Autism related resources, podcasts and blog posts for parents and carers supporting communication development, emotional regulation and sensory needs.
Emotional Regulation is a Key Area of Development. Being able to regulate emotions means being able to effectively identify and respond to an emotional experience. For children with autism, understanding their emotion and knowing how to appropriately respond to help themselves regulate, can be very challenging. This, therefore, needs to be Read more
Engaging Learning You will have probably noticed that autistic children can find attending to and concentrating during activities that they are not particularly interested in, very challenging! With developmental delay in the areas of joint attention, language, communication and social skills being core features of the diagnostic criteria for Autistic Read more
Changes during the Christmas season The Christmas season can sometimes be a very challenging time of the year for autistic children. There are all sorts of unpredictable changes to usual daily life in the lead up to Christmas and the school holidays such as: changes to the environment at home, Read more
Role play shopping game Roleplay shopping can be a really fun way of learning about coins as well as practising counting, all with the inclusion of motivating toys and items! Items Needed: Firstly, find some toys or items that the child will be really motivated by, anything from bubbles, to Read more
Written by Jamie Barnes Recent data shows that approximately 1% of the world’s population are on the autism spectrum. This is a twenty-fold increase from studies conducted more than two decades ago, though the rise in prevalence of ASD may be due to changes in the diagnostic criteria. Technology can play Read more
Management of personal hygiene is a very important skill for all children to learn in order to grow and develop independence. Daily Activities as Part of a Routine As a teacher of children with autism, personal hygiene tasks are a high priority on the school daily timetable. Dedicating time to personal Read more
The concept of ‘like’ and ‘don’t like’ Like any abstract theme, the concept of ‘like’ and ‘don’t like’ can sometimes be challenging for children with autism to understand. Therefore, it is important to ensure a child really understands what it means to ‘like’ something. A successful strategy is to model Read more
Preparing children for an upcoming event New or unfamiliar experiences can be daunting for anyone. This is exceptionally true for a child with autism, who has difficulty predicting what could happen next and generalising knowledge and experiences. Â Going to a new place can therefore be scary and provoke a Read more
Visual lesson schedules For children with autism, it can be hard to predict what will happen next. Often without realising, teachers can under prepare their students by not informing them of what will take place in an activity or lesson, in a way the child can understand. This can lead Read more
Personalised learning It can be challenging to engage any child if they are not interested. It can be even harder to engage children with autism if they are not motivated. A child must want to take part in a teaching activity otherwise it will be difficult to engage and keep Read more