Activities for Autistic Children

Please can you offer some activity-based suggestions and PE/games options for autistic children that they can do at home or at school. Looking at two age groups here 7 – 10 and 11-16.

Tambourines!

Parents, teachers, and other caregivers often get so caught up in educating and providing structure to the lives of autistic children that they forget that, above all, he or she is a child. Like any other child in his or her age group, your autistic child wants to have fun. While some activities may not be suitable for those suffering from autism, there are a number of fun games to play with autistic children, many of which can get them involved with others or help them further develop motor or social skills while just focusing on having a good time.

Autistic children in the elementary school age range can benefit greatly from song. Even children who do not verbally communicate with words can learn to hum along or play simple instruments, such as tambourines or whistles. Using sounds that are repetitive and with educational lyricshelps autistic children learn school lessons but also gives them an outlet for some of the sensory stimulation they need, such as yelling. Play follow the leader with the instruments to help the children focus their attention and improve socialization skills.

Depending on how mature your child is, he or she may also not only be able to participate in regular childhood games, but greatly benefit from them as well. These activities, including tag and other games, can be learned more easily than you think. Stick with games in which the autistic child is not forced to have close physical contact with other children, as this may be hurtful for autistic individuals. Also, remember to play to your child’s strengths or what he or she wishes to learn. If he or she has a problem with yelling inappropriately, for example, encouraging him or her to be involved with a game of hide and seek may help curb this behavior.

Autistic children often wish to be included in games with non-autistic peers, and so this may help with the learning process. At home, focus on games that involve closer contact with trusted family members. For example, make it a game to get across the room without touching the floor. Perhaps the only route in some instances is to be carried. Remember that each child is different developmentally, so stay in tune with how challenging the activities should be.

As your child matures, he or she may want to be involved with organized sports. This should be encouraged, but choose your sport carefully. Golf, baseball, and other sports that do not involve strong personal sensory stimulation may be better for your child than something like tackle football. However, be open to all possibilities. Be sure the team’s coach understands your child’s disability and is willing to work with him or her.

At this later developmental stage, also continue encouraging learning activities. Sensory games work well to further teach these children, and as they mature emphasize the importance of appropriate behavior as you are playing these games. Using things like water balloons in games your child already enjoys is often as fun for children with autism. Also realize that an autistic individual has trouble seeing things from another’s point of view. Therefore, they may be less likely to enjoy games in which something must be kept a secret from another person (like go-fish).

Overall, you and your child need to grow together. Remember that although he or she has many special needs, sometimes your child needs to simply be a kid as well. Encourage play along with work, and realize that games and activities for autistic children may fulfil two key elements, socialization skills for life and learning to enjoy playing with their peers.

There are many more resources and information about diagnosing, controlling and treating Autism in, The Essential Guide To Autism

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When it comes to a birthday

Happy Birthday song. In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Happy Birthday is the most popular song in the English Language.

When it comes to a birthday, there are a few ways of saying that it is time for cake, but it is known to everyone who is young or old, that all you have to do is start singing “Happy Birthday” and soon the cake and all the candles will appear.

The song is made of four bars and only sixteen words. It is a very simple song, but it has a very deep meaning.

Most of the time, it is sung in English, however, you’ll want to keep in mind that there are many languages that translate the song, even if the country or culture is not use to using English celebrations.

The Hill sisters composed the tune, -Happy Birthday To You-, in 1893. Originally the schoolteachers wrote the tune to a song entitles -Good Morning To You- and was sung to the classroom every morning.

Keep in mind that the version that most people know was copyrighted in 1935, but the copyright will expire in the year 2030. In fact, technically it is illegal to publicly perform –Happy Birthday To You- unless royalties are paid to the Summy Company and its owner Warner Chappell who bought the company in 1990.

Did you know that the value of the song is estimated about $5 million, but the fact is that it is not clear as to who wrote the song?

And because strict copy law issue, many people who are shooting a film will not show the full content of the song, and that is why you’ll often see them singing another song (For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow) instead of singing the birthday song.

