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PLAY Pen Article
Developing a Career Makes Life Satisfying
Temple Grandin, on of the formost voices in the field of autism, shares her thoughts on developing a satisfying work life and making sense of the social world. From the inside. A must read.
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Playing Choo Choo with Double Decker Dominoes!
By: Renata Bursten, Dragonfly Staff
If your child with special needs is between the cognitive ages of 18 months and four years, try making "Choo-Choo trains" with the Double Decker Dominoes. Place all dominoes face up near to the child. Start the train with one block, call it the "engine." Match another block to the back pattern of the engine block. Together, you can take turns matching the correct shape to the back of the train. When the train is long enough, let the child push the train off of the table into a basket. A great way to develop sensory processing skills!
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PLAY Tip
Adapting Signs for pre-verbal communication
Many hearing children use Sign instead of or before verbal communication. But what do you do if traditional Signs are physically difficult to master? Adapt them!
For example, the traditional Sign used to indicate "I need to go to the washroom" involves putting the thumb between the third and fourth fingers in a fist and waving the fist. If the child can't manage the hand position you could try using a plain closed fist waving instead.
Sign-based communication can help improve communication skills, lower frustration, improve manual dexterity, and teach children that hands can be used for meaningful activities.
You will find a good group of Sign resources in Dragonfly's book section.