Month: August 2018

Posted in Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down syndrome, Dual Diagnosis Down syndrome and autism, Education and Special Needs

Blog #215~DS-ASD Independent Work Activity Ideas

Posted on by Teresa Unnerstall

Blog #215 DS-ASD Independent Work Activity Ideas

Task bins and binders are a great way to teach academic, vocational and independent living skills.  The sky is the limit when creating activities to develop fine motor skills, letter, number and object recognition, sorting, assembly and sequencing.  My son Nick is 24 years old and has a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism (DS-ASD).  I’ve created many TEEACH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication Handicapped Children) inspired activities for my son.  The TEEACH method is a structured learning environment that is visual based to help cue a student to working independently.

When introducing task bins and binders, begin with one or two at a time.  Create a visual schedule that you can build upon that includes something to work for (a highly preferred reward).

First-Then Visual:

first then work

Once your child or student is successful with the First-Then schedule, begin to increase the time on task and introduce new task bins and binder activities.

Expanded Work Schedule:

working for chart

So, what type of work activities should you include for your child or student?  My first suggestion is to look at their strengths and build around those.  My son, Nick is good at sorting and sequencing.  Over the years in his IEP’s (Individual Education Plan), we have built goals and jobs around this strength.  Secondly, pick activities that the child or student can do with success and minimal prompts.  This will help them stay motivated and be less frustrated.  Finally, once skills are mastered independently, begin to add in new tasks one at a time.  The new tasks should always be paired with the mastered skills, to encourage confidence and minimize frustration.  Note that point prompting and hand-over-hand may be necessary to assist them in the new task.

Examples of Fine Motor Skill Development Activities:

Wooden Beads on a String making a Colorful Toy Necklace                                  Fine motor stringing Nick

fine motor animals             fine motor clips

Puzzles and Matching games can foster academic and speech development:

 

Be sure to include puzzles and activities that your child or student enjoys, whether it’s Thomas the Tank Engine or Disney’s movie Frozen; this will peak their interest in working. 🙂

These binder activities were made by a speech therapist, grouping like sounds together to work on articulation in addition to matching:

matching

Color matching binder activity:

matching pies

Teaching matching and pairing them with holidays and season changes binder activities: 

 

matching fall          matching weather

Teaching emotions matching binder activity:

(Does the child or student respond and understand better to actual photos or icons?  Build the activities around what works best for them)

emotions2             emotion icons

Assembling and sequencing activities can build skill development for future vocational work:

assembly shapes      assembly school supplies    assembly nuts and bolts     Nick packaging door knobs_Habitat_4 (2)

Silverware sorting and rolling could lead to a job in a resturaunt:

silverware sorting     silverware rolling

Currently, my son Nick is working for 30-45 minutes on task bins and binders.  Here’s how I’ve set it up at home:

Task Two Strip     bins 1 and 2     Bins 3 and 4     nick folding washcloths

Depending on how he is feeling, I gauge what to put in each work bin.  On this particular day, he was not moving as swiftly through the tasks; so I only put one in each bin.  However, there are other times when he flies through the work, so I’ll put in a several in each bin.  Bottom line, listen to your child or student, and look for cues if they seem tired or frustrated and ease off on the demands you are placing on them.

School support teachers/case managers, speech, occupational and ABA therapists are great resources to ask for ideas and materials.  There are plenty ideas on Pinterest.  Many of the materials can be bought at dollar or Five Below stores as well as garage sales and resale shops.

Task bins and binders help children, students and adults like my son, Nick to develop academic, vocational and independent living skills.  Be consistent in the delivery with visuals, task and rewards, introducing the work in small increments.  Alternate the activities with easier or personal interests, (EX/ Disney’s Frozen or Thomas the Tank engine puzzles and matching).  New activities and skills may require hand-over-hand assistance and point prompting.  If the child or student becomes distracted, or bored remind them what they are working for by pointing to the reward (which has been pre-selected).  During the work session, listen to signs and cues of distress or frustration.  Offer encouragement (good job, you got it, yay, uh oh-try again) and back off on the amount of work and time spent before behavior escalates to anger.  Choose activities that promote academic, future employment (whether it’s paid or volunteer work), and functional living skills.

