Sensory Friendly Films at AMC theaters

Taking my son to the theater is an awful experience, which is sad for us since we very much enjoy watching movies. It is simply too loud, dark, and overwhelming.

Here is a link for AMC theaters and a program they offer for sensory friendly movies at their theaters. https://www.amctheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films

They are beginning to offer not just kid-friendly movies, but even movies for adults, which is great for all you adults that want to see more grown up movies, such as James Bond 007! They are even doing Star Wars in December!

So enjoy going to the movies! Get your popcorn, drink, and treat and relax with your family!!

Jen Edwards

http://www.beautifulautism.com

jen@beautifulautism.com

Autism and School Conferences: 5 Things for Teachers to Remember

Autism and School Conferences: 5 Things for Teachers to Remember

We dread conference time. As parents of a child with Autism, going to conferences and IEP meetings is just not a happy experience for us. The school staff is generally great and a blessing to our son and his needs. But unlike so many families, we do not get to hear glowing remarks and we often leave feeling once again defeated.
As a teacher, I tried hard to send positive emails to the families of students with disabilities. This helped with a positive relationship and it also encouraged the parents as well as the students. Thus I have put together some simple things teachers can do to help these families during conference time.
1) Begin with sending an email out ahead of time to the parents with some positives, but also, if needed, some things that you will be going over during the conference so parents can begin preparing themselves.

2) Keep in mind these parents have a lot on their plate already and are dealing with special circumstances with their child. There is no need to tell and explain all the negative things unless they are truly necessary. And if you question what is necessary to talk about, then speak with the special education teacher in your building or your principal.
3) Find and give any and all positive remarks. Even if it is small things like the student was able to sit through circle time without rolling around on the floor. These are big things for families. Keep a list if that helps to remind you of things. And use your paras to help with this too.
4) Assure the parents that you will continue to do all you can to work with their child. Assure them you are not giving up on their child. Though as teachers we may not say we are giving up, it can often feel this way to parents when they hear so many negative things. Keep smiling and show your love and care.

5) Follow up afterwards a couple days later with an email or note home just to check in with parents. If appropriate, give your thoughts on how the conference went. But more importantly, make the parents feel appreciated.
Parents always want what is best for their child. They want to help their child succeed in school and be supportive of their child. However, if they walk away feeling defeated, this will often transfer onto the child. Keep a strong and positive communication with these families. They will greatly appreciate it!
Teachers are amazing and often do such wonderful work! They work endless hours and do their best to meet each child’s individual need. Their work is hard and often under-appreciated. But anyone who works day in and out to do whatever they can for students with special needs is golden and your work does not go unnoticed by those who care and need it. Bless all of you and thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Jen Edwards, MA Counselor and Behavior Therapist
jen@BeautifulAutism.com
425-387-3872

Autism: Understanding Your Child’s IEP

Autism: Understanding Your Child’s IEP

Each year we all go to that annual meeting for our child’s individualized education plan, or IEP. We sit down and there are anywhere from 3 to 7 other people there, all involved with your child’s education. They start talking about how the year went and all the different assessments they did with your child with a lot of acronyms and long names. Pretty soon your head is spinning, you are feeling disheartened with all the negative things, and the paperwork is exasperating.
I have a background in education and even I feel like this every year. About 20 minutes into the meeting all I want to do is crawl under the table and hide. It takes all my strength to usually not cry and get irritated at things. After over an hour long meeting, I leave feeling exhausted and frustrated. But after reflection, I realize it is not about my feelings, but about my son’s needs.

So how does one really understand all there is in the IEP? First, do not be afraid to ask questions to get clarification. Remember that a lot of it is fancy wording put forth by the department of education. Focus on the goals that are written for your child. Try to get an understanding of what your child is being offered and what your child needs. This will help you to look at the positive side of your child’s needs.
Remember you are your child’s best advocate. Speak up if you feel there is something missing that you feel your child needs. Even if you are unsure if your child needs it, still ask for it; it never hurts to look into extra services. But perhaps the greatest piece of advice I can give it this: listen to what the school professionals are telling you. Though we want our children to be as “typical” as possible, we also should listen to what advice and services the school thinks is best for your child. They often have insights and ideas that we as parents do not have the training for. At times it may be hard to accept what the school decides, but take it all in stride and listen to what their thoughts are.

