Margaret Jean
Asperger Me!
Category Archives: Autism Spectrum
Social Thinking: Strange New Worlds For People With ASD to Explore and Conquer.
Raise Your Hands–Perfect For Kids Going to School.
Researching topics for this blog always brings me to new and exciting research. Although I must admit most of the new and exciting research has been developed over a period of several years.
This week I’m featuring yet another educator, Michelle Garcia Winner, who has developed a social skills training method which revolves around social thinking.
Winner’s website describes social thinking as: . . .what we do when we interact with people: we think about them. And how we think about people affects how we behave, which in turn affects how others respond to us, which in turn affects our own emotions.
She goes on to state that while for most people the process of acquiring social information and communication methods develops naturally from birth on, there are many people for whom “this process is anything but natural.” (from http://www.socialthinking.com/what-is-social-thinking).
Garcia-Winner differentiates social thinking strategies from social skills training. Workshops and seminars are available for both parents and professionals.
Social Thinking strategies teach individuals:
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How their own social minds work – why they and others react and respond the way they do;
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How their behaviors affect the way others perceive and respond to them;
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And how this affects their own emotions, responses to and relationships with others across different social contexts.
For individuals being taught or treated the objectives of these strategies include the ability to:
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Recognize that they and others have different perceptions and abilities to process social information;
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Navigate their social thinking, social interaction and social communication toward more rewarding outcomes;
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Learn to better adapt and respond to the people and situations around them.
This is an excellent website. Enjoy exploring this new world of social skills concepts!
Yours truly,
Margaret Jean.
Conundrum
27 Tuesday Aug 2013: A Guest Blog
Posted by Ann Kilter at http://annkilter.com/
When we began going to autism workshops and conferences, we found ourselves the subject of many sales pitches for the newest therapies that would produce miracles.
We also were sometimes pressured by parents in the local Autism Society to make a commitment to purchase a certain therapist’s services in order to “bring her to our community.” Enough parents had to participate in order to pay for her services to make it worth her while to come. Auditory integration training would cost $2,000 for a set number of therapy sessions. Music therapy was $100 an hour.
There were two problems with this.
First, we could not afford it. We were just scraping by as it was. Several options were presented – beg the money from our relatives, put it on a credit card, get a bank loan or a second mortgage on the house.
Second, which one of our children would we choose? Choosing them all was out of the question.Should we choose our gifted, disruptive autistic son or our quiet, multiply learning disabled autistic oldest daughter? Or our youngest, questionably autistic daughter? An impossible choice.
Therefore, we said no. As result, we were ostracized for not “participating for the good of all the children in the area.”
Instead, we chose to invent our own therapies out of ordinary life.
We listened to classical music in the house for our music therapy.
We were blessed by a piano teacher who was willing to try to teach my son. He enjoyed music, singing in tune with gusto. After a year, she noted that he had an aptitude for music. She taught him for 12 years. After that year, we ask her to teach our oldest daughter in order to improve her finger strength and coordination. I thought it might help her learn to hold a pencil. My youngest daughter wanted to do what her brother and sister did. This cost $10 a week per child – a pay as you go therapy.
We chose to take advantage of community subsidized speech and occupational therapy offered by Easter Seals and the Rehabilitation Hospital. These required small payments times three.
In spite of extended and persevering effort, learning to ride a bike did not happen. Instead, we found equestrian therapy – offered at a discount due to the generous donations of the community – also paying as we went. Our children were unable to ride a bike due to balance issues, but they were able to eventually learn to ride a horse independently.
These choices stretched us financially, sometimes heavily, but we made the sacrifices on a weekly, monthly basis.
Choices of “miracle therapies” with little proof of efficacy would have bankrupted us.
From Ann Kilter: Conundrum–Therapies That Worked For Us.
ADHD–Think You Have It? What Do You Need To Know?
ADHD–we’ve all heard about it. Parents, school teachers and special ed assistants talk about it all the time. But if you’re an adult and think you might have ADHD, you might also be wondering Do I really have to do something about it? Isn’t it enough to just be aware that I need to focus more?
Fortunately, Drs. Craig Surman, M.D. and Tim Bilkey,M.D have worked with Karen Weintraub to write a really great guide for adults with ADHD.
FAST MINDS How to Thrive if You Have ADHD (Or Think You Might) is a book built around an acronym that the doctors use to describe symptoms of ADHD.
F is forgetful. A is Achieving below potential. S is Stuck. T is Time challenged. M is motivational issues. I is impulsive. N is for novelty seeker. D is for distractable and S is for scattered.
If any or all of those scenarios seem to apply to you, this book is very helpful. And judging by the video that introduces this blog, FAST MINDS could be an essential read for adults with ADHD.
Another great video featuring Dr. Bilkey can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlvM25b1n8g.
Possible Autism Spectrum Behaviours? You Can Find Answers Here…
Have you noticed some issues that consistently challenge your child’s social and/or developmental progress? Do you think it might be ADHD or maybe even symptoms of Asperger’s or autism (which you’ve heard about, but could not define)? Where do you go for some basic knowledge to help you sort things out?
