Is obsessing with Thomas the tank a sign of ASD?

Many of us who work with Children with ASD know that a familiar obsession with pre-school boys with the condition, is Thomas the Tank engine. One expert I know said she thought we could probably use it as part of an autism checklist, it's so popular for children with ASD to wear the jumpers and be clutching Thomas or Percy etc.


According to a new study, however, the  Reverend W. Awdry, the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, was on to something in 1943 when he developed the smiling steam engine. It turns out that putting a human face on a cartoon train, bus or tram can help children with autism understand emotions.

The head of the University of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre, Simon Baron-Cohen, conducted a study using a series of 15 animated stories called The Transporters. Each episode focused on a different emotion - from simple ones such as happy, sad and angry to more complex emotions such as sorry, ashamed, tired and joking. 

The findings, published in the Journal of Autism and Development Disorders in November, showed children with autism spectrum conditions had improved emotion recognition after watching the 3D program for 15 minutes a day over a month. Professor Baron-Cohen said using mechanical vehicles also helped, as things such as trains and trams behaved in predictable ways. ''Children with autism and Asperger syndrome love order and predictability. So they shy away from people. To them, we're confusing and unpredictable,'' he said.
Read more at http://www.annakennedyonline.com/page.aspx?id=478

What does a speech and language therapist do?

I've just read a post on Netmums asking for advice about a 2 year old. He has been referred to speech therapy but she doesn't think it's a good move because he doesn't talk. There were similar stories on there with many replies from well meaning mums trying to make her feel better but with a  recurrent theme of total misconception of the role of a speech and language therapist. Unfortunately, when I tried to post to explain the moderator removed my post as 'advertising'.

The consensus of opinion was that Speech and language (SLTs to help my typing rate!) DID speech work in a session, a bit like a physio session where they work your muscles maybe. They didn't seem to think they had any role apart from taking the child along. So..... let's see what we can briefly do to explain.

We work with children and adults who have problems communicating. That may be a speech difficulty so that just the person's sounds are the problem, a language issue so that the person's understanding or ability to say words, phrases or sentences is affected or it may be an interaction difficulty. We do not just work with speech sound problems.

When your young child has a problem the SLT will always want to see what the foundation skills are like. The diagram below shows what I mean:

The SLT will look at all these things before deciding on a course of action.

Whatever the problem, the parent is the key in helping the child so that helping the parent fully understand the issues involved and then showing them HOW they can work on the issues in everyday, real situations is the crux of any therapy.

We have designed a 10 week programme with Chuckle Productions to demonstrate what they can do at home to help their children's communication. Parents often say they are too busy but we aim to show them how they can turn every activity into a communication activity. How many times a day do we change a nappy? 5,6 more? So that's 6 potential communication opportunities! We have been commissioned by the adult education dept and will pilot it and write it up.

Functional communication will always be the aim for children who are not talking. This is to help the child understand situations and to be able to tell us what they want etc. This may be to encourage pointing, using pictures/symbols or signing. Usually, if you give a child an alternative way to communicate it relieves the pressure and they often make progress with spoken language.

So if your SLT seems to be asking a lot of questions and then just 'playing' with your child in the first session, don't worry she is using all her training, expertise and professional judgement to work out what best for your little one.

If you are worried about your child, have a look at this progress checker http://www.talkingpoint.org.uk/Parent/Directory/Progress-Checker.aspx
and if you are still worried seek advice from your local SLT. For NHS services use google, for private www.helpwithtalking.com

www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

CHILDREN with speech difficulties that are not addressed before they start school face a higher risk of being bullied and falling behind in learning by early primary school

A new study confirms what we already knew. A communication problem of any kind will lead to children having problems fitting in and making progress at school.

The study, based on tracking thousands of Australian children, has prompted a call for speech impairment in early childhood to be taken as seriously as problems such as hearing loss, asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A senior lecturer in speech pathology at Charles Sturt University, Jane McCormack, said 20 per cent to 25 per cent of pre-school-aged children experienced language and speech problems, putting them at higher risk of later problems at school and socially.

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''Communication impairment is highly prevalent but the children who experience it are not receiving the support they need as a result of inconsistent policies and the lack of services,'' Dr McCormack said.

The study tracked 4329 children from the age of four or five until they were eight or nine.

It found children identified as having speech problems in the year before they started school were significantly more likely than their peers with no history of speech difficulties to be doing worse in a range of areas at age eight or nine.

They were at higher risk of problems with literacy and maths and less attentive and eager to learn. Teachers and parents were more likely to rate the children as less competent in school achievement.

These findings are similar to British research which shows that a child's progress at 4 may be a determiner of future success or failure. This is exactly why I started the Smart talkers Pre-School communication groups.

www.smarttalkers.org.uk

Act together for Autism

Today, The National Autistic Society (NAS) have launched an online campaigns guide to help implement theAutism Act 2009 in England.

The publication of Act Together: a step-by-step guide to getting the most out of the Autism Act coincides with World Autism Awareness Day, and provides campaigners with the information they need to improve services for adults with autism.

The Autism Act 2009 was a landmark piece of legislation. It was the first ever disability-specific law and led to the production of two important documents: the adult autism strategy for England, and statutory guidance for local authorities and the NHS.

Since the publication of the strategy and statutory guidance some authorities – particularly those with a long-standing history of working with people with autism – have taken great strides in improving planning, services and outcomes for people with autism. Others, however, have a long way to go.

