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ISO of a pen pal for an 18 year old student that I work with. Please email me if interested:

maryelizabethkurz@gmail.com

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Hello,

I stumbled upon this page. My 23 yr old daughter was recently diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder when I was having her tested for learning disabilities. Despite all the issues, light sensitivity, sound, severe migraines at any light/sound overstimulation, sensory issues, learning/reading issues, social difficulties, anxiety, the person still diagnosed her with Autism level 1 and basically said I cater to her in an unusual capacity. My girl fell through the cracks. She was assessed multiple times when she was younger but no one caught this. How do I help her now? She got her first jury duty summons and had a complete melt down. The therapist didn't see this but these are the issues we are dealing with. I worry so much because I am getting older and I need for her to be ok if something happens to me. She only socializes with family and I think my nieces and nephews would look out for her and make sure she is ok, but I still want to empower her. She is technically an adult but has such low self esteem when it comes to academics, and where others are at this age and where she is. Ideally she would like to work from home, but we have no idea what she could do that doesn't require higher education, which she will never do.

Are there any resources that are for newly diagnosed adults and how to navigate to see if she is eligible for any services or assistance?

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Found among Jehovah’s Witnesses. You don’t have to look far. They knock on your door spreading good news, stand or sit near a public witnessing cart designed to allow you to select literature of interest, and extend an open invitation to their Kingdom Halls.

Stop by a Kingdom Hall. You will be warmly welcomed.

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Autism Breakthrough. Invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough. Invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough. Invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough. Invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough. Invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough. Invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough Personal invite by Sandra Wright

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Autism Breakthrough Personal invite by Sandra Wright

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Personal Invite by Sandra Wright

WEBINAR INVITATIONS

March 16, 2024 8 pm EST BREAKTHROUGH IN AUTISM. Zoom ID 702 269 5083.

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Hi Im Laura Im 30 Im from Baltimore Maryland just got abandoned pretty much in this world don't have any friends or not even a care in the world for me I don't know what to say Im going through alot Bad suffering from severe isolation and rejection and loneliness no friends at all

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Seeking recommendation for driver's ed provider for autistic teen with adhd.  Any thoughts.  He is 16 and hoping to get a license this summer.  zoom does not work for him

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Seeking recommendation for driver's ed provider for autistic teen with adhd.  Any thoughts.  He is 16 and hoping to get a license this summer.  zoom does not work for him

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Our virtual meetings each meet once monthly:

Parent/Caregiver Discussion Group meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm. A supportive environment to meet other parents and share.

General Session Group meets the last Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm. An inclusive space for all adults to learn and grow in their understanding.

To register to attend either/both of these groups, visit our the Calendar of Events page on our website:

https://www.baltimoreautismsociety.org/calendar-of-events/meetings-groups/

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provided by the Hussman Institute

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Meetings are held weekly on Thursday evenings at 9:00pm. Click here to register to attend the meetings:

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Meetings are held weekly on Thursday evenings at 9:00pm. Click here to register to attend the meetings:

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Link to the recording

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Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

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This session has ended, however, stay tuned for future programming for fathers and male family members/caregivers. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments for programming or things you'd be interested in!

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This session has ended, however, stay tuned for future programming for fathers and male family members/caregivers. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments for programming or things you'd be interested in!

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A mom shared during our General session on 8/25... 

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A mom shared during our General session on 8/25... 

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One way to help provide structure and routine is when creating a schedule for your child to also include your schedule (and the schedule of other family members)for the day so there is an understanding of what everyone will be doing and at what time.

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It is helpful to connect with others during this time--it helps to "normalize" what we are experiencing and to realize that we are not alone in what we are feeling.

It is also helpful to hear other's victories through their frustration.

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*Exercise
*Limit news exposure
*Meal plan with child
*Get outside, go for a walk or a hike
*Spend intentional time with a pet
*Do Yoga
*Connect with a friend through a call, videochat or text
*Meditate
*Create something
*Take a 10-minute cat nap
*Do something for someone else-call someone or text them and let them know you are thinking about them
*Write a handwritten letter or card to someone else
*Read-10 minutes from a book, 10 minutes from a blog, 10 minutes of poetry
*
*Be gentle with yourself and your expectations for yourself

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Strategies for dropping the Mama (or any other kind) Guilt

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Strategies for dropping the Mama (or any other kind) Guilt

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NAME IT-

give a name to what you are feeling and carrying-say it out loud

SHARE IT-

text someone, tell someone

LET IT GO-

Take a deep breathe and exhale it out
*Forgive yourself

MOVE FORWARD-

pick one thing that you want to do differently tomorrow to make you feel better than today

*Remember it doesn't have to be hours of activity or engagement-quality over quantity-->"its in the moments that we make our memories"

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It is essential that we prioritize self-care, plan it, schedule it and don't feel guilty for meeting that scheduled obligation.  You and your family's well-being are counting on it!!

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This group now meets on Tuesdays at 7pm as part of the General Support Group (See 2nd column for more info)

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https://towson.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/towson/recording/play/d5bf2194ab764248a8bc774b87226c7f

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Meet virtually with Cisco Webex. Anytime, anywhere, on any device.

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Simple, modern video meetings for everyone on the world's most popular and trusted collaboration platform.

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4/14/20
https://towson.webex.com/towson/ldr.php?RCID=cf93ad585773c0af4f615150cb4d5bf1

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One of our mom's recommended this recording! 

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One of our mom's recommended this recording! 

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Facebook Live discussion titled, Intersection of Race and Disability: Conversations with Parents sponsored by:Don't IEP Alone: A Day In Our Shoes.com

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About the Clinic:

Clinic-based services offered through the Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress include:

AVANZA! Clinic (Latino Families Moving Forward): This clinic provides trauma informed and culturally competent mental health treatment services to Latino children and their families who are primarily Spanish-Speaking. Treatment addresses diverse difficulties and complex trauma exposures including sexual abuse, physical abuse, community violence, domestic violence, and stressors related to immigration experiences. Clinicians are fully bilingual and aware of issues that pertain specifically to the mental health treatment of Latino families.

Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP): An evidenced based treatment for children age birth through 5 and their caregivers. The Goal of CPP is to support and strengthen the relationship between a child and the caregiver as a vehicle for restoring the child's sense of safety, attachment, and appropriate affect and to improve the child's cognitive, behavioral, and social functioning.

The Eagle Project: Provides trauma-informed mental health services to military families in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Trained clinicians attend to the unique challenges faced by service personnel and their families, including separation from social supports, repeated deployment, relocations and high levels of stress.

Family Clinic: Serves families and children ages 3 - 18 who are seeking to improve communication, develop more effective parenting strategies, come to terms with past trauma/major losses and prevent out-of-home placement of special needs children. The clinic specializes in the treatment of families who have experienced inter-generational chronic trauma. Family assessments and consultations with extended family, school, child welfare agencies and courts are also available.

Group Clinic: Offers theme-centered groups to help children and adolescents learn new strategies to deal with special concerns. Groups are designed to enhance social and problem solving skills, promote emotional and social development and reduce the effects of trauma. Each child's developmental needs and level of understanding of his/her conflict is carefully considered to match treatment needs with the appropriate group.

Healing, Overcoming, Protecting and Empowering (HOPE) Clinic: Uses evidence-informed practices including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents with complex trauma exposures including sexual abuse, physical abuse, community violence, abandonment, neglect, and domestic sex trafficking. High-risk tension reducing behaviors include substance use, non-suicidal self-injury, and elopement.

Horizons Clinic: Provides trauma-focused treatments adapted for children with a range of developmental disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual Developmental Disorders and language disorders.

Individual Treatment: Available for children ages 3 - 18. Both long- and short-term treatment is available to address emotional and behavioral difficulties due to trauma, loss, adoption, out-of-home placements, attention problems/impulsivity, lying, stealing, aggression, attachment, developmental delays, permanency and depression. All treatment includes caregivers and family members in developing treatment plans. Consultations with school, child welfare agencies and courts are also available.

The Mind/Body Clinic: Yoga, movement, mindfulness, HeartMath, biofeedback and other mind body interventions are used for increased self-regulation and improved social functioning with children who have experienced trauma. These approaches are implemented in individual, family and group modalities.

A Yoga-Based Psychotherapy Group (YBPG) protocol was developed by the Mind/Body Clinic and is available for purchase.

New Start Clinic: Uses an evidence-based mental health intervention designed to help families make changes that will help ensure a more positive future for parents and children that have been involved in child physical abuse.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Clinic: Uses an evidence-based treatment model of highly specified, step-by-step, live-coaching sessions with the caregiver and child, ages 2 - 7. Caregivers are taught and coached in relationship building skills using a social learning model and a "bug-in-the-ear" transmitter system, while engaging in developmentally appropriate play with their child. Emphasis is placed on developing positive caregiver-child interaction patterns.

Psychiatric Assessment and Medication Management: Offered to children and families already in treatment whose capacities for emotional and behavioral self regulation have been impaired by family histories of substance abuse and mental disorders, pre-natal substance exposure, poor pre-natal care, natal complications, post-natal abuse and neglect, exposure to environmental toxins, poor attachment experiences and out of home placements with relatives or foster care.

Psychological Evaluation: Provides psychological assessment and consultation to evaluate the cognitive, social and emotional functioning of children ages 6 - 18. Reasons for referral include concerns such as the impact of trauma on development and functioning, behavioral difficulties, appropriate school placements and permanency planning needs.

Safety Mentoring Advocacy Recovery and Treatment (SMART) Clinic: An intensive, integrated 18-month therapeutic treatment model with community intervention designed to provide services for sexualized children -- those children who are touching other children in a sexual manner -- between the ages of 4 - 11 who have a history of sexual abuse. Services provided include individual, group and family therapy, psychological screening, mentoring and community consultations. Only children age 10 and younger can be referred to this clinic due to the length of the protocol.

Strengthening Family Coping Resources (SFCR): Is a 15 week evidence-supported, multi-family group model aimed at reducing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adult caregivers. SFCR helps families boost their sense of safety and stability, regulate emotions and behaviors, and improve communication about the traumas they have experienced.

Structured Psychotherapy with Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS): Available for children ages 12 - 18. This evidence-based treatment target adolescents who have experienced a single traumatic life event or who live in chronically traumatic environments.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Clinic: Uses an evidence-based treatment model to help children ages 4 - 18 and their caregivers overcome the negative effects of traumatic life events. Traumas range from sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic or community violence and traumatic grief/loss.

