April 15, 2020
April is Autism Awareness Month, and Apple is marking the occasion by posting a digital art gallery of works created by artists on the autism spectrum. The project, which is curated by the nonprofit Art of Autism, is being unveiled over the course of the month. “ Created on iPad Gallery” features the work of 15 artists from the autistic community who hail from across the US and Canada. The participants have differing abilities and are different ages. In addition to sharing the work of these artists, teachers and parents can tap these free programs to support educating children with autism and other special needs:
Home Curriculum for Early Autism Education
With widespread school closures creating a situation where many families are facing the unexpected challenge of educating and engaging children with autism or other special needs at home, Stages Learning Materials is offering a free Autism Curriculum Kit to support families. The kit includes downloadable lessons, activity sheets, data-tracking sheets, behavior management tools, and more. The materials are a sampling of the company’s Language Builder ARIS curriculum. The lessons and supporting materials are free to families.
Media to Help Children with Autism and Visual Impairment or Hearing Loss
Hearing and vision screening for very young children can be difficult when the child also has autism. Cooperative efforts between vision, hearing, and autism programs can be critical in ensuring children have all the resources they need. The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides more information, as well as autism resources, in its online Learning Center.