All posts by Guest Blogger

Making April Autism ACCEPTANCE Month

Autism

Claire McCarthy

April brings the beginnings of warm weather. It brings more time spent outside and the return of the birds who went south for winter. It also brings Autism Awareness Month. Fundraisers are held for local and nationwide autism related organizations. Facebook and Instagram are full of memes, posts, stories, and quotes about autism. This is all great, but what happens on May 1st? What happens when the posts get buried under cute animal videos and the fundraising moves onto the next mission?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think awareness is wonderful. However, most of the world is very aware of autism now. They know organizations exist for it. There are plenty of tv shows and movies that portray autistic characters. We see autism in the news. What we need to be striving for is Autism Acceptance. We need to be striving for a world where autistic individuals are valued as community members, coworkers, and friends. A world that values and honors autism 365 days a year instead of 30.

To begin the move towards Autism Acceptance, there are some key terms we should know.

  • Neuro diversity: a viewpoint that brain differences are normal, rather than deficits
  • Neurodivergent: people who have diagnoses such as ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia, etc.
  • Neurotypical: individuals of typical developmental, intellectual, and cognitive abilities
  • Ableism: discrimination in favor of able-bodied or neurotypical people

Most of us on this blog are familiar with autism. For those who may not be, it is defined as “a developmental disorder of variable severity that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior”. It is deficit based. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging the challenges seen in an autistic individual. However, let’s flip that around with a quote from NeuroTribes and define neurotypical: “Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity. There is no known cure.” Makes one think a little, doesn’t it?

To continue on a path of autism acceptance, we also need to target the myths around autism. One I hear all the time is, “S/he can’t be autistic. S/he speaks so well.” The DSM-5 and DSM-5-TR say nothing about verbal communication deficits in regards to autism. “Accompanying language impairment” can be added to an autism diagnosis, but having typical spoken language skills does NOT mean an individual is not autistic.

Another common misconception is that every child who receives an autism diagnosis must receive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services and must be eligible for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) when they reach 3 years of age. Yes, ABA is one of the few evidence based autism specific teaching methods. This research dates back to the 1960s when autism rates were 1 in 2,500 people. This research was done on individuals that would be considered “low functioning” and often had accompanying Intellectual Disability. Autistic learners needs to be seen as individuals the same way that neurotypical learners are seen.

That last paragraph brings me to another issue that gets in the way of autism acceptance- functioning levels. Parents and therapists are so quick to get caught up in levels. Many people think that a functioning level can tell you all about the autistic individual. One of the problems with levels, though, is that it makes it harder to see past the diagnosis. When someone is diagnosed with “high functioning autism” people have a hard time understanding their challenges, honoring how hard that individual works day to day to appear high functioning, and sees less need for services. When someone is diagnosed with “low functioning autism” people don’t see their competence, assume lower intellectual capacity, and lower their expectations for the individual.

What can we do as therapists, parents, family members, and friends to change from Autism Awareness to Autism Acceptance? A simple place to start is to change our vocabulary. Try to ditch “red flags” or “symptoms” and replace them with “characteristics” or “learning profile.” Don’t be afraid to use “the A word” in your every day life. Talk about individuals being autistic the same way you would talk about someone wearing glasses or having black hair. Encourage children to ask questions about themselves or others. Using statements such as “don’t stare” or “mind your business” inadvertently tell children that what the autistic child or adult is doing is “wrong” or something to be ashamed of.

Along the lines of observing behaviors, remember that all behaviors serve a purpose. A tantrum or “noncompliance” is not the child being difficult or trying to upset an adult. They are letting us know they have had enough, do not understand what we are trying to do, or do not understand why we are trying to do something. Self-stimulating behaviors should not be a target in therapies. These are physical needs to self-regulate and make sense of a neurotypical world. The more an autistic individual suppresses the need to stim the more the individual will need to eventually “get it out” and it will likely be in a way that is not fun for them or others such as self-injurious behavior or a meltdown.

Some people may be reading this and thinking, “But what about all of the challenges? What about those who may never be able to live independently or have challenging behaviors day after day?” This blog is in no way saying that these challenges should be ignored. In fact, that would be just as ableist as saying the positive characteristics of autism should be ignored. What needs to be thought about is that we are not out there to “cure autism” or “teach a child to look typical.” We are out there to make an autistic person who has challenges become an autistic person with as little barriers in their life as possible.

One of the best things we can do is to listen to autistic voices. Autistic adults and children can teach us more about autism than any study or textbook can even begin to. Families who have loved ones with autism are also a wonderful resource. If it hasn’t been said clearly enough, the best thing to remember is that autistic individuals are just that- individual. They will all have different thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in regards to THEIR autism. Autism Acceptance begins with understanding that and valuing each individual for exactly who they are.