Unity Clinic: A specialized clinical program that provides therapy to children or families who are deaf or hard of hearing and have been affected by trauma. Mental health services are available in American Sign Language or through signed interpretation by a dually certified interpreter working with a therapist.
Download the Unity Clinic Factsheet (PDF)

Primary Diagnoses Served:

Additional Diagnoses, Subsets and Synonyms Served:

Adjustment Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Anxiety Disorder

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Reactive Attachment Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood

ADHD

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Disruptive Behavior Disorder

Depression/Depressive Disorder

Mood Disorder

Dysthymic Disorder

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Clinic at the Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress

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AVANZA! Clinic (Latino Families Moving Forward): This clinic provides trauma informed and culturally competent mental health treatment services to Latino children and their families who are primarily Spanish-Speaking. Treatment addresses diverse difficulties and complex trauma exposures including sexual abuse, physical abuse, community violence, domestic violence, and stressors related to immigration experiences.

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This website came up in a discussion about getting diagnosed as an adult.

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This website came up in a discussion about getting diagnosed as an adult.

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this is a good website that may be helpful for both parents and adults on the spectrum

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Asperger / Autism Network (AANE) We are here for you!

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Information, education, community, and support for individuals, families and professionals. Empowering Individuals, Building Community

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Discussion #1 - Being Prepared & Allyship

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Discussion #1 - Being Prepared & Allyship

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Click Picture Below for the Recording & Resources Discussed

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AS of Baltimore: Black & Autistic: A Focused Discussion Series - Recording & Resources

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Explore their website for some great resources.

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xMinds: Improving education outcomes for autistic students in Montgomery County, MD

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Help, support, education, resources, and grants for families, teachers, and administrators to improve school experiences for students on the autism spectrum in MCPS.

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Have you heard about this resource that was shared in our group on 6/25?

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Have you heard about this resource that was shared in our group on 6/25?

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Their mission is to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to direct their lives with dignity, choice, authority, and responsibility.

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Who We Are

SEEC is a progressive nonprofit agency providing a wide range of community supports to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live lives of their choosing. Our goal is to become a community of excellence that honors, respects and assists people with developmental disabilities as they direct their lives towards work, relationships, recreation, and personal development. Our role is to create supports for people to identify their hopes and dreams, and access the resources needed to achieve them.

We aim to provide the highest caliber of community-based, person-directed services through ongoing learning and reflection, strategic planning, and investing in the professional development of our staff. Through our collaborative work with Maryland agencies and providers, we aim to affect policies and funding streams and expand staff development opportunities statewide.

SEEC's operations are guided by a team of business and disability professionals and others who are key to successful services and effective nonprofit management. Our senior staff are sought-after presenters for webinars and conferences nationwide. Our volunteer Board of Directors monitors, directs, and approves operational and fiscal management.

Mission

To help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to direct their lives with dignity, choice, authority, and responsibility.

What We Do

SEEC provides an array of services to help people who have significant disabilities live, work and thrive in their communities. Active community engagement gives people opportunities to showcase their abilities, develop new interests and talents, contribute to the workforce, and broaden their social networks. Full inclusion also helps change long-held stereotypes of people with disabilities from being "needy" to "contributing" - from being different to having a lot in common with their non-disabled peers.

SEEC's services are driven by the unique desires of the men and women we support to:

Live in a home of their choosing with whom they want to live

Housemates Wanted!

Benefit from paid employment that is valued and meaningful

Pursue their personal development through continuous learning

Thrive in communities of family and friends

Please submit intake questions, and your completed application to: jeusebe@seeconline.org

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Who We Are SEEC is a progressive nonprofit agency providing a wide range of community supports to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live lives of their choosing. Our goal is to become a community of excellence that honors, respects and assists people with developmental disabilities as they direct their lives towards work, relationships, [...]

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From the beloved film star and best-selling author of Then Again--a heartfelt memoir about Diane Keaton's relationship with her younger brother, and a poignant exploration of the divergent paths siblings' lives can take.

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A mom shared this great resource for free audio books

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A mom shared this great resource for free audio books

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Libby is a free app where you can borrow ebooks and digital audiobooks from your public library. You can stream books with Wi-Fi or mobile data, or download them for offline use and read anytime, anywhere. All you need to get started is a library card.

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Libby is a free app where you can borrow ebooks and digital audiobooks from your public library. You can stream books with Wi-Fi or mobile data, or download them for offline use and read anytime, anywhere. All you need to get started is a library card.

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A mom shared this resource for children with autism and gender non-conformity

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A mom shared this resource for children with autism and gender non-conformity

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Some young people have both autism spectrum characteristics (or related conditions) and gender non-conformity. They may express discomfort with aspects of their gender, or feel they are a different gender (transgender). We do not yet understand why autism and gender differences sometimes occur together, but we do know that this co-occurrence can be difficult to navigate for young people and their families. The Gender and Autism (and Related Conditions) Program is dedicated to helping youth and families through our clinical and research initiatives.

Supporting Children with Autism on their Gender Journey

The Gender and Autism (and Related Conditions) Program at Children's National Hospital is dedicated to supporting youth with gender and autism (or related conditions) through evaluations, consultation and a specialized ongoing support program. We approach this work from the following perspectives:

Each young person's gender journey is individual

There are many possible outcomes that can unfold over time

A young person's neurodiversity is a key component in the gender discernment process

Our focus is on helping your child with their autism spectrum challenges, such as with flexible thinking, planning skills, future thinking and self-awareness, while at the same time supporting their need for gender exploration.

Some young people who come to our clinic have well-characterized autism, while other families come to see us for both autism diagnostic clarification and gender-related consultation. Our team includes specialists within psychology, neuropsychology and speech language.

Our Team

We're Here to Help

To inquire about our services, or to schedule an appointment, call 301-765-5432.

Program Location

Neuropsychology at Children's National Montgomery County
15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 350
Rockville, MD 20850

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Gender and Autism Program | Children's National Hospital

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Some young people have both autism spectrum characteristics (or related conditions) and gender non-conformity. They may express discomfort with aspects of their gender, or feel they are a different gender (transgender). We do not yet understand why autism and gender differences sometimes occur together, but we do know that this co-occurrence can be difficult to navigate for young people and their families.

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This session is closed to new members at this time.

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This session is closed to new members at this time.

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Is it Sensory or Is It Behavior?

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Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

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We spent a lot of time speaking about scripting and how there may be a great deal of meaning being communicated through delayed scripting (when a person repeats something they have heard before like lines from a movie etc.). Joy shared her own experiences with scripting as a child. She associated the birthday song with cake. She explained that when she wanted cake she would sing "Happy Birthday". The people around her just thought she was singing it randomly. Joy encouraged us to really think about what is being scripted and what associations we might be able to make. Keeping data and writing down when the specific script is used and how might uncover patterns. And sometimes scripting is just a source of comfort and joy. Below is one family's heart warming story of how scripting Disney movies opened up a world of communication.

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[RADIOLAB INTRO]

RON SUSKIND: The word hit us. Like you're hit with a -- with a bullet. And we're like, "That cannot be our -- that cannot be our son."

JAD ABUMRAD: I'm Jad Abumrad.

ROBERT KRULWICH: I'm Robert Krulwich.

JAD: This is Radiolab. And our story today begins with a boy.

ROBERT: And that boy is going to vanish. Not into thin air, but to a place that we know very, very little about.

JAD: And if you're the parent of that boy, what do you do if your child is falling away from everything you know?

ROBERT: How do you find him?

JAD: How do you get him back?

ROBERT: So part of this tale we got from Ron Suskind's new wonderful book Life Animated. And some of you may have heard it, some not.

JAD: Let's start where -- where Ron started. For him, it began around 1993.

RON SUSKIND: And -- and it was an exciting time.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Well, we're going into Owen's room for what is his last night in the crib.

OWEN SUSKIND: I still can't -- I still can't watch.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: You still can't watch it? Can you tell us about your crib, Owen? Do you like your crib?

RON SUSKIND: Do you know where you're sleeping tomorrow? What kind of bed are you and Walter going to sleep in?

ROBERT: In 1993, the Suskind family decided to make a big move. Ron and his wife Cornelia ...

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Cornelia Suskind.

ROBERT: And their two sons, Walt and Owen.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Walter is about five, and Owen is about two-and-a-half.

ROBERT: They decide to relocate from Boston to Washington, DC.

RON SUSKIND: You know, I had this senior National Affairs job at the Journal.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Good night.

RON SUSKIND: Say nighty-night.

OWEN SUSKIND: Night-night.

RON SUSKIND: Kind of a dream job.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: I love you.

RON SUSKIND: Lots of excitement.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Have a nice last night in your cribby.

ROBERT: So they make the move. And as soon as they arrived in Washington ...

RON SUSKIND: We start sort of noticing something's amiss.

JAD: Their youngest son Owen, who to that point had been a totally normal chatty almost three-year-old ...

RON SUSKIND: He's hitting all of his markers.

JAD: Suddenly goes sideways.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Maybe the very first thing that happened was he stopped sleeping. He stopped sleeping, he stopped eating. He was very fussy.

ROBERT: Initially, they figured well, it's got to be the move.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: And then we start losing eye contact. Then he starts losing motor skills. He can't hold his cup. It's slipping out of his hand. His gait became very odd, and he was sort of looked like a drunken sailor walking around the house. And then he stopped speaking bit by bit by bit.

JAD: And this is all compressed into ...

CORNELIA SUSKIND: A few months.

RON SUSKIND: What could have occurred? Could he have banged his head? Ingested something toxic? You know, first you hit the regular pediatrician, and he's going, "Um." And he sent us to a center. And there was a woman there.

RON SUSKIND: And she says the word autism.

JAD: What did the word mean to you at that moment?

CORNELIA SUSKIND: It meant Rain Man.

RON SUSKIND: Dustin Hoffman. "I'm a very good driver." Until we saw. And we're like, "That cannot be our -- that cannot be our son."

CORNELIA SUSKIND: You know, it was just terrifying.

ROBERT: Now, in reporting the story we ended up going off in a variety of different directions. But we did visit one place where we got a glimpse, just a hint of -- of what parents like Ron and Cornelia must have felt back then. We visited a school here in Manhattan called the Rebecca School. It's a really unique school for children with autism, other developmental delays. There's little kids in there age four, all the way up to, I think even 21. Every kid that you meet in the school is different. Autism is a many, many flavored thing. But the overwhelming sense you get walking the halls there is that each of these kids is kind of locked away a little bit. Just -- they don't know how to be with. Like Kelsey Padgett and I, we got there during lunch and in one of the rooms -- I don't know. Maybe you should describe this.

