Issue 29

Autumn 2015

Ask the Experts - 'Why does my son watch the same DVD episode again and again...and again?' 

Santa's Gone Autism Friendly
Our Top 20 ideas for great presents for autistic kids, all tested by our team.

The Language Layer Cake: When speech doesn't happen, what does it take to get there?

Mission Improbable?
Many of our readers are parents who also run an autism related business or service. We wanted to know how they manage to juggle their home lives with a very personal, but professional undertaking. See how far six of our readers went with just a good idea and a lot of passion!

Keywords Issue 29: Repetition; watching same episode again; repeat; repetition; USA; Christmas shopping; speech; Olga Bogdashina; parents running companies.

Issue 28

Summer 2015

Ask the Experts: On resistance to demands

Spectrumite Mum's Survival Kit: Ten of the best things to pack in an imaginary hot air balloon, by co-editor Debby Elley, mum to autistic twins

Ten Exercises for Stretching the Comfort Zone
Think people with autism are inflexible? Sometimes the people around them can make this worse by avoiding change. We talk about gentle ways to help extend emotional flexibility.

Blogdashina: A Painful Truth
Olga Bogdashina talks about how she began to understand her son's discomfort around having his hair and nails cut.

Our Holiday Heroes
An autism-friendly holiday is hard to come by, but some forward-thinking companies are doing their best to create a more blissful breather.

It's All Relative
The tense, nervous headache that starts before you get in the car. Those gut-wrenching feelings as you draw to a halt and put the handbrake on. It's not your driving test, it's a trip to the relatives. We show both relatives and parents how to prepare for a visit.

Keywords Issue 28: Demand avoidance; demands; resistance; refusal; survival kit; flexibility; inflexibility; sensory games; Olga Bogdashina; holidays; visiting relatives.

Issue 27

Spring 2015

Ask the Experts – ‘How do I know what’s upsetting my child?’
Valuable advice from autism lecturer and author Dr Luke Beardon, speech and language pathologist Heather MacKenzie and author and speaker Olga Bogdashina

The Great Behaviour Goal
Valuable, exciting, colourful hints and tips on creating the environment for good behaviour

Unlocking the Voice Within
Interview with Intensive Interaction expert Phoebe Caldwell in which she explains how she has made a career from connecting with severely autistic people who seem to be in their own worlds

What Is Theory of Mind?
It's a term that people use quite casually - but what does it actually mean? We use a familiar dress and a bit of humour to explain the concept.

Play it their Way!
We know what it can feel like to sit and watch a child play repetitively. Where to start? Here, that's where... 

Keywords Issue 27: Sensory room; sensory equipment; interpreting upset; distress; behaviour; pre-verbal; non-verbal; Phoebe Caldwell; Theory of Mind; playing; Olga Bogdashina.

Issue 26

Winter 2015

Voyage of Discovery: The final part of our conversation series discusses how to build social skills in conversation.

Seeing the World in A Different Light:

Looking into the affects of visual distortion in autistic youngsters - and how to help

Ask the Experts – ‘My child won’t sit and focus in assembly or carpet time’

Speech and Language Pathologist Heather MacKenzie, Occupational Therapist Breanne Black, Specialist Teacher Dianne Sandler and founder of SEN Assist Adele Devine offer their advice

Double Trouble or Twice as Nice? Personal stories from parents of twins on the spectrum.

Four touching personal accounts of the trials and joys of raising twins with either one or both on the spectrum

Keywords Issue 26: Conversation skills; visual distortion; visual disturbance; visual disorders; sitting still; Olga Bogdashina; Donna Williams; twins

Issue 25

Autumn 2014

At the heart of AuKids is practical advice and light-entertainment. The practical advice in this issue comes in the form of Conversation Rivers Part 2, focusing on how you can encourage youngsters who are just starting to develop some verbal skills to increase their interaction and communication.

We also asked some fantastic Teaching Assistants for their top tips for mainstream schooling – we could hardly pack their advice into two pages but we managed! Professor Tommy MacKay and Dr Anne Greig were making waves with their book The Homunculi Approach to Social and Emotional Wellbeing, and wrote a piece for us on how autistic kids can dream up characters to help their brains make the right choices.

