Join our worldwide group of family members and educators dedicated to meeting the needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This site will give you valuable information, provide an opportunity to get your questions answered and much, much more.

Who is this site for? Parents, family members, educators, Speech Pathologists, therapists and others who work to support the learning and living needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and related learning challenges.

Webinar: Discovering the Power of Video for Teaching Social Skill Success - Teaching Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders & Related Learning Needs Linda Hodgdon Successfully connecting with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders is the key to helping them learn. And current research is demonstrating the power of using video as a teaching tool for individuals with autism. We're discovering that students and adults with autism can learn many skills from viewing video. The reality is that most of us don't have a lot of experience using video as a teaching medium. That means exploring "tech" . . . keep reading More

Exploring the Use of Weighted Clothing and Blankets for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Linda Hodgdon and Karen Elandt Linda Hodgdon interviews Occupational Therapist, Karen Elandt, about how and why to use weighted vests, snakes and blankets with students with ASD or sensory needs. . . . keep reading Caity meets Facebook Marianne Bryant Caity has had a Facebook page for at least 3 years now and before that she had a "My Space". At first I was deathly afraid of the idea. I had visions of her sneaking out of the house to meet a "friend" in the middle of the night at the corner. She wasn't allowed to get . . . keep reading Use Picture Sequences to Help Develop Your Child's Play Griffen Simone Some children need our help to learn to play with more complex toys, develop their play skills, or participate in more complex activities. We can help our children to do this by providing step-by-step pictures of what they need to do, as the pictures break difficult tasks into more manageable steps for your . . . keep reading 3 habilidades de comunicación esenciales para los estudiantes con trastorno del espectro autista. Linda Hodgdon Linda Hodgdon, es la famosa autora del bestseller VISUAL STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING COMMUNICATION (Estrategias visuales para mejorar la comunicación), uno de los libros más recomendados en el área del autismo . . . keep reading Mistakes People Make in the Special Education Process. Part 2 - Mistakes Made by School Districts Robert Crabtree This article focuses on mistakes commonly made by school districts. A general theme ran through the comments I received from attorneys, advocates and parents while I prepared this article: anything a school system does that undermines parents' trust creates a climate that is costly in dollars, time, peace of mind and the quality and success of services given to the child. . . . keep reading Use Pictures to Help Extend Your Child's Communication Simone Griffin Some children are able to say some words and ask for basic things but have difficulties putting longer sentences together. By using picture supports . . . keep reading Autism Tips: Who is Causing the Behavior Problem? Linda Hodgdon The topic in this video is when we focus on the individual student whose behavior is not acceptable. We pay attention to what he or she does that is inappropriate. We notice what he does or what he does not do. In honest assessment . . . keep reading Tony and Kyle This is a video about Tony and his mentor, Kyle. Tony has Asperger's syndrome and when his mother asked for a mentor Volunteers in Service stepped in to help find one. . . . keep reading Autism Tips: Finding Solutions to Behavior Problems Linda Hodgdon The most critical step in attempting to solve behavior problems is to identify WHY the behavior difficulties exist. Unless you know why a problem is occurring, you will have difficulty finding a good long term solution. Sometimes . . . keep reading Use Picture boards to Help With Choice Making Simone Griffin Picture choice boards are generally a board, or piece of paper, with pictures of the items that are available to your child. The adult encourages the child to look at the pictures and choose from the board . . . keep reading Caity Meets Softened Butter Marianne Bryant Caity loves to eat sweets. There is no way of getting around that fact. She just does. She has now discovered that if she can bake cookies, it opens up a whole new world of eating that involves the spatula, and the mixing bowl. Caity's Dad . . . keep reading Autism Tips: What is Learned Dependency? Linda Hodgdon In this video you will learn that when we teach skills and routines in ways that require our prompting to be a part of the routine, that student will be dependent on our prompting - forever. Students may learn that our prompt