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Description

This set of 12 flashcards has a range of strategies that can be used to help a child when they are feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed. They could be used as part of a 'calm kit' at home or in school.

The flashcards could be used as a prompt for an SPHE lesson discussion and could inspire the children to come up with their own calm down strategies, too.

Vendor Information

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This set of 12 flashcards has a range of strategies that can be used to help a child when they are feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed. They could be used as part of a 'calm kit' at home or in school.

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Psychotherapist Jacci Jones gives this free video course on anxiety in children.

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Mental Health and Childhood Anxiety - Education Nation

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Psychotherapist Jacci Jones gives a quick talk on Childhood Anxiety, and how you can help a child in your care.

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This app is gorgeous to use. Really relaxing and works on cause-effect concept also. Free to download and works on Android and Apple devices.

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Skip To Content

Free Special Needs Teaching Resources Since 1999

Light Box Screenshots

Version 3.2 - December 2014

3.2 update fixes Windows 8 multi-touch and adds an update button to check for new versions.

To support development of the desktop version, please buy or recommend the mobile apps:

Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box was originally written as an iPad app and touchscreen explorer for a group of teenagers with autism and complex needs.

The Windows and OSX versions of Light Box are free for non-commercial use - including at home or in schools.

Light Box has 24 abstract interactive scenes which encourage exploration of basic cause and effect. A range of colours, contrasts and background options are provided.

The desktop version includes support for LEAP Motion, mice, multitouch screens and several other controllers.

Version 3.0 adds improved graphics and more interesting animations for switch users. Additional options for pointing devices such as head tracking or eye gaze are also included.

Support for Neurosky feedback is for testing only - use for eye blink switch control is viable.

View the Light Box Web Page

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Light Box ⋆ Free Arts & Sensory Software Download

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Skip To Content Free Special Needs Teaching Resources Since 1999 3.2 update fixes Windows 8 multi-touch and adds an update button to check for new versions. To support development of the desktop version, please buy or recommend the mobile apps: Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box was originally written as an iPad app and touchscreen explorer for a group of teenagers with autism and complex needs.

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This free short video course will give you some advice and ideas on the issue of challenging behaviour. Lisa Domican, the presenter, is the creator of the Grace App and is mum to two young autistic adults. Lisa will also do her best to answer queries by email at asklisa@cattsireland.ie

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Understanding & Addressing Challenging Behaviour - Education Nation

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Short course for any teacher or SNA who needs to manage immediate behaviours in class - (while waiting for the appropriate resources to be put in place).

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If you need any advice or support, our SENOs have a dedicated phone line on 01 603 3456 (9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).

Call us now and we can recommend specific resources, help with assistive technology, or assist with linking with your child's school. You can also book an individual appointment with the SENO assigned to your child's school.

If your child is blind/visually impaired or deaf/hard of hearing and currently supported by our visiting teachers, they will be in touch to help with any queries or worries.

If your child is starting primary school in September 2021, contact your local SENO to drop in to one of our webinars.

We have a wide range of for parents and a suite of videos below with advice on how best to support your child with learning at home, movement breaks, managing behaviour other topics.

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Remote Teaching and Learning - Support for Parents - January 2021

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If you need any advice or support, our SENOs have a dedicated phone line on 01 603 3456 (9am-5pm, Monday to Friday). Call us now and we can recommend specific resources, help with assistive technology, or assist with linking with your child's school.

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Browse this collection of visual supports and other resources to help your students with ASD be successful socially and academically in school. You'll find templates for social rules, classroom rules, emotional support, schedules, and more.

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Info on Stimming, Sensory Processing and Echolalia

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Info on Stimming, Sensory Processing and Echolalia

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We often use words with our children or young people that they may not understand. When this is something that has a direct impact on them, it is important we give them the information. This allows them to better understand themselves. This helps improve their mental health as they recognise there is a reason for what they do or why they do something.

This is also important for other children and young people to help them to understand their peers.

These contain lots of information so have been separated by colour to allow these to be cut into smaller strips to avoid information overload.
Neurodiversity

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We often use words with our children or young people that they may not understand. When this is something that has a direct impact on them, it is important we give them the information. This allows them to better understand themselves.

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This is great fun to make! Hours (sometimes minutes) of sensory fun! This needs to be supervised!

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Have you tried making fluffy slime yet? This one is a must try! The texture is so fun to play with. Kids will love stretching and squishing this fluffy slime. And we have to say, we think this is the best fluffy slime recipe you will try.

RELATED: How to Make Slime with Contact Solution

We made this recipe with unicorn colors - pink, teal and purple. We love how colorful and pretty it looks too! And if you want a sparkly unicorn slime be sure to see this unicorn slime recipe.

Fluffy slime is really just regular slime made with shaving cream added. The amount of shaving cream you add will change the texture and consistency of the slime. The more you add, the "fluffier" it will be. If you just want it to be a little fluffy, then this recipe will walk you through how much shaving cream to use. The fun part about making slime is experimenting with different amounts to see how the slime forms.

If you want to make sure your slime turns out - be sure to read the instructions carefully. The type of contact lens solution you need and glue is very important! Substituting these ingredients for other brands may result in your slime not working. We also do not recommend substituting the brands we recommend.

Fluffy Slime Recipe

If you're looking for a general slime recipe, our base slime recipe can be found here: How to Make Slime With Contact Solution. We like to use contact lens solution instead of pure borax in our slime recipes. We recommend you try this basic recipe to start if you haven't made slime before. It is easier to make than fluffy slime and will give you an idea on how much you need to knead and work the slime for it to form.

Fluffy slime is a lot of fun for kids to play with - however we recommend adult supervision and that adults should make the slime. See more safety tips at the bottom of this post before making your slime.

Once you have your fluffy slime made, have fun stretching and squishing it. Fluffy slime will leave indentations when you press on it which regular slime won't do as easily. It's a bit harder to stretch as it gives a fluffy consistency instead.

How Long Does Slime Last?

The fluffiness will only last a day. So if you do plan on storing it for future use, just note that the shaving cream settles and the next day it won't be as fluffy. You can still continue to play with it after the first day but it will turn into a consistency more like regular slime. Store in an air tight container and it should last at least 1 week.

Fluffy Slime Ingredients

If you want a large batch - triple the below recipe. Or make 3 batches with 3 different colors like we did and turn your slime into Unicorn Fluffy Slime!
Per batch:

2/3 cup of Elmer's White Glue - we like to buy this gallon size of white glue as it's a lot cheaper and you can continue to use it to make more batches.

Note: we made this with Elmer's white glue. Do not substitute with other glue as the make-up may not be the same and the recipe may not work

2-3 cups Shaving Cream - note: do not use shave gel.

1.5 Tablespoons Contact Lens Solution - *Important: your brand of contact lens solution must have boric acid and sodium borate in the ingredient list. This is what interacts with the glue to form the slime. We recommend only using Renu fresh or Equate brand. Do not substitute with other brands.

SEE: How to Make Slime With Contact Solution for more tips making slime with contact lens solution.

Liquid Food Coloring - comes with all kinds of vibrant pinks, purples and blues.

Watch the Video Tutorial

How to Make Fluffy Slime
1. Add your white glue to a bowl.

2. Add you water and baking soda and then mix.

3. Add your shaving cream and mix.

4. Add your food coloring until you are satisfied with the color. Mix.

5. Now slowly add in your contact solution.
** Important: your brand of contact lens solution must have boric acid and sodium borate in the ingredient list. This is what interacts with the glue to form the slime. If slime does not form it is typically due to the contact lens solution not having these ingredients. Check your label and see the recommended brands above in our ingredient list.

We like to add in 1 tablespoon, knead for 5 minutes and then add in the 1/2 tablespoon after kneading for some time. The slime will be very sticky when you're kneading - and that's normal!

The first tablespoon you add will let you start to knead it. And the last 1/2 tablespoon will bring the stickiness down and it shouldn't be sticking as much to your hands.

Note- fluffy slime is MESSY when you're making it. It is normal that it will stick to your hands as you're kneading.

If you find it still too sticky - add some baby oil or lotion to your hands. You can also add more contact solution if it's still too sticky, just a little bit at a time. If you add too much contact solution the slime may become too hard and won't be as stretchy to play with.

Now repeat the above recipe for each color you'd like to make. Note: Once you mix the colors together they will eventually mix into one color like play dough does. So you can keep them separately or mix and see what happens! If you make all 3 colors it may turn to gray so if you want to end up with purple just mix the pink and purple together.

Now you're done and you can play with it!

