What a treat spending the day at the Future Horizons Autism& Asperger’s syndrome conference. There was a bit of a collective sigh when we learned that due to travel glitches Temple Grandin would be arriving late and not speaking until 3:00. But being the professional she is, she was graciously signing books and posing for fan photos in a cheery orange blouse by 11:00.

Meanwhile, writer, actress and mother of the most well-known individual with autism in the world-Eustacia Cutler shared her story, insights and dreams. The story begins with 20 year old Eustacia raising a toddler who was averse to touch and did not speak. How can she be a mother if the baby didn't seem to know who her mother was? So begins the journey of autism changing the entire family identity. Eustacia describes “theory of mind” as a precious gift not to be taken for granted since HER daughter didn’t know how to point to an Oreo cookie.

I love Ms. Cutler’s use of metaphors as she built her daughter’s life one Lego piece at a time until a structure was created- a structure which although recognizable is never quite the real thing. The young mother practices Bach on the piano as her daughter hums and crumples paper nearby. They are in their separate worlds despite her attempts to engage her pretty baby, but the baby continues humming. She hums Bach. Don't we  all find that subtle connection at the most unexpected times?

The beauty of Eustacia Cutlers speech and writings is that she wants to help today’s parents of children with autism to avoid the pitfalls of misinformed doctors, the father’s shame and society’s reluctance to spend money so that families of all socioeconomic classes receive the services that can help their children's lives achieve meaning. These services might be family counseling, career training, social skills training, speech therapy, art or drama classes. Temple Grandin’s mother was bold, educated, resourceful and wealthy and could give her daughter the benefit of a private education. These helped make Temple Grandin the success she is today. Don’t all children deserve these opportunities? I clearly sat amidst an audience that shared these values…….

Paula Aquilla-occupational therapist and co-author of Building Bridges Through Sensory Integration spoke about our sensory systems, neuroplasticity, processing disorders, anxiety and the benefits of a sensory diet. I am sure that this lecture was hugely informative for parents and educators. As a seasoned occupational therapist myself I focused on the many excellent analogies used to simplify concepts. For example:

• Kids who toe walk are seeking extra proprioceptive input. Compare touch pressure when pressing your fingers into your arm vs. pressing your palm onto the arm. In the same way, the smaller surface areas of the toes receives greater sensory input than when using the flat foot.
• Hand flapping may serve the purpose of stimulating the peripheral field, helping to drown out the other visual sensations. At the same time, don't we all flap when excited and the more excited, the more we flap?
• Smearing feces may serve to block out other smells…..then again, it may be something else...

The point of Paula’s many anecdotes is that parents, teachers and therapists need to be detectives and find out what is behind behaviors. Then they need to find strategies that work for the individual. One clever parent realized that her child hated the sound of hand driers. So she placed “out of order”signs on public bathroom doors to keep others out until her daughter finished. Another important point is communication between home and school because if , for example, the school administration does not know that the child has an extremely high threshold for pain and as a result is easily bruised or burned- the school might suspect abuse. Future conference attendees will appreciate Paula’s wisdom, wit and frequent movement breaks.   

 I missed the lunchtime speaker, Dr. Roya Ostovar, but you may learn about her work at her website: http://royaostovar.com. Dr. Ostovar is a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, director of The Center for Neurodevelopmental Services at McLean Hospital and Director of Neuropsychology Services at the Lurie Family Autism Center.  

As we digested our lunches and pinched our arms to stay alert-the audience was treated to a lively Hollywoodesque introduction to Temple Grandin’s star-studded career. Voila, Temple arrived with a bang and enthusiastically spoke for 90 minutes on her views including

• How to adapt the environment to meet sensory needs and learning
• Signs and interventions for visual processing problems
• The importance of categorizing behavioral problems- are they biological or behavioral?

I have frequently read and heard Dr. Grandin speak about her dismay at changing values. When she (and I since I am only 7 years younger) was growing up television sit-coms taught positive values such as friendship, neighborhood moms looked out for one another’s kids, manners were expected and children played OUTSIDE! Dr. Grandin gave an example of modern day failing values seen on a magazine cover showing two mating airplanes. The heading reads-“Let’s Get it On”. You be the judge on this one-  http://joeweber.org/tag/mating-airplanes-image. Regardless of your thoughts I am happy to report Dr. Grandin’s satisfying small act of defiance in leaving this magazine on board an airplane.  

 The day ended with the poignant question-If Einstein had been born into today’s world what type of education would he have been given.?Would this strange man with no socks and mismatched clothing, unkempt hair, late speech and odd manners been given opportunities to daydream or been stymied by bullies and standardized tests?  Society benefits when the Einsteins and Temple Grandins of the world are given ample opportunity to grow into who they are meant to be.

