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Tips for creating an autism-friendly Thanksgiving… crear un Día de Acción de Gracias respetuoso con el autismo   While Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on your blessings and express gratitude for all the wonderful things in life, it can also be very stressful for people with autism and their … saying anything. Once someone starts yelling or acting aggressively, we are out of the boundaries of respect I demand in interactions. Setting up boundaries before I enter a situation gives me guidance on when to leave.  Third, identify your … stressful for some people with autism, so it’s important that family members meet them where they are and respect their communication preferences. If the autistic person appears uncomfortable, don’t force them to stay in a certain room, engage …

Social skills and autism… Many children and adults on the autism spectrum need help in learning how to act in different types of social situations. They often have … to be part of the community. What are social skills?   Social skills are the rules, customs, and abilities that guide our interactions with other people and the world around us. In general, people tend to “pick up” social skills in the same way … instruction and "teachable moments" with practice in realistic settings Focus on timing and attention Support for enhancing communication and sensory integration Learning behaviors that predict important social outcomes like friendship and …

Autism and eye contact…   Today’s answer is by developmental pediatrician Amanda Bennett, behavior analyst Megan Carolan Tomkinson and psychologist Judith Miller. Dr. Bennett is the director of the … – particularly those on the autism spectrum and those who care about them. Using eye contact is an important nonverbal communication behavior that most of us use automatically in social interactions. However, as you describe, making eye contact with others can be very challenging for some people with autism – …

How does sensory processing affect communication in kids with autism?… Postdoctoral Research Fellow pursuing her  fellowship project  on autism-related sensory-processing challenges at the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. Dr. Baum uses a combination of neuropsychology, psychophysics and neuroimaging to discover the … children and adults on the autism spectrum. As many readers of this column know, autism involves difficulty with social communication combined with restricted interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Understandably, most autism research has … clues to understanding autism and helping individuals affected by the condition. The multisensory challenge of social interactions  Think about almost any social interaction. We have to process so many sensory clues to understand each other. …