Pointers for Autism

I first saw Point to Happy mentioned some time ago.
I didn't mention it here because my son was too old
for the book and it seemed a bit gimmicky.
Yesterday when I saw the book in a fancy toy store
I experienced it a bit differently.  
Often friends and relatives have no idea what
to buy for a child with autism, and this could be
a fine gift choice, especially 
for a family with a newly diagnosed child.
With three places for every dollar, this may
not be a book that parents buy.
After all, you want your kid to point with
his/her finger, and many books will work
for that. If your child has a speech therapist,
she can provide you with materials or
suggestions specifically for your kid.
But the book is well designed and 
engaging with helpful tips on use from
a speech professional. If your child is
young, or non-verbal, and especially
if you are looking for ways to help
your child engage actively with books,
this book could help you.
If anyone has experience with this book,
please comment. I'm particularly curious
about kid reaction to the pointer .  .  .


-Spectrum Mom

A Post from Sam and Boo

Today, I'm pointing you towards a wonderful post 
 by samandboo. Click on the review
title to go to the full post and her wonderful, but not active blog.
Yesterday I met a great mom with a non-verbal five year
old, so this is meant for her (hi!) and for other parents
of young children with autism diagnoses. Boo was two and
newly diagnosed while Sam was doing the blog and
it is a terrific resource for those parents and children
just starting this journey.


Again, all credit for this post belongs to Sam and Boo

click below for the full review:

Review: Lemons Are Not Red

Find at Amazon.com
Find at Amazon.ca

Title: Lemons Are Not Red

Author/Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Year: 2004
ISBN: 978-1596430082
Format: Hardcover, also available in Paperback
Pages: 32
Age Range: Baby, Toddler, Preschooler
Kid Love Factor: 5/5
Adult Sanity Factor: 3/5

I saw Lemons Are Not Red reviewed over at Infant Bibliophile’s site. Since we’ve been trying for weeks to get Boo to solidly understand negation, I figured this would be perfect.

It so was.

The yellow opening page declares:

Lemons are not RED.

There’s a lemon-shaped cut-out which clearly displays a red lemon. But once you turn the page, the lemon cut-out is now over the yellow background, and the red former background is revealed to be a nice big apple.

Lemons are YELLOW.
Apples are RED.

The pattern continues through orange carrots and purple eggplants, pink flamingos and grey elephants, brown reindeer and white snowmen, green grass and the blue sky, and ends with the silver moon and the black night. Good night!

This was an instant hit. Boo loves naming colours, so I knew he’d be intrigued, but I failed to predict  .  .  .

click here: Review: Lemons Are Not Red to see the full review.

A Bear Called Paddington

I think I was seven when I

met Paddington. My son is ten.

I tried to introduce them earlier,

but it didn't take. This time there's

a bit more of a connection.

What's interesting lately is how much

more my son both withdraws and engages

during reading. Pauses are longer, and

when I read (we alternate pages) he often

wraps up in a blanket and doesn't look

(I sometimes resist this by having him

read Paddington). He also will act out

parts of the story (crawling for "Paddington

crawled on his paws") and comment on or

question parts of the story.

I do not know how 

much he is retaining, I do not quiz him.

I want this to be fun, or at least funnish.

Paddington has fewer and less clear

pictures (the word "thunder" made him

think that Paddington was under an

umbrella and not a bowl) than I usually

choose. But this is such a good and 

enduring story, I feel it's worth a bit

of effort. The story itself is clear and

doesn't have a lot of difficult emotional

or cultural concepts to decode.

Here's his review:

Paddington was a bear.

But Paddington was also the train station

I didn’t like the man when he didn’t know 

about the bear’s name.

Still, he was called Paddington.

I liked the part when he was in hot water.

Yes, but what does that mean?

(This book has nothing to do with this post.)
This post is mainly for the faithful who come every week
looking for new ideas.
Also for those of you who live in Florida.
Also for anyone with a child struggling to read.
Maybe it's for more of you than I thought, but
it's a bit abstract for this blog.
Some time ago, a wonderful advocate told me
about the Florida Center for Reading Research.
There's a lot there, but I'll just put in the heading
and link to a useful section today:

Frequently Asked Questions About Reading Instruction

Developed by the Teaching and Learning Review Team

Frequently Asked Questions About K-3 Reading Instruction for Florida Reading FirstSchools (PDF)