The slime will keep for at least a week in an air tight container. As mentioned above, you'll lose the fluffiness factor after the first day, but it is still fun to play with!
Print off the full slime recipe here:
Slime Safety & Precautions

Note: Making slime is a science experiment and safety precautions should still be made when creating slime. By making this slime, you agree to our site terms which you can read here.

Adults should handle any chemicals and products

Adults should make the slime

Always read and follow the labels of products used. If contact lens solution is accidentally ingested, seek medical attention immediately.

This project is not suitable for children under 4.

Slime should not be placed in the mouth. Always wash hands before and after playing with the slime.

If you notice any skin irritation, discontinue use immediately. If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves while making and playing with the slime.

Slime is a science experiment and should be made and played with in moderation. Do not allow children to make their own slime and do not play with slime for an extended period of time.

Try these other slime recipes:
See these other fun slime recipes!

Unicorn Glitter Slime - this is so fun and pretty!

Galaxy Slime - fun to learn about galaxies and mix up some slime for sensory play!

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This fluffy slime recipe is easy and fun to make! No borax and made with contact solution and shaving cream.

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Time to Come In, Bear: A Children's Story About Social Distancing

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Amazing Things Happen - by Alexander Amelines

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This app is very beneficial for learners that struggle with decoding. It sounds out difficult words and models how to pronounce them syllable by syllable. It is also very helpful if so-called tricky words and rule-breakers keep confusing your student.

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Australian Touch and Write apps use the licensed fonts of School Fonts. Check out their great work! Funds from sale of their fonts are used entirely to establish schools in Yolŋu Land (Arnhem). www.schoolfonts.com.au

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What is articulation (pronunciation and talking)?

Articulation (pronunciation and talking) is the ability to physically move the tongue, lips, teeth and jaw to produce sequences of speech sounds, which make up words and sentences.

Why is articulation (pronunciation and talking) important?

Articulation is important to be able to produce sounds, words and sentences which are clear and can be easily understood and interpreted by others in order to be able to express basic needs and wants, right through to being able to engage in complex conversations.

Depending on the extent of the difficulties, unclear speech can impact significantly on how well a child can interact with adults and their peers and can affect the development of language and social skills. A child who is having difficulties being understood can become frustrated and angry which may lead to behavioural issues. Articulation is also important in literacy skills such as reading and spelling out of words.

What are the building blocks necessary to develop articulation (pronunciation and talking)?

Attention and concentration: Sustained effort, listening and doing activities without distraction and being able to hold that effort long enough to get the task done (e.g. being able to attend to speech and sounds long enough to be able to process the information).

Hearing: For detection of speech sounds.

Good middle ear functioning most of the time (e.g. a child with on-going ear infections, 'glue ear' or colds which block the ears may have fluctuating hearing levels which can affect speech).

Process speech sounds, identify and hear differences between sounds.

Muscle coordination: The ability to move and coordinate the muscles involved in producing sounds (e.g. diaphragm, lips, tongue, vocal cords, jaw and palate).

Understanding that sounds convey meaning.

How can you tell if my child has problem with articulation (pronunciation and talking)?

If a child has difficulties with articulation they might:

Become overly frustrated when communicating with others.

Produce speech that is difficult to understand even for familiar listeners.

Have difficulty linking together more than one or two sounds.

Tend to use only vowel sounds (very open mouthed noises).

Produce speech that is unclear alongside dribbling and messy eating skills.

Produces speech that is less clear than other children of the same age.

Produce an interdental lisp (e.g. tongue protruding between the teeth when saying a /s/ or /z/ sound) if over the ages of 3.5 - 4 years.

Be school aged and still having difficulty saying several sounds.

What other problems can occur when a child has articulation (pronunciation and talking) difficulties?

When a child has articulation difficulties, they might also have difficulties with:

Social skills: Unclear articulation can impact the ability to engage in reciprocal interaction with others (either verbally or non-verbally), to compromise with others, and be able to recognize and follow social norms.

Expressive (using) language: Using language through speech, sign or alternative forms of communication to communicate wants, needs, thoughts and ideas. The child may reduce the length of their sentences or use familiar words to help with being understood.

Self confidence: A child's belief in their ability to perform a task.

Fluency: The smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are produced when talking.

Independence: The child may be "clingy" or always want a parent/carer to be around to translate or help with their communication.

Behaviour: A child may become overly frustrated due to not being understood.

Reading and spelling which rely on sounding out the words.

What can be done to improve articulation (pronunciation and talking)?

Play: For the young child, engage in play where you model and use lots of different sounds while playing (e.g. saying "ch ch ch" as the train passes by, "baa" goes the sheep).

Talk to your child often throughout the day to model correct pronunciation of words.

Reduce background noise: Turn off background noise in the home (e.g. television, radio, music) when engaging with your child to minimise distractions.

Look at the child when they are speaking and encourage them to look at you so that they can imitate how to say words or sounds correctly.

Read to the child.

Listen and respond to the child's message (not the exact pronunciation of the words).

Repeat the child's sentences if their speech is not clear (e.g. child: "Dat my deen tar." adult: "Yes, that's your green car."). By repeating what your child has said you are producing a good language model and you are also showing that you have listened to what the child has said.

Show: Ask the child to show you what they are talking about if you don't understand what they have said. Ask for ONE repetition and try to have a guess. Don't be afraid of saying you can't understand what the child has said.

What activities can help improve articulation (pronunciation and talking)?

Naming items together when completing tasks such as looking at a book, in the car, looking outside, while playing and during shopping.

Copying facial expressions in the mirror (e.g. smiling, kissing, licking lips).

Playing something together that the child really enjoys and throughout the game model words with which they are having difficulty.

Modeling and using different sounds during interactions and in play (e.g. "s" is the snake sound, "sh" the baby is sleeping).

Listening to and identifying sounds in words (e.g. "shoe" starts with the "sh" sound).

Correcting: If a child says a word incorrectly, model the correct production back to them but there is no need to make them say it again (e.g. child: "Look at the tat". adult: "Yes, it's a cat" and then continue with the conversation). This helps to provide a subtle, positive correction by modelling the correct response rather than highlighting that the child has said it incorrectly.

Why should I seek therapy if I notice difficulties with articulation (pronunciation and talking)?

Therapeutic intervention to help a child with articulation difficulties is important to:

Improve a child's ability to produce clearer speech.

Improve a child's ability to be understood by others.

Improve a child's ability to engage positively with other children and adults.

Facilitate a child's interactions with familiar (e.g. family members, peers) and unfamiliar individuals.

Reduce frustration in a child who struggles with getting their message across.

Improve spelling and/or writing.

If left treated what can difficulties with articulation (pronunciation and talking) lead to?

When children have difficulties with articulation, they might also have difficulties with:

Forming friendships and engaging in positive social interactions with peers.

Completing higher level education tasks.

Being understood during interactions such as when meeting new people, playing with friends or talking to the teacher.

Developing literacy skills such as reading and writing.

What type of therapy is recommended for articulation (pronunciation and talking) difficulties?

If your child has difficulties with articulation, it is recommended they consult a Speech Therapist.

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Articulation (Pronunciation and Talking) - Kid Sense Child Development

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Speech Pathology helps a child with articulation to ensure they are able to express their needs and wants as well as engage in more complex conversations.

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Upcoming Webinar for Parents, SNAs and Teachers

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Upcoming Webinar for Parents, SNAs and Teachers

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Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Home Learning for Children with ASD - Support for Parents, Teachers and SNAs. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

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Introduction and background Pros and Cons of learning from home What added challenges does ASD bring to home learning?

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The Gingerbread Man Game - Counting, Matching and Ordering game

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Three fun counting, matching and ordering numbers games can help early years children learn to count objects and recognise numbers 1 to 10 and also number words to 10.

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Creating and interpreting a bar graph has never been so much fun! In this educational game kids will create a bar graph by sorting the Fuzz Bugs.

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QR CODE

Scan this on mobiles and tablets to quickly open this web page.

Let's Compare is an interactive comparison game which focuses on the comparative vocabulary of biggest, smallest, shortest, longest and tallest.

There are two themes: At the Beach and Animals. The game is linked to the measure strand of mathematics where sizes are compared by estimating length, height and width. The activity can be used as a whole class activity on an interactive whiteboard or on individual devices.

AGE

2-5 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Measures

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Let's Compare - Early Years Size Comparison Game

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An interactive comparison game designed where early years children learn the comparative vocabulary of biggest, smallest, shortest, longest and tallest by comparing the sizes of objects and animals.

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Lots of free stories to listen to.

