I hope that this page of resources we have personally used shows you the various ways to advocate for your child early and often, some overlap others, so you may see them twice because they address all of the above. The road with autism is not an easy one but full of such triumphs and victories that are worth it. Also if you ever have any questions about any of the resources listed here, please don’t hesitate to contact us and ask away. I will do my best to answer them. Until then please continue to visit this page often as it will change and update as our son grows. You can also visit my Blog where I talk about the ins and outs of raising our son and share favorites and loves of discovering what works and doesn’t as well as things I enjoy as a mom and parent. Enjoy!

By Mom Advocate

Fine Motor Skills

Harmony Music Studio

“Harmony Music Studio customizes music therapy sessions and lessons for children with unique needs such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia and developmental and speech delay. Music  sessions address goals including speech, attention, social skills and education.

We offer piano lessons to help your child continue on the path of success.”

Our Personal Experience: “Ms. Anne has been a God send for our family. We searched high and low in our area for a qualified and certified piano teacher that specialized in autistic children and are so lucky and blessed to have found her. It has been two years and counting. Our son loves piano very much. He has gained a maturity and confidence that we see in his everyday interaction with his class mates and a sense of belonging. Our son has played the piano by ear since the age of 4 so learning how to read notes was the logical next step, we haven’t looked back and it has been PRICELESS. ”

lacing Beads

Our Personal Experience: “Our autistic son, when he was about aged 4-6 used these types of beads to help with his fine motor skills like hand-eye coordination. He used this at home during his Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and ABA training in the early years when he was initially diagnosed. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get the early therapy treatments for your son or daughter on the spectrum. It makes a world of difference in the later years. ”

Maple Valley Pediatric Therapy

Maple Valley Pediatric Therapy offers innovative, playful and evidence-based Occupational & Speech Therapy services for children and teens.

Our Personal Experience: “Our son saw his Occupational Therapist for 8 years and we recently discontinued, due to changes in our insurance but they also recently added speech therapy services, which is really exciting, Check out their website to see what else they offer as well. “

UW Autism Center

Caring for individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorders through exceptional clinical services, innovative scientific research and high-quality training.

Our faculty and staff reach across the UW School of Medicine, College of Arts & Sciences, and College of Education.

Our Personal Experience: “After our son was diagnosed with Autism, UW Autism Center became like a second home so that our son could get the needed therapy that really helped him and us figure out what we needed to do as parents and advocates. He did speech, counseling, and occupational therapy their as well. This went on for about 6 years until he aged out, so we ended up continuing services elsewhere. Overall it is imperative that you get an early diagnosis and necessary therapy, as well as ABA, depending on insurance coverage as well. “

Crafts Kits and Art

Our son loves anything that he can do with his hands to create and make, especially when it comes to crafts and art. Green Kids Crafts is a subscription-based service that sends you a STEAM kit every month of your choosing, depending on your child’s passions. Worth every penny! As low as $20 a month. If you just wanted to try them all to see what your child or children enjoy I suggest purchasing the 5 pack gift of all of the STEAM project kits.

Orange Art Box

This Art box Rocks! You can pick from a number of boxes. And if you don’t know how to use them to engage your kids you can find out the many ways right on their site ! My autistic son loved this when he was younger and still does when he wants to do something different or is bored. Although he is 14 and these are for ages 5-10, keep in mind that academically your son or daughter may be at a lower academic level so this type of Art Kit may still appeal to them even though they are physically and grade-wise in an older grade. Hope that makes sense.

Music Therapy

Autism is definitely a whirlwind of symptoms and no autistic child is the same. Our son changes like the seasons and has not stayed the same by no means, but one thing that remains constant is his gifts which are many. One of them happens to be that he has played the piano by ear since the age of about 4 years old and still does to this day with the addition of learning how to read notes on a sheet. We also just learned that he has a singing voice that touches notes as low as a tenor to as high as a low soprano. Once we knew that he could play the piano by ear we purchased a small keyboard, which he still has to this day and uses for his piano lessons on a daily and weekly basis.

Harmony Music Studio (see description above)

Music Lessons

Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy is ongoing, especially when it comes to perspective-taking and social skills which is a huge challenge for most on the autism spectrum. Although he receives speech therapy at school and used to receive private speech therapy(UW Autism Center, Rock Therapy & Children’s Therapy Center) , costs and insurance are always the final say, depending on your budget. What we learned as a family facing these challenges, just like any other family with a special needs child. You have to seek out what you can do at home as well that also addresses the speech and social challenges. So we played lots of board games and still do from time to time. Either way, it was definitely a game-changer for us. Playing games helps autistic learners turn-taking, asking for help, patience, and so much more. Here are the games we have and what types of skills and challenges they address:

UNO

PHASE 10

Rock Therapeutic Services

Our Personal Experience: “Our son went to Rock Therapy for social skills/social group classes when he was in 5th-6th grade and then we decided to just continue with speech classes at school, again due to insurance changes and costs. But it was all worth it. “

Services Offered

Articulation Therapy

Receptive Language

Expressive Language

Fluency & Stuttering

Social Skills

Dysphagia

Autism

UW Autism Center

Counseling Services

UW Autism Center

Seattle Children’s Autism Center

Services They Offer:

Diagnostic Evaluation

Therapies for Challenging Behaviors

Treatments and Services

Research and Clinical Trials

Life Skills Games

MONOPOLY

SORRY

CANDYLAND

Chutes and Ladders

Taking Risks

JENGA