Encourage pointing with beams 'o light!

Pointing is a very important skill.  It's a form of communication and joint attention.  When a child points to the passing firetruck, he is telling you "Look at that!".  He wants to share something with you.  He wants to make a social connection with you, and wants your attention so he can tell you about something.  Joint attention is essential for communication and social exchanges.

Inadvertently, pointing also triggers multiple learning opportunities.  When the child points to something, the response from the adult is something along the lines of "Oh?  What do you see?  It's a big red firetruck!  Where do you think the firetruck is going?  He's going fast, isn't he?".  Such a natural response is a wonderful learning opportunity, because we just labeled the thing he was interested in and pointed to ("firetruck"), and also presented characteristics ("big", "red", "fast").  We are having a conversation with the child, even if the child cannot verbally answer yet.

A lack of pointing is also one of those warning signs for autism.  Bugsy didn't point (at all) until she was 2 years old, and only after some pretty intensive therapy.  We did hand-over-hand a lot, modeling, and enlisted the help of toys with tiny buttons that could only be pressed with one finger.  Like an alphabet board toy where she had to isolate her index finger in order to press one button at a time.  Even after she started pointing, it was only under certain circumstances and only with prompting.  It wasn't until she was 3 years old that she was reliably and independently pointing to communicate her wants and needs. 

OTC 12 Finger Beams $8.00

The other day, a family friend gave Bugsy a toy that I wished I knew had existed 2 years ago.  It would have saved us a lot of sweat and tears.  They're finger light beams.  A little elastic allows you to put it on a finger (any finger), and then the light shines on whatever you're pointing to.  You can buy them online from Oriental Trading Company (12 for $8) or Amazon (40 for $7 with prime shipping: here or here).  


Now, granted, the toy will work and the light will still shine if the child isn't pointing but just making a fist or whatever.  But that's where the adult supervision, modeling, encouragement, and prompting comes in.  I particularly like the set that Bugsy got, because instead of just shooting a light, it actually makes pictures.  If she's not pointing at a blank wall, then the picture gets distorted and she can't see it, so it encourages her to target a specific location.  Also, if she's shaking her hand/arm/finger, the picture starts bouncing around - so it's motivation to hold her hand steady.  It's a good way to work on strengthening, because she can actually see that she's being unsteady.  Bugsy will say "uh-oh" if she drops her hand and loses her picture =).   

As you can tell from the picture, these things are pretty tiny.  Adult supervision is DEFINITELY needed because it's totally swallowable.  Besides the fact that swallowing anything non-food is not so great for you, these things are powered by 3 watch batteries...so that's something you definitely don't want to add to your diet.

The one thing I really don't like about this toy is that little elastic band.  Bugsy has come a long way with tolerating things on her, but when she first got this toy she was still a little bit hesitant.  I had to actually force it on her little finger, and she was about to make a fuss before I turned it on and she was too mesmerized by the pretty pictures to remember that she was mad at me.  Now when she knows we're playing with these she readily sticks her finger out for them.  However, I wouldn't be so confident 2 years ago the pretty pictures could have overpowered the tantrum.  This toy also requires a pretty dark room for it to work.  So if your kiddo has sensory sensitivities, this might be more trouble than it's worth for your family.

Has anyone else seen these things and had success with them in working on pointing?  I didn't know they existed until 2 weeks ago, and Bugsy has already mastered the pointing skill, so I'd be interested to know how it works for kids who are still working on pointing.

5-hour school bus ride

I was so shocked by this story out of Compton, California: Families of Special Needs Kids Want Answers About Five-Hour Ride by Lost Bus Driver. A bus carrying 14 students with special needs was LOST for five hours on the second day of school.  And no, the kids were not driving themselves. 

How does one get "lost" for 5 hours? Without so much as running out of gas? Or asking for directions? It's not like Compton is way out in the boonies where each house is separated by a 30 minute drive. I'd be seriously worried about something ELSE (of the illegal kind) going on.  Regardless of whether kids are involved or not, any regular sane person lost for more than 30 minutes would stop and ask for directions!  I understand that mistakes happen.  However, mistakes account for the school bus being 10 minutes late, not 300 minutes late. 

Forget 5 hours. If my child was late for 30 minutes I'd be on the phone with the police, FBI, CIA, Secret Service, National Guard, and anybody and everybody that would listen.  I'd be driving around town looking for school buses.  This bus driver essentially KIDNAPPED these children for 5 hours. I hope the police has at least spoken to this individual. An adult goes missing with a bunch of children for 5 hours...it doesn't take an overly imaginative or paranoid person to think of the possibilities.

What's worse is the superintendent's reaction. "They were on the bus. They were safe. We were tracking the bus. We were looking for where the bus was." How does the superintendent know the kids were safe (or even on the bus) if they didn't know WHERE the bus was? And if they were tracking the bus, why didn't they know immediately where it was?? 

Our only experience with school transportation was only for a month with Bugsy's first school district before we moved.  We loved the driver; she was so sweet and caring.  I'm definitely not encouraging paranoia or a boycotting of school transportation services, and frankly I'm more concerned with the Compton district's handling and reaction to this incident. 

What are your thoughts?

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.  I'm excited to start this new chapter in our journey.  I have a delightful toddler (Bugsy) who was diagnosed with autism and duplication of the chromosome 7q11.23. What works for my child may not work for your child, but I hope that by sharing my experiences it will inspire you to find your own way.  I started this blog to raise awareness about the individuality of children with special needs.  Personally, I am so tired of hearing "Oh, your child has autism, she must bang her head/spin in circles/line toys up/(insert random stereotypical assumption here)".   We live with our children, not their diagnoses - because a child is never just a label...