Psyched About School

This feels like a different world that we are living in recently!  Stay at home orders, distance learning, social distancing, mask wearing, etc. are different for all of us, and can be particularly challenging for young children or kids with autism. Children with autism often struggles with changes in routine, or things that are unexpected.  Social stories can help kids be prepared for things that could be different or new experiences  A social story is described by Carol Gray, creator of Social Stories, as a “social learning tool that supports that safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals and people with autism of all ages.”  More simply put, for many children, a situation that is difficult to understand can be made more clear with the help of a simple story, with pictures and told in the first person.   In a typical situation, for example, a child might need help understanding how he or she needs to behave in the cafete...

One of our school psychologists shared this resource and we wanted to pass it along to all of our readers.  This is a challenging time for all of us and we are grateful that our colleagues at the University of North Carolina Child Development Institute Autism Team worked so quickly to develop this packet of resources for those with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  As they note in their introduction: "Individuals with autism may need additional support to process the news and adapt to the many changes. This population may face additional challenges related to comprehension, communication, difficulty understanding abstract language, an insistence on sameness, and a greater likelihood of anxiety and depression—all of which may be exasperated during this stressful period." To help address those needs, the UNC Autism Team provided a toolkit of materials aligned with these 7 support strategies: This fantastic resource from the UNC Autism Team contains social stories and visual...

There is a new way to receive information and send questions or communication to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Exceptional Children’s Division through an online listserv. Interested parents can sign up by visiting the website for NC Public Schools by clicking here http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ and registering an email in order to access information on the workings of the NC DPI EC division. The following link explains how to select and sign up for this listserv: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/NCSBE/2019/09/10/file_attachments/1282670/Directions%20for%20EC%20Info%20for%20Parents%20listserv.pdf