Choosing gifts for kids with autism might be easier than you think

by Beth Finke

If you are trying to figure out what to buy for the child on your shopping list who has autism, I have good news for you. Picking out a special holiday gift for a child with autism is not as hard as you might think.

Children with autism have unique interests, just like everyone else. Some children with autism have very few interests at any one time, and the interests they do have can be very, very important to them. So if you are shopping for a child with autism, it might be best not to go “outside the box.”

Before choosing a holiday gift for a child with autism, ask him or her what he likes. Get ready to hear an earful! If you can’t ask the child directly, contact the parents — most are happy to let you know what their child is particularly fond of.

Trains? Wheels? Springs? Maybe they like bugs. Or maps. Some people think that if they are buying for a child with special needs, they have to find something unique or unusual. That’s not always necessary. When shopping for children with autism, you’re as likely to be choosing gifts at a hardware or office supply store as a toy store. And hey, that means you are more likely to avoid the crazy crowds. Happy holidays, and … happy shopping!

Toys “R” Us special toy guide is out

by Beth Finke

Once again this year Toys “R” Us has come out with its Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, a free toy-selection guide for parents and friends of children with disabilities. Items featured in the Guide promote the development of specific skills, such as auditory, language, visual, fine motor, thinking and social skills.

I remember watching all the many, many holiday ads while my son Gus was growing up, wondering if any of the toys advertised on TV would appeal to him. We spent hours and hours searching catalogs, visiting toy stores, playing at music shops, filing through hardware stores, perusing gift shops, looking anywhere and everywhere to find a toy Gus might like, something he might want to explore.

Therapists told us it was good for Gus to be stimulated by different things. We gave him mobiles, wind chimes, tambourines — anything we could find that was colorful and made noise. By the time he turned 9 or 10, though, we just plain ran out of ideas. And as Gus grew, it was more difficult to muscle him in and out of stores on holiday shopping sprees. I still remember wishing for one place I could go for a list of toys especially good for kids with special needs. I was glad to find out a few years ago that Toys “R” Us decided to put together a list like this, and delighted to hear they’ve continued the holiday ritual.

Striving toward independence

by Crystal Ward

I am pleased to introduce Alison Knopp, Development & Public Relations Associate here at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, as a guest blogger today.

Striving toward independence

by Alison Knopp

This year, Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region partnered with senior photography students from the College of DuPage for the 12th Annual Photography Exhibit. This year’s theme was “Striving Toward Independence” and the photographers did an amazing job of capturing the joys and accomplishments of all 21 featured families.

Four children with autism were able to participate in the exhibit this year and each of their stories were captured in a unique and beautiful way.

Ten-year-old Traven was born at 28 weeks and spent the first year of his life in the NICU, ventilator, oxygen and feeding tube-dependent. Traven was also diagnosed with autism, and his family turned to Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region for help. Thanks to the patience and dedicated hard work of his feeding therapist, Traven now understands his mouth, tongue and swallowing and is willing to eat a variety of foods. His independence is captured in his photograph which featured him riding a horse on his own.

Brothers Matthew and Benjamin also had a great time posing and smiling for the camera. Matthew was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at age three and received occupational therapy to help him improve his attention span, handwriting, self-help and social skills. Benjamin was diagnosed with autism at age three and has been receiving both occupational and speech therapy. He is more independent due to increased communication skills, self-help skills and confidence.

Ben, a fun loving, silly and energetic nine-year-old is on the Autism spectrum and has been receiving services at Easter Seals for many years. Through all of his hard work, Ben is currently able to read, do math, sit appropriately in class, dress and shower independently, make friends and communicate daily. He can be seen in his photograph running and playing in his favorite yellow shoes!

We are so proud to feature each of these families this year and highlight their amazing progress toward independence. To view the entire exhibit, check out the 12th Annual Photography Exhibit on the Events page of our website.

Air travel … with autism

by Beth Finke

The holiday season is here, which means a lot of us will be doing some traveling. With that in mind, a post on the Autism United blog about traveling by plane with a child who has autism caught my attention. The post points out that any sort of travel can be stressful for a child who has autism, but plane travel can be especially rough — you can’t make the airplane make a stop any time your child needs one! Here are some tips from the blog post to help make plane travel less stressful:

1. Inform the airline ahead of time that your child has autism.
It is always a good idea to inform the airline ahead of time of your child’s special requirements. This will give them sufficient time to advise the flight attendants and allow them to prepare ahead of time so that they may be able to better address your child’s needs.

Some families also prefer to advise the passengers who are within close proximity of their child’s condition. While doing so is completely optional, it helps a lot in the event that your child has a temper tantrum.

2. Have your child wear an identification card.
It is also a good idea to prepare some identification for your child to wear. This will come in handy in the event that he wanders off the airport and gets separated from you. It is also important that you include all the necessary information such as your child’s name, your name, address, and cellphone number. You can also choose to add as a note that your child has autism. This way, whoever sees him will be informed and can address him accordingly.
You can choose to print your child’s identification card and wear it around his neck with a lanyard or you can also opt to have it as a sticker and attach it to the back of your child’s clothing.