What is systematic instruction? What is direct instruction? Aren’t scripted lessons for inexperienced or uncreative teachers? Why is it important to have a 90 minute reading block? May students go to another class for intervention during the 90 minute block? How do we prioritize what to teach when the Core Reading Program offers so much? What is the best use of an extra adult in the room during the 90 minute block? During the 90 minute reading block, should I follow the sequence of student materials in the Core Reading Program or choose stories as they seem appropriate for our thematic units? Is writing permitted and what type of writing activities can be included during the 90 minute block? What do you mean by flexible small group instruction? How can I keep teaching my small group when the students in centers complete their activity early and start misbehaving? What is a good way to build vocabulary skills? What can I do to help my students read more fluently? What is the difference between Core, Supplemental, and Intervention instruction? What materials should I use for targeted instruction for my struggling students? What exactly is meant by immediate intensive intervention (iii), or ‘triple i’? What can we use for intervention when third grade students are not successful with the Comprehensive Core Reading Program?

For the answers to these questions, use the link below.
http://www.fcrr.org/Curriculum/curriculumInstructionFaq1.shtm
While this material is specific to Florida's approach, the vocabulary
is useful in any discussion of reading instruction.

Reading and Writing Poetry

I'm a little sad to say goodbye to April and poetry month.
Poetry fits so well with my boy's interests and needs. I wish
people talked about poetry all the time.
My boy will read anything poetic (as opposed
to checking which page chapters begin and end)
including Sir Walter Scott's Marmion (recommended for
middle schoolers to high schoolers who will read anything
that rhymes). Asked for favorite poets he cites Walter Dean
Myers and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Another aspect of his love for poetry is that although he
does not usually want to write (unless he's writing his own
version of a story that was written "wrong") 
he will write poetry at the tiniest of prompts. 
He especially likes the haiku and tanka 
forms where you count syllables.
The end of April does bring Nashville the special needs
storytime at Green Hills Library, 10:30 am.
This group is going strong. Everyone is
enjoying the chance to hear stories in a
relaxed and comfortable setting.
Rain falls forever down
go out get wet or stay in
find a book to read
-spectrum mom 

Poetic Tangents

In Love that Dog, the poet Walter Dean Myers appears as 
a character. Since my son liked the book and the poems, I
looked for more by Myers but found he's better known as
an award winning children's books author.
Most of his books offer too many challenges for my son,
the biggest being too few illustrations to support the story.
So I turned to his picture books and found two, one of which
my son and I liked quite a bit.
Flats Brown, talented blues playing dog, must stay one
jump ahead of his mean owner A. J. Grubbs. The story
resonates with the message that everyone needs a 
little love.
What my son liked were the song titles.
When I asked him about the book, that's what he
reeled off: "The Bent-Tail Blues," "The Mangy
Muzzle Stomp," and his and Flat's favorite,
"The Freaky Flea Blues."
Also, he remembered and liked that Myers put a
whole song in the back "The New York City Blues."
Alliteration, music, lyrics, all appeal to him.
Last night I found him reading one of his old 
picture books:

When I asked him his favorite part, he said "The -iers.
Diggier, Waggier, Flappier."
Myers book is much more sophisticated in narrative,
but both books should appeal to readers who like dogs
and/or playfully poetic prose.
-Spectrum Mom

Let's All Bake a Sunshine Cake - Autism Awareness & Poetry Month

Since my oldest boy rhymed almost from his first 
words, I'm convinced that his brain is wired for
poetry. In fact, this is my fourth entry about
poetry because rhythm and rhyme engage kids so
well (see especially 2/26/10 & 8/23/10 for book lists
and a poetry website) and because I believe many
children with autism find poetry a joy and comfort
to read.
No children's poet so reliably rhymes and brings
on the goof like Children's Poet Laureate 
Jack Prelutsky. The mammoth collection,
Be Glad Your Nose is On Your Face collects
poems on many different subjects with child pleasing
grossness along with  bright lively illustrations. You
can even get  Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face: And Other Poems [With CD] [BE GLAD YOUR NOSE IS ON Y-W/CD]
(yes, that's a link to Amazon, I thought for once an 
overt link might be useful).
The CD lets your kid follow along while you get 
something else done. 
I asked my son what his favorite poetry book
was and to my surprise he said Love that Dog
(3/30/11). His most read poetry volume is from
the teacher's section at a book fair - A Poem A Day.

Wherever you go you may rhyme
with metaphor coarse or sublime
just get into the habit,
you'll find like a rabbit,
you're doing it all of the time.
-Spectrum Mom