Has anyone been able to buy the course books separately without buying the whole course? I find them a good addition to the lectures.

Ah, thank you! I couldn't find the reference myself.

This is great. Loved your son's comparison to bricolage too.

If You do like Drawing with Children, Mona Brooks' web site has projects that three and four year old can complete. http://monart.com/monart-lessons-basic/

The main vocabulary is outlined and we go over it (find pictures, etc.) but I guess my concern is there seems to be a more fundamental missing from her ability to access it. Since ASD is all about communication, I can't help but feel there's something more basic that is missing, that I need to fill. I have done this in the past, but its a good reminder insofar as to use more familiar subjects to introduce a concept. I would however, like to branch out to what's being required from her in school (she goes to public school) and help her find away to understand more of that material as well. That's an interesting idea. I haven't used narration so much with my ASD kids, focusing on other areas. I've also been reading a lot about using -Anaphoric devices and signals to help with cuing. Anyone have experience with that? Thanks ladies!

Hello all, Long-time lurker, semi-poster. I have a student with ASD (6th grade) whom I have been working with for about a year. I see her twice a week for an hour at a time and I am feeling somewhat stymied over our progress (or lack thereof) in reading comprehension. I used Ideachain and she got very good at visualizing one word and then sentences. Then we began working on the Visualizing and Verbalizing workbooks at a fourth grade level. She became somewhat proficient at the sentence by sentence section, and by proficient I mean she was able to do an adequate visualization, get 3 out of four of the events in order (although sometimes only 2/4), and able to get the main idea (by choosing one of the three listed. The problem is, I have moved to the two sentence section of the workbook (at a fifth grade level) and it feels that the progress is incredibly incremental. I have another ASD students who is doing very well using these same methods, but I don't see the same progress for this one. There are two distinct problems that I am seeing. 1. Her vocabulary needs to be broadened, we run into a lot of problems because there's a lot of words for which she simply doesn't have a definition. Or maybe it's not being able to access the words when she needs it. Today I was trying to get her to tell me what would happen if a mastodon were stabbed (blood coming out) and it was just not coming to her. Q: What happens when we cut ourselves? A: We get a band-aid. That's right, what do we need a bandaid for? A: to keep it safe. Q: But what is coming from the wound that we need to put a band-aid on it? A: <blank look> 2. The stories in V/V are historical or scientific and a lot of times she has no background knowledge for it. We were reading a story about mastadons and hunters today. Her visualizations included "men in green suits"? Hazmat? Tuxedos? Either way, this was "early man" so green suits doesn't quite cut it. I'm not sure whether to continue with V/V and just continue to shore up vocab. and background knowledge, or if there's something else we need to do. The problem is there is so little research on "hyperlexic" ASD kids and their comprehension and very little research methodologies to follow. Most of the studies I've found are quite small (13-20 students). There are a few books on Amazon I've had in my cart: Autism and Reading Comprehension, Drawing a Blank: Improving reading Comprehension for Children on the Autism Spectrum, A Land We Can Share:Teaching Literacy to Students with Autism but I'm not sure if they're quite right. Has anyone read any of these and found them helpful for older kids? I'm thinking about ditching V/V and moving to using more charts and note-taking because she has learned to find text-based answers and maybe in teaching her to find the right info, I can show her how to infer and draw conclusions that way. Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

If you have access to an e-reader you can download longer books and they aren't quite as intimidating because kids can't judge their length.. Once they get hooked into reading something like Ramona or the Boxcar Children, they might be more willing to persevere.

Here's a link of a way to solve elapsed time story problems. I used it with some of m Autistic kiddoes and it worked well. http://www.zooktutoring.com/a-visual-way-to-solve-elapsed-time-problems/

I second Mona Brooks and Eduart. Here is a link to her purchasable projects. Her general focus is on realistic drawing. The projects are clear, but I would recommend practicing them before teaching. http://monart.com/monart-lessons/

Anything by Allen Say, Walter Dean Myers (he does picture books and chapter books), and Jacqueline Woodson. JW does young adult as well but they cover a wide range of topics so you may want to preview them. Her picture books are sweet and poignant. I love Show Way.

I think The Five Little Peppers would be upsetting. They're good kids but they react with anguish a lot. When Polly gets scarlet finger and hurts here eyes, she cries and nearly "destroys" her eyes, Joel almost dies during that too, Phronsie gets kidnapped by the organ grinder and almost gets run down by a carriage in the city. In later books in the series Joel is shot, robbers come into the King's house, there's a train wreck, another break-in of the King's house... As I write more I find that there was actually a LOT going on in this series!

Maybe try Carolyn Haywood Books. The author wrote them in the 40's and they're mostly about daily life. I think once and awhile the kids get in trouble, I remember in "Two Plus Two is Four" the little boy eats his dad's pear, and is scolded. Since Ann gets in a lot more trouble than that, it should be okay? She wrote over 40 books and "Betsy" and Eddie" have several books apiece. They're all on Amazon which has more of a description. Here's a few titles: B is for Betsy Betsy and Billy Two Plus Two is Four Little Eddie Here's a Penny C is for Cupcake

I loved 14 Cows for America. The line that always gets me is, "Because there's no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort."

I found that going through one or two lessons and reviewing the book really helped me understand. At the basest level it's all about the "elements of shape" but there's so much in addition to that. Doing a lesson give it more focus.

After reading Drawing with Children, several years ago, I attended Mona Brooks' "teacher training class" in order to better understand her methodology, especially as someone who never considered themselves as a person with the ability to draw. I found it to be quite an enjoyable experience, and Mona an enthusiastic teacher. She gave us access to her project materials as a part of the training. Just recently it was announced that Mona's website now includes these individual projects to purchase and download. Each project includes an informational handout about the animal/creature/subject of the drawing, instructions, a warm up page (containing parts of the main drawing), a completed drawing (sometimes several), a drawing that includes the steps (step one always begins with the eyes), and several photographs of the subject. Being a tentative drawer myself, I find that I need to practice the subject several times before I feel confident enough to teach a child. The projects are $9 each. I am including the link. If you click on MonArt Store, then MonArt lessons, you find the projects. http://monart.com

Another program I have been learning for the last two years is called "Wired for Reading" by Laura Rogan. It uses some elements of OG and other reading programs in relation to that. Parts that are different, or what I haven't encountered before, is using SLP techniques and methodologies to work through auditory processing (in a lot of ways this is where I have noticed a great deal of difference and success) and the use of a vowel key to work through spelling. She also uses stories and imagery to remember some of the rules and all my kids have benefited from that. I use the "Wired for Reading" program in conjunction with Dancing Bears and elements of LOE. http://www.wiredforreading.com

A. There's a blending component to Dancing Bears A at the very beginning of the book that you could try first, see if that works for your son. B. There may be a period of adjustment with the cursor. He may not feel the same way after using it for a little while. C. I haven't used the cursor with kids' free reading but even so, they seem to be slowing down and reading more carefully once they have learned the methodology.

Ten minutes a day works well, especially if you do it 5-6 times per week, but you can double up on it with a break in between too.

Unicorn Press put out several beautifully illustrated children's books. I love their version of Heidi. This is a link to one that's being sold. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heidi-Hardcover-Trade-Book-Donna-Pacinel-Art-Unicorn-Press-1986-NEW-UNREAD-/140857148919

I like 2+2 Does not Equal 5. It's extremely repetitive but it does take some time (its over 150 pages).

Analytical Grammar Junior might be a good fit.

The Righteous Revenge Of Artemis Bonner (pretty realistic) Magic Tree House #10: Ghost Town at Sundown Old Yeller (but of course that's pretty sad)