People do not grow out of autism. Autism is a lifelong disorder; however, the manifestation of symptoms may change over time. While there is yet no known cure, autism is definitely treatable.
ABA Little Tots Program
The Little Tots have been doing great and took advantage of the few days of nice weather playing outside with peers and their behavior therapists.
In the Little Tots program the behavior therapists often have to get very creative playing with toys in different ways to best suit the child they are paired with. Often times it is not just about the toy itself but what we do with it while we are also focusing on incidental teaching.
These gem toys can be used to teach different skills and concepts. Here are just a few examples:
- Motor skills- opening and closing the gems, playing a game of catch
- Matching- matching the gems to the correct colored shell
- Turn-taking- taking turns hiding the gems around the room and the other person has to seek it out
- Colors- talking about the colors of each gem and playing a guessing game prior to chipping them open
- Teaching prepositions- taking turns putting the gems in silly places (e.g. on your head, under the table, beside the shark)
- Sensory play- you can put the gems in water and have a shark swim through the water to collect all the gems
- Numbers- counting the number of gems/rocks, practicing giving 3 gems and 2 gems
- Communication- having the child ask “open” or “help” when they need help to open the rock to see the gem inside
Which toys do you have in your house?…. are there different ways that you may not have thought of playing with them? 😊
– Desirae, Director of the ABA Little Tots Program
