A year is coming to an end again. This year I am happy that our children are performing for concert on 10 Dec 2005. It is indeed a great satisfaction to see the children enjoying themselves while rehearsing.

I am also proud to announce that 6 of our children will be going to Primary One next year. I look forward to their further achievements in the respective schools that they enrolled. I would also like to thank the parents who have co-operated with the teachers these years.

As the 10^th December is the concert and the charity bazaar day, I would encourage all parents to join in the fun and share the joys of our children. I salute our children who worked hand in hand with us to overcome obstacles despite everything else!

Warm Regards

Jessica Wang
Managing Director

We are pleased to have a group of volunteers from SMU to conduct a cookery session for our children at Ceylon Road. The children were each given the dough for them to knead and flatten into cookies. Then they happily decorated the cookies with raisins, chocolates, M&Ms and colourful sugar.

Trip to the Beach

Trying to build sandcastle              Little Manmaid?         

Parent's Sharing Column

Special Thanks : This article is contributed by Mrs Yeo.

I would like to thank Kits4Kids Special School for helping my child to be what he is today. I enrolled my child at PAP Education centre when he was four years old, however the teachers realized that he might not be too suitable for  a class size of 12. The principal then recommended me to Kits4Kids where the early intervention programme will benefit him more.

I enrolled him in the Nursery class at Kits4Kids. Over the two years that he had been with Kits4Kids, he had learnt to comply to instructions. He also learnt phonics and how to read simple books. His behaviour had greatly improved and he learnt to greet teachers and friends more readily.

With the recommendation from Teacher Jessica, my child is now enrolled in Pathlight. He is coping well now. I am happy that I have made the right choice

Toilet Training

Most of the children affected by autism exhibit difficulties or delays in all general areas of functioning, including that of toilet training.

It must be emphasized that each child's presentation of toileting problems will be different, and each child's programme will need to be similarly individualized

Reasons for problems

Toileting delays or difficulties can be caused by one of, or a combination of, the following:

1.  Behavioural Deficits

• This can include general problems not specifically related to toileting - such as resistance to being touched, resistance to having preferred activities interrupted - and specific problems related to aspects of toileting - such as preference for a specific inappropriate site, particular routines or inappropriate handling of urine and/or faeces.

2.  Maturation Delays

• There are wide variations in the age of successful toileting for children

3.  Cognitive Deficits

• Children with intellectual delays take longer to learn all skills, including toileting.

• Other consideration: When working with an autistic child, it is essential to remember that each one has great difficulty in understanding and integrating any information given to them. Thus, in any teaching programme, there must be provision for:

a.   simple clear communication to the child using both verbal and non-verbal strategies;

b.   incorporating the teaching of effective expressive communication strategies to the child;

c.    consistency of approach and technique by all involved with the child;

d.   adequate time for the programme to be implemented and maintained – change frequently takes a long time to achieve.

Programme Steps

1.   Clearly identify the problem. All possible information related to the child's toileting history and current problems should be collected. This should include anecdotal information provided by parents and other caregivers and observational information.

Consider:

1.  Will the child move readily to the toilet? What communication strategies are required for this?

2. Will the child readily sit on or stand at the toilet to urinate? What communication strategies are required for this?

3. Will the child readily sit on the toilet for a bowel movement? What communication strategies are required for this?

4. Does the child indicate when he/she needs to go to the toilet? If so, how?

5. Can the child use the toilet paper correctly and independently?

6. Does the child show awareness of toileting accidents?

7. Is the child distressed by toileting incidents?

8. Does the child enjoy toileting accidents?

9. Is there a pattern to the child's toileting accidents? It may be necessary to collect data on this before planning an intensive program.

 2.  Concentrate on underlying behavioural problems which are contributing to the toileting problem first, e.g.: if the child tantrums every time he/she is asked to sit, then this resistance needs to be overcome before frequent requests are made for the child to sit on the toilet. If the child tantrums when taken to the toilet because he/she has had another activity interrupted, then the resistance to interruption needs to be reduced first.

