Hitting The Highlights – Our Top Posts

We have shared a lot of information with you here over the years, and we hope it has been helpful to you in some way.

Today I want to share with you some of our top posts, the ones we love and the ones you have loved.  It’s a trip down memory lane but it’s also the building of a set of great resource links all on one page.

Recently our article on Insensitive Questions hit a nerve.  We know that our child is different but we don’t need your sympathy, your questions or your well-meaning but ineffective advice. This post helps you learn how to cope with these situations without blowing your top.

5 Ways to Keep Your Kids Positive About Life really appealed to some of our readers.  In a world that can sometimes suck you down, staying positive will help you help your child to see the good things in life.

When a child enters puberty, life as you know it goes right out the door.  If your child is on the autism spectrum, the time of change may be even more difficult.  In this article we tackled the subject head on with some guidelines to help you and your child.

The View from a Wheelchair talks about the problems that children with mobility aids have to face in society, and discusses the etiquette of interacting with someone in a wheelchair. What should be common sense and courtesy seems to be blinded by the aid, but our post was designed to help people overcome their “I don’t know what to do” feelings.

We’ve shared ideas for sensory play and indoor and outdoor games.  We’ve shared our great finds and discoveries, and we’ve shared stories about our wonderful products.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the blog as much as we have enjoyed writing it. 

Learning Social Skills With Kimochis

Attending school can be difficult for children with ASD and they can struggle with social and emotional challenges as they try to connect with both their teachers and their peers. One brand in particular seemingly has their finger on the pulse when it comes to helping children identify, understand and manage their feelings, and that brand is Komichis. Kimochis, (pronounced key-mo-chee) meaning feeling in Japanese, create plush educational toys to allow learning in a fun and comfortable way.

The products encourage kids to express themselves as they learn about appropriate feelings-driven behaviour and also how to manage those feelings.

At The Toy Bug we have a range of Kimochis products available from the basic feelings packs which cover a wide array of emotions as well as a variety of soft adorable character toys.  

Huggtopus - Huggtopus is, needless to say, all smiles and hugs. She is very affectionate and strong and sometimes gets a little carried away by her big friendly personality. Huggtopus doesn't know her own strength and can sometimes be a little overbearing. She always means well but has to learn about boundaries!

Bella Rose - Bella Rose is very sweet and conscientious of others. She loves nature and is accepting of all the living wonders that the Kimochis World can bring. Bella Rose’s sensitive side and ability to empathise always has a way of bringing emotional balance to the group.

Kimochis Cat - Cat is full of surprises! She knows what she wants, when she wants it and why. Cat can be very persuasive and when she makes up her mind there is not stopping her. She loves to be in charge but can sometimes be a big bossy!

What is unique to this range of toys is that loved in each Kimochis character is a personality of strengths and challenges for children to relate to, recognise and celebrate.

Watch this video for more details on the delightful Kimochis range of products and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Movement And Motion For Children With Autism

Recent research in the US has confirmed what many parents have observed for years, that motion, cause and effect, repetitive and movement type toys and games are often preferred by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

When we think of sensory feedback in a ‘neurotypical’ world, the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing are what spring to mind.  When it comes to children with autism spectrum disorder however, we need to consider the lesser known senses, the vestibular sense that helps us keep our balance and know where we are in space, and proprioception which has to do with the way our joints respond to movement and pressure.  This explains why adults and children with ASD as well as those without, enjoy such things as deep tissue massage and can be calmed by weighted blankets and the application of pressure.

Games and activities that offer a broad range of sensory feedback were preferred over all other types of play in the hands-on, museum based study, imaginative play being the least attractive to children with ASD.

Children with ASD often find repetition and sensory feedback soothing, and if they themselves cannot be moving, they enjoy watching moving objects.  Encouraging these kinds of activities in play, and by introducing toys that play to these strengths can encourage development and interaction as well as being a source of comfort.

Active play toys such as the See Saw and the Ball Chair are great for kids with energy to burn, who respond well to physical stimulation.  These toys provide different levels of feedback via sound, repetition and movement.

More passive children who prefer less active stimulation, or need some downtime, might enjoy the LED Mini Fan, which not only gives visual feedback via the lights and movement but also the feeling of air and cooling.  The Soothing Liquid Timer is a visual and calming toy that also provides a feeling of time and movement and time for self regulating emotions or actions for a child needing boundaries.

The Expandable Ball is a tactile toy that feeds the need for repetition and movement. It is a portable toy which does not require batteries or lots of space, and is a good option for a child’s bag.

One size never fits all in sensory play but at The Toy Bug we pride ourselves on researching and sourcing new products to help children with their development through play, visual stimulation, motion and movement.

Your Child’s Favourite Teacher May Soon be a Robot

Joint attention is a crucial social skill that children along the autism spectrum often have difficulty mastering. Joint attention is the ability for a child to share the same focus as another person.  This shared focus includes looking at the same item, and sharing the same intentions as the other person. The ability to master this skill has strong implications for language development, bonding and empathy for the autistic child.

In the past, learning this skill often meant hours of intense specialised and individualised instruction with the child and their teachers, parents and other caregivers.  Now, there is a new tool to help children along the autism spectrum to master this critically important skill – interactive robots.  Researchers at Vanderbilt University in the United States have developed a humanoid robot that can be programmed to instruct and adapt with children as they learn about and practice this skill.  In fact, research shows that children along the autism spectrum may be able to learn and practice this skill better with the robot than with a human counterpart.

This unique and exciting breakthrough was recently discussed in an article in the March edition of IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.  Building upon the success that researchers have made with using the robot to teach joint attention skill, the researchers plan to modify the robot’s programming to teach children additional skills such as role playing, sharing, and imitation learning. The researchers will then conduct studies to see if the robot is as successful at helping children to learn and practice these additional skills as it was in teaching joint attention.

While the researchers stress that the robot will never be able to take the place of human assessment and interaction with children, this robot does seem to be a promising tool that can help children acquire the skills that they need in a fun and stimulating way.

What do you think of the idea?  Will it work? 

New Free Online Video On Early Autism Recognition

Autism researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in the USA have announced the release of a free online video tutorial on early autism recognition.

  

The goal of the tutorial is to “improve recognition of the early signs of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in one-year-olds among pediatricians, parents and early intervention providers.”

The video is available on YouTube so that any parent can access the information but it is designed to educate doctors, too.  The signs of autism can be very difficult to spot, even for professionals, until the child is around two years old.  This clip shows what to look for – the warning signs – in children as young as one.

Remember that every child is different and just because your child shows one of these behaviours it does not mean that he or she is on the autism spectrum.

 “The nine-minute tutorial consists of six video clips comparing toddlers who show no signs of ASD to toddlers who show early signs of ASD.  Each video is presented with a voice-over explaining how the specific behaviors exhibited by the child, as they occur on screen, are either suggestive of ASD or typical child development.”

Here is the video clip.  I hope it’s helpful for you.  I’d love you to leave me a comment telling me what your thoughts are.

When Wrapping Helps

Whether or not your child has autism, there may be times that you need to comfort your child without words. Many times a child might become stressed from too much stimulation and may even act out when this occurs. Overstimulation can be very upsetting for both the child as well as others if the stress has pushed the child into a meltdown. When overstimulation occurs, it can help your child if they receive comfort and support while their nervous system recovers and has a chance to balance itself.

Wrapping is just one technique that can help to soothe your child and be a safe way to help your child receive comfort and support without the use of words.

What is wrapping? Wrapping is very similar to swaddling a baby. Wrapping is taking a piece of cloth, such as a blanket or sheet, and covering your child with it. As very young children, most of us drew security and comfort from wrapping up and getting to snuggle in a favorite blanket. As a child grows older, they may still find comfort from being swaddled.

To see if this technique might help to calm your child and soothe their worries and frustration you can start by helping them to sit down and then draping them with the material. As you arrange the clothing over their shoulders, draw them close to you, as you would in a big hug and gently begin to rock back and forth with them. Continue to do so for about 10 minutes or so. While you are rocking them, you can try alternating the pressure of your hugs, or you can even give your child their own pillow or blanket to hold as you hug and rock them in the covering.

Since the idea is to help comfort and soothe your child in a nonverbal manner, you will want to practice this method of helping them to feel safe and secure before they are acting out from having too much stimulation. Try this technique during a quiet time when they are not stressed and if they are not resistant to it, you can then use this technique to let them know that everything is going to be okay when they have simply been through too much. In this way you can help them to feel safe and know that they are loved, without using words.

