Autism

What is Hyperlexia?

Reading Already? What do these things have in common? A child is grocery shopping with his mom and reading all the food labels. The kicker: he’s only two years old. A mom is frantically trying to catch her son, who is also two years old. He is flapping his hands and running around a parking lot trying to read all the license plates. Your little guy is around the same age as the two kids above. He can see a movie once and recite the dialogue word for word. Okay, I know you’re anxious to know what the answer is, so I’ll tell you: they’re all examples of hyperlexia. Defined As Hyperlexia is the precocious ability for some kids to read at a very young age. Maybe you’ve seen your fair share of kids start to read at a young age and are voracious readers.  Most children start reading around the age four or five, … Keep Reading…

What Parents Can Do At Home For Their Kiddo With Autism

First Steps When your child was diagnosed with autism you wasted no time in getting him all the services he needed.  You hired an occupational therapist and a speech therapist. You got him all the supports possible through the special education program at his preschool.  You even enrolled him in a sleep study. More Improvement Yet you still have this nagging feeling that there’s more you can do.  You may not be a professional, but you know and love your child, so you bring in your own kind of expertise.  How can you use that personal knowledge to help your kiddo? There are several activities you can do in the comfort of your own home to improve your kiddo’s verbal communication and help him interact more comfortably in social settings. Visual Supports For children with autism, auditory learning is not their strong suit.  Pictures help reinforce verbal communication used in conversations and for giving instructions. … Keep Reading…

How To Get Services For My Child With Autism

Does My Child Have Autism It is best to determine that your child has autism as soon as possible.  There is no cure for autism, but the symptoms can be managed.  Regulating symptoms makes it possible for your young child to learn critical social, communication, functional and behavioral skills. Watch What She Does An effective tool to help you gauge if you need professional assistance is on the Autism Speaks website.  It’s called the M-CHAT-R, or the Modified Checklist in Autism for Toddlers, Revised. Through a series of 20 questions you can highlight specific behaviors that a child with autism can display.  Make an appointment with your pediatrician right away if the checklist indicates your child may have autism. The Two Step Process Developmental Screening and Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluation The first step to getting a diagnosis for autism is the developmental screening.  It’s a short test that involves your pediatrician asking you questions about what … Keep Reading…