Ideas for intervention — I have an adolescent with autism in my class who responds negatively when people say certain words. He seems to have a sensitivity to them and may respond with a behavioral outburst. …

Often individuals with autism may be described using terms such as rigid or rote. One area that may be important to focus on is flexibility. This is an area that may prove to be difficult for some individuals with autism and most certainly also for individuals without autism at times…

Lists for Life: A Step-by-Step Approach to an Organized Life I think we can all admit that we need to be more organized at work and in our home life. It can seem like a daunting task, taking that first step towards organization. …

The transition from adolescence to adulthood does not always receive as much attention as is needed. Often transition services are limited, leaving individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) without the level of preparation needed for “adulting”. Areas such as leisure skill development and vocational preference are often not fully addressed…

What does it mean to have an IQ? Well, IQ is an intelligence quotient and it is measured by a few specific intelligence tests. The most common tests that you may have heard of are the Stanford Binet and the WISC-R. So, let’s talk about the numbers for a moment…

Incidental teaching was first developed by researchers Hart & Risley in the late 1960s and into the 1970s (Risley, 1968; Hart & Risley, 1975). Incidental teaching is a child-directed teaching method in which the child’s interest leads the instruction. The adult (teacher or parent) uses the child’s interests to encourage…

Social Stories™ was originally developed by Carol Gray. Social Stories™ are stories that are written to help assist a student in a variety of social situations. Social Stories™ have been shown to be effective in improving social behavior in students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) across a variety of domain…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based set of principles that together form a practical framework for using technology to maximize learning opportunities for every student (Rose & Meyer, 2002). This means that educators must think from the onset about all learners. …

Let me tell you about Paul — he was diagnosed with autism at age 2 and by the age of 8, he had participated in over 10 fad treatments for autism. Treatments included auditory integration training, a gluten-free diet, a rotation diet, magnet therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin, secretin, hyperbaric oxygen therapy…