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Match Sounds (Phase 1) - Online Phonics Game

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A fun online game with animal sounds that helps very young children develop the listening skills essential for success in a phonics-based reading programme.

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Learn to Count up to 10 with Underwater Counting Maths Game

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A fun learning to count maths game for early years children by Topmarks. Find the treasure by counting the underwater creatures. Two difficulty levels - counting up to 5 or up to 10.

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Little Writers- The Tracing App for Kids

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Little Writers- The Tracing App for Kids

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Letter tracing app which includes lowercase letters, uppercase letters numbers, shapes, and words. We use it in pre-school and kindergarten to supplement pre-writing and writing skill instruction.

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this is a great app. my son has autism and he has a very difficult time imitating people writing or tracing letters, lines, or shapes. however he understood the concept of this app and follows the tracing very well. he gets a big smile on his face when he finishes a shape or word. he's proud of himself and i'm proud of him too :)

only problem: my son is left handed and for the letter "o" he would like to make the stroke clockwise instead of counterclockwise, but the app marks that as "incorrect" and makes him restart tracing the letter. It'd be great if there can be a "left handed option" here but "o" is the only letter that my son consistently would get "wrong." the stroke also affects letters like b, d, p, g but i dont know if theres a preferred way leftys write those letters that might be different from rightys. (im a righty and my son is a very inexperienced lefty so i dont know much about leftys)

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little writer - the tracing app for kids

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‎Little Writer - The Tracing App for Kids

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‎"I have tried them all and this is my and my kids favorite tracing app bar none!" Endorsed by tens of thousands of satisfied parents, teachers, and kids the world over. Little Writer is a tracing app that's done just right. Little Writer is super fun and so easy to use that your kids will think...

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Letter tracing app best for preschool and kindergarten.

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Pre-writing and letter writing app most appropriate fo our pre-school and kindergarten students.

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iPad Screenshots

10 years later, Ready to Print is still the most comprehensive pre-writing iPad app available. No subscription or registration required!

Learn Handwriting Skills the Fun Way!

Ready to Print is created and maintained by an Occupational Therapist with over twenty-five years of experience working with children. It is a comprehensive tool for parents, therapists and educators to help teach pre-writing skills to children in order to build a strong foundation for beginning printers.

We continue working to make Ready to Print the most complete writing development iPad app available, and continue to add new features.

Ready to Print progresses through the pre-writing skills in a specific order, so that children can master the visual-motor, visual-perceptual, and fine motor skills necessary for correct printing patterns. It is designed to teach children the correct patterns for printing, and to avoid bad habits that are difficult to change as the child gets older.

Ready to Print features 194 separate levels in 13 activities. The latest addition is the Touch and Drag activity, which helps students work on movement in one of four specific directions.

- It's designed with a progression of skills that work towards correct printing patterns.
- It allows you to change size settings to match each child's skill level.
- It features a progression from larger hand movements to smaller, more refined movements.
- It lets you choose which activity and level to begin on.
- It allows setting up multiple user profiles, and remembers skill settings and tracks progress for each user.
- It allows you to send progress reports via e-mail directly from the app.
- It detects the size of your iPad and adjusts sensitivity automatically.
- Choose from either sound effects or voice prompts.
- Turn many features on or off, for everyone or by student.
- High contrast mode available.

Ready to Print works on any size iPad. Requires iOS version 12 or higher.

***
TeachersWithApps.com TWA Pick
FunEducationalApps.com Top Pick
Children's Technology Review Editor's Choice Award
Apps for Children with Special Needs (A4CWSN.com) Featured App
Visit www.ReadyToPrintApp.com for more professional reviews
***

Visit www.ReadyToPrintApp.com for more details!

Version 3.8.0

In this update, we've added guide lines for the letter/number activity. Guide lines will be turned on automatically after you install this update, but you can turn them off in settings.

Love it

This app has made data collection so much easier and the kids love the activities. The only thing that would make it better is if the letter/ number task would allow me to choose what letters I wanted the child to work on and had options for the letter to have lines so the child can start seeing where the letter rests. This is the best investment I have made.

Love this app

I use this app everyday during therapy sessions. The only thing I would love to change is the ability to turn off the sound for incorrect stimulus and leave the sound for correct answer

Hi Princesskarlin - Thanks for the note and review. Based on your comment and other feedback we've received, we're working on an update that will remove the negative audio feedback sound.

Also great for language

I use Ready to Print in therapy session for building language skills.
Speech Pathologist

The developer, Essare LLC, indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

Compatibility

iPad

Requires iPadOS 9.0.0 or later.

Age Rating

4+, Made for Ages 0-5

Family Sharing

Up to six family members can use this app with Family Sharing enabled.

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‎Learn Handwriting Skills the Fun Way! Ready to Print is created and maintained by an Occupational Therapist with over twenty-five years of experience working with children. It is a comprehensive tool for parents, therapists and educators to help teach pre-writing skills to children in order to bu...

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We are all in this together!!! 💕

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Toe Walking is defined as the failure of the heel to contact the floor at the onset of stance during the gait cycle, resulting in a bilateral toe to toe gait.

Idiopathic Toe Walking (ITW), as its name implies, refers to the manifestation of this gait pattern without a known underlying pathological cause. This is a diagnosis of exclusion, in which other conditions causing an equinus gait have been ruled out.

Differential Diagnosis

In considering differential diagnosis, it is important to take into account any potential underlying neuromuscular or musculoskeletal conditions. Toe walking may be caused by Cerebral Palsy, congenital contracture of the Achilles tendon or paralytic muscular disorders such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Idiopathic Toe Walking may be associated with developmental disorders such as Autism or other myopathic or neuropathic disorders.

The majority of disorders causing toe walking can be ruled out through the history and physical examination, resulting in a diagnosis of Idiopathic Toe Walking. A child with a diagnosis of ITW will present with a normal neurological exam with respect to muscle tone, reflexes, sensation and strength. The child may or may not have a passive limitation in ankle dorsiflexion. Idiopathic Toe Walking will always exhibit bilateral and symmetrical presentation, as opposed to some other neurologic conditions which may cause unilateral or asymmetric toe walking.

A study by Sobel et al revealed that the majority of child who present with Idiopathic Toe Walking had a normal birth weight, walked on time, began to toe walk immediately in their gait development, stood mostly in plantigrade (feet flat), were able to demonstrate heel-toe gait when instructed, and only toe walk intermittently.

It is theorized that ITW may be one element of a more global neurodevelopmental condition, since many of these children present with other diagnoses concomitantly. Many young children are recognized as having a toe-walking tendency when they first start to walk, which is not considered an anomaly. However, if this pattern persists beyond 2-3 years of age, it should be labeled as ITW in the absence of any other pathology. A study by Le Cras et al reported a higher incidence of ITW in males as compared to females, and that a family history of ITW often exists.

Idiopathic toe walking may be linked to hyper or hyposensitivity. Some children may not like the feeling of different surfaces on their bare feet, which cause them to rise up on their toes to avoid having the full surface of their feet contracting floor. For children who are seeking more input, toe walking increases the force of impact felt during ambulation, as the ground reaction force is distributed through a smaller surface area at the metatarsal heads.

In order to best determine an ideal treatment protocol, a comprehensive history should be taken. Children who ambulate later or skip developmental milestones which limit weight bearing, often present with ITW later on.

Does the child toe walk when wearing shoes?

Do you notice more or less toe walking when ambulating barefoot on different surfaces? For instance sand at beach, grass at park, hard wood floor, carpet.

Is the child able to achieve and maintain full range of motion at ankle?

Evaluate passive vs active range of motion of gastrocnemius, soleus and hamstring complex.

Assess the child's overall lower extremity biomechanics from position of pelvis, knees and feet.

Assess child's static vs dynamic arch formation of foot. Often times children with ITW will have weak intrinsic plantar muscles, and use toe walking to compensate.

1.Passive Range of Motion

Calf Stretch (Ankle dorsiflexion/plantarflexion): With the child lying on back or seated, hold child's foot in hand. Apply light pressure flexing foot up towards child's head. Once you feel resistance, hold for 15 seconds, alternate feet and repeat stretch.

Hamstring (Knee flexion/extension): With the child lying on back or seated, with opposite knee bent or flat on floor, lift child's leg with knee straight until you feel resistance. Hold for 15 seconds, alternate legs and repeat stretch.

Have child stand supported/unsupported without shoes on dynamic surface. The and 2. Active Range of Motion balance board are all great tools!

As child shifts body weight to maintain balance, the child will experience an active stretch of the affected musculature.

