“Point to your nose.”
“Where are your eyes?”
“Show me your feet.”

Throughout the month of April, in honor of Autism Awareness Month, Maureen Bordelon has shared some guest blog posts from her website and blog, My Autism Hat Rack. On this journey as parents of children with autism, we do have to learn to wear many new hats. In this post, Maureen writes about wearing a running sweatband to chase (and keep safe) her little runner. As this is a common and frightening issue many families face, I I hope find Maureen's post - with details about what worked in their home - interesting and helpful! ~Leigh
The "Runner Sweatband"- Only Green Lights Here!
By Maureen Bordelon
I gave birth to Jonathan when I was 34 years young and as most new Mamas, I wanted to lose the “baby” weight. Of course, it was the bagel sandwiches, Tex-Mex and stuffed jalapenos that put on the “baby” weight - not really the baby, but it sounds better - right? Little did I know, I would drop the baby weight when Jonathan started walking…correction running at 14 months old.
Yep - we had a Runner! This might sound “advanced, cool, active” to most people, but if you have a child on the spectrum – RUNNING was a very scary “characteristic” of autism in our home.

With men, there is often an awkward pause before they can find the words to speak. Not about sports—that’s usually easy—but about what it is like to be doing their best to face autism with no “fix,” no exit, just life-altering challenges. Then they share their struggles and what they are learning about how to relate to their children and families. This is some of the work I do as a psychologist who happens to also be the father of an adult child with autism.

Vocabulary, print awareness, letter knowledge, sound awareness and narrative skills are just a few pre-literacy skills that most preschool and kindergarten classrooms focus on each day. But how do you teach a child with autism, hyperlexia, and/or language disorders, these pre-literacy skills? This week we wanted to focus on just that. Here are the first things you need to know before working on pre-literacy skills at home:

KidSpeak is taking a break from blogging as we’re holding our May Camp, getting ready for the summer semester and vacationing with our families. We will be back in June!

So the old school way to dye Easter eggs is fun and all but what is really in those funky dyes? And must we really have to deal with smelly vinegar and stains on our kids clothes? No thanks. How do we incorporate a familiar routine with a not so familiar routine? Water colors + Easter eggs! Your child will more likely be successful with making Easter eggs and you’ll more likely deal with less stress and less stinky mess with the fun alternative of water colors.

Valentine’s Day is almost here! This weekend continue to prepare your child for the big day by reading Valentine’s Day books and by engaging in Valentine’s Day art and activities as we described within our blog we posted last week. Here are some additional ideas that focus on Valentine’s Day cards and presents:
Valentine’s Day Cards

It didn't take long before Luke and Sam caught on to the fact that our family loves new adventures. Whether it is hiking in the mountains, exploring a beach town, or finding the next perfect photography shoot location in our home town, we like exploring the new and the old. Olivia is quickly catching on and the boys love when she joins in the fun.

Did you see this?
The National Institutes of Mental Health announced on December 8th that “Toddlers with Autism Show Improved Social Skills Following Targeted Intervention.”
When I read the title of the announcement for study findings, I had a “Well, duh, NIMH!” moment! But, by the time I finished the announcement, I was actually very happy.
Here’s the thing: the study examined some rather minor – but powerful – adjustments in early interventions programs for children with ASD to target and “encourage children to make frequent and intentional efforts to engage others in communication or play.”

Summer Fun: Water Fun
Playing in the water in the summer can not only help your child beat the heat, but also work on their social and language skills! Water activities are also a way to help your child meet their sensory needs!
Here are a few fun and easy water activities:
Water Tables
Water tables are a great way to work on a variety of skills!
If your child is non-verbal, here are a few ideas: