Autism « The Parent Bloggers Network

Social Skill Builder My Community - Helping Kids with Special Needs

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

For the last two weeks, our parent bloggers with kids with special needs have been putting the Social Skill Builder “My Community” software to the test. Created by two speech and language pathologists, this computer software is aimed at assisting kids 5 - 15 with generalizing their social skills outside of the school setting. Utilizing various real life community and neighborhood scenarios, this computer program (such as Autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and other spectrum disorders) addresses a variety of skill areas, including life skills, social skills, communication, and conversation.

Social Skill Builder My Community

This unique software differs from most of the products out there in that it provides real life situations for kids with special needs to learn from. Also, the software (specifically Level 5) allows for fill-in-the-blank answers, which is a unique and helpful way for kids to actually learn. In a similar vein, parents were impressed with the complexity of the software, including how it’s completely customizable based on what your kids need. Additionally, parents felt that the information was presented clearly and easily - for both the kids and the parents. The parents also loved that the computer program allows parents to track progress.

A couple of our parents had kids younger than the specific age range, but offered their opinions and how they might use it with their kids once they got older. Also, one parent with a younger child thought the CD-ROM would be great for any child having difficulties with social skills. Another mom agreed: “I highly recommend. Actually, I think even regular kids could benefit from this social skills software. It could even be an interesting tool to use in a classroom.”

Parents felt that the software helped open up dialog about specific issues, even for kids who weren’t diagnosed with a spectrum disorder. And because social skills have some many different nuances (it’s not like teaching the ABCs) the parents appreciated having this resource, particularly since it utilized real life scenarios. Plus, most kids are exposed to these skills in school and need assistance working on them in natural settings.

While the cost may be prohibitive for some families, if you’re spending money on therapy (or have these goes in your child’s IEP), a program like this can really help facilitate growth and provide you with the support you need outside of those settings.

For more information about My Community and their other computer software programs for kids with special needs, visit the Social Skill Builder website. You can also try out a free demo of their programs.

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Tags: asperger's syndrome, Autism, computer software, Media, social skill builder my community, special needs, speech and language therapy
Posted in Autism, Elementary School, Kids, Media, Pre-teen | 1 Comment »

Social Skill Builder My Community Campaign Launch

Friday, March 27th, 2009

As a music therapist for many years, I worked extensively with children with special needs. And most often we were working together to improve their social skills and life skills. Parents with children with special needs, including developmental disabilities, sensory disorders, and autism spectrum disorders are usually quite proactive in working with their health care professional to improve on those goals when the kids are out of school, and Social Skill Builder does just that. Socialization and making friends can be quite challenging, particularly when kids are removed from their familiar and structured environments.

Their computer software “My Community” is aimed at kids 5-15 with special needs and assists them in addressing a myriad of issues regarding social interaction outside of the classroom setting. It takes what they might have learned or are currently learning, and assists them in applying it to larger settings, like their community and neighborhood. Skills such as personal safety, waiting turns, working cooperatively, and frustration management (just to name a few) are addressed in this social skills software program.

Ten of our parents bloggers with children with various special needs agreed to try this software with their kids over the last few weeks and will be sharing their experiences on their blog.

If you’re interested in learning more, please visit these blogs throughout the next two weeks and check out the Social Skill Builder website and their free demo of the software.

3/30 - White Trash Mom
3/31 - Mommy Needs Coffee
4/1 - Karianna
4/2 - Ebonymommy
4/3 - Cynical Dad

4/6 - Mom to the Screaming Masses
4/7 - Little Bird Reviews
4/8 - Mommy’s Must Haves
4/9 - Midwestern Mommy
4//10 - Things and Stuffs Reviews

Final Round Up - 4/13

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Tags: ADHD, aspergers, Autism, developmental disabilities, life skills, Media, my community, social skill builder, social skills software, special needs
Posted in Autism, Elementary School, Kids, Media, Pre-teen | Comments Off

Autism’s False Prophets - A Feeling of Betrayal

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

“I think it boils down to a feeling of betrayal. You trust your child’s doctor to know what is best for your child. You trust the medical researchers to do their jobs and release safe medicines/vaccines. You trust your government to provide adequate oversight to protect you and your family.”