Animal walks are helpful to encourage active range of motion while still having fun!Some examples include:

Bear Walk (with hands and feet on floor, knees not contacting surface)

Crab Walk (start in bridge position, keeping bottom off floor, moving forward or backward using hands and feet to propel)

Frog Jump (start in deep squat, encourage full foot contacting surface during jumps).

Penguin Walk (with heels contacting floor and toes up)

Intrinsic Plantar Muscles: you can target these small muscles by picking up objects with toes. Try "toe basketball" lifting small pompoms with feet and placing into cup to score!

Anterior Compartment Musculature: we can promote active dorsiflexion with "bean bag elevators" using . Allow child to flex ankle to target lower body strength and active range of motion of ankle and foot musculature.

Navigating seated Scooter Board helps to engage anterior compartment musculature and provide additional weight bearing element to heel as child propels forward.

Stepping or jumping overoroffer additional ways to activate trunk and leg musculature!

Abdominal Musculature: dynamic activities which challenge core strength include seated/standing balance on dyna-disc or

Sitting on therapy ball or peanut ball shifting weight back and front, side to side will help activate abdominals and obliques.

Bridging exercises are great not only for trunk strengthening, but utilizing the dyna disc as seen above also incorporates arch activation of both feet!

4. Weight-Bearing Activities

Encourage barefoot standing using a variety of textures, promote squat to stand with fun activities to facilitate weight bearing. We always love dyna-disc orfor these activities!

Squats on the are great for lower extremity strength, stability and weight bearing through full plantar surface of foot!

Use tactile footprints to promote alignment during obstacle course or navigating stairs. Offering helpful visual and tactile cue to encourage full foot weight bearing.

A hoop ladder is great for weight bearing with focus on strengthening anterior compartment musculature and focus on motor planning!

Hopping across offers great dynamic weight bearing work. Encourage forward, lateral & backwards hopping skills to increase challenge.

5. Sensory Integration Strategies

Joint compressions

Encourage barefoot exploration of different surfaces (sand at beach, grass outside, soft gym mats, hardwood floors)

Use of tactile material inserts in shoe

Heavier shoes/high tops with ankle cup to control foot alignment

Proper shoe selection can make a big impact on toe walking as well! Learn more about What a Difference a Shoe Can Make here!

References:

1. Le Cras S, Bouck J, Brausch S. Evidence based clinical care guideline for management of idiopathic toe walking. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. 2011.

2. Sobel E, Caselli M, Velez z. Effect of persistent toe walking on ankle equinus. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 1997 Jan; 87(1):18-22.

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Toe Walking in Children: Physical Therapy Treatment Ideas

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Toe Walking in Children; Background and Treatment Ideas to address toe walking; Idiopathic Toe Walking in Children; Physical Therapy Toe Walking

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Sensory bins are a great learning tool for they can be as simple as a basin of water with different cups for pouring to as creative as you want.  They are key when developing fine motor and language skills

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Preschool Learn to Dance: Can You Plant a Bean

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Yoga Story - Mitchy Titch All Around The World

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Yoga Story - Mitchy Titch All Around The World

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A beautiful story brought to life by Mitchy The Monkey, join him on his travels around the world in yoga poses

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Mitchy Titch - All Around The World - Yoga Story

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On The OT Toolbox, there are many free resources designed to build skills in children through movement and play. Many related services will be halted for children over the next weeks (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, etc.) Parents are seeking resources and strategies to help their children move and play in a way that helps them achieve their goals. | All of the resources are free.

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Easy, actionable, and functional Occupational Therapy activities and interventions. OT resources and information to help kids thrive.

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Boardmaker is a collection of standardized picture symbols used for communication with students who are strong visual learners. This includes those with autism spectrum disorders, Down Syndrome, speech and language disorders, and behavioral disorders.
They have a thematic series of units called Boardmaker Activities to Go- all free, and ready to download, print, copy etc.

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The First Ever Editable Curriculum!

Activities-to-Go is a customizable ELA curriculum brought to you by Boardmaker 7.

Thematic instruction designed for students with special needs in K-12.

Access all 40 units with your Boardmaker 7 subscription

Choose from 3 different levels of instruction

Edit, print, or play on your tablet or desktop

Features

Teach all of today's most popular science, social studies, and life skills topics to students at different levels.

Print to support students with language challenges. It's editable and matches perfectly with Snap Core First, our symbol-based communication app.

Activities-to-Go was created using Boardmaker 7 templates. This means you can extend learning by creating new activities or entirely new units!

Looking to try out Activities-to-Go?

Try our sample units!

What activities come in each unit?

Books at different Lexile levels for students of all levels in K-12

Activity schedule to support behavior and manage activity flow

Vocabulary activity to expand knowledge of high-utility words

Matching activity to reinforce concepts and vocabulary

Board game and bingo to cement learning through plays

Crafts, recipes,and much more!

Identifies the Big Idea, the targeted vocabulary, and provides you with tips for teaching and supporting communication.

Tells you everything you need to begin teaching today's relevant science, social studies and life skills topics.

Lays out the research that informs the design of this program.

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Boardmaker Activities to Go Download, print, and go! Activities-to-Go Edit, print, and go! Activities-to-Go Overview Download a free unit Overview Resources The First Ever Editable Curriculum! Activities-to-Go is a customizable ELA curriculum brought to you by Boardmaker 7. Thematic instruction designed for students wi

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This is so much fun, exploring making sounds and music

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Music is for everyone. Play with simple experiments that let anyone, of any age, explore how music works.

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Identify and work with numbers up to 100 in this fun interactive game.

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QR CODE

Scan this on mobiles and tablets to quickly open this web page.

Helicopter Rescue is a mental maths game with different sized number charts and it is designed to help you to identify and work with numbers up to 100. The game works well on an interactive whiteboard.

The game modes include 'Find a Number' and 'Count On & Back'. In the first, you are asked to find a number on the grid, either directly or in between two voiced numbers. The count on and count back games are designed to help you learn some of the vocabulary of addition and subtraction; count on, count back, more than and less than.

AGE

4-8 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Number Addition Subtraction

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Helicopter Rescue - Mental Maths for 4 to 8 Year Olds

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Helicopter Rescue is a mental maths game for 4 to 8 year olds which can help you to know your two-digit numbers and help with addition and subtraction skills. It covers different vocabulary such as more than, less than, count on and count back.

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Some more yoga, this time We're going on a Bear Hunt!

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We're Going on a Bear Hunt | A Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure!

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Body scan relaxation exercise, perfect for families or the classroom.

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15/21 Days of Mindfulness Bootcamp - 5 Minutes Bodyscan Meditation for Families and classrooms

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Free Children's Books to Read - all levels

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Free Children's Books to Read - all levels

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A super social story by asdcreationstation explaining why we can't go back to school just yet.

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https://accessiblechef.com/#backtotop

Accessible Chef is a fabulous collection of free visual recipes and other resources to help teach cooking skills to individuals with disabilities.

Visual recipes make use of task analysis, which is an evidence-based approach for breaking down a complex task into manageable steps. Each task is separated into discrete skills, and individuals can learn to complete skills in a specific order to learn new tasks.

There are over 200 recipes on the site, with a built in recipe creator to enable you to create your own recipes.

This website would be of great benefit to pupils in the home learning environment.

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Some fantastic learning games. Very accessible and level of difficulty can be adjusted.

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Doorway Online is a collection of free and highly accessible educational games that learners will find easy to use independently. Each activity has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Originally developed with funding from Scottish Borders Council, it is now managed by the Doorway Accessible Software Trust, a Scottish charity.

Filed Under: Tagged With: News accessible, activities, educational, free, games, interactive, interactive whiteboard, iwb, learning, literacy, maths, numeracy, school, spelling, typing

We are proud to announce Text Type, the final version of our touch typing activity. Please read these notes carefully.

We have made numerous changes to Text Type to make it more accessible:

Enhanced speech feedback echoing all keypresses and on-screen text. This makes Text Type accessible to leaners with extremely low vision, with some support.

We have increased the size of the target text to make TextType more accessible to visually impaired learners.

As far as possible, Text Type can be navigated by keypresses. These are the standard keys to navigate web browsers. TAB, Enter, the Up and Down Arrow Keys.

Doorway Single Handed Typing has been added to Text Type. This allows learners with use of a single hand to practise typing using exercises developed for their particular need. Select Left or Right from the title screen.

Teipio Testun Text Type is now a totally bilingual activity The Welsh Governement has paid for this development including the above improvements. Text Type/Teipio Testun is also available on their education website, The Hwb.