Fussy Eaters And Autism

There’s nothing more annoying than spending time in the kitchen, whipping up a meal, only to have it refused, point blank.  It’s even more frustrating when the child in question hasn’t even bothered giving the food a taste.  They just flat out refuse.

You worry that they’re not eating enough, or enough of the right things.  Besides, it just makes you feel unappreciated, what with the effort you’ve just put in making the meal.

It’s hard not to take it personally, but you can’t, especially when it comes to children with autism.

One of the key characteristics with children with an autism spectrum disorder are the sensory issues, whether this be hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity. Children will need extra sensory stimulation; increased pressure, large movements, or, at the other end, their senses can be heightened.

Therefore, noises can seem too loud, clothing can feel uncomfortable against the skin, tags on shirts can irritate...and food can be an issue.

Food consumption is influenced by the look, smell, taste and feel of the overall meal, and even individual ingredients.

For children with autism, they can be genuinely repelled by certain foods.  Perhaps the smell is too strong for them, or the taste too distinctive or overwhelming. They may even like the taste of the food, but find the feel of it in their mouth disturbing or off-putting.

Some children prefer the crunchy feel of uncooked vegetables, such as carrots, as they provide a greater sensory experience, and the texture of cooked carrots is “too mushy”, for example.

In determining if your child is a “fussy eater”, first and foremost, remember it’s not personal, it is a genuine aversion to certain foods, or food combinations.  Work out what the sensory issue is and it makes life – and meals – much easier to work around.

Taking Sensory Development Outside

Going outdoors can be a great adventure for anyone of any age as there is so much to do and to get involved with. For children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) there can be some significant benefits because it can aid with sensory development as they can examine, interact and explore with the environment.

Going for a walk through a local park or even bushland and being able to smell the difference fragrances from flowers and plants, holding branches or leaves and feeling the different textures is a great experience plus an ideal form of cardiovascular exercise.

Kicking a soccer or football, throwing and catching a tennis ball or passing a rugby ball are all perfect ways to help develop coordination. Often if your child is undertaking any form of occupational therapy many of these activities can assist with the program.

Some parks also have animals that can be fed such as ducks or even fish if there is a lake. Even down at the beach you are sure to encounter seagulls that will be hungry and this can be a great way to interact with wildlife. If at the beach, the added benefit is the interaction with the salt water, the sand as well as being out in the sun. Being able to build sand castles is also a great activity and allows the imagination to be applied as they construct their creation.

Always be conscious of the abilities of your child and adjust the activity accordingly. Also, as they may be easily distracted or just curious, they may find dangerous situations in the most placid of places so of course you need to keep your eye on them all the time. In some cases and depending on your child, you may even be able to use these circumstances to teach and raise their awareness of dangerous and safety issues when outdoors.

The outdoors is a fun place to be and it is full of textural and sensory things to explore.

Diet And Autism

There are numerous interventions parents can undertake with a child who has autism and diet is one area that is particularly important. There is anecdotal evidence from parents that certain diets have resulted in improvement with people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Scientific research is not as definitive as some reviews and reports support this notion while others don’t.

There is some great information in the article titled Diet and autistic spectrum disorder and we’ve extracted some suggestions here for you.

• Gluten free and casein free: Gluten is a protein contained in many types of breads, pastas, biscuits and breakfast cereals. Casein is a protein in cow’s milk that is contained in cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt and milk chocolate biscuits. It is suggested that people with ASD have an abnormally leaky gut that creates an intolerance to these proteins which affects mental function and behaviour.

• Food additives: People with ASD are intolerant to many food additives such as colourings, flavour enhancers, artificial sweeteners and preservatives as they can affect their behaviour.

• Phenolic compounds and salicylates: The suggestion is that foods such as cheese, tomatoes, oranges, bananas and chocolate contain enzymes that some people lack that are needed to break down the compounds in these foods and as a result affect the symptoms of people with ASD.

• Yeast free: Eating less foods such as natural and refined sugars, breads, vinegar, cheese, soy sauce, alcohol, coffee and processed meats reduces the growth of yeasts in the gut and avoids the leaky gut scenario that is similar with the gluten free and casein free diets.

Again, as noted at the start, the scientific research is not definitive on this issue and importantly working with your doctor or a dietician from a community health service can provide more information and support in this important area.

April Is World Autism Awareness Month

With April being World Autism Awareness Month it provides an opportunity to discuss, learn and highlight issues with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This can result in a greater appreciation and understanding of ways we can assist children and adults who suffer from an ASD to improve and lead a more meaningful life.