 

This is me standing at the Challenge Unlimited/Ironstone therapies booth.


If you are interested in attending a conference please visit Future Horizons and use code "Pedia" to get a 15% discount (books and conferences. ) 

Feel and Find the Shape

Children learn to identify and discriminate shapes by fitting them inside shape sorter openings and form boards, matching them to pictures and naming them in picture books. Its also important that children learn to identify shapes and objects by touch. This develops the perceptual skill called "stereognosis" or the ability to know by our tactile (touch) sense. Developing tactile awareness helps children to develop manipulation skills.

There are games on the market that involve searching by feel for a shape or object in a bag. Then the child can

• name it
• describe it
• find the named shape or one that fits into a form board (such as the one shown below)
• find the shape or object that matches a picture or an identical one shown to the child

Its easy to make your own shapes and form board by cutting them out of container lids. I usually use leather shears to cut plastic, but this plastic is pretty thin and regular scissors may also work.

I cut the letter C out of the lid to a yogurt container. Try putting the letters to the child's name in a bag and have her feel to find the needed letters in sequence to fill in the form boards-spelling the name.


 The following products work on similar skills

Tripod Activities

There are many activities children can do that use a tripod pencil grasp but don't actually involve writing. They enable a child to develop the coordination between the "tripod fingers"- thumb, index and middle fingers while strengthening them as they control a tool.
Examples are

• magic pads- scribble away with a stylus, pull the plastic up and work disappears
• Magnadoodle- these come with different shaped tools including one that is used with a tripod grasp to create pictures on a magnetic surface. The child turns it upside down and shakes to "erase" and start over. 
• scratch art- you can purchase or a child can make her own by coloring a page with lots of crayon colors. Next color over the surface with black crayon. When the top layer is scratched with a tool, a colorful design appears.
• rubbings- can be done with small pieces of crayon to strengthen the tripod fingers. Purchase plates with raised pictures or make your own 3 dimensional surface with sandpaper shapes taped to the table. Next tape paper on top. When the child rubs the crayon the shapes or picture below will appear.

The following video shows how to make developing a tripod pencil grasp fun while using a spinner....



Source: Recycling Occupational Therapist demonstrates Fidget Spinner by RecyclingOT on Rumble

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism

I finally finished reading Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism. It took several months to read 1 or 2 essays in the morning-then digesting them along with my breakfast. The reading is not light and the editors did a fantastic job of finding diversified, sometimes controversial viewpoints including those of teachers, therapists, parents and adult voices with autism. The writers come from various stages of autism involvement ranging from parents of young children who recently  received the  diagnosis, the perspective of a mom with a young adult moving into a community residence and an adult who didn’t receive the autism diagnosis until age 50.  

Since as the expression goes-you meet one reader of an autism book……. you’ve met one reader of an autism book… (you know what I mean….), we readers will react according to our unique backgrounds and experiences. As an occupational therapist working with young children on the spectrum and mother of a college student with Asperger’s syndrome-the goal of eliminating or at least decreasing the stigma of being neurologically and socially different very much touches home. I loved the strategies that included- educating the teachers and classmates, forgiving neighbors, family and others who don’t “get it” and building a support network.

I appreciated the perspectives on autism “cults” that pried on vulnerable parents who will do anything to find a cure. Since I have always recognized the genetic traits passed down to my son who was sensory fussy since birth and as a therapist who wants to use evidence-based treatment strategies, I  want to see the evidence before “buying hope” and hope that reading these perspectives will persuade others to do the same.

It is a challenge to write a book review after reading an overwhelming amount of information and viewpoints-but the editors organize the content so that readers can easily jump right to their relevant topics-whether it be day to day solutions such as how to cope with a picky eater, finding emotional support after receiving the diagnosis or how to advocate in the school and work settings.

 The essay that stood out for me was written anonymously with the ominous title of ‘Why I Can’t Breathe Tonight”.  A professional felt compelled to share her panic and anger over her treatment as school therapist.  A handful (maybe 5%) of the parents assumed her to be incompetent and was quick to bring in the lawyers and “experts” to prove her wrong. She described how this occurred despite working in an excellent school district and that the stress that created high special education turnover didn’t benefit the students. This was a voice I don’t typically hear when reading blogs, articles or essays. With that said- some of the essays in this book are controversial and will hit nerves but that’s what a thinking person’s guide is all about. If you are a thinking person and autism touches your life- I highly recommend this book!

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.....

