Inclusion Not Assimilation

Every where I read, INCLUSION is mentioned.

What is inclusion?
According to Wikipedia "Inclusion in education is an approach once thought only necessary for educating students with special educational needs. Now it is crucial that all teachers ensure inclusive practice for all students in their classroom and the wider school. Under the inclusion model, students with special needs spend most or all of their time with non-disabled students."

Inclusion is important. It means unlike when I was in school, special education students aren't grouped together in a classroom down the hall that is separate from children that do not receive special education. 
ALL students must be taught together "to the maximum extent possible" (based on LRE Least Restrictive Environment which must be met under IDEA). This means if a child with special needs warrants a special kind of service like speech therapy or occupational therapy that they might be pulled out of class for a limited time but the majority of their day is with their peers.

I fully support inclusion. I think if we put children together that they can learn from each other. There is no more secrecy. 
I do not support assimilation.
To assimilate means to make someone/something resemble something/someone else.

In conversing with many adults with autism, one of their biggest gripes with teachers is how they were forced to be 'normal' and to "hide their differences."
I see this happening even today. 
When I sent my daughter to school with a chewy tube (a therapeutic tool to help relieve proprioceptive input in the jaw), she was teased. I sent her with one that looked like a bracelet and one that looked like a necklace but to no avail. Instead of educating the children, or equating it to chewing on a pen cap or encouraging them to mind their own business, I was told by the school to buy a $15 Camelbak water bottle. This type of water bottle has a soft chewy spout that my child can chew inconspicuously.
At first I thought this was a great idea. Like many other autistic children that I've met, she forgets to drink frequently and gets dehydrated. So really I figured we are killing two birds (drinking and chewing) with one stone (a water bottle). 
However, as time goes on, my child needed sensory breaks and instead of sending her to the OT room so she could get some deep compression or swing they sent an OT to the class to teach the entire class Brain Gym exercises so she wouldn't need to leave the room and so if she did use the exercises no one would make fun of my child. For some children, these Brain Gym movements might be enough. For my child they aren't and even worse, you have just explained to her that she needs to keep her issues hidden. If she isn't 'normal' she needs to pretend to be 'normal.' 

I want to scream - let my child be unique! She is awesome the way she is and if she needs a break - give it to her. However, screaming isn't effective. I really believe in educating everyone because I know the staff at the school really have the best intentions and are just doing what they have been told. 
So it is time to tell the world. I am asking everyone to send me a video (30 seconds to 1 minute) of you and/or your child with a sign that explains something you think people don't understand about autism. It is my goal to turn it into a music video to the Pharrell Williams song "Happy." My family and I are going to start with explaining how flapping is considered a stim. Stimming is your body's way of calming or outwardly showing happiness. So "come along with me now if you feel like 'flappiness' is the truth..." Let's raise positive awareness.
Send your video to Leslie@LeslieBurby.com. If anyone knows of anyone techy that can help make this dream a reality by donating their time please have them email me.

Leslie Burby

Autism Conference in Arizona

Tomorrow I will be flying from Connecticut to Arizona to go speak at the Autism Conferences of America among speakers Dr. Margret Bauman and Temple Grandin. I'm very excited and honored to be speaking at this conference about two things that have always been dear to me - tutoring and autism. 

My talk consists of years of research and personal experience about teaching students with traumatic brain injuries, dyslexia, ADD and autism. I combine the scientific research about how our brains learn and how we retain information to create specific teaching methods to maximize learning for any learner. 
I asked some of the most respected adults with autism that I know while creating this speech -
What do you wish your teacher's knew that would've helped you learn better when you were in school? 
And 
What would you say to teachers about teaching autistic children?

