Autism Awareness Month began on Sunday, April 1. My son Doug's birthday is April 1. The fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day was April 2. World Autism Awareness Day ''aims to increase people's awareness about people, especially children, with autism. The day often features educational events for teachers, health care workers and parents, as ...

When do you elicit a language sample? Certainly when you first see a child you would want to take a language sample. However, if the child is not comfortable on the initial assessment, there is nothing written in stone that says that it has to be completed the first time around. That in itself should tell you something. I feel that ...

Thank you! A special thank you to all of the SLPs who emailed pictures of their beloved pets to include in collages that we can all use to elicit language samples. It was so much fun to see the variety of who lives with you. I was amazed to find who shares your affection, and I know now to whom you talk to each night after work! These are ...

I have spent a fair amount of time here complaining about winter, so it's a good time to let you know that I LOVE St. Patrick's Day, mostly because to me it is the beginning of spring. Also, I am Darn Well Irish (the MacSweeneys, one of them being my grandfather, hail from County Cork, Ireland). This is sort of a weird holiday to target ...

Dear Kathie: ''Chad is 5 years old and ‘very' autistic and non-verbal. He covers his ears with his hands when there is a loud noise, such as a fire alarm, or even when he anticipates a loud noise, like a balloon that he thinks may pop. How can I help him, his classroom teacher, and his parents? - Payton, speech-language pathologist My ...

Dear Kathie: ''Larry speaks so loudly. I can hear him coming from way down the hall in school. No one wants to sit by him in the lunchroom and his teacher is pulling her hair out. I've talked to Larry's mother and it's the same at home, in the library and at McDonald's. Any suggestions? And is this really in the realm of speech therapy for a ...

Kids do! I was skimming the shelves at Barnes & Noble one day when I saw the cute little picture book ''When it Starts to Snow,'' by Phillis Gershator and Martin Matje. The title instantly made me think, ''temporal structure!'' Through adorable illustrations and rhyming text, the book describes what a variety of animals do when it starts ...

In ''What to Include in a Language Sample, Pt. I,'' I expressed how important I feel a language sample is to complete an assessment for a verbal child or adult on the autism spectrum. I told you what to look for during a language sample and gave you an example of how I utilize a puzzle to elicit conversation with young children. When taking ...

Dear Kathie: ''Do you always take a language sample as part of an assessment with a verbal child or adult with ASD? If so, what do you look for and how do you elicit the conversation?'' - Adrian, speech-language pathologist My Response: Thank you for asking about the assessment aspect for a child/adult with ASD. I feel there are three ...

Books continue to be my heroes in my school position, sometimes showing up to save me from ennui when I least expect it. I was recently doing a pull-over sort of session in the literacy center (the kindergarten class is nearby and my room is, well, not), and spied the colorful cover of Alphabet Rescue, by Audrey Wood and her son, Bruce. ...