Autism's False Prophets More than a few bloggers have reached this same conclusion regarding the overwhelming fears and sadness surrounding autism and the still hotly-debated autism-vaccine link, which is the subject of Dr. Paul Offit’s latest book, Autism’s False Prophets.

Most of us either know a child with autism or have a child on the spectrum ourselves. On the other hand, most of us have parents or grandparents who knew children or had children who were crippled by polio or who struggled with complications of measles, mumps, rubella, or whooping cough.

They welcomed the advent of vaccinations. We fear them, or delay them, or avoid them altogether.

One blogger writes about the dichotomy behind this feeling of betrayal, breaking down in clear terms what has become clouded by emotion:

“There’s no doubt that the medical establishment has failed to own up to its own role in engendering public mistrust. Doctors often speak with frustration, and not a little condescension, about those average folks who choose rumor and wives tales over cold hard facts, but they forget how often average folks have seen cold hard facts reversed by doctors themselves, and how often they’ve seen statistically significant studies contradict each other.”

“So parents can be forgiven for thinking that not vaccinating their children is the more conservative route. But Autism’s False Prophets makes it clear that the great predominance of evidence suggests that there is no link between vaccines and autism, and that not vaccinating your child, far from being a conservative option, puts him or her at great risk. It’s hard, after all, to find a doctor who doesn’t vaccinate his kids, and this book makes a strong argument as to why.”

The gist of what Offit continues to fight against: Scientific studies and the evidence they produce are placed on par with personal anecdotes. As one blogger notes: “Offit is concerned - as am I - that lately our culture is one in which belief, or faith, in something is perceived to be as valuable as, and perhaps more valuable than, scientific evidence.”

Another blogger’s review illustrates that concern perfectly. She writes: “I said above: I’m not a scientist. But the general negativity of this book made me glad that I’m not a scientist. I prefer hope.” She wanted to believe Offit’s words, but “his condescending tone made me want to side with the people he was mocking. His general air of superiority really put me off. And his total lack of hope for parents and children dealing with autism left me feeling, well, hopeless.” Despite how Offit strives to demonstrate the science behind his conclusions - or perhaps because of how he does so - emotion gets in the way and clouds the points he seeks to make.

They’re good points, too. This blogger reports: “The crux of the issue is that autistic symptoms are often first observed in children in their second year of life - which is precisely the time that they receive many of their immunizations against childhood diseases. This is a coincidence, pure and simple. But frantic parents, desperate to understand why their toddlers are withdrawing from the socioemotional arena, cast about for anything that might bear on the often alarmingly sudden appearance of autistic behaviors in their kids. (Twenty percent of children with autism develop typically and then regress during the second year of life - with little or no warning.)” Another notes that “Recent studies are now making it clear that the cause of autism is genetic - but identifying the genes will not necessarily make treatment easier because it seems to be related to many genes. Two incurable diseases, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, are tied to one gene. Autism is much more complex.” Much more progress must be made in order to answer those nagging questions and assuage those lingering doubts.

Dr. Offit continues to work toward that end, in spite of the way his words can be received and the opposition they can generate. “Offit brings light to the bad science that seems to surround this debate. Whenever emotions get intertangled with science, more times than not, you end up with bad science,” states one blogger. Another agrees: “He made me realize how easy it is to be swayed by the moving stories of individual parents, but their stories are not science.”

Dr. Offit will donate all royalties from the sales of Autism’s False Prophets to autism research.

Thanks to all of our bloggers who took the time to read this book and write such thoughtful reviews. Thanks also to the commenters, both here and on their individual posts. The randomly drawn winner of a copy of Autism’s False Prophets is Liz, from Flint Family. Please email us to claim your prize!

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Tags: Autism, autism research, Autism's False Prophets, blogger reviews, Paul A. Offit
Posted in Autism, Books | 1 Comment »

Autism’s False Prophets - Here’s What They’re Saying So Far

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

“…it’s one of those amazingly controversial topics - like abortion, religion, and the current election - that can shut a friendly conversation down fast.”

