Support Autism Awareness in April
as Part of National Autism Awareness Month

Share Resources

Share autism stories and information (yours or others) in April and use hashtags like #CelebrateDifferences, #KindnessCounts, and #WorldAutismMonth and #LightItUpBlue. Hashtags are a way to organize specific topics that people can follow on social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Advocate

Write or send emails to your local and national government representatives to advocate for additional autism support. Describe how autism has affected three generations in your family. CLICK HERE for more info on how to advocate and how to contact your representatives.

Learn More About Autism

To learn more about autism go to:

• Autism Screening
• Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Developmental Milestones from the CDC
• NIH Autism Fact Sheet
• CDC Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Autism Speaks Website

Staying in Touch with Grandchildren

How to Increase Communication

You can make a deep and life changing impact on your grandchildren by being supportive to their parents and them whether you live nearby or far away. Springtime is usually a time when families plan to celebrate the holidays of Easter or Passover or go on family vacations together. Grandparents, especially those who live at a distance from their grandchildren, may return home concerned about how they can continue to stay in touch with their grandchildren. Here are some suggestions about how you can regularly communicate and play an important role in your grandchildren’s lives:

• Learn as much as possible about autism and how it is affecting your grandchild. Ask about the best way to communicate because your grandchild may need more time to process information. You may need to use gestures or other ways to communicate besides words. Praise and reward good behavior and, do not take things personally if their responses are blunt.
• If you communicate online, be kind and flexible until your grandchild adapts to the new format of being together. There are many free video chat services available such as Zoom, FaceTime, Google Hangout and Skype. Set up a regular timeline that works best for everyone to meet.
• If you or your grandchild have difficulty communicating online, these accessibility features may help people with disabilities to use technology more easily. For example a text-to-speech feature may read text out loud for people with limited vision while a speech recognition feature allows one with limited mobility to control the computer with their voice.

Computers: Windows, Mac, Chromebooks
Tablets: iPad, Android

Go here for more tips

Siblings Also Need Your Support

Because children with autism require more attention, therapies and support, the needs of their brothers and sisters are frequently overlooked. Siblings share many of the same concerns their parents have regarding social isolation, the need for information and they worry about the caregiving expectations their parents have for them in the future. Sometimes, they feel resentment, embarrassment and under great pressure to achieve. They are frequently in the waiting room when “family centered” counseling and services are offered and are overlooked by support agencies. Here are some ways you can help them:

• Plan to spend special time with siblings and be a good listener. If you provide a safe, comfortable environment, they may express their concerns to you.
• When siblings argue, try to remember that typically developing children deserve a life where they, like other children, sometimes misbehave get angry and fight. Try not to intervene with statements like “Leave your brother alone. You are bigger, you are stronger, you should know better. It is your job to compromise.” They are already more likely to feel guilty about their sibling’s developmental needs. Even typical siblings have disagreements from time to time.
• Siblings deserve to have their own personal safety given as much as their brother or sister who has special needs. If they are in vulnerable situations due to aggressive or challenging behaviors, try to provide as much respite time as possible for them. Plan activities that will keep them apart and enable you to give your full attention to only one of them at a time.
• Offer to care for your grandchild with autism so that parents can spend more time together with their other children.
• One child’s special needs should not overshadow another’s achievements and milestones. Celebrate and reinforce the accomplishments of all of your grandchildren.

You may find more information about sibling support groups by calling your local children’s hospital or go online to these sites: http://www.siblingsupport.org/ and http://siblingleadership.org

Apps To Share With Grandchildren

Making Learning Fun
Helping kids to make their own snacks builds confidence! Here are some fun recipes that are sure to tickle their taste buds. All of the recipes are pictorial recipes. Print the recipe and have your grandchildren prepare the recipe by following pictures.

Accessible Chef
This has a collection of free visual recipes and other resources to help teach cooking skills to individuals with disabilities at home or in a special education classroom.

A New Great Amusement Park

This new park has been specifically designed to meet the needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. It may be a great vacation destination for your grandchildren because it is close to other kid friendly places.

STAY-AT-HOME CLEANING

Now is the perfect time to sort through cupboards, drawers and closets. Most of us have collectibles and other worthwhile items that our children do not want. Donations to the Grandparent Autism Network are tax-deductible. Create more space for all the fabulous things that you love AND benefit grandparents and their families affected by autism.

All donated items are sold through our e-Bay for Charity store, raising money to support our programs, services and websites. We welcome donated goods such as:

• New unwanted gifts
• Collectibles, Home Accessories, Craft Items
• New Clothing, Shoes and Handbags
• Fine, Vintage and Costume Jewelry
• Mobile Phones, Tablets and Laptops

You can mail or drop off donations for GAN at the store located at 23785 El Toro Road, #103, Lake Forest, CA. Contact us at info@ganinfo.org for possible pickup options in Orange County, CA and for tax-donation forms.

Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Tax ID# 20-5230144

Message from GAN Founder, Bonnie Gillman

GAN provides free membership, information, referral services and events for the autism community. We rely on your contributions and donations of items for our eBay site to sustain our GAN and Family Autism Network websites. We are currently updating our sites to provide easier access to more resources for the autism community. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue to serve grandparents and their families world-wide.

The GAN board of directors, advisory board members and I wish you and your families good health and happiness at the holidays and in the New Year. Thank you for being a vital resource for autism … and each other!

Holiday Tips for Grandparents

As we prepare our homes for the upcoming holidays, the most important thing to keep in mind is to provide a safe and comfortable environment for our grandchildren. Here are some suggestions to make your home entertaining as inviting as possible:

• Inform family members, in advance, about how they can minimize anxiety or behavioral incidents. Enlist other children to be inclusive in pre-planned activities with your grandchild.
• Prepare your grandchildren for what they will experience in celebrating the holidays with the family. Introduce family games, special foods or traditions in advance to them so that they know what to expect when they visit.
• Invite your grandchildren to select and display some of the decorations. Choose those with little sensory stimulation. Blinking lights, moving ornaments and even “noisy” wrapping paper can be especially distracting and disturbing to them.
• Tell your grandchildren, in advance, that you have provided a “safe, calm space” for them if they feel overwhelmed. Designate a quiet area with favorite activities where your grandchild can go if they become over stimulated. If you observe them becoming anxious, calmly take them to that space. Provide stuffed animals, a favorite blanket, a puzzle, crayons and other comforting items there for them.
• You can also improvise with a sheet over a table to create a quick “fort” for your grandchild if they seek some isolation.
• Have headphones or soft music available.
• Plan to have your grandchild’s favorite comfort foods available. Holiday menus may not please them or work with their diets. You may want to ask their parents to bring any special food they enjoy to your home.

Gift Card Suggestions for Any Budget

Gift cards are great options for your family. Consider giving them for:

• Restaurants, fast food, grocery stores or meals delivered at home
• Classes and/or supplies at hobby or craft stores
• Department, electronics or book stores
• A needed service, program or activity
• A subscription to Disney+, Netflix, or other home entertainment for the family (ask in advance if your family wants or can even receive them)
• A computer, phone, or iPad to enable more communication with you, other family members and friends

CLICK HERE for more gift giving tips on our GAN website.

Here are personal gift certificates that you can print out and use for holidays or any occasion:
HolidayCertif
AnyDayCertif

Understanding Gift Giving

Giving and receiving gifts can be difficult to understand for children with autism. Sharing this gift themed social story with your grandchild can help to ease some anxiety around gift giving.

Toys for Children & Teens
Here’s a guide to gifts for people at all
developmental ages

Sensory Friendly Clothing

If your grandchild needs sensory friendly clothing, Target has many Cat & Jack brand options. If your grandchild has difficulty dressing, use a search engine like Google to find sites that sell “adaptive clothing.” Here’s a link to Etsy for a broad range of additional adaptive clothing items.

PRICELESS GIFTS

*Be sure to compliment and encourage your grandchild’s parents often
*Take a grandchild to a regularly scheduled appointment or class
*Entertain siblings to enable more time for child with parents
*Freeze individual homemade meals for use when needed
*Offer your home for a family holiday or a birthday party
*Make a new calendar and enter events you will share
*Invite grandchildren for sleepovers at your home
*Take your grandchild to the library weekly
*Offer to do carpools for a week or more
*Arrange for a play date in your home
*Take your grandchild on a picnic

Apps to Share with Grandchildren

Holiday foods and treats tend to slow us down and make us gain weight. Here are some resources to get you and your grandkids moving and having fun together.

GoNoodle – Kids Videos: Make screen time active with 300+ dance videos, yoga exercises, and mindfulness activities for kids! Trusted by teachers and used in four out of five U.S. public elementary schools, GoNoodle videos create more than 667 million movement minutes each month in homes and schools. No subscription or login required) and available on multiple platforms.

Jump Jump Froggy 2 (iOS) is a game that gets you moving. Get active with an “exergame” that moves your whole body (and not just your thumbs)! Catch flies by making your frog jump with real-life jumps! Leap out of the way of predators! Free to download and play. You can unlock additional content for $2.99.

Looking for New, Collectible or Vintage Gifts?

Now is the perfect time to visit our eBay site for gifts! Most of us have collectibles and other worthwhile items that our children do not want. Donations to the Grandparent Autism Network are tax-deductible. Create more space for all the fabulous things that you love AND benefit grandparents and families affected by autism.

All donated items are sold through our e-Bay for Charity store, raising money to support our programs.

We welcome donated goods such as:

• New, unwanted gifts
• Collectibles, Home Accessories, Craft Items
• New Clothing, Shoes and Handbags
• Fine, Vintage, and Costume Jewelry
• Mobile Phones, Tablets and Laptops

You can mail or drop off donations for GAN at the UPS Store located at 23785 El Toro Road, #103, Lake Forest, CA. Contact us at info@ganinfo.org for possible pickup options in Orange County, CA and for donation receipt forms.

Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.Tax ID# 20-5230144.

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