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!

What's in the bag?

Whenever we head off to school, outside school hours care, a park, basically anywhere with the little superheroes, we always look like we are going on an extended stay!

There are the two school bags, an extra snack bag, because, well neither O or L will rarely eat anything that is offered to them for morning, lunch or afternoon tea unless it is from our fridge or pantry, and then there is the Spider-man bag.

L's Spider-man bag is essentially an over sized sensory kit.

The Spider-man bag contains most of the sensory tools that L needs to make it through a day without ending up in meltdown mode. We don't take the bag because we want to be laden down with belongings, we take it out of necessity.

Now keep in mind that a bag that contains almost all of his sensory tools, well, it needs to be large.

We tried a calico bag. The first bag didn't last long as the contents were too heavy and the bottom fell out of the bag. The second calico bag, the handles broke away.

After the second bag bit the dust L decided that he needed a Spider-man bag and Mummy just had to make it! Seeing as though the bag was going to be taken everywhere, L chose the fabric and it just had to be Spider-man!

Now L doesn't necessarily need to use all of the contents that are in the bag every day but I can guarantee that if we didn't take it, that would be the day that he needs it.

Most people just give us an odd side way glance when they see us coming, some stare and point and most children just come right out and ask "what's in the bag?"

Children are naturally curious and want to know why L takes the bag everywhere.

I take the question as an opportunity to spread a little more Autism awareness and acceptance!

So what is in the Spider-Man bag that goes everywhere?

The bulkiest item in the bag is L's weighted blanket. If there is one sensory item that you want to buy for your little superhero, buy a weighted blanket. They come in all sizes, full size bed blankets or lap size. L's is a lap sized blanket.

As I have mentioned in a previous post about making a weighted blanket - it essentially provides L with both deep tissue pressure and sensory input when he is in sensory overload but also when he requires some sensory input. For L, the weighted blanket has a calming and soothing effect. We will often find L curled up underneath the blanket at home, just chilling out.

Another of L's most used items is his Sensory Body Sock. Again this is another item that I made for L. Weighted blankets and Sensory Body Socks can be quite expensive - add the word "disability" to anything and the price magically increases ten-fold.

The Body sock is another item that provides sensory input for L when he needs to have a sensory break or needs to calm down.

When L gets inside the body sock he disappears and can escape from the happenings around him. He can push and stretch the fabric to his content and he calms immediately.

Block out Ear Protectors - a staple of any ASD household around the world. These are a must and if we are not able to take the entire contents of L's sensory bag with us, the ear protectors go instead, as do O's.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with L's hearing at all - he can hear a pin drop in the next room. The downside to L's hearing is that noise can become incredibly painful, very very quickly. Imagine if you could hear every sound around you simultaneously, imagine how distracting that would be. For L, and O, this means that paying attention to the task at hand becomes almost impossible.

The idea behind the block ear protectors is that they block out the background noise so that L or O can concentrate on the task at hand. The great thing about the block out ear protectors, when they are being used correctly, is that L can carry on a conversation with others around him without being bothered by the background noise.

The block out ear protectors have saved many an outing from ending in a meltdown. And the great thing about the ear protectors that L and O use, is that they cost less than $10 from our local hardware store. Bargain!!

There is also a sensory chair band which is placed around the front two legs of L's school chair. The idea is that instead of moving around and fidgeting on his chair, L can put his feet and legs on the band and stretch the band to his hearts content. Again by stretching the band, L can feel the resistance and receive much needed sensory input, without actually leaving the chair. That's the theory anyway, L just loves to stretch the band and wrap himself up in it! 

O also uses a sensory chair band in class, correctly I might add, and it has assisted in increasing her attention span dramatically.

There is a marble maze - as the name suggests, it is a maze with a marble in it. The maze is sewn onto a fabric bag and a marble is sewn into the bag. This is designed to be used during mat sessions or other times when L should be concentrating on what his teachers are saying. The idea is that if L's hands can be kept busy manipulating the marble through the maze, he can concentrate on his teacher. This is another item that is in O's mini sensory kit that she keeps with her in class.

In both sensory kits there are a variety of other fidget tools - fidget cubes, squishy spiky plastic balls, fidget rings and so on. All of these items are small inconspicuous items that can be held in one hand. O and L can squash, squeeze or manipulate these items to distract them from any anxiety that may be building inside them, to gain sensory input or to assist them to focus on anything other than the sensory overload that may be pulsing through their little bodies.

One of the daily tasks that L really struggles with during the summer months is putting sunscreen on. He has always struggled with the idea of putting sunscreen on for as long as I remember. At times as I am putting sunscreen on L, he resembles an octopus trying to escape from a small space - he's a slippery little sucker and he always manages to escape now matter how tight a grip I THINK I have on him!

It wasn't that he just didn't want sunscreen on, it was the texture of the sunscreen that he detested. For a child with sensory processing difficulties, sunscreen really is a nightmare.

One of the very first visuals that L's key therapist made for L was the steps involved in putting sunscreen on and a sunscreen social story. L loves following rules - the visuals are his rules for sunscreen, the why and the how of sunscreen.

Now all we have to do is show L the sunscreen visuals and he will either sit patiently while we put the sunscreen on, or he will attempt to apply it himself. Rules are rules after all!

There is also a "what I need in the afternoon before I go home" visual. L was constantly leaving his belongings at school which would result in an almighty meltdown when we arrived home. The "what I need" visual is fantastic as it shows L exactly what he needs to collect from around his classroom before he leaves.

Have I told you that we love visuals??? Well, we do.

The final object in his sensory bag is a tiny blue vinyl case that contains 3 little vials of essential oils. These are a life saver and they smell divine. These are our Jeddy's Blend Oils. These are the last line of defence for L if all of his other sensory options are not working. Depending on what mood he is in, depends on which vial is used. And when the oil is rolled onto his neck, he immediately calms and is able to focus on the task at hand.

We have another bulky sensory box that sits in our living room, but that is another post!

I would honestly recommend that all families who are on an autism journey put together a sensory kit for their child.

The kit doesn't need to be as large as what we have for L or contain all the tools that we use. The tools in both O and L's sensory kits are simply what we have found to work for them. There are too many sensory tools to be mentioned, it is simply a case of working out what works best for your child.

And then you too can be asked the question "what's in the bag?"