Book Review: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

Book Review: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

Several people have recently recommended that I read this book, so I was eager to do so.  How this book was even written shows a great determination by Naoki to share his story.  The author can’t communicate verbally, but instead tapped out the words using an alphabet grid, where he points to the letters and spells out his answers.  This in and of itself is pretty incredible, but then he articulately describes what it’s like to be autistic.  It was a powerful read, but a couple of things really stuck with me.  He talks about how neurotypical people assume that people with autism want to be alone and by themselves, and it makes you think twice about your interactions with people who seem like they want to be by themselves.

Using videos to help kids learn social skills

Using videos to help kids learn social skills

Recently, I’ve been using videos to help teach during my social groups.  It’s a wonderful way to be able to talk about a lot of different social skills and social thinking.  I always preview what I’m going to show the kids and think about what our focus will be.  I will often pause the video in the middle to have a conversation about a scene we’ve just watched.  It’s always fascinating when I watch the same video with different groups, it often leads to some very different group discussions.  Here are a couple of examples of videos I’ve used with kids.

TED talk by Amy Cuddy

TED talk by Amy Cuddy

One of my colleagues let me know about this TED talk by Amy Cuddy about body language.  I found it fascinating to think about the fact that not only can our minds change our bodies, our bodies change our minds. We can fake having positive powerful body language and it changes the way we think.  Two quotes I love from this video are:

“Fake it til you become it” and “Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes”

5 Helpful hints for a play date at your home

5 Helpful hints for a play date at your home

Play dates are a popular way for kids to get together and hang out, but some kids struggle on play dates.  If you think your child may have difficulty on a play date, it may work best to have a first play date with a new friend at your own house.  Your child may feel more comfortable in a familiar environment. You’ll be able to keep an eye and ear out during the play date so you can  step in if things start to break down. Here are some helpful hints when setting up and hosting a play date at your home.

Book Review: “How to make and keep friends: Tips for Kids to Overcome 50 Common Social Challenges"

Book Review: “How to make and keep friends: Tips for Kids to Overcome 50 Common Social Challenges"

This is an awesome book! It covers 50 social situations and gives ten tips for how to manage each situation successfully.  The authors cover a lot of social situations, such as how to join a group or managing conversation challenges.  

Book Review - The Unwritten Rules of Friendship

Book Review - The Unwritten Rules of Friendship

This book has a lot of great advice for parents who want to help their children make friends. It's broken down into 12 sections, with each section focusing on a particular personality trait or behavioral characteristic (e.g. “the shy child”, “the little adult”, “the sensitive soul”). You don't have to read the book cover to cover, just pick the sections that pertain to your child and dive in.

5 Great Games for Play Dates

5 Great Games for Play Dates

Just in time for the holiday rush, here are 5 games that are good for small playdates with 2 or more kids. For children that struggle on play dates it’s helpful to have games that are easy to explain and don’t take too long to complete.  The following games all match that description. They’re quick for kids to pick up and play, the first time or the 100th time.  

4 Tips to help your child manage holiday parties

4 Tips to help your child manage holiday parties

This time of year is full of festivities, usually with several gatherings to attend.  For kids who struggle in social situations, this can be a challenge.  So what can you do to make it a little bit easier?  Here are a few tips you can use to help prepare your child for parties and hopefully make the experience a little easier for everyone.  

Social and Emotional Development - Part 1

Social and Emotional Development - Part 1

Social and emotional development is critical for children.  Children who are on the right track for social and emotional development can make connections with peers and adults, can manage conflict effectively and are more easily able to focus in school on their education.  

I thought it would be helpful to lay out some expected social and emotional development for elementary school aged children.

5 Strategies for Planning Play

5 Strategies for Planning Play

Here are five strategies you can use to help set the stage for an enjoyable play experience:

1.  Incorporate different types of play.

A child who plays well is comfortable with many forms of play.  Some categories of play include gross motor, fine motor, pretend play, construction, sensory, etc.  Gross motor activities include tag, obstacles courses and races.  Activities like rainbow loom or stringing beads are more fine motor play.  Some popular themes of pretend play include restaurant, school and space.  Construction can be out of all kinds of different materials like blocks, play doh, or even recycling.  Sensory can be using sand, rice or beans. Exposure to different types of play leads to valuable experiences.

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