3. Bring some earplugs and headphones for your child.
When riding the airplane, do not forget to pack some earplugs for your child. This will help your child avoid sensory overload and will definitely come in handy during take off and landing.

If your child likes music, do not forget to bring his MP3 player. Load it with his favorite songs. The familiar songs will not only help him avoid sensory overload but will also help keep him calm.

4. Pack some of his favorite toys.
The best way to keep him entertained during the flight is to have some of his favorite toys with him during the trip. Familiar toys and games will not only comfort him but it will also keep his mind off the airplane’s less than ideal environment.

I still remember listening to author Dr. Stephen Shore giving the keynote address at the Easter Seals 2007 Training Conference. I was among the 400+ people in attendance for that speech, which was the highlight of the conference.

One thing I especially remember Dr. Shore describing during the talk was how much he loved take offs and landings during flights — he thought they were exhilarating and calming at the same time. With any luck, that will be the case with your child, too. The list above may come in handy for the time in-between, though. Happy flying!

Stream this play about autism and romance, live!

by Beth Finke

I just read a post on the LA Times Culture Monster blog about a new play about two young people with autism. “On the Spectrum” was written by veteran Los Angeles screenwriter Ken LaZebnik, who co-wrote the 2006 film, “Prairie Home Companion,” with Garrison Keillor.

The post describes the play as a story about the love -– and friction –- between a young man who tries to disguise the fact he has Asperger’s syndrome and a young woman who is proud of her autism. The playwright says that having nephews and a niece with varying degrees of autism sparked his interest in writing the play. It was also LaZebnik’s idea to cast an actress who has autism as the female lead. From the blog post:

The playwright said he had sent his script to Laura Robinson, who is autistic and recently earned a degree in animation from Loyola Marymount University, “just to get her response and make sure it seemed authentic.” She was enthusiastic, and it occurred to LaZebnik that Robinson might be able to play the part. She read for [artistic director] Reuler in June, “and he cast her on the spot.”

The play opens tomorrow night at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis and will be accessible worldwide to anyone with a computer, streamed in live video over the Internet. The blog post quotes LaZebnik saying that multiple cameras will be used for the Internet broadcast “to avoid the stasis of a single viewpoint and, he hopes, provide close-ups.” I’m tuning in!

Too many young kids left behind

by Kristen Barnfield

I was lucky to be among the 300+ Easter Seals volunteers, staff and families from across the country who visited Capitol Hill last week to deliver a very important message on early intervention. We asked every Member of Congress to invest more in young children with disabilities, delays and autism. And carried with us a petition with more than 40,000 signatures to prove we meant business and that many of you strongly support this issue. It was a pretty incredible day and experience.

On that same day, we also released a new report, Our Nation’s Children at Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of early intervention funding (through Part C of IDEA) in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report also sheds light on how well each state takes care of its youngest children. As you might expect, the headline from our report isn’t glowing. The fact is, we’re just not doing enough for our nation’s youngest and most vulnerable children. Far too many infants and toddlers are being left behind — we fail to identify more than 1.45 million kids under age 5 with special needs each year — and many will never catch up.

Here’s an excerpt from Health Editor Kara Corridan via Parents magazine’s Goody Blog about the report:

Today Easter Seals, the nonprofit provider of services for individuals with autism and other disabilities, released a report that outlines how well each state takes care of its youngest children with special needs. To determine this, researchers looked at how much money every state is given to provide early intervention services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C program. This program offers free services for families of children under age 3 with developmental disabilities or delays, and in October it celebrated its 25th anniversary, but it’s never been fully or adequately funded. Just 2.67 percent of children are enrolled in the program, but early childhood experts estimate that anywhere from 13 to 20 percent of kids under 3 could benefit from its services.

Overall, the Easter Seals report has a sad bottom line: In almost every state, infants and toddlers with delays don’t get the help they need, and they may never catch up. I went straight to the page for New Jersey, since that’s where I live, and was discouraged to see that our state receives $809,000 less in federal funding for early intervention services than it did last year. Virtually every state has seen their funding drop, though some states, like New Hampshire, have the same amount, and California, Virginia, and New York have actually gotten slightly more funding through Part C in the past year.

Want to do something about this? Support Easter Seals’ Make the First Five Count initiative and sign the petition to Congress opposing any more cuts to Part C — in your state and everyone else’s. And if you think your child might benefit from early intervention, talk to your pediatrician, or find an Easter Seals near you — they are here to help.

Thanks, Kara. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

So many apps, so little time

by Ellen Harrington-Kane

One of many, many innovative programs I have had the pleasure of discovering as I visit our Easter Seals affiliates across the country is SNApps4Kids. This program was started by a father of a child with disabilities and has now become a part of Easter Seals Greater Houston.

