Alternative title: What I have learned from Baseball during Elementary School

Still in the topic of autism, no worries here.

Baseball has been one of my favorite sports. I used to watch Ken Griffey Jr. on the television when I was very little when he played for the Seattle Mariners. Never really was in a team during school, but I sure do loved playing that game whenever we would have recces or when the P.E. teacher lets us.

Main reason why I wanted to talk a little bit about baseball is because to me, it has become a major breakthrough. A breakthrough in understanding a number of things.

• Fun
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Friendship
• Humor

How to have fun, how to communicate, what teamwork means, how to develop a mutual friendship with others, and what does humor mean? Developing a sense of humor was made possible partially by playing baseball.

You know the old banter. "We want a batter, not a broken ladder!" Yeah, that can get a cheap chuckle, the part that made me laugh with a lot...

It used to be wanting to figure out others, now it is wanting to figure out myself.

It is strange. For the longest time, I have wanted to know more about people. Was so determined to understand all there is to know about having social skills to get to know them that I have numerous of times couldn't figure out myself. Know who I am. There was a time not too long ago in Oregon where I have mentioned about being someone else for a change and my words would come out much more fluently. One little girl asked me if I ever woke up and then became another person every time. Casually said something on the lines of whenever I feel like it, but after a question like that, it really got me thinking long and hard the next day.

Some say I may have an identity crises. Even mentioned it somewhere in the second book I believe. Part time keynote speaker, part time author, part time this, part time that. It was a lot to take in. A lot to think about even when I was typing this out. Many times I would...

I really do not like talking about this topic.

It is not because isolation is a deep subject that can be saddening, but it is mainly because to me it does not deliver any awareness or impactful message when there are words being typed about the topic. Like to let pictures and motion pictures tell it like it is; Let the audience think. That's the way I enjoy doing things when it comes to my work. Let the audience think. I enjoy the idea of interacting with my audience in different ways. Whether in books, video, keynote events, and so on. Never really enjoyed demanding others to think a certain way. That'll make the world boring.

To think a certain way. Seems like the foundation of my isolation. Everyone's got their reasons to be isolated; I have mine. It is a light and dark situation to me. I hate it, and I love it. During school, I much would rather have that kind of isolation because then I wouldn't unintentionally irritate anyone; Much rather do things in private and then send...

Guest Blogger:  My mom. Kristina Tindall

Being the parent of an adult child who has ASD, I get asked a lot of questions. Many of them relate to my son when he was much younger, and I truly understand. We want to do our best as parents and we know that how we train our children impacts their future. Having a child with ASD makes things a little more challenging.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is: How did I teach my son how to play with other children?

My son Tyler had an extremely difficult time playing with other children. I don’t know if it was because it was too much stimulus for him, or because he just wasn’t used to being around other children since he grew up as an only child. Hard to say. But I was treading new waters back in the 90’s and there wasn’t a lot of information about ASD so I relied on my motherly instinct and what made sense to me at the time.

Going to the playground with a lot of children was extremely stressful for me. I...

Activities To Avoid When Your Child Has Autism

Learn the top three activities to avoid when your child has autism. Best selling author, speaker Tyler McNamer explains the top activities to avoid for a person with autism.

Children with autism cannot initially handle the same sensory input that nurotypically developing children can.

Things like parties, loud event, crowds, and similar things will overwhelm the senses resulting in a meltdown. It’s important to plan in advance when attending such events, and use discretion before putting your child into a situation that may not turn out well for you or your child.

Exposure for a limited time can be helpful and healthy, as it will start to desensitize you child allowing them to process the sensory input more effectively. Prolonged exposure will agitate your child with autism, resulting in unexpected behavior.

Tyler's Notes:

There are no limits. I have always believed that. Reasons why I would recommend activities to avoid is...

Computer Programs Can Help Reduce or Eliminate Autism Meltdowns

Persons with autism tend to be drawn to video and computer screens.

Computers and video can be used as a very effective tool to teach someone with autism how to self regulate. Videos can be used to teach social skills, speech, facial movements, expressions, and many other skills. Animated video and computer programs are more effective than real video.

Look for software that uses primary colors, and is very clear in its presentation of concepts. Computer programs that teach children with autism social situations and formation of words have the greatest long term impact.


Tyler's Notes:

I've been interested in computers since I was four. Even built myself one with the help of Dad when I was twelve. One thing about those machines that I enjoy very much is the sounds it would make. I would go up to a machine, put my ear on the side of the computer, and listen to whatever goes on as the computer runs after I turn it on. Could...

Many children with autism watch the same video over and over again. The question is: Should you let your child with autism watch the same video over and over again.

The answer is yes! Most likely they are using that part of the video to develop language, or are using it as a “touchstone” to help them handle the sensory input around them.

You can use that repetitive activity as a bridge into other interests. It may seem strange at first, but once you understand the reason that your child with autism watches a video over and over again, you will learn how to use that as a took for their development.

So next time that they are watching the same thing repetitively, sit with them, be interested in what they are doing, and have them show you the specific part of the video they are watching.

Look for faces, mouth movements, and other clues as to why your child might be watching that particular section.

Most likely they are trying to add that specific activity to their world,...

How do you help your child with autism make friends? Friendships and relationships in general are hard for someone that has autism. Many times those with autism have a difficult time “putting themselves in another person’s shoes”.

That analogy alone is difficult for someone with autism to even understand.

Friendships can be formed with a understanding peer group. Those groups can be found in your general community, as part of your church, at school, a formal social skills group, or a wide variety of other places. It does take effort and some trial and error to find a workable solution.

Once you have an understanding peer group you can then start modeling behavior. A person with autism must create thousands of desperate social files, that can eventually be weaved together to form a framework of friendships and relationships.

It takes a lot of time, but it’s well worth it in the end, as your child develops the potential to have lifelong relationships.

From humble beginnings, author and writer, Tyler McNamer, casually introduces himself as AutismWorks was still under development shortly after he wrote and published his first book, Population: ONE.

Here is Tyler's first appearance in the video sharing channel.

Introducing the first video to the AutismWorks video sharing channel. When we were first developing AutismWorks, my dad took the time to share the audience on what AutismWorks will be about as we were building the community.

Enjoy the first video!