Task bins and binder activities done both at home and school,  will help your child or student become confident, more independent and productive in society.  That’s what is in my noggin this week. 🙂

~Teresa 

Follow Nick on Social Media and view videos of Big Guy in action:

Facebook and Pinterest @Down Syndrome With A Slice Of Autism

Instagram @nickdsautism

Twitter @tjunnerstall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Autism, Doctors and Dentists, Down syndrome, Dual Diagnosis Down syndrome and autism, Feeding, Personal Hygiene, Toileting, Resources for Special Needs

Blog #214~ How to Make a Social Story

Posted on by Teresa Unnerstall

Blog #214~How to Make a Social Story

A social story is a visual support that helps individuals understand new events, and reinforces a desired skill, task, or behavior.  They are useful for individuals that have Down syndrome, autism or other intellectual/developmental disabilities.  My son, Nick is 24 years old and has a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism.  Over the years, we’ve used social stories to help him navigate new situations like starting back to school, doctors and dentist appointments, vacations, and independent living skills such as showering and brushing teeth.  Social stories provide a blueprint as to what will occur and what is expected from a behavior standpoint.  Knowing what will happen and what’s expected, will also help to reduce anxiety.

social-stories go to class

As you can see from the illustration above, a social story should use succinct wording and may include visual, depending on the ability and age of the child.  Individuals with autism often understand better with pictures.  Support teachers and speech therapists are great resources for creating social stories for your child.  Google Images and Pinterest both offer many social stories to help you get started.

How to Make a Social Story:

1. Choose a specific event (starting school, a doctor visit, hygiene routine).

2. Break the story down into steps, including who, what, (and why depending on the child’s cognition level).  Use the pronouns “I” or “we”.

3. State the desired behaviors that you want the person reading the story to do for each step.

4. Include visuals either on-line or actual pictures of the setting.

5. Show the desired outcome, this may include a reward or verbal praise like “good job”.

6. Read the story together with the child repeatedly for several weeks before the event or new routine occurs.

hand_washing_routine

social story morning routine

Some individuals may respond better to video modeling.  Making a video of the desired task or behavior can help a child learn a new routine, adjust to a new environment or learn a skill.  As with social stories, the script should be simple in wording and broken down step by step.

Both social stories and video based modeling can help teach new skills, venues and routines.

Here are a few more ideas for using social stories or video modeling to teach your child:

*New job skill

*Fine motor tasks (cutting food, buttoning a shirt, pouring milk, handwriting)

*Gross motor skills (swimming strokes, riding a bike, yoga, sports)

*Grooming and hygiene routines (brush teeth, shower, toileting, dressing)

*Morning, afternoon and bedtime routines

*Household chores

*School Routines ( new school, picture day, assemblies, new curriculum in PE)

*Visits to doctor, dentist, blood draws, haircuts

*Community trips, vacations and special events

*Teaching social skills (playing games with peers, turn taking)

When you know what is going to occur, you feel less anxious.  Fear can lead to avoidance for all of us.  Utilizing social stories can help guide a child to understand what will happen, where and what is expected of their behavior.  It’s a great visual tool for teaching new skills and routines.  As the new school year begins, create a social story that includes actual pictures of the school building, classroom, lunchroom, gym and any other areas your child will be in.  Social stories will help to guide your child to smooth and successful experiences both at home, school and in the community.  That’s what is in my noggin this week.

~Teresa 🙂

Follow Nick:

Facebook and Pinterest @Down Syndrome With A Slice Of Autism

Instagram @nickdsautism

Twitter @tjunnerstall

 

 

Posted in Autism, Down syndrome, Dual Diagnosis Down syndrome and autism, Education and Special Needs, Parenting Special Needs

Blog #213~Back to School Tips for Special Needs Parents

Posted on by Teresa Unnerstall

Blog #213~Back to School Tips for Special Needs Parents

There are a few more areas to consider when sending a child with special needs back to school.  Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities may not be able to understand change and transitions related to school.  The student’s language skills may be limited and they might have difficulty expressing emotions.  This can all lead to anxiety which can result in behavior problems.  You can help your child by planning ahead, getting organized and putting visual supports in place for the new school year. Here are 5 tips to ensure a smooth start to the new school year for your child with special needs.

