In this episode of the Celebrating Autism Podcast we are chatting with David Rivera from Mentoring Autistic Minds! David shares all about his nonprofit organization that he started and dives into his own challenges growing up that lead him to

Meera from Super Speech Solutions - Speech, Language, and Pragmatic Strategies for Children with Autism

Apr 22nd, 2021 37m 54s

In this episode Melanie interviews guest Meera from Super Speech Solutions based out of Houston, Texas. Meera explains the difference between speech, language, and pragmatic skills and gives so many tips and strategies for parents, caregivers,

Fiona from Adulting Made Easy - How to use Digital Life Skills Lessons at Home and in the Classroom

Mar 17th, 2021 24m 54s

Teachers all around the country are reminded that this week marks one full year of teaching virtually from home. What better way to celebrate than to have Fiona from Adulting Made Easy on the podcast this week! Fiona has been teaching transit

Tips and Trick for 100% Attendance during Virtual Learning

Jan 7th, 2021 15m 34s

Happy New Year! In this episode Melanie is breaking down how she has consistently maintained 100% student attendance on zoom during virtual learning. Melanie is also sharing virtual tips and tricks that have been successful and some new ideas

Celebrating Autism Speaks with Tracey MacDonald

Dec 10th, 2020 34m 46s

Check out part 2 of Melanie's interview with Tracey MacDonald from Autism Speaks. If you haven't listened to part 1 yet, go back and give it a listen! In this episode Tracey explains how Autism Speaks came to be and she goes into great detail

Celebrations and Challenges with Tracey MacDonald

Nov 4th, 2020 36m 12s

In this episode Melanie is sharing a fun, heartfelt interview with Tracey MacDonald. Tracey is a wonderful mom to her son Griffin and in this episode she will be sharing moments of celebration, challenges they are still working to overcome, an

How Do I Tell My Child They Have Autism?

Aug 26th, 2020 19m 32s

In today's episode, Melanie talks all about how to talk to your child about Autism. Melanie will be sharing a story of a family she has worked with and their experience with telling their child about having Autism. This is an amazing story th

I'm Back! Update on New Adventures!

Jul 29th, 2020 14m 34s

In this episode Melanie is sharing all of the new and exciting things that have been happening. Melanie discusses her new job, future episode ideas, and the weird world of starting a new job virtually during Covid-19. Enjoy!

How to Approach Students Who Have Experienced Trauma Part 2

Jun 24th, 2020 15m 51s

Today, Melanie is going to cover part 2 of trauma informed approaches, and why is it important to educate ourselves about the impacts of trauma on our students. If you haven't listened to Part 1 of this series about trauma informed approaches,

How to Approach Students Who Have Experienced Trauma Part 1

Jun 4th, 2020 12m 32s

In this episode Melanie is going to be talking about trauma and how it impacts a student’s behavior at school. She is going to be talking about how trauma affects the brain and how educators can be more aware and informed about how trauma impa

Do's and Don'ts of Virtual IEP Meetings for Parents and Teachers

May 19th, 2020 11m 44s

In this episode Melanie is going to be sharing some lessons learned from her first virtual IEP meeting. If you are a teacher or a parent there are tips and strategies for both groups! Melanie will be sharing what is crucial to have prepared a

Checking in on Emotions, and Expressing Gratitude

May 5th, 2020 17m 52s

In this episode Melanie is sharing how distance learning has been going for her and some of the emotions that have come up over these past couple of weeks. She is opening up to you all in hopes that if you are feeling how she is feeling then y

Extraordinary Moms Podcast hosted by Jessica Dahlquist

Apr 22nd, 2020 53m 43s

Today's episode is from the Extraordinary Moms Podcast hosted by my beautiful sister in-law! Jessica is so talented at connecting with people and that is something that I admire about her. She has been hosting her podcast for many years and r

Distance Learning Support Part 2

Apr 7th, 2020 10m 46s

Today episode is Distance Learning Part 2, with a lot of schools across the country are moving into distance learning until further notice so I wanted to go into detail on a couple of strategies to get your started. This episode goes into how

Finding the Best Resources for your Child and Being Their Best Advocate

Mar 31st, 2020 19m 25s

In today's episode we are celebrating my friend Christopher! Christopher has Autism and today we are chatting with his mom Cynthia about their family's journey with Autism. Cynthia also gives some great advice on what kind of resources are out

Distance Learning Support for Parents of Students with Autism

Mar 24th, 2020 11m 29s

In this episode Melanie shares a couple of strategies to make distance learning easier for parents of students with Autism. She talks about the importance of a daily visual schedule and how to add reinforcement into your day to get the most fro

Talking To Your Child About Coronavirus

Mar 17th, 2020 10m 2s

In today’s episode Melanie will be talking about how to handle chaos and uncertainty around your children. Melanie shares about her experience at school when she had to tell her students that school will be closed for a few weeks and how that

Voice and Choice

Mar 12th, 2020 17m 57s

In this episode we are going to be focusing on how to provide voice and choice to your students. Providing choice to your students or children at home can avoid potential power struggles. This is an easy strategy to add to your classroom or ho

Inclusion, Technology, and Giving Choices with Guest Sarah Roddy

Mar 4th, 2020 30m 23s

I am so excited to have our first guest on the podcast! Her name is Sarah Roddy and she is a 4th grade general education teacher. We talk about inclusion and mainstreaming students with Autism and other specific learning disabilities and the b

Using Video Modeling to Teach New Skills

Feb 25th, 2020 18m 29s

Teaching a new skill takes a lot of practice! Video modeling is an effective way of teaching new routines and skills because you can show the video as many times as you need until the skill is apart of your routine. After listening to this e

The Power of Front Loading

Feb 19th, 2020 13m 20s

Going new places or trying new things can be overwhelming! In this episode, Melanie gives some great tips and tricks on how to make new adventures not so scary. Take some notes and start getting out there in your community!

Reinforcement 101

Feb 17th, 2020 23m 15s

Grab your notepad! This episode is a crash course in reinforcement and how to use the token economy in your classroom and at home. Please visit the resources page for video models and pictures detailing how the use the specific reinforcement s

Keys to Creating a Positive Classroom Environment

Jan 21st, 2020 13m 7s

In this episode of the Celebrating Autism Podcast, Melanie will be discussing some tips and tricks that are easy to apply in the classroom and at home in order to create a positive learning environment. These strategies are fun and engaging fo

Welcome to Celebrating Autism!

Jan 20th, 2020 13m 52s

Welcome to the Celebrating Autism Podcast!! In this episode you will get to know about your host Melanie and some of the stories that inspired her to work with people with Autism. Melanie is a special education teacher and has a masters degree

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