Autism's False Prophets That statement perfectly sums up the autism-vaccine link.

When we queried bloggers for interest in reading and reviewing Autism’s False Prophets, Dr. Paul A. Offit’s most recent book, the mention of the book itself - even just its title - provoked strong reactions. It seems many parents hold very strong opinions regarding the autism-vaccine link - some based on personal experience, some based on their reading of peer-reviewed research studies and other books (such as Offit’s previous book, Vaccinated, also reviewed here at PBN), and some based on pop culture.

Dr. Offit “has spent his career focusing on vaccines, immunology and virology, and the book is the doctor’s attempt to set the record straight on the topic of vaccines and autism. He says there’s no connection between the two, and he has a lot of scientific research to back that up.”

This blogger notes how Offit focuses on disproving that connection: “While Offit is clearly on the side of “vaccines do not cause autism,” his book looks at the research that was given to the contrary. He spends pages highlighting the opposing research, even devoting whole chapters (”Lighting the Fuse,” “Mercury Rising”) to the story that vaccines cause autism. Each time, however, Offit provides damning evidence to the contrary. No respected medical establishment believes that vaccines cause autism.” Another blogger elaborates further regarding how Autism’s False Prophets describes “the few physicians and researchers that were behind these myths were doing research in their basements (p. 135) not at accredited facilities, casting scientific method aside and falsifying data which would later be criticized by the AAP, IOM, CDC and academic institutions.”

But it’s the consequences of these questionable studies and the purported treatments and cures that are of even greater concern: “The court cases, the conspiracy theories, the death threats, the high profile individuals, the risky treatments for autistic children - all are part of the controversy. And unfortunately, an entire cottage industry of litigation lawyers, advocacy groups, and unethical doctors have taken advantage of parents who are looking for a cause for autism.” This blogger adds: “These treatments had parents of autistic children digging deep into their pockets, giving them hope of a cure. None of the children were ‘cured’ and some of them were even harmed in the process.”

One of the most powerful blogger reviews was written by a mother whose daughter is deaf:

“What’s wrong with a little alternative medicine? I’m a big fan of chiropractic medicine, music therapy and other things considered outside the mainstream. But many parents of autistic children are not only suckered in to expensive, needless therapies, but may end up inadvertently killing their child.”

“What is more important to your child - what caused their autism or what you can do to help them live with it? I focus my efforts and money on things like speech therapy for my deaf daughter, because as with autism, there’s no “cure” but there is still plenty parents can do to help their children. The earlier, the better.”

“Early intervention works. It won’t cure your child of autism, but it can show amazing improvement.”

“I’m not saying it won’t be a fight, but that is where you should put your energies, not unproven, harmful interventions. Get your child occupational therapy, speech therapy, music therapy - anything that is research based and medically proven to help.”

Dr. Offit’s passion for the topic is undeniable, and his emotion sometimes overshadows his message, leading to “an unnecessary snarky remark here and there.” One blogger warned: “The vitriol with which he goes after his targets – researchers, the media, tort lawyers and activist parents – betrays his passion and bias on the topic. I understand his anger, but I think those who truly believe that vaccinations might injure their babies will find it off-putting.” But the first blogger went on to advise: “If you don’t agree with the book’s premise, well, keep your friends close and your enemies closer…read it as an atheist would read the Bible.”

Dr. Offit continues to proceed with his research and writing despite sometimes violent opposition: “Offit knows his work has consequences. He starts the prologue by quoting some of the more colorful hate mail he has received. Having my own children, I cannot fathom how difficult it must be to parent one with special needs. I can imagine that these parents, in moments of desperation, are just looking for someone to blame. Many choose Offit as their target, and while this could lead to risks to himself and his family, he presses on. Why? Because he believes he is doing the right thing.”

Regardless of which side parents take in this polarizing debate, it’s for certain that our supreme goal is to care for our children. “In an age when we are all trying to do the best for our children, when we aren’t entirely sure who to believe, I found the book and all the statistical evidence that it provides as a great reassurance that vaccines do not cause autism. Furthermore, rather than spending money and resources fighting against vaccines, we should be focusing on what does cause autism and how we can support those who are affected by it.”