KELSEY PADGETT: Yeah, there was this -- we went to this one classroom where there was this one boy who really stood out. He was about six years old, and he had this -- this big mop of black hair. And he was just standing there at the table holding an apple. And just sobbing.

TINA MCCOURT: You don't want to eat the apple?

KELSEY: And the director of the school, Tina McCourt, she was there. And she just stayed with the boy and really, like, tried to be there with him, but there was nothing she could do.

TINA MCCOURT: There goes the apple! You don't want to sing with him? No?

KELSEY: It was hard to watch, because you don't know how to help him.

GIL TIPPY: So that's the challenge, right? There's a kid who actually can't tell you what's upsetting to him, right?

ROBERT: That's Gil Tippy, the school's Clinical Director.

GIL TIPPY: Could be that he physically -- he actually doesn't know where he is in space, maybe. It's as if we were being thrown out of an airplane, right? You're just tumbling, you don't know where your body is. It's a thunderstorm, so you only see things in flashes, right? So now the world is totally frightening. It's totally overwhelming.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: I mean, I do remember the drive home from that -- from that terrible day.

RON SUSKIND: I don't -- I've blocked that out. What did ...?

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Well, just -- I mean, I just remember, you know, you and I driving home in silence with Owen in the back. And I just felt like, you know, there was no -- there's no hope.

JAD: Like, they had no idea if the Owen they knew was in there, or if he was just kind of lost to them. Like gone. Now, keep in mind this was 1994. We knew even less about autism than we know now. We still have no idea what causes autism. But then, the prevailing wisdom seemed to be that kids with autism, they couldn't feel emotion, they had no capacity to empathize with other people. This was way before the neurodiversity movement. Like, actually right around the moment when autism was becoming a spectrum for the first time.

RON SUSKIND: That's just happening in 1994. Just starting.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Barely starting.

RON SUSKIND: Yeah, at that point ...

JAD: Was he active or was he ...?

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Yeah, he was very -- he was hyperactive. A lot of self-stimulatory behavior, you know, hand flapping, running around.

JAD: And Cornelia and Ron say that when they would call him, it was as if he didn't even hear them.

RON SUSKIND: We're hoping he's hearing, you know? But he's not really responding.

ROBERT: Well, when you needed him to come to the table or -- would he come ...?

CORNELIA SUSKIND: You would basically have to go and lead him by the hand and -- or pick him up and bring him over.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: And he was down to one word, which was juice. So the only thing he was doing was drinking juice for about a year.

RON SUSKIND: And also, you know, there was the Disney movies.

ROBERT: So he would sit for -- he would sit for -- for television entertainment of some ...

CORNELIA SUSKIND: He wouldn't sit for the whole movie for sure, but he would -- that would be the one thing that he would sit for quietly for periods.

[CLIP DISNEY MOVIE]

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Because he didn't sleep. So at night, I was usually up with him all night thrashing around.

ROBERT: And as Owen watched one Disney movie after another after another, not sleeping at all, that word "juice," it seemed to expand just a little bit. He began to repeat the word ...

RON SUSKIND: Juicervose, juicervose, juicervose.

JAD: Wait, what was he saying? Juicervose?

ROBERT: But you don't know at first what that is.

RON SUSKIND: No, we think it's juice. Cornelia's like -- I said, "Does he seem to want more juice?" And she's like, "No. I gave him more juice, he didn't seem to want it.

ROBERT: And Ron says he would say that word over and over for weeks, and they had no idea what it meant. Until ...

RON SUSKIND: It's about a year and a month after the symptoms have started.

JAD: One night, all four of them are together in the living room.

RON SUSKIND: And we're watching The Little Mermaid.

[CLIP LITTLE MERMAID]

JAD: And a certain point, Owen who's got the remote, he starts rewinding the movie back a little bit to re-watch a scene.

RON SUSKIND: It's typical. So Owen knows how to work the remote. Walt kind of showed him how to do it and he took to that. And he's rewinding the part where Ariel ...

[CLIP ARIEL: "I've become human."]

RON SUSKIND: Our protagonist.

[CLIP ARIEL: "I'll never be with my father or sisters again."]

RON SUSKIND: Wants to become human to get her man, Eric.

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "That's right!"]

RON SUSKIND: And the Sea Witch, Ursula says, "It will -- it will cost you."

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "Life's full of tough choices."]

RON SUSKIND: And the price is ...

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "Your voice."]

[CLIP ARIEL: "My voice?"]

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "You've got it sweetcakes."]

RON SUSKIND: And all of a sudden, Ariel and Ursula are having it out.

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "Come on, you poor unfortunate soul."]

RON SUSKIND: And this part gets rewound again.

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "It won't cost much. Just your voice."]

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "It won't cost much. Just your voice."]

RON SUSKIND: And Walt's like, "Owen, stop rewinding. Just play the movie."

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "It won't cost much. Just your voice."]

RON SUSKIND: But after the third rewind ...

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "Just your voice."]

RON SUSKIND: Cornelia says, "Ah! It's not juice. It's not 'juice,' it's 'just.'"

RON SUSKIND: I said, "What?" "Just your voice."

[CLIP SEA WITCH: "Just your voice."]

RON SUSKIND: At which point I'm, like -- I grab Owen by the shoulders and I'm like, "Just your voice! Just your voice!" And he starts going, "Juicervose! Juicervose! Juicervose!" And Walter starts jumping in the bed, crying and laughing and jumping.

JAD: Did you feel like he chose that phrase for a reason?

RON SUSKIND: Oh, that's what we -- that's of course immediately what we thought.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: He's trying to tell us something.

JAD: That, like, he has things to say, but he -- he just can't say it. It's his voice. In other words ...

RON SUSKIND: He's in there.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: He's in there, because he's trying to talk to us.

RON SUSKIND: So we run to the doctor, a very trusted guy, and he's like, you know, "Sit down. Let's talk." And he says it's something called echolalia. It's echoing sounds. That their auditory processing, their ability to process sound, speech ...

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Language.

RON SUSKIND: ... goes haywire. And so they just repeat the sound. And we're saying, "So he doesn't know what it means?" And he's like, "Probably not. Echolalia. It's what it sounds like: 'echo' -- what it sounds like 'echo.'" I said, "Like a parrot." They're like, "Yeah. Yeah, a parrot." So we go from Helen Keller to the pet store parrot.

JAD: Life goes on, and years go by ...

RON SUSKIND: Where he's murmuring a lot of gibberish we might be able to decipher from some movie, maybe. By six he's got, you know, three-word sentences. "I want juice." Just you know, one-and-a-half-year-old speech. Corn's there full-time, 24/7.

ROBERT: Ron's working around the clock.

RON SUSKIND: In a kind of frenzy to pay for all the therapists. And we're fighting it out, basically.

JAD: They see tiny, tiny bits of progress, but no more breakthroughs.

RON SUSKIND: Owen's about six-and-a-half and Walt is 9. And Walter gets a little emotional on his ninth birthday.

WALTER SUSKIND: I'm not sure. Maybe the anxiety of the moment, of the attention of it.

JAD: This is Walt Suskind.

ROBERT: And how old are you now?

JAD: Your voice is so much deeper than I imagined it would be.

WALTER SUSKIND: People usually, after like 10 minutes, if it's their first time meeting me, ask if I'm faking my voice. And I have to assure them this is not an affect. This is how I sound.

ROBERT: In any case, Walt has his ninth birthday and his friends come over.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: And then after the party, he's out in the hammock in the yard, and he's kind of crying a little bit. And ...

WALTER SUSKIND: Birthdays was -- I don't know, they were just kind of strange days for me. Like, sensory overload in a way.

RON SUSKIND: Well, Owen walks in after Walter is emotional. And we're in the kitchen, and he seems to kind of look back and forth between the two of us in, like, there's something he wants to say.

ROBERT: To this point, Owen had only said three word sentences, but in this moment according to Ron ...

RON SUSKIND: He looks at us and says, "Walter doesn't want to grow up, like Mowgli or a Peter Pan."

ROBERT: He said full sentences.

RON SUSKIND: Full thing. Whole thing.

RON SUSKIND: I mean, literally it was like a thunderbolt, a lightning bolt went through the kitchen. And Owen goes -- runs off in some, you know, reverie, whatever. And we look at each other, and, like, the -- what was that? You know, this is his first complex sentence or thought that's been expressed, and it's a subtle one, actually.

JAD: Because he's taking three different characters, two from a movie, one from real life, and he's putting them together. So Ron is like, "I gotta follow this." So he goes up to Owen's room ...

RON SUSKIND: And I see Owen on the bed looking at a Disney book. And I see on the carpet are some of his puppets, and -- and one of them is Iago from -- from Aladdin. The plush toy, you know, which is the $98 one that goes up to your elbow. And I grab it and I put it on -- on my arm right up to the elbow, and I crawl along on the rug and I throw the bedspread kind of over my head, and just edge up to the edge of the bed. And I push the puppet up through the crease in the bedspread. And so now they're face-to-face, Owen and Iago. And I'm looking up through the crease, sort of up my arm, and I talk to him as Iago. Now, this was an easy voice. It's Gilbert Gottfried's voice. I mean, anyone can do this. I say, "So, Owen, Owen, Owen, how -- how does it feel to be you?" And he turns to the puppet like he's bumping into an old friend.

RON SUSKIND: And he says, "Not good. I'm lonely." And it was his voice.

RON SUSKIND: And so I say, "So when did -- when did you and I become such good friends?" And he says, "When I watched Aladdin and you made me laugh." And we go back and forth like this for four or five more exchanges. And then I hear Owen clear his throat. Like [CLEARS THROAT], like that. And then all of a sudden I hear him say back, "I love the way your foul little mind works."

[CLIP ALADDIN: "I love the way your foul little mind works."]

RON SUSKIND: That's Jafar, the villain. Iago's the villainous sidekick to Jafar, the villain of Aladdin.

RON SUSKIND: That's the next line from Jafar.

JAD: But you'd slipped into a script.

ROBERT: You're in the movie.

RON SUSKIND: Yeah, he's asking for me to respond as Iago.

ROBERT: Did you know the next line?

RON SUSKIND: I didn't know the next line. At that point, I just jumped out from under the bedspread and said, "Owen, what's going on?"

JAD: So now they felt like okay, he -- he is -- he is in there. I mean, despite everything that they had been told about autism, Owen was in there, and somehow these Disney characters were in there with him.

RON SUSKIND: It doesn't take us long that, you know, we start what we called the basement sessions, where we'd say, "Well, let's see how far this can go."

