Sensory Friendly Concert

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to lunch with Jaycie Voorhees.  She's a music therapist in Utah.  She is so great, and I am so excited for what she is doing in our community.  We're hoping that we'll be able to do some work together in the future :)

She's putting on a Sensory Friendly Concert next week.  Everyone is invited.  It sounds like a lot of fun with great entertainment and it will be interactive for the kiddos.  Bring the whole family, and help spread the word!  Jaycie is hoping that this will be something they can start doing on a regular basis if there is enough interest.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to lunch with Jaycie Voorhees.  She's a music therapist in Utah.  She is so great, and I am so excited for what she is doing in our community.  We're hoping that we'll be able to do some work together in the future :)

She's putting on a Sensory Friendly Concert next week.  Everyone is invited.  It sounds like a lot of fun with great entertainment and it will be interactive for the kiddos.  Bring the whole family, and help spread the word!  Jaycie is hoping that this will be something they can start doing on a regular basis if there is enough interest.

Embracing Autism

This weekend I was talking with a good friend of mine (Melissa), and she told me this awesome story.  I wanted to share.

Last week at school, Melissa's 10 year old cousin overheard a group of kids making fun of another kid.  The kid that they were making fun of has Autism.  So this 10 year old boy went over to the other kids, made them line up and started to give them a lecture.  He basically told them that just because people are different doesn't mean that we should treat them differently.  Everyone deserves to be treated well.

What a kid!

The story doesn't stop there.  Melissa's 10 year old cousin was told that he could only invite a handful of kids to his birthday party this year since they were having it at a place where you pay per person.  When he went home that day, he told his mom that there was a kid in his class that he wanted to invite because he never gets invited to parties since the other kids think he's weird.  He told his mom "Mom, he's not weird, he's just autistic."  He worried that this boy might not be able to come to the party because his parents always attend the field trips at school to help him, so they made a special invitation to give to him at school.  There was an invitation for the kid, and a note to the mom telling her that they would really like her son to come to the birthday party, but they understood that he may want her to stay and that she is more than welcome to stay at the party as well.

What a family!

I feel like this is one of those moments where you would be so happy as a parent...on both sides of the story.  I hope that Melissa's cousin realizes that he is an inspiration, and that an attitude like that can literally change the world.  As he goes throughout his life, he will continue to have a big impact on others around him, and will teach acceptance of differences through his words and his example.  He will be a hero to many :)

To his parents, I want to say thank you for raising your son in a way that he would be able to make these beautiful decisions on his own without worrying about who he's going to impress or make upset.  That is true integrity, and it's a difficult thing to instill in others.

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Children with Autism

 photo credit: susivinh via photopin cc

This weekend I was talking with a good friend of mine (Melissa), and she told me this awesome story.  I wanted to share.

Last week at school, Melissa's 10 year old cousin overheard a group of kids making fun of another kid.  The kid that they were making fun of has Autism.  So this 10 year old boy went over to the other kids, made them line up and started to give them a lecture.  He basically told them that just because people are different doesn't mean that we should treat them differently.  Everyone deserves to be treated well.

What a kid!

The story doesn't stop there.  Melissa's 10 year old cousin was told that he could only invite a handful of kids to his birthday party this year since they were having it at a place where you pay per person.  When he went home that day, he told his mom that there was a kid in his class that he wanted to invite because he never gets invited to parties since the other kids think he's weird.  He told his mom "Mom, he's not weird, he's just autistic."  He worried that this boy might not be able to come to the party because his parents always attend the field trips at school to help him, so they made a special invitation to give to him at school.  There was an invitation for the kid, and a note to the mom telling her that they would really like her son to come to the birthday party, but they understood that he may want her to stay and that she is more than welcome to stay at the party as well.

What a family!

I feel like this is one of those moments where you would be so happy as a parent...on both sides of the story.  I hope that Melissa's cousin realizes that he is an inspiration, and that an attitude like that can literally change the world.  As he goes throughout his life, he will continue to have a big impact on others around him, and will teach acceptance of differences through his words and his example.  He will be a hero to many :)

To his parents, I want to say thank you for raising your son in a way that he would be able to make these beautiful decisions on his own without worrying about who he's going to impress or make upset.  That is true integrity, and it's a difficult thing to instill in others.

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Children with Autism

 photo credit: susivinh via photopin cc

Disneyland!

Sorry, I haven't had a post for a week.  I went out of town for a week, and failed to have posts ready before I left.

So I just spent a week in California with beautiful weather, and a lot of time with Mickey and Goofy :)  I am lucky and I have the best family ever.  I got to spend a week with my entire family, and it was so much fun.  My nieces and nephews are the perfect ages for Disneyland, so we had a blast.

