Special Needs Movie Screenings - One Has Free Child's Ticket

There are three movie theaters that usually provide special needs movie screenings each month, and this month, two of them are on the same day.
Here's the info:

Sensory Friendly Film
Cars 2
July 2
10 a.m. local time .
Find a theatre - http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/events/sensory-friendly-films/

Cars 2
Date: Sat., 7/02/2011
Time: 11:00am
Locations: All Studio Move Grill Locations
Admission: Children with special needs - FREE / Adult: Regular Price Purchased @ the Box Office ONLY
More info - http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/theaters/familyfunimages/variety.html


Rave Motion Pictures also offers a similar program. I think you need to call your local theater to find out when the showing is. Here's the list of participating theaters: http://www.ravemotionpictures.com/sensorysensitive_locations.aspx

Amazon.com recommends...


Social Story: The Restaurant and the Movies

Click the book cover above to purchase from Amazon.com. Amazon donates a percentage of your purchase to Positively Autism!

Fireworks Social Story

A social story about watching fireworks on the 4th of July with PECS-type images. From Slater Software.

http://www.slatersoftware.com/fireworks%20social%20story.pdf

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4th of July Coloring Book (8.5x11)

"What to Expect on the 4th of July" Social Story

A social story I wrote this weekend that briefly describes fireworks and picnics that a family might attend on the fourth of July.

Powerpoint: http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/socialstory4thofJuly.ppt
PDF: http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/socialstory4thofJuly.pdf

View all of Positively Autism Social Stories and social skill resources here: http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/09social.html

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Corduroy's Fourth of July

"When I Can Scream" Social Story

A request from PositivelyAutism's Facebook page: a social story how screaming can hurt other people's ears. This story describes the times when it is appropriate to scream and when it isn't.

http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/SocialStory_Screaming.ppt

View Positively Autism's other Social Stories here: http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/09social.html
 
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The New Social Story Book, Revised and Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition: Over 150 Social Stories that Teach Everyday Social Skills to Children with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome, and their Peers

Make a purchase from Amazon.com with the link above, and Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to Positively Autism!

Spubble Lite - Communication App

A free app that "is aimed at assisting individuals with verbal communication issues, by allowing them to communicate using a unique and intuitive interface."

I personally haven't used this app, but I'd just thought I'd post it so you could check it out and see if it would be helpful for you.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spubble-lite/id408355153?mt=8

Electricity Safety Game

Another request from Positively Autism's Facebook page was a Social Story for electricity safety. I'm not an expert in this topic, so I didn't feel comfortable writing one. Instead, I found an interactive online electricity safety game on the website of Austin Energy. I can't guarantee that it will cover all the bases of electricity safety or that it will meet your child's learning needs, but I do think it's a good resource to check out and see if it meets your needs.

Some of the games I looked at had pictures of things that were unsafe to do, and the child needed to click on the unsafe things to identify them. However, I didn't link to one of these because I don't like to show my students incorrect examples. Some of them memorize things the first way they see them, so I don't want them seeing an unsafe example first. The game linked below does show an unsafe situation, but it allows you to click on the safe response to the situation, and shows the safe outcome, so I think this is better.
http://www.austinenergy.com/about%20us/outreach/Safety/For%20Kids/Electrical%20Safety%20World/html/safechoice.html

More electricity safety info can be found here: http://www.austinenergy.com/about%20us/outreach/Safety/For%20Kids/index.htm

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The Magic School Bus And The Electric Field Trip

Amazon.com donates a percentage of your purchase to Positively Autism!

Dora the Explorer Supermarket Bingo (good picture source)

A free printable bingo game with pictures (and text labels) of various foods. You could use it as a bingo game or cut the pictures out as a source for picture communication or picture flash cards for language and vocabulary development.

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/doras-supermarket-bingo.jhtml

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Count with Dora! (Dora the Explorer)

Street Safety Song and Activity Pages

I've posted this before, but I had a request on Positively Autism's Facebook page for Social Stories on safety, including street safety. This is a great set of resources from Do2Learn. This website includes animated song videos about how to be safe by the street and printable activities you can use to reinforce the concepts from the videos.

http://www.do2learn.com/games/songs/streetsafety/index.htm

Waiting While Riding in the Car Social Story

A request from PositivelyAutism's Facebook page: a social story on being patient on the car - such as waiting in traffic, stop signs, lights, etc.

http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/SocialStory_PatientinCar.ppt

View Positively Autism's other Social Stories here: http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/09social.html

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The New Social Story Book, Revised and Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition: Over 150 Social Stories that Teach Everyday Social Skills to Children with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome, and their Peers

Father's Day Activity/Story

I looked for a Father's Day Social Story this morning, and here's the closest one I've found so far. It is a picture story (with PECS-type images) of about a Father's Day gardening activity that a child could do with his or her father. From Slater Software (a great resource!).

