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 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 29

Autumn 2015

Ask the Experts - 'Why does my son watch the same DVD episode again and again...and again?' 

Santa's Gone Autism Friendly
Our Top 20 ideas for great presents for autistic kids, all tested by our team.

The Language Layer Cake: When speech doesn't happen, what does it take to get there?

Mission Improbable?
Many of our readers are parents who also run an autism related business or service. We wanted to know how they manage to juggle their home lives with a very personal, but professional undertaking. See how far six of our readers went with just a good idea and a lot of passion!

Keywords Issue 29: Repetition; watching same episode again; repeat; repetition; USA; Christmas shopping; speech; Olga Bogdashina; parents running companies.

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 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 26

Winter 2015

Voyage of Discovery: The final part of our conversation series discusses how to build social skills in conversation.

Seeing the World in A Different Light:

Looking into the affects of visual distortion in autistic youngsters - and how to help

Ask the Experts – ‘My child won’t sit and focus in assembly or carpet time’

Speech and Language Pathologist Heather MacKenzie, Occupational Therapist Breanne Black, Specialist Teacher Dianne Sandler and founder of SEN Assist Adele Devine offer their advice

Double Trouble or Twice as Nice? Personal stories from parents of twins on the spectrum.

Four touching personal accounts of the trials and joys of raising twins with either one or both on the spectrum.

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.

Issue 24

Summer 2014

Ask the Experts: Why Does My Son Spin Things?

Dry and Mighty: Toilet training an autistic child

Please Can We Borrow That TARDIS? Four adults on the spectrum were given an imaginary TARDIS. What would they tell the adults around them?

Anchors Away! Conversation Series Part 1 - speech and language therapy made easy

The Kindness of Strangers: and what to do when your child has a meltdown in public

Getting Their Wires Crossed: Occupational Therapist Breanne Black explains why some autistic children are so over-sensitive to touch

Keywords Issue 24: Spinning; toilet training; autistic adults; conversation; public meltdowns; oversensitivity to touch; Breanne Black.

Issue 23

Spring 2014

Ask the Panel: On Telling Your Child About Their Autism

Colour Coding: The Guaranteed Connection. Adele Devine has written a brilliant book on how colour-coding can help make life easier to navigate for autistic children. We ask her what inspired her.

Let’s Talk: Parents and Professionals Bridge the Gap

The Ten Commandments of Bringing up a Child with Autism: Debby Elley, co-editor and mum of twins on the spectrum, shares what she’s learnt over the last ten years

Sunny Side Up: Tips for Summer Fun

Issue 22

Winter 2013

Reviews:

No Longer a Secret by Doreit Bialer and Lucy Miller; The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Elizabeth Verdick and Elizabeth Reeve; I Hate to Write! By Cheryl Boucher and Kathy Oehler; Plan B: Empowering The Single Parent! – to Benefit their Child with Autism by Karra Barber-Wada; The Pocket Occupational Therapist by Cara Koschinski; The Little Book of the Autism Spectrum by Dr Samantha Todd and This is Gabriel Making Sense of School by Hartley Steiner

What A Difference a Year Makes! Focusing on four children’s progress over the course of 12 months

Make ‘Em Laugh! How humour helps your child’s development.

Inside Cloud 9: Readers Share Their Kids’ Ideas of Heaven

Ask the Experts: When autistic kids feel that they have to be perfect…

Keywords Issue 22: Laughter; hobbies; perfectionism

Issue 21

Autumn 2013

Reviews:

A Lifetime of Laughing and Loving with Autism by Wayne Gilpin; The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida and app review – Pronouns with Splingo from the Speech and Language Store.

Labelled with Love: The TEACCH method explained, and how to use it in every day life

Ask the Experts: On Rituals

Science Fiction and Fact: How to tell the rumours from the sound science of autism research.

The Safety Net: Masses of practical Internet safety advice from a UK advisor, Fayaz Malik who works as an ambassador for CEOP Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Debby Elley’s The Last Word: ‘Nice Toy, Shame About the Age Range’

Issue 2

CLICK IMAGE TO READ

Winter 2008: Advice from an NAS leaflet on Christmas, our experts on fussy eating, a small guide to toilet training autistic youngsters and a Top 20 Christmas Stocking Fillers for Kids with Autism sponsored by the Novelty Warehouse (now The Sensory Toy Warehouse – www.thesensorytoywarehouse.com. Book reviews include one of the best books we’ve ever read on sensory integration – Olga Bogdashina’s Sensory Perceptual Issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome.

Reviews

Books: Sensory Perceptual Issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome – Olga Bogdashina; Send In The Idiots – Kamran Nazeer, A Will of his Own – Kelly Harland. DVDs: Makaton Nursery Rhymes and Snow Cake starring Sigourney Weaver

Issue 3

Spring 2009: Ask the Panel focuses on sleep problems, with advice from Chartered Psychologist and SEN magazine columnist Dr Paul Holland, Professor of Developmental Psychiatry Jeremy Turk and sleep clinic co-ordinator Chris Hoyle. Debby Elley’s The Last Word discusses keeping autistic kids amused at the weekend.

