Thursday, March 26, 2020

Get Fuzzy - As Described by My 17 Year Old



Two Years Ago

I asked my 17 year old son to tell me about what he had been 
reading. As you can see below, he didn't describe it
in a book review type way, so I didn't post it.

But  -
it might be useful for others to see his process.
So here it is. My son's words are in blue.

"What have you been reading?"

"It's a comic strip. The Get Fuzzy book that I got for Christmas is "Scrum Bums."
In one of the parts of the book, Rob reads a book. He says it's about a guy that dies in the Louvre. Satchel the dog says, "Wait, he dies in the loo?" Bucky Katt adds, "He must have eaten some bad shellfish." Rob replies, "No, the louvre." Bucky says, "Louver, he was killed by a window treatment?"     
Rob says, "It's a museum, Bucky." "

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Social Stories for a Pandemic

Covid-19 is here, and we need to tell our children about it.
Children with autism may have more anxieties about the virus, or find the disease harder to understand than children not on the spectrum.*

Fortunately, we have social stories.
Here is a link to one from Green Mountain Self Advocates
about what Covid-19 is:
Plain-Language-Information-on-Coronavirus.pdf

Here is another from Carol Gray:
https://carolgraysocialstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pandemics-and-the-Coronavirus.pdf

Social Distancing is vitally important right now, but may be
very confusing. Tennessee Disability Pathfinder shares this
story from Easter Seals Chicago to help explain the concept:
https://vkc.vumc.org/assets/files/resources/Social%20Distancing%20Social%20Story.pdf

Change social stories to suit your child. Use fewer words 
if that works better. 


Of course, you and your reader can create your own.
If you have the time, it may even be a fun project to
make your own Quarantine Time book with photos
and captions about your family's experiences in
this extraordinary time.

Stay safe.

- Spectrum Mom

*Many children without autism are also having a difficult time.
Social stories may be useful for them as well.