Act Together is an eight-step guide will provide you with all you need to know to campaign locally to implement the strategy and statutory guidance, provide helpful hints when you get stuck and highlight the good work that is already taking place. It covers:

1. The knowledge 
2. Understand what needs to be done first
3. Choose your target
4. What is going on in your area?
5. Take the campaign to the top
6. Involve yourself
7. Keep up the pressure
8. Start again!

At the moment the guide is an online resource, but we will be producing a number of printed copies. If you would like a printed copy when they are available, please email

Visit the Act Together website at www.autism.org.uk/act-together

10 things Dad's dream of doing

I read yesterday that Dad's spend so little time with their children nowadays that many are not having the special father/son-daughter bond that we had. Then Maureen Denard emailed me her latest blog post. See what you think........

All dads have things that they love to do, or dream about doing, with their sons. Even before a man ever becomes a father, he probably already envisions activities he looks forward to someday sharing with his boy. Here’s our list of ten things that dads dream of doing with their sons:

1. Holding him for the first time. – The moment when fatherhood first takes hold in a tangible, yet inexplicable way. You now know what it means to be a father, to be responsible for another life, and you’re never the same from that moment on.
2. Having a catch. – There’s scarcely a man in this country that didn’t at least get a little misty-eyed watching this scene fromField of Dreams. It is virtually every American man’s dream of father-and-son bonding.
3. Going to a ballgame. – Of course, the next step after playing catch in the front yard is heading out to the ballpark to watch the pros do it. Hopefully, your next catch will be of a home run ball. Whatever the case, this is the American pastime.
4. Teaching him to shave. - It’s a mundane chore for the average man, yes; but for a dad it’s a rite of passage. Showing your young whippersnapper the ropes with a razor and shave cream is pretty special, we have to admit.
5. Going camping, fishing or hunting. – Let’s face it, for a lot of dads, having a son is like getting a license for a second childhood. You’ve got a built-in excuse to do all sorts of things, this time for your son’s sake too. All those activities you once enjoyed are yours to enjoy again.
6. Attending his college graduation. – Few moments in a young man’s life hold as great a sense of promise and maturity than the day he goes from the campus out into the world. It brings with it a shared feeling of accomplishment for both father and son.
7. Acting as his agent at the NFL Draft. – Any dad who’s ever had a son with even a modicum of athletic ability has toyed with this fantasy on occasion. For most, it’s more dream than reality: but it is what dreams are made of, isn’t it?
8. Attending his wedding. – Naturally, a dad wants to see his son find a wife and lifelong companionship. It’s that next stage in the circle of life after all. Though dads aren’t quite as excited about doing this with their daughters…
9. Sharing the family business. – For some dads, the day that their sons assume their role in the family business is a special one. It’s one of mortal man’s versions of immortality, as is the next example especially.
10. Seeing his grandchildren. – Speaking of the circle of life, here it comes full-circle, with father and son becoming grand-father and father. A whole new generation begins, with whom to start the circle all over again.

There are many more dreams and expectations dads have for their sons, some more realistic than others. But these ten dreams have to rank right there among the top ones.

Maureen's website is http://www.findananny.net

Finding the ‘invisible’ voice of children with speech and language needs

Abigail Beverly

A group of experts in speech, language and communication has teamed up to create a book about the importance of listening to children with SLCN. Listening to Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs, edited by Sue Roulstone and Sharynne McLeod, features chapters by many well-known experts in the field including The Communication Trust’s Professional Director Wendy Lee,
Hazel Roddam PhD, Chair of Council at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and Chris Markham PhD, a senior lecturer from University of Portsmouth.


Chapters have also been contributed by Abigail Beverly – a young person who grew up with speech and language difficulties and graduated from Central St Martin’s in London – and Robbie Simons, a student with Asperger’s Syndrome who took part in the Speech and Language Therapy Project.


It is widely known that there are great benefits to consulting children with speech, language and communication needs, but very little has previously been written about the challenges involved in the process.
The editors and authors of the book, published by J& R Press, have pledged to donate £1.50 from the sale of each book to Afasic, a charity which supports children with speech and language difficulties and their parents.


In the book, the authors look at:


• The voice of the children and young people with speech, language and
communication needs
• Insights from researchers, speech and language therapists, social workers, psychologists, teachers, advocates and parents
• A diversity of disciplines: health, education and social care
• A range of creative techniques and solutions for listening to children and young people
• Links to service implications.


Linda Lascelles, Chief Executive Officer at Afasic, said: “We’re delighted to have contributed to this book and that the authors have decided to give all the royalties to Afasic. This will go towards our work in helping children who have a speech and language impairment. Too often this group of children is invisible. If we are to understand what they want from services and how they can best be tailored to meet their needs, it is crucial for us to listen and consult with them.”

Sue Roulstone said “It has been a fantastic experience to collaborate with so many knowledgeable people. The book is full of their expertise in listening to the voices of those with speech, language and communication needs. Professor McLeod and I hope that the book provides a useful resource and stimulus to others who work with these children and young people.”


The book is available to order from publisher JR Press priced at £19.99 (not including postage and packing). To order a copy visit the website http://www.jrpress.co.uk/communication-needs.html

How do you cope with the terrible twos?

Tell me what you think of this video from 5min Parenting?