With one in 100 people estimated to have an ASD, the awareness month also provides an excellent opportunity for people who don’t suffer from any ASDs to be made more aware of this neurological condition.

ASDs can affect interpersonal skills, communications, motor skills, concentration as well as a number of other developmental conditions and can relate to people with Asperger’s syndrome and high functioning autism. It has been the raising of the awareness that has led to many of these conditions being recognised in the last 10 to 15 years where previously they may have been misdiagnosed. The importance of this is that with early intervention, better support and understanding occurs to assist with managing the ASD.

As part of the World Autism Awareness Month, in 2007 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day in perpetuity. Autism organisations around the world use this day to promote fundraising and awareness events. This also includes the Light It Up Blue campaign and this year thousands of building and landmarks in 45 countries and over 600 cities were coloured by blue lights.

The other important issue with World Autism Awareness Month is that it provides an opportunity to value the role of autistic people in the world, how they can make a positive contribution and that they can be proud of themselves.

As part of our involvement with World Autism Awareness Month we would like to encourage you to share your thoughts and stories on our Facebook page.

Developmental Coordination Disorder – Heard Of It?

A new study has shown that children that may have been diagnosed with ADHD or other familiar disorders may in fact be suffering from developmental coordination disorder (DCD).

ADHD can often be diagnosed when children have trouble with routine tasks such as getting dressed, playing certain types of games, drawing or even using a computer but in fact they could be suffering from DCD. The study undertaken by Professor Sara Rosenblum identified that in quite a few cases the diagnosis does not occur early enough and is incorrect. This can result in frustration and a sense of disability that leads to a decline that requires psychological therapy.

DCD can be expressed through the “inability to control a process of carrying out a particular motor task, consolidate it in memory and repeat automatically”. Examples of this may include tying laces, riding a bicycle, closing buttons, and so on. Where most people do these things automatically, people with DCD will find them difficult to do. As adults, they may have trouble doing things such as estimating distance and speed, making it difficult to learn to drive or ride a bicycle.

It can be quite embarrassing for children if they can’t do simple routine things. It is even worse for adults who often have to find ways to cover up their lack of skill.

A simple and non-invasive test of writing tasks has been developed to identify DCD in children. Children with DCD have no physiological or intellectual deformities, and in many cases, they have above average intelligence. As they are not able to complete tasks that require coordination between motor, sensory and cognitive functions, the use of occupational therapy provides the necessary treatment and guidance to assist them.

Going To The Dentist

The one thing all parents of children who fall under the umbrella of ASD quickly learn, is to take away the element of surprise from upcoming events as much as possible.

Regardless of your child’s individual sensory requirements and level of understanding, preparing them for any event that may present challenges is always a good plan, and a visit to the dentist could be quite harrowing for your child without adequate preparation.

The most important first step to making a trip to the dentist run as smoothly as possible is to find a dentist who is child friendly. Ensure they have some experience of working with children who have special needs and know how to make their dental visit a fun and non-threatening event.

Ask other parents in your network of friends and through your child’s school or care facility for recommendations, most will gladly recommend a dentist who has been caring and accommodating of their child’s needs.

When you ring to make an appointment, have a talk with the reception staff about your child’s needs. Ask if it is possible for your child to have a tour of their rooms before his/her consultation, to have a look at and touch the equipment that may be used and become familiar with the process.

Allow your child to take along a comfort item or favourite toy with them for their dental visit, and keep the first visit short and positive, more of a familiarisation than a treatment if possible.

Keep in mind that many children with ASD sensory issues are easily overwhelmed by noises and sensory overload, therefore ear muffs or headphones with soothing music may help to drown any disturbing noises made by drills and suction tools. Several short consultations are often more successful than trying to rush through treating more than one tooth at a time.

Make sure the dentist explains each step of each process before it happens and shows each tool and explains its purpose before using it. It is important that your child does not feel rushed and is given enough time to absorb and become comfortable with each piece of information and process.

No matter how well you try to prepare some children, the entire process of a dental examination and treatment can simply be beyond their scope of coping skills. Sedation may work for younger children, or the option of a general anaesthetic may be offered to your child through some dental hospitals or clinics.

Above all try to encourage your child to maintain their own oral hygiene and health as it is the best course of prevention for dental problems.