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 42

Winter 2018/9

Ask the Experts: ‘My child keeps swearing!’

Welcome to the Alertness Hotel! Some kids are up on the top floor, some are at the basement...Welcome to the Alertness Hotel, where Occupational Therapist Breanne Black will show you the activities you can do to regulate a child's sensory system and bring them to their optimum level of alerness at our Ground floor.

The Inside Angle: 20 Pieces of Advice for Autistic Children: Chris Bonnello, who runs Autistic Not Weird, is a fantastic author and speaker. Here's his advice, handed down from personal experience.

Ten Tips on Tackling Change

The Smart Approach To Interventions In 2015, a jolly good book called Choosing Autism Inteventions was published. In its back pages can be found some of the best advice we've seen on choosing interventions. Hidden away it was, so we nicked it (with the authors' permission) and handed the best bits to you.

It's Okay to Be Me by Rachel Jackson: Rachel's a new children's author but her day job involves helping people to build emotional intelligence and resilience. She therefore has some brilliant advice on helping autistic kids develop self-esteem and happily she shares her personal experiences with her son Ben, which makes it all the more involving to read.

Issue 41

Autumn 2018

Ask the Experts: One reader's child keeps getting rejected when trying to make new friends.

The Inside Angle: Senses Working Overtime with Richie Smith (four page special).

In Harmony with Autism: How Musical Instruments Help Kids on the Spectrum

What to do While You're Waiting: The Aukids editors consider the reality of waiting for appointments, and how you can use this unwelcome time productively.

7 Ways to Be Your Child's Learning Partner: Dr Heather MacKenzie shares her top tips for working with your child to get the best from them.

Issue 39

Spring 2018

Ask the Experts: One reader's son is terrified of cats and dogs and she asks us for help.

Top Tip for Tablets: Jenny Laycock of Family Fund gives key advice on getting the most out of a tablet device.

The Inside Angle: Shutdowns - The Invisible Enemy. Tim Tuff talks about shutdowns, less talked about than meltdowns but just as distressing.

Time fo the Big Move: AuKids and the Wraparound Partnership give top tips for preparing for secondary school.

Living By the Rule of Thumb: Here's one technique to help children learn social skills without getting overload and anxiety.

Celebrating Super Siblings! Five siblings of different ages share their experiences of living with an autistic brother or sister.

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 35

Spring 2017

Ask the Experts: My Child Explodes at My Slightest Attempt to Correct Him. Why?

10 Tactics for Win-Win Schooling: Debby Elley, mum of twins with autism, gives advice on getting the best out of your child's school team when there's an issue to contend with.

Autism Through the Looking Glass: Reflecting on the Pros and Cons of Medication: Consultant Child Psychiatrist Dr Pru Allington-Smith guides readers through the range of options available and the advice regarding autistic children and medication.

Putting Parents Back in the Driving Seat: The PACT study won praise earlier this year for its superb results. But what is PACT? Fortunately Debby Elley and Tori Houghton, your co-editors, have first hand experience of the study.

Issue 34

Winter 2017

Ask the Experts: My kid has no sense of danger.

Distant Relatives: Family feature to pass on
Our children can seem to family members as if they're from some other planet. But understanding what's behind their behaviour can be the key to getting more from your young relative...our questions and answers will help you through the puzzle of how to reach them.

How to save energy when you're on emergency rations
10 Top Tips from the AuKids editors, for your long-term mental health and well-being.

Blogdashina: What's the big idea? Olga Bogdashina, researcher and author, remembers how one perplexing pupil helped her to think about the differences in autistic learning.

A Life Lesson They'll Never Forget Outreach manager Greg Loynes of the Together Trust talks you through his peer awareness training and the positive effects it creates when it comes to inclusion in mainstream schools. 

Conversation without Words: Dr Barry Prizant's latest book, Uniquely Human, has gone down a storm. Here the US-based speech and language pathologist urges people to look more closely at what non-verbal children are actually trying to communicate in other ways.

Issue 32

Summer 2016

Ask the Experts: 'I worry about my son spending too much time doing the same thing again and again’. 

Do You Run A Five Star Hotel?
You've just been given a host of helpful strategies to encourage your child's independence by someone whose enthusiasm demonstrates that they've probably had more sleep than you. Then 8am on Monday morning happens...We all want our kids to gain independence skills. The question is, how do you do it without driving yourself batty?

The Way to the Land of Nod: Chris Hoyle is the Autism Sleep Clinic Co-ordinator at the Together Trust charity. Here we share three families' success stories where parents used simple strategies to help combat their children's sleep difficulties in very different scenarios.

Blogdashina - A Paper Blog by Olga Bogdashina
Expert Olga Bogdashina explains how cross-sensory perception affects her son Alyosha, whilst sharing what she discovered about the condition known as synaesthesia along the way.

How Smart Schools Stop Bullying
We all know that autistic kids are vulnerable to bullying. But what can we all do about it? AuKids looks at some of the best practice and advises parents what else can be done to help prevent it.

Issue 13

Autumn 2011

AuKids is thoroughly in its stride by now and its editors, three years into publication, have been steeped in the autism world long enough to write some guidelines of their own. Reviews of Apps appear on the menu as their popularity among the special needs community rises. Our graffiti-style Jargon Buster, explaining all the weird and wonderful terminology used by experts, has since been made into a poster.

Ask the Experts tackles chewing with some great recommended products. In The School Run, we talk about finding a suitable setting for your child and how to communicate their needs to their primary school. We round off with a lovely colourful Christmas feature with some great present ideas as well as general hints to get you through the festive season.

Issue 5

Autumn 2009: AuKids goes national! Our Saved by the Bell feature includes case studies written by parents whose children are being educated in four different settings – mainstream, an autism unit, an autism class in a special school and a special school for children with communication difficulties.

Ask the Experts is about children who run off without warning… and we have a feature on types of visual communication systems, how they work and the best ideas to try first.

Reviews include another one of our favourites on sensory integration – the Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz.