Looking for general information about autism and life? The Autism Society would be a good first stop.
If you’re looking for information on human sexuality and Autism Spectrum Disorders, then The Birds and the Bees is the place to go. This website is designed to provide information to parents, professionals, and self-advocates on how to teach human sexuality to individuals with special needs with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorders. It also is a great source for resources in this area. This site is created by our vary own graduate assistant, Sarah Curitss.
Speaking of Speech is a interesting website specifically targeting speech and language pathologists. You can download and share many great resources. We bet you’re bound to find something you can use, but it may be a little overwhelming at first.
Social Stories and social narrative are used to help children with ASD understand a certain behavior, the social environment, their peers, etc. A social story is a simple book, written in clear and concise terms that help a child with ASD better understand or prepare for a certain issue. Often using Boardmaker, the story is written, illustrated and bound together into a book to better help the child comprehend and cope with the problem they face.
There are a lot of great resources for creating Social Stories and social narratives on the web, but here’s a list of some of our favorites.
- Watson Institute Behavior Stories on topics such as anger, friends, school routines and so much more.
- Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning scripted stories on social situations
- Kansas Technical Assistance Network social narratives
Social Stories is a term trademarked by the Grey Center. These other tools, are similar intervention, but they use different names because they are not official Social Stories.
Need PECS pictures? Well this site has tons of them. You’ll need Boarmaker to access many of the pictures. This site is not for beginners, but if you know what you’re doing, you can save a lot of time and energy by downloading what they’ve already created. Fair warning- it’s not the most user friendly site, just lists with lots to download.
ABA Educational Resources LTD provides practical resource materials for families and professionals using education strategies for children with autism at a free/affordable cost. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a research based best practice for autism interventions.
Special Education Technology is dedicated to enhancing student opportunities for success by providing access to curriculum through the use of appropriate educational and communication technologies and on their website, they provide information and classroom resources on assistive technology. We especially like their pre-made, downloadable visual supports.
Do2learn provides thousands of pages of social skills and behavioral regulation activities and guidance, learning songs and games, communication cards, academic material, and transition guides for employment and life skills. Doesn’t that sound like what you’ve been looking for?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a research based best practice for autism interventions. If you’re wanting to learn more about this technique (for free) then BAAM is the place to go. ABA has lots of jargon that can make it difficult for parents and professionals to understand, but when you see it in action, it makes a lot more sense. Well BAAM lets you see ABA in action by going to their movie index.
Autism Speaks has many great resources. We really like their video glossary– this web-based tool is designed to help parents and professionals learn more about the early red flags and diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by seeing side-by-side the subtle differences between typical and delayed development in young children (this does require creating a login, but it’s free). The treatment section includes some of the more commonly used interventions for children on the autism spectrum: behavioral interventions, developmental interventions, structured teaching and supports, clinical therapies, and toddler treatment models. We also like their great tool kits.
Autism Speaks is not without it’s controversies. They have not fully discredited the myth that ASD is caused by vaccines and often talk about ASD in terms of treatment as if it was a disease to be cured. Despite these limitations, Autism Speaks, has many great resources for families and professionals.
Illinois Autism Training and Technical Assistance Project (IATTAP) is a great place to get training materials. Their goal is to increase information about ASD throughout the state of Illinois. We like thier video for a basic introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (available streaming or they can send you a DVD). It’s appropriate for family members, school personnel (including teaching assistants and general education staff), as well as community members who want to learn about ASD. IATTAP also introduces basic effective strategies for interacting with individuals with ASD.
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, this website may not look flashy, but has useful training information.
Have you heard of PECS but not really sure what it is? Would you like to implement a five-point scale, but not exactly sure how? The Autism Internet Modules were developed with one aim in mind: to make comprehensive,up-to-date, and usable information on autism accessible and applicable to educators, other professionals, and families who support individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Written by experts from across the U.S., all online modules are free, and are designed to promote understanding of, respect for, and equality of persons with ASD.
You do have to create a log in, but the modules are free. You can pay a small fee to receive a certificate of completion.