Aurora Autistic Consulting’s Post

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗔𝗖 We all have the right and want to express thoughts, feelings, and needs. For non-speaking or minimally speaking children, finding an avenue to communicate effectively can be a challenging journey. Parents are often at a loss as to where to start. Sometimes a little bit of Makaton signing has been used here and there but we mostly find that gradually signing fades as parents feel that it just doesn’t seem to get copied and used by the children. This is where we need to pick up the pieces and start again: because all successful families where children start using their boards or their electronic AAC systems do this one thing: They live and breathe their system! 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗔𝗖 https://lnkd.in/ed8RPUVD #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #AugmentativeCommunication #AAC #AACgram #Coreboards #Saltillo #NonSpeaking #Autism #SpeechAndLanguageDelay #SpeechandLanguageTherapist #SpeechandLanguageTherapy #SpeechTherapist #SLT #LondonSpeechandFeeding

👉Words matter. 🟡My business mentor and friend taught me the importance of choosing them carefully. 🟡While writing a recent post for Linkedin I typed, "He is on the autism spectrum." Grammarly suggested changing the sentence to "He is autistic." No, he is a person who also happens to have autism. 🟡This type of (suggested) language perpetuates the reduction of human beings down to their disabilities and deprives individuals with disabilities of their dignity and worth. Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, can we do something about this? #asd #autism #autismspectrumdisorder #disabilities #wordsmatter #mitchellsmountain #grammarly

Need to email your child's teacher? Don't push SEND until you READ this... 👇 When something happens to your child at school, your stomach is going to be in knots. Your head hurts, and your brain takes a backseat to your emotions. It's a natural response. We want the BEST for our kids and get worked up when things go sideways. Why is this a challenge when it comes to emails? Your executive functioning skills are going to be turned "off," and any planning and organization of what you want to say will come out like jelly. What does this look like? REALLY long emails (no paragraphs or spaces) that don't explain WHAT you're asking for and HOW you want a response. Stop the drama and GET the response you're looking for using our KISS communication worksheet. I use it for my kids and ALL my families. Works like a charm and keeps your emails short, sweet, and to the point. 👉 To get your FREE communication worksheet tap the link below https://lnkd.in/gsyuT8Jr #iepreel #parentingreel #educationreel #specialeducation #iep #disability #inclusion #spedteacher #learningdisabilities #adhd #autism #specialeducationadvocate

“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” - Brad Henry Thank you to all of the teachers out there - not just today, but every day. For free SEL resources to use in your classroom, visit our website (link in comments). #teacherappreciation #teachers #teacherappreciationweek #specialeducation #autism #specialneeds #specialeducationteacher #inclusion #learningdisabilities #neurodiversity #neurodivergent

Today I was presenting at the Act For Autism Conference in Coventry, the subject being independence/transition into adulthood. A very vast and eclectic template for a speech as autism is as multi-faceted as what different identifiable pieces would need to be acknowledged, learned about and then a framework of a potential strategy can be put into place. This would be a person centred of course looking at the "guts" of their autism profiles, I used the late Donna Williams' fruit salad analogy presentation (which is online) which was then updated this year by Venessa Bobb for a prior presentation. I spoke about - - Faceblindness - Meaning Deafness - Meaning Blindness - Visual - Verbal Agnosia - Simultagnosia & The Shared Sense of Social - Social Emotional Agnosia Other mentions are Alexithymia, Learning Styles & daring to look beyond the ever changing static stereotypes that hinder advocacy. Along with ideas that strategies that could aid with transition - the pieces are identifiable conditions in their own right. What makes them "autistic" is when you get different combos for example faceblindness, dyspraxia, sensory integration & social anxiety you then have a foundation to work up from. This is very much an empowerment model. For some autism is sub-clincial/quirks & is in the realms of autistic personalities, for others fluctuations in levels of disability and for others those disabilities can be multifaceted. Paul Isaacs 2024 #actforautism #actforautismconference #transition #adulthood #advocacy #presentation #paulisaacsconsultancyltd

As autism diagnosis rates continue to rise, some colleges and university in the US are starting to create and offer viable accommodations for students with autism. Read about how this crucial movement is making a difference and promoting inclusion in our higher education system in this recent piece from Disability Scoop > https://lnkd.in/gZ-Gqc8e #disabilityscoop #autism #autismrate #asd #autismresources

Unfortunately, we see this almost every week Live Your Best Life Disability Support Services..Our kids are constantly suspended because of behaviours related to their disabilities, and parents are scrambling without enough NDIS support. We have parents working from their cars outside schools parents forced to change jobs or even unable to work and living off their carer's pension ( which is disgraceful may i add) because their children are suspended so frequently. And these children are at DISABILITY SCHOOLS. Where are these kids supposed to go? While I understand the pressure on teachers to manage their classrooms, pushing our kids out isn't the solution. This system is pushing families to the brink, but its not teachers' fault; they're stretched thin without proper support. I can't tell you how many calls we get from families in crisis, it is absolutely heartbreaking. This blame game between education and NDIS isn't solving anything. We need real change. Our education system must do better to support these families. Children with disabilities have the same education!!!

In my years as a teacher, I spent a lot of time working to help my colleagues understand autism, and neurodiversity, and what they mean for classroom practice. Most of my advice and resources on this are now collected here. Please share with anyone who works in education, because these ideas really are essential to making education work for everyone! #education #teaching #Neurodiversity #autism #inclusion #actuallyAutistic https://lnkd.in/ewvsnYzh

 Autism Confession #3: I still don’t know if I fit in…. even in the Autistic Community. The constant scolding of words I am allowed/not to use and images I am allowed/not to acknowledge and how everyone wants to identify and how they do not. Am I supposed to say that I am Autistic or do I have Autism- honestly, it depends on the dang day.     I have to say, I DO feel like a puzzle piece. Perfectly shaped and absolutely meant for the whole but I just don’t quite know how to get in where I fit in. But I keep hearing how wrong that is so…. I must be wrong even here. I keep hearing WE get to choose things about our Autism but no one else gets a say but we can’t do it the wrong way…. And it feels very divisive. It seems sometimes that people who are trying get scolded and that feels a lot like me trying to fit in and being told how wrong I was… and it seems like an unnecessary tit for tat. Maybe the solution is we all offer each other a little more grace? (These are just small blurbs that I may expand later…. Or may not. Remember these are MY thoughts and 'if you have met one Autistic person, you have met ONE Autistic person'....)   #Autism #Autistic #AutismSupport #AutisticAdults #AutismAcceptance #DisabilityAwareness #Inclusion #Spectrum #Neurodivergent