backtoschool94

5 Back to School Tips for Special Needs Parents:

1. Look over your child’s IEP (Individualized Education Plan) before school begins. The IEP outlines academic and functional goals, supports needed, accommodations and services. Reach out to your child’s case manager/IEP coordinator or Support Teacher, and ask specifically how these will be implemented, and how data will be tracked.  If there is a Behavior Support Plan (BSP), review it, and make sure that all staff members working with your child have as well.  Note anything that might need to be tweaked in both plans, and share with the school staff. Summer and holiday breaks can often lead to regression in behaviors that may need to be addressed.

2. Arrange a visit to the classroom before school begins.  Provide a profile/resume sheet about your child for the staff, containing any information that will help them understand their likes, dislikes, behavior and communication concerns.  Look for visual supports and a schedule posted in the classroom to enhance learning and understanding.  You can request that a social story (pictures or video); be made of the settings that your child will be in at school, (classroom, lunch room, gym, sensory area, etc.).  It also helps to include pictures of support staff and classroom peers (if possible), in the social story. If a child with autism can see it in picture and/or written form, they will better understand it.  Visual supports, social stories and schedules all act as blueprints to help your child navigate their day.  This will help them understand what is expected and occur, leading to reduced anxiety levels for your child.  The support teacher/ case manager can make these for you to read with your child before school starts.

Social Story for Back to School:

 

 

3. During the classroom meet and greet, arrange a mode of communication with your child’s teacher.  In the past I have used both email, texting and a communication notebook which goes back and forth.  My son, Nick has a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism.  His verbal language skills are limited.  The communication notebook gives the child a voice that describes what their day has been like at school, and how they are doing at home.  This is especially helpful, if your child didn’t sleep well, and you can give the teacher a head’s up, to incorporate more breaks in the day if needed.  In addition to a communication notebook, the teacher can create a custom daily report to share with parents.  Depending on the skill level of your child, words or pictures can be used and looked at together at home after school each day:

Daily Report Charts:

4. Start Early! Get school supplies, clothes and shoes shopping done and haircut at least a week before the start of school.  Having a child with special needs often means a lot of angst over haircuts. For Nick the stress of getting a haircut use to affect him for several days afterwards.  Fortunately, now that my son is older the haircuts are much easier.  Maturity and a good set of clippers have made haircuts successful.  I’m super excited to share with you the new hair clippers that are a GAME CHANGER!  The Remington Short Cut Pro Self-Haircut Kit is cordless, smooth, quiet and quick as it takes more hair in a single pass.  It’s the most sensory friendly clippers we’ve ever used on our son.  5 Minutes and no tears!

 

The night before school starts, have your child help lay out the clothes, organize the school supplies and pick out lunch/snack choices.  This will help to set the tone for  a smooth start to the day and this helps especially at six o’clock in the morning. One thing that was NEVER EARLY; the school bus. Make sure you have carved out your schedule accordingly and have something for your child to do while you wait. On average, we’ve waited 30-45 minutes for the bus to get to our house the first few days of school.

5. Consider doing volunteer work at your child’s school. It is fun and you can see firsthand how your child is doing in the classroom.

Here are a few school volunteer ideas:
*Holiday Parties
*Art Awareness Presenter
*Chaperone Field Trips
*Field Days
*Picture Day
*Work book fairs
*Library aid
*Special Olympics Practices
*Assist Case Manager/ Support Teacher- Making copies, laminating, helping to create classroom supports.

Taking a few extra steps to get organized, familiarizing yourself with the IEP/ Behavior  support plan, visiting the classroom, and providing visuals for your child will lead to a smooth start to the new school year.  Getting involved as a classroom volunteer is rewarding and a great way to interact with student peers and school staff.  Careful planning, organization and providing visual supports will make things easier for your child starting back to school.  Do you have any back to school tips or tricks for your child with special needs? I’d love to hear them.