Disneyland was always our family vacation growing up, which I didn't mind.  However, as soon as I graduated High School, I did learn that there are a lot of amazing places out there to travel to.  I love traveling.

Disneyland or Disney World with my nieces and nephews is so much fun though.  My favorite ride has always been Peter Pan, probably because I always have wished that I could fly :)  Now I really like the new Cars ride and also the Toy Story ride.

This year we went to the World of Colors for the first time which is a huge water show, and I have to say it was pretty amazing.  I also saw the fireworks one night and Fantasmic.  We did it all.

One special experience I had was when I was getting off a ride with my 10 year old niece and there were some people that were waiting to get on, and they did not have to wait in line.  She asked me what they were doing and why they didn't have to go through the line.  They had some autism awareness shirts on, so I had the opportunity to explain to her how awesome Disney is (although I have heard they may be changing the program due to people taking advantage of the program without having a disability, which is really sad that people do that.)

I explained a little to her about how some people have special needs and have much more difficult lives than we do, so what Disney does is they allow them to be able to have the best time they can at the park with their families without having to worry about standing in line.  I also explained that for some families if they had to stand in line, they would never have the opportunity to go to Disneyland because it would be too hard.

I love when I get little opportunities to explain things like this to the kids in my life (and the adults too.)

Sorry, I haven't had a post for a week.  I went out of town for a week, and failed to have posts ready before I left.

So I just spent a week in California with beautiful weather, and a lot of time with Mickey and Goofy :)  I am lucky and I have the best family ever.  I got to spend a week with my entire family, and it was so much fun.  My nieces and nephews are the perfect ages for Disneyland, so we had a blast.

Disneyland was always our family vacation growing up, which I didn't mind.  However, as soon as I graduated High School, I did learn that there are a lot of amazing places out there to travel to.  I love traveling.

Disneyland or Disney World with my nieces and nephews is so much fun though.  My favorite ride has always been Peter Pan, probably because I always have wished that I could fly :)  Now I really like the new Cars ride and also the Toy Story ride.

This year we went to the World of Colors for the first time which is a huge water show, and I have to say it was pretty amazing.  I also saw the fireworks one night and Fantasmic.  We did it all.

One special experience I had was when I was getting off a ride with my 10 year old niece and there were some people that were waiting to get on, and they did not have to wait in line.  She asked me what they were doing and why they didn't have to go through the line.  They had some autism awareness shirts on, so I had the opportunity to explain to her how awesome Disney is (although I have heard they may be changing the program due to people taking advantage of the program without having a disability, which is really sad that people do that.)

I explained a little to her about how some people have special needs and have much more difficult lives than we do, so what Disney does is they allow them to be able to have the best time they can at the park with their families without having to worry about standing in line.  I also explained that for some families if they had to stand in line, they would never have the opportunity to go to Disneyland because it would be too hard.

I love when I get little opportunities to explain things like this to the kids in my life (and the adults too.)

Doctors Office Intervention for Kids With Autism

We all know that visits to the doctors office can be difficult, I addressed some of those reasons in my post about sensory overload and the doctor's office.  Today I want to share an experience that one of my student's parents told me about their visit to the doctor.  We'll call this child John.

John hated going to the doctor, it just wasn't a pleasant experience for him or anyone that went with him.  John's mom said that usually both of them would leave the doctor's office crying, it was just a horrible experience.  That changed.

Here's what they changed at their doctor's office.

• First, John's doctor sent him a story which included pictures of the doctor's office and a play by play story of what would be happening.  It also included pictures of the nurses and the doctor that he would be visiting.  John's mom read this story with him several times before his visit to the doctor.
• Next, John's mom was allowed to check in as they were driving to the doctor's office.
• Since they already checked in, when they arrived to the doctor's office, there was no waiting.  They immediately took John back.
• Prior to the visit, John's mom filled out a questionnaire that included what John's high interest was.  John's favorite toys were Toy Story toys.
• The nurses used Buzz and Woody to help John with transitions.
• John used to get very upset when he had to be weighed, but this time the nurse showed John how Woody was going to be weighed first.  She narrated what was going on, so when it was John's turn, he was excited to get weighed and did it without a problem.
• Once John got to the room he was assigned to, there was no waiting!
• John's nurses and doctor basically used PLAY to make John feel comfortable, and to help him to follow directions.  John's mom said it was amazing.
• The best part was that both John and his mom were able to leave the doctor's office without a tear :)

I was so impressed with this doctor, and I wish that more people could implement some of these simple techniques in order to help more children have successful experiences out in the community.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

We all know that visits to the doctors office can be difficult, I addressed some of those reasons in my post about sensory overload and the doctor's office.  Today I want to share an experience that one of my student's parents told me about their visit to the doctor.  We'll call this child John.

John hated going to the doctor, it just wasn't a pleasant experience for him or anyone that went with him.  John's mom said that usually both of them would leave the doctor's office crying, it was just a horrible experience.  That changed.

Here's what they changed at their doctor's office.

• First, John's doctor sent him a story which included pictures of the doctor's office and a play by play story of what would be happening.  It also included pictures of the nurses and the doctor that he would be visiting.  John's mom read this story with him several times before his visit to the doctor.
• Next, John's mom was allowed to check in as they were driving to the doctor's office.
• Since they already checked in, when they arrived to the doctor's office, there was no waiting.  They immediately took John back.
• Prior to the visit, John's mom filled out a questionnaire that included what John's high interest was.  John's favorite toys were Toy Story toys.
• The nurses used Buzz and Woody to help John with transitions.
• John used to get very upset when he had to be weighed, but this time the nurse showed John how Woody was going to be weighed first.  She narrated what was going on, so when it was John's turn, he was excited to get weighed and did it without a problem.
• Once John got to the room he was assigned to, there was no waiting!
• John's nurses and doctor basically used PLAY to make John feel comfortable, and to help him to follow directions.  John's mom said it was amazing.
• The best part was that both John and his mom were able to leave the doctor's office without a tear :)

I was so impressed with this doctor, and I wish that more people could implement some of these simple techniques in order to help more children have successful experiences out in the community.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

Show And Tell -- Tip Tip Dig Dig

Happy Show And Tell Day!

First off, I love Emma Garcia's books.  They're so much fun.  One of the reasons I fell in love with her books is because my students loved them so much.  Many of my students who didn't usually participate in circle time would imitate all the actions for this book.  It's so simple, it has good repetitive lines the kids could repeat, and nice action words that could be acted out.

A lot of kids with autism love cars or trucks, so this Tip Tip Dig Dig is kind of perfect as far as an attention getter.  If you are working on imitation skills, this book is motivating.  If you are working on actions words, it's also a good one.

A couple other Emma Garcia books that I love are Toot Toot Beep Beep, and Tap Tap Bang Bang.  Check them out!

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Kids with Autism

Happy Show And Tell Day!

First off, I love Emma Garcia's books.  They're so much fun.  One of the reasons I fell in love with her books is because my students loved them so much.  Many of my students who didn't usually participate in circle time would imitate all the actions for this book.  It's so simple, it has good repetitive lines the kids could repeat, and nice action words that could be acted out.

A lot of kids with autism love cars or trucks, so this Tip Tip Dig Dig is kind of perfect as far as an attention getter.  If you are working on imitation skills, this book is motivating.  If you are working on actions words, it's also a good one.

A couple other Emma Garcia books that I love are Toot Toot Beep Beep, and Tap Tap Bang Bang.  Check them out!

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Kids with Autism

Sensory Overload - Autism and the Doctor's Office

Sorry!  I meant to post this earlier.

I was trying to think of instances when someone might be excited to go to the doctor.  I asked a friend, and she came up with a few.  When a woman is going to find out if she's pregnant, when you're having a procedure done that will make your life better...like lasik eye surgery, when you know it's the last time you have to go after a long series of visits (but my guess is that you're more excited about the prospects of not having to go again rather than actually going.)  Ok, I guess there's a few, but let's be honest...even these visits cause a lot of anxiety.  When I had lasik eye surgery done, they offered Valium for the anxiety.

My conclusion...doctor visits cause anxiety.  And let's recall from my post about the brain, that the amygdala (it's weakness being low tolerance for stress and anxiety) is 4 times as big in a individual with autism.

Ok, so here goes my list of some (not all) reasons why going to the doctor can cause sensory overload for some kids (and adults) with autism.  In a future post I will share an experience that one mother shared with me of how her doctor made it such a successful visit with her son with autism.

• The anxiety of going to the unknown
• This trip is not part of my daily routine
• When we arrive, we have to wait to check in
• Mom or dad is filling out paperwork instead of paying attention to me
• I get yelled at every time I walk away 
• Florescent lights flickering
• Phones ringing
• TV playing, but it's not my favorite show
• Waiting to see the doctor
• Someone calls my name, and we are taken through a door to the unknown
• They make me stand on a scary looking machine to weigh me, but I don't know what that means
• I get in trouble when I don't stand still on the scary machine
• I am taken to a little room, and I have to wait...again
• They make me sit high in the air on some crinkly paper that doesn't feel good
• It smells weird
• There are objects around me that don't look familiar
• A stranger comes in and gets in my space, looking at my eyes, in my ears, in my mouth, etc.
• This same stranger has a some weird things coming out of his ears and he wants to put it on my heart, but I don't know why.  It's cold and uncomfortable.
• Sometimes another stranger comes in with pokey things and she stabs me with them, and it hurts
• After I cry for a while, I get to leave

If you liked this post, check out Sensory Overload at the Grocery Store and Grocery Store Intervention.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik via photopin cc

Sorry!  I meant to post this earlier.

