The Early Start Denver Model (DSDM) is a comprehensive behavioral program that reduces cost of special education services throughout the schooling years. When joining this program many services and therapies will be reduced. The program is clinically controlled. Social skills and interaction showed great improvement following this program. Even if the first two years in

What an amazing news for the autism community! SAP the German software company is running this project and intends to expand hiring in the US, Canada, Ireland, and Germany. The plan is to have 1% of the employees with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). IT people have now recognized the talents and uniqueness of people with

Anecdote A student with ASD told me “Let me tell you a joke!” I gave her my 200% attention and said: “Go ahead!” But deep inside I thought that it will definitely sound like anything but a joke. Here is what she said: “A student went to school without doing his homework. When the teacher

Why doesn’t the grapefruit have any grapes inside? I was taken aback and shocked when a HF (high-functioning) student asked me this question. I had never thought about it before. I had never asked myself the same question. Don’t you think that the question really makes sense? How is the grapefruit related to grapes, apart

You may have watched the video about the autistic basketball hero, Jason McElwain. Jason is a special ed. student who used to be the team manager, helping the coach and the team with all they need. On the final game of the season, the coach decided to let Jason play the last 5 minutes of

Jason used to help the coach and the team with some chores, hand them water, and towel off their sweat. The coach has recently decided to have Jason wear the jersey just let him feel how it is like, and let him paticipate in a real game. Look what Jason has achieved. Amazing! Unbelievable! Must-see

As an educator, I try to keep the following two main goals as a top priority when working with spectrum kids. 1-TEACHING  INDEPENDENCE 2- DEVELOPING/ IMPROVING SOCIAL SKILLS Academics are very important to be taught. But life skills are most important. Children grow up very quickly. Time flies, and soon the elementary grader becomes a

Summer is around the corner! You are probably wondering what should you do with your child with ASD for two months or more! You are torn between two temptations: Should I let her rest, relax and forget about her daily routine? Or should I keep the strict school schedule going? This is what I think

What should you do if your child is bored in her/his school? Do you know why is she/he bored? Is the program too easy for her/him? In this case your child needs to change the current placement which needs to be discussed in the IEP meeting seriously with no delay. You definitely want your child

Here is one bright side of autism. Anecdote A student has difficulty spacing her words and numbers when writing. I keep telling her that her sentences and paragraphs looks like one single word of a string of letters. She also does the same with number. Her handwriting becomes almost illegible when all the letters and