General

Please join us for an early open at Pacific Science Center this Saturday, June 15th. Doors open at 8 a.m. and the cost is only $3 per person. There will be free toys, games and prizes for all children.

Family and friends will enjoy:

• A journey through time with dinosaurs
• Year round sunshine in the Tropical Butterfly House
• Touching living Puget Sound sea creatures in the Saltwater Tide Pool
• Splashing around in the water table in Kids Works
• Reptiles, amphibians and naked mole rats in the Animal Exhibit
• Imaginate – the new traveling exhibit all about innovation!
• Special area just for tots, planetarium show and much, much more…!

Special thanks to Pacific Science Center for their generous donation to the autism community.

For more information, contact Katrina.Davis@SeattleChildrens.org or call 206.987.7186

No registration necessary and all developmental disabilities and ages are welcome.

Brought to you by: Seattle Children’s Autism Center, Seattle Science Festival and Pacific Science Center.

The fourth and final post in our 4-part series on communication in children with autism spectrum disorder focuses on children who possess high verbal abilities, but may struggle with conversations and reciprocal social interaction.

In many ways, the ability to carry on a conversation is the culmination of the foundation skills of language and social communication development that have been described in previous posts.  We have conversations to tell our stories, enlighten or persuade others to our point of view, and to negotiate or resolve conflicts.  The ability to carry on conversations is an integral skill to function in our social world. Read full post »

Our 4-part series on communication development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues with a focus on verbal communicators

Expected Verbal Skills in Typical Development

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), typically developing children begin to say and imitate their first words around 1 year of age. At 1½ years, they begin to say more words and start to say “no” to protest and begin to point to request. At 2 years of age, children start to combine words into phrases and increasingly attempt to imitate adults’ conversation. By 3 years, children can label most familiar objects, and can use pronouns like “I,” and “you.” They can answer basic social questions about themselves, such as their name, age and gender, and can participate in basic conversations. At 4 years of age, children start to tell stories, relate events to themselves and start to talk about their likes and interests. At 5 years of age and beyond, children can tell stories using complete sentences and can use a variety of verb tenses, like past, present and future. Read full post »

Since May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, we thought we’d address an issue that we get many questions about here at Seattle Children’s Autism Center: accessing mental health services for our kids on the spectrum. The questions we hear most often are:

• What mental health services exist for children and adolescents with autism?

• Where are mental health services offered?

• How do I access these services?

In a previous blog, we reviewed treatments used with individuals with autism. Mental health interventions include cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavior therapy. These are typically provided in individual therapy where specific goals are identified for addressing problems such as anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior, aggression, and self-injury.  Read full post »

The next Autism 200 Series lecture will be Thursday, May 16, 2013 at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Wright Auditorium from 7-8:30 pm. These classes are designed for parents, teachers and caregivers. The topics associated with the majority of classes are applicable to all age ranges and for a wide variety of children diagnosed with autism.

This month’s class “Autism 205: Legal Planning for Individuals with Disabilities: Guardianship, Public Benefits and Estate Planning” will be led by Joshua L. Brothers, JD, and Christopher Henderson, JD from the Dussault Law Group. Brothers and Henderson will provide an overview of the most significant legal planning and public benefits issues that face families and individuals who experience autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities and how those areas interact. The topics covered will include a) planning for an adult who needs the protection of a legal guardianship, power of attorney or other decision-making assistance, b) the most common public benefits that may be available for those experiencing disability, and c) the unique elements of estate planning, trusts and wills necessary to plan for individuals who experience disabilities, including, but not limited to, special needs trusts. Read full post »