Understanding Autism for Dummies is immensely helpful. Author Stephen M. Shore, MA lectures and consults from within the spectrum.
With the help of co-author, journalist Linda G. Rastelli, Shore covers everything. From how to identify signs and symptoms for early intervention to how to get the right diagnosis and develop a specialized treatment plan, Shore takes you through to finding the right doctor, and manoeuvring your child’s way through the educational system with the best possible outcome.
Shore looks at every aspect of Autism from causes and diagnosis, to biological issues, and learning and social challenges. In addition he has an entire section devoted to adults with autism, and adds an appendix of helpful resources. I got it from the library. You can buy it at your local bookstore or through Amazon and other online booksellers.
Shore’s book is also available through http://www.autismasperger.net/
Steps To Socializing Your Aspie Teen.
As you can see from my last post, the issue of socializing is huge for Aspies. This is especially true in the late pre-teen and early teen years.
Arranging a social event with a friend isn’t always the answer if the child with Asperger’s has trouble communicating in a meaningful way. Just getting them together with a “neurotypical” teen in a social setting isn’t going to help. In fact, it can be disastrous.
Anna Matchneva from Burnaby BC works one on one with Asperger’s children, and this is what she suggested in a talk to parents last year.
First, limit the time for interaction to ‘safe’ time, that is time when the conversation will most likely be of mutual interest.
How do you do that?
Anna finds getting your teen Aspie to invite a friend for pizza and a movie is ideal.
First on the agenda is going to the movie. When they are driving to the movie, they can talk about what movie they want to see and all the things they have heard about the movie.
Other topics may come up, but the drive to the theatre should not be too long, and the parent driving them can always intervene a little if necessary.
Next, at the movie, the parent drops them off. The talk will be about arrangements to be picked up, how to buy the tickets and what snacks they want. This is very safe also.
Once in the theater, everything should be good. Although in my experience? The Aspie child may have to be warned to be quiet and not comment during the movie, but save all their comments for afterward.
The time from the end of the movie to pick up should be minimal, to ensure that the conversational requirements don’t tax the Aspie child.
Then to the pizza parlour. Again, conversation will center around the children’s preferences, and the movie action and how the children rate the movie.
After pizza, time for the guest to be dropped off at his/her home.
This kind of managed social time gives Aspie’s a sense of confidence which should ease both the child’s and the parent’s anxieties over social situations.
Let me know how it works if you try it, please!
Yours truly,
Margaret Jean.
What Is Asperger’s Anyway?
This weekend so many people asked me, What is Asperger’s? How can I tell if my son has it?
My book, “Unforgiving, Memoir of an Asperger Teen” took a 1st place Journey award, and prompted a lot of questions about the syndrome.
People with Asperger’s find it difficult to read body language, voice intonation, and facial expression. This creates difficulty communicating and interacting with other people.
Asperger’s doesn’t always affect individuals to the same degree, or in exactly the same manner, which is why it is said to be on the “autism spectrum”. That is, it is a highly functional and variable condition that alters how we relate to others, understand our community, and express ourselves.
Sometimes we feel hopelessly lost in a conversation. We cannot always determine what is sincere and what is merely light-hearted social bantering. Sometimes this is so isolating that we withdraw. We do not understand what is being said or in what context and therefore we pretend to be disinterested.
This makes us very bad at small talk, which is society’s established method of feeling each other out before going into deeper conversations. Small talk is a protective device that helps people locate each other in their social setting and their community, whether it’s school or work or something recreational.
People with Asperger’s tend to want to talk at a deeper level. They have trouble understanding this is not appropriate much of the time.
We may not be able to tell when to join or start a conversation, or when the conversation is over. We may talk over the other person and generally interrupt at lot. A great website to look at for assistance is the UK’s National Autistic Society website at: http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-asperger-syndrome.aspx.
Need Help In BC? ACT: A Resource for Aspies, Parents & Friends.
Where do parents turn when they realize their child needs a diagnosis? How do they know who offers this type of service?
What programs and supports does the BC school system offer children on the Autism spectrum? How are these programs accessed?
How do you make sure your child is getting all the support the government says he/she is entitled to?
Is there a registry of autism service providers? Is there an information database listing online resources?
In British Columbia, Canada, the answer to all of the above can be found in ACT: the Autism Community Training website at http://www.actcommunity.net/.
I only discovered the website this week, but find that it a huge resource for people struggling to find resources for children in the Autism spectrum.
News, blogs, videos and educational material relating to the autism spectrum are all included. While the website is geared to assisting parents with children in the spectrum, there are informative segments relating to adults as well.
A wide range of service providers are listed; really, the list is staggering in its comprehension.
If you live in BC and you are looking for an autism related resource, I strongly suggest you try this website. Let me know what you think of the resources listed there, and if the phone and email responses live up to your expectations.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Yours truly,
Margaret Jean.
Margaret Jean 