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    Make a Change Book: a together activity for families with an autistic child.

    June 16, 2020

    A together activity for families with an autistic child. Of course we prepare for change when a child on the Spectrum is part of the equation, sort of goes without saying, right? In addition to explaining the upcoming change, then wash, rinse, repeat and explain again, always using simple and clear terms, here is an […]

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    Make a Change Book: a together activity for families with an autistic child.

    June 16, 2020

    Child's painting | Montrose, CO 81401

    animal crossing art character | Montrose, CO 81401

    cartoon of a person folding laundry | Montrose, CO 81401

    creating a change book | Montrose, CO 81401A together activity for families with an autistic child.

    Of course we prepare for change when a child on the Spectrum is part of the equation, sort of goes without saying, right?
    In addition to explaining the upcoming change, then wash, rinse, repeat and explain again, always using simple and clear terms, here is an activity that may offer a fun way to prepare for change.

    You will be making a visual schedule in a book format. This is a visual support/ a form of visual schedule in a storybook format.

    Materials you will need:
    Three ring binder
    Stapler
    Copy paper to fit in the binder
    Hole punch
    Glue sticks
    Scissors
    magazines, old calendars, greeting card photos/ anything you can cut up that has images of activities
    a container to hold images

    Prepare ahead of time:
    Staple together enough pages to include most major activities of the day
    Take the same amount of page and place them in the three ring binder (hole punch ahead of time or make that repetitive activity a part of the book making)

    Cut or tear pictures from magazines or other sources of the activities during a daily schedule.
    Glue the images onto pages in the binder. If you don’t have a binder a second set of pre-stapled pages will do. But a binder might allow some flexibility during the process: allowing for frustrations and for changes in perspective during the process. Speaking of frustration. Your child may likely find some images that do not pertain to the daily visual schedule. Those can be glued into the pre-stapled pages.

    Keeping that structured daily routine is part of survival at home. Now you have a visual storybook of the daily routine. As part of getting ready for a change in routine you can add a new page with an image of the new activity.
    Get ready for changes in small steps and then wash, rinse repeat by explaining. Use the visual storybook to reinforce the explanation. It can be part of the getting ready process.

    I hope you enjoy making a visual schedule. Let me know how your activity went. Post an image of your visual journal or of the activity in progress. Have fun!

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    Filed Under: ASD, Autism, creativity, journal, parent support, parenting, Uncategorized Tagged With: #arttherapy, #autism, #autismbehavior, #autismparenting, #autismsupport, #connecttherapies, #familyrules, #schedule, #self-regulate, ASD, Aspergers, visualschedule

    Sunday Support: Some Thoughts on Parenting & Aspergers: Finding Hope

    June 1, 2020

    Brain illustration Highly functioning autistic individuals might be described as “aware and can’t do anything about it” when it comes to certain areas of living. They are highly functioning in many areas but of highly functioning socially. The job of parents becomes not to teach social graces but to teach them responsibility so as not […]

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    Sunday Support: Some Thoughts on Parenting & Aspergers: Finding Hope

    June 1, 2020

    diagram of the brain | Montrose, CO 81401
    rainbow heart with intertwined infinity sign | Montrose, CO 81401 Brain illustration
    Highly functioning autistic individuals might be described as “aware and can’t do anything about it” when it comes to certain areas of living. They are highly functioning in many areas but of highly functioning socially. The job of parents becomes not to teach social graces but to teach them responsibility so as not to put themselves in dangerous situations.

    First, a little brain science.
    The cerebellum has more neural connections than any other part of the brain. The cerebellum controls motor activity, sensory-motor activity, balance, memory, and facial expression to name a few. If your cerebellum is “overactive” you may experience involuntary movement. If your cerebellum is “under-active” your feet may forget to move. One can expand that idea of overactive and under-active to the various areas controlled by the cerebellum.

    Second, internalized rules.
    So let’s say as a family parents come with sets of rules. Parent #1 has her/ his family rules. Parent #2 has her/his family rules. I am speaking of internalized rules not formal, do this-don’t do that posted on the fridge type rules. We all com with internalized rules that are the result of our “internal mothers (primary caregiver).” These are things that we just assume to be true about how to live life in a family setting. Some have more than others. Some are well defined and “loud” while some are subtle in volume or tone and some are pretty muddy. We all have some. These are the things that we just assume to be true about how to live life in a family setting. We act out the internalized rules based on situations that come up day to day.
    As a family grows the two parents have many experiences, opportunities to forge new family rules by combining , refining , getting rid of internal rules. Some times this happens formally, sometime almost by osmosis and sometimes, well “loudly.”

    And third, new family member.
    Along comes a new family member who is high functioning on the Spectrum. The internalized rules may no longer work. You know, those auto-pilot things we say, those auto-pilot responses that just seem to just happen. The internalized rules may not fit this new situation. “What we know is what we know.” And “what we know’ in this case probably isn’t going to work. Yet, here we are. We act out rules to solve problems. Therein lies the opportunity. This is the opportunity: to rewrite the family rules. This is the opportunity to make rules appropriate to the new situation, the new family. The family deserves and will need new rules.

    Taking time to visit your internal family rules, your internal mother and to not allow her to auto-pilot how you relate to your child on the Spectrum. Take time to create new family rules together and verbalize them. Put in to action rules with flexibility that will address the social wellbeing and the safety of your child on the Spectrum.

    More about rules in a future blog. For now I hope you find this to be food for thought. If you are struggling with “parenting on the Spectrum” and would like support please check out of Resource Page here at Connect Therapies LLC or give us a call. We are here to offer hope and support.