JAD: A couple times a week ...

RON SUSKIND: We'd go down in the basement and start playing out scenes. And we'd do it. The first time we do it with the Jungle Book, which is a movie he was into at that point.

RON SUSKIND: 101 Dalmatians.

WALTER SUSKIND: Beauty and The Beast.

RON SUSKIND: Peter Pan. Sword in the Stone.

WALTER SUSKIND: We -- we kind of ran the gamut. I mean, pretty much we'd watch any and every Disney movie there was.

RON SUSKIND: What -- describe to these guys, what was it like when Mom and I started doing voices and Walter?

OWEN SUSKIND: Felt amazed. Felt amazed.

ROBERT: Who was amazed? You were amazed, or they were amazed?

OWEN SUSKIND: I was amazed.

ROBERT: This is Owen Suskind. He's 23 now.

RON SUSKIND: Why were you amazed?

OWEN SUSKIND: I was so surprised by my family. I could hear them respond better.

JAD: You're saying that when -- when everybody was acting out the Disney movies suddenly you could hear them better?

JAD: So when people would talk to you not in the Disney movies, do you -- what do you remember about how they sounded?

OWEN SUSKIND: A little weird.

OWEN SUSKIND: Gibberish and rubbish.

JAD: Huh. Do you remember how you felt?

OWEN SUSKIND: A little worried.

RON SUSKIND: You told Mom once that you were scared.

OWEN SUSKIND: I was scared.

RON SUSKIND: Why did it feel good to watch them over and over again, that you kept wanting to watch them over and over again? How did that feel to you?

OWEN SUSKIND: It felt comforting.

RON SUSKIND: Comforting?

OWEN SUSKIND: It felt comforting.

OWEN SUSKIND: Because it would help me with reducing my autism.

ROBERT: How does a movie help a boy in Owen's condition? Stay tuned and we'll -- we'll attempt some explanations.

CANDICE: This is Candice, currently calling from her bicycle. Radiolab is supported in part by the National Science Foundation, and by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, enhancing public understanding of science and technology in the modern world. More information about Sloan at www.sloan.org. Thank you.

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ROBERT: I'm Robert Krulwich.

JAD: This is Radiolab. And today, a story about a kid named Owen and a condition that no one can quite pin down. Now we just heard that Owen, when he watches Disney movies, he feels comforted, and that somehow the movie seems to dial down his autism. We were like, why would that be? How could a Disney movie -- or any movie, really -- make that much difference?

SIMON BARON-COHEN: Can you hear me okay?

ROBERT: I can hear you pretty well. I'm just ...

ROBERT: We ended up taking the question to this guy.

SIMON BARON-COHEN: Simon Baron-Cohen.

ROBERT: He's a leading researcher in autism.

JAD: And yes, he is the cousin of this guy.

[CLIP SACHA BARON COHEN: "This is my wife."]

SIMON BARON-COHEN: And I'm the director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University.

ROBERT: And Simon told us a couple of different things. First of all, he says that in the last few decades our whole notion of what is happening in the mind of a child with autism has totally changed. We've sort of tossed out the Rain Man idea.

SIMON BARON-COHEN: The idea that people with autism lack some inner life. I think that's completely false.

JAD: It's not necessarily that they can't feel emotion or empathy, he says. Not at all. It's often a decoding problem. Like, they have trouble decoding all of the information that's coming in. I mean, some studies have found that a lot of kids with autism literally have too many synapses in their brain. So it might be that the world is just coming in too loud.

SIMON BARON-COHEN: I think often people with autism feel very lost and confused. There's so little predictability in the social world. You know, people come and go. They -- no two days are the same. People say things unexpectedly, they do things unexpectedly. And people with autism seem to need a lot of predictability.

JAD: We spoke to Temple Grandin, the well-known author and autism advocate. And here's how she put it.

TEMPLE GRANDIN: When I was a little kid, I wanted to feel the nice feeling of being held, but there was just too much overwhelming stimulation. You know, loud sounds hurt my ears, like the volume control on touch and hearing was way, way, way turned on. And one of the reasons why I withdrew into things like dribbling sand through my hands is I could then shut out the hurtful sound.

JAD: As Temple Grandin explained it to us, a kid with autism gravitating to something like bus schedules, or knowing every single fact about every dinosaur that ever lived, that is just a way to slow things down and make the world predictable. So that it happens the same way every time. And as Simon Baron-Cohen puts it, in Owen's case, he had these Disney movies that he could play over and over and over and over.

SIMON BARON-COHEN: And then the fact that it's, you know, it's -- it's not just repetition, but it's repetition about human action.

[CLIP ALADDIN: "Jasmine. Where are you?" "Out in the menagerie. Hurry!"]

SIMON BARON-COHEN: You know, that creates a kind of structure to be able to look at human behavior. You know, in the real world there's no opportunity to rewind the movie. Whereas in the world of movies, you can watch the same Disney cartoon a hundred times or a thousand times, and you could almost go frame by frame. Like a literary critic or a film critic, you could really analyze the action to understand okay, that's what happened. And that's -- that's what caused him to do what he did.

GERALDINE DAWSON: The element of music.

JAD: We spoke with a professor -- Geraldine Dawson -- a neuroscience professor at Duke, who guessed that maybe it's not just the repetition that made the difference, but the repetition with music.

GERALDINE DAWSON: One of the things that we've learned from neuroscience is that music activates emotional centers in our brain. And in fact, it's pretty reliable that certain kinds of music make us feel frightened, make us feel happy, make us feel worried, and so forth.

JAD: Now, she says when scientists have done brain scans of kids with autism, they found ...

GERALDINE DAWSON: That during kind of normal interactions, people with autism don't necessarily activate those emotional centers of the brain. Areas like the amygdala. But during the experience of music, the -- those areas of the brain did become activated in a way that was very much like a typical person.

JAD: So it might be that, while Owen was sort of forensically examining these moments of Disney movies, it was the Disney music that was binding those moments to feelings so we could know like, "Oh, when a person looks like that, that's when they're happy. When a person looks like that, that's when they're sad." However it works, Simon Baron-Cohen thinks it's at least plausible.

SIMON BARON-COHEN: That he's using the movie as a scaffold to make sense of the much greater complexity of natural life.

ROBERT: And that's what got to Ron Suskind.

RON SUSKIND: Like wow, this is a whole new planet here!

ROBERT: That maybe this Disney-ish therapy that they use with Owen might be a whole new approach to treating kids with autism.

RON SUSKIND: Instead of the one-size-fits-all model of sit in the class and hear the things you're supposed to know to be a working member of society, instead it's like, go with their passion. Follow them in there. It's -- it's a pathway. The brain finding a way to get to what people need, which is interaction and emotional wholeness.

RON SUSKIND: Here. I want you to sing the song for them.

ROBERT: Over the years, sometimes down in the basement with the family, or sometimes even in doctor's offices, Owen started to improvise. He'd -- he'd go off script and use the characters he knew so well to explain how he was feeling.

OWEN SUSKIND: [singing] Under the sea!

ROBERT: And as we were thinking about all this and asking ourselves, you know, well if this works with Disney movies, which are very emotional and clear, what do you -- how do you do this with paper clips or bus schedules? And as the questions kept coming, we ran into inevitably a counter-reaction to Ron's story. And this we didn't expect.

DAVID ROYKO: The story is great. It's a wonderful story. But the fact is most -- I mean, the danger with a book -- with any book, including Life Animated, is that it's going to give the impression to a lot of people that this is the answer. You know, it's kind of like ...

ROBERT: That's psychologist and journalist David Royko. And he warned us that, like ...

DAVID ROYKO: ... with autism ...

ROBERT: We still don't really know much, and we don't have yet a body of established science. And all the anecdotes you're hearing? They're just anecdotes.

DAVID ROYKO: If you've known one person with autism, you've known one person with autism.

ROBERT: That he says, is really all you can say. And to take one person's experience and generalize on it? It's a mistake. A case in point, his son Ben.

DAVID ROYKO: Ben is turning 21 years old today.

JAD: Oh, my God! Happy birthday to him.

DAVID ROYKO: Thanks. And you know, Ben is never going to be able to live independently. He's never going to have what anyone considered -- would consider a full and normal life.

JAD: Ben has severe autism and is now living in an assisted living facility. He was diagnosed around the same age as Owen. Same basic symptoms.

DAVID ROYKO: Lack of eye contact.

JAD: Sudden loss of speech.

DAVID ROYKO: Fascination with spinning wheels, with ceiling fans, the whole -- the whole package.

JAD: Dave says he and his wife tried every therapy they could afford, and a whole lot they couldn't. But Ben never had any of those big breakthroughs. Instead, even as a teenager ...

DAVID ROYKO: He would hit and he would scratch and he would bite and he would punch and he would kick. Honestly, I was always afraid when Karen and I would end up having to go to the emergency room for some reason that, you know, if they saw her arms that they would arrest me, because they would think I was some horribly abusive person. Because her arms were nothing -- they were covered with -- with scabs and scars and scars on scars, and on top of that, you know, there'd be the crap.

JAD: Like -- like [expletive]?

DAVID ROYKO: Like [expletive] in his pants. Yeah I mean, he's -- he was not -- well, you know, I hate to say it, but here we are on his 21st birthday and he's still not 100% reliable when it comes to toileting.

JAD: And honestly, the reason we ended up calling Dave is because he wrote a review of Ron's book where he said basically, it's a great book, but it's just one more story of a triumphant, happy ending. And that is not the norm.

DAVID ROYKO: For many, many people who experience autism, you don't have happy endings. I mean, that's -- that's the sad facts for many of these families. And we're not expecting in our life a happy ending for Ben.

RAUN KAUFMAN: People seem to believe that -- that it's dangerous for parents to have too much hope, because what if they really think it's possible for their child to progress a huge amount or recover, and then their child doesn't? We have the other concern.

ROBERT: That's Raun Kaufman of the Autism Treatment Center of America.

RAUN KAUFMAN: We find that we're not afraid of so-called false hope. We're more concerned about false pessimism.

[CLIP OPRAH SHOW]

ROBERT: And here's why he says that. In 1981, Raun's dad Barry Kaufman, he sits down on a local TV show with a very young Oprah Winfrey, and he describes his experience.

BARRY KAUFMAN: Okay, we had a child who was diagnosed as incurably ill or hopelessly ill, something called autism.

