Mobile App Monday - Tom Taps Speak

Looking for a communication app that was made in collaboration with speech centers and teachers? Try Tom Taps Speak. It offers an easy, colorful layout and 500 cards to choose from that portray expressions, people, objects, places and more.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tom-taps-speak/id805544185?mt=8

Technology tools for students with autism

Technology tools for students with autism: Innovations that enhance independence and learning offers a variety of technologies that support students on the spectrum in their classrooms and communities. From apps to video modeling, the book explores the current and the future of interventions for learning to help teachers make the most of new tools and strategies.

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

What to Consider When Looking for a Qualified ABA Provider

Dr. Cathy Pratt at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism and others have published an article on choosing an ABA provider. Here is the first paragraph:

"Like many approaches to serving individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is an approach that focuses on helping people develop skills that are very difficult for them. ABA does this by looking at factors in a person’s world that undermine their success, and then carefully changing those factors to teach different and more appropriate ways of responding. There is a lot of research that shows ABA works - not just for people with ASD or with disabilities, but with all children, adolescents and adults.  In truth, while the goals may be different, ABA can be effective with any of us at any age."

To read the entire article, please visit: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=3675

City of Bloomington Sponsors Autism Program

Bloomington, Ind. – The City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department is sponsoring an autism program titled “Autism Speaks and We Listen, Living with Autism: Diagnosis, Education and Treatment.” The program will be held on Tuesday, April 1 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Council Chambers of City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. The program is free of charge and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

The event will include a panel discussion with experts in the field of autism. Chief Executive Officer Susan Rinne of LifeDesigns, Inc, an agency that provides services to people with disabilities, will moderate the discussion. Speakers include Dr. Dan Kennedy, Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego; Fritz Kruggel, Director of Behavior Supports for Indiana Mentor; Kristie Brown Lofland, Educational Consultant at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University; Mari Shawcroft, Coordinator of Behavior Support Services at Stone Belt;  and Adria Nassim, a person living with autism spectrum disorder who received a degree in English from Brescia University, Owensboro, KY. The program will be followed by a question and answer session.

About one out of every 88 children in the United States currently have autism and about 36,500 of every four million children born each year in the United States will have autism. More people than ever before are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, but it is not clear why. Some of this increase could be due to a broader definition of autism, better efforts in diagnosis or greater awareness of symptoms. Research shows that some groups are at higher-than-normal risk for the disorder. Data shows that boys are four to five times more likely than girls to have it. Among families that have one child with autism, there is a 2% to 8% chance that another sibling will as well.

Autism spectrum disorder commonly occurs with other disorders, such as fragile x syndrome (an inherited condition characterized by an X chromosome that is abnormally susceptible to damage) and tuberous sclerosis (a genetic disorder that causes non-malignant tumors to form in many different organs). Babies born extremely preterm and children of older parents are at higher risk. More research is needed to better understand why these factors increase autism.  

For more information regarding the program, please contact Health Projects Manager Nancy Woolery at 349.3851.

Essential First Steps for Parents of Children with Autism

Essential First Steps for Parents of Children with Autism: Helping the Littlest Learners seeks to help parents learn where to turn and how to begin helping their child. The authors are both experienced clinicians and ABA therapists who help to eliminate the confusion and guesswork by outlining the pivotal steps parents can take now to optimize learning and functioning for young children.

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Mobile App Monday - Wait4it

From time to time, we all have to wait for something we want! Many learners who encounter situations during which they must wait have difficulty with this concept. Wait4It is a great visual tool if Phases I and II of PECS® have been mastered. The app is designed for use in any setting to help teach the concept of "wait" and encourage learners to wait successfully.

To learn more about this app, please visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wait4it/id640757429?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Mobile App Monday - PECS Phase III

The app, designed to look just like a PECS™ communication book permits a teacher to practice picture discrimination with one or several learners within a single session. Touching the correct icon results in immediate visual and auditory feedback from the device in a manner far quicker than a teacher could react. If the learner touches an incorrect icon, there is no significant feedback. A correct picture selection results in access to a desire item or activity.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pecs-phase-iii/id551356825?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4