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Exclusive schools for him/her vs. Co-educational

It is said that boys and girls excel better if they are educated separately during their teenage years. This is according to best of both worlds: the coordinate theory. For parents, this is a better way of keeping their children focused. Coeducation has been the most common form of classroom for most schools around the globe. These days, more and more children are being sent to exclusive schools for boys or girls. Their parents have varied reasons of making that decision.

There are some reasons parents consider why they enroll they enroll their kids. One of the reasons is the teacher-student ratio. Unlike coeducation schools, the situation is really better in single sex schools. The fact is that the number of students in these kinds of schools is not that many, so teachers’ number is not a big problem. For most single sex preparatory schools, there is really a consistent number. The trend is like 12-15 students per class.

This setting would really give students the fair chance to learn from the teacher. All students will be given enough attention and supervision vital for them. For the teacher, she or he will also have the best time to get closer to students. With this, she could know them very well and she could determine the right approach to use for them. This kind of atmosphere will indeed create a space for good communication and interaction. These factors are catalysts of quality education. And, quality education is a need in making the best out of a person’s life. Another important thing is that students do not have the chance to quit a class because the teacher’s attention is nailed at them.

There are studies around the world which shows that female students in exclusive schools develop higher ability improvement when it comes to reading skills and Science tests. Furthermore, if compared to girls of the same age from coeducational schools, they excel more in writing, reading and science.

Scientists have proven that males and females differ in their neurons. Thus, educating them separately would really be beneficial.

The most important thing for students in single sex schools including the males is that they were able to polish their academic excellence. They need that for College. Therefore, having it would enable them to be at par from the rest. This goes on until they look for their jobs and face the real world.

The drive for excellence is really important in this competitive world.

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Sounding Off: How Auditory Stimulation Helps an Hurts and Autistic Child

Sounds are a part of our everyday life, and so when dealing with an autistic child who has sensory problems, sound is one of the first things you should learn to control, especially in a learning environment. Sound can both be hurtful and helpful for an autistic child. Because each autistic individual is different, you must closely observe him or her to find out what types of reactions you can expect from auditory sensory stimulation.

Sounds can also cause fixation. Some children, for example, constantly hum and seem fixated on the sights and sounds of lawn mowers. Use this fixation to be beneficial. For example, read stories about lawn mowers or use the humming in conjunction with a song.

Music is a great way in which autistic individuals can learn, because sound is a form of nonverbal communication. Teachers and parents should use this tool in learning environments. The key is to make sound work for you and your child. Autism is a difficult disorder to handle, so by being sensitive to your child’s specific needs, you can help him or her learn to deal with the sounds of everyday life.

Loud or frightening sounds may be the most difficult type of sensory stimulation in an autistic child’s life. Many of our routine daily activities include such sounds, hurting the growth process. Autistic children can not and will not learn if they are frightened. For example, parents often find that they have a difficult time toilet training their autistic children. This may be due to the scary sound of the toilet flushing; witch could be overpowering to and autistic child. Instead, try using a potty seat away from the actual toilet until they get used to the idea. Another example is loud or crunchy foods.

If your autistic child is a picky eater, try to notice specifically which foods he or she blatantly refuses to eat. Sometimes, food simply sounds too loud when crunching in an autistic child’s mouth, and these loud noises can hurt his or her ears. If this is the case with your child, provide alternative soft foods instead of crunchy carrots, apples, or potato chips. Other loud sounds, such as a vacuum cleaner, may hurt your child’s ears. Try to do these activities when he or she is not in the room, or consider providing your child with earplugs that he or she can use if the world gets too loud.

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Teachers Lecture or Students Talk?

Talking in class help students to stay focused and interested. Students are more concerned because they anticipate being asked to answer. Each would love to be heard and listened to as they actively participate in the discussion. The class will not only be interesting but also practical for everyday life.

While some students prefer lectures where the professors do all of the talking, other students like to participate in the discussion. The latter is commendable. When students are allowed to speak, they become better communicators as well as become more interested in the topic.

Students who are encouraged to speak in class learn how to express their selves verbally. Students who possess strong communication skills are making it big in interviews and perform better when dealing with clients or customers. As we are all aware of, the employment industry often requires people with good communication skills. These people appear to be more confident as well.

