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Health Nutrition
37 articles
Life Skills & Transitions Hygiene vs. Autism: Common Challenges and Possible Adaptations
How can caregivers identify and mitigate autism-related challenges to promote hygiene adherence in youth?
Amairani Asmad
Nov 6, 2022 · 6 min read
Family & Home Life Mental Health Empowerment: Providing Compassionate and Client-Centered Support for People With Autism
How can stakeholders use principles of self-determination, individuality, and compassion to support individuals with autism and their self-directed mental health care pursuits?
Amairani Asmad
Oct 10, 2022 · 7 min read
Autism Resources Romaine Calm: Getting Picky Eaters to Eat the Rainbow
How the Magic of Gardening Can Help Picky Eaters I’ll never forget my first garden. I was five and had just finished reading The Gardener by Sarah Stewart. It left me with this lasting impression of a romantic vision of giant beautiful gardens on rooftops in the city. My mom and
Tori Lehinger
Aug 21, 2022 · 5 min read
Autism Resources Autism, COVID-19, and Mental Health: Ways to Cope with Trauma and Change
The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly hard on everyone, but a recent study indicates that it may disproportionately affect autistic individuals. Considering this, it is important to recognize that those with autism often face significant challenges when:
Kenna McEvoy
Jul 30, 2022 · 5 min read
How to Teach Students With Autism Healthy Habits, Life Skills, and Self-Care
While establishing goals for personal hygiene, healthy habits, and effective self-care skills is important for everyone, individuals on the autism spectrum may need additional support when developing these competencies. Research suggests that teaching self-care skills can help i
Kenna McEvoy
May 29, 2022 · 6 min read
Life Skills & Transitions 3 Visual Recipes for the Aspiring Chef: Visual Recipes Are a Great Way to Teach Cooking and Baking to Your Autistic Child
For autistic children, cooking and baking can be a creative and joyous pastime. Many children are eager to help their parents prepare meals, but some may not be ready to prepare complex recipes using the oven or stovetop. The recipes provided below are intended for autistic chil
Sara DeFronzo
Dec 16, 2021 · 3 min read
Language Delays: How to Rule out Hearing Loss for Autistic Children
Language delays in children can occur for many reasons including cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, or autism. If a child has a language delay ruling out hearing loss is an important first step, because if there is some deficit in hearing it needs to be addressed quickly
Leslie Stebbins, M.Ed. M.L.I.S.
Dec 12, 2021 · 3 min read
A Teachers Guide to Toilet Training Autistic Children: Five Key Steps
Toilet training autistic children can be a daunting task. It requires patience, time, and a team effort. Toilet training is a necessity to develop a more self-sufficient and independent child.
Tatiana Tortora
Aug 14, 2021 · 6 min read
About Autism Autism and Substance Use Disorders: Is There a Connection?
A review of the research, risks, protective factors, and components of addiction, and a preview of treatment options for autistic individuals who struggle with the disease of addiction. 1
Signe M. Kastberg
Jul 18, 2021 · 9 min read
ABA & Therapy Kid Friendly Household Chores For Developing Gross Motor Skills for Autistic Children
Household work or chores are great for developing motor skills, motor planning, coordination, work ethic, responsibility, and well-being for autistic children. You might not be a big fan of household chores, but we therapists like to think of those activities that require bendin
Ilana Danneman, PT
Mar 6, 2021 · 7 min read
Physical Therapy and Autism: Questions and Answers
Autistic children can often benefit from physical therapy. What does working with a physical therapist entail? And how can I work collaboratively with a physical therapist to best help my child?
Ilana Danneman, PT
Feb 7, 2021 · 5 min read
My Autistic Child is Thinking of Dating and--Gasp!--Sex?!!
