A Message to Parents

Dear Parents, I am finally back after a long silence for almost two years. It is very hard to disengage myself from thinking and writing about...

Posts Tagged ‘parenting’

Home-School Communication

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

It is never enough to emphasize the importance of communication between home and school. I strongly encourage parents to be more envolved in their children’s school day. If you are a working parent you can still get envolved by corresponding with school either through a notebook, that I talked about before, or by email. Both

Teach Empathy through Playing

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Get your child her/his favorite doll, stuffed animal, movie character toy,…and create a story, a dialogue, or a senario of your imagination. Steer the conversation between you, your child, and the doll in the direction of the area you wish your child learns about. During the play pretend a situation that solicits sharing concerns, empathy,

Recess & Lunch Are Golden Opporunities to Socialize

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

We keep repeating over and over that the main two traits of autism are the lack of communication and social skills. Are educators and parents really doing enough to help improving these two areas of weakness? Acadamic achievements in schools is with no doubt the main focus. Nobody denies the importance of teaching all kinds

The Combo Class vs. Special Day Class

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

A creative, compassionate teacher decided to call the buddies coming from SDC (Special Day Class) to join her class the Combo Class. She has actually been very factual by inventing this name. In SDC there is actually at least two grade levels combined in one class. Given the small number in each program, schools cannot afford

Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) Will Be Replaced by Social Communication Disorder(SCD)

By tamer | autism, general advice, parenting

In the proposed Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) scheduled for publication in May 2013 (American Psychatric Association), Autism Spectrum Disorder has 2 core symptoms: social communication issues and fixated interests/repetitive behavior. This would make ASD an umbrella term that covers several different type of symptoms. Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) will be removed and

Morgan Autism Center, a Place for Hope!

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

What a marvelous event! The Morgan Autism Center http://morgancenter.org has organized and held an amazingly powerful, educational, informative, and heartening conference on September 22 at Santa Clara University, California. The Morgan Autism Center is located in San Jose, in the heart of the Silicon Valley, and caters to approximately 100 students with special needs. It is

Back–to-School! Is Your Child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) Ready?

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

Soon classrooms will open their doors to welcome their new and returning students. One of the most common traits of autism is the love for sameness and rigidity. Individuals with autism fear changing their routine and experiencing new situations. The outcome of a new experience is unpredictable. Routine activities, on the other hand is guaranteed

Autism-Tips.com in the Newspaper

Autism-Tips.com in the Newspaper

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

I am pleased to share with you my first ever newspaper article. It was published in the local newspaper, and also on the MercuryNews website. Please check out those 9 tips that provide a great starting point for parents: Early Intervention Key to Dealing with Autism. Also accessible via this short URL: http://bit.ly/M83tEy

Auditory Integration Issues

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

We talked about this topic before in the articles Sensory Integration Issues as well as Quetions and Answers. I would like to add a few more things that are useful for autisic individuals with auditory issues in particular. Hear are the tips: 1-  In case of fire drill at school, it might be a good

Lead by Modeling, Not by Molding

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Have we ever considered checking our own words, behavior, and habits? Not always. Most people don’t question: ” Why should things be the way they are?”. Most of us were trained to accept and obey whatever the parents dictated. Because we love our parents and respect them, we give them the right to shape our