The Ability To Use Words Does Not Equal Communication Skills

Last week we visited a garden centre near us, and as we were looking around, Penguin stopped at the owl doorstops pictured in the photo below. He looked across at me to make sure he had my attention, and then he said “ow” (which for a guy who doesn’t talk, is a pretty good approximation … More The Ability To Use Words Does Not Equal Communication Skills

AAC Apps: Who Are They For & What Is So Great About Them?

AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and it’s a term used for all kinds of methods that can be used for communicating other than speech. October is AAC Awareness Month, and last October I wrote a big old blog post about AAC: Basic Facts And Helpful Resources, which is still relevant and informative, but not … More AAC Apps: Who Are They For & What Is So Great About Them?

Differently Abled..? A Story About Letters, Literacy, And Being Nonverbal In Two Languages.

This is a picture of something Penguin created in a drawing app on his iPad last night. He was laying down, scribbling away on the screen, with a contented smile on his face, looking like he was very pleased with his project. At first glance it might look like a random mess of scribbles, and … More Differently Abled..? A Story About Letters, Literacy, And Being Nonverbal In Two Languages.

Interoception: The Lesser Known But Oh So Important Sensory System

How much do you know about our senses? Most people are very familiar with the five senses that helps us process information about the world around us: Our sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell (a.k.a. the visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory and olfactory senses). Then there’s the vestibular and proprioceptive senses, which are both to do … More Interoception: The Lesser Known But Oh So Important Sensory System

Book Review + Giveaway: ‘100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play’

Disclosure: This post is about a book that we’ve been gifted a copy of, for the purpose of this review. What I share below are my own honest thoughts about the book, and our experience of the activities we’ve tried so far. Last week saw the release of a fab new book called ‘100 ways … More Book Review + Giveaway: ‘100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play’

Why do I See My Autistic Son As Both Disabled AND Differently Abled?

[If you’d prefer listening to a recording of me reading this post, rather than reading it yourself, please scroll down to the end of the post to find two audio files (as I got interrupted, and haven’t yet worked out how to fuse the two files together, sorry).] I regularly come across discussions on social … More Why do I See My Autistic Son As Both Disabled AND Differently Abled?

Talking About AAC And Us, On The ‘Let’s Talk Autism’ Podcast!

Earlier this week I had a chat with Meesh and Christelle of the ‘Let’s Talk Autism’ podcast! This week they’ve been doing a super impressive ‘podcast marathon’ of 7 episodes per day for each day of the week, to highlight Autism Awareness Week. So a total of 49 short episodes (each about 6-9 mins long) … More Talking About AAC And Us, On The ‘Let’s Talk Autism’ Podcast!