How can I be an advocate for my child with autism in school?
What is Advocacy? Advocacy means supporting and enabling another person to meet their needs, especially when they may be particularly vulnerable. Children with special needs fall under this category. With autism affecting 1 in every 50 children in Canada, the …
What is a token system and how can it be helpful for my child with Autism?
What is a token system? A token system or token economy is a method of positive reinforcement where an individual receives tokens for completing tasks or engaging in desired behaviors (Ayllon & Azrin, 1968). Token systems can be used to …
What is reinforcement?
What is reinforcement? Reinforcement is something that happens after a behaviour, that increases the future occurrence of the behaviour. In short, reinforcement strengthens behaviour! For example… When Harry says “cookie,” his Mom gives him a delicious cookie to eat. …
Task Analysis and Chaining
What is task analysis? Task analysis involves breaking complex tasks into simpler steps. This can be done by observing someone complete a task, consulting experts, or performing the skill yourself and documenting each step. It is important to consider the …
Video Modeling
What is Video Modeling? Video modeling can be used to teach a new skill to an individual, with the video acting as a visual model of the target skill. There are three main types of video modeling: (Hall et al., …
How can I be an advocate for my child with special needs?
Advocacy Advocacy means supporting and enabling another person to meet their needs, especially when they may be particularly vulnerable. As a parent of a child with autism or other special needs, you likely already advocate for your child in various …
Visual Supports
What are they? A visual support is a type of visual display that helps the learner engage in target skills or behaviours (Fleury et al., 2015) Examples include: Pictures Written words Activity schedules First-then sequences Labels Organization systems Choice boards …
What can I do about my child’s sleep problems?
Sleep Challenges Research has demonstrated that anywhere between 44-83% of children with autism have problems with sleep (Couturier et al., 2005; Krakowiak, Goodlin-Jones, Hertz-Picciotto, Croen, & Hansen, 2008). Families who have a child with autism may experience problems with their …
What are motor skills and why are they important?
When we talk about motor skills, we often break it down into two types: gross motor skills, or physical movements that use the whole body, and fine motor skills, which are movements that use the small muscles of the hands. …
What are evidence-based practices?
There are multiple interventions out there being used to treat autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This can make it tough to choose the best one for your child. Interventions that have been vigorously studied and recognized as effective treatments in peer-reviewed …