Issue 28

Summer 2015

Ask the Experts: On resistance to demands

Spectrumite Mum's Survival Kit: Ten of the best things to pack in an imaginary hot air balloon, by co-editor Debby Elley, mum to autistic twins

Ten Exercises for Stretching the Comfort Zone
Think people with autism are inflexible? Sometimes the people around them can make this worse by avoiding change. We talk about gentle ways to help extend emotional flexibility.

Blogdashina: A Painful Truth
Olga Bogdashina talks about how she began to understand her son's discomfort around having his hair and nails cut.

Our Holiday Heroes
An autism-friendly holiday is hard to come by, but some forward-thinking companies are doing their best to create a more blissful breather.

It's All Relative
The tense, nervous headache that starts before you get in the car. Those gut-wrenching feelings as you draw to a halt and put the handbrake on. It's not your driving test, it's a trip to the relatives. We show both relatives and parents how to prepare for a visit.

Keywords Issue 28: Demand avoidance; demands; resistance; refusal; survival kit; flexibility; inflexibility; sensory games; Olga Bogdashina; holidays; visiting relatives.

Issue 20

Summer 2013

Reviews: Sensory Parenting by Britt Collins and Jackie Linder Olsen; Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew (updated and expanded) by Ellen Notbohm; the PRT Pocket Guide by Robert Koegel and Temple Grandin’s Different…Not Less. Plus a round up of autism friendly apps with Flog Longhorn

The AuKids Oscars: Readers’ Votes for Best Product, Book, Speaker, App and Sensory Product

Ask the Experts: Other people keep breaking the rules!

The Autism Sundae Dessert: The Definition of Autism: an early incarnation of our ice cream sundae analogy, this was aimed at helping adults (in particular families and friends) understand the complexities of autism.

Here’s One I Did Earlier: Homemade Sensory Products and Games

Debby Elley’s The Last Word: ‘Busy Doing Nothing’

Issue 10

Winter 2011

Ask the Experts focuses on rigid routines and what to do about them, whilst our computer special features an interview with Numberjacks creator Chris Ellis about the Cbeebies show’s popularity with autistic kids. On the facing page we also interview SEN Assist director Adele Devine, a teacher who decided to launch her own series of CD-Rom games especially to help autistic children with their learning.

Meanwhile, the Which Way Now? feature guides parents through various intervention strategies, showing which is best for different types of development. We also talk you through how to weigh up scientific claims.

Table of Contents

Ask the Experts: My family are hostage to my son’s rigid routines. Do we adapt our lives around him or are there techniques we can use to influence his rigid behaviour without causing a meltdown?

Ready to Launch? It’s A New Mission for the Numberjacks

Teacher’s New Approach is the PC Way to Learn: How SEN Assist creator Adele Devine designed web games especially for autistic children.

Which Way Now? A rough guide to the key Intervention Strategies with autism.