AUT-2B-HOME           

Special Needs - Therapies, Curricula Suggestions - Our kids have so many different needs, and only we can be sure these needs are met.  Some suggest to write up an achievement list first, so you have a starting point.  Then, you need to list the goals that you'd like to concentrate on for today.  This is like what the IEP process is meant to be, but this sort of thing is for our own use.  It can list out "Can sort clothes", then a related goal would to to teach a child to run the machines and fold the laundry away.  Here are some few of the resources for different means of teaching impaired children.   "Standard" curricula providers are listed on the homeschool curricula page.  Of course, there is no easy way to seperate these into neat sections as some providers have quite wide selections.   Where someone has experience with a certain provider, I've tried to add that note to the recommendation.                                                         Recommended Books

   


(for ABA, AIT, Teach Me Language, 100 easy lessons, hands on projects)

Tips on pre-writing skills (By Tammy Glaser)

7 Ways of Learning (By Tammy Glaser)

Physical 
NARHA-North American Riding for the Handicapped Assoc. http://www.narha.org

Dr. Greenspan's "floor time" method of helping children with autism.  Dr. Greenspan works from Bethesda, Md, and has also been a big part in developing the Unicorn Foundation for children with autism. His website, and a directory to related professionals is http://www.saveachild.com/index.shtml   The specialized preschool that H. attended used a method very similar, and the Director studied for a couple of summers with Dr. Greenspan. So I think it is worth learning about. It is a way of teaching interaction and play skills through compasionate shaping. We sure saw a gret deal of advancement in our son with this method, so I would encourage others to see if it might be of help for their child or children. (from Lisa S)

World Enabling Resources Unltd. It is: http://www.weru.com (ABA Provider) (from Sherry F)

Books/Materials for Teaching Special Needs Children

Dale Seymour - This catalog features manipulatives for math and science plus a small section on art, music and reading.  Some children learn math better when they use manipulatives to explore math and make concepts concrete. P.O. Box 5026, White Plains, NY 10602-5026  (800) 872-1100, grapevine@awl.com, http://www.cuisenaire.com, http://www.awl.com/dsp

Don Johnston Incorporated   http://www.donjohnston.com (from Lisa S)

Different Roads to Learning, Julie Azuma's company;  books and flash cards, software, stuff like that.

Edmark - This catalog has print materials and programs for helping teach special children in addition to the children's educational software on the market.    Attn:  Customer Service, P.O. Box 97021, Redmond, WA 98073-9721  (800) 691-2986, edmarkteam@edmark.com, http://www.edmark.com

LinguiSystems - The company offers speech and language products that help kids think and learn.  They were developed by speech language pathologists and educators for children to provide practice, skills, strategies and engaging activities for every type of learner--ones kids find funny and a bit wacky at times.  They are easily used to teach their special needs children at home.
3100 4th Avenues, East Moline, IL 61244-9700  (800) 776-4332, webmaster@linguisystems.com, http://www.linguisystems.com

Laureate Learning Systems - This catalog contains a wide variety of software developed by speech language pathologists and special education professionals for language development, reading and some cognitive concepts.
110 East Spring Street, Winooski, VT 05404-1898  (800) 562-6801,
customer-service@laureatelearning.com, http://www.llsys.com

Jeanne Lyons  lives here in Atlanta. Her web site is http://www.bitlink.com/jannelyons   The CD is $15 , S & H $2 and the cassette is $10...add $1 for S $ H... write to
Jeanne Lyons' Tunes for Knowing and Growing, Inc.
P.O. Box 72857
Marietta, GA 30007              Hope this helps! (from)  Andrea M

NACD (National Academy for Child Development) - This international organization of parents and professionals help children and adults reach their full potential.  Founded by educator and lecturer Robert J. Doman, Jr., NACD designs very specific home educational and therapeutic programs. P.O. Box 380, Huntsville, UT 84317  (801) 621-8606, nacdinfo@nacd.org,
http://www.nacd.org

PCI Educational Publishing   http://www.pcicatalog.com

Preschool page! 

