Winter Vocabulary Picture Cards

A Microsoft Word document from Kinderfriends. Use for vocabulary development for a winter theme.

http://www.kinderfriends.com/wintervocab.doc

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Seven Tips to Help a Distracted Child

Helpful tips from Marilyn Wedge of "Psychology Today." I think these are great strategies to incorporate for all kids! Great article.
http://www.mamapedia.com/voices/seven-tips-to-help-a-distracted-child

Strategies for Returning to School after a Break

A helpful tip sheet from Sandbox Learning. http://www.sandbox-learning.com/FileLib/Strategies_for_Returning_to_School_after_a_Break.pdf

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Online Storytime

Barnes and Noble offers an "online storytime" with children's books read aloud along with pictures from the book. My students love these! This might be a fun way to spend some time while the kids are out of school.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/storytime/index.asp

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Recipes

A wide variety of gluten-free gingerbread recipes (some both GF and CF) compiled by About.com: Special Needs Children. http://specialchildren.about.com/od/glutenfree/a/GFgingerbread.htm

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The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes

Christmas Social Story/GFCF Gingerbread Recipes

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Christmas Social Story:
A Christmas social story with PECS. Specifically focusing on holiday decorations and the vacation from school. From Special Education Technology British Columbia.

http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/resources/christmas_holidays/christmas_holidays.pdf

GFCF Gingerbread Recipes:
A wide variety of gluten-free gingerbread recipes (some both GF and CF) compiled by About.com: Special Needs Children. http://specialchildren.about.com/od/glutenfree/a/GFgingerbread.htm

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The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes

Christmas and ASD Tip Sheet

From The National Autistic Society.

http://www.autism.org.uk/Christmas

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Tips for Holiday Traveling for Parents of Children with Autism

From The ELIJA School.

http://news.yahoo.com/elija-schools-holiday-travel-tips-parents-children-autism-110210611.html

AAPC Resource:

The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Holiday Letters for Relatives

Here's a great holiday letter to send to relatives you will be visiting over the holiday season, written from the perspective of a child on the autism spectrum. Scroll on this page to see the letter:
http://griffinblaise.blogspot.com/2005/12/letter-to-family-and-friends-for.html

Another version of a letter:
A well-written letter explaining how autism may impact a holiday visit with relatives. From Asperger Syndrome & High Functioning Autism Association (AHA) Inc.


View the letter here: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/AHA-Holiday-Letter.html?soid=1103063443362&aid=TFTgO9NX4Kg

Gluten-Free Christmas Menu Ideas

Includes cooking ideas for meat, gravy, pies, stuffing, and more.
http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/b/2010/12/18/gluten-free-christmas-menu-ideas.htm

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The Autism Mom Cooks Gluten-Free Casein-Free Traditional Holiday Fare

PECS Christmas Songbook

Christmas song lyrics with picture symbols. From Slater Software.

http://www.slatersoftware.com/XmasSongBook.pdf


Christmas Songs (MP3)

Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes

Includes sugar cookies, gingerbread, and ginger snaps.

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/foodallergies/qt/glutencookies.htm

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The Autism Mom Cooks Gluten-Free Casein-Free Traditional Holiday Fare

Illustrated Christmas Songs

From Tin Snips (see more from PositivelyAutism.com below!).

Jingle Bells: http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/jbells.pdf

Deck the Halls: http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/Decksong.pdf

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Easy-To-Do Holiday Crafts From Everyday Household Items!: Including Crafts for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, and Every Day of the Year!

More songs from PositivelyAutism.com:

Jingle Bells: http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/ChristmasSongJingleBells.pdf
The First Noel: http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/ChristmasSongNoel.pdf

Christmas Decorations Visual Choice Board with Images

A fun resource from Tin Snips.

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/xboard.pdf

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Christmas Vocabulary Cards

A set of picture vocabulary cards with Christmas-related words. Use for games or vocabulary instruction. From Slater Software.

http://www.slatersoftware.com/Xmas%20VocabCards.pdf

Christmas Coloring (Reading Color Words)

A few fun holiday worksheets from Tin Snips

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/lightcolor.pdf

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/xtree.pdf

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/xornament.pdf

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/canecount.pdf

Jewish Holiday Downloads

Can be used with the book below. http://www.karben.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24
 

Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles
Jacob loves his autistic brother, Nathan, but when Hanukkah comes, Jacob worries that Nathan might embarrass him in front of his new friend. What if Nathan blows out the Hanukkah candles?

Christmas Conversation Starter

Could be used as a visual aid, a conversation starter, or a visual choice board. From Tin Snips.

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/favxmasdec.pdf

AAPC resource...


Out and About: Preparing Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders to Participate in Their Communities

Christmas Vocabulary Game

A game that could be used for holiday vocabulary development at a variety of levels. From Speaking of Speech.

http://www.speakingofspeech.com/uploads/christmas_vocabulary_game.pdf

"December" Word Trace

Christmas and winter holiday freebies start today!

A sheet with winter clip art for students to practice tracing the word, "December." From Tin Snips.

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/xmas/bigdec.pdf

AAPC Resource...

Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What to do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Over Stimulating World

Webinar: Sexuality Instruction and Autism Spectrum Disorders

December 5th, 6pm EDT / 5pm CDT
With Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D.
Director, Upper School - The McCarton School
Chair of the Scientific Council - OAR

In this webinar, we will discuss:
•The three primary components of sexuality education
•The primary focus of sexuality education in terms of individual safety
•Methods of behavior analytic intervention in this area

Register for the free webinar here: http://www.rethinkautism.com/Community/webinars/default.aspx

AAPC Recommended Resource:

Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Parent’s Guide to Cognitive, Social, Physical, and Transition Needs of Teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

8 Ways to Make Outings Less Stressful

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Simple, easy tips from Sandbox Learning. I thought this was one of their most helpful articles!

http://www.sandbox-learning.com/FileLib/Community_Outings.pdf

Helping Children Cope with Stressful Situations

A skill sheet by Sandbox Learning.

http://www.sandbox-learning.com/FileLib/Coping_with_Stressful_Situations.pdf

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Color a Turkey!

