Autism Training for Children's Church Workers

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14 Next Saturday, Autism Gist with Adelola, in partnership with 2CE Fitness, will launch her first mobile Special Needs Training for Children's Church teachers. Our first stop is Surulere! 💃💃💃 Date: September 14, 2019 Venue: Jubilee Christian Centre, William Close, Surulere. Time: 10am to 2pm.

The teachers will learn how to engage children with autism in their children's church classrooms and how to ensure the safety of these children. Attendance is completely FREE, however, registration is compulsory. To register, send an email to autism.asi@gmail.com or an SMS to 09053552959, with your name, the name of your church, your email address and your phone number. We look forward to having you on Saturday. Please spread the word. hashtag#SpecialNeedsConference hashtag#Training hashtag#ChildrensChurch hashtag#Inclusion hashtag#Advocacy

It's Another December 31!!!

Good news!!!  Autism Gist with Adelola is four years old today!!! It’s our anniversary today!!!

Also, it has been a very eventful year for me. Although the blog was inactive this year, we had three Special Needs Conferences. Did you hear that? Read it out loud to yourself, three Special Needs Conferences!!! We had the second edition of Special Needs Conference for Churches, and we introduced a conference for educators and on vocational skills development.

I also had different opportunities to speak on inclusive education for children with autism and related disorders.

Before I share pictures form the conferences and other speaking engagements, let me wish you a wonderful 2019. Happy New Year everyone!

Are you following us on social media? Although I will share some pictures here, you will see all the pictures on Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook: Autism Gist with Adelola

Instagram: @autism_gist

Twitter: @adelolaonautism

Now That School Has Resumed

School resumed on Monday, so it's been a lot of adjusting to life after the holiday; the children and the teachers are adjusting, we are back to waking up early 😁

My Welcome back to school smile 😁

Although we are adjusting, work has started full time; teaching, classroom support, one-on-one sessions, classwork, homework, etc.

If you teach or support a child with special needs in Nigeria, or you are a parent of a child with special needs, you would have started talking about the IEP now.

What's an IEP?
It's an acronym for Individualized Education Plan.

Do you want to know more about it? How does the IEP help your child have a productive term? Join me on Twitter by 8pm today for #ThrowbackThursday #AutismAwareness with Adelola; follow @adelolaonautism.

2017 WAS A GOOD YEAR

No matter how much I feel a writer’s block, I always have to write on this blog on the 31^st of December because it’s our Blog Anniversary. This year we clocked 4, and I remember that first December 31 and the first article I posted on the blog; I still think it was a great way to close the year.

This year was different from previous years, as we took our autism and other special needs awareness offline for the first time; we held the Special Needs Conference for Churches 2017 in August, and it was a huge success. I am happy that people came, and that their expectations were met; the feedback was very good.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Registration

Conference jotters

Registration 

Now I look forward to 2018 with a lot of expectation. In February, the Special Needs Conference on Vocational Skills Development will hold. It will be a gathering of stakeholders in the Disability community in Nigeria and different people working in the vocational skill space, and we will be addressing how teenagers and adults with special needs can benefit from vocational skill development, in order to attain independence.

The Special Needs Conference for Churches 2018 will also hold later in the year. I hope you will be available when we call.

Always remember that I love you guys, and I appreciate your support for the blog. Thank you for reading and sharing always.

Happy Anniversary to Autism Gist with Adelola. Happy New Year in advance to you all. 2018 will be a good year.

Tips for Christmas for Nigerian Families That Have Children on the Autism Spectrum

Countdown to Christmas already!!!

I am a huge fan of Christmas because I am a Christian and I love Christmas hymns. My father has always liked the family together at Christmas, so I grew up spending it at home with my parents. My birthday is also on Christmas day, so it always entails a lot of cooking, birthday cake and singing happy birthday songs.

Although I didn’t grow up travelling to the village or to Grandma’s place for Christmas, I know many people that grew up like that; I also know families that travel for Christmas.

