Three websites worth a look

by Seana Smith on Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Until a nanosecond ago, I was going to write a blog called “Five Websites Worth a Look” and then I thought… hold on… five is too many to hit myself with at one time and I’ll bet other people feel the same way. Late of an evening I do still love to trawl through new websites, but three is the maximum I can deal with before either:

a)  sensory and mental overload kicks in and I need to reach for a glass of wine.

b)  I’m overwhelmed by exhaustion and need to reach for a glass of wine.

So lets wind back and let me present:

Three Websites Worth a Look

1.     www.servam.com.au

SERVAM is essentially a new Australian digital handbook for families, described by its authors as :  “An easy approach to integrating therapy and education in your family life.”

SERVAM is an arconym which stands for:

- Sensory considerations

- Environmental management

- Routines and planned change

- Visual supports

- Autism friendly communication

- Motivation

The handbook aims to assist families to work with their children and the team of professionals they use.   It is written by two experienced practitioners withj many years experience working with children on the spectrum.   It’s a new Australian resource worth knowing about, take a browse through the website and have a squizz.

2.   www.teaching.com.au

MTA stands for Modern Teaching Aids, and this website sells educational toys and resources for early childhood, primary and secondary students.  Your preschool or daycare facility will usually buy their toys from websites like this as will your schools.  The online brochure is HUGE and quite overwhelming, but worth getting to know.  It’s a terrific resource for when you are setting up therapy at home and just for good quality toys as presents.   Enjoy a pre-Christmas browse!

3.  http://www.blogher.com/identifying-and-avoiding-autism-cults

Autism mum Shannon Des Roches Rosa has written a long post on her blog about her own experiences with what she describes as “autism cults.”  It’s worth reading her opinions and point of view, and although she has tailored it for readers whose children are recently diagnosed there is still food for thought for those of us whose children were diagnosed long ago.

She’s written it as a cautionary tale and I can relate to that since I wrote my own biomed journey up as a Cautionary tale in our book.  I am not quite so anti-complementary medicines as Shannon seems to be, just a believer in one thing at a time and really trying to track whether changes are genuine or imagined.  Anyway, this American’s mom’s point of view is worth a read.