If you have a child with autism, you may be offered parent training at some point. Parent training can vital to a successful therapy program. Parent training may also be offered as part of educational services if your child is between 0 and 3 years old.

What is Parent Training?

Parent training is normally informal. However, it is still important to follow the expectations set by your provider. This usually includes attending sessions on time, participating actively, and doing your homework. Parent training might include a curriculum, but the curriculum is flexible depending on your specific needs.

Parent training for families of children with autism often happens individually. However, sometimes your provider may offer group sessions as well.

Individual parent training sessions will often take place in your home. They can also take place in your provider’s clinic or center. You might be able to request a parent training session in a community setting, like a coffee shop. Parent training sessions can also happen via Telehealth. Telehealth is when you and the provider use a video conferencing system to meet, that still protects your privacy according to HIPAA laws.

If your child is receiving ABA therapy, they have a treatment plan. The treatment plan contains all of the goals that are individualized to your child’s needs. The treatment plan will also include a section for parent training goals.

How Do I Participate?

If you participate in parent training it is important that you take the time to meet with your provider and develop parent training goals that will be meaningful for you.

Once the goals are in the plan, you and your provider will meet to address the goals. For example, you might have a goal for your child to increase independence with their morning routine. The provider will work with you to identify a first step during parent training. They will show or explain how to do the first step. For example, they might ask you to try a star chart with your child for brushing their teeth with less help.

You will be responsible to try the steps explained by your provider between sessions.

At the next session, you and your provider will review how things are going together.

Your provider will give you additional strategies to try out. They will help you troubleshoot if something went wrong. They will make notes and record data about what you report. This will help them track progress.

The process will then repeat at each session. You might have parent training once a week, or once every two weeks, or once a month. It is important that you figure out a schedule that allows you enough time to try strategies in between the sessions. That’s how you will give feedback to your provider at each session. That’s how they will know what adjustments to make, to help you.

What’s Next?

Once you are receiving coaching from the provider consistently, you’re likely to start meeting some goals. That’s great! Give your provider feedback on what you need help with next. Soon, you might update the goals together or set new goals.

Sometimes, you may need to take a break from coaching, like if you are going on vacation and won’t have time to work on your goals for awhile. Or, you might need increased sessions for awhile to deal with a big challenge, like moving. Be sure to communicate these needs with your provider so they have time to make adjustments.

Parent training is a valuable part of a holistic ABA therapy program. Now you know how to participate so that you and your child can maximize your benefit!

Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA

Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA Courtney is a behavior analyst, educator, and writer in the Pacific Northwest. She has over fifteen years of experience in the field of autism services, and over ten years of master’s level experience in classroom teaching and ABA therapy. Her areas of expertise include infant and toddler development, parent coaching, ABA clinical leadership and training, P-12 special education, and case consultation for children and young adults with autism and other special needs. Courtney lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.

Do you have a youngster that struggles with emotional regulation?  Do they have a hard time handling their feelings?

Emotions and autism go together like oil and water.  They don’t mix well. Kids on the spectrum have difficulty recognizing and regulating emotions. That doesn’t mean you can’t make it work. 

With some spices and seasonings, you can mix great salad dressings out of oil and water.  Same with emotions and autism. With a few extra ingredients, like a feelings chart, you can teach a kid with ASD how to handle their feelings and understand emotional regulation. 

Try out this fun feelings color chart with your child to teach them emotional recognition in three easy steps.

Feelings Color Chart

I used to use this emotional regulation activity in different social skills groups.  Understanding feelings in self and others is an important part to learning how to interact with friends.  This lesson greatly helped teach kids how to handle feelings.