Browsers - Text Type has been tested on Microsoft Edge and Chrome. It should work in Firefox, but this is not guaranteed.
An important notice about the Speech Output
In previous versions of Text Type, the target letter (female voice) and any mistyped letter (male voice) were spoken by recorded human voices. Text Type now uses text to speech voices. The first time you use Text Type, you will need to choose the voices.

These voices are specific to the browser:

In Microsoft Edge, Sonia Online and George might be a good choice

In Chrome, the choice is between the Microsoft voices and the Google voices, female and male.

In Firefox, you can use a favourite pair of SAPI voices such as Cerevoice Heather and Stuart which are particularly clear in differentiating the names of the letters. You will have to use Firefox, which still supports SAPI voices. Firefox is not officially supported, but we have found no issues with Text Type and Firefox.

Documentation. We have produced a guide to Text Type/Teipio Testun in English, for learners in both languages.

To download this documentation, use the link below:

Two previous versions
For the moment we are keeping two previous versions on the site, TT3 phase 2 and TT3 phase 3. These are no longer supported and may not be kept here much longer.

Scheduled maintenance will be happening to the Doorway website on 16-02-2022 between 9 am and 3pm. During this time the site may not be available for around 10 to 15 minutes.

We are sorry if this causes you any inconvenience.

Doorway Online is designed to run on the following supported web browsers:

Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox (should be compatible).

If you are experiencing problems accessing our site or activities please check you are using one of the above browsers and that your browser is up-to-date.

If you are still experiencing problems please fill in an error report and we will get back to you.

Note: Internet Explorer is no longer supported by our site as it will soon be retired by Microsoft.

Important Update: There is even more up-to-date version of Text Type. Read more about this update here.

We have completed Text Type 3, the touch typing tutor for visually impaired learners that should suit anyone learning to touch type.
The new features are aimed at learners with very low vision:

Text to Speech is available for almost all on-screen text

TAB, Space and Enter can be used to access most functions

Newly recorded female and male voices are used to prompt the next keypress and warn of an incorrect keypress

Single-Handed Typing is now included in Text Type 3

We invite you to take a look at Text Type 3.

Text Type 3 phase 2, has been available on the site for over a year and will be available for three more months. It can be found here.

With the decline of Adobe Flash, soon some of our activities may not continue to function. The following activities have been renewed and will continue to work: Text Type, Speller 2, Letter & Number Formation, Cashing In and the First Phonics suite.

Fortunately, the downloadable version of our remaining activities should continue to run on Windows computers. All of our activities can be downloaded for free below!

The file is zipped and will need to be extracted before use ( how to extract/unzip a file). For installation on a school network, a request will need to be made to the network administrator.

Filed Under: Tagged With: News doorway activity pack, download, windows

Doorway Activities were originally developed in Adobe Flash. This was a good way to develop such activities up to eight or ten tears or so ago. However, Apple decided not to support Flash and later tablets entered the scene. There was a solution in Puffin Browser. Our older activities still work on PCs and Android devices with Puffin Browser installed. This is no longer available on the Apple Store.

We have been able to re-code these activities to work with almost all computers and devices;

Text Type 3

Speller 2

Letter & Number Formation

Cashing In

First Phonics suite, incorporating First Sounds; First Words; First Blends; First Digraphs; More Digraphs; First Blends

First Phonics. The suite of activities now working with most devices.

These have been developed in the modern format of html5 and JavaScript and there are no restrictions to their working on browsers on PCs and Macs. They also work on tablets although on iPads they do not enter full-screen mode as they do on Android tablets. For the remaining activities, we hope to convert more.

In the meantime, if you want to access the Flash-based activities on this site; - Do not use Chrome Browser. Firefox is more friendly to Flash-based activities. If you are using a PC you can buy the Doorway Activity USB pen-drive and install the activities directly to your PC, Pendrive or Network, or even run them directly from the USB stick. It's available now at £ 10, below cost price from [email protected]. There is no copyright restriction any more.

The Doorway Activity Pack, now on USB pen-drive. All the Flash-based activities from the website should work on all Windows PCs. This includes networked PCs, but installation may require a network administrator.

We expect that you'll be able to download these activities directly from this site before too long. Watch this space .................

We are working on the final phase of Text Type 3, the touch typing tutor that can take learners from the home keys to mastery of the whole keyboard and typing sentences. This activity is designed to be as accessible as possible to visually impaired learners as possible. The final version should be accessible even to blind learners, after some initial guidance.

Learning to touch type.
There are some things that you need to know before supporting a learner on the road to touch typing

Touch Typing is just that. There should be no keeking at the keyboard. Do not look at the keyboard or your hands, all the information you need is on the screen in Doorway Touch Type.

Touch typing is a motor learning experience. This means not looking at your hands. The best way to ensure this is to cover the learner's hands with a light cloth. If you truly learn to touch type this skill will last a lifetime like riding a bike. Even learners with mild VI can be tempted to peep.

Motor learning is a very powerful tool and such skills will remin with you thoughout life. However you need to be careful. An incorrect motor habit is very hard to correct. So get it right from the start.

You need to get into a comfortable position in which the hands fall naturally onto the keyboard. The surface on which the keyboard stands must not be too high. The wrists may rest on pads if you are typing for a long time.

A Touch Typing programme is a series of lessons starting with the home keys (A S D F J K L ; ) and leading to full mastery of the keyboard. Moving on to the next exercise without sufficient mastery of the current exercise, will only lead to disappointment later on. A score of 90% or one error in every ten keypresses should be the minimum achievement before moving on. 94% or better is our recommended level of accuracy before moving on.

Learners benefit from regular practice. Little and often is best.

Accuracy should come before speed. Start slowly. If you can type at a regular pace, almost to a beat, it will help you achieve a high speed.

Doorway Text Type is a series of exercises that, followed properly, can lead to a high rate of accuracy in typing and a good rate in terms of words per minute. In handwritten exams with a lot of writing involved. Writing at a rate of 20 words per minute is an arduous task. For a typist that is a low rate of entry. A rate of 40 words per minute is entirely realistic for a sixteen-year-old typist coming up to exams.

-

Doorway Online does not collect any information about users.

Text Type 3 stores the results from a user's last session on the computer it is accessed from, but we cannot see that data.

We use Google Analytics to give us usage figures for our activities. This is anonymised data that allows us to see which countries users are accessing our site from, which activities they access and allows us to check for bandwidth issues. It is not possible for us to identify a school or an individual user. We also get anonymised data from Google ads. These adverts are usually blocked in schools.

If you communicate with us by emailing [email protected], our mail server may store your email address. However, we will not use this address to communicate with you except regarding the issue you contacted us about. Your email address will be shared with no other organisation.
Email addresses will be deleted from our mail server when we no longer require them and in any case, two years after our last contact with you. You may send an email to that address asking for your emails and email address to be deleted.

A teacher in East Lothian has made up some very useful record sheets for students to keep track of their progress through the Speller levels. He has been generous in making them available to all.

They are in a compressed zip file which you may have to open using WinZip.

Thanks again to Darren Donnelly, PT Support For Learning, Musselburgh Grammar School for compiling these word lists.

The off-line version of Doorway activities for Windows PCs or laptops which had poor or no internet access has been the Doorway Activity Pack CD. This installs the activities onto your hard disc, server or pen-drive. Typically these were licensed by a school or LEA. We are no longer charging for this, beyond the costs of materials and copying.

We will be making the Doorway Activities freely downloadable. We must thank those authorities that licensed the Doorway Activity Pack CD when we started up. Those licence fees kept us going when finances were terribly tight. Now, it makes sense to make them freely available.
Coming Soon

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Doorway Online is a collection of free and highly accessible educational games that learners will find easy to use independently. Each activity has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Originally developed with funding from Scottish Borders Council, it is now managed by the Doorway Accessible Software Trust, a Scottish charity.

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This Irish teacher has some lovely ideas and resources on her site. Well worth a look!

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Lovely link from the National Gallery of Ireland!

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Some tips for slowing down and reflecting on art.

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Free online interactive resources for Mathematics teachers, pupils and parents.

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This fabulous book helps children to process their emotions.

You can download a copy for free on Emma's website, www.emmacahill.ie

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Under The Mask (Inside Feelings) by Emma Cahill

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This fabulous book helps children to process their emotions.

