Does anyone have tips on implementing a social integration therapy for children with PDD?

Question

Both my sons have PDD, a form of autism. They are only mildly affected (thank goodness!), but do need social integration therapy to help them integrate in school, and to help them make friends. There is a therapy center for autism here, and we are on a 3-4 year waiting list, but by the time their names come up, they will no longer be eligible for it due to their age. (waiting lists are quite long!) Right now, they are 8 and 9 years old. Therapy is no longer available from the age of 12.

They need the therapy. Do you have tips to help them with social interactions? Thanks!

Answer 1

Move to the US. Seriously I moved to Canada from the US. Forget it. I came back. The school here would not even bother to check immigration status as it is illegal. Autism therapy is in the shool ins the US by federal US spec ed law.

Ontario is not much better.

I am gong to give you some of the best websites for the disabled in the usa

cure autism now, with therapy and other resources linke to all the us major autism sites too, autismspeaks.org as they have ppl from canada posting.

www.nichcy.org www.disabilityinfo.gov

and see aba home therapy and floortime therapy as you can do this at home.

Canada, has nothing on the US in the way of special ed.

you can buy books tapes on therapy from the us and not pay a dime on gst pst on them in Canada. See the revenue canada site for that info or call 1 800 O Canada for the info.

Answer 2

I don't quite understand why your kids are not getting special education services. Even if they are doing well academically, they should be receiving help with the use of pragmatic language skills by a Speech Language Therapist.

If your doctor made a diagnosis, then you should take that diagnosis to the school counselor and ask that your boys be tested for special education services. Typically children with PDD have underlying expressive and receptive language deficits and are served under the categories of Language Impaired or Communication Impaired. Then they can received pragmatic language help from the Sp/L therapist. Make sure pragmatic language skills are a goal on an IEP.

I have been using Scott Bellini" book, Building Social Relationships, A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Is quite complete and you can teach at least some of the skills at home. You can get it on Amazon.

You really need to discuss this problem with the school and if that doesn't help, call a supervisor or coordinator for special education at your school district.

Answer 3

Tke the kids to playgrounds, get them into some sports program, invite other kids over, play board games, and expose them to as much social interaction as possible just like any other kid.

Answer 4

I am not sure what social integration therapy is. If your children have social skills deficits (which is likely given the diagnosis) request social skills training at school. Although the skills of staff may very in this area there are plenty of ready made materials that professionals can use to be successful with kids. Ideally your children could receive some individual skills training lessons that are then generalized into a social group. Common school based programs include "lunch bunch", "circle of friends" or some modified fun group a teacher holds in her class once a week to provide structure interactions with feedback related to specific goals. If your children have a mild form they may benefit from a social cognitive approach such as is done by Michelle Garcia Winner. Her books are readily available and provide IEP goals and specific activities. For a child who may need a more behavioral skills approach method I like skillstreaming (all one word) and the one for early childhood has lots of supports. Social Stories and Comic Strip Stories by Carol Gray is another good resource. If getting support at school fairly do research on how to host and facilitate your own in home play dates. Foster friendships by starting with the child's strengths (doing things they are good at) and then gradually introduce more challenging activities or skills.