    Contact Me

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE HELP from Connect Therapies

    Filed Under: ASD, Autism, parent support, parenting Tagged With: # parenting, #autism, #autismbehavior, #autismparenting, #autismsupport, #cerebellum, #familyrules, #parentingsupport, ASD, Aspergers

    Autism, Neurons and Self Regulation, Oh My!

    May 19, 2020

    This is the first in a series of blogs related to the Autism Spectrum. I hope you will find it worthy of your time. Until recently Autism and Aspergers Disorder were defined separately and now are contained within the designation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This blog post addresses across the spectrum. Throughout my life […]

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    Autism, Neurons and Self Regulation, Oh My!

    May 19, 2020

    This is the first in a series of blogs related to the Autism Spectrum. I hope you will find it worthy of your time. Until recently Autism and Aspergers Disorder were defined separately and now are contained within the designation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This blog post addresses across the spectrum.

    Throughout my life I have interacted with individuals on the Spectrum. My first experiences with autism were in college as a Special Olympics volunteer, a Boys Club worker, a VISTA Volunteer in a preschool for developmental delays and in a a county "Community School" in Appalachia. In my art teaching career I continue d to interact via art in the public schools. Late in graduate school practicum and internship I connected once again with autistic clients. More recently I worked at Foothills Gateway in Fort Collins engaging with adults on the Spectrum and in my private practice on the Front Range. I have been blessed with grandson who is on the Spectrum. I have a love for working with young adult "Aspies" and their families and continue to do so in the Montrose area.

    Individuals diagnosed with ASD have one-sided social interactions. They can be intensely absorbed in circumscribed topics. They are often socially isolated. It si important to point out that they are not unaware of the presence of others. Individuals on the Spectrum are interested in making friends. Two limiting factors in this area are: social awkwardness and insensitivity to interpersonal communications.
    Individuals on the Spectrum experience difficulty reading facial expressions, in particular recognizing fear. Research shows they tend to identify/ see separate facial features but not the face as a whole. the brain science part to this is what is called damage to mirror systems. This damage creates deficits in reading biological emotions. (refer to the writings of Louis Cozolino to further your knowledge.)

    More brain science? There are speculations / theories as tot eh cause of damage to mirror systems but no definitive answer yet. ASD individuals also avoid making eye contact They are relatively 'blind" to the idea of significance of direction of eye gaze.Research shows ASD individuals have some structural irregularities in the cerebellum region of the brain. The cerebellum is responsible for coordinating motor movements, controlling muscle tone, maintaining equilibrium and balance, modulating and timing language and modulation and timing in affect regulation. Thats a lot of function! And much of this function is relevant to how ASD individuals interact and relate to others.These irregularities show up in dysregulation of how one experiences one's body in time and space. The result is avoidance of unpredictable stimuli. ASD individuals prefer sameness and predictability. Another result is rhythmic self stimulation. The internal absence of equilibrium/ balance/ modulation, or the internal regulation of sensory input is chaotic internally The ASD person's response is self stimulation via rhythmic movement to quiet the chaos. Sometimes as a family member we see an individual that is "set off", over stimulated and we are unable to understand what the source is. We look for a trigger. It may simply be internal chaos that the individual is coping with. So their "go to" is self regulation coping strategies.

    The cerebellum helps us organize sensory and motor input. It has been suggested that the cerebellum plays a role in affect regulation, attachment and positive self image. The cerebellum helps us attune to others by eye contact, shared gaze, positive share interactions. These functions are disrupted and creates some deficits as the brain is developing. The deficits in affect regulation, social judgement and empathy happen as the frontal brain circuits ads develop and they are connected to the cerebellum. We also rely on close relationships for these three qualities to take shape: affect regulation, social judgement and empathy. So the input from family interactions, therapy and social skills training are of great importance to the ASD individual giving them support and growth opportunities.

    Our brains are shaped by experience. Our brains reflect what we learn. As we connect an d grow and gain in socialization our brain neurons connect and grow and gain complexity. Relationships have a huge effect in regulating our growth of neurons. Relationships can increase the neural growth, increase our metabolic activity and increase our metabolic growth. Maybe that is another blog topic for another day?

    To summarize, ASD individuals can gain social skills including empathy, facial recognition/ emotion reading ability and can overcome to some degree the mirror system damage to the cerebellum.

    All the Best and Be Well,
    Sally
    Sally Blevins MA LPC

    If you are interested in assessment for therapy related to Autism Spectrum Disorder please contact Sally Blevins MA LPC at Connect Therapies LLC. We can coordinate care as follows:

    Sally Blevins MA LPC, www.connecttherapiesllc.com/contact Connect Therapies for psychotherapy with higher functioning individuals, family support and coaching, referral to ABA services, referral to accessible online evaluations without the typical six month waiting period and without the need to travel to the Front Range.Connect Therapies takes Rocky Mountain Health Plan Medicaid and Prime.

    Over The Rainbow Consulting, https://www.otrbehavior.com for ABA therapy, testing and evaluation, services for lower functioning individuals, family support and coordinating educational support.

    Clear Child Psychology, www.clearchildpsychology.com for assessment using the CADE online assessment tool, less wait time for assessment followed by referral to therapist including those who take Medicaid, family support, coaching, educational support including online learning.

    Contact Me

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE HELP from Connect Therapies

    Filed Under: ASD, Autism Tagged With: ABA, art therapy, ASD, Aspergers, Aspies, assessment, autism assessment, autism spectrum, autism support, brain, therapy

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