Congratulations to the Graduates!

Well, as the school year comes to a close one thing is always for certain; teachers are thankful and parents are frightened. "What on Earth am I going to do with him or her ALL DAY for 2 MONTHS?!"; the summer can be a long and difficult transition for any child, when consistency and routine are done away with.

There are many ways parents can help ease the stress, including talking openly and honestly about what happens during the summer months, including giving sufficient notice for major events like vacations, planned absences, major family gatherings  and so on.

Parents often forget how important consistency and sameness are to their spectrum children; in my perspective, your daily structure should not necessarily alter that drastically in the summer (from the academic year), but there should certainly be an obvious summer theme to all your child's learning and adventures. Plan activities for functionality and relevance to your child's interest to maximize his or her chance of having meaningful interaction with the materials; it seems obvious, but it is the small things that make all the difference. Summer is a time to relax, have some fun and play outside; but remember rules are rules, no matter the season!

It is not too late to join the first official graduating class of Magnificent Minds; visit us online or call us today to arrange a tour of the facility.

As always, photos from freedigitalphotos.net

Camp Schedules are now complete! Want a sneak peak?!

Time	Period	Activity	Location
9:00-12:00 AM
9:00-9:30	Arrival & Transition Play	Goal: Choice making + socialization	Purple Room
9:30-10:00	Good Morning Circle	Days of the week, months of the year, who is here today, talk about theme: ice cream! Sing theme songs	Purple Room
10:00-10:30	Daily Physical Activity: Team Game	Morning Yoga	Gross Motor Room or Outside
10:30-11:00	Snack	--	Purple Room or Outside
11:00-11:30	Sensory Science	Choice Experiment: favourite flavours!	Sensory Room
11:30-12:00	Story time & Hands-On Learning	Social Story and Re-enactment: Waiting is hard!	Purple Room
12:00-1:00	Lunch & Recess	--	Purple Room, Outside
1:00-3:20 PM
1:00-1:30	Arts and Crafts	Model Magic Ice Cream Cones	Purple Room
1:30-2:00	Music Circle	Goal: Choice making	Sensory Room   or Outside
2:00-2:30	Sensory Science	Field Trip: Dairy Queen	Sensory Room or Outside
2:30-3:00	Gross Motor Games	Field Trip: Dairy Queen	Gross Motor or Outside
3:00-3:20	Dismissal & Transition Play	--	Purple Room or Outside

Week 2 of Social Skills Camp is all about ice cream! YUM! Our social theme of the week is "Why Wait"; all week we talk about ice cream in our hands-on learning units, and at the end of the week we get a special surprise, a trip to the ice cream parlor! Our campers will learn that though waiting can be hard, it pays off in the end.

We will explore various sensory aspect of ice cream, hot vs. cold, and engage in social skill building games based on our academic themes. We will expand our fine motor skills in various tasks aimed at recreating the ice cream shape, with various household items including cotton balls and coloured rice. Our campers will expand their imaginations with hands-on learning and plenty of opportunities for choice making. We always keep things fresh, by switching up our themes weekly and ensuring that we are always raising the bar for our campers. For more information, call us today! 647-404-6349

as always, images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

ABA Therapy within the Classroom Environment

At MM our primary instructional philosophy is Applied Behaviour Analysis.

All  therapist/teacher have been trained in the successful application of ABA for visual and hands-on learners. We possess a thorough understanding of special education in addition to an in depth understanding the characteristics of Autism and other DDs.

We have done lots research, and found that there is tons of evidence to support the application of principles of ABA within the classroom environment; children as young as 2.5 can, and often should, begin some kind of ABA program as soon as possible.  We believe in using motivation and reinforcement successfully to demonstrate an increase in on-task behaviour as early as pre-school.Our staff are trained in our ABA teaching philosophies, and are skilled at using positive reinforcement to motivate learning. Understanding the function of each behaviour allows our teachers to maximum possible learning, while minimizing behaviours which distract and/or deter learning.

Within the classroom setting, children learn in a variety of instructional methods including through 1:1 Discrete Trial Training (i.e. what is typically thought of at the table work), group instruction, sing-a-longs, fill in the blanks, interactive games, and other activities which correspond to various domains including in the ABA curriculum. Our classroom programs are a great way to enhance existing ABA therapy, while generalizing and maintaining skills; our classrooms may also be a suitable option for a child currently enrolled just beginning or just finishing an ABA program , and whose next goal is full or partial integration. Maintaining and generalizing skills is an essential part of a successful intervention for children with Autism; it has to be actively planned for...train & hope just won't cut it.

At Magnificent Minds, ABA manifests in behavioural policies, where evidence-based tactics like response-cost, token systems and level systems (see stop light) are used to provide visual indicators of behaviour change, while providing visual reminders of expectation. Using most to least prompting is one way to ensure maximum learner confidence on a daily basis.

On a tour through out facility, you will notice systematically placed visual aides to support successful and independent transitions; some of these include PECS which represent hall way rules. Images are meant as a way to systematically fade 1:1 support, increase independence and overall readiness for a larger school environment.