Materials Needed:

• 8×11 paper
• Markers: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue Purple
• Pen

1. Create Feelings Color Chart

First step create the feelings color chart:

• With pen draw a vertical line down the middle of the sheet
• At top of paper in left hand column write “When I Feel”
• At top of paper in right hand column write “I Can Do”
• At the left side of the paper write out color names down the side of the sheet spaced several inches apart 
• Optional draw a horizontal line to separate each color and to make boxes for the columns

2. Label “When I Feel”

Second step label the feelings under the emotion column to go with the following colors:

• Red=angry, upset, frustrated, yelling/hitting, out of control
• Yellow=frustrated, worried, silly, excited, some loss of control
• Green=happy, calm, okay, focused, ready to listen
• Blue=sad, sick, tired, bored, moving slowly
• Purple=shy, confused, nervous, scared

3. Label “I Can Do”

Third, write down actions your child can take to get regulated in the “I can do” column.  I highly recommend sitting with your kid for this step and either have them come up with ideas or go over suggestions with them.  Ideas will vary depending on what works for your youngster. The following is an example:

• Red=take a break, count to 10, take deep breaths
• Yellow=go for a walk, jump on trampoline, squeeze stress ball
• Green=work on homework, read a book, do a chore
• Blue=ask for help, hug a stuffed animal, take a break
• Purple=use calming kit, draw a picture, listen to calming music

And that’s it!  You have a great feelings color chart to use with your kiddo.

Using The Feelings Color Chart

Here are some easy tips to follow to teach emotional regulation in three easy steps using the feelings color chart.

1.  Review Feelings Color Chart

• Review emotion definitions under “When I Feel” column
• Practice the actions under “I can do” column when your child is feeling good

2. Use Feelings Color Chart As A Visual

• Hang feelings color chart up in an easy to see spot
• When your child is expressing emotions on the chart refer to the visual
• Point out feeling and coach your child on choices of actions he or she can do to get regulated

3. Check-In With Child Using Feelings Color Chart

• During normal transitions, like waking up or getting home from school, check-in with your child using the chart
• Ask your child, “how are you feeling?” or “what color are you feeling now?”
• Child can either tell you or point to the color that matches to how they are feeling
• Help your child find the action they can take to help them get regulated

With the help of the feelings color chart you will be able to teach emotional regulation in three easy steps!

If you need help teaching emotions to your kids be check out this fun emotion flash card activity!

Elizabeth Purpero

Elizabeth Purpero is a licensed school counselor and licensed professional counselor-in-training.  She has her master’s in counseling psychology.  Elizabeth has worked as an autism therapist with children and teens.  During her career, she has worked in intensive at-home therapy programs utilizing ABA and play therapy along with OT and speech therapy techniques.  She has also worked as a mental health therapist helping clients address their mental health issues as it relates to autism.  Elizabeth’s background working with the autism community has greatly helped her work with students in schools too.  She has helped teachers implement effective strategies, create goals for IEP’s and make classrooms more sensory-friendly.  Mark Twain once said, “Write what you know about,” and Elizabeth enjoys writing about autism-related topics and providing additional resources to help those impacted by autism.

Tough times happen.  Sometimes they are expected other times they are not.  Illness, job loss, death of a loved one, all are hard to deal with!  Kids may not always understand what is going on when your family goes through tough times.

How Do You Talk To Your Kids About Tough Times?

You might be wondering if you should say anything at all.  Pretend it’s not happening. Kids are smarter than we think they are.  They can pick up on stress in the house. Don’t leave them guessing. It’s okay to tell them what’s going on.

Social Stories To The Rescue!

Social stories are a great tool to help kids learn about what’s going on.  Keep reading for tips on how to talk to your kids about tough times and a social story that helps you do that!

Tips To Talk To Your Kids About Tough Times

When it comes to talking to our kids about tough times it’s normal to not know what to say.  Will my child understand? How much should I tell them? Sometimes we don’t always know what is going on.  It’s stressful trying to be strong for our kids.

To ease the stress of talking to kids about hard situations try the following:

• Keep language simple instead of a lot of details
• Use specific examples rather than vague information
• Give the information they need to know
• Tell them what they can expect to go through and what they won’t go through
• Offer reassurance
• Try to answer their questions as best you can
• Label feelings that they might feel

Social Story For Tough Times

Here is a little social story to help you as you talk with your child about tough times.  You can fill in the blanks so the story fits your situation.