You see to me, I can read every book on the topic and adjust things to fit my students and my own children but I know for each and every person learning is a unique experience. 
To make my talk fully well-rounded, I went past internet searches, books and even my own life experiences to bring the best talk I possibly can. 
For more information o the conference please visit http://www.autismconferencesofamerica.com/ 

Taking Away Recess: punishing vs rewarding

Every year I dread the start of a new school year because I never know if the teacher that is assigned to my children will understand or be knowledgeable about autism. It seems like I am forever explaining things. I have been very fortunate in that the teachers and the school psychologist have been very open to hearing my suggestions. Last year I had to explain that although my child my not "look" like she needs a sensory break - she still very well might need one. (A sensory break is when a child with autism or sensory processing differences needs to take a break because their body is not feeling calm and therefore can't focus on the lesson. In some cases doing some tricks like pressing their palms together, squeezing a massage ball, or chewing on a chewy bracelet might be enough and in other instances they might need to go to the OT room to crash into a Yogibo beanbag seeking proprioceptive input or swing for vestibular input to give just a few example.)
This year, I sent an email explaining that my child has anxiety, delayed processing, often forgets to drink and eat because her focus is so intense so to kindly remind her to eat and drink and if she complains of a headache or stomach cramping that she might just need to eat and drink. I also suggested that they give her a schedule of when she will receive her services to help alleviate her anxiety over when they will be. Three days after school had started, my daughter had a panic attack. It took her three days to process her thoughts about the rules in her new teacher's class. According to her, the class was told that if they didn't finish creating their illustration for their story that they would have to spend recess inside finishing their picture until it was fully colored. The "only person that will play with her at recess" so she says, had to stay inside to finish his picture. This left her alone at recess. It also left her having a panic attack from 8-10 pm because the mere thought of missing the only time she has to get her energy expelled was being threatened by her ability to draw and color quickly. As a former educator I understand that this idea of "you need to complete this or I will take this privilege away" mindset comes into play and it often does help children that have difficulty staying on task. However, there are two things that the teacher may not know: 1. my daughter has hypotonia (she has low muscle tone) and 2. rewards work more effectively than punishing an autistic child. 
So I emailed her teacher letting her know that I wanted her to be aware that my daughter is hypotonic and that her lack of muscle can delay her ability to color as fast as her peers and that due to this physical disability I do not want her missing any recess. I would prefer she finish her coloring at home, at her own speed, if she doesn't have adequate time to complete it during the school day. I also explained that punishing, taking things away and time outs are not effective and actually increase tension, anxiety and decrease the confidence and mutual trust needed to learn. Thankfully, the teacher understood and said that she considers the individual needs of each child. 
So for today, my child is safe from not missing the little time she has to play outside freely, but I continue to worry for the child that doesn't say anything to their parents or perhaps can't communicate their frustrations (like my son). Recess is needed! Play is essential! This push to have kids sitting still is not realistic. They aren't twenty year olds expected to sit at a desk to work a 9-5 job - they are kids. 
In Finland they allow their students 75 minutes of recess and their students are scoring better read about it here.  In Norway, students have three recesses a day! One mom writes, "He has three recesses here, rather than just one, as in Minnesota. The school day is about an hour shorter than at home, giving him extra time to play before doing homework. He enjoys nearly two hours of unstructured, outdoor play every day here, four times more than in the United States." read the rest of the article here.
Also, in this article  there is scientific evidence that children that have recess are able to focus better. Hmm - really?! (joking) You mean if you let the kids run off their energy then they might be able to sit still and pay attention and learn more in less time? This is why, recess is not an option in my mind. Recess must not be taken away. Recess is needed so the kid can come back and finish his work without squirming in his seat. I remember being taught in college that children only have a ten minute attention span, if this is true then why are the children in the US expected to sit 9AM-3PM with only an approximate recess time of 20 min? Some of you might say but they have lunch time too, at least they can socialize then. WRONG! I have been learning of schools that don't allow talking at all during lunch. Silent lunches, because lunch is for eating only. The American education needs to get back on track. With all the testing, the stress on teachers I fear has turned to stress on students and no one's ratings or scores are going to increase with little to no social time. The brain needs a break. It's time we let kids be kids so their brains are ready to learn.