ROBERT: He tells how at a really young age, a year-and-a-half old, his son began to regress and began to flap hands, lose eye contact, rock back and forth. And then one day, he his wife decided, "You know what? We're going to just sit down on the bathroom floor right next to him, and we're going to rock back and forth just like him." And he explains that they did this over and over and over, hour after hour, until one day his son turned his head ...

BARRY KAUFMAN: ... and he actually looked at us. It took 900 hours before he ever gave us eye contact on his own. When he looked at us, we cheered. We cried. 'Cause that was really big for us. And so somebody else might look at us and say, "You're crazy." But we're not. We just got this little boy. It took us 900 friggin' hours, but he just looked at us for three seconds. My God!

[CLIP NARRATOR: "And he went from that to a little boy now who functions on a near-genius level. Who talks, is communicative, is loving, and is embracing."]

ROBERT: And that little boy is Raun.

RAUN KAUFMAN: For me, it just felt like my mother was loving me and enjoying me and playing with me.

ROBERT: Nowadays in interviews, Raun seems to say that maybe his parents cured him of autism.

RAUN KAUFMAN: I -- I actually have never used the word cure. I don't use that in my lectures, YouTube videos. No one's ever actually heard me say that. What I do say is "full recovery," which is essentially the same thing.

ROBERT: Whatever you call it, armed with his heroic story Raun and his dad Barry now run an autism treatment program that they call Sonrise. S-O-N-rise.

RAUN KAUFMAN: People come here from all around the world and they'll say, "My child is severely autistic." And I will smile and I'll put out my hand and I'll shake their hand, and I'll say, "I am so excited for you! Wow, you are so blessed!" And you know what they'll start to do? They'll cry. And I'll say, "Why are you crying?" "No one ever said that to me."

JAD: You really say that to parents with a severely, like -- severely autistic kids? Severely.

RAUN KAUFMAN: I say it all over the world.

DAVID ROYKO: [laughs] You know, last year there was a woman named Kelly Stapleton who was a fairly prominent autism blogger. And I got to know Kelly a bit.

JAD: She has a daughter with autism. And one day when her daughter was 14 ...

DAVID ROYKO: She locked herself in a van with a couple charcoal burners and -- and tried to commit suicide with her autistic daughter. You see that in the world of autism more than -- I can't think of any other place you see it.

JAD: Dave believes that one of the reasons you see so many suicides in this community. And by the way, there's a huge debate about this on the web. But he believes that one of the reasons you see it so much, is that all these success stories seem to say to parents like him that as hard as it can be -- and it can be really, really hard -- you're not trying hard enough.

DAVID ROYKO: It's depressing. You know, a new bumper sticker, you know, that's shown up that autism is awesome. And awesome's spelled like a-u-s-ome, like similar to autism. No, autism, it destroys lives, is what it does in our definition of it.

JAD: And that's one of the things that makes it very, very confusing for people outside the community to describe what's going on. Because you now have this situation where obviously autism is a spectrum, and so you have all of these different kids described by the same word. Making things even more confusing ...

TEMPLE GRANDIN: Do you take a child one when they're two or three ...

JAD: That's Temple Grandin again.

TEMPLE GRANDIN: You can have two kids that look real severe. And I looked real severe when I was -- when I was three. Real, real severe. And then you work on these kids. Lots of one-on-one therapy. And one kid, you kind of pull them out of it, and the other one you're not able to pull them out of it, and they both look the same at age three.

JAD: So if a lot of these kids start out with the same set of symptoms, but they end up in vastly different places, no one knows why, then as a parent, you really have no idea what is going to happen. Or how much you can dare to hope.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Notions of what could be up the road or what should be now, if they pop into my head, which is rare. I dismiss them. I have absolutely no idea, because we have been down so many roads that were disappointing.

NATHAN SANCHEZ: Hey guys, this is Nathan Sanchez calling from Santa Clara, California. Radiolab is supported in part by the National Science Foundation, and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, enhancing public understanding of science and technology in the modern world. More information about Sloan at www.sloan.org. Thanks, guys.

ROBERT: I'm Robert Krulwich.

JAD: This is Radiolab. And to continue with the story. After Owen's Disney basement sessions had really taken off, and the Disney therapy as it were seemed to be working, and Owen was getting better and better and better.

ROBERT: Things took a turn, and -- and not for the good.

JAD: Remind me how old he is at this point?

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Ninth grade. It was 10th grade.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: 10th grade.

RON SUSKIND: That's right. That's right.

JAD: And what -- what happened?

RON SUSKIND: We didn't know what was happening. You know, we just saw over the months that Owen was really out of sorts.

JAD: He got quiet, kind of withdrawn. Basically stopped doing Disney. Over this period he's losing a lot of weight.

RON SUSKIND: He's not sleeping.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: The three of us were scratching our heads, saying what is going on with Owen? He is really moving into a bad place. I mean, I was actually worried that he was becoming schizophrenic.

WALTER SUSKIND: Oh, yeah. I still think about that whole scenario all the time. 'Cause we knew something was wrong with Owen, and we couldn't get it out of him.

ROBERT: This is Owen's older brother Walt again. And he says when he'd pick up Owen from school ...

WALTER SUSKIND: He was just a shell of himself. You'd talk to him -- I'd pick him up and he would talk to himself in the car, and he'd be, "No!" Or, you know, "It's not true!" Or something under his breath.

RON SUSKIND: At one point I overhear him in a kind of conversation with Phil, the sidekick of Hercules in that movie Hercules. Danny DeVito does the voice. And Phil is you know, "Listen kid, you can take him. You know, you gotta stand up for yourself!" That kind of thing that Owen was saying. And I didn't -- I didn't know where to fit it in.

ROBERT: Ron says it seemed like Owen was trying to psych himself up for something, so he sat down with Owen on the couch and he grilled him for an hour until eventually Owen told him about his music class at school.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: There are two kids in this class who are ED kids, emotionally disturbed kids, so they're not -- they're not on the autistic spectrum, and socially they're very on target. And they basically torment and terrorize him for six months of that school year, unbeknownst to us and unbeknownst to the school.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: They sat on either side of him and basically said, you know, "We're gonna kill you. We're gonna kill your parents."

OWEN SUSKIND: And those two bullies lied and bullied me badly.

RON SUSKIND: I mean, right then you were in a very bad spot, and you couldn't tell me or mom or anyone.

RON SUSKIND: Because what happened? The bullies said what?

OWEN SUSKIND: Burn your house down.

OWEN SUSKIND: If you tell.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: And Owen was so literal, as are so many autistic kids, he believed that they literally meant they were gonna come and burn his house down.

RON SUSKIND: Then there's an extraordinary moment in the middle of this where Walter picks him up, and Owen starts to think -- go through a calculus. The bullies said if you tell your parents about what we said, we'll burn your house down, but they said nothing about your brother.

RON SUSKIND: And so he's -- he sees, like, an opening.

JAD: And so did you tell him?

OWEN SUSKIND: No, I didn't. No, I didn't. I ...

OWEN SUSKIND: Because I'm afraid he would beat them up. I didn't want that.

RON SUSKIND: Walt at this point, you know, is a football player. And you know, he looks like Hercules to Owen. And Owen later describes to us this thinking that if he tells Walter, that Walter will hurt the kid and maybe kill the kid. And in Disney, none of the heroes actually kill any of the villains.

RON SUSKIND: Walter was the hero. You were afraid he was going to do what?

OWEN SUSKIND: Kill. But it's wrong.

JAD: Did you ever talk to Walt about it?

OWEN SUSKIND: A little bit later, after it happened.

WALTER SUSKIND: I just remember finding out, and it was like a combination of, like, rage and helplessness. That in a -- I literally just thought of what I would have done to that kid if I'd -- if Owen had told me. I really wanted to kill that kid. I mean I'm, you know, I'm his protector.

RON SUSKIND: In a way, you're -- you were kind of -- Walter was worried about protecting you in that time.

RON SUSKIND: In a way, it was ...

RON SUSKIND: That was doing what?

OWEN SUSKIND: Protecting myself.

RON SUSKIND: And who else?

OWEN SUSKIND: And my brother.

RON SUSKIND: Right. And Walt.

RON SUSKIND: You were protecting Walter.

JAD: So here you had this moment where it looked like Owen was sliding backwards. But according to Ron, it might have actually been his greatest leap forward, his most profound moment of empathy.

ROBERT: These days Owen is 23. Just turned 23 a few months ago.

RON SUSKIND: And are you in love right now?

OWEN SUSKIND: Yes, I am. With the girl of my dreams, Emily. She and I graduated from Riverview last month.

CORNELIA SUSKIND: This has been a three-year program called Getting Ready for the Outside World.

JAD: And so he'll be graduating from the -- from the entire program?

CORNELIA SUSKIND: Yep, yep. And off on his own.

OWEN SUSKIND: And now me her and our other two friends John and Julie who also go to school, are all going to move and live at LIFE in Hyannis.

RON SUSKIND: And what is LIFE?

OWEN SUSKIND: Living Independently Forever.

RON SUSKIND: And what is it? What kind -- describe it.

OWEN SUSKIND: An adult independent living program.

ROBERT: As we were talking, it was hard not to wonder how independent will Owen be. Because that's the question that's in front of the Suskind's now, especially Walt.

WALTER SUSKIND: I think what scares me sometimes is kind of just having to go it alone in a lot of ways, and at the same time just being there for -- sorry. There's some daunting things ahead and I'm, you know, I'll just have to be ready to take these things on, kind of.

ROBERT: No wonder you don't like birthdays.

JAD: That makes sense. Makes perfect sense.

RON SUSKIND: Well, it's a tough one. I mean, Walter's like -- you know, he said to me at one point, he's like, "Is it always gonna be Disney? I mean, forever?" And I'm like, "I don't know, Walt."

CORNELIA SUSKIND: But we talk -- we talked to him about, you know, about everything. About, you know, our will, and who will be Owen's -- you know, how he figures into everything.

WALTER SUSKIND: All the efforts of what we're trying to do and have been doing for all this time is to -- one of our favorite movies is the Jungle Book, because Mowgli's -- it's his quest with his animal sidekicks to get him to the man village. What we have been doing all this time and what we're still doing and we do every day, is to bring Owen closer and closer to that man village that we all inhabit. There's so much hope in that, and as he progresses you feel so good about it. But at the same time, that's not to say he'll ever totally get there.

WALTER SUSKIND: As hard as we might try, we -- we may not get him there. But that doesn't mean you -- you leave him on the path. You stay with him on the path. Even if it's a never-ending path.

ROBERT: Thanks to Ron Suskind, Cornelia Suskind, Walt Suskind, Owen Suskind, the whole Suskind family. And Mr. Suskind's book -- Ron's book, is called Life Animated.

