Learning should be fun - Curriculum ideas
http://autismgames.googlepages.com/ Fantastic ideas for games and activities designed by a speech and language pathologist. She even has video models for most of her ideas. FREE.
http://www.jacobslessons.com/ Created by a Dad for his toddler, and influenced by his wife (a behaviorist who works with kids on the spectrum), this site has some great very basic games for a child to play on the computer. The influence of the behaviorist can be seen in counting, matching and receptive language activities. I love how the stimulus changes in every trial ("find the ----", "touch the ----", "point to the ----", "match the ----"). This forces the child to build a tolerance for flexibility in hearing different terms. I can't wait to see what they come up with next. FREE!!!
Great resources (some for free - some for sale)
http://autism.healingthresholds.com/ A site that provides parents with information on therapies, research, and community forums. My favorite part is the "layperson summary" of scientific information for the non-Ph.D types! They do, however, give you all of the original source information so you can find it and read it on your own.
www.autismshop.com Not only a comprehensive website with just about everything you could ever think of for your loved one/student with autism, but also a real store in Hopkins, MN. Great stuff!
www.difflearn.com Different Roads to Learning website. Resources to buy for ABA/Verbal Behavior programs (books, assessment tools, picture cards, manipulatives, DVDs).
www.do2learn.com Lots of free downloads!
http://www.iKeepBookmarks.com/Best_Autism_Sites_for_Teachers
www.mariposaschool.org The school, itself, is located in North Carolina. But even if you don't live nearby, they put their entire staff training manual on-line for the rest of us to download for free. I've never seen such clear and detailed explanations of procedures anywhere else. This is a must-see!
http://www.pattan.net/resources/default.aspx The Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. Will connect you to print publications (journal articles, etc), archives of past training sessions, and a host of other goodies. FREE!
http://www.speakingofspeech.com/Materials_Exchange.html A "materials exchange" with a huge variety of tools you may need to get your through just about anything. FREE!
Visual Supports
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/boardmakerfiles.html A very generous teacher has put her visual support schedules, worksheets, and other tools on-line for you to use. Great stuff here! FREE!!!
www.givinggreetings.com Very unique and well designed site. Run by the Mom of a child who uses symbols to communicate, it features great products based on Mayer-Johnson symbols. (You may have seen her display at conferences over the last few years). She also just added a Parent/Professional support networking feature that looks to be promising.
http://www.pyramidproducts.com/ Site of Andy Bondy/Lori Frost (creators of PECS). If you can't afford the entire Boardmaker program, you can buy a CD with tons of symbols on it to be used like clip-art. The site provides a free list of symbols included on the disk so you know what you are getting.
Parent Blogs
I am continually amazed with how so many parents still find the time (and energy!) to blog! This is a generous group of people who often help pave the way for those new to the diagnosis. Of course, I can't be responsible for what any of them say at any given moment, but what I have read so far in these below has been impressive. Alphabetical listing here, I couldn't possibly rate them in any kind of order!
www.blessedwithautism.blogspot.com/
http://charlieinwonderland.com/
www.flightofabumblebee.blogspot.com/
http://fullsoulahead.com/
http://jesswilson.wordpress.com/
http://www.kimstagliano.blogspot.com/
http://leeannwhiffen.blogspot.com/
http://ppdnos.blogspot.com/
http://rhemashope.wordpress.com/
http://theeducatedparent.blogspot.com/
Other clinicians with cool blogs/websites. I’m not territorial; we can share!
http://www.omacconsulting.blogspot.com/- Cindy Golden presents nationally on topics related to teaching children on the autism spectrum. Her website includes a blog, articles with ideas for organizing your classroom, and much, much more. Stop by her site and give it a look-see!
http://www.positivelyautism.com/ - my hat is off to Nicole Caldwell, the editor of Positively Autism. She has created a free e-magazine that provide parents and professionals with resources galore for teaching our kiddos. I encourage you to check it out!
Learn more about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
www.abainternational.org - Professional organization for behavior analysts. Has listings of ABA journals, conferences, educational materials, etc. which can be helpful once you are quite familiar with all of the terminology. Not terribly parent friendly (for beginners, anyway).
www.bacb.com - Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Everything you ever wanted to know about how to become a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst).
www.christinaburkaba.com - Has well-written descriptions of individual ideas within the Verbal Behavior framework. Christina also moderates to Verbal Behavior listserv, a yahoo group.
www.drcarbone.net - Internationally known speaker in the field of Verbal Behavior. I am told he presents an excellent workshop series. I have used research papers posted on this site to substantiate my approach to parents and professionals.
www.lovaas.com - Dr. Ivar Lovaas was the researcher who pioneered the use of ABA for children with autism.
www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com - Site for the book The Verbal Behavior Approach. Written from the unique perspective of a professional in the field (Nurse/BCBA) who also has a child with autism. I loved the book and found it very useful. Parent friendly without being patronizing.
www.verbalbehavior.pbwiki.com - Everything you ever wanted to know about Verbal Behavior in an on-line format. Put together by an extremely intelligent and organized parent!