Therapists at Easter Seals Greater Houston download, use, then provide a review for all kinds of apps that parents may be interested in accessing for their children with autism and other special needs. At the site, individuals can access a list of apps and see the review notes from the therapists. These notes tell what the app can do and how it might be used. Here’s an example from the SNApps4Kids review of Colorful Aquarium for iPad:

This app takes the iPad and transforms it into a “Colorful Aquarium”. Children will enjoy picking out fish to place in the virtual aquarium. Once in the aquarium children are delighted by watching the fish swim around like real fish. The aquarium is customizable with the ability to change the sand, change the fish, add or delete fish, feed the fish and add plants. This app is a useful way to get kids interested initially in the iPad. Good for use with all ages and fun/relaxing to look at and can be used as a reward activity.

Readers who have used an app reviewed at SNApps4Kids are encouraged to leave comments and rank the app for its help with communication, fine motor, language, cognitive, and social play skills. Reviewers want to know if you had plain old fun with the app, too!

The use of the iPad is growing exponentially in the rehab arena, and SNApps4Kids can save parents and individuals with disabilities the time and expense of downloading multiple apps as they search for the right one. Thanks to Easter Seals Greater Houston, now wading through all these new special needs apps is, well… a SNApp!

How do I know if my child has autism?

by Patricia Wright

Easter Seals is committed to increasing awareness. Awareness about symptoms of autism, the capabilities of people with autism and any other awareness topic than can improve the lives of individuals living with autism.

One question we get frequently is, “How do I know if my child has autism?” We’ve been working on tools to assist parents in recognizing signs of autism. MOST importantly, we’ve been pursuing early effective treatment. Early intervention really does promote the best outcomes, and it’s comforting to know we are not the only group committed to this awareness work.

Many organizations produce materials to help parents and community members assess their child for early signs of autism. If you suspect your child is not developing normally, here’s a few resources that highlight the signs and symptoms of autism:

• Easter Seals
• National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
• Autism Society
• Autism Speaks

Awareness is not a job for one organization to tackle on its own. By working together, we can see that every child with autism will be diagnosed and receive treatment.

National Center on Educational Outcomes gives assistive technology a thumbs up

by Katy Beh Neas

I enjoyed reading the post Laura Bierck wrote here last week about the 60 Minutes tribute to Steve Jobs and decided to sit down and write a short post about that segment myself.

I was lucky enough to catch the tribute when it aired on 60 Minutes and thought that one of the most telling parts of Leslie Stahl’s piece was when she interviewed the teachers at the special school for kids with autism. They were so amazed at the abilities their students were able to demonstrate via the ipad. The kids were able to communicate. They were able to express understanding, emotions and preferences that the teachers believed were never possible. Research from the National Center on Educational Outcomes shows that when kids with significant cognitive disabilities have access to appropriate assistive technology they are often able to demonstrate abilities that might have otherwise been lost or unseen.

Another person featured on the 60 Minutes piece was a non-verbal young adult who was able to directly communicate using a language app that also speaks. He and his mom were interviewed as he ordered dinner in a restaurant from a waitress using this iPad.

If you missed the 60 Minutes piece when it originally aired, you’re in luck: you can still see the Apps for Autism segment online. Remarkable.

Saved by rock ‘n roll!

by Beth Finke

I loved this article in the Chicago Reader about Arts of Life Inc., a nonprofit that encourages adults with developmental disabilities to explore visual and performance art—and to show it off in mainstream public venues. I was especially taken by the way the article highlighted Kelly Stone, a young man with autism who sings in the Arts of Life Band. Denise Fisher, cofounder and executive director of Arts of Life is quoted in the article about the improvements Stone has shown since joining the band:

He came to us with very little language because of his autism—not that he couldn’t talk, but because he didn’t understand the value of using language, so he would become very physical,” Fisher says. “And now he’s singing onstage.”

The story is more than just a “isn’t that cute” piece about a band made up of people who have disabilities — it discusses the lack of funding for services for adults with disabilities and whether or not music and art qualify as “work.”

Denise Fisher said in the article that while sending people with disabilities to workshops every day might have been a creative idea in the 70s, The only thing workshops provided was busy work. She described it this way: “Practice sorting these colored poker chips and we’ll find you a job—and the job never comes.”

The article highlights major music venues in Chicago where the Arts of Life Band has opened for the headliner, and points out that visual artists from Arts of Life display and sell their work at Starbucks and at Chicago art galleries and outdoor art fairs. Still, some disability advocates argue that making art all day can be just like stacking red and blue poker chips: busy work. I’ll end here with one last quote from the story and let you decide for yourself.

“We use art as a tool to teach things that are important to people—dignity, self-efficacy, independence,” Fisher says—things the residents hadn’t necessarily been thought capable of learning.