1. Sometimes bad things can happen.  Our family is dealing with ___________(insert situation.) This is called a tough time. You may not know what to think or feel.
2. It can be scary to go through a tough time.  You may feel sad, confused or scared. It’s okay to feel this way.
3. When you feel this way it’s okay to talk about it.  Tell someone you love when you feel sad, confused or scared.  They can help you with your feelings.
4. Peope who can help you are  __________(insert name of persons who can help), _________, or _____________.
5. You can do things so you don’t feel sad confused or scared.  You can turn off the TV or stop googling things. You can do things that make you feel calm and happy.
6. Things that make you calm and happy are ________(list favorite calming activities), __________, or ____________.
7. There are people who are helping with ___________(insert situation) too.
8. ______________(insert name of person or profession like doctor) is working hard to help our family.
9. You will be okay and soon ________ (insert situation) will go away.

Tough times are never easy for anyone.  Talking to kids about tough times isn’t easy either.  If you’re stressed about it, go easy on yourself. This social story will make talking about tough times with your kids a whole lot easier.

Elizabeth Purpero

Elizabeth Purpero is a licensed school counselor and licensed professional counselor-in-training.  She has her master’s in counseling psychology.  Elizabeth has worked as an autism therapist with children and teens.  During her career, she has worked in intensive at-home therapy programs utilizing ABA and play therapy along with OT and speech therapy techniques.  She has also worked as a mental health therapist helping clients address their mental health issues as it relates to autism.  Elizabeth’s background working with the autism community has greatly helped her work with students in schools too.  She has helped teachers implement effective strategies, create goals for IEP’s and make classrooms more sensory-friendly.  Mark Twain once said, “Write what you know about,” and Elizabeth enjoys writing about autism-related topics and providing additional resources to help those impacted by autism.

Schools out for the summer!  Now what?

Before you know it summer will be here and school will be out.  That means a lot more freedom to fill your days. How can you make the change easy on your kids?

To ease the transition here are some tips to help those long lazy days of summer not feel so long.

Scheduled Summer Activities

Having a break from a 7 hour school day is nice in the summer.  With the warmer sunny days, kids want to be outside and have fun.  They don’t always know how to fill their time though. Luckily scheduled activities are a great way to keep boredom away. Most activities keep kids learning through the summer too.  

It can be hard finding things for your kid with autism though.  Not all programs can handle kids with special needs. Staff don’t have the training or the spaces aren’t the best environment.  There are options out there though. Here are some ideas to look at:

• Summer school classes through your school district
• Summer programs at children’s therapy clinics
• Sensory friendly activities at local libraries or museums
• Day camps that offer 1:1 staff for kids with special needs
• Adaptive sports activities
• Swim lessons with smaller class size 
• Sensory friendly sports like gymnastics, ninja warrior, martial arts or swimming

Create A Summer Routine At Home

Several of my past clients had difficulty in the first few weeks of summer.  They went from having a regular routine at school to nothing. It’s common to think kids will go with the flow and just throw them into the mix.

Kids on the spectrum need a routine.  While you don’t need to follow a strict schedule it is a good idea to make your day predictable. That way your child will know what to expect and can help your day run smoothly.   Here are some ideas to create a regular routine at home:

• Wake-up at the same time every day
• Follow the same get-ready-for-the-day routine
• Create a flow to your day be scheduling things like screen-time, outdoor time and play-time
• Have designated snack and lunch time 

Summer Break Rules

You probably have certain house rules that are already in place.  You may need to add a few more to the mix. For example at my house screen time isn’t an issue during the school year.  My kids are too busy with school, homework and other activities. When they are home with more free time they need screen time limits.  Summer break rules to consider:

• Limits on amount of snacks
• Screen time
• Designate boundaries for riding bikes, walks and playing outside 
• Daily reading or learning activity time
• Implement chores

Summer Chores

Messes can pile up when kids are home for the summer.  They also want and need things throughout the day. We can clean up after them and wait on them hand and foot and drive ourselves crazy.  Or we can teach them responsibility and the concept of pitching in and helping out.