is a form of "turn-taking" that becomes integrated into . . . keep reading Autism: Facilitating friendship--or more--with the opposite sex -- PART II Laura Shumaker A few weeks ago, I announced that I've decided to help my 23 year old son, who has autism, cultivate friendships (or more) with the opposite sex. Today, let me back up and describe the incident that inspired me to tackle this gargantuan task. I took Matthew on a weekend trip to Spokane Washington . . . keep reading You Don't Seem Like You Have Asperger's Diagnosed in adulthood with Asperger's Syndrome, in a video recorded in September of 2007, talks about her experience hearing "You don't seem like you have Asperger's" . . . keep reading Provide a Little Help and Then Let Your Chld Join In Simone Griffin Some children with autism might appear disinterested in playing with certain toys or participating in certain activities, but in some situations the actual problem might be that they don't know how to play with a toy or participate in the game. By simply providing a little bit . . . keep reading Autism Tips: Keep a Balanced Perspective Linda Hodgdon When observing children who are demonstrating typical development, it becomes immediately obvious that there is a broad range of what is considered acceptable behavior. In addition, it becomes quite clear that there are some predictable reasons for students not doing . . . keep reading Autism: Facilitating friendship--or more--with the opposite sex Laura Shumaker I've grown tired of telling my son Matthew, who is 23 and has autism, that he'll meet a nice girl someday. I've decided to help him, and started by asking myself three questions: 1) What is the biggest obstacle that prevents Matthew from meeting girls? 2) What is the best way to help him with his socially awkward behavior so that he doesn't scare girls away? 3) Once he meets a girl who agrees to hang out with him, how do I provide supervision? . . . keep reading Communicating to Autistic Children I am an itinerant special ed teacher. One of my most recent experiences with visual strategies was making a breakfast mat for a child, diagnosed as having ADHD, whose breakfast behavior at Head Start, was disturbing the class. . . . keep reading Create Communication Opportunities by Withholding Items Simone Griffin There are many motivating toys that come in multiple parts such as 'Mr. Potato Head', marble runs, train sets and puzzles. Instead of giving your child . . . keep reading Choosing the Right Job for People with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome Temple Grandin, Ph.D. Jobs need to be chosen that make use of the strengths of people with autism or Asperger's syndrome. Both high and low functioning people have very poor short-term working memory, but they often have a better long-term memory than most normal people. I have great . . . keep reading Establishing positive sleep patterns for young children with autism spectrum disorder Marci Wheeler Most parents have had some experience with a child who has difficulty falling asleep, wakes up frequently during the night, and/or only sleeps a few hours each night. Temporary sleep difficulties are an "expected" phase of child development. Ongoing and persistent sleep disturbances can have an adverse effect on the child, parents and other household members. Children with autism spectrum disorders . . . keep reading For Me! Kathleen Deyer Bolduc It is Communion Sunday. Joel, eleven, sits between his father, Wally, and me. As usual, we are sitting in the front pew so that Joel can't kick the pew in front of us or reach forward and grab someone's hair. By trial and error we have found that with Dad to his right, Mom to his left, and empty space to the front, Joel can usually sit through . . . keep reading Autism Experiences My success story is about the many students I have worked with in my role as parent/educational advocate and the significant benefits they have obtained from building visual supports and strategies into their IEPs. On so many occasions when I am working with IEP teams there are lengthy discussions about the student's difficulty with . . . keep reading Create Anticipation by Pausing: "Ready, Steady...." Simone Griffin By using anticipation and suspense (e.g., pausing), when playing with your child, you can create lots of opportunities for them to practice their communication skills. For example, if you pause just before you blow bubbles your child will have . . . keep reading Using Visual Strategies to Communicate I'll share several: 1. Several weeks ago as part of an assessment I was conducting for a student with autism, I interviewed the parents. In the course of the discussion, I described the use of a First-Then Board as it related to difficulties they were having with their son and I provided one for home use. Yesterday, at the IEP, the mother said that this visual support tool was working wonderfully and because it was such a simple tool, she wondered why . . . keep reading