3.    When there are no behavioural resistance to toileting, the general routine for children who are not independent in their toileting or whose abilities you are unsure of is as follows:

a. " Pants down"

   If the child does not respond, try a little tug downwards on the pants combined with an encouraging "pants down". If still no response, pattern through the action repeating "pants down".

 

b. "Do wee" or "Sit, do wee"

    Most boys about 3 years and up should be able to stand up

 

c. "good girl/boy" or "Oh! No wees"

    Sound disappointed

 

d.  "Pants up"

       May need a cue or patterning

 

e.  "Flush" or "Press button"

      Patterning if necessary

 

f.  "Wash hands"

     Children are expected to:

1.        turn tap on

2.        take soap and wash hands

3.        replace soap

4.        rinse hands

5.        turn tap off

6.        wipe hands on towel

   Some children may need to be:

1.        verbally prompted through these stages

2.        patterned through these steps, depending on their capabilities

 

g.  "Finished, go and..." (play, sit or whatever is happening).

Accompany each direction with signs or visuals where possible, for those children unable to follow verbal instructions. If the child does pass motion, he/she can be:

a.        given paper to "wipe bottom" or

b.        patterned, to wipe their bottom, "wiping bottom" and "paper in toilet".

Toilet Training Procedure

A.  Toilet Timing

       Take the child to the toilet at regular intervals, using procedure as described in 3. Interval is dependent on individual's needs and routines. Child should be patterned to give PECS icon, sign or prompted to say "toilet" each time.

 B.   Toilet Timing – Paired with Reward

     Rewards are used for two reasons:

a.  to overcome resistance to sitting on the toilet

b.  to reinforce correct use of the toilet

      In either instance, the reward used must be reinforcing for the child, easily portable and immediately accessible.

      When any behavioural resistance has been overcome, and rewards are to be used to reinforce correct use of toilet, the following procedure is used:

a.      Child's attention gained. Child told "Time for toilet" and patterned to give PECS icon, sign "toilet" and if child is verbal to say "toilet".

b.     Child taken to toilet and shown reward. Verbal message of "toilet first, then... (rewards)". Generally a specific toilet behaviour (passing urine or passing motion) is concentrated on so that the message is similarly specific "Poo/wee first, then...reward)", and finish the toileting routine (e.g.: pants up, wash hands, etc).

      If the child is successful, pattern the child to look in the toilet whilst giving verbal praise "Good boy/girl, poo/wee in the toilet. You can have your reward". Provide the reward immediately. Complete toileting procedure.

      If the child passes motion in another place, go with him and pick it up. Don't make a fuss or give attention. Be matter-of-fact. Say "Poo in the toilet'. Take the faeces to the toilet (this should not be an enjoyable experience for the child), put it in, show the child, say "Poo in the toilet". Sit the child on the toilet and say, "Good boy/girl, poo in toilet..." then give reward.

C.  Consequential Responses

       When the children have accidents during the training period, respond to them non-emotionally, avoid accidentally reinforcing the child, and make the child as involved as possible in the cleaning-up process.

       Respond non-emotionally as many autistic children enjoy, and are therefore reinforced by, negative responses. Avoid using angry voice or giving the child eye contact. Avoid accidentally reinforcing the child by being aware of any aspects of your response to the problem (washing or bathing the child, flushing the toilet, etc) which the child enjoys and avoid using them.

       Make the child as involved as possible in the cleaning-up process, so that they're inconvenienced rather than the adult, unless he/she is getting obvious enjoyment from the cleaning-up process. This can include expecting their active involvement in the undressing and dressing, carrying dirty clothes to the laundry, washing floors or chairs. All of this may require patterning.

Citrus Ball

Sensational "toys" are already in your kitchen, just waiting for you to look at them in a new light. Offer this multi-sensory activity when you are trying to fix a meal and the "Underfoot Child" is demanding attention.

DEVELOPMENTAL AGE RANGE 2 to 6

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• Several citrus fruits, such a kumquat, lime, lemon, clementine, tangerine, orange, or grapefruit.

