For those of us who ask the help of saints in our daily lives, one of the first questions that comes along with an autism diagnosis/recognition is, “Who is the patron saint of autism?” As far as I know, there are no official patron saints of autism. Yet, I can attest to the help and intervention of several saints in our autistic lives. Here are some of the saints that have made themselves known to us as helpers for autistic Christians. Holy Theotokos. Sometimes it’s easy to read past important parts of scripture, like when the educated people of the time were surprised at how much Jesus knew when he had not studied in the temple or gotten the best education of his day.…
writing, autism, & theology as a mother of joy
Posts tagged “spd”
Starting any homeschool is a matter of looking up your state’s requirements and setting up your school. But once you have a homeschool registered, how do you teach your autistic child at home? School has different goals for kids with autism than for neurotypical kids. A regular school will seek to inform children with academic skills, with some coping skills added as supplement. An autism school will be first and foremost therapeutic, with academics supplementing an autism-specific curriculum. Neurotypical kids will focus on acquiring a set of academic knowledge. Autistic kids will focus on healing their brains and connecting to the world around them. They will also pick up the academic knowledge they need, but taking care of that special brain and body comes…
When I first came across the term “sensory diet,” I was skeptical. How would touching my food make a difference in weight loss? I think I even rolled my eyes a little at my son’s first OT (occupational therapist), thinking she was one of those people who thought babies should diet. It’s okay to laugh. A sensory diet isn’t a weight loss program. It’s a way to describe the activities and stimuli you provide for yourself or your special needs child to help regulate and integrate your physical (and therefore emotional and cognitive) experience in the world. The professionals at THIS LINK describe it much more fully and clearly. (Bookmark that link! It’s awesome.) In your home, a sensory diet might include heavy work…
Autism is our normal. Though we adapt to help everyone thrive as much as possible, our priority is joy when it comes time to celebrate special seasons. I’m sharing these tips on how we embrace Advent as a family with autism, and you’ll probably appreciate this Advent Guide even if your family is neurotypical. “Wow” Books I’ve been curating a collection of Christmas books since before our firstborn arrived. We bring out the Advent book bins for roughly two months each year from the beginning of Advent (November 15 for New Calendar Orthodox Christians) through the Old Calendar Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord in mid-January (also known as Epiphany). Though we have a few so-so books in our Advent bin, the priorities…
The fidget spinners are all the rage…everywhere but in my house. I prefer quieter fidgets that engage more of the senses and make the person do more of the work for the input. Here are some QUIET sensory toys that you can pack in a church or school bag: Mermaid Sequins. These sequins show different colors depending on which direction you brush them. You can probably find notebook covers or pillow covers in your local Walmart or other discount stores, but for maximum portability, try this {Mermaid Sequin Bracelet}. Silicone Slap Bracelets. These are great for a variety of sensory input. My kids have very different sensory styles, and they use these to snap onto wrists, rub over fingers, and even touch to their mouths.…
We start our homeschool year in September here at St. Nektarios Academy (our school name), but a lot of people have asked me what we use and how we use it. This is a brief overview of some of the most helpful tools we use in our homeschool, with affilate links to Amazon where they are available. Curricula Our curriculum is not typical. We teach in a project/interest-based pattern, with a few core focuses. Much of what we teach is by means of the white boards in our kitchen rather than from books, but here are some of the books or series we use: Social Thinking books. In our house, covering academic areas is not very difficult. We spend a lot of time focusing…
Categories: autism, curriculum, faith, family, homeschool, instruction manual for my family, life lessons, Uncategorized
Just in time for summer travel, I’ve prepared a visual schedule for the Eucharistic Prayer Rite Two of the Episcopal Church. This schedule follows the usual, not the penitential order, and it is suitable for use with Prayer A, B, C, and D. Download the free printable version below, or you can purchase a set of two full color, heavy duty laminated schedules from my Awetism Etsy shop. For other free special needs church resources, visit my Special Needs Resources page. Why visual schedules? Autism makes thinking different. To stay in church, a stable visual cue set can help a great deal. A visual schedule of the order of service provides social cues in a static way so that a person with autism does…
Categories: autism, christian, concrete thinking, encouragement, faith, free giveaway, Uncategorized