Using the Ministry mandated curriculum, in combination with the ABLLS-R ABA Curriculum, it is easy to track progress within our students, monitor success and account for behaviour change.

Thoughts? Let me know!

Save the Date: Sunday June 26th

Save the Date: Sunday June 26th, 2011!

Toronto's Walk Now for Autism Speaks Event.

We will be hosting a table at the resource fair (8am-12pm), and walking in the annual walk!

Join us with your family, purchase a Magnificent Minds Team T-shirt, and show your support for the Autism/PDD community.

Sponsor us online, donate the day of the walk, or join us in person on the day to show your support!

walknowautismspeaks.ca

Why choose MM for School Age learning?

Staff that "GETS IT"

At MM our staff believe that children thrive when individualization and creativity work together. Our teachers and therapists are skilled at eliciting student confidence, while capitalizing on student's personal interests, as a motivational factor in achievement. We work hard to pair students with other class mates with whom social development is possible; by pairing like-minded children, we increase their overall ability to establish common ground.

With a sophisticated system for checks and balances, we ensure that teachers are constantly working to achieve professional development, and always striving to surpass your needs.

Individualized Curriculum Application

In our school-age class, you can expect to see the "standard" Ministry mandated curriculum goals, kicked up a notch with a bit of behavioural know-how and a lot of flexibility to adapt to our learners. With choice as a central component of the school-age program, our learners develop academic, life and social skills to carry forward into larger school settings.

The Family Component

At MM we spend a lot of time getting to know our students; and we spend the rest of our time getting to know the parents. By understanding each family, we are able to provide a high standard of service for all of our families. We understand that it takes an entire family to raise a child; we support sibling integration in social skill programs and summer camp! We support at home play dates between siblings, and foster development of relationships and social skills.


We work with our families to create consistency across all learning environments, and give parents the tools to make the post out of every learning opportunity, be it speech pathology, occupational therapy, play skill building or extra curricular activity.

The "Family Involvement Starts Here" (FISH) program is an integral part of facilitating discussion between parents and teachers; though the kitsch-ey name itself was borrowed from an online educational website, the idea of a communication journal that travels with the student is something that has stood the test of time. All parents want to know what their child achieved at school that day. The FISH book allows teachers and one to one therapists to communicate anecdotes, moods, and/or other relevant information to parents and/or caregivers. School-age students take special care in bringing the FISH books back and forth from home to school; often as a first step towards independence, students delight in the idea of responsibility.

Understanding Anxiety, ADD and Autism

Understanding the variables that impact learning, means understanding each diagnosis for its ability to enhance the learning process. With a behavioural perspective, we support the development of functional coping strategies, which our students carry-forward for the rest of their lives. With a solid understanding of each child in his or her variables, we are skilled at eliciting academic success and most importantly, are skilled at increasing confidence and decreasing frustration.

A Hands-On Learning Environment

All activities and assignments are designed with our children's interests in mind. We take fixation, and turn it into functional learning learning; we take obsession, and turn it into an opportunity for growth and development. 

We plan activities with all 5 senses in mind, keeping in mind that many of our students are visual learners. By scheduling daily academic rotations, based on monthly units, all of our learners get the 1:1 support needed for academic tasks. Using visual schedules, interactive learning (fill in the blanks and intraverbals) we teach lessons using errorless learning; skills targeting during group learning include answering as a group, sharing physical space, and following group learning conventions (like raising your hand to speak and sitting "criss cross apple sauce").

We believe that every child has to potential to flourish when he or she is met at his or her own level. We believe that children with additional needs will thrive, when all of the variables are accounted for and we are looking forward to supporting your journey towards meaningful change!

As always all images are courtesy of freedgitalimages.net

Tackling Eating Issues in our Kids

Eating issues are a concern of the western world! Many parts, including the East, find food allergies and intolerances to be a non-issue. In fact, on a semi-recent trip to the Middle East, I spoke with an Israeli mother who was shocked to hear that children could be allergic to something as natural as a peanut. With the increased prevalence of allergies in our kids, I can't help but wonder, "what gives?" Are we super-sensitive in "this part" of the world, or is something going on environmentally which makes us more at risk!? As someone with plenty of allergies, this is a subject matter which holds special interest for me.

Moving beyond allergies, there seems also to be a prevalence in the number of children with textural intolerance. It is certainly more common to encounter this challenge with children on the Autism spectrum, but given that the spectrum itself is so wide, there is potential for many individuals to possess textural intolerance (whether or not they are recognized as on the spectrum). Just the other day, I sat in a "typical classroom" at snack time and watched a little guy, let's call him "Owen", struggle with the texture of the banana before him. He clearly liked the taste, but could not figure out a way to get into his mouth in a way that was not aversive to him. Even with a toothpick, he struggled to manipulate to banana into his hungry little mouth.