JAD: Thanks also to Jonathan Freeman, Elaine Hall, Steve Silverman, Pamela Deedelvore, and Kelsey Padgett.

ROBERT: And sincere thanks also to Gil Tippy and Tina McCourt at the Rebecca School, and to the whole staff at that school. They're all heroes in my mind here. So there you go.

JAD: There you go. I'm Jad Abumrad.

ROBERT: I'm Robert Krulwich.

JAD: Thanks for listening.

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RADIOLAB INTRO] RON SUSKIND: The word hit us. Like you're hit with a -- with a bullet. And we're like, "That cannot be our -- that cannot be our son." JAD ABUMRAD: I'm Jad Abumrad. ROBERT KRULWICH: I'm Robert Krulwich. JAD: This is Radiolab. And our story today begins with a boy.

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5/21 - Excellent resource shared by one of our mom's! 

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5/21 - Excellent resource shared by one of our mom's! 

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Understanding Autism

This section depicts the range, diversity and prevalence of ASD and the suspected causes and current means of diagnosis.

Stressing that no two children with ASD have the same combination of behaviors, it presents an array of "voices from the spectrum" and "parent perspectives" as well as cultural debates on issues such as neurodiversity and vaccines. This section also includes an interactive database of how autism is currently being represented in popular media, which allows users to add new comments or texts.

Treating Autism

This section provides an overview of the different approaches to treatment and a guide for parents on how to judge their effectiveness for their own child.

It also presents in-depth documentation of each of the main treatment approaches, which an AHRQ comparative-effectiveness study found to be therapeutic. This in-depth documentation includes actual footage of the therapy sessions with commentary by the researchers, therapists and parents.

Living with Autism

This section deals with education, advocacy and resources for children, adolescents and young adults on the spectrum.

Presenting compelling family portraits from different ethnic communities, it shows the stress and anxiety many face when coping with autism and emphasizes specific problems like bullying, controversies around facilitated communication, and difficult transitions to adulthood and independence.

Why Video?

The Many Uses of Video

Ricki Robinson

Ricki Robinson

Video allows incremental progress

Ricki Robinson

Rick Solomon

Creative Team

Mark Harris

Marsha Kinder

Scott Mahoy

Shelbi Jay

Laura Cechanowicz

Ioana Uricaru

David Aristizabal

Gisele Ragusa

Video Production Credits

Directors:&nbsp Daniel Bydlowski, Laura Cechanowicz, Howard Duy Vu, Brian Golden Davis, Nando Grancelli, Mark Jonathan Harris, Marsha Kinder, Scott Mahoy, Stephan McFadyen, Elinor Pierce, Alex Plank, Alex Rotaru, Cedar Sherbert, Amy Teague, David J. Turner, Lori Webster, Clay Westervelt, Yoyo Yao,

Videographers:&nbsp David Aristizabal, Chris Burgon, Daniel Bydlowski, Laura Cechanowicz, Yeming Chen, Andrew Frelich, Brian Golden Davis, Zach Haskell, Andrew Jeric, Charles Leisenering, Scott Mahoy, Alejandro Martinez, Arlene Nelson, Angelo Pacifici, Erin Palmquist, Alexandre Peralta, Alex Rotaru, David J. Turner, David Woo, Andrew Watson, Yoyo Yao

Sound:&nbsp Ehssan Barkeshli, Ian Becker, Brian Bibbo, Mel Blanchard, Sean Blanche, Donato Bragagnolo, Rhett DuPont, Justin Taylor Gerritsen, Miranda Graner, Jeremiah Hammerling, Shelbi Jay, Johnny Karlson, Tim Katz, Charles Leisenring, Scott Mahoy, David Paul Meyer, Shallin Partap Singh, Alexandrew Peralta, Alex Rotaru, Addison Teague, Ioana Uricaru, Joel Zimmerman

Editors:&nbsp Rachel Antell, Josie Azzam, Mark Belco, Daniel Bydlowski, Melanie D'Andrea, Michelle Felner, Brian Golden Davis, Nando Grancelli, Daniel Gross, Yu Gu, Miguel Jiron, Arthur Masa, Scott Mahoy, Sekahng Oh, Alex Peralta, Daniel Rabins, David J. Turner, Ioana Uricaru, Lori Webster, Jason Wong, Yoyo Yao

Animators:&nbsp David Aristizabal, Laura Cechanowicz, Debra Isaac, Shelbi Jay, Miguel Jiron, Scott Mahoy, Louis Morton, Hannah Strong, Spiral Galaxy Studios, with additional animation from "A Tale of Two MAO Genes," co-produced by Jean Chen Shih and Marsha Kinder at The Labyrinth Project

Research:&nbsp Laura Cechanowicz, Shelbi Jay, Scott Mahoy

Production Assistants:&nbsp Naman Barman, Melanie D'Andrea, Bryan Cubias

Writers:&nbspMark Jonathan Harris, Marsha Kinder, Scott Mahoy

Color Correction:&nbsp David Aristizabal, Scott Mahoy

V.O. Narrators:&nbsp Cedric Berry, Marsha Kinder

Original Music:&nbsp Jongnic Bontemps, Justin Taylor Gerritsen, Axel Herrera, Tony Morales, Lee Sanders, David J. Turner

Transcriptions:&nbsp Shelbi Jay, Elizabeth Butz

Spanish Translations:&nbsp David Aristizabal, Bryan Cubias, Melanie D'Andrea

Chinese Translations:&nbsp Dr. Danny Yu, Cheng Fang, Dingwen Mei, Jingjue Zhoe, Fei Yu, Junteng Wang, Yuzhe Ying and Educational Services Exchange with China (ESEC)

Special Thanks to:&nbsp Steve Moldin, Jerilyn Clayton, Carolyn Tanner, Joanna Siegel, Doug Wellman, Craig T. McNelley, Hector Trujillo

Special Thanks to:&nbsp Steve Moldin, Jerilyn Clayton, Carolyn Tanner, Joanna Siegel, Doug Wellman, Craig T. McNelley, Hector Trujillo

Board of Advisors

Consultants

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This section depicts the range, diversity and prevalence of ASD and the suspected causes and current means of diagnosis. Stressing that no two children with ASD have the same combination of behaviors, it presents an array of "voices from the spectrum" and "parent perspectives" as well as cultural debates on issues such as neurodiversity and vaccines.

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The incredible 5 point scale is a self regulation strategy that provides a visual representation of social behaviors, emotions, and abstract ideas.
Identify a behavior, break it down into concrete parts, and assign each part a color or number. Work with your child or individual with autism to label each part!

Examples and helpful links below :)
https://autismclassroomresources.com/the-incredible-5-point-scale-review-and/
https://www.5pointscale.com/
https://www.ocali.org/project/resource_gallery_of_interventions/page/5_point_scale

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We had a big group last night!  Lots of information shared especially about self- regulation and helping our kids identify sensory strategies for coping. If you can work with your child to identify the triggers that lead up to the breakdown, he/she may be able to engage in the strategies at level 1 or 2 to prevent them from ever reaching a level 5. The Incredible 5 Point Scale is a helpful tool and can be used for a host of different situations and ages.  We will be posting helpful links here shortly.

We also talked more about social stories and it's important to remember that you read the stories during calm times and talk about the situation when both the child and parent are calm. (see social story column of this padlet and Carol Gray recordings for more info on social stories!)

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We need your help! Scroll down for more info!

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We need your help! Scroll down for more info!

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Have you been successful in potty training your child with developmental delays?  Want to help others by sharing the strategies and tips that helped you?  Join the panel! Complete this form and we'll be in touch!

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Have you been successful in potty training your child with developmental delays?  Want to help others by sharing the strategies and tips that helped you?  Join the panel! Complete this form and we'll be in touch!

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Thank you, PPPPP! :)

This will be a learning experience for everyone involved! In order to make this work we need a host of parents who are willing to share the tips and strategies they used to potty train their child with developmental delays. We know it takes consistency and a whole lot of patience and creativity and you are the actual experts! Every child is different but we feel that for those parents struggling, just hearing from successful parents might be the inspiration they need to move forward. Hearing your honesty about the struggles as well as the triumphs we think will be really helpful. Please complete the following form to give us a very brief sampling of what kinds of tips you'd be sharing. We will have a behavior specialist on hand to field difficult questions and issues that may arise. So your role would simply be to share your potty story and for that we are very grateful!

Thanks so much for considering and we will be in touch!

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Potential Parent Potty Panel Participant :)

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Thank you, PPPPP! :) This will be a learning experience for everyone involved! In order to make this work we need a host of parents who are willing to share the tips and strategies they used to potty train their child with developmental delays.

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Making Time for Ourselves:

"Take the time no one else wants" Maybe learn to be a morning person

Finding even a small chunk of time to do what brings you joy can have a big impact - it doesn't have to be a long time

Give clear boundaries and repeat them often - "When I walk in the door, I need 10 minutes to myself..."

Tips for clearing clutter:

Pick the "lowest lying fruit" - get rid of the easiest and obvious stuff first - will build momentum

Clutter = put off decision making; decide to decide; When you are coming to your clutter, later is now

Start with a small area that has a beginning and an end (clean out a single drawer or under the bathroom sink)

purging is a marathon not a sprint

Things to think about when creating a work space for your child to work at home:

What is going to distract them? clear distractions or move their space from in front of windows etc.

Help them to understand this is there space to work (visuals, social story)"This is for you."

Managing Change:

Transitions are an opportunity to create greater order

But too much change at once can be overwhelming

Give yourself permission to take things slow

Have compassion for yourself

Tackling things you don't feel like doing:

Eat the elephant one bite at a time, but know it is not going to taste good (Do it anyway.  Make the time.)

Listen to music, podcasts or audio books while working on an area.

Set a limit on the amount of time you will spend on it

Especially during this time of change and uncertainty, look at your clutter in new ways.  What can be repurposed?  Your clutter can be useful!

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A mom shared that her son was still getting his self advocacy training one-on-one online through DORS. Not familiar with DORS? Check out their offerings. High school students with documented disabilities are eligible for pre-employment services.

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​If you are looking for help to make the transition from high school to jobs, careers, higher education or job training you have come to the right place!

DORS transition specialists help students with disabilities prepare for the future. A DORS transition specialist may be able to:

Arrange for services and testing that will identify skills and abilities.

Provide information about assistive technology. These are products and services that help with communication, daily living activities and mobility.

Coordinate Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) that may include summer employment and internships with local employers.

