Hearty

It is that time again!  Please join the SPD Blog Carnival by posting your link below -- our theme for July is "Sensory Fun Photos". They say a picture is worth a thousand words -- so save yourself the typing, and link up your favorite photo of your sensational summer fun.  Did you have a mud fight?  Did your child jump in the sprinkler or practice balancing along the curbs?  Painting?  Sand castles?  Whatever sensory fun (or trouble!) your kids have gotten into -- post it here! This is an amazing way to take the best of the best from the SPD Blogging Community every month, and publish it in one location -- kind of like having a monthly 'magazine' that people can come to and read. Everyone of you that reads this (even you lurkers!) can participate -- you DO NOT have to be part of the SPD Blogger Network to participate in the carnival. (But, if you blog about SPD, please consider joining because we would love to have you!) I also encourage you to check out t...

Since I don’t have any experience whatsoever with parenting teenagers, let alone teenagers on the spectrum, I had to find an expert that had survived the teenage years and lived to talk about it for my back to school series. And I did just that. Meet Claire LaZebnik. Claire co-authored the book, Growing Up on the Spectrum , with Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel and is proud to be an Autism Mom -- and is also giving away a copy of her book (Totally radical, dude...nevermind, that was cool when *I* was a teenager...not so much now....). So, who better to ask for tips to help parents that are just entering this new realm of life with their child than a woman who had done just that? Since teenagers notably have a short attention span, let’s get right to the answers, shall we? --------------------------- Hi Claire! Welcome to HLW3B – so happy to have you here! Tell me a little about yourself, your family and your son? Thanks for inviting me. Let’s see . . . I’m the mother of four kids: the oldest has...

I had the great pleasure of  interviewing Dr. Roya Ostovar author of The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Processing Disorder (available for purchase here ) last April, and one of my favorite things about that interview (and her book) was learning about her dedication to creating sensory friendly classrooms in her community. That sparked an idea -- What can I do to help parents, teachers and schools make classrooms sensory friendly?  The logical thing was to start by asking Dr. O for some advice.  I was just thrilled that she took the time to answer my questions, especially since this time of year she dedicates every spare moment to running an Autism camp near her practice in MA .  I think you will find her answers insightful and worth sharing with your child's teacher.  Get ready to click print and then tuck that page in a copy of This is Gabriel Making Sense of School for your child's first day back this fall! ------------------- Welcome back Roya!  Thank you so much for returnin...

Where are my California moms?! If you are in the Los Angeles, San Diego, or southern California area (or don't mind the drive), come out and see me as I support an amazing local company, Sensory Time , who is dedicated to supporting families like mine (and yours) in their local community.  Their sensory friendly play space -- is great -- but owner Lauren Allum's dedication to kids is truly inspiring.  Come talk with us, and let me sign a copy of my book for you, This is Gabriel Making Sense of School .  Lauren and Sensory Time are giving away 100 copies of my book.  That's right, books are free -- and as always, so is the advice. : ) Love to see you! Hartley

During the first week of school last year, Nick’s Kindergarten teacher walked up to me, and almost under her breath like we were about to share a secret she said, “Do you know of any good books on how to teach a child with Autism?” And sheepishly I said, “No.” Quickly followed by, “Not off the top of my head, but let me look into it.” I was disappointed that I didn’t have a go-to book to recommend. I should have immediately known what to suggest to her – something that would be succinct, easy to understand, quick to read, effortless to implement and even more important – well organized so that she could go back week after week and year after year to look up what she needed. Well, it took me all school year, but I finally found my go-to book: 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching & Raising Children with Autism or Aspergers by Ellen Notbohm and Veronica Zysk – Not to mention a foreword by Temple Grandin, PhD who says the book is “Genuine, commonsense advice that all parents and educators can...