Pro-Ed - This organization publishes, produces, and sells books, curricular and therapy materials, tests and journals dedicated to the issues of psychology; special education; rehabilitation; gifted education; and speech, language and hearing.  Pro-Ed's materials can be used by parents, students and professionals.
8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Austin, TX 78757  (800) 897-3202,
info@proedinc.com, http://www.proedinc.com

Thinking Publications -This organizations publishes and distributes practical, easy-to-use speech-language pathology materials to help people with difficulty speaking, listening and/or thinking.  424 Galloway Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703 (800) 225-4769, custserv@thinkingpublications.com, http://www.thinkingpublications.com

Teaching Methods for Children with Autism:

ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) or Lovaas - Behavioral Intervention for Young children with Autism edited by Catherine Maurice - This book outlines how to establish ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) in early intervention programs for children with autism.  There are many organizations throughout the country dedicated to the ABA method--this book will indicate resources for starting an ABA program.  Available from ARI. 4182 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116  (619) 281-7165,
http://www.autism.com/ari

ABA Software  World Enabling Resources Unltd. Inc; 5231 Pinetree Road; Coral Springs Florida 33067, ph#954-341-2878

Greenspan - This approach targets all aspects of development through the use of Floor Time.  Floor Time is a series of techniques that helps open and close circles of communication in order to foster the child’s interaction development. Floor Time is unstructured interaction directed by the interests of the child. Unicorn Children’s Foundation, 5401 Northwest Broken Sound Boulevard, Boca Raton, FL 33487  (561) 989-1133, UnicornCF@aol.com, http://www.saveachild.com

Option Institute - This organization offers The Son-Rise Program, which is a unique way of working with developmentally challenged children and adults. It's based on the methods the Kaufman's used to help their son as described in the book "Sonrise." 2080 South Undermountain Road, Sheffield, MA  01257-9643  (413) 229-2100, happiness@option.org, http://www.option.org

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children) - This organization is dedicated to improving the understanding and services for autistic and communication handicapped children and their families. TEACCH provides training and conduct research through services such as books, journal articles, workshops, etc. Division TEACCH Administration and Research, CB# 7180, 31 0 Medical School Wing E, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7180  (919) 966-2174, teacch@unc.edu, http://www.unc.edu/depts/teacch

Language:

Labeling Tutor by Jim Schumacher - This computer program teaches children with learning disabilities to associate written words and sounds with pictures. It was created by the parent of a child with autism and employs discrete trial methods.  You can add your own pictures, alter all written labels, and change all stimulus, response and label sounds.  Available from Jim
<peuapeu@aol.com> directly or the following company: Different Roads to Learning, 12 West 18th Street, Suite, 3E, New York, NY 10011 (800) 853-1057, julie@difflearn.com, http://www.difflearn.com/multimed.html Description is at the following webbsite:  http://members.aol.com/peuapeu/index.html

Linguisystems ((800) PRO-IDEA) has some games and workbooks that focus on certain artic problems.

Straight Talk by Marisa Lapish, MA, SLP - The first book addresses correcting childhood mispronunciations and is directed toward speech articulation.  The second books focuses on language development for language-delayed children and includes activities for a Christian Home.  A companion video is available with the first book.  Available from NATHHAN.

Teach Me Language by Sabrina Freeman, PhD, and Lorelei Drake, BA - This book is a language manual for parents and therapists to teach children with autism, Asperger's syndrome and related developmental disorders who are visual learners, relatively compliant and able to communicate in some way. SKF Books, 20641 - 46 Avenue, Langley, BC  V3A 3H8  (604) 534-6956, skfreeman@aol.com, http://fox.nstn.ca/~zacktam
(Shannon's note:  This is what I'm using with Niki, and she likes to play the "games"; it's a catagorized group of sequential activites for practicing language skills.  It does note that the child does need to be able to do "table work" and should be able to follow directions.  This program is a daily program.)