You can download a copy for free on Emma's website, www.emmacahill.ie

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Under The Mask (Inside Feelings) by Emma Cahill

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Fantastic resources from Illinois Autism Partnership

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Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy Tips for a Home 

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Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy Tips for a Home 

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From the NCSE - National Council for Special Education

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Handwriting practice worksheets made by you! Type and watch dot trace letters magically appear on the virtual writing worksheet. Select PRINT to send a copy to your printer and copy as needed. Letter styles include block Print, Cursive and D'Nealian. We also have a hollow-outline letter worksheet option. Change letter size, letter color, line color and more! We'll save you hours of time with the best 'dog-gone' handwriting worksheet maker on the planet! Click link above to pick your worksheet font style.

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Handwriting Practice Worksheets made quickly. Type student's name or any content and PRESTO! - Instant dot trace practice worksheet.

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Starting the Day for Kids with Autism: SENSORY CIRCUITS 1

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This month's theme is siblings on the Middletown Centre website.

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FREE

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This pack includes resources to support children to identify their feelings and emotions, to create lists or ideas of activities that will help them to self regulation.

It also includes resources for children to do regular feelings check ins and to prompt children to take breaks and time out to self-regulate.

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This pack includes resources to support children to identify their feelings and emotions, to create lists or ideas of activities that will help them to self regulation. It also includes resources for children to do regular feelings check ins and to prompt children to take breaks and time out to self-regulate.

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FREE

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This pack includes resources to support children to identify their feelings and emotions, to create lists or ideas of activities that will help them to self regulation.

It also includes resources for children to do regular feelings check ins and to prompt children to take breaks and time out to self-regulate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This pack includes resources to support children to identify their feelings and emotions, to create lists or ideas of activities that will help them to self regulation. It also includes resources for children to do regular feelings check ins and to prompt children to take breaks and time out to self-regulate.

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Great fun and gets the heart racing

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A song to dance and wiggle about to!

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Ants in Your Pants #99 - Cool Tunes for Kids by Eric Herman

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I was sent a link to these super products recently. I'll let Zach, the creator, tell you more:
Hello , my name is Zack Dolan. I'm 12 years old and I have ADHD & Aspergers. If you struggle with concentration or attention like me, then the Happy Homework Hut will work brilliantly for you, like it has for plenty of children who have tried it, loved it and bought it.
​The Happy Homework Hut is a portable privacy screen that turns a desk into a cubicle, creating a private study space in a busy classroom or at home.
Your Happy Homework Hut just might make homework time a little bit easier and quicker in your home. I think you'll really like it!

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These are the sheets of positive phrases that are available to purchase. They come as an A3 sheet cut into two A4 sheets. You can use as two A4 sheets on 2 Homework Hut panels or you can cut them out and place them as you please. Please contact info@safelystudyshield.com to purchase.
​€3 per 2 sheets. HHH are €15 each.

1. Separate students and improve focus during class tests.

2. Aid concentration when individual project work is being assigned.
3. Support the differentiation of tasks when more than one class is being taught within the same classroom.
Using the HHH in after school homework/study clubs.
Feedback from secondary schools has indicated the potential benefits of using the HHH in after school study/homework clubs.
Using the HHH to support students who are on the autistic spectrum.

​The HHH is invaluable for students on the autistic spectrum. It c an provide a temporary oasis of calm and some much needed personal space when dealing with distractions becomes too challenging.

​ Using the HHH to support students at home.
​
The HHH can be used for the completion of homework, reducing conflict and stress in already very busy households!

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These are the sheets of positive phrases that are available to purchase. They come as an A3 sheet cut into two A4 sheets. You can use as two A4 sheets on 2 Homework Hut panels or you can cut them out and place them as you please. Please contact info@safelystudyshield.com to purchase.

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A big hit in our house! And mess-free 🙌

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Put together all your ingredients in a bowl, get a wooden spoon and keep on stirring until you've got the perfect slimey, ooey ,gooey slime! Use this slime maker to make slime in all colors and decorate as good as you can!
Controls:
Mouse - Add ingredients

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Put together all your ingredients in a bowl, get a wooden spoon and keep on stirring until you've got the perfect slimey, ooey ,gooey slime! Use this slime maker to make slime in all colors and decorate as good as you can! Controls: Mouse - Add ingredients

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Is your child a fan of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's wonderful picture books? Now you can download a range of home learning activity packs to complete as you read the books!

Reviews

You need to be signed in to place a review.

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free julia donaldson and axel scheffler home learning packs

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FREE Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler Home Learning Packs

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Is your child a fan of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's wonderful picture books? Now you can download a range of home learning activity packs to complete as you read the books! Is your child a fan of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's wonderful picture books?

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Here is a link to my own ASD page, StarStarASD

https://www.facebook.com/starstarasd

https://www.instagram.com/starstarasd/

https://www.starstarasd.com/

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The BEST homemade playdough recipe - I Heart Naptime

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This is the BEST homemade playdough recipe - make it in less than 5 minutes for under a $1 and have it last for months! It is so soft and squishy and cuts perfectly with cookie cutters.

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Choose "numbers" then either up to 10 or 20 or as hard as you like.

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Choose "numbers" then either up to 10 or 20 or as hard as you like.

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QR CODE

Scan this on mobiles and tablets to quickly open this web page.

Coconut Ordering is a versatile maths game that's been designed to help you gain confidence in comparing and ordering different numbers, including decimal numbers, and metric quantities involving length, mass, capacity and money.

The game has different ability levels; the more difficult levels will help you to expand your experience of decimal notation and how decimals are used to record money and measures. It will also aid your ability to compare different units of measures.

AGE

5-11 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Number Money Measures

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Coconut Ordering - Comparing Numbers, Prices, Mass, Length and Capacity

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Coconut Ordering is a free, tablet-friendly maths game designed to help children from 5 to 11 years of age compare numbers, money, mass, length and capacity. The higher levels involve metric notation.

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TimeTimer App (FREE)

20 Types of Visual Timers:

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Tzvi Schectman

If you have a child with special needs you now how difficult transitions are. Children with special needs, especially children with autism have difficulty with moving from one activity or event to another. An effective solution to help with transitions has been the use of visual timers. Visual timers help teach the concept of time to children with special needs. It also gives them an understanding that every activity is limited to a set amount of time. So where can you find a visual timer for your child?

Right here. We have gathered together 20 visual timers that can help your child with special needs.

1. Time Timers

Recommended by Autism and ADHD experts, Time Timer is one of the most popular visual timers available on the market. With an uncluttered interface, silent operation and optional audible alert this timer works great in almost any setting. Time Timers come in three, eight and 12 inch sizes, perfect for the classroom, in your home or on the go. Price: $30-$40 Purchase at: TimeTimer.com

2. Time Tracker & Time Tracker Mini

Time Tracker is a great visual tool for children with special needs. Following along the lines of a traffic light, Time Tracker uses colors to notify a child that his or her time is almost up. Time Tracker features volume control, a pause feature and quick programming of the lights and sound effects. Price: $26 Purchase at: Amazon.com

3. Time Tracker Mini

The Time Tracker Mini is a smaller more simple version of the Time Tracker. The Time Tracker Mini is half the size of the original Time Tracker (4.75 inches tall) and operates easily with just 2 dials. Alarm times on the Mini can be set from 5 minutes to 2 hours, in 5-minute increments. Price: $15 Purchase at: Amazon.com

4. Talking Timer

The Lux Talking Timer offers the flexibility to be used as either a precise clock or as a count up/count down timer. A clear spoken voice will announce the time of day or how much time remains until the count down elapses. You can set a timer for up to 23 hours and decide if you would like an audible alarm or not. Price: $17 Purchase at: Amazon.com

5. Amco Color Alert Timer

While this timer was designed with the kitchen in mind, it can also be used for your child with special needs. The Amco Color Alert Timer is useful if you are looking for an inexpensive timer or looking for the added bonus of kitchen use. The timer is a 60 minute timer, that blinks yellow with 10 minutes left and red with one minute left. Price: $17 Purchase at: Amazon.com

6. Time Timer Watch

The Time Timer watch is a great product for young adults with autism or ADHD. The watch has three features: A clock, alarm and countdown timer. The Time Timer watch gives teens and young adults independence while helping them to get a better understanding of time. Features of the watch include vibrating and audible alerts, repeatable time segments and 12- or 24-hour clock options. Price: $75 Purchase at: TimeTimer.com

Aside from the physical timers that you can purchase in stores there are also many timer apps available in the Apple iTunes Store and the Google Play Store. Below is a list of highly regarded timer apps for both platforms.

