Sensory toys are a wonderful gift for any child, but they are especially great for children with sensory difficulties. Be those hyper or hypo senses (or most commonly a combination of hypo and hyper senses) The unfortunate part of wanting to give a child sensory toys is the cost typically associated with them. I find that many companies that offer them as specifically “sensory toys” do so at exorbitant prices.  Now that’s not to say that our children are not worth it! As far as I’m concerned my children are worth anything and everything. However, I do not currently have a money tree in my backyard, and so the less I spend on each item means the more I can get them in general. So below are some of the ways that I am using to create an entire sensory area for under $200.

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I have heard many specialists and doctors quote a lack of empathy as something that is naturally occurring in autistic children and I completely and utterly disagree. I think that the problem is not a lack of empathy, it is instead directly related to the diminished social skills a person with Autism often possesses. I believe that children with autism have just as much empathy as neuro-typical children, the difference is that they have a lack of understanding as to how to show or convey that empathy.

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Since having our complex needs son eight years ago, our daily life has become a series of “challenges”, some of which we have risen to and others, which quite frankly, have defeated us. I have decided that I would now like to catalogue these challenges and share them with others who may find benefit in any solutions that we have tried but may also be able to pass on their own words of wisdom to me.

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Our ‘curve ball’ arrived on 26th April 2005, just over 8 years ago, and weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 5oz. The pregnancy had been fine, the birth had been great and as he was our second child, we had no cause for concern. After a scant few hours in hospital we were allowed home and that was that, another newborn had entered the world and we were launched headlong into parenthood for the second time.

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I love my laminator.

Having a child with Autism means we use a lot of visual aids.  In general, children with Autism are more visual learners than other children.  Chatterbox definitely is.  She also needs a LOT of prompting to do things that other six and a half year olds would do automatically – such as remembering the steps required to wash her hands or go to the toilet.  For the last two and a half years (since she moved in) we have been working on getting her to complete all the steps when going to the toilet.

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It’s a somewhat familiar routine, your child comes bounding into the room filled with excitement as they proudly exclaim “Mom I made a new best friend” Sometimes upon further questioning they aren’t sure what the other child’s name even is, what they like or even when they’ll see/play with that child again.

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As it is Mother’s day, and I am sick, I have been taking it easy.  Grumpy took the kids for a walk to the park so I could have a break.  While there they met one of Chatterbox’s class mates and his family, and they walked back from the park together.  Chatterbox was very happy as the class mate they met is one she is always talking about and who she says she is going to marry!  When they were leaving Chatterbox gave the boy a cuddle goodbye, followed by a kiss on the cheek – which he promptly wiped off!  We told her that we don’t kiss friends, just give them cuddles, so she gave him another hug, followed by another kiss! 

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They say money can’t buy you happiness, but can it buy you friends? While most people know the obvious answer to that is a firm “No” Sometimes people on the spectrum have more trouble with the concept of buying friendship doesn’t work.

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Before December of last year, I did not really know much about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. I had not considered whether this type of therapy would benefit my children. I was becoming increasingly concerned about the progress my boys had made over the past year. One of my son’s was almost non-verbal, only using about five words total. Those five words were an

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If you look back on your day today prior to reading this, in what form did your most recent communication occur? Was it a verbal communication or did you use one of many non-verbal ways to communicate like email or texting?

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I’m new at this whole parenting a child with special needs thing.  My foster daughter (I call her Chatterbox) was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD at the end of last year.  Of course she has always displayed the symptoms of these things but the diagnosis has been both a good and a bad thing.

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http://theverybestofyouthsports.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/boston-at-its-best/

I hope this link works!   I am from Boston and have spent the last few days blogging about my city, my family, my friends.  Yesterday, I posted the link above as it is a very special National Anthem, sung by an autistic man and helped by more than 20,000 fans at Fenway Park.  I hope you enjoy.

It was eight o’clock in the morning when I drove into the parking lot. I should’ve been in the office by 7:45, but it was another one of those days when everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

I parked my car, grabbed my briefcase, purse and lunch bag, and ran up the stairs to my office. Fortunately my client had not arrived, so I made the rounds, mindlessly opening the curtains, flipping on the lights and radio, and as I was sprinting down the hall to my office, I noticed a giant… and I do mean GIANT bug on my sleeve.

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Have you ever thought, I can’t stand those intolerant people!? I have long been aware that teaching tolerance to someone with Aspergers can be challenging, when they tend to see the world in black and white, my way and the wrong way. I am increasingly aware that the need to learn tolerance is pretty much universal, including even me.

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Every person has some sort of routine in their lives. Whether it be, the way you drive to work, the order in which you do things when you wake up, the way you walk through the grocery store while shopping, routine is present. All children thrive on routine, the child with Asperger’s Disorder (AD) are the same except, they don’t just thrive on it, they need it.

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