Moving With Your Special-Needs Child - 15 Ways to Ease the Transition

Moving With Your Special-Needs Child - 15 Ways to Ease the Transition

Written by Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D.;

 photo: PhotoXpresss.com 

It is estimated that 1 out of 5 families move every year; which means that for many families, the early weeks of summer are often filled with packing boxes, contacting new schools and finding new dentists. While transitioning to a new neighborhood or town can bring an assortment of stresses, this stress can be amplified when a family moves with a special-needs child. Routines, therapies and support networks can be disrupted and the entire family can feel on edge. Whether this is your first move or you are a seasoned veteran, the following tips will steer you and your family on the path to a smoother transition:

Keep them involved – As a parent, you know what your child can handle emotionally. While taking a child house hunting might work in some families, for others, it makes sense to wait. “Our children are visual learners,“ says Sharla Jordan, mother of six boys (four with special needs), “so once we had a contract to buy our new home, I drew out a sketch of the floor plan and explained where their bedrooms would be and where their toys would go. This really helped reduce anxiety.”

Read more of the Article here

(I am glad to see the author used all my suggestion in her article)

Autism Brain Research

Autism Research Unraveling Mysteries - April 9, 2012

"Research suggests the brains of autistic children may indeed be "wired" differently "right from the beginning," Paterson says. A popular theory among researchers holds that autistic people have an abundance of "local connections," in one specific part of the brain, but not enough "long-distance connections" to coordinate complex tasks among various parts of the brain, such as interpreting emotions, says Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks.

"The changes lie not in the brain cells themselves but in the pathways that transmit messages between brain regions, Paterson says.

"These pathways aren't visible to the naked eye. But scientists can get a sense of these bundles of nerve fibers with technology that traces the path of water through the brain.

"Structural changes in these fiber tracts are evident in the brains of children later diagnosed with autism, even as young as 6 months old."

The Arizona Republic

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2012/04/09/20120409autism-research-unraveling-mysteries.html#ixzz1sEpjPMC8

ACU - Autism 15 second spot

I Hope...

How many of you go through that feeling of a sense of loss more than once? This is very common at first when your child has been diagnosed, but also every time another mile stone is missed/delayed, or when another road block is in the way of your child's development. Over the last couple months we have had more than a few of these come up for more than one of our sons. I realize more and more what additional challenges I see in their future and I begin to ask "what if he can't..." I have to stop myself right then, because If I continue to dwell on that question, it brings me down and hinders my perception to see what my sons are capable of. Instead I need to say, "I hope..." and then focus on the now, because now is so important for their future.

Laughables

Check out our new page, "Laughables", we started this page because. . .

“The only way to get through life 

is to laugh your way through it. 

You either have to laugh or cry. 

I prefer to laugh. 

Crying gives me a headache.” 

― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

CDC Autism Rate show a rise of 25%

One out of 88 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the latest estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 


Previously the CDC estimated autism's prevalence at about an average of 1 in 110 U.S. children. The new estimate suggests autism is more common than previously thought - about 25 percent more common - and may affect more than one million children and teens in the U.S.

For the CDC's study, researchers looked at autism prevalence estimates from 14 areas in the country. Since every state is not included, the CDC warned the rate "should not be generalized to the United States as a whole." But the data do show that autism diagnoses continue to increase. It's published in the March 29 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Boys are still about five times more likely to be diagnosed with autism in the U.S. than girls, according to the CDC report. It estimated one in 54 boys have autism, while one in 252 girls do. The number of children identified with ASDs ranged from 1 in 210 children in Alabama to 1 in 47 children in Utah. The largest increases were among Hispanic and black children.


For 2012, the National Institutes of Health invested $169 million in autism research to improve screening and diagnosis, develop effective services and resources for families, identify potential risk factors in the environment that may cause the disorder, and for testing potential treatments.


Read the CDC report

What is Normal?

Autism Understanding the Puzzle - All Over the World

Thanks to all of you who have helped spread autism awareness and have shared our site. Check out the list (scroll down in the right hand column) of the 40+ countries that have visited our website AutismUnderstandingThePuzzle.com

Showing Love for Those with Special Needs

I was telling a friend about these videos last night and I realized I hadn't shared them here yet. I share them with you now, I cannot think of better examples of youth putting aside their egos and pride to include and get to know these awesome friends and gain a greater love for one another.

Is Autism Important to You?

"Fixing" Autism

25 Words Every 2 Year Old Should Know

25 'MUST HAVE' WORDS FOR TODDLERS

heidi.evans@nydailynews.com

Researchers have identified 25 “must have” words that every child should be saying when they turn 2.

Kids who haven’t mastered them might not just be late talkers — they could be showing signs of autism, developmental delays or hearing problems .

The 25 words — including Mommy, Daddy, baby, hot and hat — were the most commonly said of a list of 310 words that kids master when they first start to speak.

Parents who are worried that their kids aren’t chatty enough should consider turning off the TV. A growing body of research also found that kids develop language more quickly if they are engaged in conversation instead of parked in front of kids’ programs .

Professor Nan Bernstein Ratner, who moderated the panel at the American Association for the Advancement on Science where the findings were presented last weekend, said the 25 words are like the “canary in the coal mine.”

“When a child doesn’t have enough words at the age of 2, that is not only a problem in its own right, but it’s a signal of a variety of other problems,” she said.

The 25 words are just the baseline for toddler talkers. There is a wide range of language abilities in toddlers, and 2-year-olds’ normal range is from 75-225 words. Children who are late talkers usually have an average vocabulary of 25 words.

Leslie Rescorla, director of the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College who developed the checklist, said most kids have many more.

“The bottom line is this: Children should have 50 words by the time they are 2 and they should begin to combine words into phrases,” Rescorla said. “

If they are not doing that, it’s worth evaluating them because they might have a problem you can start helping them with early.”

Mommy
Daddy
baby
milk
juice
hello
bye-bye
yes
no
dog
cat
ball
nose
eye
banana
cookie
car
hot
thank-you
bath
shoe
hat
book
more
all gone

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/2-year-old-25-words-researchers-article-1.1025968#ixzz1nF8Od9XN

Repeating Phrases

How many times is this button reloaded at your house?

I think we have a broken button here, 

it doesn't stop reloading the same phrases and sounds.

It may be time to invest in a pair of these.

Horse Therapy Coming Soon to Bountiful

There is a great possibility that Hoofbeats to Healing, Therapeutic Horse Riding Center, will be opening a second location in Bountiful, UT this summer. They are looking into the details now. We wanted to let those of you who live in the Davis, Weber, and Salt Lake Counties get the heads up.





These horses have been a tremendous help for our boys over the last 3 years improving their neurological functions; communication skills, interactions with others, speech, sensory processing, and significantly reducing their meltdowns or blowups.


You can find more information at Hoofbeats.us or contact Tami Tanner directly at  801-836-4325.

Light It Up Blue 2012

The Fifth Annual Autism Awareness Day will be on Monday, April 2, 2012. The goal is to light the world blue all throughout April — city by city, town by town — by taking action to raise autism awareness in our communities. Please email LIUB@autismspeaks.org for more information and tools!