7. Sharing Timer

Sharing Timer focuses on reinforcing the concept of sharing and turn-taking. With sharing timer you can select an activity, choose whose turn it is and set the timer. The graphics, sounds, activities and of course the time limit can all be customized to fit your needs. With its large, clear graphics, Sharing Timer makes it easier for children with special needs to use. Price: $7.99

8. Time Timer

The Time Timer App displays time as a red disk that quietly gets smaller as time elapses. Children as young as three understand that when the red is gone, time is up! The Time Timer App has a professional look and packed feature set to help adults make every moment count. Highly recommended by experts in education, healthcare, ADHD, Autism and parenting. Time Timer has separate apps for the iPhone and iPad. Price: $4.99 for iPad App and $2.99 for iPhone App

9. Vis Timer

Visual thinkers, especially when they are children, have difficulty conceptualizing time. The VisTimer was developed to provide a gentle implementation of time imposed limits. It utilizes an animated shrinking pie chart to depict elapsed time. Vis Timer includes an early warning preference setting to indicate the timer is approaching completion. Price: $1.99

10. iPrompts

iPrompts is a special needs app that does a number of things including: picture schedules, choice prompts and more. iPrompts also has a countdown timer that displays an image of the caregiver's choice along with a graphical countdown timer set to any duration. The app is useful for demonstrating how much time is left until a current activity ends, or before the next pictured activity begins. Price: $39.99

11. Stoplight Clock

Stoplight Clock provides a distraction-free countdown with vivid colors to let your child know when they are nearly out of time. With this app you can disable the alarm and customize the length of time for each color. Price: 1.99

12. Kiddie Countdown Timer

Kiddie Countdown makes it easy for your kids to see how much time they have left for a particular task. Kiddie Countdown uses clear simple graphics in green, yellow and red to let your child know how much time is left. The App also supports background alarms so even if it isn't running in the foreground, you will still get the alarms. Price: $0.99

13. Wait Timer

Wait Timer is a visual and audio tool to help children with waiting. The app includes a social story about waiting, and an audio/visual tool for waiting that can be set to different times. Features include: settings to easily change the "wait" time. You can set the timer to as little as one second to gradually introduce waiting and there is no minimum or maximum times. Price: $2.99

14. Buddy's Timer

Buddy's Timer is perfectly suited to children with autism. The app is a no-frills countdown timer that helps teach the concepts of time. You can set the timer for up to 60 minutes in increments of five. The app comes with a screen lock and a piano key chime for audio support. Price: $1.99

15. Easy Kids Timer

Easy Kid Timer is a fun visual timer for a parent or teacher of any child learning patience and the concept of time. You can easily customize Kids timer with your own pictures and descriptions of tasks. Price: $1.00

16. Touch & Go Visual Countdown Timer

This app is aimed at kids who benefit from visual reinforcers, particularly kids who are non-verbal, have autism, or kids who just plain do better with visual feedback. The app allows you to set various timers (in seconds), the corresponding text to display and the image to display during the countdown. Price: Free

17. Visual Auditory Timer

The Visual Auditory Timer is is an extremely simple application that is geared toward individuals along the Autism Spectrum, ADHD, or others who need visual reinforcement. This app provides an unobtrusive timer and alarm to complete time-driven tasks. Price:$0.99

18. Time Timer

Make every moment count with this intuitive, customizable visual timer. The Time Timer is an intuitive and effective visual timer that is preferred by teachers, productivity experts and families with ADHD and Autism. This visual timer is now optimized for Android! Price: $1.99

19. iPrompts

iPrompts is a special needs app that does a number of things including: picture schedules, choice prompts and more. iPrompts also has a countdown timer that displays an image of the caregiver's choice along with a graphical countdown timer set to any duration. Price: $9.99

20. visTimer

visTimer is a small application that is designed for people with Autism, ADHD, or others who benefit from visual reinforcement. The timer can be set to durations of 1 to 60 minutes. It can also operate in clockwise or counter-clockwise modes. The sound & textual prompts can be enabled/disabled and the textual prompts edited. Did we miss any? Tell us in the comments below.

More Special Needs Apps

Looking for more special needs apps? Check out the Special Needs App Review! With over a thousand apps now available to help individuals with special needs it has become increasingly difficult to find and choose the right special needs app. The Friendship Circle App Review gives you the ability to find the perfect special needs app for your child.

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Tzvi Schectman If you have a child with special needs you now how difficult transitions are. Children with special needs, especially children with autism have difficulty with moving from one activity or event to another. An effective solution to help with transitions has been the use of visual timers.

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Topics:

Homework Help

Teaching Wait

Social Narratives

First/Then

Exercise

Presenter: Patty Schetter, MA., BCBA
Affiliation: CAPTAIN/UC Davis MIND Institute/SELPA Content Lead
Date: Fall 2019

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Welcome to our TEACCH Tips page. We are working to put together a collection of tips to help provide support to our families and provide ideas on how to support individuals with autism during times of change. We can all benefit from having some type of structure during times of change to help us maintain well-being and a sense of productivity. We will be updating the TEACCH tips page regularly with more tips translated into Spanish.

In times of uncertainty, everyone benefits from predictability!

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Welcome to our TEACCH Tips page. We are working to put together a collection of tips to help provide support to our families and provide ideas on how to support individuals with autism during times of change. We can all benefit from having some type of structure during times of change to help us maintain well-being ...

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Supporting Adults with Autism through Uncertain Times: Companion Guide

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Supporting Adults with Autism through Uncertain Times: Companion Guide

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Supporting Adults with Autism through Uncertian Times Full Packet.pdf

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Guided video tours of a house set up with visual supports developed by: Indiana Resource Center for Autism:

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Autism House: Visual Supports for the Home (Part 1)

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Pandemics and the Corona Virus (English)

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SOCIAL STORY BY CAROL GRAY Pandemics and the Coronavirus March 2020.pdf

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During this stressful time we might all need one of these!!

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We always try to make good choices but sometimes we make mistakes. It is important to take responsibility for your mistakes and accept the consequences.

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Lots of ideas for sensory bottles on this website - useful for calming down.

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Sensory activities are great for any kid, and if you have a grandchild on the autism spectrum, he or she is sure to enjoy and benefit from sensory activities. Sensory play is comprised of such sensory activities and it helps develop a child's senses as well as motor skills.

I've met several kids on the spectrum lately and one left in me quite an impression. He's very high functioning and a sweetheart. I know there are a lot of families with kids on the spectrum who need ideas on how to help their kids improve their abilities. Grandmas should be a part of this process, too.

So this child inspired me. I tried to find activities I imagined that he would like. I've combined this list of 21 activities for kids with autism and I hope that you find some your grandchild will like.

Lots of these activities are sensory bottles, which makes them easy to take on the road, or wherever you may find yourself with your kids!

21 Sensory Activities For Kids That Your Grandkids Are Going To Love

1. This Minion Sensory Bottle Will Excite Any "Despicable Me" Fan

I'm sure it's not just my grandchildren that are totally obsessed with minions - or is it? Either way, this minion sensory bottle is totally cute and sure to entertain your grandkids! Sensory bottles are meant to stimulate the sense of sight and what better way to do this than with your grandkid's favorite movie?! It's creative and deceptively simple! You can even get creative and make a themed sensory bottle personalized to your grandchild's favorite movie.

2. Find It Game To Calm Your Young One's Nerves

I can imagine any of my grandkids, who range in age from 2-8, getting excited about finding the hidden objects in these neat bottles! The best thing is that they are a snap to make!

This calming find-it game would be perfect for long car rides, doctor's visits, or any other scenario when your little ones get fidgety and restless.

3. Glittery Calm Down Bottles

Almost everyone, kids and adults alike, loves glitter. However, be careful when you work with glitter as it can create quite a mess. Aren't these glittery calm-down bottles so fun and pretty though?? What's better, they're easy to make. You can even enlist the help of the kids! You might even consider making one for yourself - it is a great way to calm down!

4. This Rainbow Button Sensory Bottle Is Educative and Fun!

When I was a kid, my mom had this old cookie tin that was just full of buttons. I used to love sifting through the buttons with my fingers and looking at all of the different kinds. This rainbow button sensory bottle is a great way to do just that, and would be fun with any kind of buttons! It's also a great way to help kids learn their colors.

This rainbow button sensory bottle, made from easily available supplies, could be the ultimate play toy for you and your young one. From learning colors to counting how many buttons there are, there are so many things to do with this sensory bottle.

5. "Inside Out" Emotions Discovery Bottles

We actually featured these emotions discovery bottles on our Disney craft post last week, but I had to use them for this post as well! One common struggle with autism is an inability to communicate. These bottles could be a great help to any child who isn't sure how to describe what they are feeling!

