Issue 49

Autumn 2020

Ask the Experts - Chris Bonnello, Debby Elley, Gareth Morewood and Maura Campbell answer a question about a child who is anxious about fitting in at mainstream school.

How to Solve A Behaviour Riddle: At the heart of much behaviour lie three common themes. We give some detail on the questions to ask yourself when trying to get to the bottom of a riddle.

Ten Ways to Support your Child’s Mental Wellbeing - Covid presents challenges for our kids and keeping a healthy mind is at the heart of this feature by Child and Educational Psychologist, Dr Paul Kelly.

Inside Angle - Wildlife photographer Alfie Bowen shares his struggles and triumphs.

Plus ‘Do You Run a Five Star Hotel?’ Yes, we know you do.

Issue 46

Winter 2019/20

Ask the Experts. ‘My 13 year-old grandson is an able boy during well at mainstream. But he wanders around and seems unable to face the person he is speaking to…’

A Job Well Done: Double page cartoon strip with lively advice on giving instrutions to autistic children from Behaviour Analyst Dr Josh Levine.

Saying ‘No’ Without the Volcano - Discipline can be tough when your autistic child reacts so strongly. How to create boundaries without getting such a strong response. (from the archive feature).

A Different Path to Education - Seven families share their experiences of home educating their children.

‘Smile Like You Mean It’ - How Should We Teach Social Skills? - Co-editor Debby Elley, mum of autistic teenage sons, reflects on teaching social skills to children who may not see the point!

The Inside Angle: The Hidden Power of the Special Interest - Speaker Helen Clarke of Helen Clarke Autism explains how her special interests helped her as a child, and had a positive impact on her mental health

Issue 45

Autumn 2019

Be ready for the festive season! Years of experience with families (as well as our own) have contributed to some simple yet effective advice for reducing anxiety over Christmas and on the big day itself.

The Search for the Holy Grail. Another favourite from our archives goes straight to the heart of what you experience straight after diagnosis. You’re looking for answers, and lots of them. But everything seems so slow. Why? And what to do about it? Is there a Holy Grail? Read our guidance.

The Inside Angle - Jo Richardson who runs The Sanctuary Facebook page for autistic mothers, talks about ‘the anxiety demon’.

Time for Your Check-up! Making medical appointments more autism friendly.

Ask the Experts - ‘Sometimes when I try to persuade my son to do something he doesn’t want to (but has to), he kicks me’.

Cover story: Miguel and Amanda Hayworth run a company offering sugar-free alternatives, and their autistic children help out!

The Autism Parent’s Safety Gadget Guide. Elaine and Colin Pratt run Hartlands Holiday Centre for autism families in the Isle of Wight. Their apartments have been fitted with bespoke gadgets with safety mind mind. Check out the top 12 safety gadgets they wouldn’t be without.

Issue 40

Summer 2018

The Autism Books That Made (My) Publishing History: Director Jessica Kingsley looks back at 30 years at the helm of Jessica Kingsley Publishers, cherry-picking some of her favourite autism titles.

Ask the Experts: My son breaks everything.

Waiting for the Signal! Building language with a pause - how it works in theory, and what to do in practice.

The Inside Angle: An Insight into Anxiety by John Gorham.

Home is Where the Hartlands Is: Hartlands autism-specialist holiday centre is reviewed by the co-editor and her twin autistic sons.

The Last Word by Debby Elley: Climbing Mountains One Step at a Time: Debby reflects on ten years of AuKids, parenting, and growing independence.

Issue 38

Winter 2017/8

Ask the Experts: My daughter bit her Teaching Assistant. What can I do?

What's So Great About Tony Attwood? Who’s he - and why do we like him a lot?

The Inside Angle: Those three little words: Maura Campbell, feature writer for Spectrum Women, discusses the agony of open ended questions.

The Autism Friendly Classroom: Lynn McGann of Reachout ASC, which supports pupils in mainstream schools, gives her ten top tips.

After the Storm: Clinical psychologist Dr Carla Innes talks about the effects of a meltdown on parents, and what to do about it.

Issue 36

Summer 2017

Ask the Experts: What should I tell my child to comfort them when they hear about terrorist attacks?

Now That's Magic! Sparkling Strategies to Re-direct Behaviour: Sometimes it's not about taking away what your child loves doing if it's destructive or dangerous, but simply understanding WHY they like doing it and re-directing them to something better. Author Adele Devine shares some great examples of how she's done this with autistic pupils in the school where she works.