Giving kids more responsibility is a great way to keep them learning in the summer.  It’s a good idea to keep the tasks simple and age-appropriate. Assign duties that you know your kids can complete without issues. Here are some simple chores kids can do:

• Make bed
• Put dirty clothes in the wash
• Pick out own clothes
• Clear dishes after snacks or meals
• Pick-up toys at end of the day
• Water flowers or garden
• Help put groceries away
• Set the table

Summer Visuals

To help you keep everything organized use visuals so you and your kids can refer to it. Teachers post things so kids know how to use them.  Visuals are also reinforcing for kids with autism. Here are some ideas for visuals: 

• Daily schedule
• Summer Rules
• Chore chart
• Getting ready for the day checklist

One visual I like is a “when can I have screen time” sign.  Last summer I implemented this visual to let my kids know when they could have screen time.  I listed things they needed to do before they got screen time. The list included getting ready for the day, playing with a toy, playing outside,  reading, and completing a chore.   

Incentive Program

Rewarding kids for good behavior and helping out is a great thing to have in the summer.  Getting praise for doing good things and motivation to help out makes everyone happy.

You can keep rewards simple like an ice cream outing, trip to a favorite park or pick out a toy from the dollar store.

A reward program I did with a social skills group I ran in the summer  was the “Filler Up Cup.” I drew 3 lines around a cup. My children got a bead to put in the cup for doing good things. I gave them beads for showing random acts of kindness, completing activities and or having a great day.  As the cup got filled up to each line they got a reward. Other incentive programs include:

• Sticker chart
• Give treat tickets or vouchers
• Extra screen time
• Pick favorite meal or restaurant
• Date day with mom or dad

With any of these ideas, there is room for flexibility.  You don’t have to follow schedules to-a-tea. Impromptu plans come up.  Some days might be rough and you need to lower expectations. Or it’s a rainy day and the best thing to do is have a movie marathon and eat popcorn all day.  

You will have an awesome summer trying these 6 effective strategies!

Elizabeth Purpero

Elizabeth Purpero is a licensed school counselor and licensed professional counselor-in-training.  She has her master’s in counseling psychology.  Elizabeth has worked as an autism therapist with children and teens.  During her career, she has worked in intensive at-home therapy programs utilizing ABA and play therapy along with OT and speech therapy techniques.  She has also worked as a mental health therapist helping clients address their mental health issues as it relates to autism.  Elizabeth’s background working with the autism community has greatly helped her work with students in schools too.  She has helped teachers implement effective strategies, create goals for IEP’s and make classrooms more sensory-friendly.  Mark Twain once said, “Write what you know about,” and Elizabeth enjoys writing about autism-related topics and providing additional resources to help those impacted by autism.

Do you have a family trip coming up? Want to take a vacation with your kids, but can’t imagine how you’ll make it through the airplane ride without a melt down? Here’s a sample timeline of how to prepare for your flight and then make it to your destination without too much of a headache.

Three Months Out

If you haven’t already, it’s time to start looking at flights. You may have a preferred airline, or you may be looking for the best price relative to your preferred dates and times for travel. Either way, here are the additional factors you need to think about when booking travel that includes your child with autism:

1. Luggage: What kind of luggage will you be able to check? Is it free or is there a fee? Will you be able to check equipment like a stroller at the gate?

2. Seat selection: Do the tickets you are purchasing include the ability to select your own seats, so that you can sit next to your child?

3. Schedule:  Instead of the flight take off and landing times, frame this as your door-to-door schedule. What parts of your child’s routine will be interrupted or skipped? Knowing this outline ahead of time will help you problem solve in advance.

