First Day of Kindergarten [DFW Autism Charity]

August 22, 2016By 1 Comment

MAXimum Chances would love to share a story of an amazing little boy and his incredible milestone!  Today our first Maximum Chances child at the Journey Learning center is headed off to school.  Gorgeous Brooks is starting kindergarten!  Now obviously that’s a milestone many children will begin today, but for Brooks, and many children on the spectrum, this is a big step.  He was largely non-verbal until just a year ago!  Diagnosed with autism around the age of 2, Brooks has worked incredibly hard to get where he is today.  He has been at the wonderful Journey Learning Center for more than 18 months, attending 5 days a week and nearly 8 hours a day.  He has learned to count, say and write his name, set the lunch table and interact with his little friends as well as the teachers.   Imagine learning 5 years of life skills in such a condensed period of time like that!

Sending a child on the autism spectrum off to school where they will largely be integrated with a mainstreamed classroom is such a dream for many parents.  Brooks is an amazing warrior and the incredible staff at Journey have worked so hard with him.  No doubt this is incredibly rewarding for them to see him be so successful.

We stopped by the Journey Learning Center on his last day to congratulate him and take some pictures of him having fun with friends.  He is such a joy to be around, and that smile is quite infectious.  Congrats to Brooks and his family, we are so happy to be sharing in this wonderful day with you!

For more information on the Journey Learning Center, visit their site, http://www.journeylearning.org

Learning Center for Autism

Above is Brooks with all of his friends eating lunch!  And below is one of his favorite activities, riding his bike, and playing on the playground.

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One of the activities he worked on was journaling about his day.  Here he is copying the sentence “I cut a hat,” talking about how he made a graduation hat earlier in the day.  Look at that gorgeous handwriting!

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Goofing around making everyone smile. 🙂

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Learning Center for Autism

We couldn’t be prouder of you Brooks!  We can’t wait to see where life takes you!

Learning Center for Autism

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Back to School [Tips for a Successful School Year with Autism]

August 17, 2016By

The countdown to school in Texas is on! In another week, the sleep ins are over and the schedules are back. For lots of parents, particularly those who have a child with autism, the return of a scheduled day is welcome. However the transition of actually returning to school can be challenging and anxious for the children AND their parents.

Back to School Autism
I know that when Max starts school each year, I am always a little nervous about what the year might bring. Last year when he started middle school was EXTREMELY stressful….from my end! 

Back to School Photography

If your school is open to it, your child might benefit from a visit to the school BEFORE it is over run with children coming for meet the teacher. They might be able to meet THEIR teacher (or teachers) in a more quiet setting so it’s not such a sensory overload. Communiaction with teachers will be very important. Kids with autism in a public school will have an IEP and so all teachers should be fully informed BEFORE your child arrives but many teachers appreciate any tips parents might have to help make the transition to a new school year easier. Writing your own social story about the school day with your child can be a great way to prepare them for how each day should look.

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Try and start the school routine before the weekend before school if possible. Sleep is key and adjusting bedtimes and starting morning routines as early as possible may help their adjustment to the school year.

If you have concerns about your childs social interactions with their peers it might be really helpful to reach out to other kids for playdates BEFORE school starts if it is an option. Many schools also have great social skills groups they incorporate with other typical children during class time which is helpful as the school year continues.

For non-verbal children, lots of visual support is essential. Social stories are really helpful here along with pictures. If you can map out the day with photos (example, waiting for the bus, getting on the bus, walking to their classroom, finding their chair, sitting in the cafeteria opening their lunch box) hopefully that will make the transition back to school a little smoother.

Obviously as parents and caregivers we are all usually anxious about a new school year, try to stay positive in front of your kids so they don’t see your stress. It’s enough that they try to manage their own! Hopefully many of us have a great support network but if you don’t PLEASE reach out to us here, we would love to help!

Here’s to a great school year!

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