Table of Contents
7 WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL NEEDS PARENT
CLUB
Learn eight excellent ways you can help yourself and
your family when you become a part of a special
needs parents’ community.
Deanna Picon
30 BETTER
UNDERSTANDING
HYPERLEXIA AND
COMPREHENSION IN
AUTISM
Learn about hyperlexia
from the mother of a
young boy with autism
and find out how therapy
made a huge difference in
his life.
Patricia Wigginton
34 HARASSMENT: WAYS TO REDUCE RISK
SITUATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM
11 COULD MY CHILD WITH AUTISM BE ARRESTED?
WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
Find out first-hand from an autism legal consultant
and parent of a son with autism ways a child's
behavior can be easily misinterpreted and how to
help avert triggers and manage meltdowns.
Carol S. Weinman, Esq., CAS
15 TOP WAYS TO USE LEGO® BLOCKS FOR
PURPOSEFUL PLAY WITH AUTISM
Learn how Lego blocks can be used to build
communication skills from the director and specialist
trainer for Alpha Inclusion and Communication.
Amy Eleftheriades, PGCE, MEd in SEND
20 A LOOK AT THE VARIOUS COMMUNICATION
DISORDERS OF AUTISM
Learn how communication difficulties can overlap with
many behavioral, social, and learning difficulties.
Elizabeth "Betsey" Ives Field, MEd, CCC-SLP
24 BUILDING MAGICAL CONNECTIONS UNDER
THE SUN
Take a look at this uplifting piece as a young boy with
autism forms a special friendship with an 84-year-old
woman at the beach.
Rebecca Vaughn
27 HELP: WHY DOES MY CHILD WITH AUTISM
FLAP HIS HANDS?
Learn ways to recognize patterns to determine if hand-
flapping indicates positive or negative emotions and if
it is being used as a method for self-calming.
Kelly Beins, BA, BHSc, OTR/L
4 | Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 87
Find out how to help people with autism by teaching
social media and communication skills as well as by
encouraging awareness.
Marcia Eckerd, PhD
38 IT'S TIME TO LET MY AMAZING TEEN WITH
AUTISM BE HER OWN PERSON
Take a look at this heart-warming piece written by a
mother trying to better understand her daughter's
social expectations following a middle school dance.
Rachel Landry Fahrney, MEd
40 QUICK TIPS ON COMMUNICATIONS FOR
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND SPECIAL NEEDS
Learn how visual aids can provide alternative means
of communication for children with special needs or
autism who are unable to speak.
Dr. May Ng, MBBS (Hons), FHEA,
FRCPCH, MSc, LLM, PhD
43 HOW TO HELP A SPECIAL
NEEDS CHILD WITH BEHAVIOR
CHALLENGES
Find out how to help reduce
challenging behaviors after the
home therapist has left using a
parenting toolbox approach.
Miguel Flores, MS, BCBA
47 HEAVEN MUST BE A LITTLE
LIKE MY DANCE CLASS
A talented nonverbal high school student shares a
beautiful moment in time during a recent ballroom
dance class.
Peter Tran