My recent post on loneliness and belonging hit a nerve with readers so I'm following up with a few resources for building friendships.
Model Me Kids is a web site with DVDS that model social skills, such as Model Me Friendship This DVDis designed for upper elementary and older children with Aspergers or other autism spectrum disorders. We've gotten a few of these for Sayer and he's enjoyed them [that said, he tends to watch a video over and over and then he is "all done"].
The Model Me Kids web site now has a Social Network for parents, teachers and friend to share experiences about children with autism spectrum disorders. There are on-line conversations on topics such as "Is it Bullying?" " Adolescence/Puberty and autism" and "How do you teach your children to handle rejection?" I haven't sign up for the network; I'm nearing Internet/e-mail overload but I'd love to hear from another mom who has signed up. Let us know what you think.
Playtime with Zeebu is another friendship/social skills resource designed for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, nonverbal learning disorders and developmental delays. This social and emotional skills building video was created by a local mom and dad, Kim and David Gallo. This music-filled video uses thought bubbles as a way to help children see that their friends have thoughts and feelings, and includes a Zeebu character puppet. The web site features sample video clips and a user guide.
Are there other friendship and social skills resources that readers would like to share?
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5 comments:
Hi, thanks for sharing these neat resources. Your blog has been an ongoing inspiration. Pam
Wow, those are great--thanks for passing them on!
Our local parents have just started up a 'youth group' and we signed our boy up, only to hear later that there was Much Discussion about that afterwards among the organisers, with many of the parents involved worried about his joining in. It seems like the harder you try, the worse your heart breaks.
Oh well. We'll just go, eh, and prove that our child is better-behaved and smarter than theirs.
Which he is.
Thanks again for a great post.
Thanks for sharing, Carol...I'll be checking them out (I had heard about the Zeebu one). I know Autism Speaks also has a social networking site. I haven't done much with it, though (things are just too busy).
Katie
Susan,
So sorry to hear about that. We are lucky that, so far, Sayer's class mates and their parents seem to value diversity. I haven't been brave enough to do a youth group, but I know parent's who have successfully integrated their kids into Boy Scouts.
Maybe Katie has some idea?
Katie,
Heather told me that she helped Kim and David write the script of the Zeebu DVD. A good sign!
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