To this end, Dr. Offit will donate all royalties from sales of Autism’s False Prophets to autism research.

More reviews of Autism’s False Prophets are coming up.

Wednesday 10/22 - Modern Mamma Marvels
Thursday 10/23 - Chefdruck Reviews
Friday 10/24 - Ovolina
Monday 10/27 - Taste Like Crazy
Tuesday 10/28 - Slouching Mom
Wednesday 10/29 - Round-Up Review on PBN

WIN IT! If you’d like to win a copy of Autism’s False Prophets, leave a comment here. We’ll draw one winner at random and announce on the Round-Up!

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Tags: Autism, autism research, Autism’s False Prophets, blogger reviews, Paul A. Offit
Posted in Autism, Books | 4 Comments »

Autism’s False Prophets - Campaign Launch

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Autism's False Prophets Last year, fifteen of our bloggers read and reviewed Dr. Paul A. Offit’s book Vaccinated. Now Offit is back with a new book, Autism’s False Prophets, that takes on the fallout of the publicity surrounding the still-unproven link between vaccinations and autism.

Offit is the chief of Infectious Diseases and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He’s also the coinventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq.

In Autism’s False Prophets, Offit covers the alternative therapies that have been developed to “treat” autism and the unintended harm that they have caused. He also lays out the history of autism research and the opportunism and exploitation surrounding the anti-vaccination publicity of recent years.

Dr. Offit will donate all royalties from sales of Autism’s False Prophets to autism research.

Ten of our bloggers will read and review Autism’s False Prophets - several of whom also read and reviewed Vaccinated. Check out their upcoming reviews:

Monday 10/13 - Esmon
Wednesday 10/15 - Creature Bug
Friday 10/17 - SeaBird Chronicles
Monday 10/20 - Cootie Chronicles
Tuesday 10/21 - Cheese Party
Wednesday 10/22 - Modern Mamma Marvels and Mid-Campaign Post on PBN
Thursday 10/23 - Chefdruck Reviews
Friday 10/24 - Ovolina
Monday 10/27 - Taste Like Crazy
Tuesday 10/28 - Slouching Mom
Wednesday 10/29 - Round-Up Review on PBN

WIN IT! If you’d like to win a copy of Autism’s False Prophets, leave a comment here or on the upcoming Mid-Campaign post. We’ll draw one winner at random and announce on the Round-Up!

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Tags: Autism, autism research, Autism’s False Prophets, blogger reviews, Paul A. Offit
Posted in Autism, Books | 5 Comments »

Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse and Skill Building Buddies DVDs for Kids on the Autistic Spectrum - Final Campaign Round-Up

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Five of our bloggers reviewed two different social-skills DVDs aimed at children on the autistic spectrum. Skill Building Buddies: Handling Transitions and Change focuses on coping with routine changes and other unexpected disappointments. Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse, Volume One: Expressing Yourself teaches greetings, “using your words,” identifying emotions, and saying goodbye. Both DVDs emphasized the need to stay calm. This is reassuring to our reviewers, as one of the challenges for parents of children on the spectrum is finding ways to cope with tantrums, funny noises, and other outlets of frustration that are considered inappropriate in standard social circles.

One blogger notes of her daughter, “She loses her cool most, most often.” Another blogger outlined how her son was asked to leave a preschool and was later expelled from Kindergarten. Preventing these tantrums - especially preventing them from becoming large problems - by training the children in coping with potentially nerve-wracking situations is vital.

Skill-Building Buddies: Handling Transitions and Change from Mazzarella Media focuses on unexpected schedule changes, handling disappointment, and the introduction of an unfamiliar activity. Project consultants for this DVD include psychologists, educational professionals, and speech & language pathologists.