Part of a successful and holistic program, ought to include some aspect of programming which is exclusively tailored to developing healthy eating habits. For some, this may mean overcoming textural intolerance, while for others, it will be a battle to overcome the will (i.e. the will not to eat vegetables, cheese, fruit, or what have you). It is important to view eating as a behaviour; obviously, the consequence which follows the act of eating has a direct relationship with whether the behaviour (that is, eating) is likely or unlikely to occur again with the particular item (be it pasta, pizza, salad, or egg salad). Making eating a reinforcing experience is just one way you can increase your child's chances of developing healthy eating habits,

Think of it this way.... I don't want to eat vegetables, so every time I eat vegetable I will start to gag. When I gag, my teacher or parents react. If my teacher or parents react to the gagging by taking the food away and saying "Oh your poor kid, you hate your lunch" and offering me something much more palatable I am MUCH more likely to use this method of escape again. If on the other hand, the gag is ignored and the child continues to go on eating (at which point he or she is praised tremendously for his or her healthy appetite) the behaviour of eating is much more likely to happen again and the behaviour of gaging is much less likely to happen again. When you render a behaviour ineffective at achieving its purposes, it slowly fades away without the need for serious or prolonged intervention.

Many daycare and childcare centers serve a hot lunch family-style; family-style is when everyone sits around the tables together, and we all take turns scooping, pouring and distributing. Eating family-style helps children learn how to develop healthy and balanced eating habits. With one choice for lunch, children learn to expand food repertoire beyond the traditional foods made within their home-environment. This kind of exposure is especially important for children on the spectrum, for whom rigidity and the need for sameness may be an ongoing struggle to overcome.

In a post that addresses allergies, I cannot help but address the issue of gluten-intolerance in children with Autism. It should be made explicitly clear, there is no scientific evidence to support the removal of gluten and/or casein from the diet of individuals with Autism, as a course of treatment for the symptoms of Autism.

BUT....As children prone to allergies, all children on the spectrum should certainly be tested for food and environmental allergies;but really, this is a procedure all children (special needs or otherwise) should undergo periodically. There is an increased trend in gluten-intolerance in the population at large; if you suspect your Autistic child may be gluten-intolerant, do not rule it out just because there is no science to support that removing gluten "cures" Autism or its symptoms. On a separate note, be weary of anything that claims to "cure" a neurological impairment. Also be aware that underlying food intolerance may cause an array of behaviours (including self-stimulatory behaviours and/or tantrums).

Questions or comments?

*images courtesy of free digital photos.net

Sensory Integration & Autism + CJs Skate Park, Toronto

As teachers in a field where a majority of clients possess a diagnosis of Autism, sensory considerations are always on the mind. The foundation of my work as a teacher comes from appreciating that every child is completely different in his or her sensory needs; many children are both over and under responsive to certain senses, requiring systematic planning for successful learning. Without appreciating these variables, individuals with Autism often report a kind of fragmentation of interpretation of sensory information, which results in the need to control or regulate, i.e. a self-stimulatory behaviour is born (flapping, spinning, humming, laughing, tapping, and so on); imagine listening to 25 people talking all at one time and being asked to interpret. Not ideal.

I started thinking about all of this, and doing some research on vestibular stimulation (i.e. stimulating the balance system) after visiting CJ's Skateboard Park in Toronto. On Saturday mornings, CJ's is open for an hour for students with special needs to have use of the impressive, industrial sized, skateboard park. Believe me, I know what you are thinking..sensory overload, right? Well I went to CJ's Skateboard Park, and saw with my own eyes that with some thoughtful planning, some carefully placed visuals and a supportive environment, even a child that is over-sensitive to sensory and environmental variables can walk in frazzled, and walk out cool, calm and collected.

The youngest skateboarder was 5 or 6, and the oldest were teens; beginner and advanced skate boarders are coached by peer mentors, between the ages of 13-15 and are supervised and supported by CJ's Skateboard Park owner Jay and his incredibly kind and dedicated staff. FYI* I love that is an age-appropriate activity for many kids who do not possess the coordination or social skills to participate in team sports.

CJ's Skateboard Park owner Jay is a passionate skateboarder, and has a phenomenal way of connecting with each child (verbal and nonverbal). Jay has a way of eliciting language, developing a rapport, and increasing confidence in even the youngest skateboarders. After a brief chat with Jay, it was very obvious that he noticed some link between the motion that the skateboard provided, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Of course, Jay is absolutely right. Many children with Autism are sensory-seekers (under responsive to sensory information), and the motion provided by rolling back and forth on a 6 foot ramp is exactly what they need to regulate and sooth the senses; not to mention the 8 foot ramps, or drop-in foam pits. I imagine even after reading this, you are hesitant.

Let me go on by clarifying that every rider, and instructor, must wear a helmet in the skate park (ramps are made of wood paneling not concrete); further, each boarder wears knee pads, elbow pads, wrist pads, and any other pads their parents wish to strap on, the more the merrier. Each skateboarder is accompanied by a combination of 1-5 peer mentors, and 3-5 adult supervisors who circulate providing support and hand-over-hand assistance as needed. Service dogs are welcome in the parent-waiting area, and there is a huge space with couches, a big-screen t.v. and dinning room table for birthday parties (not to mention the play-station gaming area).

I absolutely love the idea of a skateboard as a functional way of providing the movement needed to develop balance, posture, reflexes, coordination, confidence and social skills! More on this place soon, because it's a gem!