Are you going to Calabar for Christmas? I heard the Christmas Carnival is always an awesome experience

Recently I searched on the internet for Christmas holiday tips for families that have children on the autism spectrum, and most of the tips that I saw may not be helpful for Nigerian parents, as our cultures are different. So today, I will be sharing the tips I can think of, and I will appreciate if you can share your own tips too, as you may have tips that have benefited you and you will like to share.

1. Prepare your child for the holiday. You may need to tell the child, using pictures, about the people visiting or the people you will be visiting. For example, “we are travelling to Grandpa’s, and we will see your Uncles and Aunties, and Grandpa and Grandma’s friends”. Provide certain details that your child may need about each person.

2. If your child is on a diet, plan ahead, pack as much as you will need. You don’t want to feel stranded in a “strange place”. You may also make enquiries on what food they have there that can be acceptable to your child.

3. Prepare for the journey. How can you keep your child comfortable or engaged during the trip? I can imagine travelling by road from Lagos to Abuja!!! OMG! I, as a neurotypical adult, never find that journey comfortable; I would usually sleep, drain my phone battery while chatting or surfing the internet, or talk if I have company. You understand your child better; you may plan short stops on the way, or charge the Tablet and the power bank. You can make it happen.

4. Did you read my post about children with autism having a right to protection? (You can read it here). If your child is prone to wander, you need to guard against that when you are out of town. I know a mother personally whose child wandered off while they were celebrating Christmas at their hometown. I have also read of other similar cases. Read the post here to know what to do to guard against wandering.

5. Educate your family. Sometime last year, I spoke with the owner of Brainfoods, who has a daughter on the autism spectrum. She told me that as Ibos (from the Eastern part of Nigeria), it is customary to go to the village for Christmas. As a mother of a child with autism, she decided to call a family meeting a particular year when they got to the village for Christmas. She explained autism to her family members, and how exactly it has affected her daughter. She also explained that her daughter was on a diet, and therefore could not eat certain types of food. She said that her family members were able to understand her daughter better, which fostered acceptance. Her daughter has since then enjoyed Christmas at their hometown, because she is well loved.

Let me stop here; I will add more tips as I remember. I need your help for other families; if you have any tip that has worked for you, please share with us here, so others can benefit.

Thank you.

PS: Can I say Merry Christmas in advance now?

In Other News: I Attended a Training on ADHD

I attended a training on ADHD earlier this month. I want to give you the gist of the things I learnt.

I'll be right back

GIST FROM AN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM

I saw this a few days ago in an inclusive classroom, and I thought I should share.

Dear teachers in Nigeria,

A visual schedule like this is a good way to manage the behaviour of a child with autism in your classroom. It shows the sequence of events in the classroom, helping a child to be organized and to know what to expect in his/her day.

A visual schedule has many benefits for children on the autism spectrum. Let me share a few here:

1.    It helps for easy transition from one activity to another in the class.

2.  It reduces anxiety, as the child knows what to expect.

3.     It reduces the need for adult prompts, thereby helping the child to be more independent.

4.   It helps with literacy development, as the child gets used to the words, especially if it comes with pictures as well

5.    It helps to teach sequence, and the child can reference what he/she did during the day.

 6.    Children can learn to plan and follow instructions. This will help them in completing tasks, preparing for the work place as adults, and in doing activities for daily living.

 7.   It benefits the neurotypical children in your class too.

Another benefit is that a child can also learn to be responsible. You can make it a fun experience for a child, if you give the child or all the children an opportunity to arrange the visual schedule.

I must say here that it is important to put in perspective the needs and the ability of the child with autism in your class. For more functional children, your visual schedule may have words only, while another teacher may need to have pictures on the visual schedule.

For some children, it will be good to arrange just a few activities at a time. For example, for a younger child, you may just put up two activities at the same time, saying “Now” and “Next” or “First” and “Then”. You can have three activities, and add to it as the day progresses.

You can post your own picture on it (photo credit: Pintrest)

A visual schedule is a step in the right direction for an inclusive classroom, as it shows that you are putting things in place to accommodate the needs of a child with autism that can be in your class.

I hope you consider putting one in your class today.

Have you been following my #ThrowbackThursday #AutismAwareness with Adelola on Twitter? Join @adelolaonautism on Twitter for today’s throwback