Doggone It … Mantras Are Great for Learning!
Mantras, like positive affirmations, really do have power. Mantras are short, positive, instructive statements full of action words. We use them to quiet the mind and focus on thinking and action.
A Holistic Approach to Toilet Training
The challenges of toilet training can be magnified for families of children with Fragile X syndrome. It's not simply that toilet training is delayed, it often requires specific behavioral techniques that address their physical and behavioral phenotypes.
Verbal Perseveration! Verbal Perseveration!
Let's discuss verbal perseveration (VP), a very typical and pervasive aspect of language in Fragile X syndrome. Does VP interfere with daily living and activities? You bet your boots it can!
Video Modeling
Therapy is a fun, creative process – one of the reasons that we have been at this for so long! One of the challenges of being a therapist is staying on top of the ever-emerging intervention techniques that come into our practice and making them work for individuals with FXS.
Common Feeding Difficulties and How to Make Mealtime More Successful for Your Fragile X Family
Kristin Burgess Watson highlights some common feeding difficulties ranging from over-stuffing to picky eating that individuals with Fragile X struggle with and suggests some strategies to make mealtime more successful for your family.
Behavior and Fragile X Syndrome
When discussing FXS and behavior, the focus should be on the whole person. Some behaviors may be a result of the condition, of which many are positive.
“Happy Birthday” Meltdowns and Other Behavioral Conundrums
“Why does my child cry when people sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her?” Many years ago when I first heard this from a parent of a girl with FXS, I thought it was rather strange and perhaps something unique to this child’s behavioral repertoire.
The Value of a Detailed School Schedule
The Value of a Detailed School Schedule By Jayne Dixon Weber During the COVID-19 response, school schedules may look at little different everywhere, but we want to provide ideas that you can use at [...]
Is Your Child’s Behavior a Manifestation of Their Disability?
Before school authorities consider suspension and possible expulsion, they need to determine whether threatening someone may have been the only way that the person with Fragile X syndrome could express the gravity of their personal discomfort.
Life: A Series of Transitions
I realized when my son Ian was just 4 years old that he had difficulty with transitions. I had never thought about transitions being difficult. You just did them - you didn’t think about it. Well, with Ian, I started thinking about them. I still do to this day. I quickly learned I had to allow plenty of time for everything, arrive early to events, set up schedules and routines, take time for transitioning back home—and that was just the beginning.