http://www.slatersoftware.com/Fathers%20Garden%20Signs.pdf

Visit to the Eye Doctor Video (like a video Social Story)

A video for children about a visit to the eye doctor. It has great pictures and is very child-friendly (narrated by a child). It would be great for preparing for a visit to the eye doctor. There were only a few things I didn't like about it. The video talks about how scary the child thought his first visit would be. He ends up realizing it wasn't scary, but my son seemed a little unsettled when he was hearing those first statements. The child in the video also said some things (such as being afraid that the eye doctor would grab his eyes) that might make some kids nervous. The video also makes a clear point that going to the eye doctor doesn't hurt and you don't get shots like at the "regular" doctor. I thought this might make some kids more nervous about going to their regular doctor. I would watch it first and decide if you think it would help your child. Overall, my son liked the video and I think it is helping prepare him for going with me to my appointment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5utCZyDRIk4

Kids Connect the Dots App

My son played this game for Android phones this weekend, and loved it! I thought it might be good for helping children with autism learn both numbers and other vocabulary, as it says the name of each number as you connect the line to it and shows a graphic and spoken name of the object made by connecting the lines. It seems very visually-structured, so I think it would be beneficial for children with autism, as visual processing is often an area of strength.

There is a free version of the app, as well as a paid version that has more puzzles. It may be available on other phones as well. You could do a search on your phone's app store for "Kids Connect the Dots."

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.anahoret.android.dots

https://market.android.com/details?id=zok.android.dots

Montessori Print Shop CD ROM Giveaway

A contest from "The Education of Ours." Not specifically autism-related, but I'm a fan of Montessori materials and I use a lot of them with my students with autism, so I thought I'd share.

http://educationofours.blogspot.com/2011/06/montessori-print-shop-giveaway.html?spref=fb

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Montessori Cylinder Blocks


Cylinder Block (Instruction Manual Included)

"At the Swimming Pool" Social Story

A story on what to expect when visiting a swimming pool, with a few safety tips. The story features PECS-type images. From Slater Software.

http://www.slatersoftware.com/swimming%20pool%20social%20story.pdf

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101 Cool Pool Games for Children: Fun and Fitness for Swimmers of All Levels (SmartFun Activity Books)

Swimming Pool Safety Story

I just wrote this story for my son after I was unable to find any printable pool safety stories online that I really liked (except for the other one that I'll post on Monday). If you know of any others, please feel free to leave a comment on this post or our Facebook page.

Here is the story in two formats:
Microsoft Word: http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/socialstory_poolsafety.doc
PDF: http://www.positivelyautism.com/downloads/socialstory_poolsafety.pdf

Please see the notes for parents on the last page of this story before using it.

View Positively Autism's other Social Stories (TM) here: http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/09social.html

View all of our free resources here: http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/

Blue's Clues Parents Medical Notebook

A short printable journal for keeping track of your child's medical visits and medical info. May not have as many specialty forms as you might need, but it's worth a look if you've got a child who's a fan of Blue's Clues.

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/parents-medical-notebook.jhtml

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Book: Educating Children with Autism

Educating Children with Autism (2001)

Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (CBASSE)

First-Then Chart

A first-then chart is a visual schedule that shows an order of activities, such as first math, then play outside. A picture of a math activity and a picture indicating outside play would both be placed on the chart.

http://www.abaresources.com/pdf/firstthen.pdf

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Activity Schedules for Children With Autism, Second Edition: Teaching Independent Behavior (Topics in Autism)

Car Wash Video (almost like a video Social Story)

I went through a car wash this week and remembered how my son used to be very afraid of them. I thought this video might be helpful for others in a similar situation. You could watch this video to help prepare your child for going through the car wash. A great option about a video like this is that you can control the volume. If the sounds might bother your child, you can watch it with a lower volume the first time, then gradually increase the volume if you watch it multiple times. I'd also narrate what is going on during the video so that the child knows what to expect.



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Matchbox Car Wash Adventure Set


Car Wash Bath Toy

Special Needs Movie Screenings - One Has Free Child's Ticket

There are two movie theaters that usually provide special needs movie screenings each month, and this month, they're on the same day.

Here's the info:

Sensory Friendly Film
Kung Fu Panda 2
June 4
10 a.m. local time .
Find a theatre - http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/events/sensory-friendly-films/

Kung Fu Panda 2 (G)
Date: Sat., 6/04/2011
Time: 11:00am
Locations: All Studio Move Grill Locations
Admission: Children with special needs - FREE / Adult: Regular Price Purchased @ the Box Office ONLY
More info - http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/theaters/familyfunimages/variety.html

Amazon.com recommends...

Social Story: The Restaurant and the Movies

Click the book cover above to purchase from Amazon.com. Amazon donates a percentage of your purchase to Positively Autism!

Getting Ready for Summer Break

An article with some helpful tips on preparing your child for summer break. From Sandbox Learning.

http://www.sandbox-learning.com/FileLib/Getting_Ready_for_Summer_Break.pdf

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