Happy New Year!

My first blog entry for 2010. I hope it’s a great year for everyone.

This is Part 2 of how to help children with autism maximise their learning and connection using picture books. It’s a follow on from Part 1 which we did last week. If you missed Part 1 please watch it first, otherwise this may not make much sense to you.

You can watch Part 1 here http://www.autism-essentials.com/blog/maximising-learning-with-picture-books/

So as promised, in Part 2 I walk you through some real examples of exactly how I use picture books to connect powerfully with children with autism and explain the various techniques I use during the process that will really help to maximise their learning and connection throughout the activity.

There’s some really valuable tips in this, so I hope you enjoy it!

I really hope that you trial some of these techniques with your own child or those that you treat. Please let me know how you go.

P.S: As always If you have any thoughts or stories to share about this week’s article please leave your comments in the box provided below.

GREAT NEWS!

My company, Connect Therapy, has just been approved by the Australian Government as an official autism service provider under the “Helping Children With Autism” package.

I realise that most of our non-Australian readers will have no idea what this means.

So what does it mean?

The Australian Government has committed $190 Million to help support families with children aged 0-6 who have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Essentially, families will be able to access up to $12,000 of funding to pay for approved early intervention services for their child.

So this is wonderful news for families, and the Australian autism community is very thankful for the government’s action.

It’s also very nice for Connect Therapy to be recognised in this way after years of service and dedication to helping families with autism… we can’t ask for a better endorsement than from the government » Continue reading “Great News! We’re Government Approved”

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great Easter break (for those of you who celebrate it).
I certainly appreciated having a bit of time off, even if I did eat a bit too much chocolate.

Today I wanted to flip things around and hand the microphone over to you, to get your thoughts and feedback on my weekly tips that I’m sending you.

Are you enjoying them?
Should I keep doing them…?

My goal is to help you by sharing my knowledge and years of experience treating children with autism. I know there are many of you out there who don’t have access to autism professionals, so hopefully you’re finding my advice valuable.  Even so, I still need to check in with you from time to time to make sure I’m on the right track and to ensure that you’re actually getting some benefit out of it.

So let me start by asking you probably the most important question…

» Continue reading “How are we doing?”

Hello everyone.

I hope things are going well for you and your family.

For those of you who have recently joined our ‘Autism Essentials‘ newsletter, welcome and I hope that you are finding it helpful!

For others, who may not have heard from me in a while, apologies that I have been out of touch. I have been off on maternity leave for the last little while since being blessed with my beautiful daughter Siena, who is already one… doesn’t time fly!

The rest of the team here at Connect Therapy have been doing a great job managing the clinic and website in my absence.

But I just wanted to let all our subscribers know » Continue reading “Back on Deck for 2009″

Hello everyone.

Well, we’ve decided to start a blog!

For anyone who is new to Autism Essentials… welcome. My name is Monique Simpson, I’m a speech pathologist who has been specialising in the treatment of children with autism for over 10 years. More…

Besides running my specialist autism practice here in Sydney Australia, my company has developed a comprehensive DVD Training Program that empowers parents, carers and professionals with the knowledge and skills to make an enormous impact on their child’s treatment, development and happiness.

I am proud to say that the results of the program so far speak for themselves.

In this blog I’ll be sharing with you everything I’ve learned in the last 10 years about treating children with autism. I hope you find it valuable and enjoyable!

Best wishes
Monique Simpson

PS: Please feel free to leave us your comments at any time!