Reviews:

Genius Genes – How Asperger Talents Changed the World – Michael Fitzgerald and Brendan O’Brien; Autistic Planet – Jennifer Elder; A Real Boy – Christopher Stevens. DVDs – Autism and Me directed by Rory Hoy. CD – Cool Bananas by Genevieve Jereb

Issue 8

Summer 2010: Don’t Mourn for Us is an extremely moving personal plea from an adult with autism, Jim Sinclair, who wrote some powerful words on what it means to be accepted for who you are.

Our fun Senses Working Overtime feature has a guide to having fun outdoors whilst helping kids with sensory integration and communication.

Ask the Experts talks about computer fixations and Ready Steady Go For Summer! has a round-up of great autism-friendly places to visit in the holidays.

Issue 19

Spring 2013

We had an excuse to get permission from Lucas Films to use a photograph of Harrison Ford, which graced our Indiana Jones-style feature, titled The Search for the Holy Grail. In the early days after diagnosis, it feels like someone has all the answers about autism, you just don’t know it yet. We talk you through the frustrating business of working out where to begin to help your child.

By now AuKids’ reputation had grown sufficiently to attract some big names to the publication, including world renowned speech and language pathologist Heather MacKenzie. The editors had attended her SPARK training programme, which aims to teach autistic kids resilience and self-regulation and we felt it awesome enough to share. Co-editor Debby also jumped through some hoops to get a specialist Will and Trust scheme made, so that we could show readers what to expect.

PLEASE NOTE: Our Wills and Trusts expert for this Issue, Christine Thornley, has since moved to Irwin Mitchell and can now be contacted at the company on: 0370 1500 100 Extension: 2593
www.IrwinMitchell.com - see more with this article

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 18

Winter 2013

The most adorable cover of Jude and his dog Claude was the prequel to a double page feature, Puppy Love, featuring case studies from Dogs for the Disabled, focusing on the benefits that autistic children have experienced by having a pet dog.

The AuKids editors had recently been bowled over by Dr Luke Beardon’s myth busting talk at a conference, and so we were delighted when he allowed us to reproduce his down to earth, funny, whirlwind tour through the rubbish that’s spouted about autism. He joined us again on the expert panel for our regular slot – this time a reader asked for advice on her son’s repetitive questioning. There’s also a rave review in Speaker of the Year 2012 – voted by the AuKids team as Jennifer Cook O’Toole.

Issue 17

Autumn 2012

Includes a double page spread on the best apps for autism (‘Apps-olutely fabulous?’). We look at different types of app and how they can help with different skills before rounding up the best apps under each kind of category.

We loved compiling The View From Mars, in which we interviewed four dads of kids with autism. We rounded off with a popular feature – Saying No Without the Volcano. This focuses on setting boundaries without experiencing meltdowns.

Child psychologist Tanya Buryon, author Liz Hannah and international speaker Brenda Smith Myles all contribute to the melting pot of great ideas and there’s a helpful further reading list for parents whose kids struggle with controlling their temper.

Issue 16

Summer 2012

Absolutely nothing on the Olympics! our covers boasts, partly because everything else you looked at during this summer was about London 2012. We had another worldly challenge on our hands – making the world a more autism friendly place. Inside, in Who Wants to Push the First Domino?

We talk about how you – yes you! – can make the world more autism friendly. Enough wishing, we thought, let’s each do our own bit.

We invented (with graphic designer Jo’s help) this nice little chap called Mr Dom-in-the-Know. He shared a guide to autism friendly outings for you and your family and - drumroll – and a tear-off guide to share with public places on how to make their environment more autism friendly. Okay so you don’t get the fun of perforations online.

Also…

Looking After the Unsung Heroes (that’d be you, then): Helping parents of special needs children to look after themselves.

Five Step Guide to Making A Passport For Your Child: The ‘passport’ is a quick guide to show other carers, which stops you endlessly repeating yourself and getting bored

Ask the Experts on clothing sensitivity: My child gets really irritated by his clothes and dressing him is a real trial. Why is this and what can I do?

Issue 15

Spring 2012

This issue we spoke to sleep counsellor Chris Hoyle of the Together Trust, who took us through a detailed and down to earth explanation of why sleep can be a problem with autistic kids. More importantly, she had some easy ideas on what to do about it. An absolute must read for anyone whose child wakes up in the night! Our colourful Maps of the Social World feature explains all about Social Stories, what they are, how to write one and when to use them.

Ask the Experts:  Smearing - My little girl makes a mess with her poo and gets it on the walls. I am too embarrassed about it to seek help. Is this a common problem with autism?