Help Making Charts

Just wanted to share a great site that I have found for teachers and parents that need visual aids (picture charts, social stories, "First,Then" charts, picture boards, picture schedules, etc.). For your PC they offer a program called DO2LEARN and soon they have an app coming out with the same type of prinicple. Check them out www.Do2Learn.com.

In the pictures you will see the bedtime routine that I made for my daughter. When she is done with one task she puts the card in the envelope at the bottom of the chart.  This way if she "forgets" what to do next I can direct her back to the chart. The chart is the boss - not mommy.  The chart says, next you must put your clothes in the hamper.  This takes the tension of mom (or dad) being bossy, while at the same time keeping her on task.  If she doesn't do her tasks - then she looses "song." (Meaning that I will rub her back but will not sing to her.) To her this is enough of a motivator (most nights).  I encourage everyone to use your child's interests as part of your discipline routine.  If you do "good listening," I will give you a sticker.  If you get 5 stickers, I will give you a match box car or a princess necklace (or whatever it is may interest them.)  Negative reinforcement should be tried last.  Such as if I count to 5 and you don't put your dirty clothes in the hamper then you will not get to watch 5 minutes or 15 minutes of your favorite show or play your favorite game.  Find what works for you and your child.

Below are some images of the bedtime chart I made for my 5 year old daughter. I bought a cheap $1.00 Class Schedule at Target, then printed off pictures that were relevant to our routine.
Pick up toys
Take off clothes
Put pajamas on
Put dirty clothes in hamper
Go potty
Brush teeth
Pick out a story
Get in bed
Wait quietly in bed
Read a story
Sing song
                                                                                         STEPS
                                                             1. Type in search words (ie. bedtime, pajamas, hamper)
                                                             2. Print out images
                                                             3. Laminate the printed piece of paper
                                                             4. Then cut out each image
                                                             5. Cut half-one inch strips of velcro
                                                             6. Place velcro on the images and then on the chart
                                                             7. Staple an envelope to put the images in when the task
                                                                 is complete.

If you don't get lucky and find one of these charts then use a piece of construction paper and a sheet protector.

Buy a roll of velcro at a craft store or walmart. Cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch strips. Stick one side to an image and the other side to the laminated chart.

Some additional advice-
Make sure that when you are buying velcro that you aren't buying the pre-cut shapes above because they need to be sewn and have no sticky backing.
If you use a piece of construction paper and sheet protector, I recommend taping it shut to increase its durability.

New Blog

I have started a new blog that is entirely related to autism.
http://leslieburby.blogspot.com/

Handouts for Milestones and Developmental Delays

Milestone Handouts

http://www.birth23.org/files/referrals/DevMilestoneEnglishSpanishCombined.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/checklists/checklists_6mo.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/checklists/checklists_2yr.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-3yr.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/checklists/checklists_4yr.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/checklists/checklists_5yr.pdf

 

Sensory handouts

http://spdsupport.org/resources/infant-spd-symptoms.shtml

http://spdsupport.org/resources/files/SPD-Parent-SHARE-International-Flyer.pdf

Spotting Signs of Autism

The CDC says, "If you're concerned - act early."  However, most people don't know when to be concerned. I am very excited to be speaking at the Southington Library in Southington, CT tonight at 6:30pm. The talk will go from 6:30-7:30pm and I will be answering autism related questions and selling my co-authored book Emotional Mastery for Adults with Asperger's after the Q&A. If you plan on going please pre-register. All attendees will get a code for a free issue of Autism Parenting Magazine.

To register for this program on-line go to www.southingtonlibrary.org, click on Calendar or contact the Reference Department at 860-628-0947 x5.

Hope to see you there!

Sneaking Educational Activities into Birthday Parties

These were the plates that we used from www.orientaltrading.com.

As always I try to squeeze in the educational lessons even at my kid's birthday parties.  Of course, it's important to have a mix of games.  Not all of them have to be educational.  This year's theme was unicorns and rainbows for my daughters.  So we had some classic party games like "Pin the Horn on the Unicorn" (instead of pin the tail on the donkey) and plastic multi-colored "Unicorn Shoes" (instead of horse shoes).  However, I try to have activities to keep the kids busy while we set up the next game or get the cake ready. 
For instance, a big floor puzzle that everyone can work together on is fun.  A craft area is always a must, too.  We had simple unicorn themed mazes, connect the dots pages and coloring pages for the younger kids and then more complex mazes and word searches for the older kids.  I use www.colormountain.com and www.educationalcoloringpages.com to print out free pages for my kids to color year round.  Now-a-days there is no reason why we should pay ten bucks for a coloring book, if you have a computer and printer at home. 
As a science lesson, I taught the kids the colors of the rainbow and their order. I had the help of Sid the Science Kid (I love that show).  We sang "Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet, too." 

For my son's Sesame Street birthday party we played Match the Rubber Ducky Number with rubber duckies from Oriental Trading.
The kids made foam Ernie, Bert, Grover, Elmo, and Cookie Monster out of pre-cut foam shapes and glue dots.  Goldfish were served in a goldfish bowl.  Instead of goodie bags everyone got a ziploc bag filled with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a miniature foam cookie monster attached to the front.  Sesame street coloring pages were spread out in the craft room.  Ernie's "123 Count with Me" Sesame Street video was played while we got the cake ready. Just for fun we provided kick balls in primary colors. Whatever the occasion - sneak education into your kid's lives and have fun!

Sneaking Education into a Night Out or a Night In

I love to sneak educational activities into everyday experiences wherever I can, including when I go out to dinner with my family.  For our latest trip to Friendly's, we kept my four and five year old happy, quiet, and entertained while waiting for their food by using a Highlights product found at Target.
I love Target! I am always there buying something.  A card, diapers, milk, school supplies, toys, board games, bedding, etc and then I get to reward myself for checking one more thing off my to-do list by buying a caffeinated beverage at Starbucks.  So the other day I was shopping at Target and was pleasantly surprised to find some neat educational products that I hadn't seen before in the aisles. I think their favorite was the flip notebook of Hidden Pictures that came with stickers by Highlights.

 

Another great product we found at Target was paint. My kids love to paint pictures. However, I think they have the most fun when they mix two colors together.

The primary colors are red, yellow and blue.

The secondary colors are green, orange and purple.

 

Mixing Equations

red + yellow = orange

yellow + blue = green

blue + red = purple

To further the fun, check out the science experiment at http://www.kidzone.ws/science/rainbow.htm.

Another great idea when eatting out with kids, is to use the seating arrangements of the restaurant as math word problems. This is a fun way to practice math skills. For instance, ask questions such as:

• How many chairs do we have?
• How many people can sit here?
• How many people are seated in this row?
• How many more can be added?
• If there are three rows of booths with six booths each how many booths is that?
• If each booth sits 4-6 people, then what is the maximum occupancy of customers?

For family fun, try some board games.  For kid games that 4year old to adults can play, try Super Why ABC Letter Game, Scrabble Junior, Rivers, Roads & Rails, and Pegs in the Park.

So sneak education into your kids lives today and have fun!

 

What to do with kids on days off

When people think of preparing for a major storm, they think of buying food, water and batteries.  However, as a mom, (and a life-long resident of CT), I also plan on ways to entertain my kids without power.  If I'm not prepared, I'll have to listen to hours of whining. 
Books-
I went to the library and got books that they haven't read yet.
Crafts-

I stock up a crate with construction paper, markers, crayons, paper lunch bags, glue and paste, kid scissors, paper plates, pipe cleaners, yarn, empty cereal boxes, etc.  I print out crafts to make with them so if the power goes out, we have something to create and then play with for hours on end.  So far we have printed out Dora's Mermaid Puppet Theatre and Puppets from www.Nickjr.com.  The theatre is 4 pages hat we glued together with a gluestick and then used Elmer's glue to stick to the back of a family-size empty Kix cereal box. The ocean floor is glued to a regular size Cascadian Farm cereal box.  Although the mermaids are made to standup we had a problem getting them to stand. So for some of the puppets, we glued them to cereal box cardboard and folded them but cut off one of the half circles on the bottom to help them stand better. For other puppets, we stuck craft sticks (or popsicle sticks) between the cardboard.

Paper bags are used to make puppets, and my girls retell a story that we read them while ducked down behind our coffee table. My favorite templates are from www.abcteach.com.  Of course, it's fun to dress up and put on a play or have a dance party (if you have a radio with batteries or tunes on your phone) then drag out the dress up clothes or let your kids raid your closet.
Games-
Board games come out and puzzles are dusted off to create old-time family fun.  When things really get bad, like last year's storm when we were without power for 8 days, we move in with my parents.  It's like a camp out.  We huddle around the fire place in the family room and play outburst, which is a blast to play with a ton of people.  You shout out a topic and they have to guess the ten things listed, (ie. ways to cook potatoes-au gratin, baked, mashed, etc.). Get creative and have fun!  PLAY with YOUR KIDS! We get so busy that we forget to stop and have fun with our kids.  So make the best of the storm and PLAY!