That puzzle symbol that people use to represent autism seems appropriate. Trying to help some of these individuals can create the same kind of confusion you may experience the moment you dump one of those 1000 piece puzzles on a table. It looks like a mess. And it is hard to know where to begin.

That is what autism can feel like
Some issues have simple solutions. Other times it seems so much is out of whack that finding a starting point seems impossible. Consider these examples.

Some questions appear to have simpler answers
I have a 6 year old son that attends kindergarten. He has high functioning autism. I am looking for strategies on feelings. He is unable to tell us what he is feeling. I was wondering if there are any DVDs or books that may help me.

Other situations are immediately complex
I have a question regarding boys going through puberty. One of my students has really regressed in a lot of ways and parents are concerned as well. He seems to have generally more difficulty and is refusing to even look at social stories or pictures at this point. Any ideas???


I have a 7 year old client who targets younger, more vulnerable children. He becomes aggressive towards them. HOW CAN WE HELP HIM??????????



Some questions are technical
I am writing on behalf of the special school that I work at in Tasmania and we were wondering whether you could offer us any evidence or theory behind the best way to present symbols. That is, is there any evidence to suggest what is the best colour, font, font size and placement, border, position of picture, etc for a symbol.

And where do you begin with this one?
His major problem behavior is visual stims. Do you have any suggestions to help this? Examples of visual stims include behaviors such as: when doing a homework sheet, he will look at something on the wallpaper, or an object such as the fan, or another example: when he is reading he may look out the window or something on the wall. When I try and have a conversation with him he will often look up at the ceiling. It is so nice when I get his attention and he does not look up at something. I thought you may have some helpful suggestions.

A bit of honesty can reveal who has the real problem
My son who has Asperger's Syndrome will be going to middle school next fall. It is more of a scary experience for me instead for him. He is excited, but I know that we have to prepare him for the transition. If you can give us suggestions on what we should do this summer to prepare him for the change. We are planning on him visiting the school to have a walk through two weeks before school starts, but I would like for him to be organized as well. Any suggestions that you can recommend would be helpful.

Questions show thoughtful planning
I have a 6 year old son that attends kindergarten and has high functioning autism. The teacher would like to teach his classmates about the autism and how the behaviour is different. Do you have any information on that?

I am pedodontist (dentist for children) in Thailand who has worked with intellectual disabilities for six years. I am interested in visual strategies to help autistic children for dental treatment.

Then there is S.O.S
My son was kicked out of preschool due to behavior issues and the SPED team felt that using visual cues and a picture schedule would help.? His main issue is transitioning. Which of your books deals more with younger children and the specific strategies for transitioning?


And success is always great to share
Thanks very much for your email regarding visual strategies. I have many successes with my two beautiful boys on the spectrum. I have a couple to share with you. My 5 year old wouldn't partake in the school eye test especially when they wanted to cover one eye. We made an eye patch like Captain Feather Sword from the Wiggles. This was visually shown to him for days before we attempted to put it on his eye. It was a success. Also when the boys are due for a haircut, we show them a visual that has a photo of them, the scissors and the words hair cut. This has also been a success because it is visual.

So what does this all mean?
Do you have answers to these inquiries? Do you have questions? Maybe both? When I travel around, I meet lots of people with lots of questions. I also meet people with great answers. My job? Get them together. Connect the dots. Wow! How?

I have a plan. Create. Organize. Coordinate. Coming soon. More next month.

In the meantime
Do you have questions? Do you have answers? Let me know.
Email them to me at linda@lindahodgdon.com.

© 2009 Linda Hodgdon

Here is a great opportunity to attend one of my programs. I will be speaking as a part of the Heartspring Conference Series. The date is April 24, 2009.

If you are in or near Wichita, Kansas you can arrange to attend this program live. If you can't travel to Kansas, you have another great opportunity.

This program will be webcast. That means you can watch the live program from home. Institutions can arrange to host the webcast in your own location for a group.

Contact Heartspring directly to register for this opportunity,

P.S. They have a special registration rate for parents & caregivers.

Read what some of the most knowledgeable people in the autism community have to say about Autism Spectrum Quarterly (ASQ).

"One of the most outstanding resources in the field of autism . . . . To state it simply, ASQ is the best!" - Carol Gray, Developer of Social Stories™

"ASQ offers really helpful information to everyone from parents dealing with new diagnoses to autism spectrum "veterans". - Dan Coulter, Coulter Video; Parent

"Many thanks for a first class edition! I've torn the copy to bits to pass along these wonderful pieces! - Rita Honan, Ph.D., BCBA; Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

For high-interest articles from parents and professionals; cutting-edge information from the world of research; and up-to-the-minute NewsBriefs that keep you current in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, ASQ is your go-to autism resource!

Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist and a Consultant for Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is the author of the bestseller, Visual Strategies for Improving Communication, one of the most recommended books in the field of autism.

Internationally recognized as a powerful and informative speaker and consultant, Linda has presented her insightful and dynamic workshops to audiences of educators and parents worldwide.

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