Finally, ask other parents to help you understand the IEP if you are still confused. Use any resources you have and can think of!
But if you find yourself still at a lost or stuck, feel free to ask me. Send me an email or give me a call!
Jen Edwards
http://www.beautifulautism.com
jen@beautifulautism.com
425-387-3872

Autism: Building Resiliency

Autism and Building Resiliency

Resiliency. We know this to be the act of overcoming something, such as in this case of challenges or adversity. With Autism resiliency is a daily, if not at times an hourly action. As parents we watch our kiddos with Autism struggle to overcome situations all the time, all the while crying for them, praying for them, and hoping they will gain confidence through the use of their resiliency skills.
There is that common saying that kids are resilient… apparently those people have yet to work much with kids on the Autism spectrum! My husband and I watch our son struggle all the time with resiliency. Change is difficult for him; just the idea of change is enough to make his anxiety unbearable to work with. His face gets red, his eyes dark and mysterious.

We have to teach our children resiliency, it is not something that comes naturally. With children diagnosed with Autism, we have an extra challenge of teaching them this concept and life skill. And we need to demonstrate resiliency continually as to show our children what this looks like. This is not easy, as so often I want to simply scream and yell, slam the door, or shrug my shoulders and say oh well.

Always encourage your child with resiliency. Do not be afraid to use the word, even with young children. One of the best ways you can encourage your child is to explain what you would do in that situation. For example, when my son is trying to put something together but is struggling, I might suggest to him, “When I am struggling with that, I do it this way. That is how I use resiliency.” Then when you see your child using resiliency skills, be sure to comment positively and praise on this well-deserved triumph.
Frustration will come easy, particularly with kids diagnosed with Autism. I caution on knowing the difference between encouraging and forcing. By this I mean you do not want to push and push, or force, your child with working through something to the point where it gets into a meltdown mode or arguments. Always help them when and if they need help.

As parents coping with the effects of Autism, we all know the resiliency we have to maintain daily. We push through the meltdowns, respond to the emails from school that usually are not very encouraging, clean up messes, and take our child to therapy a few times a week. At times we question our ability to parent, but we somehow press forward. Some nights we cry ourselves to sleep, wondering how we will make it through the next day. Sometimes our resiliency comes out through prayer, deep breaths, or extra work.
But hopefully we can all agree that in the end we love and adore our child. There is nothing that I would change about my son, Autism and all! The determination and resiliency that I have gained from working with him has been life-changing. After all, he is the reason I do my job, write this blog, and wake up every morning before the sun comes up.

Jen Edwards
jen@beautifulautism.com
http://www.beautifulautism.com

Autism: Small Victories

Autism and Small Victories

I was feeling rather defeated the other day after some negative news on resources for my son and he had a rough day. It was one of those days when I had the depressing feelings of am I a good enough mother, do I have the strength to do this? I know these dark thoughts penetrate the worst feelings I can have.

After reflecting on this not-so-good day, I realized all the small victories we had that day. My son ate some healthy food (a constant battle), he entertained himself playing in his room, and attempted to pick blackberries with me. So I smiled and said a small prayer of thanks for the small victories that we had.

What small victories do you get? Maybe it is a hug or eye contact, or maybe you were able to hide vegetables in your child’s meal and it was unknown. How do you hold onto those victories? I occasionally put our victories on Facebook for our family and friends to see and enjoy with us. Usually they are often in the form of funny quotes from my son, as these make us stop and laugh, a small victory we treasure. Perhaps you write things down in a journal or book of some sort.
It often seems as if we have more setbacks than victories. The setbacks causes stress and tension. Use the victories to relieve the stress and tension. Savor in these moments and treasure them. Remind your child (without overdoing it) how happy these victorious moments make you.

So for now, press on and stay calm dear friends! Victories do come, often in small doses and at times even not recognizable. But nonetheless a blessing!
Jen Edwards
jen@beautifulautism.com
http://www.beautifulautism.com

Autism: Obtaining all the Resources

Autism and Obtaining all the Resources

I will just be blunt and say it: obtaining all the resources and help a family needs for a child with Autism is exhausting. It is a daily struggle and battle, a lifetime burden. And what it almost always comes down to is either cost or the services are simply not available.

There is the expression take it one day at a time or a moment at a time. Certainly one can do that, especially when the big picture seems rather daunting. But usually when someone tells me that, I want to just give them a dirty look and roll my eyes because there are a lot of moments I need to take at a time.