Refer you to programs at the Workforce & Technology Center that help students with disabilities make the transition from school to work or higher education.

Support college or technical school training related to your employment goal.

Help you find a job that matches your strengths and interests.

QUESTIONS? Contact:

Jill Pierce
Transition Specialist
Jill.Pierce@maryland.gov
410-554-9109

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​If you are looking for help to make the transition from high school to jobs, careers, higher education or job training you have come to the right place! DORS transition specialists help students with disabilities prepare for the future. A DORS transition specialist may be able to: Arrange for services and testing that will identify skills and abilities.

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If you have registered, please complete this form prior to the group meeting.

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advice from a wise mom

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a mom suggested a topic for help creating a routine for caregivers/ tips on time management. If interested or have tips that help you, comment below!

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Recommended during group:
the book, Why We Can't Sleep by Ada Calhoun.
Here's an interview:
http://www.oprah.com/sp/new-midlife-crisis.html

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Thanks, George, for reminding us how important hope is. This is a good article that explains why hope helps and the research behind it.

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Hope is broadly defined as an emotional state that promotes the belief in a positive outcome. Clearly we need hope, but even as we embrace it we often wonder - Does hope really make a difference? Is it myth, fiction, collective denial?

In my clinical experience with people over many years, hope seems to be an important ingredient in the equation of life, adversity, fear, and the courage to keep on moving - even on a journey of fear and illness with no clear beginning or end.
Scientific Evidence
There is actually increasing scientific evidence that hope changes us psychologically and physiologically - that it makes a difference.
The Psychology of Hope
In his book, The Psychology of Hope, You Can Get There from Here, Charles Synder operationalizes the definition of hope as "The sum of the mental willpower and the waypower that you have for your goals."

A study used the Synder Hope Scale to assess hope in a group of 146 veterans diagnosed with PTSD who were enrolled in a 6-week residential cognitive processing treatment program. The Hope Scale assessed the sense of agency i.e. " I can pursue my goals" and the belief in pathways i.e. "There are a lot of ways around my problem." When a vet had the sense that he/she could do it and could find pathways there was more hope, more movement and as a result - there was reduced PTSD and depression.

As we face this Corona Virus Epidemic, having a sense of agency that allows you to feel you can made social-distancing work, that you can work from home while children need your time, that you can manage to be alone with a new project or book - you will actually foster the hope that you can somehow get through this unimaginable time.

Hope and believing you can find a way are bidirectional- they fuel each other.

From Psychology to Economy -The Gift of Hope
Nicolas Kristoff, recently described a randomized study involving 21,000 people in six countries over three years. The study recognized that people trapped in a cycle of poverty suffer a poverty of despair, low self-esteem and hopelessness. As such, they don't believe they can change their lives through their own activities.

The power of the study is the surprising finding that when people are given a gift of hope- be it a goat or bees, they experience a boost of self-esteem and life circumstances that is self-fulfilling and continues even after the program ends. According to Kristoff, the researchers described it as " the power of hope."
The Physiology of Hope
In his book, The Anatomy of Hope, Jerome Groopman asks and answers the question of whether there is a biological mechanism whereby the feeling of hope can contribute to clinical recovery.

Drawing upon his experience as an oncologist, Groopman says "To hope under the most extreme circumstances is an act of defiance that...permits a person to live his life on his own terms."

Citing research findings from placebo studies in varying medical areas, Groopman illuminates the way in which belief and expectation, cardinal components of hope, can block pain by releasing the brain's endorphin and enkephalins - the body's own version of morphine.

Groopman reminds us that it often takes only a small stirring of possibility to confront despair and elicit the power of hope.

How Can We Hold On To Hope?
An important factor that is vital to holding on to hope is the power of connection. In this time of the Corona Virus it could be the call we make to a friend, the cookies a Dad makes for his kids, the FaceTime with a friend or colleague, the letter to grandma that stirs the feelings of hope

Holocaust Survivor, Elie Wiesel tells us, "...Just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings."

Hope does not dispel all pain, take away all sorrow, cure all illness; but it gives us the courage to keep working, praying, connecting and believing that we will get through this pandemic.
It is part of the human spirit to endure and give a miracle a chance.- Jerome Groopman
Listen in to one of many podcasts on Psych Up Live - Here is the list on Itunes - Please Enjoy -Suzanne

The Role of Hope As We Fight Corona Virus Together

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The Role of Hope As We Fight Corona Virus Together

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Reflections of the importance of hope are found in religion, philosophy, literature and current inspirational thinking. God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us in the dreariest and most dreaded moments can see a possibility of hope. ~Maya...

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This guide, created by adults with autism, includes tips for managing mental health, activities to stay busy, creating a routine, socializing remotely, working from home, and more.

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This guide, created by adults with autism, includes tips for managing mental health, activities to stay busy, creating a routine, socializing remotely, working from home, and more.

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A good resource that explains the Coronavirus

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A good resource that explains the Coronavirus

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Thanks for sharing, Zosia!

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Worksheets for Kids

Take the work and expense out of doing school at home with our VAST collection of free printable worksheets. We have over 1 million pages of free worksheets plus lots of hands-on, educational kids activites, printable games, and more to make learning FUN! You will find educational printables for all ages from toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, junior high, and more! 123homeschool4me has the BEST collection of free worksheets. Simply find the worksheets for kids you like and print it for FREE!

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FREE Printable Educational Worksheets for Kids

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LOTS of FREE Printable worksheets for kids to practice math, literacy, science, & history with kids of all ages from 123Homeschool4Me.

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Resources for parents, teachers and anyone who works with children. We've got thousands of fun kids activities like kids crafts, worksheets, coloring pages, printable mazes, dot to dot, hidden pictures and more.

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Kids Crafts, Kids Activities, Worksheets, Coloring Pages and More | All Kids Network

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Kids crafts, free worksheets, kids activities, coloring pages, printable mazes and much more at AllKidsNetwork.com. Lots of crafts for kids plus hundreds of printable worksheets, over 3,000 coloring pages, printable mazes, dot to dot, hidden pictures and tons of activities for kids.

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BrainPlay Poll

Have you ever found a four-leaf clover?

Tell Me How

How can I have fun on a rainy day?

Show Answer

How can I have fun on a rainy day?

There are lots of ways to have fun when it's raining outside. You could create some art or bake something with a parent. Or escape to a new world with a good book. You could build your own cozy reading fort, turn out the lights, and read with a flashlight. Or you could try balloon tennis. Attach a paper plate to a paint stick or ruler to make your tennis racket. Blow up a balloon and let the games begin!

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The place for children of all ages to play games and discover new jokes, surveys, answers to science questions, and fun crafts and recipes from Highlights.

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Fitness made simple with home workouts that fit your life. Whether you’re an absolute beginner, intermediate, or advanced, Sworkit makes it simple to get in shape and stay in shape.

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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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Step 01

Image mosaics are captured with the left and right Navcam and Mastcam.

Step 02

The two mosaics are then combined together to create a stereo match.

Step 03

Using the data from the stereo match scientists are able to extract 3D mapping data.

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Step 01 Image mosaics are captured with the left and right Navcam and Mastcam. Step 02 The two mosaics are then combined together to create a stereo match. Step 03 Using the data from the stereo match scientists are able to extract 3D mapping data.

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Virtual field trip to Yellowstone National Park!

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Virtual field trip to Yellowstone National Park!

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Ready to explore Yellowstone? You don't have to wait for your trip out here. You can start exploring now by virtually touring some of the main attractions around the park. Included with each tour is additional information about visiting in person.

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Virtual Tours - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Ready to explore Yellowstone? You don't have to wait for your trip out here. You can start exploring now by virtually touring some of the main attractions around the park. Included with each tour is additional information about visiting in person.

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Virtual field trip to the San Diego zoo!

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Virtual field trip to the San Diego zoo!

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music and movement activities

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Hundreds of activities for autistic children.

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Hundreds of activities for autistic children.

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The AAC field is peppered with amazingly dedicated professionals who come up with creative solutions to the day's latest challenges. In this guest post, SLP Laura Boates, a graduate of McGill University, shares some web-based materials that were created when her school system, Edmonton Catholic School District in Alberta Canada, announced school closures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Laura is incredibly passionate about helping every student find their voice through AAC. She is currently part of a multidisciplinary AAC team for assessment, trial, implementation, and funding of communication devices as well as supporting teachers and families using AAC.

On Sunday, March 15 th, the government of Alberta Canada announced the cancellation of all classes from Kindergarten to Grade 12, as well as the closure of all preschool and licensed childcare centres. However, it's business as usual for staff, so teachers and therapists are working on creatively delivering curriculum and supports.

At Edmonton Catholic School District (ECSD), we are currently supporting over 150 students using AAC devices and our planned March Break AAC parent program needed to be modified so that families could access the content at home, and on-demand.

On Monday morning, our team got to work brainstorming. There are many amazing AAC resources out there already, we just needed a fun and easy way to pull it all together for home practice. So, the ECSD AAC Calendar was born! Each day gives families a strategy, a video, a book and an activity to do at home. Families can start anytime and work through these activities at their own pace.

The ECSD AAC Calendar can be found here.

We'll be posting weeks 2-4 shortly as well as an adaptation for older students.

Here are some of the resources that inspired us:

1. The amazing AAC for Caregivers manual from the Specialized Assistive Technology Centre (ATC) in Singapore. We have used their manual previously as the parent content for our summer and march break AAC camps. We decided to spotlight each strategy for two days to allow for repetition with variety. You can find that manual here.

2. The Saltillo Calendar. Every month they post a video of the featured book being read aloud with symbol support. We wanted our families to see how it looks to read a book with AAC and suggested core words to model. You can see the calendars here.

3. The AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom. We used their 5-minute fillers for the activity of the day, and their core word of the week planners for our Friday resource. I love 5-minute fillers because there is no set-up and they use toys already in the classroom or found at home. You can visit the Core Word Classroom here.

4. Tar Heel Reader has amazing core vocabulary books that you'll see in weeks 2-4. They are super easy to access online from home, so families can read to your child/student at their own pace. Don't forget to check out TarHeel Shared Reader, a new resource and variant of TarHeel Reader that emphasizes shared reading.

5. PrAACtical AAC of course! We've added 1-2 optional articles that families can read if they're looking for additional information on the strategies suggested.

Disclosure: I receive no financial compensation for the ECSD AAC calendar, as it is a free resource. I do track website views, so this article will make my stats look great!