The light-entertainment part, always a highlight in AuKids, was AuKids’ Politically Correct Guide to Clueless Comments, especially for parents who are tired of ‘tactful’ remarks in the playground.

Keywords Issue 25: Pinching, aggressive; conversation; Learning Assistants tips; Learning Support Assistants; LAs; The Homunculi Approach; clueless comments; dealing with judgement.

Issue 24

Summer 2014

Ask the Experts: Why Does My Son Spin Things?

Dry and Mighty: Toilet training an autistic child

Please Can We Borrow That TARDIS? Four adults on the spectrum were given an imaginary TARDIS. What would they tell the adults around them?

Anchors Away! Conversation Series Part 1 - speech and language therapy made easy

The Kindness of Strangers: and what to do when your child has a meltdown in public

Getting Their Wires Crossed: Occupational Therapist Breanne Black explains why some autistic children are so over-sensitive to touch

Keywords Issue 24: Spinning; toilet training; autistic adults; conversation; public meltdowns; oversensitivity to touch; Breanne Black.

Issue 23

Spring 2014

Ask the Panel: On Telling Your Child About Their Autism

Colour Coding: The Guaranteed Connection. Adele Devine has written a brilliant book on how colour-coding can help make life easier to navigate for autistic children. We ask her what inspired her.

Let’s Talk: Parents and Professionals Bridge the Gap

The Ten Commandments of Bringing up a Child with Autism: Debby Elley, co-editor and mum of twins on the spectrum, shares what she’s learnt over the last ten years

Sunny Side Up: Tips for Summer Fun

Keywords Issue 23: Phoebe Caldwell; Intensitive Interaction; Diagnosis; talking to your child about diagnosis; colour coding; Adele Devine; visual support; meetings; summer holidays.

Issue 22

Winter 2013

Reviews:

No Longer a Secret by Doreit Bialer and Lucy Miller; The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Elizabeth Verdick and Elizabeth Reeve; I Hate to Write! By Cheryl Boucher and Kathy Oehler; Plan B: Empowering The Single Parent! – to Benefit their Child with Autism by Karra Barber-Wada; The Pocket Occupational Therapist by Cara Koschinski; The Little Book of the Autism Spectrum by Dr Samantha Todd and This is Gabriel Making Sense of School by Hartley Steiner

What A Difference a Year Makes! Focusing on four children’s progress over the course of 12 months

Make ‘Em Laugh! How humour helps your child’s development.

Inside Cloud 9: Readers Share Their Kids’ Ideas of Heaven

Ask the Experts: When autistic kids feel that they have to be perfect…

Keywords Issue 22: Laughter; hobbies; perfectionism

Issue 21

Autumn 2013

Reviews:

A Lifetime of Laughing and Loving with Autism by Wayne Gilpin; The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida and app review – Pronouns with Splingo from the Speech and Language Store.

Labelled with Love: The TEACCH method explained, and how to use it in every day life

Ask the Experts: On Rituals

Science Fiction and Fact: How to tell the rumours from the sound science of autism research.

The Safety Net: Masses of practical Internet safety advice from a UK advisor, Fayaz Malik who works as an ambassador for CEOP Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Debby Elley’s The Last Word: ‘Nice Toy, Shame About the Age Range’

Keywords Issue 21: TEACCH; rituals; science; scientific questions; Internet safety

Issue 20

Summer 2013

Reviews: Sensory Parenting by Britt Collins and Jackie Linder Olsen; Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew (updated and expanded) by Ellen Notbohm; the PRT Pocket Guide by Robert Koegel and Temple Grandin’s Different…Not Less. Plus a round up of autism friendly apps with Flog Longhorn

The AuKids Oscars: Readers’ Votes for Best Product, Book, Speaker, App and Sensory Product

Ask the Experts: Other people keep breaking the rules!

The Autism Sundae Dessert: The Definition of Autism: an early incarnation of our ice cream sundae analogy, this was aimed at helping adults (in particular families and friends) understand the complexities of autism.

Here’s One I Did Earlier: Homemade Sensory Products and Games

Debby Elley’s The Last Word: ‘Busy Doing Nothing’

Keywords Issue 20: Rulebound; rules; Autism Sundae Dessert; Handmade sensory toys