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Prevelance of autism in girls

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    When I first started my undergraduate work in speech and hearing science I learned the prevalence of autism in boys is astoundingly higher than girls. 1 in 42 boys are diagnosed with autism verses 1 in 189 girls. As I started treating home health clients my caseload resemble the statistics I had learned about. Why? As a mother of 2 boys myself, isn't having boys hard enough?!     During my research to find an acceptable answer, I have looked to personal stories and respectable voices in the autism community. I found a very good article in Spectrum News, titled...

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Can fidgeting help with cognitive tasks?

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Compression and the need to fidget is a common trait for those with sensory processing disorders, such as ASD and ADHD. Our weighted lap pads and weighted blankets for kids provide a solution for both of these issues in and outside the classroom.  The weight from the blanket provides the compression that is craved, while the weighted poly pellets act as a fidget for the user. The beads can be manipulated through the soft fabric with ample room for movement.  Both sensations help to enhance performance with cognitive tasks, for longer periods of time...making the weighted lap pad ideal for the classroom and homework...

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Dr. Oz's review of weighted blankets

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Dr. Oz answers the question of the validity of weighted blankets.  If anxiety is keeping you up at night, a blanket with weights sewn into it might get you to dreamland faster. Oz Says: I think they're worth a try. When scientists found that these blankets could help calm people with anxiety, ADHD, and autism, they wondered if everyday restless sleepers could benefit too. The results of a small study done with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst suggest yes: "The blankets helped about 75 percent of the people we studied fall and stay asleep," says study author Tina Champagne. Users describe...

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"Pokemon Go' & Autism: How Popular AR Game Is Helping Kids With Autism"

During a four day bicycle trip down the coast of California last month, Laura and I met a group of young adults in costumes and also on bikes, racing around the San Louis Obisbo Farmers Market. I forget which one of us turned to the other and asked, "what's up?". Pokemon Go, that's what's up. Since this first encounter, we've seen several Speech Therapy clients on the Autism Spectrum and our own 13 yr old boy jumped into the game. Our next question was, "can this be healthy"? Based on our own experiences thus far and a number of great articles...

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Playing with an autistic child

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The power of play to engage kids in therapeutic activities is accepted by most Speech and Occupational Therapists as one of the perks of our profession. This article from our friends at spectrumnews.org provides good information and evidence for the use of creative play towards the development of social skills for children on the autism spectrum...."Play provides some of a child’s first opportunities to rehearse social interactions, generate novel ideas, toy with symbolism and develop narratives — skills that serve us later in life, particularly in our highly social world. Indeed, children who engage in more complex play early in...

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