Skill Building Buddies has several live-action scenarios that cartoon hosts then explain. Viewers are taught to “Look” “Listen” and “Stay Calm.” These segments are then broken up by an upbeat song about changes. One blogger noted the irony; “After two live-action segments, there’s a song break. This pattern can be comforting to children, especially when they are children who prefer patterns and dislike change!” And so, a DVD about learning to cope with change in routine has its own predictable pattern. But this will improve the ability for the viewers to feel comfortable with the material.

The live-action segments caused a bit of skepticism. One blogger focused on the adults: The adult actors model the “proper” way to address change to the child. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that “real world” activities will involve a soft-spoken adult who carefully explains why the change needs to occur. And another mentioned the calm cooperation of the kids: “I really didn’t find this to be realistic - a child not on the Spectrum wouldn’t handle this type of disappointment nearly as well as the kids on the show did. I did like how the concept of “Look at the person, Stay calm, and try to work it out” was repeated over and over.”

One blogger notes “Each live-action character’s change is a day-to-day issue, something that isn’t life-shattering, but children can relate to as a source of frustration/anger/sadness.” Another comments that perhaps more major changes should be addressed: “…there are medium-lasting but not permanent changes that can happen…Aunt Bonnie is still the same person she was before she bleached her hair blonde and Cousin Matt isn’t going to have braces forever. But for a kid on the spectrum, these changes in appearance can be traumatic.”

Our bloggers felt that their kids enjoyed Skill Building Buddies. Although one mother wasn’t sure if her daughter paid attention to the DVD, ““ …then I saw her playing with her little sister one day, and I overheard her saying, ‘…use your ears to listen, and stay calm,’ while she modeled the hand motions. Apparently she understood more than I thought she did.” Each little bit helps: Watching the DVD multiple times will help reinforce a positive coping strategy for dealing with change.

Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse from NoteAbilities is a series developed by parents and experts in speech and music therapy. Our Bloggers reviewed Volume One: Expressing Yourself. This DVD covers common greetings, eye-contact, identifying emotions, and appropriate physical contact.

The first section of the DVD involves common greetings. “A scene involving different ways to say “hello!” - it felt juvenile and contrived, and yet, she loved it.” says one mother.

Several bloggers liked the use of a posted schedule to help identify what comes next. This technique was used in both DVDs. “I liked the fact that they use an activity schedule - a kind of chart on the wall. My daughter loves to know what’s going on and thrives on a schedule, and it was gratifying to see that others find that important.”

A mother of a three year old explains, “It’s hard for many autistic kids to “read” emotions on the faces of others, just like it’s hard for them to express their own feelings. [My daughter] loved watching them practice each emotion, laughing at the silly faces, and trying to pick out the right emotion each time. (For the record, she still can’t recognize angry, frustrated or sad faces.)” Another mom also noted that her daughter didn’t quite understand the emotions section yet: “The section on reading body cues and faces was a bit over her head. She really didn’t understand what an angry face was - although she could correctly show me one, she had difficulty picking one out. She’s four, so this might be a section more suited to an older child.” A reviewer with a seven-year old son remarked that the emotions section was easy for him; “He easily got the “quiz” portion correct… he can understand different emotions when quizzed about them (spontaneous real-world application may not be as easy, although he’s gotten better,) but this DVD was still a good reminder of “using your words” and how to deal with anger, frustration, and disappointment.”

It can be difficult to try to explain to a child on the spectrum something that seems so “obvious” to other children or to us. Yet the way the DVD is created and the information provided in an interview with a speech pathologist reassures parents that their child is not alone and that the DVD has taken these quirks into consideration. One blogger notes, “…while some of it seems SO SIMPLISTIC, you have to remind yourself that what comes so easily to you is an enigma to these children. Another concurs, “I really liked the reassurances that a typical ASD kid can’t always reason and sometimes can have an adverse reaction; for example, fit throwing. I know those things in my head, but in my heart, sometimes it’s difficult to remember.” The DVD acknowledges these difficulties, and seeks to help overcome them.

One of our parents explained, “the extras on this DVD are just as valuable as the actual program. The speech therapist and the two music therapists who helped design Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse talk about the theory behind the therapy and give parent strategies for incorporating music and speech therapies all day long.” This support for parents is valuable.

