Matrix Parent Network and the Marin Center for Independent Living funded and supported the production of this podcast. This month we look at a common barrier to successful transition from school-based programs to adulthood for students with high functioning autism. The acronym BIMS stands for burnout, inertia, meltdowns and shutdown. These are the most common reactions many autistic people experience when facing overload from stress, anger and other negative emotions. ...

Matrix Parent Network and the Marin Center for Independent Living funded and supported the production of this podcast. Self-Advocacy is a phrase that is used often in special education, but often with little context as to what it means. What does it mean for a student to be an effective self-advocate and why it is so important? In this episode of the Matrix Parents Practical Special Education Podcast for Parents, we look at what the term really means and why it is a critical...

Interoception, the ability to recognize bodily signals like heart rate, hunger, temperature..., is often a significant source of stress and anxiety in autistic youth. They may struggle to control the overload their body is experiencing by being unable to recognize the physical symptoms they are experiencing, leading to a potential crisis when the build up becomes too much. Or, an autistic youth may go without eating or drinking anything for an entire school day. ...

In this episode, the first in my IEP Basic Series, we’ll look at accommodations (and modifications) on an IEP. This is the first in the series due to the critical nature of accommodations to learning for students with disabilities, and also the complex nature of actually having them work in a classroom. There are many times a student would have little chance to survive in a general education setting, much less succeed without effective accommodations. Accommodations provide ...

In this episode, we’ll learn how a group of successful adults with learning disabilities became successful. There are identifiable, teachable attributes they have in common that are instrumental in their ability to lead successful lives. I use a study conducted by the Frostig Center, a well-known and highly regarded school and research institute serving students with learning disabilities. It followed the lives of students from the time they entered the school to 20 years a...

In this episode we'll get into the most important part of a behavior plan, reinforcement. Learn what it is and what it looks like. Remember, the more you know about special education practice, particularly how Positive Behavior Support is supposed to work, the better off you will be at IEP meetings and in being a full member of the team. Here are a couple of links to more information on reinforcement. An explanation why reinforcement in a behavior plan m...

In this episode we explore the often times very intense personal interests of people with high functioning autism. Are they damaging or should I actually encourage my child to pursue them? We explore this question by reviewing a research article about special interests and autistic adults. The article explores the practical and emotional side of interests that of autistic people's interests, what they are, how they affect the lives on those involved, and what are the emotional benefits ...

For students with disabilities who are in mainly general education classes, the need for effective accommodations is vital. Technology has opened up a new world in what is available to help these students be successful like never before. Previously, being able to read fluently was a necessity to be able to access much of the material presented in a typical general education high school classroom. Students whose reading was below grade level struggled to follow and understand th...

This episode looks at the current state of education for high school students with high functioning autism. It is not good. It is not good, but there is hope. The students we are discussing experience exceptionally high rates of intense anxiety in school settings. A combination of factors including the sensory overload, behavior issues due to social skills deficits, academic struggles because of organization and focus problems are among the most common ones leading to school...

A commom complaint from parents of neurodivergent children is that homework is a nightmare. The stress and anxiety it creates for everyone in the family is often far more emotionally costly than any benfit that comes from practicing academic skills. There is a better way that can include work from school, but in a way that will reduce stress, reduce anxiety, and hopefully help you get rid of that feeling of dread when homework time approaches. Thanks to soundimage.org for the free acc...

In this, the third episode in the Positive Behavior Support (PBS) series, the importance of teaching a socially appropriate behavior to replace a maladaptive one a child has been using is discussed. As described in the initial PBS episode, there is a linear sequence to teaching a child what is acceptable behavior in social environments, of which replacement behaviors fill a central role. However, the idea of making behavior interventions more sensitive to the underlying needs many children ha...

To understand how to create an effective behavior plan* a crucial piece is to understand why a behavior occurs. Without this piece of information, accurately determined, a behavior plan will simply not work. It is more complex than it might seem to figure out why a child does what they do, obvious answers can often be wrong. The IEP team needs to know how and what to teach as a replacement behavior that meets the same need as the problem behavior. As a parent, your input into th...

In this episode, the 4th in the High Functioning Autism and Internet Dangers series, the discussion turns to how to keep your child safe. But not only safe but knowing how to become a digital citizen with the rights and responsibilities that go with it. Online activities can be beneficial for this population, but some commonsense limits can greatly increase the chances of its appropriate use. The program looks at what the term digital citizenship means and what goes into efforts to spre...

In this episode we continue out look into the radicalization dangers of the internet for autistic children and youth. How do kids go from being "alt right curious" to actually joining a radicalized group? And how does the group support these young people's needs once they are involved? The article used in this episode describes a study of young people from Canada and the U.S. who are autistic and became radicalized. In a series of structured interviews the authors elicited answers that ...

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a method of teaching that embeds accommodations for all students into general education settings. Students who are visual, or auditory, or tactile/sensory learners are taught, and the student can show mastery, in the way that uses their strengths. UDL has been successfully implemented in thousands of classrooms around the country and its efficacy has been proven in these real settings. Learn how students with...

How real are the dangers online for young people with high functioning autism and who is vulnerable? How do kids get in (and out of) the life that can sometimes lead to violent extremism? What can you do to protect your child and what resources are available to help? In this episode, we look at a research study that describes who is in danger and what types of dangers there are. While the results are inconclusive as to some issues, it does suggest that high functioning autism can ...

In this episode, we look at the right-wing radicalism that has exploded online and its effects in the real world. Ironically, many leaders and influencers in the movement, those who are most active and extreme in their online communities, are either autistic or at least self-identify as autistic. We use the book, Black Pill, by CNN correspondent Elle Reeve, as a guide to the alt right world. Ms. Reeve did extensive reporting leading up to and after the Unite the Right Charlottesvi...

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) - the Basics (Behavior Series Part 1) Over the past three decades Positive Behavior Support (PBS) has become the gold standard for school-based behavior prevention and intervention. It is based on the ethical and moral recognition that aversive responses to problematic behaviors are no longer viable. PBS emphasizes and reinforces behaviors that are pro-social and does it in a way that recognizes the need to teach, not punish. The host of this ...

A study conducted in Great Britain examined potential cognitive gifts that people with dyslexia may possess. It found, that far from being a limiting condition to life success, in fact dyslexic thinkers are our future. Dictionary.com defines dyslexic thinking as, "“…an approach to problem-solving, assessing information and learning often used by people with dyslexia that involves pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, lateral thinking and interpersonal communications”  ...