• Bucket

• Paper bag

PREPARATION

• Bring out the fruit and give your child the bucket

• Set the paper bag or box, open side facing your child, on the floor.

 What Your Child Can Do with Citrus Balls

Name

Look at and handle the different varieties of citrus "balls" to get a feel for them. Identify them by name, perhaps with your help.

Put in Order

Order them by size or group them by color.

Count

Put the balls into the bucket. Count the pieces, both before and after playing with them (so none disappears under the furniture).

Guess

Without peeking, grope inside the bag, grasp a piece of citrus, and guess by its size, weight, shape, and maybe texture, whether it is a lemon or an orange or a grapefruit.

Roll

Sit on the floor and roll fruit into the paper bag. Or lie tummy-down and roll the fruit. Or face a partner and roll the fruit back and forth. Or use different part of the body to "putt" the fruit.

Toss

Stand facing a partner and toss a citrus ball back and forth. (If it falls, it may get a bit bruised, but rinds are tough.)

Press and Squeeze

With hand or foot, press firmly on a citrus ball and roll it back and forth. (Rather than damaging the fruit, the pressure actually improves it by breaking down the pulp to yield more juice.) Help a grown-up squeeze juice, and enjoy!

Peel and Eat

Peel off the rind. Pull the sections apart and eat them. (A clementine is probably the easiest, neatest, and sweetest.)

BENEFITS OF THE ACTIVITY

• Naming and counting the fruit promote visual perception, auditory memory, word retrieval, and early math skills.

• Putting the fruit in order strengthens categorization and sequencing.

• Aiming, rolling, and tossing the fruit strengthens basic eye-movement skills of focusing and tracking, as well as more complex eye-hand coordination and visual-spatial skills.

• Lying tummy-down to roll the fruit improves extension, upper body strength, motor control, and grading of movement.

• Rolling the fruit with different body parts increases body awareness.

• Guessing which variety of citrus the piece is, without looking, strengthens tactile discrimination and visualization

• Playing these games with pals aids communication and social skills.

• Peeling the fruit strengthens hand dexterity and fine-motor skills.

• Smelling and tasting inform the olfactory and gustatory system.

• Pressing and squeezing citrus fruit provides deep touch pressure for the tactile system, and deep joint pressure for the proprioceptive system.

• Helping to prepare juice makes a child feel needed.

COPING TIP

This activity is best played in the kitchen, just in case.

(Taken from the Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., page 133 – 135)

Activity 2 :

Pomander

 DEVELOPMENTAL AGE RANGE 5 AND UP

 WHAT YOU WILL NEED

     An orange or apple ("pomander" comes from the Latin, pomum de ambra, which means "apple of amber")

     Cloves

     Plastic cup with a rim that is smaller than the diameter of the fruit (so that the fruit wont’ fall into the cup)

     Pretty ribbon, 1/2  to 1 inch wide and about 30 inches long

     Two straight pins

 WHAT YOUR CHILD CAN DO

     Stick cloves into the orange. (How many? It doesn't matter.)

     Rest the fruit on the cup's rim, to dry and wither.

     Help you measure the ribbon and tie it around the circumference of the dry fruit, and knot the ends together.

     Stick straight pins through the ribbon to secure it to the fruit.

     Hang the pomander in a closet.

 BENEFITS OF THE ACTIVITY

     Making and sniffing a pomander, with its fruity and spicy scents, improves olfactory awareness.

     Motor planning, grading of movement, and fine motor skills improve by pushing cloves into the fruit. This action is called "translation movement", according to Mary D. Benbow, M.S., O.T.R./L., a specialist in hand development. A translation movement involves grasping a small item - such as a clove or a push pin - in your thumb, index and middle fingers and moving these fingers toward and away from your palm.

    Holding the fruit with one hand while poking cloves with the other hand promotes bilateral coordination and tactile awareness.

     Watching what he's doing improves the child's oculomotor skills.

(Taken from the Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., page 189)