Yesterday the Associated Press published an article that uncovered some pretty astonishing information about the unemployment rate of young adults with Autism. The article reports that 1 in 3 Autistic young adults have no paid job experience, college education, or technical school nearly 7 years after graduating from high school. This is obviously a major problem, with roughly 500,000 autistic kids reaching adulthood in the next decade. What’s even more worrisome is that this study was actually done ...
Recover From Aphasia with the Functional Skills System
We spend a lot of time talking about the benefits of our programs for the autism community. Our Functional Skills System and related apps are perfect for helping non-verbal individuals with developmental disabilities communicate. However, there’s no reason these same programs can’t help other non-verbal individuals communicate as well. As we expand our product offerings, people are realizing that our programs are actually perfect for helping people who have been diagnosed with Aphasia learn to communicate again.
Time Management is choosing actions that are in line with your goal of finishing the tasks you have to do. I’m sure you can think of someone who always seems to be stressed out by their busy schedule. It could be that person just has a lot on their plate. On the other hand, their stress could be caused by poor time management skills. One of the best ways to learn how to manage stress ...
Decision Making – One of Life’s Greatest Challenges
8 Step Decision Making Process
Although there’s no magic formula for making the right decision every time, this 8-step process will help you to facilitate sound decision making.
Step 1: State the Problems
There is no more important step in problem analysis than defining or stating the problem. This may sound simple—and it is. But because it is such a simple step, many people make the mistake of not doing it. Failing to clearly say ...
“Driven” is a word we use to describe people who have experienced a great deal of success in life. Did you ever wonder why we use that word? Why not, “Pushed” or “Moved” or some other word to describe getting from point A to point B? The word “Driven” is derived from the term, “Drive Strength,” and it is used to describe the skill of learning, understanding, and using your desire to reach your goals. In other words, it’s what ...
Empathy – The Cornerstone of Emotional Intelligence
“Put yourself in her shoes.” That’s what we tell someone when we want them to see things from someone else’s point of view: To really understand what another person is thinking or experiencing. Empathy is the ability to communicate (send and receive messages) and lead by understanding others’ thoughts, views, and feelings.
Empathy has long been established as a cornerstone of emotional intelligence. To help set the stage, here are some basic facts about empathy:
Interpersonal Awareness – Social Skills Start With You
When you think about social skills, you probably automatically think about how a person interacts with others. However, what most people don’t realize is that social skills start with an understanding of self. Interpersonal awareness is the ability to show a true understanding of yourself and others, and having a deep knowledge of your own thoughts and feelings. Interpersonal awareness is a cornerstone for social/emotional learning, and it’s a skill that helps us get along with others.
Positive Inner Self-Learning: The Ticket to High Self-Esteem
As Eleanor Roosevelt so eloquently put it, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Mrs. Roosevelt was talking about self-esteem when she made this statement, and she couldn’t have said it better! Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself, and it is determined by you. Like any habit, self-esteem is learned, so if you currently have low self-esteem, take comfort knowing that you can change. It all starts with your thoughts.
Interpersonal Assertion – Communicating for Success
Communication styles are learned skills, developed over a period of time. That’s good news for us because that means it’s never too late to change for the better! For example, if you have developed a deferring communication style, and wish to change to become more assertive it can be done with some practice. How do you communicate under stress? Refer to the Communication Style Chart below to determine your communication style.
In the world of education, delivery is everything. Even the best curriculum in the world is useless if you don’t have a way to deliver that lesson to students in a way that is engaging and relevant.