^  Phonics - Guide to Helping Children to Discover Phonemes  (Adapted from the CORE (Consortium on Reading Excellence, Inc. Teacher Resource Manual, 1996)  http://www.mother.com/~callaway/tarika/discover.html

Listening Skills:

Earobics - This software was developed to improve auditory processing, but does not have the research and testing to demonstrate how effective it is. Some of the programs include sound number recall, rhyming, same and different sounds, recognition of long and short vowel sounds in words, recognition of compound words.  At $59 plus shipping, it's much less
expensive than Fast Forward. Cognitive Concepts, Inc, 1123 Emerson Street, Suite 202, Evanston, IL 60201
(888) 328-8199, cci@cogcon.com, http://www.cogcon.com

Fast ForWord - This software is designed for children who have difficulty distinguishing sounds.  The child works for an hour and 40 minutes per day 5 days a week for approximately 8 weeks.  Each day the results are sent via the Internet to Scientific Learning Corporation.  Their computer analyzes data and sends back an individually work list for the next day.  Research
indicates PDD children average gains of about 6 month (while CAPD children gained 18 months).
Scientific Learning Corporation, 417 Montgomery Street, Suite 500, San
Francisco, CA 94104  (888) 296-1470, info@scilearn.com, http://www.scilearn.com

Sensory Based Therapies:

AIT (Auditory Integration Therapy) - This therapy has decreased auditory sensitivity in some children with autism.  The research about AIT has mixed results, varying from none to dramatic improvement.  Different organizations  promote AIT:

The Georgiana Organization - This organization offers information on the Berard Method of AIT and a list of practitioners who perform AIT. P.O. Box 2607, Westport, CT 06880 (203) 454-1221

Society for Auditory Integration Techniques - This non-profit organization information about auditory integration training (AIT) and other auditory-based interventions to professionals and parents through information packets, The Sound Connection, a quarterly newsletter and annual conferences. 1040 Commercial St. S.E., Suite 306, Salem, OR 97302, sait@teleport.com,
http://www.teleport.com/~sait/

Tomatis International - This organization has a list of accredited centers and provides information on the Tomatis method of AIT.  The purpose fo the Tomatis method is to reeducate the way people listen, improve learning and language abilities, communication, creativity and social behavior.  There are about 250 accredited Tomatis Centers in the world with it's headquarters in Paris:  6 Place de la République Dominicaine, 75017 Paris, France, Phone:  33-1-43 80 92 22, tomatis.international@wanadoo.fr, http://www.tomatis.com/index.html

EASe (Electronic Auditory Stimulation effect) - This form of AIT has a 60 minute AIT session recorded on one CD.  There are two CD's available, which can be played in the home if one has a high quality sound system and headphones.  There are no studies that compare results of EASe to Berard or Tomatis AIT. Vision Audio Inc., 611 Anchor Drive, Joppa, MD 21085  (888) 213-7858, visionaud@earthlink.net, http://members.aol.com/visionaud

SII (Sensory Integration International) - This organization promotes knowledge of Sensory Integration through educational programs, advanced training for therapists, workshops for parents and teachers, publications, treatment and  research at the Ayres Clinic and sponsoring research at affiliates.  1402 Cravens Avenue, Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 320-2335,
sensoryint@earthlink.net, http://home.earthlink.net/~sensoryint

Learning Potentials Publishers, Inc - This organization has several resources to help parents and therapist do vision therapy with their children, including evaluation, books and daily programs tailored to the child's needs.  Vision therapy trains the child's body to perform critical skills that children need to become successful readers and writers.  The founder, Kenneth A. Lane, OD, wrote Developing Your Child for Success, which has over 300 vision therapy exercises. 230 West Main Street, Lewisville, TX 75057  (800) 437-7976, klane@123go.com, http://www.123go.com/lane

Social:

Comic Strip Conversations by Carol Gray - This book explains Comic Strip Conversation, which can reveal the perspective of autistic people.  A Comic Strip Conversation incorporates the use of simple drawings, symbols and color to illustrate relevant details, ideas and abstract concepts in selected conversations.  It systematically identifies what people say, do and think and uses color to identify the motivation (emotion) behind verbal statements.  Available from Future Horizons.

