The Autism Speaks 100 Day Kit is a tool designed to help assist families of children between the ages of 5 and 13 recently diagnosed with autism during the critical period following an autism diagnosis.
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Tool Kits
The 100 Day Kit was created specifically for newly diagnosed families to make the best possible use out of the first 100 days following their child’s diagnosis of autism.
(Available in French)
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The Advocacy Tool Kit aims to help both individuals on the spectrum and their families develop and use critical advocacy skills in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. The goal of this tool kit is to provide a basic knowledge of advocacy and negotiation skills.
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This tool kit is designed to provide parents of children with ASD with an overview of in-home strategies as well as tips to teach and increase desirable behaviors and decrease behavior problems. This tool kit also provides caregivers with an overview of professional behavioral treatments that families can seek out from qualified professionals.
(Available in French)
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This tool kit is an informational guide to Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA). It is designed to provide you with a better understanding of ABA, how your child can benefit, and where/how you can seek ABA services.
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More than half of children with autism take medicine at some point during their childhood. Deciding to use medicine to treat children with autism is a difficult decision for most families. The Autism and Medication: Safe and Careful Use tool kit was was created to help families work with their healthcare providers to make sure that when medicine is chosen as a form of treatment, it is taken safely and effectively.
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This toolkit was designed with you and your child in mind. It provides a variety of tools to help you and your child to prepare for future medical visits and reduce the stress and worry that may come with blood draws. Inside, you will find strategies easing your child’s medical appointments, particularly those involving blood work. The kit’s resources include ready-made visual supports, social stories, relaxation and distraction techniques, and tips designed specifically for children with ASD."
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Autism Speaks has created this Challenging Behaviours Tool Kit to provide you with strategies and resources to address the challenging behaviours to help support you and your loved ones during difficult situations.
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The CSA, developed through a contract with Virginia Commonwealth University's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, was designed to help parents and professionals assess the current skill levels and abilities of individuals with autism beginning at age 12 and continuing into adulthood in order to develop a comprehensive plan.
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Many children experience a great deal of anxiety when visiting the dental practitioner’s office, especially those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Feelings of anxiety may be caused by a number of factors including a fear of the unknown, difficulties communicating one’s feelings, and reactions to sensory sensitivities.
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Oral health is a very important component of healthy daily living. But for some children with autism, oral health habits can be challenging. Autism Speaks has created a dental guide and video to provide tips for improving oral hygiene at home, as well as information about how parents and dental professionals can make a visit to the dentist's office less stressful and more productive. Our hope is that this guide will provide information for families to help begin a lifetime of good oral care.
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As an adult on the autism spectrum, you have strengths and abilities that employers are just beginning to understand. We have written this tool kit to help you research, find and keep employment in the current and competitive labour market.
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The purpose of each kit is to help teach family members and friends more about autism and its effects on families, and provide resources and support to enable them to lead happy and successful lives with their loved ones with autism.
A Parent's Guide (Available in French)
A Sibling's Guide
A Grandparent's Guide
A Friend's Guide
If you have a concern about how your child is communicating, interacting or behaving, you are probably wondering what to do next. The First Concern to Action Tool Kit can help you sort that out. The purpose of this tool kit is to provide you with specific resources and tools to help guide you on the journey from your first concern to action.
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Many children have constipation. Children with autism might have more problems with constipation than other children. Difficulty with things like sitting on the toilet and eating different foods can make treating constipation challenging.
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Some researchers estimate that over half of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have some sort of issue with food. These feeding issues can be of significant concern to parents because they might impact their child’s health and wellbeing.
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Parents never forget the feedback session as receiving a diagnosis of autism for their child can be a very stressful and overwhelming experience. However, while this is a difficult diagnosis to provide to a family, a well-run feedback session may also be a positive experience.
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Two tool kits (one for parents and one for providers) are now available and provide information about the EEG procedure, how a child's ASD diagnosis might impact his or her experience, and how to help children with ASD successfully prepare for and complete an EEG.
