instructional video/toys to help kids with dsylexia/Praxia?
443055
See in\nhttp://www.beingdyslexic.co.uk/reviews/list.php?CATID=6\nand\nhttp://www.crossboweducation.com/\nand\nhttp://www.spellarama.com/\nand\nhttp://www.dyslexiahelp.co.uk/
1033080
You could use the Dolch Sight words preschool list and when she gets good at them, move on to the kindergarten list. And make your own flash cards either with a word processor and cardstock and scissors/paper cutter, or hand print them on index cards.  My son really liked labled tongue depressors (big thick popsicle/craft sticks) instead of cards:\n\nThe lists and printable flashcards are available at:\nhttp://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/preschool.htm\n\nalso online free "Dolch Kits" that include printable flashcards are available at:\nhttp://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/Contents.html\n\nYou could also use rhyming words and easy blends to make your own flashcards.  A good place to find worksheets for easy words (and then make flashcards based on the worksheets) is at Starfall:\nhttp://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/level-a.htm\n\nHave fun!
485428
http://www.indigochild.com/  hope this helps
127310
My son has high functioning austism as well. He is 5 now and became verbal last year. His still likes to play by himself some of the time but he interacts with his siblings and some of the kids from his school. Find something that he really enjoys. For my son it is letters and numbers. I bought flash cards for him and invited a couple of the neighbor kids over. We had races to see who could find certain numbers. He loved it. Don't try too many kids though or he could feel overwhelmed. A lot of his interaction came from watching the other kids do things. He wouldn't go down the slide until he watched the other kids do it over and over again. Make a structured "game" of the play at first and then slowly let it become more spontanious. Good Luck you can email me at sbirch5@yahoo.com if you would like to discuss this further
132235
Well hopefully this child is getting occupational therapy and physical therapy to start off with.  If so, obviously they are the experts and you should ask them for home activities for your child.  As a special education teacher, I suggest you try isolating the objects you would like the child to grasp and then run trials.  Also, do alot of muscle toning activities such as using a squeeze ball etc.  But first and foremost, ask the therapists that are working with your child and if there isn't one, contact your school district asap to get services started.
437943
I have a 5-year old with autism.  My wife and I have been successful getting him to talk to us only if it's requesting food or certain play activities.  I'd say about half the time he asks on his own without being prompted.  We expand his vocabulary by offering him more choices or making him make more decisions.  For example, instead of putting in the video he hands us, we'll pick up another and make him point and say the title of the video he wants.  Eventually, he'll ask for the video by name right away.  It's only been the last few months that he's been doing this, so I'm optimistic about how he can grow from this step to more difficult social interactions (even if it takes a few years).
329542
Try taking the advice given here. Be prepared to march down to the school a lot to try to get this taken care of. Your grandkids CAN learn! Then, if none of that works, consider homeschooling, or have the parents consider homeschooling, whichever is more appropriate. Like some of these teachers said, they are trained to educate regular student, not special children. I know a boy with FAS and a myriad of other diagnoses, and when he was eight years old, he snuck out of a locked campus and was halfway home before his grandma was called and told he was missing. He had walked about five miles. Homeschooling gives you the advantage of knowing your grandson's individual problems. There are so many different types of problems going on in a special ed class, that I don't blame the teacher for being overwhelmed. Most special ed kids excel once they start being taught at home because they are in an environment they know, with loving caregivers who understand the complexities of their own disorders, and are able to work at their own pace. There's no distractions like there are in a classroom. It just seems to work. There are several place you can turn to to learn about homeschooling kids with special needs. Check yahoo groups, there's a lot. I'm on HS-Plus, and it's a really good group. Lots of different disorders being dealt with, FAE/FAS is a big one, so you'd get lots of help. I homeschool my autistic pre-schooler, and will be homeschooling my 'normal' little one, and any others that come along. Contact me if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to talk to you some more.