Due to my holiday schedule, I'm posting Wednesday's freebie tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!

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A holiday theme worksheet on reading color words from Tinsnips.

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/thanksgiving/turkcolor.pdf

Thanksgiving Food Choice Visual Aid

A holiday food choice board from Tinsnips. http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/thanksgiving/favthanksfood.pdf

Another version: http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/thanksgiving/food.pdf

Thanksgiving Tips and Resources from Autism Speaks

Some of the resources on the page have already been featured on our website, but Autism Speaks provides some good information and resources.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/community-connections/happy-thanksgiving-autism-speaks

Thanksgiving Social StoriesTM

Two social stories, one on hygiene for Thanksgiving cooking and one on Thanksgiving dinner manners.

http://pickettsmill.typepad.com/pritchard/2009/11/thanksgiving-social-stories.html

Recommended Resource:

The New Social Story Book, Revised and Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition

Thanksgiving Information Story and Comprehension Worksheet

An brief informational story about what Thanksgiving is and how it may be celebrated. http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/thanksgiving/thanksgivingstory.pdf

Tinsnips also has a Thanksgiving reading comprehension worksheet. http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/thanksgiving/thankscompre.pdf


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"What are you thankful for?" Visual Choice Board

A picture choice board that individuals with autism can use to select something that they are thankful for.

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/thanksgiving/thanx.pdf


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Pumpkin Pie Picture Symbol Recipe

A simple way to make pumpkin pie.

http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/november/pumpkinpie.pdf

Autism Resources for parents and teachers:

Thanksgiving Recipes for Restricted Diets

A vareity of recipies including reduced sugar, gluten free, dairy free, and food allergy safe.

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/restricteddietrecipes/Thanksgiving_Recipes_for_Restricted_Diets.htm

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The Autism Mom Cooks Gluten-Free Casein-Free Traditional Holiday Fare

GFCF Thanksgiving Cooking

A helpful article from The GFCF Experience.

http://gfcfexperience.blogspot.com/2010/11/gfcf-recipe-experience-cornbread.html

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"Preparing for the Holidays" Chat Webinar

Another great training resource from Rethink Autism! A free chat/webinar with Dr. Bridget Taylor on November 17th at 1PM Eastern time. I’ve attended training with Dr. Taylor, and she’s an excellent speaker!

More information is available here: http://www.rethinkautism.com/community/news/Story.aspx?ID=983

Thanksgiving Social StoryTM

A Social StoryTM from Slater Software about having a Thanksgivng meal with family. If some of the situations don't apply to you (for example, if someone other than mom is doing the cooking), you could use the basic text of the story, just making a few changes and adding your own pictures, clip art, or photos.
http://www.slatersoftware.com/Thanksgiving%20Social%20Story.pdf
 
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Autism and Thanksgiving Tips

An article with helpful tips and resources by Lisa Jo Rudy.

http://autism.about.com/od/copingwithautism/bb/beforeturkey.htm?nl=1

Blueprint for Change (Employment Opportunities for All)

This is the description provided in the document:

At Jay Nolan Community Services, we have made a commitment to transform our organization to create more opportunities for employment for all the people we serve. We are particularly interested in increasing employment options for people who are often excluded from or underserved in employment programs-- including those living with autism and other challenging developmental disabilities. We utilized the resources of a grant from Autism Speaks to “jump start” this process of transformation in our agency...The following document is an overview of key elements of change that we have identified as we progress on this journey. We offer this “Blueprint for Change” as a description of the questions we addressed, the things we learned along the way, the challenges we faced, and some suggested issues for organizations to consider who also want to move in this direction.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/blueprint_for_change.pdf

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Developing Talents: Careers For Individuals With Asperger Syndrome And High-functioning Autism- Updated, Expanded Edition

Positive Connections: CPI and Positive Behavior Support Webinar

An informative webinar from CPI on Positive Behavior Supports in both schools and workplaces.

http://www.crisisprevention.com/Resources/Webinars/Positive-Connections--CPI-and-Positive-Behavior-Su

Autism Wandering Form

If you have a child who wanders, the following is an informational form you can file with your local emergency services. It includes a space for descriptive info about your child, a place for a photo, and emergency contact information. You can also keep a copy for yourself in the event your child goes missing.

http://www.autismalliance.org/bioform.pdf

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November Sensory-Friendly Films

One of these has a free child's ticket. Please see the websites for more information, and call the theaters to check procedures/availability for ticket sales.

Puss in Boots
November 5
10 a.m. local time
AMC Theatres
Find a theatre: http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/events/sensory-friendly-films/theatres
More information: http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/events/sensory-friendly-films/


Puss in Boots (PG)
Date: Sat., 11/12/2011
Time: 11:00am
Locations: ALL SMG LOCATIONS
Admission: Children with special needs - FREE / Adult: Regular Price Purchased @ the Box Office ONLY
More information: http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/theaters/familyfunimages/varietymovies2.html


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Fun Feelings Activities

A handout from Sandbox Learning. http://www.sandbox-learning.com/FileLib/Fun_Feelings_Activities.pdf

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Make Halloween Enjoyable for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

A tip sheet from the Autism Society of America. http://support.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=halloween_tips

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Nick Jr Favorites: Happy Halloween