4. Stops: Can you fly direct? If not, when and where are the stops? Do you have to transfer planes? If so, is there enough time during the transfer to go between gates while allowing more time for you and your child than if you were flying solo?

One Month Out

Now it’s time to plan ahead for what you will do on the plane, and what your child with autism will do. What are their favorite activities? If possible, select and set aside favorite toys and activities that will fit in a backpack, so that they’ll be fresh and special during the flight. Try to select at least one activity per hour of the flight and hour between flights, if you are not flying direct. If you need to order anything for your child for the flight, such as headphones, allergen free snacks, or special activity books, now is the time to do so.

One Week Out

Now it’s time to pack. If you can’t pack one week in advance, this is the time to make a list and locate everything that you plan to pack, and make sure it will fit into the luggage and carryon bags you are bringing. You’ll also want to run through the larger equipment you plan to bring, such as strollers and booster seats, and make sure you can get from point A to B with the full inventory.

Make sure you consider what you need to pack for yourself, as well as for your child. For example, you may easily remember to pack a water bottle for your child, but forget that item for yourself. 

This is also the time to make a plan for how you’ll get from your house to the airport, if you haven’t already. You also need to make a plan for transportation on the other side: is someone picking you up? Are you renting a car? Are you taking public transportation?

Two Days Out

This is a good time to start preparing your child with autism for the travel routine. Avoid getting bogged down in too many descriptive statements about the trip itself. Instead, draw or print a basic visual schedule using simple drawings or pictures to represent each stage of the trip. Show and tell your child the sequence of events, from leaving your house to arriving at your destination. If your child is anxious about leaving home, you may also need to go over the return trip with them.

The Day Before

By this time, you should have completed almost every step of preparation for your trip, so the day before can be focused on things such as reassuring your child about the trip plans using your visual schedule, adding any last minute items of clothing that needed to go in the wash before packing, and leaving instructions about home and animal care for a petsitter if applicable.

The most important thing that you can do the day before your trip is focus on ensuring you and your child get as much sleep as possible. Chances are, you will not sleep normally on the plane or once you’ve reached your destination due to a time zone jump, and neither will your child. Getting rest before your trip ensures you will be able to devote energy to helping your child have a successful flight.

The Day Of

On the day of your trip, leave yourself extra time to get from home to the airport. A good rule of thumb is to increase the time you would need for a solo trip by at least half. For example, if you would plan to leave for the airport two hours before your flight alone, leave three hours before your flight with your autistic child. By leaving extra time, you do not have to rush through security or to your gate. You can take your time and focus on showing your child how each step of the process works as well as shepherding them through each task.

At the Airport

At the airport, leave time for your child to explore, especially if they have not been to an airport before. They may want to look at the planes taking off and landing through the windows, or explore other gates as you pass them on your way to your own. If possible, allow them to “stop and smell the roses” by pausing and looking at things they’re interested in while you walk through the airport on your way to board.

Boarding

Most airlines will allow families with young children to board the plane early, typically before the first standard boarding group. However, it’s a good idea to check with the attendant at your gate before boarding begins so you can understand the process. For example, if your child appears older than around four years old, and there are no other children on the flight, the attendant might not think they need to call for family boarding. If you’re comfortable doing so, explain that you have a child with special needs and it would be beneficial for you as well as the other passengers to board early.

Hour One

Now you are on the flight! Take time to get settled in your seats and situate your carryons so that activities are easily accessible. If your child is anxious, go ahead and bring out the first activity now. If they are not, this is a good time to show them all the different parts of the plane, and narrate what others are doing as they board. Make a game out of guessing how much time will pass between boarding and actually taking off. The longer you can occupy your child with these observations, the less time you will need to fill up with the activities you packed.

Hours Two Through Five, And On

In addition to bringing out a new activity every hour or so, you can also encourage your child to rest on the flight, depending on what time it is. Also, try to take your child to the bathroom before they indicate they need to go – about every hour or two, if possible. This is helpful in case the flight attendants require passengers to be seated later on. It also builds in more movement time for your child than they would normally get on a flight.

Landing

Prepare your child for not being able to get off the plane immediately upon landing. If necessary, let others behind you get off the plane first, so that you have more time to gather your things and shepherd your child down the hallway.

You made it! Make sure you get some rest and time to recuperate from your adventure. After all, you’ll need to replenish your energy for the return flight!

Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA

Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA Courtney is a behavior analyst, educator, and writer in the Pacific Northwest. She has over fifteen years of experience in the field of autism services, and over ten years of master’s level experience in classroom teaching and ABA therapy. Her areas of expertise include infant and toddler development, parent coaching, ABA clinical leadership and training, P-12 special education, and case consultation for children and young adults with autism and other special needs. Courtney lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.

Today’s article will focus on a super fun activity you can do at home. This activity can help your child with autism build early reading comprehension skills. It is also a great way to practice following directions. Your child will be able to practice their fine motor skills, too. The activity we are talking about is: sequencing!

This kind of sequencing doesn’t mean putting things in order from biggest to smallest, or least to most. Those are great skills you can practice too, usually very easily with nesting dolls, number puzzles, or other small toys at home. This kind of sequencing activity takes a little more preparation, but it is worth it! This kind of sequencing activity focuses on putting things in order based on when they happen in a story.

What you will need:

1. One of your child’s favorite books. I recommend a short and simple book that still has a narrative outline to it. That means the story should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. The sections of the story should have clear events that signify each of these parts.  For example, the story will have a problem, efforts to solve it, and a solution and resolution. Some good examples:

-The Llama Llama series

-Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington

-Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long.

For longer sequences that have many similar events that build on each other, you can use books like:

-The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

-The Napping House by Audrey Wood

-The Mitten by Jan Brett.

2. A printer, or beginner drawing skills. You will want to select an image that represents each major part of the story. For example, in Llama Llama Red Pajama, you could choose the following pictures:

-A llama to represent Baby Llama going to bed

-A picture of a mother to represent Mama Llama going downstairs

-A picture of a child crying to represent Baby Llama becoming upset

-A picture of a mother hugging her child to represent Mama Llama returning upstairs and comforting Baby Llama

The pictures that you print or draw should be small enough to fit in a row on one sheet of paper.

3. A piece of sturdy paper or construction paper, cut to fit the sequence pictures all in a row.

4. Glue and child or adaptive scissors that your child can use either independently or with support.

What to do:

Read the selected book with your child first. Make comments about what happens first, in the middle, and last. Ask your child questions if they are able to answer them verbally, like “What happened first? What happened next? How did they fix the problem?”

Introduce the art activity. It is ideal if you can show how to put a sequence together first. You can do this with 3 simple pictures that outline a familiar narrative, like opening the fridge, seeing that the milk is gone, and going to the store to get more milk (thus solving the problem).

Provide your child with the materials for the sequence based on the book that you read. Place the pictures out of order. Your child can practice rearranging the pictures to show that they understand the story. Provide your child with as much help and prompting as they need to be successful. If necessary, show them how to rearrange the pictures correctly, retelling those points in the story as you do so. Help them cut apart or cut around the pictures if necessary. Then, help them glue the pictures down in the right order. Optionally, they can color the pictures as well, once glued.

Now, you know how to teach early literacy skills through hands-on sequencing activities at home! Repeat as desired for other favorite books, or even familiar household routines.

Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA

Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA Courtney is a behavior analyst, educator, and writer in the Pacific Northwest. She has over fifteen years of experience in the field of autism services, and over ten years of master’s level experience in classroom teaching and ABA therapy. Her areas of expertise include infant and toddler development, parent coaching, ABA clinical leadership and training, P-12 special education, and case consultation for children and young adults with autism and other special needs. Courtney lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.