520215
A child with apraxia needs to be evaluated and treated by a speech-language pathologist. It is important for the family to carryover with any home assignments that are given.\n\nYou can check the ASHA website for information on apraxia.\n\nA proud SLP\nMay is Better Speech and Hearing Month
260236
Hi, I'm watching my 4 yr old granddau. playing on her computer right now. I have Pajama Sam, Freddie Fish, the old Living Books disc. She has completed a couple of the Freddie Fish and PJ Sam games by her self and I can see a very big improvement in her patience and problem solving. And I picked them up cheap on e-bay. Works for me and keeps her busy. ~:)+
973171
Try writing a social story.  Carol Gray's website is very helpful for this.  Clearly identify when and why you have to wait.  This really works for kids who can comprehend the verbal and/or written story. \n\nIf they are lower functioning, use a picture schedule or pair a "wait" card with the action of waiting.  You might really have to practice this in various settings before generalization will occur.  \n\nAnother thing I have tried is giving a "stim" item to take the pressure off of waiting.  Often these kids don't have a clear concept of going from one place to another due to unfamiliarity or excitement.  Think of it as something really uncomfortable for them.  Give him or her something to do while waiting.  This can vary...it can be a koosh ball, a walkman, headphones, jumping jacks...etc.  \n\nRewards can be key as well....try to shape the behavior by rewarding key steps.  \n\nThe key with autism is it might take several trials of unsuccessful strategies until the right one clicks.  Keep good data, provide lots of practice and direct instruction....and don't give up.
1063832
http://www.autismtoilettraining.com \nI have not looked at the site myself, but it came up on an ad for something else I was looking at, hopefully it will help! I had my autistic son completely out of diapers by the time he was 27 months old, but your situation is more normal with autism. It just happened that Tim was oversensitive to sensory input, so he HATED wearing wet underwear. I don't know how much of this will apply to you, but I'll tell you what I did anyway. Everyone on here that said to be really consistent with a reward system is right on target, that's about the only way to get through an autistic brain, and the sillier you are, the better! Find a treat that he really likes and by a bag, and only use it for potty training, no other time. Skittles was what we used. He got three skittles for sitting on the toilet and I spaced them out so that he was sitting for about five minutes. NO pullups or diapers during the day at home, only underwear, and I ran water in the sink while he was sitting. If he actually did something, he got another skittle, and we made a huge deal out of it! Then, he got one sticker put on a chart for sitting and one for going. If he doesn't go,then he still gets SOMETHING just for cooperating with you. I took him as soon as he woke up and every hour after that, and I asked him all through the day if he had to go. That's all you can really do, unless the link I sent you to has other ideas. Hope this helps! I do my own therapy with him, he's never seen a professional, and he is doing WONDERFULLY. I will be homeschooling him, and we're officially starting pre-school next month. We spent last year just working out behavior problems so that we could focus on academics this year. Contact me if you just need to vent!
279108
Hi, I'm a primary school teacher, so when I read your question, I wanted to help you out.\nI found a thread for you- it suggests lots of books and activities recommended by other parents who have autistic children. Hope it helps!
682276
Here are some places to start:\n\nhttp://www.chaddmi.com/\nhttp://www.bridges4kids.org/PAC.html (scroll down to list of parent advocacy groups)\nhttp://www.bridges4kids.org/HelpForKids.html\nhttp://www.conductdisorders.com/\nhttp://www.wrightslaw.com/\nhttp://www.causeonline.org/\n\n\nFor someone who is ED, learning proper behavior is difficult. For the "normal" person, behavior reflects feelings, and is appropriate for the social context. However, B/ED people have feelings that do not match their environment, and/or their natural behavioral responses are not socially acceptable.  Therefore, their big challenge in learning is to build "unnatural" behavior patterns to meet society's expectations. The world will not change to fit them...they must change to fit the world. Life is not fair...and never has been.\n\nThe purpose of special education is to help children who are different, learn to function effectively in the mainstream society. If your child does not learn to control his own behavior by the time he is an adult, he WILL end up in prison (the prison population is full of people with ADHD, ED, etc.). \n\nYour son is not in special education to be coddled, "allowed to be himself," or enabled in his use of maladaptive behaviors. He is in special education so that he can be guided toward appropriate behaviors.\n\nThe question you should be raising is not "why are they appearing to attack my son?" but rather "Are they providing appropriate instruction in behavior skills so that HE can learn to control himself?" AND "Am I being trained, as a parent, in these techniques so that I can use them at home and provide him with stability across all environments?"  AND "What am I already doing at home to bring about changes in his behavior so that my baby boy won't spend a life behind bars?"