The Luminea Corner, a compact yet impactful sensory environment

The App That Awakens Sensory Channels: Luminea App

Sensory

Alba Alier, SLT

In this post I want to talk about a free App which will allow you to control any Luminea lighting device in your space or a multisensory room in a very fun, creative and playful way. The Luminea App has been designed to make the most of therapeutic intervention in a space or sensory room (or even in a Snoezelen room), as it serves to control the colors of the different lighting elements in a simple manner, and facilitates development and learning.

It is free to download, and once you have it installed on your Android smartphone or tablet you can start controlling all the Luminea lighting elements of your room, such as the bubble tube, the fiber optics, a ball pool, etc. You can control them individually (by changing the device type in the menu) or in groups for a more immersive effect.

What Can I Do With The Luminea App?

The Luminea App allows you to control the Luminea lightning devices from your smartphone or tablet by changing the color of the devices when touching on a photo. In this way, the colors of the light changes according to the subject matter. Imagine, for example, that you tap on the yellow part of a rainbow image and the lights in your room turn yellow. Or, the bubble tube turns green when you tap on a photo of a kiwi fruit or all the lighting elements in the room turn red when you tap on a clown’s nose. It’s so fun!

This App includes a variety of activities and games for you to play with lighting elements and lets your users or students take control of the room. In addition, you can customize everything, record color sequences or add as many photos as you want (your own or internet ones) to make the sessions more personal.

What does it mean? Only with  Luminea App you can include countless customized activities in your sessions:

  • Create choreographies with your favorite music and make all the elements ‘dance’ with you. You can play these choreographies whenever you want, as they are stored on your device.
  • Upload your own photos and play with their colors. You can upload a photo of your last holiday or your favorite animal, and by tapping on a colored point in the image, all the room will turn that specific color. ¡It works automatically!
  • It includes multiple games and activities, but you can also create your own unlimited activities.

We help to promote and encourage cause-effect relationships with these types of games, as well as memory, choice, interaction… In the case of group activities, it also helps to enhance communication, joint attention and social skills.

Start With A Small Corner!

With the Luminea App you can control all the Luminea light devices and become a master of light by taking control of your room like never before. If you want to get started in the sensory world, you can start with the Luminea Corner, which allows you to have a small interactive world made up of a bubble tube, and fiber optics and to add devices little by little, as they will always be compatible! 

The Luminea App is fun and therapeutic; it combines the elements of your multisensory room in a group setting and takes your users into an immersive world. In this video we show you all the Luminea elements and how easy it is to use the App. In addition, you can learn about other different ways to control your devices, according to the switch your users prefer (a 6 button, a giant die (Sensory Cube), a colored mat (Sensory Step), etc.)

How Does Luminea App Work?

The Luminea App is very intuitive and easy to use.

  • All you need is an Android smartphone or tablet connected to the same WiFi network as your multisensory room (and all other Luminea devices). It works with one or add all of them at the same time!
Learn More about Luminea!

Raised Line Paper… What Is It?

Accessibility, Education, Fine Motor, , ,

Sarah Glovasky M.S. OTR/L

Sometimes called tactile paper, Raised Line Paper is used to help individuals stay between the lines when writing. The raised line paper has raised top and bottom lines to provide tactile, proprioceptive and visual feedback to the writer. There are a variety of types of paper to choose from!

Raised Line Learning Sheets

Do you have a beginner writer? The raised line learning sheets are a good place to start from! There are letters, numbers, alphabet coloring sheets and mazes! The tactile input helps the new learners understand where to keep their pencil and crayon marks! 

Raised Line Writing Paper

There are so many options to help more advanced writers be as successful as they can. There are different sized lines (narrow and wide) depending on the level of the writer. If you need more of a visual cue there is the option to have red and blue lines on your paper. Double the input for a higher accuracy when writing. If spacing or sizing is a problem there is boxed raised line paper to provide a space for every letter to fit in. Pro tip: If all this sounds great but you are not sure what will work best the assortment pack is very helpful!

Staged Raised Line Paper

There is a product line that is able to take a writer from beginning stages right through advanced writing. This is a six stage series of handwriting papers that begins with clearly defined writing spaces and perceptual cues that fade in successive stages as the student gains mastery. The thick, colorful dark blue baselines are raised, providing not only visual cues, but also tactile cues.  Pro Tip: Students advance at their own pace so having all the stages on hand is very helpful!

Stage One: For beginning writers. Clearly defined writing spaces.

Stage Two: Writing spaces are less defined as shading is partially removed.

Stage Three: Shading has been completely removed and replaced with a borderline.

Stage Four: Writing spaces are less structured; fewer distractions than typical notebook paper.

Stage Five: The most popular Stage Write paper! Spacing between blue baseline and gray guideline reduced to 1/4″.

Stage Six: Comparable to standard notebook paper. Still incorporates raised dark blue baseline and clearly defined margins.

Another great aspect of all this paper is it can be used with a variety of reading/writing/handwriting programs! Give your writers the tools they need to be successful independent writers.