I'm a big believer in teaching social skills to everybody, even strangers (my husband says that this can be annoying) ....... But, I was waiting in line at a drug store yesterday, when a girl who looked about 10 years of age stepped in front of me to reach for the candies lining the cashier's counter.
The mom firmly directed her "Rachel, do not get in front of the lady, stand next to me. " 
The girl shot off to another counter and again the mom called her back to her side.
I paid for my order, turned around to face the girl and said "Rachel, thank you for waiting for your turn".
Surprised- Rachel said "you're welcome". Mom looked very pleased.
Short interactions from strangers can pack more punch than requests all day long from parents. It takes a village to raise any child........

Occupational Therapy Activities to Promote Visual skills

These are my 2 favorite books for activities OTs can do to promote ocularmotor control, scanning, and visual perceptual skills. CVA is an older book but packed with great explanations as to the types of problems children with special needs may have, a chart of the classroom difficulties that impact functional vision and adaptations that might help. 

Different..... Not Less

In her new book –Different….Not Less, Temple Grandin reinforces the popular notion -that if you meet a person with autism….you have met ONE person with autism. Indeed, each of the 14 contributors in this collection creates a collage of the childhood and adult experiences that have made them the individuals they are today.

Grandin carefully chose a cross section of men and women with Aspergers syndrome from  different fields (i.e. medical, art, technology and sales), various western cultures (i.e Australia and Scotland) and life situations (i.e. rural/urban, religious/non-religious upbringings) that show the similar social, communication and sensory challenges that people with Aspergers face despite varied backgrounds. These stories also demonstrate the unique talents and coping strategies that have enabled these individuals to achieve varying levels of life satisfaction and success.

 I believe that within the context of these stories- “life satisfaction” and “success” may be considered almost synonymous. A common thread is that after a lifetime of being “different” and with  varying degrees of  family support- finding acceptance and meaningful activities (whether vocational or recreational) is critical to happiness and indeed, success. Unlike mainstream western values-success need not be equated with wealth, owning things, fame or having lots of friends.

Most of the authors did not learn about their Aspergers diagnosis until later in life. For some it was a relief to find an explanation for why they felt different and for others it made them angry to receive a label. Most of them consider their lives a work in progress as they take the diagnosis and use it to forge societal and self-acceptance.     

Each contributor’s story was riveting- partly because I am an occupational therapist and I deeply understand Grandin’s message that people with autism shine when they develop their talents. Perhaps I loved this book because I believe that my mother (daughter of immigrants and obsessively religious) had undiagnosed Asperger’s and my Generation Y son (who is a brilliantly creative college student and entrepreneur with Aspergers) benefited from our modern day IEP and disability supports. There is much food for thought here….I believe that readers with autism and family members/friends of individuals on the spectrum will appreciate the following themes that run through many of the stories:

·         Mentors are extremely important-if not one’s parents, then others (perhaps teachers, clergy, employers) who recognize and support the person’s abilities and goals

·         High expectations of children to work and develop manners will contribute to future acceptance, persistence and feelings of self- worth

·          People with autism think outside the box and therefore may do best working in settings where their creativity is a positive-such as running a business or artistic fields.  

·         Hard work pays off…

Readers whose lives are not personally touched by autism may also appreciate the inherent logic in raising children with these guiding principles and enjoy the many other insights offered by the contributors. I strongly encourage them to visit the intense visual arena that brought us the likes of Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs.       

 Many of the contributors describe how they were brought up to be kind, yet were victim to bullying. Some found solace in animal relationships.  Others became deeply involved in helping others (a psychologist, nurse anesthetist, psychiatric rehabilitation worker). I think that Grandin may have chosen people with these backgrounds to dispel the techie nerd stereotype associated with autism. Some of the contributors are accomplished authors and public speakers despite communication challenges and others have overcome a history of jail time and alcohol abuse. They represent a wide swath of humanity.

Grandin concludes the book with her own chapter about how to find work opportunities. She reiterates that people with autism need alternatives to interviews (a weakness for people with communication challenges), mentors, early experiences that develop the work ethic and by all means- should take advantage of social media to show off one’s portfolio. 

 Reading these stories and Grandin’s brief synopsis of what each of the authors overcame- serves to emphasize that –people on the autism spectrum (as well as borderline neurotypicals such as myself) are different, not less. If we viewed every person on the planet with this simple frame of reference-wouldn’t it be a better world for us all?

Different....Not Less

If you use the code "PEDIA", you will get the book Different . . . Not Less by Temple Grandin for $16.96 instead of the $19.95 retail price.

http://www.templegrandin.com/

RecyclingOT.com