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The Pica Tool Kits for Parents and Professionals were created by the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network, in collaboration with experts in these areas from the Division of Neurodevelopmental and Behavior Pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, to help parents and primary care providers understand more about pica, the signs and symptoms, as well as the ways to treat and prevent it.
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As part of the transition from childhood to adult life, planning inevitably includes housing decisions. Finding and securing housing and residential supports for adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can be challenging for the individual and the family.
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Download the IEP Guide here! Individualized Education Program (IEP): Summary, Process and Practical Tips from Goodwin Procter LLP After months of research, a team of lawyers at Goodwin Procter LLP has generously put together a helpful guide to help families understand the IEP process as their loved ones head back to school.
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Is It Autism and If So, What Next? A Guide for Adults was designed to help adults who suspect they may have autism, as well as those recently diagnosed with the disorder. This kit will provide an overview of autism to help you better understand the disorder and will hopefully clarify whether you should seek out a professional for a thorough evaluation.
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Unfortunately, boys and girls with autism often face barriers to participating fully in youth community organizations. And so with help from respected experts in the field of autism and special education, experienced parents and caregivers, we have created a guide for organizations to ensure that youth with autism have the same formative experiences through community programs that are available to their typical peers.
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Many families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are faced with the option of using medicines to help treat their child’s challenging behaviors. This is a tough medical decision and there is no one right answer. Though many children with autism may benefit from medications that ease challenging behaviors, families often struggle with making the decision of whether medication use is right for their child.
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Purpose of this guide The decision to become a participant in drug research is an important one, all the more so if you are making this decision for your child or other dependent. It is an option that is becoming increasingly available to individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
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The Postsecondary Educational Opportunities Guide is designed to help you and your family explore the different opportunities and learning environments after leaving high school. With only about one third of youth with autism attending college in young adulthood, Autism Speaks wants to offer the best possible resources on this topic to help you explore all of the various options available to you.
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Puberty can be a time of mixed feelings for parents and pre-teens. It may be a time of pride and celebration, as well as a time of worry and confusion. It is hard for pre-teens to understand the many changes that come along with puberty. Also, parents may feel unsure of how to explain these changes to their child.
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The purpose of this kit is to provide helpful information about students with autism and tools and strategies to achieve positive interactions and increase learning for all members of the school community.
With help from respected experts in the field of autism and special education, and experienced parents, caregivers and teachers, we’ve included an introduction to autism and specific strategies for supporting students.
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Many children with ASD have difficulty with sleep. This can be stressful for children and their families. This informational booklet is designed to provide parents with strategies to improve sleep in their child affected by autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
(Available in French)
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As an early childhood educator, you may be the first to notice when a child is not meeting typical developmental milestones. When this happens, you need to talk to the parents and urge them to have their child screened
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Haircuts can sometimes be difficult for people with autism. The challenges can range from sensory issues to anxiety about what will happen during the haircutting process. Autism Speaks has developed a haircutting training guide to provide information to families and stylists as to how to make the haircutting experience more positive for children with autism.
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Each child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is different. But children with ASD have some common problems that can make toileting training hard for them. Knowing about these problems can help you come up with different ways to meet your child’s needs. This tool kit provides caregivers tips to increase toileting success by teaching toileting skills, providing advice on preparing schedules and routines and promoting visual supports.
(Available in French)
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New experiences, including medical visits, can be difficult for individuals with autism. A trip to the optometrist’s office for a vision exam is one type of medical visit that can be challenging because an eye exam may be upsetting for patients who are over-reactive to sensory input..
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The Autism Speaks Transition Tool Kit was created to serve as a guide to assist families on the journey from adolescence to adulthood.
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The Visual Supports and Autism Spectrum Disorder tool kit provides a step-by-step, easy-to-understand introduction to visual supports and the ways that parents and other caregivers can begin using them. The pamphlet provides practical examples of how to begin integrating visual supports into a child’s daily routines.
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