Professor Edward on States and Capitals

PECS - Picture exchange Communication System

About PECS and how they helped Edward to communicate -
Our SLT made us this great folder, she made all the PECS with just photos initially but when she realized Edward could read and loved words, she took it away and came back with the words underneath. Edward loved looking at the pictures because of the words. He picked up the basics of PECS in 3 visits.
I found some great clips on you tube that are very similar to what our SLT did with Edward.
This is very much like what our first lesson was like -
https://youtu.be/eNbucDWEfpg
At the start we really needed the hand over hand that the person behind Edward gave. Can you ask hubby pretty please to be the receiver of the card? I feel this first step is extremely important, what you are effectively doing is teaching your son's brain is that if he wants or needs something he has to give you the word so you know. That is why I love this type of pec system compared to the sheet idea which does not teach the child they have to give to receive.

How Edward learns - I call this natural ASD learning, ASD child led

This is how Edward learns - he marries up neurons by putting different things together to help him remember. Play dough and the world map. Matching up blocks on his posters that get pulled down off the walls constantly. The television gets many different items traced over the top of it. Others have included foam letters on the swing and the trampoline, jumping on the foam letters, wrapping his blocks in play dough. Singing and pointing to his posters at the right time. He will look at posters and objects from different stand points, upside down, jumping on the trampoline, rocking on the rocking chair, jumping, swinging standing on a chair, eating his books, tearing his posters, singing his learning songs to different tunes, singing his songs in different places. Because of his lack of caring about people hearing him sing on the train, on the ferry, at the kiddy gym he finds as many different ways that most of us would be put in a padded cell for ( lucky he is cute and 3 years old). 

I am hoping this would give people a glimpse into our messy house, upside down world and give others ideas on how to extend their children.
smile emoticon

my thoughts on asd and autism

I way prefer questions than people assuming..... One of the worst assumptions still is that asd people are low in intelligence.  I have studied up on both Dr Kanner (coined the term autism) and Dr Asperger (coined the term Asperger's syndrome).  In their actual notes, not what people say they said.  They both agree (even though they did not know about each others work) that their patients were bright, hence the difference between other labels.  Just stupid doctors these days have managed to only look at the deficits not the strengths and I strongly believe the medical profession today have done far more to disable our children than autism has.  Mozart could play beautifully and perfectly on a piano blindfolded by the time he was 5 years old, strange laugh, strange voice, found drawing all over the floor.  Thank god no one told his parents to stop him from obsessing over his love.  They encouraged and fostered it.  He was terrible in social situations other than when he was playing and would entertain people playing the piano while he was upside down.

My favourite saying these days is "encourage their strengths" and we live that daily.   My 3 year old knows more about the periodic table than I do, and may also end up being a linguist.  He tried to teach me the Russian alphabet over the Christmas holidays.  Or he might be into astronomy as he loves the solar system and was able to write mercury by the age of 2 years and 10 months.  I am not bragging I am trying to foster how incredible our asd kids are.
Yes he is diagnosed as moderately asd, at 3 years and nearly 10 months he is still partially verbal, has pica, bites and pushes, totally needs to be fully supervised around other children, runs, climbs and is only partially potty trained......oh the fun of being an asd mummy.

Regression - from this families point of view

Regarding regression - from my point of view.

I think they get bored.  We don't read aloud any more..... So many people see as regression I see as boredom.  I try to see what next thing Edward is interested in and make resources available (including myself) for him to utilise to give him other ways of learning the new strength.  I may be not even near his intelligence but I am his key to learn to communicate, they say asd kids use people as tools, but I think it is just their way of involving us in their lives, the more they do this the better they get at communication for everything.