260033
The above respondant has great ideans.\nBe at the child's eye level when giving directions or just talking with child.  Put away things that you would have to say "no " about.  Have great manipulative materials:  cool toys, of course--but also play doh, crayons, markers, finger paints. . . not all at once! but available.  Toys to stack like blocks.  Little kids need to be shown how to do it.  Sit on the floor and show them, play with them.  Not just blocks, anything.\n\nPut a sheet over a table and play tent , and take a flashlight in there!  Give them cups and empty bottles (plastic) and a colander (strainer) in the bathtub.  Put food coloring, just a few drops, in the bathwater.\nLet them help cook, measure; talk about what you're making. . . grow something, in a pot or in the yard. . . \ntake care of pets together; go on walks, and read read read.\nLimit tv and video games, and let whatever they watch be age appropriate. . . have fun. think about what's fun and do it with them.  Dance crazy, sleep in the backyard together, buy a sandbox, or put some sand in a little rubbermaid container and play with in on the front porch. Answer questions when your kids ask, about rainbows or God or where babies come from. . . remember what it felt like to be a child. . .
623202
Goodness...there's lots out there!  It would help if you were more specific about what you wanted to accomplish with the technology.\n\nFor learning supports at home (if you are a parent), I would recommend Leapfrog and similar products.
175420
This is a great age because everything is such a new and unique experience and they are learning so much every day.  Some ideas:\n\n--Play games involving memory skills, alphabet, numbers, vocabulary.  Have scavenger hunts to have them find red items or items beginning with B, etc.\n\n--Play age-appropriate board games like Candyland or Memory Match\n\n--Color in coloring books\n\n--Look for homeschool oriented activity books for the age.  Walmart usually has fun stuff that isn't very expensive.  Or make your own "activity sheets"\n\n--Get physical--play games that involve jumping, dancing, stretching.  Simon Says is a great one  for this, or Follow the Leader or Hide and Seek.\n\n--Get them involved in doing simple things to help you with your chores like sorting laundry, cleaning up toys etc.  Find ways to make it into a game.\n\n--Bake cookies and let them help decorate the cookies\n\n--Read, read, read, lots of storybooks.  \n\n--for times when you need some "mommy time" videos/DVDs can't be beat.  There's lots of educational stuff out there, too.  My nephews love PBS kids shows and you can get compilations of them.\n\nHere's some websites with some more ideas:\n\nhttp://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Pre-School/\n\nhttp://www.perpetualpreschool.com/
308748
For learning her ABC's, you can use any computer really. I would recommend including a Touch Screen, and a one-button mouse with your purchase, to make interaction with the computer much easier for her. You must be VERY patient with her regarding her learning to interact with the computer, and with her learning the content of the programs. \n\nWhat country are you in? If you are in the United States, then even if your daughter is on a "Life Skills" certficiate track at school, she should have goals relating to learning reading (actually, goals relating to each of the core academic subjects). Talk with your daughter's special education teacher about which goals tie in to the reading/language arts state standards and benchmarks. No Child Left Behind and the new reauthorization of IDEA requires that she have academic goals in the five core areas (Reading, Writing, Math, Science/Social Studies). However, your daughter may still be working on pre-reading and pre-writing goals that lead up to the regular standards. Ask about what activities they have been doing with her for the eventual acquisition of print recognition and writing. The school probably also has had your daughter on a computer already, for at least once per week (in the school computer lab or on a classroom computer).\n\nFrom your saying that you wish to "open up communication," I take it your daughter does NOT speak?  If she is not talking, then there are touch-board communication devices that greatly assist with basic communication. They range from 2 panels up to dozens of panels.  Once again, IF you are in the United States, your IEP committee should be looking at how to help her express herself in social communication. What does your Speech Pathologist say? Has your committee done an assistive technology assessment?\n\nFor your home computer, I would recommend the Reader Rabbit series, starting with their Infant, and then Pre-School programs, so that your daughter can learn how the computer works. Also, try the activities at these links (not all may interest her, but they are worth a try):\n\ngood training for computer interactivity and basic vocabulary skills at...\nhttp://www.pctots.com/infant-development.htm\n\nthen add...\nhttp://www.learningcompany.com/\nhttp://www.getreadytoread.org/content/view/101/317/\nhttp://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/?scrollerId=games\nhttp://www.4thekidstoystore.com/edso.html