How to Get Your Child to Do Their Summer Work

(Please note that all ideas on this blog are owned by Leslie Burby and copyrighted as such. Feel free to play these games but you do not have the right to sell or reprint this idea (in books, on social media, on a blog, or any other computer sharing) without giving credit to Leslie Burby and linking to this blog.)

In the summer, I agree that kids need time to be kids and climb a tree and walk a stone wall because working on motor skills is important, too, but kids do need to keep their brains sharp as well. Most parents and kids think of sitting at the kitchen table doing worksheet after worksheet to beat the dreaded "brain drain." "Brain drain" basically means that children forget most of what they learned in school during the summer. To stop the kids from forgetting what they learned, I have my children do a combination of fun "games" and "science experiments" as well as worksheets. Why? Well, because if I only do the fun games and experiments than my kids have a hard time sitting still in class. So I think that there needs to be a balance. We aim for only one or two worksheets to be done a day or 2 twice a week (but we don't stress if we miss one day because Grandma decided to bring us to the zoo or Mom needs a break and we spend the day walking the river.)
However, even though we read every day, and do worksheets (almost) every day, my kids still have a tendency to have days when they just don't want to do their worksheets. (Each of my children are sent home with a packet of dittos to work on during the summer and it has to be handed in on the first day of school.) So when the complaining starts, my brain starts racing of ideas to get them to complete the dreaded worksheets while having fun with them. Here are just two ideas.

MONEY

In order to get my kids to identify the fronts and backs of the coins (just the four basic penny, nickel, dime, quarter) we did crayon rubbing. 
I recommend using Glue Dots of the 1/2in size to get the coin to stay still while rubbing.
Before we started I folded the college ruled paper into fourths and wrote Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter. I wrote 1 cent with the penny, and 5 cents in the nickel box, and ten cents in the dime and 1 = 25 cents, 2= 50 cents, 3= 75 cents, 4= $1.00 or 100 cents in the quarter box.

First, put a Glue Dot on the back of a coin and stick it to your table or floor.


Then, have the children rub a crayon over it. We used the fat toddler crayons, but explore with different size and different color crayons for fun.


After everyone had a good rubbing of the front and back of each coin we played a game.





MONEY HUNT

I had this idea to have a money hunt instead of an egg hunt. The deal was that they could keep all the coins found if they added them up correctly. I was going to hide them in a small area beside my patio but one of my daughters was very concerned that she wouldn't be able to find the coins in grass and didn't want us to lose money because that would be wasteful. So to calm her anxiety, and because I don't want to waste money (she had a very good point) I dumped all our change on the freshly cleaned kitchen floor and gave them 60 seconds to collect as many coins as possible. 

 RULES

1.They must try to collect at least one of each coin.
2. After the timer goes off everyone must go to the table or set area to add the money but before counting they must make sure every player has one of each coin. If one player doesn't have a quarter and the other player has two then the player with two must surrender one quarter tot he player without a quarter.
3. They must sort their coins on the paper.
4. They must add up how much money they have for each kind of coin. 22 cents in pennies, 30 cents in dimes, etc.
5. They must then add up all four totals to see how much money they have in total.
6. If they add correctly, they keep the money.

The kids had a blast. I loved this game because they worked on:
skip counting (counted by 1's, 5's, 10's and 25's);
adding;
sorting;
fine motor skills (picking up the money and sorting it);
individual and team play.

Best of all they were rewarded for their hard work immediately and positively. As soon as they filled out the worksheet from the school and the math they did to add up their coins.

Traveling with Children on and off the Autism Spectrum

I don't travel out-of-state with my children very often but when I do, tons of planning comes into play. I have three small children (ages 3,6,& 7). Here are my favorite ways to make traveling pleasant:

Pre-Vacation

1. Make a boredom buster bag. 

Fun while learning letter recognition

    If you know you are going on vacation shop the Dollar store, the Dollar aisle at Target, the clearance aisle at Joanne Fabrics, or other craft stores (like A.C.Moore, or Michaels). Buy cheap things that will fill the boredom but do NOT give it to them all at once. Wait! Wait until they are restless, then give them one thing. The top images are for younger children ages 6 months - 4 and as the article goes on the games are for older ages.

