Schedule Boards

So I made some schedule boards, they have to be cut in half and glued together, but they look great!  I made versions without spongebob for those of you who don't like spongebob.

Here is what they look like put together, though these aren't laminated yet.

Snack Board PECS and more toys.

First then cards

I made some first then cards, we haven't used them yet, but I thought I would share them anyhow. Some with Spongebob, and some without because Spongebob is huge in this house!  I added a couple of the frequently used PECS on the shorter ones, because the idea of wasted space drives me crazy!

And the non spongebob.....

Mr. Potato Head PECS

OK, I know I went a little overboard here..... BUT we have a huge potato head collection, and I know a lot of others don't. So I figured I would photograph as many as I can find and most of you will have at least some of them!  Lots of cute little games can be done with these!  I hope they are useful.

Dress Me Board Book Pecs

I made some PECS to go with a little board book of William's.  They came out cute! I am definitely doing more book ones. So many cool games you can do with them.  He had a tough day today.... Poor boy.

Here he is, screamed until he fell back asleep at ten am. With his socks and noise blocking headphones of course....

Oh I almost forgot to post the PECS, right click, view image and save to computer.

Calming jar followup!

Success!! William loves the jars, he is wearing socks on his hands because they bring him comfort.... Don't judge us!  At his worst yesterday socks, noise blocking headphones,and the calming jar managed to get him smiling again.

So far Alex hasn't shown any interest....

My first share of PECS, WOOPEE

OK, I though I would share my first PECS sheets, now that they are done.  Feel free to use them for your own special little guy or girl!  It was a lot of work, Hopefully they will be helpful to more families.

If you click with your right mouse button, and select view image.... you can save them full size in all their glory!

Real picture PECS

This is what I have been doing all day!  Its a lot of work to find and photograph so many things, and then crop and label them, and print and laminate. All because I am just too OCD to use the free ones available online, they don't fit our life well enough.  I am using some of the standard boardmaker pecs for more abstract concepts, but especially since we are first starting with William I want them to match his things, like his cuppy, and his toys.

I have some awesome activity ideas as well!

Calming Jars

Last night we made calming jars.  In hopes that it will help Alex remain calmer or calm down faster in a meltdown.  I did way to much googling..... and found several links I liked.  I am a crafty mama, I love these kinds of projects. So, Alexander's PASS worker and I worked with the kids to make calm down jars. We used old Bubbles containers and a peanut butter jar.

That's Alex's Pass worker, I will have to do a post on the pass program later.

So the jars are waiting overnight for the glue to dry (so the lid cant come off). And we will give these babies a test drive!

Here's my favorite link.   http://mycrazyblessedlife.com/2011/10/03/relax-bottletime-out-timer/

Alexander.......

So, I thought I would focus on Alexander first. Alex is 11 now, just hitting puberty.  Alexander was non verbal until he was 5, he was also self injurious (biting, headbanging).  He was my first child and an only child until he was 6, so I focused on him a lot in the early years. He has come so far!!  He was originally diagnosed mentally retarded, but we felt it wasn't right and sought a second opinion.  That is when we got the diagnosis of Autism.  He is now very intelligent, speaks beautifully. Is decent about talking about his feelings. He loves minecraft, legos and superheros.

Lately Alexander hasn't been functioning in school, he no longer asks for his breaks, and has meltdowns that last the entire day.  There has been emails and meetings and no one has a clue how to get him to function.  We have been working on a coping book, with reminders of his coping skills.

Introducing my boys!!

I have a son, his name is Alex. He is a handsome, clever, kind, helpful, creative boy. He also has Autism. He is considered high functioning, but is still requires some creative parenting! 

I have another son, his name is William. He is cute, pudgy, quirky and loud! He loves food and spongebob. I found out yesterday he is also Autistic.I already knew, but had really hoped I was wrong.....


My first reaction was how can I manage two children with Autism! William is not as high functioning as Alexander, I just don't have that much time and arms to go around.  But I have collected myself, and am ready to tackle this head on.  I decided I will blog my journey from now on. Perhaps I can inspire other families, or inspiring families will find me!