How to Build a Sense of Self: Our kids get lots of messages, often correcting them socially. It's easy to see why their self-esteem could take a dip. Trainer Tali Berman who is the founder of the Autism Empowerment Telesummit, a virtual conference for parents, looks at the Top 10 ways you can build an autistic child's sense of self, giving them the confidence that they need to develop into self-assured adults.

Tori's Interaction on the Go: Speech and Language therapy needn't be hard work, and co-editor Tori Houghton proves it with this lovely feature on how to make the most of a trip to the park.

The Inside Angle: Stimming and Me with Alex Lowery

Ask Aukids: Why Do I? Kids can be really confused about their own autism - why do they need speech therapy or help at school? Why do they worry so much? The co-editors explain in child-friendly terms why they have some difficulties and what to do about them.

Keywords Issue 36: The Play Doctors; dealing with bad news; terrorist attacks; re-directing behaviour; behaviour support; self-confidence; speech and langage therapy on the go; stimming; Alex Lowery; questions and answers for children.

Issue 33

Autumn 2016

Cast Your Own Spell for An Autism-Friendly Hallowe'en
Top tips on a Hallowe'en with no nasty surprises, from autism expert Elizabeth Sautter

When the World Shares Your Special Interest: Autistic teenager Adam Barkworth's life has been transformed by Pokemon Go.

Don't Go Crackers At Christmas! Our supplement kicks off with top tips for Christmas Day.

Pull Out Shopping Guide for Friends and Family Ten ideas and tips for buying gifts for youngsters who have autism.

Blogdashina: Incoming Sensory Missiles: Renowned autism expert Olga Bogdashina talks about hypersensitivity

From a Black & White World to Thinking in Colour - How to improve flexibilty of thought: Lauren Kerstein, author of A Week of Switching, Shifting and Stretching: How to make my thinking more flexible, shares some great practical advice for improving flexibility of thought. 

The Sixth Sense: Proprioception is no longer a mystery!

Ask the Experts: Removing clothes in public

Issue 31

Spring 2016

Ask the Experts: My son thinks his willy is the centre of the universe

Cause for Alarm? What to do when anxiety gets out of hand
Step by step guide to tackling fear by Jed Baker, director of the Social Skills Training Project in the USA

Homework: How to win the battle without making enemies
To understand the problem that autistic children have with homework we only need to look at the word itself. It requires a child to take a task that they are used to doing it at school and perform it in an unrelated setting. Combined with that is a deadline. Oh good. What can you do? Here's our advice...

Virtual World Becomes Autism Friendly Thanks to Dad's Minecraft Makeover: Dad Stuart Duncan, himself on the spectrum, noticed that parents of autistic Minecraft players were craving a safe haven for their kids. So he created one - Autcraft was the result.

Oops I did it again...
We all shout at our kids sometimes. But when you're wrong do you ever admit it? How mistakes can become a great learning ground for you and your child.

Blogdashina by Olga Bogdashina
The international speaker and author recalls a very personal journey coming to terms with her son's fragmented perception.

Issue 27

Spring 2015

Ask the Experts – ‘How do I know what’s upsetting my child?’
Valuable advice from autism lecturer and author Dr Luke Beardon, speech and language pathologist Heather MacKenzie and author and speaker Olga Bogdashina

The Great Behaviour Goal
Valuable, exciting, colourful hints and tips on creating the environment for good behaviour

Unlocking the Voice Within
Interview with Intensive Interaction expert Phoebe Caldwell in which she explains how she has made a career from connecting with severely autistic people who seem to be in their own worlds

What Is Theory of Mind?
It's a term that people use quite casually - but what does it actually mean? We use a familiar dress and a bit of humour to explain the concept.

Play it their Way!
We know what it can feel like to sit and watch a child play repetitively. Where to start? Here, that's where... 

Issue 25

Autumn 2014

At the heart of AuKids is practical advice and light-entertainment. The practical advice in this issue comes in the form of Conversation Rivers Part 2, focusing on how you can encourage youngsters who are just starting to develop some verbal skills to increase their interaction and communication.

We also asked some fantastic Teaching Assistants for their top tips for mainstream schooling – we could hardly pack their advice into two pages but we managed! Professor Tommy MacKay and Dr Anne Greig were making waves with their book The Homunculi Approach to Social and Emotional Wellbeing,

and wrote a piece for us on how autistic kids can dream up characters to help their brains make the right choices.

The light-entertainment part, always a highlight in AuKids, was AuKids’ Politically Correct Guide to Clueless Comments, especially for parents who are tired of ‘tactful’ remarks in the playground.