“As a Son-Rise Program Senior teacher at the Autism Treatment Center of America®, I have had the precious honor of being able to spend time with over 700 children and adults on the autism spectrum. This has been the greatest gift of my life. For Autism Acceptance month, I wanted to share some snippets of…
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“Incorporating fun and playful variations to re-occurring activities that you regularly play with your child will ensure that you don’t become repetitive and rigid yourself when playing with them, and this will model to your child that being flexible is fun… “If you have been implementing The Son-Rise Program with your child on the…
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Create a Bug Hotel 1. “Collect items to make your Bug Hotel, you’ll need: an empty plastic two-liter bottle (cut into two cylinders) seeds, sticks, pinecones, moss, leaves, a piece of bamboo, and other nature items for bugs to hide in. 2. “When your child engages with you, explain that you will make a fantastic, cozy…
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“Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure, and a love of play.” Henri Matisse French painter 1869–1954 “For this week, we at the Autism Treatment Center of America® invite you 😊 – to practice being curious with your child on the autism spectrum using some of…
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“Standing, walking, running, jumping, crawling, rolling, sitting upright, throwing, catching, and kicking a ball – these are some examples of gross motor skills. Strengthening gross motor skills promotes health and refines balance, strength, muscle endurance, and coordination. “At The Autism Treatment Center of America®, we use The Son-Rise Program® approach to make learning fun and motivating…
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“Pin the nose on the snowman! 1. “Print off an image of a cartoon snowman and an image of a carrot from the internet. 2. “Cut the carrot out with scissors, and put some tape on the back. The carrot will act as the snowman’s nose. 3. “Tape the snowman to the wall of the…
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“Using 12 blank pieces of paper or individual cards, write down the fun activities below on each card: “Write Holiday Cards for your neighbors or stuffed animals. “Learn how to sing a new Holiday song. “Go on a nature walk and pick different fun things (twigs, pine cones, acorns, rocks, seeds, etc) – then make…
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“Socially connecting and relating to people is a big challenge for our children on the autism spectrum. Therefore, we want to help our children view people as exciting and fun to be around as much as possible. Each time you work on your child’s social skills, it becomes a stepping stone to helping them in…
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“Do you want your child on the autism spectrum to connect with you? “Do you long for your child to be able to communicate/have meaningful conversations with you? “Do you hope your child will make friends and experience cherished relationships? “The great news is, your child can learn all these skills, even if they are…
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“A sense of humor can brighten up family life. You can blow raspberries on your baby’s belly, put on a silly hat and chase a 3-year-old, or pretend to fall into a pile of leaves to amuse your first-grader. As kids grow into pre-teens and teens, their sense of what’s funny becomes more sophisticated and…
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