Sunday 26 November 2017

Autism Association of Western Australia Publications

**** Please note that I do not receive commissions of any kind in regards to the publications mentioned in this post. They are simply publications that we have found useful and informative. ****



We have a lot, and I mean a lot, to do with the Autism Association of Western Australia.

L has been attending Little Stars Early Intervention Centre, aka Tara's School, since February 2016. While there he has made some wonderful friends and has also made the most amazing progress.

We chose to go through the Autism Association for L's, and now O's, therapy as in our eyes they are the experts in the autism field in Western Australia.

Since 2016 we have purchased a number of the publications that have been produced by the Autism Association for our own reference but also to pass onto L and O's teachers and carers.

So I thought that I would do a short post on the publications that we've found useful. Please bare in mind that the opinions in this post are mine and mine alone.

All of the publications can be purchased through the Autism Association of Western Australia website.


Autism and Sport - What every coach needs to know.

We only recently found this book and immediately knew that we needed to purchase a copy of it. Both O and L love playing team and individual sports but they struggle when it comes to participating in training and on game day. The book is aimed at coaches and includes some very brief information about Autism Spectrum Disorder. It also talks about why inclusion is important, the strengths of people with autism and it also lists the potential difficulties that people with autism may face when engaging in sport. The book also talks about how coaches may be able to assist people with autism while they are engaging in sport and twenty tips for coaching success. What really drew my attention to the book were the social stories at the rear of the book. L and O love social stories, so these will definitely come into handy. The other great thing about this book is that much of the general information about helping children in the book would be great for coaches to use for all children.

Let's Play! Facilitating interactive play skills in children with Autism.

I purchased this book for the sole purpose to use at work. The book talks about the development of play in children and lists strategies that can be used to promote the further development of children's play skills. Much of the book are resources on different play themes - beach, animals, camping, things that go and so on. For each theme there is a list of suggested toys and materials, suggested activities, suggested learning targets, a visual choice board for each theme and a photo social story. Again there are also various social stories that focus on sharing and recess time.

GOOD nights.

As the title suggest this publication is all about sleep. It is a manual aimed at parents and carers of children who have autism who experience difficulties with sleep. Both L and O have difficulties with falling to sleep and L has issues with staying asleep. We do use Melatonin on both the little superheroes as well as various essential oil blends. This publication was useful in assisting us to understand the difficulties that children with autism may have with going to sleep. The book goes through the process involved in developing a sleep intervention plan and again it has visual choice board pictures and social stories to use.

MAKING SENSE of the senses for children with Autism.

Both O and L have sensory difficulties and at times we have struggled to explain the difficulties that they both face to their teachers and carers. This book is aimed at those who work with children with autism. The book initially talks about the sensory issues that children with autism may face and how these may impact on their behaviour. The book then provides strategies that may be used in the classroom in regards to the impacts of various stimuli. The book also provides general teaching strategies that can be employed in the classroom to assist children with Autism. The great thing about this book is that all of the strategies can be used to assist students of all abilities.

AUTISM IN THE CLASSROOM - A Resource Kit for Teachers of students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

As the cover of the book states, there are three parts to this book. Part one contains information pertaining to what is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - it goes into detailed information about ASD, communication difficulties in individuals who have ASD, social impairment difficulties, restricted and repetitive behaviours, obsessions, sensory issues, anxiety issues and so on. Part two is titled "Making it Work" and it is all about making the curriculum accessible for students with ASD. Part two goes through the various difficulties that students that may have and provides strategies on how teachers may assist their students in each of the areas of difficulties. Part three goes into detail on how teachers may prevent and manage difficult behaviour. This is a publication that I wish that I had discovered earlier into our Autism journey but I am sure that it will be very useful in the future.

Autism Spectrum Disorder in early Childhood Settings - Facilitating Participation and Inclusion.

I purchased this book about twelve months prior to us gaining L's ASD diagnosis when I began to suspect that L may have been on the spectrum. I purchased the book for the sole purpose that it has a section devoted to positive behaviour support strategies. At the time we were struggling with dealing with L's behaviour and we used some of the strategies mentioned in the book at home. The book also has a section devoted to supporting skill development in children with ASD. I have utilised this book many times both at home and at with my charges at work.

Is it Autism?

This is a smallish book that is more aimed to teachers, carers and parents wanting to know about the traits of autism prior to a diagnosis being gained. It is a very useful publication for early childhood centres to have in their resources.

Autism - Parents Handbook.

This publication is not listed on the Autism Association of Western Australia website but it is an incredibly useful book. We were given this book soon after we received L's diagnosis and it includes everything and anything that parents and care givers need to know about autism providers, support services and advocates in Western Australia. If you have already embarked on your own autism journey, you'll know first hand that it is a minefield when it comes to locating information and support services. Having all of this information handy in one book is wonderful.


There are many more publications listed on the Autism Association of Western Australia website and my aim was to purchase a copy of each publication but alas we are moving to Queensland in a few weeks time!

I would love to hear of any autism specific publications that you have found useful. And remember to leave a link so that I can check them out!

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