Teaching 6 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dear our Donors,

We appreciate your help and generosity. We would like to share with you how important for our children and their parents your support and understanding.

Our children like to play, and they demonstrate their preferences during play time. We know when child plays, he’s gaining experiences that give him lots to think and communicate about. During play time every child has the chance to learn new words and ideas. We support our children to enjoy language activities especially understanding of new words and ideas. We encourage every child to pretend and to use his imagination. For example, Illia enjoys his pretend play by playing in a dramatic play area. Maria pretends to give her doll a drink, then her teddy. Maria's mother shares that her daughter does the same pretend action with more than one other person or toy. Illia's mother shares that her son can pretend without objects. For example, he can pretend to eat ice cream when there is nothing in his hand. 

Our goal is to build child's language during play time, and we support every child in it. We ask parents to help their child to reach this goal. 

Dear Parents, Supporters and our Donors!

We appreciate your help and generosity. Thank You for supporting our project. 

We continue to enjoy our social skills activities by learning and teaching how to play cooperatively with toys, peers and adults. Nicholas has difficulty communicating verbally. Using assistive technology and visual helpers, he points to a picture of what he wants to do next at classroom. We friendly remind our parents how important for all children to participate in family activities: looking at books together, pointing to named pictures with mom's support, listening music together, singing a song together, playing with playdough together by looking at mom's face.

Shared reading is one important way to become aware of the rules about printed material. Reading together with children improves their understanding of oral language. Alexander has a difficulty to follow oral directions during a story time, and we let him to pick up his favorite book Panda Bear, Panda Bear and let him to be a leader, choosing which book he wants to read. 

Alexis likes to look at books together, and she enjoys her turning pages activity. Her skipping pages is just step to explore and learn something new. Reading every page with a toddler is not necessary. Every reading experience counts in child's brain. Holding the book, turning the pages, looking at pictures, pointing to named animals, and smiling by touching the textured pictures will help every child to play cooperatively.  

Dear our Donors and Supporters,

We would like to appreciate receiving your financial support, your help and suggestions to reach our goals. You helped us to design and organize a Sensory Room where our children can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others.  You helped us to buy the sensory tools, toys, 3D books, textured cards and posters, and a variety of equipment. Again and again we say you Thank You So Much for your generosity!

Penndco children enjoy a Sensory Room where they can play, discover, observe, and imitate by using new sensory tools and toys. Once teacher realizes that Ilya does not want to play with blocks, and teacher follows his lead by joining in on what he is doing and turning his interest in dramatic play activity into a game of matching. Including Ilya’s interest means that when he is interested in something, teacher shows an interest in it too. It works perfectly for our unique children. Penndco teachers and therapists use the Hanen strategies that allow our children to lead.

Sicerely,

Tetyana V. Varenychenko, M.Ed.

Dear our Donors,

We would like to send you our Special Thank You for your generosity and kindness. You have supported our program, and children and their parents appreciate your help.

Creating a Sensory Area is our new goal, and we know how messy-sensory play is important for our children with autism spectrum disorder. This playtime is essential for child's brain and early learning. As therapists we know that sensory play helps child to develop and improve fine-motor skills, eye-hand coordination, concentration, and adaptive skills. During messy-sensory play such as kinetic play activity, water games, playdough activity, water beads activity, and glue collages our children have a chance to develop their experience in cooperative play and pretend play. It is a valuable experience to use all senses to discover and explore surroundings. Messy-sensory game is fun, and relaxed activity.

Penndco Board of Directors, volunteers, parents and donors support our project. We are happy to create our new sensory station for children.

Thank you so much for all ideas and help.

Sincerely,

Tetyana Varenychenko, M.Ed.

Dear our Donors,

We greatly appreciate your kindness and support to our children and their families. We know how important to have a community resources for families who have children with autism spectrum disorder or social communication difficulties. Looking around us at the difference your financial support has made to our organization, we know that to be true.

The ability to play with other children can take a long time to develop and requires patience, persistence, and new toys, tools, and Social Skills Library that includes visual helpers such as social skills cards, posters, and albums. Your financial support helps us to organize structured and non-structured playtime, cooperative playtime, playing and learning time together, playtime with a partner by using favorite toys, tools, books, and sensory materials.

A successful social skills playtime is our valuable goal. David's mother shared that David has trouble understanding and talking and difficulties to follow one step directions. We understand mother's worries because all these components are very important for nice social skills activities. Teaching parents to use Hanen strategies during social skills playtime is our way to help children to choose the right toys and activities, to find the right friends, and to help children with sharing the toys. Teaching children how to play and what to say is our main step during cooperative play. For example, Jake wants to join in but does not know how. Using right toys, tools, and strategies is helping our children to make friends at different stages of communication.

Again and again we would like to send to all our supporters our special Thank You! Thank you for the new books, games, cards and shelves that our children can use during their social skills activities.