6. Weather Sensory Bottles

Any child learning about different kinds of weather would have a blast with these weather sensory bottles! Here is some beautiful, simple imagery to aid with your grandchild's learning!

7. Color Mixing Sensory Bottle

I just HAD to share these last bottles, because they're awesome!! Color mixing is so cool, and your grandkids will be endlessly entertained watching the colors mix, and then separate! What a great opportunity to learn, as well!

8. Bubble Wrap Stomp Painting

Bubble wrap is so fun to play with, and this ups the fun level! If your grandchild doesn't like the feel or sound of bubble wrap, consider alternatives, like paper towels! This bubble wrap stomp painting activity is definitely something most kids and adults will love.

9. Moon Sand/Cloud Dough

You could spend a lot of money on moon sand, or you could just make it yourself! Who knew it was so easy? Your grandkids are sure to enjoy the feel of this soft, smooth sand, and they'll love using it to create whatever shapes their little hearts desire!

10. Rainbow Noodles Sensory Play

This activity has just enough of an icky factor to make it fun! The colors make it even more enjoyable, and it's totally safe for kids! You can add toys or small items into the rainbow noodle bin to make it even more of an adventure for the kids.

What You Need:

Spaghetti noodles

Ziploc bags

Food dye or washable watercolors

Vegetable oil

How To Make Rainbow Noodles:

1. Cook as much pasta as you need as per the cooking instructions on the package

2. Rinse the spaghetti under cold water to cool completely

3. Divide the spaghetti into bags, one for each color of noodles you want to make

4. Add several drops of food dye or watercolor to each Ziploc bag followed by some oil

5. Seal the bags and get the kids to squish and shake the bags until the noodles are completely colored

6. Once the noodles are colored, open the bags and let them dry for 30 mins.

7. Pour the noodles into a play bin and let the fun begin!

11. Fizzy Cloud Dough

Here's another cloud dough recipe... but, this one FIZZES! That's right, it fizzes. How cool is that?? Keep the fizzing a secret from your grandkids, and then amaze them when you add water! What's even better? This fizzy cloud dough is super easy to make and with few and readily available ingredients.

12. Foam Fireworks

For those kids who don't like loud noises, bring the fireworks to them! This fun activity uses shaving cream and food coloring, two totally fun things that children will love to mix and get messy with!

13. Melting Elsa's Frozen Hands

News flash: Frozen is not just for girls! One day while I was babysitting my grandchildren, we went on a drive and sang along to my Frozen soundtrack. It was awesome. Plus, this activity would be great for staying cool during the summer! Who wants to melt Elsa's frozen hands?!

14. Edible Slime - Oooooh, gooey!

Here's another icky, sticky activity that kids are sure to love! Not only is it stretchy, slimy, and fun-it's safe to eat, so if your grandchild has a tendency to put things in his or her mouth, not to fear! If your grandkids love aliens, this edible slime is sure to keep them engaged.

15. Homemade Herb & Spice Play Dough

A lot of sensory activities just have to do with touch. Here's a super neat one that uses your sense of smell - homemade herb and spice play dough. My grandkids love playdough and if yours are like mine, this might just turn out to be their favorite sensory activity! I really want to try the cocoa one!

16. Edible Water Beads

There is so much that can be done with water beads! They feel so nice in your little one's hands. These ones are all-natural, made from tapioca pearls, so there's no need to worry about them ending up in your child's mouth!

17. Calming Epsom Salt Sensory Play

Who says Epsom salts are only for adults to enjoy? Your grandkids will have fun playing with their hands, and feeling the relaxing power of Epsom salts! This calming Epsom salt sensory play is amazing.

18. Cornstarch Painting Play

This is a fun and simple activity to put together which kids can enjoy! Do this cornstarch painting activity outside for easy cleanup and let your grandkids get messy and creative!

19. Alphabet Car Wash Sensory Play

I will never understand what it is about boys and cars, but seriously-ALL of my grandkids are obsessed! Which makes this a perfect activity for each of them! Toss a bunch of cars and all the letters of the alphabet you can find in a bin filled with shaving cream and let the kids have fun with this ABC car wash sensory play.

20. Carpet Square Painting and Sensory Board

Do you have any old carpet squares lying around? Put them to good use with this fun and unique sensory activity! Carpet square painting is fun and will help the kids master a few shapes. It's also a fun and creative way to create art.

21. Bouncy Ball Art

This bouncy ball art activity has MESS written all over it, but it also has FUN written all over it! Be sure to do this one outside-your grandkids will have a blast!

A Few Final Words...

There you have it, folks! 21 activities for sensory play with easy-to-make toys, huge benefits for kids, both autistic and not, and which are sure to give your young ones hours and hours of fun!

What are some activities you've done with your autistic grandchild? We would love to hear your stories. And if you are struggling to parent a child on the autism spectrum, don't give up hope! You are not alone.

Loved This Collection Of Sensory Activities For Kids? Check Out More Helpful Tips:

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21 Sensory Activities For Kids With Autism - TGIF - This Grandma is Fun

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Sensory activities are great for any kid, and if you have a grandchild on the autism spectrum, he or she is sure to enjoy and benefit from sensory activities. Sensory play is comprised of such sensory activities and it helps develop a child's senses as well as motor skills.

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The Boy Who Cried Wolf Story Minecraft Edition

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The Boy Who Cried Wolf Story Minecraft Edition

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This file has over 57 pages, just choose the pages you think are suitable for your child.

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Minecraft is all the rage. No wonder it's getting easier to find Minecraft-inspired educational and writing activities to motivate your children!

Our last set of Minecraft writing prompts was so popular, we promised to come up with more. Now you can capture your reluctant writer's interest with six new Minecraft writing prompts that encourage descriptive, narrative, and informative writing.

1. If You Build It

Use your imagination to design a Minecraft building such as a shop, cave dwelling, mansion, or theater. What will you design? How will you persuade others to come to your building? Make a list of 6-10 reasons why people will love this place.

2. Minecraft Scenario

After a terrifying shipwreck, you find yourself on a beach. You don't know where you are, and it will soon be dark. What will you do?

3. Avatar Adventures

Write a story about your Minecraft avatar. How did you arrive in your world? What are some of your goals? Who are your allies?

You have been hired to build an enclosure for a Minecraft zoo. Choose a mob to live in your enclosure, and describe the enclosure you will build for them.

5. Tools of the Trade

Describe three Minecraft tools and explain how you like to use them.

6. Dear Grandma

Your grandma has never seen Minecraft, and she has asked you to help her understand it. Write a letter in which you explain what Minecraft is and why you enjoy playing the game.
Did you enjoy these writing ideas? If so, be sure to check back each week for more Writing Prompt Wednesdays!

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More Minecraft Writing Prompts | Journal Topics for Kids

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Capture your reluctant writer's interest with six new Minecraft writing prompts that encourage descriptive, narrative, and informative writing.

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Youtube on setting up structured work time at home

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Youtube on setting up structured work time at home

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Enable Ireland - Home Visual Schedule - Video Tutorial April 2020 GP - Unlisted

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The BEST homemade playdough recipe - I Heart Naptime

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This is the BEST homemade playdough recipe - make it in less than 5 minutes for under a $1 and have it last for months! It is so soft and squishy and cuts perfectly with cookie cutters.

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Kids love to make sand castles and build in the sand, so what better way to do this then in your own home. Using 3 simple ingredients and co...

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Bubbles are fun!!! My kids love playing with bubbles. We have made firework bubbles, colored bubbles in the bath, and even made scented bubbles.

This is super easy to make, all you need is a bowl, dawn dish soap, water and jell-o. Mix them together to make your jell-o bubbles. Then get a straw and blow bubbles.

Today we had fun with Jell-O bubbles. We blew in the the bubbles to see who could make the biggest bubble mountain. Jake and Cate had a blast and laughed so much.

I just love all the face expressions when making the bubble mountains.

Be sure to stop by our Outside Fun board on Pinterest for more fun things to do this summer.

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Bubbles are fun!!! My kids love playing with bubbles. We have made firework bubbles, colored bubbles in the bath, and even made scented bubbles. This is super easy to make, all you need is a bowl, dawn dish soap, water and jell-o. Mix them together to make your jell-o bubbles.

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The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

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Action Songs for kids | The Singing Walrus

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Party Freeze Dance Song - THE KIBOOMERS Preschool Songs for Circle Time

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The Skeleton Dance + More | Dance Songs for Kids | Super Simple Songs

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Hokey Cokey | Mr Tumble Songs | Mr Tumble and Friends