Passive form of educating students is not that common these days. This method is existent in conservative countries only. This does not polish students well. It looks like they appear to be absorbers only. Communication is a two-way process and it is the best form of education. Could we call it communication when the receivers do not even have the chance to give feedbacks?

Evaluation is a process of measuring what has the students learned. How could an instructor evaluate his or her students when he or she is the only one talking? Paper and pencil tests are also forms of evaluation but they are not complete at all. There are a lot of evaluation types needed in order to come up with the most reliable source.

Evaluation is important because it will give answers to the following questions: Were the objectives of the lesson or chapter achieved? Was the teacher effective? Did the students learn what they needed to?

The active way of teaching has kept the most literate countries move fast when it comes to their educational system improvement. Education is important for a country to keep it tall against these challenging times. Having uneducated people is the worst liability a country could have. The economy is also affected by the degree of education it has.

In the end, tall buildings could not substitute the people’s mind. As a person explores life, he will need the tool of communication. Being silent is necessary sometimes but keeping one’s mouth all the time is almost next to ignorance and selfishness.

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What is stress?

The definition of stress can mean different things to different people. Many people have different feelings about it and have many causes for it as well. It is hard to pin point just what stress is, but is something that can affect the body and the mind of just about anyone.

Stress is usually considered the buildup of anxiety and pressures on any given person. There is only so much pressure that one person can handle and stress will occur when the person has had their fill of it. Stress is not necessarily a dangerous thing. It is only a problem when the person who is under a great deal of stress can no longer function and is letting it get the best of them.

Many people have stress because of the job they are in. Some people bring their worries and troubles in the workforce home with them, which will cause them to have a build up of too much stress in their life. This can mean that they are having a hard time dealing with pressures and may start to have mood swings or be depressed a lot

Some people have too much stress at home. It may be because of a dysfunctional relationship with a partner or child. This can cause a person to loose sight of what they are doing and they may have too much to deal with at one time. This can be a reason for a person to have some difficulties dealing with their stress because they are not sure how to fix a problem.

It is very normal for people to have some form of stress on their mind. It is something that we all have had to deal with and we eventually get through it. However, there are some that cannot work past it and this will lead to more problems that can become very serious for them later down the road. This will include their emotional and their physical health.

When a person has too much stress, they must find help from a source that they can trust. It is important to get things under control so that the person will have a chance for a happy and healthy lifestyle. There are ways to control stress and deter your body from it. All you have to do is recognize when you are under too much stress and that you need to get help for it.

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Why traditional education is better than technology-based?

On-line education is in trend nowadays. In the future, students may have the opportunity to study at home with computers rather than go to traditional schools like what we are used to doing.

There most common on-line form of education today is English tutorials. As of now, students and tutors use chatting, headset and web camera as the path of communication and of education. Is this the better option?

People must prefer the traditional way because in a classroom setting, students can learn and socialize with their peers. Also, from the instructor, he or she can teach students many valuable lessons of life which cannot be learned through technology. It is like the question of doing research through the library or the internet. Both have advantages and disadvantages but traditional education has the numerous advantages over on-line education.

Students learn better socially and academically in a classroom. Students are mostly young-aged. Therefore, they are generally interested in meeting and being with their peers. As they interact, it makes it easier for them to pay focus and learn. As social creatures, one could not just stay secluded and educate his own self. That is impossible! We live, grow, learn and succeed with people along the way.

Besides lecture materials, a classroom instructor teaches many other important life lessons. Students can learn and develop punctuality and good study habits. A teacher serves as a guide through education process which is a big part of life. Another important mission is to direct youth out of trouble. There is this bond between the instructor and the students which could not be built on-line. As the source of education, a teacher is not around just to introduce books and exams but also, he or she is selfless enough to share the lessons life taught her or him.

We must prefer to study at traditional schools and let us send our children there. It is because being around other people of our age or different ages gives us the opportunity to socialize and learn not only from the internet or books but from the society and from life. We could also learn other things which are important to education such as study skills. On-line education or any form of technology-based education is convenient. However, let us not risk quality. Long-term goals must always be prioritized.

No matter how advanced technology would be- there will always be these things that would stay best if they would be maintained as is. One of these things is EDUCATION.

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