I was trying to think of instances when someone might be excited to go to the doctor.  I asked a friend, and she came up with a few.  When a woman is going to find out if she's pregnant, when you're having a procedure done that will make your life better...like lasik eye surgery, when you know it's the last time you have to go after a long series of visits (but my guess is that you're more excited about the prospects of not having to go again rather than actually going.)  Ok, I guess there's a few, but let's be honest...even these visits cause a lot of anxiety.  When I had lasik eye surgery done, they offered Valium for the anxiety.

My conclusion...doctor visits cause anxiety.  And let's recall from my post about the brain, that the amygdala (it's weakness being low tolerance for stress and anxiety) is 4 times as big in a individual with autism.

Ok, so here goes my list of some (not all) reasons why going to the doctor can cause sensory overload for some kids (and adults) with autism.  In a future post I will share an experience that one mother shared with me of how her doctor made it such a successful visit with her son with autism.

• The anxiety of going to the unknown
• This trip is not part of my daily routine
• When we arrive, we have to wait to check in
• Mom or dad is filling out paperwork instead of paying attention to me
• I get yelled at every time I walk away 
• Florescent lights flickering
• Phones ringing
• TV playing, but it's not my favorite show
• Waiting to see the doctor
• Someone calls my name, and we are taken through a door to the unknown
• They make me stand on a scary looking machine to weigh me, but I don't know what that means
• I get in trouble when I don't stand still on the scary machine
• I am taken to a little room, and I have to wait...again
• They make me sit high in the air on some crinkly paper that doesn't feel good
• It smells weird
• There are objects around me that don't look familiar
• A stranger comes in and gets in my space, looking at my eyes, in my ears, in my mouth, etc.
• This same stranger has a some weird things coming out of his ears and he wants to put it on my heart, but I don't know why.  It's cold and uncomfortable.
• Sometimes another stranger comes in with pokey things and she stabs me with them, and it hurts
• After I cry for a while, I get to leave

If you liked this post, check out Sensory Overload at the Grocery Store and Grocery Store Intervention.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik via photopin cc

Show and Tell: 10 Little Bumblebees

It's Friday!!!  That means I get to share one of my favorite things.  This week I want to share with you one of my favorite circle time songs.

I think one of the reasons I like this song so much is because I love the props my staff helped me make. They're so cute, and so easy to make!

What you need: black gloves, yellow duct tape

As you can tell from the picture we just took strips of tape and put them around the fingers.  We also made cute little antennas, but if I were doing it again, I would just forego that part.  Most of them were either ripped off or chewed off.

Why I love this song and the props, in no particular order :)

• We're learning about numbers
• Putting on gloves is good fine motor work
• Getting tactile input from the soft gloves
• Learning to tolerate gloves for the winter season
• Kids ask for help when they need it
• Finger isolation when singing the song
• Imitation skills
• Proprioceptive input with tickling.  I like to tickle when the bees are buzzing all around
• Kids share as we have one or two students pass out the gloves
• Clean up, learning to put things away and waiting a turn to put their props back int he box
• Attending.  Music is always a great motivator for attending and staying seated

For some reason Amazon isn't letting me add anything to my Astore today, but I'll add this song to my Amazon Favorites when I get a chance.  For now, here's a link to a sample of the song.  10 Little Bumblebees.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

It's Friday!!!  That means I get to share one of my favorite things.  This week I want to share with you one of my favorite circle time songs.

I think one of the reasons I like this song so much is because I love the props my staff helped me make. They're so cute, and so easy to make!

What you need: black gloves, yellow duct tape

As you can tell from the picture we just took strips of tape and put them around the fingers.  We also made cute little antennas, but if I were doing it again, I would just forego that part.  Most of them were either ripped off or chewed off.

Why I love this song and the props, in no particular order :)

• We're learning about numbers
• Putting on gloves is good fine motor work
• Getting tactile input from the soft gloves
• Learning to tolerate gloves for the winter season
• Kids ask for help when they need it
• Finger isolation when singing the song
• Imitation skills
• Proprioceptive input with tickling.  I like to tickle when the bees are buzzing all around
• Kids share as we have one or two students pass out the gloves
• Clean up, learning to put things away and waiting a turn to put their props back int he box
• Attending.  Music is always a great motivator for attending and staying seated

For some reason Amazon isn't letting me add anything to my Astore today, but I'll add this song to my Amazon Favorites when I get a chance.  For now, here's a link to a sample of the song.  10 Little Bumblebees.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism