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Posts about: Expressive/receptive language, Communication skills. Requesting (manding), labeling (tacting), conversation skills, AAC.
Explore the hidden barriers that lead to the exclusion of neurodiverse individuals in our communities. Discover insights and solutions rooted in empathy and understanding.
Let’s chat about something truly close to our hearts: helping our incredible neurodiverse kids navigate the beautiful, sometimes bewildering, world of feelings. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent countless hours wondering how to truly connect with your child or client on an emotional level, helping them understand what’s bubbling up inside and what’s happening with others around them.
At its heart, AsTeRICS Grid is a multiplatform web communicator. Think of it as a customizable digital board that uses pictograms, images, and text to help individuals express themselves. The “Grid” part refers to its flexible layout system – you can create communication boards with cells containing words, phrases, or symbols that, when activated, speak out loud.
Okay, let’s dive into this! That feeling when you see a note from school in your…
Using these boards at home doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s all about weaving them into your daily routines. Here are a few examples:
Example 1: The “What Do You Want?” Board (Requests)
Let’s say it’s snack time. Instead of just asking, “What snack do you want?” and potentially getting frustrated if your child struggles to answer verbally, you can use a simple board with pictures of available snacks: apple slices, crackers, yogurt.
Every time a child interacts with these materials – squeezing, rolling, pinching, pulling, poking, or flattening – they are giving their hand and finger muscles a fantastic workout. It’s resistance training and dexterity practice disguised as play! Strengthening these muscles and improving control lays a crucial foundation for countless other skills.
Bringing basic sign language into someone’s life works best when everyone’s on board. Parents, siblings, teachers, therapists – the whole crew! When everyone uses and understands a few core signs, you create an environment where communication attempts are understood and reinforced consistently.
When your child experiences those huge reactions – the ones that might look like massive tantrums, complete shutdowns, or anything in between – it’s so easy to feel lost, frustrated, or even judged. But here’s something crucial I want you to hold onto: These intense moments are very rarely about defiance or being ‘bad.’ They are almost always involuntary responses. Think of it like a system overload, a distress signal saying, “I can’t cope right now!”
If you’re a parent or therapist supporting an amazing autistic child, you know that alongside the…