We own this in pink. Makes learning letters fun with songs and games.

     If your children have the fine-motor control to color then buy them a coloring book and crayons or print out free coloring pages of a variety of their favorite things from the computer. I found these great Pack&Go packs with mini coloring books and crayons and stickers at Target and Walmart. For my son that has difficulty using his hands we got Invisible Ink markers with the coloring books with Jake and the Neverland Pirates. This way he doesn't have to worry about staying in the lines because no matter where he colors, a hidden image appears and he is practicing fine-motor skills. I also gave him a fold out sticker scene with stickers to keep him busy while waiting for food at a diner, which also blocked out the visual sensory overload.

Teaches animals and animal sounds while promoting fine motor skills and bucket for easy clean up.

We also, bring a cookie sheet with magnetic letters to encourage spelling and word growth but Shhhh! don't tell my kids that it is educational. They think they are sending secret messages to each other. 

Also, we buy two new movies. One for the way to and one for the way home.

For older children, printout maps of where you are going so they can track your journey and learn geography. In addition, they can play travel bingo, or license plate games, etc. 

My daughter's Leapfrog Tag system. I love the Tag because it is more sturdy than other tablets.

Flip to Win game by Melissa & Doug with Hangman or Memory options

When all else fails - play I spy.
I also pack a craft bag, so when they wake up early they have something to do (at least momentarily) to hopefully not wake my sleeping parents.

Bath caddies can be used to carry crafts, and juicy juice juice boxes fits in the soap holder

For older children and teens, perhaps give them $10 or $20 to spend on new games or apps for their tablets or Leapfrog Tag system. Give your teen their own packing list to check off what they need, but include items like ear buds, charger or batteries, carrying case for their system or tablet, etc. Plus I found these amazing things at Barnes and Noble to keep older children, teens and adults busy.

Mad Libs, need I say more? For a hilarious ending pass it around so everybody fills in one word.

Travel desk with white board and zip pocket underneath.

For the coolest coloring carry case check out this blog where Stacy Vaughn turns old DVD cases into coloring cases.

Love this Sticker Dolly Dressing Travel book because I can emphasize the importance of proper attire for weather while playing with dolls and the book weaves a neat story while teaching world geography.

We love Highlights hidden pictures so much that we have a smaller travel size one we bought at Target that remains in the van.

BRAIN GAMES!

Magnetic classics

 Legos, legos, legos for everyone!

2.  Prepare your vehicle. 

      In my house, my husband, has the van serviced so the oil is changed and    tires are checked and replaced if necessary. When we have time, he               cleans it out of all the goldfish crackers crumbs. He sets up our DVD player in the van. We only allow TV watching in the van on long trips.

      I get organized so they can reach their crayons and a juice box without          calling MOOOOMMMMMMMMM every two minutes. I use a shower caddy, which fits two coloring books per side, a 24 pack of crayons and Juicy Juice boxes. Also, tie up a plastic bag for garbage from the wrappers.

3. Do ALL your laundry.

You can't pack it if it isn't clean. Besides, who wants to come home to mounds of dirty clothes?

4. Make sure you have enough medication for your entire trip.

Allow yourself three days before you leave to call your doctor if you need a refill so they can sort things out with your pharmacy. I love Walgreens because they are everywhere and their computers are linked better than some other major pharmacies that I haven't had the best of luck with. I personally had to refill my scripts and made sure the hubby picked them up the night before we left and then I left them at home. I ended up having to call a Walgreens in Maine and they got me a supply for the duration of my trip without any hassle. THANKS!

5. Map out stops/call the airline.

Roadtrips - Stops will happen. Children need to pee at the most inopportune times. Map your route and then find fun places to stop just in case. Our favorite place to stop when driving to Maine is at the Soloman Pond Mall because it is indoors (so I don't have to worry about rain or temperature), it has a variety of food options (for the variety of sensory issues we have in my family), it has several bathrooms and family bathrooms, it has a small child's play area (so they can burn off some energy and then get back in the van to nap), and it has inexpensive rides (an indoor carousel for $2 and 75 cent rides). 
My favorite new free app on my Smart Phone is Scout. You type in your ending location and then you can search for coffee, food, gas and more on your route. I LOVE it! So if you don't have time to map it all out ahead of time, download Scout. (No, I do not get paid for products that I endorse, I just like to share what actually works for me and my family.)

Flying - Have your child watch the video on the TSA website to help them mentally prepare for what traveling by plan is like as well as other movies with images or video of boarding, taking off and landing and collecting luggage.

6. Prepare your children. 

Two of my children are autistic and as a result they have anxiety. To try to preemptively cut anxiety off, I talk to them and show them pictures (because my Little Man is a visual kind-of-guy) for two weeks before we leave. Ask them what they would like to take with them to be comfortable from home. They might miss home but they can take something with them to make them remember home while traveling and to remind them that they will be home soon. Talk to them about places they would like to visit. If one child wants to collect shells on the beach but the other wants to go to an arcade then consider splitting up for the day. Do not force them to do something that will result in a meltdown - no one wins. If you suggest something and they adamantly don't want to do it, ask them why. They might need a day to think about why they don't want to but give them the time they need to communicate. Often I think 'Oh what a great place this would be to visit!' and my children disagree so the hubby and I separate for the day. Planning helps.

Packing

1. Packing Lists

 Get your FREE printable packing lists emailed to you by visiting Inkwellpress.com. You have to type in your email and then you can print out which packing list suits your trip best. Otherwise, follow my Pinterest Travel Board or Google Images for great packing list options.

2. Pack Children's Clothes 

Once you have your checklists printed, start by packing the kid's clothes. My daughter's clothes are matched by outfit. The bottom is folded in half then tucked into the neckline of the shirt. So when I pack I just lift the outfit by hanger and fold in half. When we get to our travel destination, we just hang up her clothes which makes for effortless unpacking and she needs no help getting dressed in the morning. Throw in two sweaters, a pair of pants, two bathing suits, two night gowns, socks and underwear and she is good to go. In a small carry-on I fit 8 days of outfits for both my girls like this.I also saw this cool idea on Facebook where the mom put the folded shirt on top of the folded shorts then rolled them up and shoved the outfit into a pair of socks. GENIUS! Although, my girls don't wear socks that often in the summer and one of my kids worried about wrinkling her outfits. LOL
For teens there is a good article about how to help teens with distraction issues pack at NCLD.org

3. Food

 Clean out your fridge and give things that will go bad to a neighbor or food pantry.
Then pre-package snacks instead of buying them prepackaged. I buy two big bags of a "chip snack" like Doritos and Cheetos at BJ's Wholesale club for $5.98 and a box of snack size plastic baggies from the dollar store and divide up portions.

 

 This way I don't have to worry about bowls and containers on the trip or passing a few. If we decide to go to the beach in the morning I can just grab a few bags and go. Of course, I also always have healthy snacks packs such as cheese sticks (cheddar, and mozzarella), raisins, pre-washed and sliced grapes and other fruits, nuts (if no allergies), etc. For snacks that don't need refrigeration like pretzels I use a giant sized Goldfish box that I taped a 9x12 sheet of paper to and wrote Assorted Snacks so I can just toss them a snack in the van.

4. Pack toiletries and your clothes.

Toiletries get tricky. Why? Because you have to use them up until the minutes before you leave. So what do I do? I leave gallon sized ziplock bags with sharpie marker notes on them to remind me. One for the Shampoo. One for the Conditioner. One for toothbrush and tooth paste. One for hair things. My makeup is in a makeup bag and I don't wear makeup everyday so I usually just pack that and travel without 'face paint' for a day. As far as deodorant, q-tips, shaving gel and razor, it is all packed in my travel toiletry bag that my awesome husband bought to support Fill-A-Need foundation from a Stella Dot fundraiser.