But we all know that we cannot give up. We were given this precious gift and we need to treasure it and advocate for it. As we grow and learn how to handle these situations, we become stronger and more equipped.
My suggestion is figure out what the most important resource is and work on that first. For example, for a school age child, focus on getting the resources they need at school first. Focus on the IEP and the services your child is allotted from that. Advocate for more or less if you feel that is necessary. If you need help with this, there are family advocate services all over that will help for little or no cost or have your child’s therapist help.

The idea here is try to focus on one battle at a time, if possible. It can be daunting and frustrating; so often you just want to give up or walk away from it. Find other parents and network with them. Ask your child’s doctor or therapist for resources.
Another tip, keep everything your child’s doctors, therapists, etc. give you, especially if it has the diagnosis written on it. This can help get services started quicker when you begin something new and sometimes the paperwork can have resources on them.

Keep strong parents and share your resources with others!
Jen Edwards
jen@beautifulautism.com
http://www.beautifulautism.com

Autism: Finding the Right Medical Professional

Autism: Finding the Right Medical Professional
It is difficult finding the right professionals to work with your child that has Autism. Some family doctors do not understand Autism enough to know the best way to handle Autism and the best resources for it. And assistants and others in the offices assisting the medical professionals have no training in working with Autism.
I have found this to be the case on occasion with my son. At times when I mention my son has Autism the fear on the face of the medical assistant, though she does her best to hide it, is clearly evident. Last year we took our son for his first eye appointment. This was not an appointment we were looking forward to by any means. When I told the assistant he had Autism, I seriously thought she was going to jump out of her skin. She stayed professional, but it was obvious she had no clue as to what she was doing or how to handle him. She was getting frustrated, we were getting annoyed, and it was a disaster. By the time the doctor came in, it was apparent that at least she knew what she was doing and how to work with him. Seeing as this was an eye clinic based from Childrens Hospital, I would have hoped their staff would have been highly trained for these kids. When we went back this year, that assistant was nowhere to be seen and a much better one assisted him that was wonderful with him!

Do Your Research
My best advice: do your research ahead of time before finding the right medical professional for your child. We have learned this from past experiences and I cannot emphasize the importance of this. Even though you want to take your child to the doctor you saw your whole life, or to the same doctor your other children go to, realize this may not be the best doctor for your child. You need to remember you must do what is best for your child, not what you want.

Sometimes this can even mean having to drive long distances to find the right medical professional. One problem with living outside the city is most Autism specialists are in the city, particularly near Autism research areas, such as Denver and Seattle. My husband and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that we will need to stay where we are in the Denver area simply for our son and his treatments. He cannot get the therapy and medical professionals he needs back where we moved from in Washington State. It just simply is what it is and we have come to realize we need to be ok with that.
Talk to other parents and families around your area in a similar situation and ask them who they see for medical professionals. Be very picky when it comes to dentist and optometrists, as these doctors do evasive procedures that tend to frighten kids on the Autism Spectrum.

Check out the medical professional websites and go to Autism websites where they have resource pages. Often times these resource pages may have doctors listed on them.
Prepare Doctors Ahead of Time
Before your child’s appointment, let the office know about your child’s condition. Sometimes they are willing to block off that time for just your child. For example, my son’s dentist office will block off an hour only for him for any time he goes into the dentist. If they are not willing to accommodate in any way for your child, they probably are not the right fit for your family.

Any good doctor will ask before they begin to examine your child how they should proceed with the examination. For example, they may ask if they can simply just talk to your child while they examine him or her, or if they need to have you hold your child and do everything quickly. Be open and honest with the doctor and explain the best way to handle your child and his/her needs. And be sure to explain to your child what he/she will expect going into the appointment. This is where social stories are great. You can find these online or most schools have these on file already.

Final Thoughts
Remember to do your research and plan ahead for it. Prepare your child and the office for the visit. Be calm and patient with your child. Remember this is an experience that is abnormal from daily routine and can be frightening for them.
Bring in something that is comforting, such as toys or food. You may have to read the social story many times to keep reminding your child it is safe and ok to be here. You can even show a picture of the doctor ahead of time from the website before you leave the house so your child can see what the doctor will look like.

If you are in the Denver area and need some recommendations, let me know and I can give you some great ones that we use for our son!
Jen Edwards
Jen@voyagescounseling.com
720-258-6392