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Heidi’s Key Words
Heidi communicates well if key words/phrases are used. The sentence structure always needs to be very basic, no more words than she uses herself.
Often Heidi will not respond unless words are used in the same order and example of this from my home this morning, we had puzzle pieces all over the floor and I asked Heidi “pick up puzzle” she did not understand and wandered around confused, when I said “pack away puzzle” she picked up the pieces and packed them away.
Time for….. (insert where Heidi is going or what she is doing next eg story, snack, puzzle. Heidi will use this when she wants to do something)
Pack away … (when it is time to pack up / clean up )
Finished …. (when it is time to finish an activity eg finished painting, time for puzzle. Heidi will also use this when she has finished doing an activity or eating, often in conjunction with the sign for finished – thumbs up, waved back and forward)
Quiet sitting (when you need her to sit at a table for an activity or snack)
Quiet hands (if you need her to keep her hands still and focus on something)
Hat on (if you need her to put her hat on)
What do you want? (if she is trying to get your attention, Heidi will usually respond “I want…” and state item she wants eg “I want playdoh” or “I want blankie”)
Why sad? (if Heidi is crying)
Where hurt? (if she might be injured, usually she will point or try and stick the injured body part in your mouth for a kiss)
Ta for… (Mummy, teacher name etc – for when you want Heidi to hand something over)
Grubs up (meal time/snack time. I am trying to get her out of this one by using the following)
Sit at table (meal time / snack time. Heidi does not always respond to this or thinks she is sitting at the table for an activity).
Heidi… (if I want Heidi to do something specific I put her name at the beginning of the sentence eg Heidi share ball or Heidi quiet sitting).
Heidi Stop. (if you want Heidi to stop running away / stand still, we are still working on this one)
More… (for when you are asking if Heidi wants to do something again, “more song”, “more puzzle”, Heidi will often use this in conjunction with the sign for ‘more’ – fist clenched and held on chest, just below neck.)
Heidi Come (if you want Heidi to follow you somewhere, I usually hold my hand out to her at the same time to reinforce the ‘come with me’ message)
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are visual learners so if you can not communicate something to Heidi using words then often using a picture will get the message through more effectively.
Heidi’s speech contains many repetitive phrases or strange word combinations eg “I never my fambly” when she can’t find one of her family members.
Words that have more than one meaning or are very similar cause much confusion in Heidi’s world and we are working hard on correct labels. Examples – straw and strawberry – Heidi calls straws “strawberry”. Also donut and coconut – donuts are often referred to as ‘coconuts’.
Echolalia is also present and can cause confusion. Heidi often repeats phrases she has heard on television or that her family members use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolalia
“Echolalia is the repetition of vocalizations made by another person. Echolalia is present in autism, Tourette syndrome, Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, developmental disability, schizophrenia and, occasionally, other forms of psychopathology. When done involuntarily, it is considered a tic.
The word “echolalia” is derived from the Greek ἠχώ meaning “echo” or “to repeat”,[1] and λαλιά (laliá) meaning “babbling, meaningless talk”[2] (of onomatopoeic origin from the verb λαλείν (laleín) meaning “to talk”).”
Hopefully it makes sense and is not coming across as patronising ‘teach the teacher’ stuff. I just want to make Heidi’s transition to kinder as smooth as possible.
My afternoon was spent doing more work for the Kinder fundraising subcommittee. Lots of typing, lots of making phone calls and I have my first official meeting date. Now to get all my info sorted out ready for distribution. I’m terrified I’m going to muck this up, our President is a teacher so I’m stressed he is going to attack my work with a red marker pen and highlight all the mistakes. The Open Office Writer I use (because I loathe all things Micro$oft) seems to have a bug in the spell check and I can not spell or use correct grammar to save myself.
Makes life interesting. Annie has ruled that the only food to be eaten at breakfast is apples. 
My kids are strange.
Woo! I finished SIL Ls birthday gift - almost a full month after her birthday 
