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Enhancing Communication to Reduce Challenging Behaviors
The most recent report from the CDC found the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be one in 54 children in the US (Maenner et al., 2020). Because the diagnostic criteria for ASD includes persistent deficits in communication and deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors, many...
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A Clinician’s Perspective on Robot-Assisted Instruction for Autistic Children
I’ve been licensed in California as a Marriage and Family Therapist for over 18 years and my career passion and good fortune has allowed me to treat children with developmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), as well as high functioning adults. Therapy is a profound...
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The Pandemic Has Devastated the Autism Community. It’s Also Been an Important Learning Opportunity
The world has been living through a global emergency since the coronavirus pandemic took hold early last year, and autism families have been hit particularly hard. People with autism thrive on routine and predictability, which are precisely what was lost amid COVID-19. While I know autism families...
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Robot-Assisted Instruction for Children with Autism: How Can Robots Be Used in Special Education?
In today’s high-tech world, quality teaching in special education is an essential factor that many specialists need to fulfill. Special education teachers are well-trained and often receive the latest skills and resources to provide effective intervention for children with autism. However, high...
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Smart Home Technology and Autism
Good parents worry about their children’s safety. For most, this centers on keeping toddlers away from medicine, sharp objects, electrical outlets and other physical dangers in the home. As children grow, parents can usually start worrying less about these things and focus on their children’s...
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Maintaining and Improving Skills During COVID-19 with Robot-Assisted Instruction
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many children are falling behind due to compromises in therapy and education services. Children with disabilities who previously had stable access to regular in-person therapy are losing that access, leading to regression (Jones, 2020). While tele-care and remote video...
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Maintaining Connection with Siblings with ASD in Young Adulthood
Sibling relationships are some of the longest that people will have in their lifetime, and these relationships can significantly influence sibling development (McHale, Updegraff, & Whiteman, 2012). While each sibling relationship is different, they are commonly characterized by shared...
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Maintaining Best Outcomes for Students in a Congregate Care Setting Amidst a Pandemic
COVID-19 posed immediate and unprecedented challenges to organizations providing intensive behavioral services in a congregate care setting to children and adolescents diagnosed with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities. The evolving discoveries about the novel virus and how to combat...
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Unforeseen Advantages of Virtual Learning: Improved Attendance, Participation and More
Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, and difficulty making and maintaining relationships are some of the barriers individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face in their daily lives (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In addition, there are high prevalence...
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Utilizing Digital Media to Enable Continuity of Autism Services
For over a decade there has been an abundance of professional articles and seminars on the potential of telehealth and distance learning services. Outside of the medical world, the movement of state licensing bodies and insurance payers to permit use of telehealth services by licensed behavioral...
