Birthday parties can create fear in many parents. All the excitement, noise and sugar at the start, followed by tears and tantrums at the end. Not to mention all the expensive, catering and planning that’s involved. But one aspect of the planning that parents shouldn’t worry over is the invite list. Should you invite the child in the class with special needs? The simple answer is, yes. Having children with special needs at the party may require a […]
By Frank Cicero, PhD Director of Psychological Services at Eden II Programs Here is the good news…children with autism can be toilet trained through the exact same methods that are used with typically-developing children. And what are these methods? Applied behavior analysis! If you have ever toilet trained a typically-developing child, you probably used a combination of praise and rewards for going on the toilet, explaining your expectations, removing the child‘s diaper, prompting to the […]
By Kendra Stanton Lee My brother Michael leaves the best voicemails, is a great traveling companion and does a spot-on impression of our late grandmother. Michael is also on the autism spectrum, and has been my life’s best reference for loving someone who is neuroatypical. Because he lives 1,000 miles away, though, my kids barely know him. We don’t visit Ohio, where Michael lives with my parents, frequently. My kids, who are 10 and 8, […]
By Michael A. Ellis, DO As reported last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased, yet again, to 1 in 59 children (1 in 37 boys). This is based on 2014 data and as such the actual prevalence in 2018 may be higher. The CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network has been evaluating autism prevalence data since 2000, at which time […]
By Lauren Schnell, BCBA Sleep disturbances in children with autism are a common concern for many parents. It has been estimated that approximately 25% of typical children between the ages of one and four struggle with nighttime wakings (Lozoff, Wolf, & Davis, 1985). For children with special needs, the number increases dramatically with upwards of 80% experiencing some type of sleep problems (Lamberg, 1994). Of those who frequently wake at night, the majority end up […]