This post was written by Carole Zangari

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PrAACtical Resources: Online AAC Support for Families During School Closures

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The AAC field is peppered with amazingly dedicated professionals who come up with creative solutions to the day's latest challenges. In this guest post, SLP Laura Boates, a graduate of McGill University, shares some web-based materials that were created when her school system, Edmonton Catholic School District in Alberta Canada, announced school closures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

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reading by author Todd Parr

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Topics You Want to Talk About (please add to the list in the comments!)

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Topics You Want to Talk About (please add to the list in the comments!)

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- a group for teens to chat
- social stories
- transition/adult life planning
-food selectivity

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Topic addressed: How do I get my child to sit and do the work

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Topic addressed: How do I get my child to sit and do the work

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- start where your child is; give frequent breaks - take data on how long your child will sit/focus. Then give him/her a break just before that time when they would start getting antsy (Even if they are only working for a brief interval.  You can gradually increase it.) You want the break (the reward) to be for the sitting and the working. If you wait until they get agitated or get up on their own to give them a break, you are rewarding the "getting up" and not the working.

- it is important that they understand the limits of the time and that they will not be sitting there forever.  Usual visuals and timers to give clear beginning and end to activities

- reinforce all behaviors that you want to see continue!  If you can find something reinforcing and then limit access to that reinforcer to only during/after the schoolwork or instruction time, it will be the most powerful and motivating

- give yourself permission to take it at your own pace; understand that this is a difficult time for you all - try not to have unrealistic expectations; we are all doing the best we can; be compassionate with yourself too!

-be creative and use their passions to engage them in the learning material

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Our resident behavior specialist, Joy Johnson, being interviewed by the producers of the children's show, PABLO! Meet Joy on our Behavior call!

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Our resident behavior specialist, Joy Johnson, being interviewed by the producers of the children's show, PABLO! Meet Joy on our Behavior call!

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Bringing autistic voices into the Clinical world! 👩‍⚕️

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- change in routine and structure can cause dis-regulation and an increase in behaviors and sensory needs; try to create routines and structure

- take data; even if you have data from prior to the school closure and think you understand the reason (function) of the behavior, take new data - these are new circumstances and new patterns may emerge
(data sheet below) Don't rely on memory, write down your data

-give frequent breaks

- if sensory seeking behavior causes harm, for example, biting self, you may consider purchasing a "chewy" that will give him/her the same sensory feedback; try to find a replacement for the behavior that is not harmful; have lots of sensory breaks giving them the input they crave

- the key is prevention; identifying the reason for the behavior and making adjustments before the behavior occurs

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Feedback for Teachers about what would be helpful from Parents

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Feedback for Teachers about what would be helpful from Parents

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*As consistent contact and communication is helpful
*More is more-in terms of DIRECTION/GUIDANCE
Parents need and want more direction on how to help their child complete assignments.
LESS IS MORE
*Some families have shared that more direction on how to do one assignment or one lesson is more helpful than flooding them with a ton of links and resources. Video examples of the HOW are very helpful.

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SOCIAL STORY (about the pandemic) FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN 

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SOCIAL STORY (about the pandemic) FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN 

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SOCIAL STORY FOR OLDER CHILDREN by Carol Gray the creator of Social Stories

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SOCIAL STORY FOR OLDER CHILDREN by Carol Gray the creator of Social Stories

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vakiY3hfTNVL2JjTYlEhUK-lERrD3_Mh/view?usp=sharing

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It helps to see patterns in behavior when you write down what happens before, during and after the behavior occurs (called ABC data).  Here is a data collection form shared by Joy Johnson, autism advocate & behavior specialist.

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http://carolgraysocialstories.com/

TIPS for navigating site:

Once you register and/or log in, click on "visit site" at top of screen.

Go to Carol's Club

As you scroll down, be sure to read the description of what's inside each post (below the main heading)

Each heading may contain multiple stories and articles so click "View Post" to see them all

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To write a Social Story is to assume an invitation into the mind of a child, adolescent or adult with autism...

Let's be careful in there.

Welcome to CarolGraySocialStories.com...I am glad you stopped by.

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To write a Social Story is to assume an invitation into the mind of a child, adolescent or adult with autism... Let's be careful in there. Welcome to CarolGraySocialStories.com...I am glad you stopped by.

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What is a Social Story?

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Social Stories are a social learning tool that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages. The people who develop Social Stories are referred to as Authors, and they work on behalf of a child, adolescent, or adult with autism, the Audience.

Authors follow a defined process that begins with gathering information, discovering a topic that 'fits' the Audience, and the development of personalized text and illustration. Most frequently associated with short, simple Stories, there are also Social Articles for use with older or more advanced individuals. The Social Story Definition and ten defining characteristics (The Social Story Criteria) guide the development of every Story and result a patient, respectful, and unassuming quality that is the hallmark of the approach. It is that quality that distinguishes genuine Social Stories from social scripts, skill checklists, or 'social stories' that do not meet the current the definition.

What is a Social Story? presentation

There is only one definition for the term 'Social Story':

A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or concept according to 10 defining criteria. These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, "voice", content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the child, adolescent, or adult with autism.
Additional Social Story Information:
Where did Social Stories come from?
The History of Social Stories

Check your knowledge of Social Stories
The Social Story Quiz and Answers to The Social Story Quiz

Is THIS a Social Story?
It is NOT a Social Story if... An initial screening instrument

How the Social Story Criteria keep pace with experience and research
Social Stories 10.0 - 10.2 Comparison Chart

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What Is A Social Story? - Carol Gray - Social Stories

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Social Stories are a social learning tool that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages. The people who develop Social Stories are referred to as Authors, and they work on behalf of a child, adolescent, or adult with autism, the Audience.

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Carol's 10 Criteria for writing a Social Story

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Carol's 10 Criteria for writing a Social Story

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Did you know you can email Carol directly and she will help you with creating a social story?

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Did you know you can email Carol directly and she will help you with creating a social story?

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takethistocarol@gmail.com

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ClubHouse Projects - Carol Gray - Social Stories

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This content is restricted to subscribers

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Social Story about the pandemic that we went through during the parent group

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Social Story about the pandemic that we went through during the parent group

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More Takeaways From Our Conversation with Carol! Nuggets from both parent and educator sessions!

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More Takeaways From Our Conversation with Carol! Nuggets from both parent and educator sessions!

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Social Stories should always be Positive, Reassuring and Affirming

Teach Social Concepts over Social Skills!!

Make sure they know that home is the safest place they can be right now

Don't use the term "homework" in your stories during the quarantine

Set up a desk or one area in the house for school work to create a routine environment

Ask teacher what their child worked for in school (reinforcers) and try to mimic that at home

If child is having trouble connecting the work at home to "real school" work on a way with the teacher for the teacher to show the student that they physically received the work the student did at home.  (for example, email a picture of the work and ask the teacher to print and hold it up for the student on the video chat) Find ways to make the abstract concrete.

Social stories are beneficial for many populations, not just autism!

A story should be read frequently enough that it’s familiar, but not too frequently that it becomes a chore

A way to make stories less monotonous, once the story is familiar to the child, start leaving phrases blank and allow the child to fill in phrases and sentences

Tips When Writing a Social Story:

Define any ambiguous vocab without insulting the audience

Set the stage for what the story is talking about CONTEXT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT

Use words like “schedule” and “reschedule” vs. cancelled (Our vacation that was scheduled for April will be rescheduled for a date in the future.) These are Carol's favorite words to use in a Social Story.

Adapt the story to your child, you can use them as a character in the story “My name is Jake, I started 2nd grade at (school name) with (teacher name) and I am finishing 2nd grade at home with (teacher name)

It’s important to point out similarities, all of the things that are still the same, such as their teacher’s name, so they know not everything has changed!

Use a Social Story to introduce the importance of hand washing and social distancing right now. For example: “It’s important that Jake doesn’t see his friends right now to protect himself and his friends. This virus is something we can’t see, so we don’t know if someone has it and it can get us sick.”

For frightening and scary topics, repetition and rhythm of phrases in socials stories can be comforting

Social stories, do not include directives “you should wash your hands”, instead, they provide the information necessary and allow the child to make their own decision

Social stories CAN align with IEP goals and vice versa

For younger students- write down all the information you want to relay, and then start to simplify it

Another way to simplify stories for young ones- take an already made story from Carol’s website and just use the first line of each page!

For young children be sure the pictures are recognizable

For older children and adults, use a more advanced vocabulary. Carol calls them “social articles."    Use more detail and of course, NEVER insult the reader

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The Social Story about the actual size of the virus and how we can help!

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The Social Story about the actual size of the virus and how we can help!

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https://carolgraysocialstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-I-Can-Help-1.pdf

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Coffee with Pete! The Evolving Role of Fathers During Covid 19 Facilitator: Pete Roth, ASBC Board Member

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Coffee with Pete! The Evolving Role of Fathers During Covid 19 Facilitator: Pete Roth, ASBC Board Member

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Calling all fathers of children with autism! Join Pete for a casual discussion and connect with other dads over your morning cup of coffee! Every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM!

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coming...check back soon

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One of the things that we talked about last night (4/16) was masking.  Here is something one of the group members shared that helps to explain. 

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One of the things that we talked about last night (4/16) was masking.  Here is something one of the group members shared that helps to explain. 

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BragH0sAQyF/?igshid=1lxpaud3r3enk

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After our behavior discussion, talk turned to self care and one mom shared how small fitness challenges with a friend are helping to keep her going. They use EXHIT on youtube but any work out with a friend will do. Another mom shared how journaling was helping her to refocus and reset.

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Damon joined us last night and since it is Autism Awareness month he wanted to share some movies that either directly or indirectly deal with autism. Thanks, Damon!

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Damon joined us last night and since it is Autism Awareness month he wanted to share some movies that either directly or indirectly deal with autism. Thanks, Damon!

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1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
2. Forrest Gump
3. Mercury Rising
4. Fly Away
5. What's Eating Gilbert Grape
6. A Brilliant Young Mind
7. Night Lights
8. The Boy Who Could Fly
9. The Wizard
10. Rain Man
11. The Accountant
12. Temple Grandin
13. Mozart and the Whale
14. Jane Wants a Boyfriend
15. Edward Scissorhands
16. Dear John
17. Jack of the Red Hearts
18. Please Stand By
19. The Black Balloon
20. The Odd Way Home
21. Ocean Heaven
22. Adam
23. Molly
24. I Am Sam
25. Mary and Max
26. Asperger's Are Us
27. The Other Sister
28. A Mile in His Shoes
29. Little Man Tate
30. Miracle Run
31. Joyful Noise
32. The Darkness
33.   The Power Rangers Movie 2017