“Social enjoyment, as both an important life and employment skill, needs to be taught and practiced as early as possible. We need to provide our young people with safe, predictable situations to practice enjoying a social interaction. The successes I’ve seen in my own work demonstrate that social enjoyment is indeed a skill – and thus, can be learned.”
“Whatever your child’s level of verbal ability or behavior, don’t pass by the possibilities provided by animals. Non-verbal children are as capable as anyone of establishing a positive relationship with an animal. Your child may well surprise you with her compassion, connection and willingness to build a relationship with a non-human friend.”
“Anyone can benefit by telling their story and being heard, whether it’s through art, narrative, or other means of communication…Everyone has a story and all of these stories are sacred. There is healing and connection in telling these stories to someone who takes the time to listen. Art is a wonderful venue for telling these stories.”
“As a parent, you are the best judge of whether a “passionate interest” is an interest or a perseveration. If it’s an interest, it’s a spring board for community inclusion. If it’s a perseveration, it’s not a springboard at all, but rather an anchor. As with all anchors, it has a useful place – but no boat can move forward with its anchor firmly stuck in the mud.”
Have a giggle – and raise awareness! – with this activity from Bonnie Thomas‘ new book, Creative Expression Activities For Teens! This book is bursting with art and journal…
Cheryl R. Carter is a former special needs teacher and the founder of Organized Kidz, an organization that assists special needs children with organization and…
By Lisa Jo Rudy, author of Get out, Explore, and Have Fun! How Families of Children with Autism or Asperger Syndrome Can Get the Most…
“The Lancet medical journal recently revealed that ADHD children have a gene that predisposes them to ADHD. Their “findings provide genetic evidence of an increased rate of large CNVs in individuals with ADHD and suggest that ADHD is not purely a social construct.” In a nutshell, the presence of CNV proves that ADHD is not the result of poor parenting, unstructured environment, too much sugar or a myriad of other reasons. This research proves what many have known all along — that ADHD may run in families. This has far reaching implications for families with ADHD. Given the genetic link, chances are either one or both parents may have ADHD. This has at least five interesting implications for most families, particularly in regard to organization and time management:”
Vanessa Rogers is a nationally acclaimed youth work consultant in the UK and has written a number of popular resource books for JKP aimed at…
Several months ago, JKP authors Shana Nichols, Rudy Simone and me – Liane Holliday Willey – decided it would be lovely to host a special evening…