A journey to language... I frequently get asked this question. Can my non verbal child learn language? What is often forgotten is that hearing impaired children have been communicating very successfully for generations. In fact, profoundly deaf children have also learned how to form words, articulate and speak in the hearing world. I remember [...]
The Autistic child and communication I remember the early days of confusion surrounding Conor and Eoin after the autistic child "diagnosis". Both boys had been described as intelligent to Val and I, but at the same time unteachable and unreachable. What a nightmare, all I could think of was Dustin Hoffman in Rain man. The [...]
A great many parents worry about Disney animation overstimulating their autistic child. Without question an unsupervised autistic child can become over stimulated watching Disney animation. I remember Conor as a young child glued to his favorite Disney animation and becoming totally over stimulated. It was clear to me that Conor enjoyed the experience of watching Disney animation. But I [...]
Learning readiness and sensory integration If your child is everywhere at once and has the concentration span of a goldfish, how can you teach him anything? Our special needs children frequently have difficulty processing sensory information. What this means is that they have difficulties learning from their senses. They are not learning ready. Learning readiness [...]
Galway Family’s Ambition to Change the World Through Their Sons’ Eyes NUI Galway Business and Innovation Centre support a Galway family’s global mission to make their language learning solution accessible for children with autism Thursday, 26 May, 2016: Enda and Valerie Dodd’s innovative software solution ‘ALL’, named after their company, Animated Language Learning, is driven [...]
We all have tough days And in the case of parenting special needs children a lot more so. At times just trying to get through the day can be such a trial. Not to mention all the uncertainty and worry we carry around with us. So when I felt really worn-out scratching my head wondering why [...]
Feel you can't go shopping with your autistic child? As parents of language impaired children with the kind of behaviors that this brings, I frequently get asked about family activities. We all live in a society that is constantly checking the P's and Q's of life, what is acceptable and what is not. Despite all the [...]
As parents of language deficient children, we know how incredibly isolating this condition can be. Yet a great many children with this and related disorders like autism can be highly visual. And with the right strategies can participate in and grow from exposure to sports. While our boys were clearly very visual, they were [...]
Autism: how we taught speech and language. While it might sound obvious, if your child has autism or a speech and language disorder, your ability to practice language with your child becomes very restricted. I think the key word here is practice. I remember Conor turning 10 years old and thought my god, if he and I [...]
Want to teach time? Many special needs parents ask me how to teach time to their non verbal autistic child. As with the Animated Language Learning program, visual strategies are the way to go: Help your child to x off each day on a calendar in a visible location like the kitchen. By doing this [...]
