Learning self-help skills -- eating, dressing, toileting, and personal hygiene -- can be challenging for people with autism, but is essential for independence. This book thoroughly describes a systematic approach that parents (and educators) can use to teach basic self-care to children, ages 24 months to early teens, and even older individuals. With an encouraging tone, the authors -- behaviour analysts and psycholo-gists -- emphasise that it's worthwhile to devote the extra time and effort now to teach skills rather than have your child be forever dependent on others. The many case studies throughout the book depict individuals with deficits in specific self-care tasks, and demonstrate how a coordinated and system-atic approach is effective in teaching more complex skills. For example, a 12-year-old with the self-feeding skills of a toddler, who was excluded from the school cafeteria, is taught to stay at the table to eat a full meal using utensils. A chapter is devoted to each of the four skill areas (eating, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene) offering detailed insight and specific instruction strategies. Ap-pendices contain forms to complete for task analyses, instructional plans, and data collection. With the information in this book, parents can immediately start teaching their child, or refer back to the book to fine-tune skills as their child develops.

The co-author of "Asperger's and Girls" presents a no-nonsense guide to teaching children with Asperger's or autism the life skills they will need to function as an adult.

Award-winning autism expert Chantal Sicile-Kira presents a positive and empowering ?bill of rights? for every person with autism. From an award-winning author and advocate, Autism Life Skills presents a positive and empowering "bill of rights" for every person with autism, regardless of impairment level. With advice and reflections from autistic adults across the spectrum, as well as Sicile-Kira's own experience as an advocate and parent of an autistic teen, the book covers these ten essential life skills: Making Sense of the World * Communication * Safety * Self-Esteem * Pursuing Interests * Self-Regulation * Independence * Social Relationships * Self- Advocacy *Earning a Living Whether your child or student has Asperger's or is on the more severely impaired end of the autism spectrum, this action-oriented guide will provide hope and help -- so that every child has a chance to reach his or her full potential.

What does an autism diagnosis mean for everyday family life? Explore different rooms in the home to better understand how children with autism experience daily activities, and what you can do to support their development. · Head to the bathroom for guidance on toilet training and introducing a calming bath time ritual. · Discover how to create a safe haven for your child in the bedroom chapter, with tips to try before bedtime to help ease anxiety. · Learn how to transform any corner of your home into a special place for sensory play, fun and learning · Settle down in the parents' corner for top advice on remaining cool, calm and collected in the face of obstacles. Co-written by a mum and a speech-language therapist, and with many more rooms to visit, this book breaks down the information that you need to know to support children with autism at home.

Visual supports are excellent tools for teaching academic, daily living, and self-help skills to people with autism. This reader-friendly and practical book shows teachers, parents, and service providers how to make low-tech visual supports, and offers strategies for using them. The new second edition includes expanded information about using visual supports with the youngest children, advice on fading supports, and updated photo examples of: activity schedules; calendars; charts; checklists & to-do lists; color coding; flip books; graphic organizers; mnemonics; nametags; photo boards; power cards; scripts; social stories; and video modeling.

This book is designed to address the health and safety needs of students aged five and up with autism spectrum disorders.

A guide for helping our children lead meaningful and independent lives as they reach adulthood In the next five years, hundreds of thousands of children with autism spectrum disorder will reach adulthood. And while diagnosis and treatment for children has improved in recent years, parents want to know: What happens to my child when I am no longer able to care for or assist him? Autism expert Chantal Sicile-Kira and her son Jeremy offer real solutions to a host of difficult questions, including how young adults of different abilities and their parents can: *navigate this new economy where adult service resources are scarce *cope with the difficulties of living apart from the nuclear family *find, and keep a job that provides meaning, stability and an income *create and sustain fulfilling relationships