* The Original Social Story Book; New Social Stories by Carol Gray - These books contain social stories, which are reassuring ways to explain social behavior to autistic people.  A social story is a short story written in a specific style and format.  Each social story describes a situation or skill in terms of relevant social cues and common responses.  Available from Future Horizons. Her books are published by Future Horizons (and if you call them and explain your child, their pretty adept at determining which social story book is more helpful):  720 North Fielder, Arlington, TX  76012, (800) 489-0727   Now if you have specific questions on their implementation or really tough issues, you can contact Carol Gray:  Jenison Public Schools, 8375 20th, Jenison MI  49428 Phn: (616) 457-8955.  If you have written you're first one or have a difficult one to write and need editing, you can fax them to (616) 457-8442 (include your phone number so she can call you back).  She carries them around with her so if a meeting starts late or she's on an airplane, she'll read through her stack.  You can also call her office to see where the nearest workshop is being held.

Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D. Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon has a social stories webpage

Skillstreaming by various authors - The series of books designed for early education, elementary school and adolescents lists skill steps to help develop social behaviors for the given age group.  Available from Thinking Publications.

Traditional Learning:  Traditional learning involve the parent teaching children using textbooks, videos, manipulatives, etc by following specific curriculum with a scope and sequence that usually covers one subject at the child's grade level.

Math-U-See - This multi-sensory math curriculum was developed by the father of a child with Down's Syndrome and uses videos and manipulatives to teach math concretely.  6601 East Mill Plain Boulevard, Vancouver, WA  98661  (360) 750-9050

* HWWOT (Handwriting without Tears) - This handwriting book was developed by an occupational therapist, gives great tips for teaching handwriting and uses a slate chalkboard method for practicing motor plans to reduce frustration. Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, 8802 Quiet Stream Court, Potomac, MD 20854  (301) 983-8409

Unit Studies:  Unit studies teach subjects around one theme, integrating learning.  More preparation is required by the parent, but most subjects are taught together and can be taught to children at different grade levels at the same time.  If pre-package curriculums are used, then children will be exposed to the same scope and sequence, but in a different order than what peers in school are doing.

* Konos - This Christian curriculum for non-3R subjects focuses on character traits. Children in a family explore topics in a unit that integrate subjects around a character trait.  Kids do mounds of at-home, hands-on activities through the 5 D's of learning:  do, discover, dramatize, dialogue and drill. P.O. Box 250, Anna, TX 75409  (972) 924-2712, info@konos.com,
http://www.konos.com

Preschool Academics:
Special Kids by John Sprecher - This collection of videos, CD ROMS and picture books teaches preschool concepts (numbers and quantities, alphabet, shapes and colors, body parts and grooming, etc) and were developed by the parent of an autistic child. P.O. Box 462, Muskego, WI 53150  (800) KIDS-153, SpecKids1@aol.com, http://www.specialkids1.com

Unschooling:  Unschooling is child-directed learning.  Children explore their environment and learn what interests them.  Parents help nuture the child's interests by helping the child access community resources and get information from a variety of sources.  Unschooling can involve using traditional learning and unit studies when the children is self-motivated to learn using those
methods.

Scholastic has websites for books and teaching:   http://www.scholastic.com/Instructor/theme/index.htm (lesson plans and
themes)  http://www.scholastic.com/Instructor/info/subscription.htm


From: Brian Johnson brjohns@IBM.NET *Davidson (maker of Spell It Deluxe, Reading Blaster, Math Blaster, KidWorks
Deluxe, Word Blaster and other computer education programs) can be reached at Sales/Customer Service 1-800-545-7677 e-mail sales@davd.com   Internet http://www.davd.com
Davidson & Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 2961
Torrence, CA 90509
USA


The Calvert curriculum (a curriculum used by many homeschoolers) has an overview by grade on their website. The overview is very broad, but gives a general outline for each subject in each grade.