My clothes, I really don't have any crazy or clever trick. The best advice I can give you is check the weather in the location that you will be going to see how hot or cold it will be. I always pack for all weather situations. When I go to Maine in the summer, for instance, I always pack shorts and shorts sleeves, but I also pack two long sleeve shirts, a sweater or two and a pair of jeans just in case. I will never, ever forget when I was 19 I went to Disneyland with nothing packed but halter tops and shorts and it was the coldest Florida temperatures Florida had ever seen. I spent a fortune on a sweater and was uncomfortable most of the trip because of how cold I was. So my advice, pack at least one of everything (one short sleeved, one long sleeved, one pant, one short, one sweater, one dress) and more of what you anticipate the weather to be like. Also, if you are a flip flop lover like me don't forget to pack your sneakers and socks. You never know when you might need to cover your piggies (aka. toes).

5. Check your checklist.

Does it include the items that your children wanted to bring to help them feel comfortable?
Did you pack headphones? Extra batteries and chargers?

6. Don't forget medications and medical equipment needed.

This includes items that help your child with sensory overload like sunglasses and noise reduction headphones or ear plugs.
 If you take medications as soon as you take your last dose pack it or put it in your purse.

This may seem like a lot but it pays off. Careful planning and consideration of everyone traveling can alleviate many stresses and lead to a much more peaceful trip. For more great ideas check out my Pinterest Board all about Traveling with kids.

Looking to the Future

On the evening on June 30th, I resigned from my role as editor-in-chief from Autism Parenting Magazine. I will miss many of the wonderful people I have met while being editor. I am looking forward to what the future holds and I am exploring many options. I would like to say thank you to the people that have been supportive during this difficult transition.
In the future-
I will be speaking in Phoenix, AZ at the Back to School Conference on September 14th at the Autism Conferences of America.
I am an active Board Member for Hope 4 Autism, which is looking for runners and volunteers at the Hartford Marathon this October 11th. Hope 4 Autism will also be having a cupcake fundraiser in September which I look forward to helping plan.
Please like my Author page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeslieBurbyhttps://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeslieBurby to stay connected and up to date with the latest autism, and special education happenings.

Leslie

BEWARE ASD COMMUNITY

There is one thing I can’t stand more than anything in the ASD community and that is people claiming to be “experts” on a subject when they haven’t lived or experienced it themselves and creating products/or paid-for-advice for autistic individuals or their parents for significant financial gain without considering if the advice or products they are selling are actually benefiting or harming their customers. Don’t get me wrong there are good intentioned people out there that don’t know anyone directly that has autism but still want to learn and help people in the autism community. Plus when you donate a significant amount of time to studying and creating something you do need to recoup some costs or you will eventually be living under a bridge.  However, I caution parents to please consider your sources of information and the sources motives. If their number one motive is to make money from you – then BEWARE!  The advice or product/s they are selling need to be researched before using them on your child or student. Please be careful! It only takes an extra minute or two to do a Google search of reviews of a product or informational source. I also will tell you that some reviews need to be read carefully though because I have seen people write pieces that are completely inaccurate, but again it just took an extra minute to do one more search of their claim to prove that their article was entirely fabricated. As a parent of three children, (two on the spectrum) I urge you to please consider your source and guard your money. Make sure that money you donate and spend goes to safe, moral causes and/or businesses, etc.  Just in case, there is a negative viewer out there that thinks that I write and edit only for financial gain let me explain one thing - I make it a goal to have sound advice for our children and parents through the magazine and have insisted that people that can’t afford a yearly subscription still have access to some of the information through our You Tube channel and the Autism Parenting Magazine blog.  Ultimately, the magazine is a business and it has expenses so we must charge to keep up the production but know this I will never knowingly sell bad information or recommend a product that I haven’t tried for my own financial gain without considering the effect it has on people’s well-being or finances.