That’s what is in my noggin this week!
~Teresa 🙂

back to school bus

Follow Nick on Social Media:

Facebook and Pinterest @Down Syndrome With A Slice Of Autism

Instagram @nickdsaustim

Twitter @tjunnerstall

 

Posted in Autism, Behavior/ ABA, Down syndrome, Dual Diagnosis Down syndrome and autism

Blog #212~DS-ASD Behavior Management

Posted on by Teresa Unnerstall

Blog #212~DS-ASD Behavior Management

Behavior problems are common for individuals having a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism.  Speech deficits hinder a person’s ability to communicate wants and needs, leading to these challenging behavior problems.   As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, every behavior even the bad ones, are an attempt to communicate something.  For the past 24 years, I have experienced this on the front lines with my son Nick, who has a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism.  It’s important to get a clear picture of what is triggering the problem behavior.  To do this, try taking a step back and determine what is causing the behavior.

For individuals with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism, some challenging behaviors include property destruction (such as dropping, throwing, dumping things on the floor, and breaking objects).  Other behaviors might include elopement, dropping and plopping, stimming, yelling, repetitive movements and physical aggression to name a few.

There are 5 steps you can take to discover the causes of a problem behavior and prevent it from occurring.  It is important to mention here that, these steps should be taken with the support of a child’s IEP team and ideally using a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).  It starts with doing a little detective work.

Detective-clipart-animation-free-images-2

1.What is the problem behavior, describe it?

2. Observe when the behavior occurs and when it doesn’t?  

3. Make a guess about what could be triggering the behavior and what might be reinforcing it.

4. Come up with a plan to prevent the behavior including supports that will help improve it in the future.

5. Track the behavior to see if the plan and supports are working.

Let’s put this into practice with the behavior of a child throwing, dropping, breaking and dumping out things around the house (property destruction):

1.”Billy” returns home from school and goes upstairs to his parents bedroom.  He turns on the water faucets full blast, and takes a photo frame and throws it down from the top of the stairwell where is shatters to pieces.

2. The behavior occurs after school, as his mom is unloading the backpack and reading the communication notebook.  It also occurs when parent’s attention are diverted, (doing chores, talking on the phone) and while the child has down time.

3. The antecedents are sensory seeking, lack of attention, unstructured down tome and boredom. Billy is reinforced by getting negative attention from his parents, who naturally get upset when something gets broken or a mess is made in the house.

4. The plan is for Billy to have a more structured routine during those down times when parents are busy working around the house:

-Create an afternoon visual schedule for Billy to put away the contents of his backpack and engage him in the chores with heavy work (a calming sensory activity).

-Replacement activities will include jumping on his mini trampoline, carrying laundry baskets to the washing machine and loading it, or vacuuming.

-Billy will be reinforced with high fives and praise, followed by a reward, upon completion of these replacement activities.  Rewards may include a choice of a favorite toy, iPad, movie, or snack.

-Billy will also be redirected to use his AAC device (talker) to express his needs.

-Parents are encouraged remain calm, matter of fact with little emotion, making minimal eye contact while using a soft voice, when the child engages property destruction.

5. Parent and teachers will keep a log to track this behavior both at home and in the school setting.

Sample ABC Chart used to do a Functional Behavior Analysis:

ABC chart

Before identifying the antecedent, behavior and consequence on the ABC chart, it is important to look at the setting prior to when the behavior occurred.  Note any changes in medications.  Is the child sleepy, overheated or too cold?  Are there any disruptions in staff or transportation to and from school? Is the environment to noisy or quiet?  These factors will attribute to more behavior problems.

The best behavior plans have proactive strategies and supports to encourage good behavior.  In my experience, the behavior plan must be revisited several times a year and tweaked accordingly. This will help to support positive behavior in a child with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism.  The key to behavior management is to step back and do the detective work, and come up with a plan to cut these behaviors off at the pass.  Working with the IEP team and a certified BCBA behaviorist to develop a behavior plan will lead to better responding thoughtfully to what the child is trying to communicate in their wants and needs.

That’s what is in my noggin this week.

~Teresa 🙂

Follow Nick:

Facebook and Pinterest @Down Syndrome With A Slice Of Autism

Instagram #nickdsautism

Twitter @tjunnerstall