The Evergreen Curriculum used by the Saskatchewan Department of Education has very specific objectives for each subject in each grade. You can look at it at http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/evergrn.html

The British Columbia Department of Education website also lists very specific information about each subject by grade.

From: Sherri T Miller <forbear@JUNO.COM>   The Amazing Writing Machine is a CD-ROM by Broderbund with five writing projects: Essay, Letter, Story, Poem and Journal. Each project offers special templates and sample projects to support your students' writing endeavors: Create Impressive Essays (combine photographs, illustrations and text) with samples; Keep in Touch through Letter Writing (write to friends and family, or check the database of celebrities, organizations, and heads of state worldwide); Write and Illustrate Storybooks (compose storybooks in full page or folded book size with space for students to import graphics); Compose Five Kinds of Poems (write in a variety of poetic forms with a built-in rhyming dictionary) and samples; Keep Track with a Journal (capture ideas, feelings and daily events in words, photos and pictures that can be secured with a password).

Daily Grams are grammar books, each containing 180 very short lessons. Each lesson is short, painless and to the point. A lesson takes about 5 minutes. Each time a new concept is introduced, it is explained. Answers are in the back. A book runs under $20, and is reproducible. Daily Grams are available thorough Great Christian Books. (We probably need to make a link for GCB or see if Amazon has it.)  (SA notes - heard that GCB was having a hard time shipping homeschool related materials lately - check amazon.com or your local stores)

Editor in Chief books have sentences or articles with spelling, punctuation and grammar errors in them. The child marks the errors and then re-writes them. Editor in Chief is published by Critical Thinking Press.

Read, Write and Type is a CD-ROM that teaches phonics, typing and writing, and it is FUN. It's made by the Learning Company, (800) 716-8503 at http://www.learningco.com.

From: MS MOTHER O CHILDREN EQDH56D@PRODIGY.COM    Schoolhouse Rock Videos cover a variety of subjects and is a great tool for auditory or musically talented learners: Grammar, America, Science, Multiplication. They are available from a variety of sources.

From: Don & Cindy aow@TELEPORT.COM   Color Phonics is a CD-ROM with a lot of auditory discrimination but it
also builds receptive language. If you call the 800 number and ask for the free demo, they will send you disc number 3 out of the 5 disc that come with the program. It's made by Alpha Omega Publications, 300 North McKemy Avenue,
Chandler, AZ 85226 (602)940-5777,   (800)622-3070, http://www.colorphonics.com/index.html

Sensory Integration:
"Hearing Equals Behavior" by Dr. Guy Berard from the library. It gives sample audiograms of what to look for. You want to plot out on a graph (frequency (Hz-hertz) vs volume (dB-decibels) for both ears (maybe use a different color for each ear) and
then connect the dots for each ear. Throughout the frequency spectrum, ideally, one should see a fairly smooth line and very little difference between ears. If you see lots of peaks and valleys or large differences between the ears at a certain frequency, the child may have problems. Most audiologists are trying to verify if the child can hear, but what you want to know is how good the child hears at different frequencies with each ear.

Sensory Integration Therapy 

(By Sherri)

The Wilbarger approach is a great one, used by many therapists, For more information:
1. "Sensory Defensiveness in Children-An Intervention Guide for Parents and Other Caretakers" P.Wilbarger & JL Wilbarger. Santa Barbara Calf. Avanti Educational Programs. (1991)
2. "A Parents Guide to Understanding Sensory Integration." Sensory Integration International (1986)
3. Sensory Integration and the Child. A.Jean Ayres. Los Angeles Western Psychologist Services (1979)
4. Sensory Integration: Theory and Practice by A.Fisher, E.Murray, & ABundy, Philadelphia F.A, Davis (1991).
You can also write to Sensory Integration International at 1602 Cabrillo Avenue, Torrance ,Calf. 90501-2701.

(By Laura Cummins)

Living with Autism?  We're already doing it.            revnewinminutes.gif (2982 bytes)

Copyright 1997 1998 Shannon Anderson  September 28 1998