and resources.