Where it all began!

 As a mother of 5 children, two which had been diagnosed with Autism/P.D.D (Pervasive Development Disorder), I had spent months researching what the diagnosis of Autism even meant.  I wanted to know how to treat it, what to do while waiting for an actual diagnoses and how to get my children the best therapy that I could find.  At the same time I was on the 'hunt' to figure things out, I also had to deal with the emotional rollercoaster I felt I was on.   Truthfully, rollercoasters were always that ride that I would go on, sometimes wishing I could change my mind half way through that upward hill, but knowing that once I got to the top, I could just scream and make those fears disappear as quickly as they came.  My journey at times has felt like I am back on that rollercoaster.  Screaming at times because it seems so frustrating at times but always getting back on knowing that I will make it through it!

I am not a doctor or psychologist.  I like you, am a parent of a child with autism.  If you are not a parent but are reading this, maybe you have a sibling, cousin or friend with Autism.  Regardless of the reason, you are now reading this and hopefully my story will enlighten you and give you the strength to know that you are not alone.  

Prior to having children, I was a Registered Nurse working in different hospitals and eventually in a High School where I took a job working in a Classroom with Developmentally Challenged Students.  I loved my job and was always eager to learn about these amazing children that I had the pleasure of working with.

All of the information that I write about is a part of my journey.  The story of what it was like (and continues to be like) in understanding and coping with having a child with Autism. Hopefully some of the information I will share with you, will make your journey a little easier.  The most important thing to take out of this will be to know that you are not alone!  

Keep reading to learn more about Autism.....

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The beginning of Summer Camp

 I am so happy that we continue to stay open!  We were fortunate to stay open throughout the Pandemic which was a life saver for many of our parents.  As a parent of a son with Autism, I can tell you that closing down would not have been beneficial.  Learning online was not an option for most of our students and therefore let's just be THANKFUL that we were able to help out our families.

Camp started on the 28th of June and wow, what a great week we had.  We split our campers into age groups and skill levels.  Though you will never find 2 kids with ASD the same, we do try to keep kids that have similar skill sets with each other to ensure that groups can be run more easily.  Students that have higher needs, will be paired accordingly but we will always try to give them as much individual attention as they require to keep them motivated.

This year we made camp t-shirts for our kids using the Cricut!  Yes, in fact, we used Cricut Design Space to help us design what we wanted on our shirts, we purchased the iron on materials we required, cut them out and voila! Great shirts!  

Let's get on with it........ Camp is and should always be a lot of fun.  We keep it fun by breaking up the day in small periods to allow our students just enough time to practice skills before feeling like they are working too hard.  It is important to remember that your kids/campers should be reinforced often otherwise they may feel they are working too hard.  When I say fun, that doesn't mean not educational.  Most of our campers do not know that we are keeping their minds active while playing.  Here is an example of some activities that we may participate in....

Sample of our Schedule

9:00-9:15am            Campers arrive and go to their lockers

9:15-9:30am            Campers have found their rooms, put away their snacks and lunch bags and used the

                                bathroom.  At this time, we take part in "calendar" (morning calendar activities). We talk                                    about the weather, the days of the week, the season etc.

9:30-10:00am         Social Skills Daily Activity

10:00- 10:15am       Snack

10:20-11:15              Outside if weather permits. Physical Activity, team building

11:15- 12:00             Life Skills Activity

12:00-12:45             Lunch and Social Games

1:00-1:30pm             Activity

1:30-2:00pm            School Readiness 

2:00-2:15pm.           Snack

2:15-2:45pm           Journal Activity

2:45-3:00pm           Clean up

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Scheduling my school week

 

When scheduling my week, I like to be prepared.  I arrange my weeks ahead of time so that I have everything ready or close to ready prior to starting each day.  

How do I set up my sessions throughout the school week?

 

All my students work through Math, Reading Comprehension, Language, Science, Social Studies etc.

We also include Social Topics and Life Skills.

Since I use alot of curriculum from TAH, my life is so much more organized!!

Once I do my pretests, I am able to get a clearer understanding of where they are all at in terms of skills.  I will also use the ABLLS-R to determine specific Language skills that I feel are extremely important in teaching communication.

I did spend money out of my pocket however I felt that is was easier to print up the books necessary for my kiddos that they could work on throughout the school year. Example: I printed up 2 copies of Level 2 Math, 1 copy of level 1 Math, 1 copy of level 3 etc….

I did this with each book that I knew I would use.  I took the initial assessment sheet and printed this up and placed into an assessment binder.  All of the kids I work are in one binder so everything is together.

I ensure to pretest all students on the level they are on and keep everyone as structured as possible. Example: if I have 6 students and I have broken them down into the 3 different levels, they all work on the levels that fit the needs of the student but they all do the same amount of sheets per day.

 

Example: Lets’ look at Functional Math Unit 4 from TAH

Students 1 and 2 are on level 1 math (see here)

Students 3 and 4 are on level 2 math

Students 5 and 6 are on level 3 math

I started all of them on Unit 4  (example), pg 1 and 2.

On Tuesday they are on Unit 1 page 3 and 4.

It takes approximately 2 weeks to finish a unit (I then do a post test).

I teach all of my students to the best of my ability, then I split the groups up and work with each individual group using hands on teaching before to ensure my students understand the skills.  I set up IAS bins (independent activity systems) that my students can work on and I have an IPAD station for the students to work on as well.

 

I like to spend a lot of time encouraging communication amongst my students. We work a lot on 'WH'questions. 

 I purchased these on amazon. 

https://www.amazon.ca/Galapara-Learning-Resources-Assorted-Recordable/dp/B07QFZ2PXS/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=hand+buzzer&qid=1614461936&sr=8-13

 
The students love being challenged in games and this was a great way for me to teach my students to respond to questions.  Each student is able to hit the buzzer when they know the answer to the question.

 

Lastly, All of my students work for weekly reinforcements. Before Covid, we would go to get a treat such as ice cream, now we make our own things. It helps that we have a small kitchen.  You just need to think a bit outside of the box.

 

 

 

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