Most parents are understandably anxious about the thought of their child eventually dating and becoming sexually active. That anxiety may be even greater for the parents of an autistic child. What’s a parent to do? The goal is to support every young person in healthy, optimal hu
Signe M. Kastberg
Jan 31, 2021 · 7 min read
Autism Resources 10 Gross Motor Skills for Your Autistic Child
Gross Motor Skills 101 Ready, set, let’s go! Walk, run, jump, swim, climb. There are so many ways we can move our bodies. Gross motor skills are those skills that we need to move, skills that are designed to help us survive, but also to thrive. As a baby develops they learn to r
Ilana Danneman, PT
Jan 23, 2021 · 7 min read
Autism Resources Connected Fitness: A Great Alternative to the Gym for Autistic Teens and Adults
The Five Best Connected Fitness Activities for Autistic People
Madeline Burroughs
Dec 29, 2020 · 4 min read
Keeping Fit at Home: Exercise and Autistic Children
Benefits, Best Practices, Home Equipment Choices, and the Top Online Exercise Videos and Gaming Resources for Your Autistic Child Exercise for autistic children can have both physical and psychological benefits. For many autistic children who have sensory integration issues, gym
Chloe Fay
Dec 29, 2020 · 7 min read
Emotions & Social Skills Finding Fun and Fitness: Exercise for Autistic Children and Young Adults
A growing community of inclusive exercise programs promises that fitness can be a source of fun, rather than one of frustration, for autistic children. By choosing activities that will have a greater likelihood of success for your child, by adapting exercise programs for your ch
Sam Krause
Sep 6, 2020 · 6 min read
Classroom Strategies Cabin Fever? 5 Effective Activities for Students with Autism During Social Isolation or Quarantine
Note: These 5 activities can be done every day, and we recommend that parents create a schedule so that each of these activities takes place at the same time very day when possible. Having a schedule helps keep children with autism feel more secure and reduces anxiety. We also r
Madeline Burroughs
Mar 24, 2020 · 4 min read
ARIS & Curriculum Teaching Healthy Eating Choices to Children with Autism
This resource was created as a supplement for the Language Builder: Academic Readiness Intervention System (ARIS) complete early autism curriculum, Lesson #129, A Healthy Plate. Download a free copy of the lesson and learn more about the ARIS curriculum . For children with autis
Chloe Fay
Mar 5, 2020 · 4 min read
Acupuncture and Autism
Acupuncture treatment may help your child’s autism symptoms. Acupuncture is a treatment where needles are inserted into the skin to target certain nerve or pressure points. Research has shown acupuncture to be an effective treatment for children with ASD in areas of verbal commu
Chloe Fay
Oct 21, 2019 · 5 min read
Autism and Anxiety: 10 Strategies to Help Your Child
For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the prevalence of anxiety is shown to be greater than for their peers. Some studies indicate that anxiety disorders are present 40% of the time for children with autism. The good news about taking this into consideration is that
Arielle Doochin
Oct 1, 2019 · 6 min read
Creating a Yoga Practice for Children With Autism
Yoga, an ancient practice that originated in India, is today a term familiar across most of the world. Those who’ve experienced the practice may be familiar with its benefits of relaxation and overall improved physical health. Did you know, however, that exploring yoga with a ch
Arielle Doochin
May 27, 2019 · 5 min read
Autism Resources Top Safety Risks for Children with Autism and How to Communicate with First Responders
Safety and preparation for emergency situations is a concern for any child, but especially for children with autism, who may be unable to communicate or respond correctly in emergency situations.
Chloe Fay
Apr 28, 2019 · 4 min read
Autism and Inclusive Sports
Special Olympics and Unified Sports for Children with Autism Sports are a unifying, fun way for individuals and communities to connect. For individuals with autism, participation in athletic events may be difficult due to the loud, chaotic environments or exclusion from particip
Chloe Fay
Dec 8, 2018 · 5 min read
Autism Resources Autism and Dental Care
Going to the dentist can be a cause for anxiety for most of us, but it’s a very different feeling for those with autism. Patients with autism often have difficulty staying still and allowing the dentist to do what’s needed, which is why a loved one should always be present. Ever
Dr. Greg Grillo
Nov 24, 2018 · 10 min read
Classroom Strategies Positive Pedagogy: How to Bring Positive Psychology into Special Education and Inclusive Classrooms for Students with Autism
How can you help your students discover stillness? joy? authenticity? Positive psychology is the science of well-being, which applied, can bring more positivity and happiness into your classroom. Try investing in these easy “rituals,” or habits, to transform your classroom into
Arianna Riccio
May 10, 2018 · 5 min read
5 Positive Play Therapies to Help Your Child with Autism
Despite being riddled with its own challenges and stressors, childhood can often be idealized as a time of magic and freedom. What often makes childhood so uniquely sacred is the acceptance and endorsement of play. While play can often seem like a time of rest and rejuvenation u
Arianna Riccio
Apr 16, 2018 · 5 min read
Classroom Strategies How to Bring Positive Psychology into Special Education and Inclusive Classrooms for Students with Autism
How can you help your students discover stillness? joy? authenticity? Positive psychology is the science of well-being, which applied, can bring more positivity and happiness into your classroom. Try investing in these easy “rituals,” or habits, to transform your classroom into
Arianna Riccio
Mar 17, 2018 · 5 min read
Can Horseback Riding Help Children with Autism?
The Benefits of Equine Therapy What is Equine Therapy?
Sophia Chung
Sep 5, 2017 · 5 min read
Family & Home Life Wandering and Autism: 6 Strategies to Prevent Wandering Behavior
Wandering or “elopement,” a common behavioral occurrence among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to the tendency to leave a safe, supervised space or caregiver and subsequently expose oneself to potential danger. Wandering is both tragic and terrifying for par
Krupa Patel
Apr 8, 2017 · 4 min read
Emotions & Social Skills Six Simple Mindfulness Practices for Kids with Autism
The practice of quieting the mind, otherwise known as mindfulness, is increasingly being practiced across the board – from Google executives to classrooms as a replacement to detention (Bloom, 2016). Mindfulness specifically refers to the practice of paying attention to the pres
Krupa Patel
Feb 25, 2017 · 6 min read
Life Skills & Transitions 7 Tips for Teaching Your Child with Autism to Cook
I can still remember when I was a child watching my mother cook. Her face always beamed with a smile so big that everyone could tell how much joy she had in preparing a great meal for my family. It seemed cooking was not only a hobby that she enjoyed, but also one of her passion
Stages Learning
Feb 23, 2017 · 5 min read
Best Sports for Autistic Children
5 Tips for Helping Your Child Succeed in Sports It is no secret that sports are a big part of most people’s lives. More than 100 million people in the United States alone tune in to watch the Super Bowl every year. However, being a sports fan and playing a sport are two complete
Stages Learning
Feb 8, 2017 · 5 min read
6 Strategies to Prepare Your Child for Back to School, Haircuts, Hospital Visits, And More!
Preparing Your Child with Autism for the New Year Activities that are comforting, thrilling, or intolerable to people with autism can vary considerably from what a neuro-typical child or adult may experience in the same situation. For example, haircuts or birthday parties can be
Briana Brukilacchio
Aug 14, 2016 · 6 min read
ABA & Therapy New Tools to Help Your Child Sleep
Research [i] confirms what many parents of children with autism already know: children with autism have a higher incidence of sleep challenges, and the more severe the autism symptoms the more severe the sleep challenges. Research, [ii] as well as common sense, also tells us tha
Leslie Stebbins, M.Ed. M.L.I.S.
Nov 18, 2015 · 6 min read
Life Skills & Transitions Autism Parents: How Do You Rate on Self-Care?
As a parent our needs are often the first to be postponed or set aside. Sometimes there is no choice: we have to attend to the immediate needs of our children. But in the long run we could be doing significant damage to our physical and emotional health by not attending to our o
Leslie Stebbins, M.Ed. M.L.I.S.
Oct 2, 2015 · 7 min read
Talking about Puberty with Children with Autism
All bodies go through puberty, regardless of the developmental "age" of a child or the level of their cognitive or academic skills. It can be startling for parents to see their child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) begin to develop an adult body and characteristics when t
Jenna Wharff, Ed.M.
Jun 30, 2015 · 11 min read
Autism Resources Eating Healthy at an Early Age
Our first experiences with food have a large effect on our eating habits for the rest of our lives, so the best time to teach good dietary habits is during the early years. Think about some of your best and worst food habits... don't you wish you had started better habits at age
Angela Nelson, J.D., Ed.M.
Apr 16, 2014 · 3 min read
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