Our bloggers felt this DVD was realistic, too. One parent noted, “There were examples of “good” and “bad” ways of dealing with anger, meeting people, and coping with strong emotions. Some DVDs only show the “good” way of dealing with a situation, which doesn’t feel realistic to me or my kids.” She also noted that “[the techniques] helped recently when my oldest daughter got frustrated at the beach. We were able to work through her anger, and get to the root of the trouble rather than just patching up the surface issue.”

This DVD is not just enjoyable for kids on the spectrum. Siblings enjoyed the video too. One blogger explained, “Sometimes I forget that having a sibling on the spectrum deprives them of regular interaction, that their relationship is based on a different sort of understanding and that it occasionally can cause confusion when dealing with other neurotypical kids.” Another noted, ““[My neurotypical 3.5 year old] was interested, too, although after the first several rounds decided that he wasn’t as excited as [my pdd-nos seven year old.]“ But, she acknowledges, “I hope [My neurotypical 3.5 year old] picks up on the bits about anger. Many little kids need to learn about appropriate responses to disappointment, not just those on the spectrum.”

—
Congratulations to Jen G, winner of these two DVDs!

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Posted in Autism, Baby, Elementary School, Kids, Media, Pre-school | 3 Comments »

Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse and Skill Building Buddies DVDs for Kids on the Autistic Spectrum - Campaign Launch

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

New parents are showered with gifts such as alphabet blocks and activity mats with bright colors and alphanumeric graphics. Simple puzzles to learn shapes and colors abound, as do every product imaginable with letters and numbers. Television shows, DVDs, electronic toys, and activity cubes aimed at infants through preschoolers all center around the “basics:” ABC’s, 123’s, colors, and shapes.

But what about social skills?

Until recently, most people assumed that social skills were naturally learned, whereas the more “academic” subjects had to be taught. But with the increasing number of diagnoses of autistic spectrum disorders and similar conditions where effective communication and coping strategies can be challenged, tutoring for social skills has become more prevalent. Fortunately, this need has propagated into the at-home market.

Five of our bloggers had the opportunity to try two DVDs aimed at kids on the autistic spectrum:

Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse from NoteAbilities is a series developed by parents and experts in speech and music therapy. Our Bloggers reviewed Volume One: Expressing Yourself. This DVD covers common greetings, eye-contact, and appropriate physical contact.

Skill-Building Buddies: Handling Transitions and Change from Mazzarella Media focuses on unexpected schedule changes, handling disappointment, and the introduction of an unfamiliar activity. Project consultants for this DVD include psychologists, educational professionals, and speech & language pathologists.

~~Leave a comment on this post or on the round-up post (4/28) and you will be entered to win – one lucky winner will receive both DVDs!~~ <strong>Congratulations to Jen G, winner of the DVDs!

In the meantime, find out what the parents thought:

Mon 4/21 - Mom to the Screaming Masses (Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse)
Mon 4/21 - Karianna (Skill Building Buddies)
Tues 4/22 - Little Bird Reviews (Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse)
Tues 4/22 - A Gaggle of Girls (Skill Building Buddies)
Wed 4/23 - Mommy’s Must Haves (Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse)
Wed 4/23 - Mom to the Screaming Masses (Skill Building Buddies)
Thurs 4/24 - A Gaggle of Girls (Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse)
Thurs 4/24 - Little Bird Reviews (Skill Building Buddies)
Fri 4/25 - Karianna (Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse)
Fri 4/25 - Mommy’s Must Haves (Skill Building Buddies)

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Posted in Autism, Elementary School, Kids, Media, Pre-school, Pre-teen | 11 Comments »

The Parent Bloggers Network

Archive for the ‘Autism’ Category

Autism’s False Prophets - A Feeling of Betrayal

Autism’s False Prophets - Here’s What They’re Saying So Far

Autism’s False Prophets - Campaign Launch

Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse and Skill Building Buddies DVDs for Kids on the Autistic Spectrum - Final Campaign Round-Up

Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse and Skill Building Buddies DVDs for Kids on the Autistic Spectrum - Campaign Launch

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