In my former non-mommy life, I used to work with kids with developmental disabilities. I loved the work but, found some of my most challenging goals involved teaching kids social skills. How do you go about introducing tasks that most of us learned effortlessly? While I had a few tools in my therapeutic toolbox, I do wish I had these  two new DVDs to share with parents and teachers for students…“Kibbles Rockin’ Clubhouse Volume 1: Expressing Yourself” and “Skill-Building Buddies: Handling Transitions and Change.”

“Kibbles Rocking Clubhouse Volume 1: Expressing Yourself” features Kibbles, a dog puppet, and his friends Handy Sam and Angela. This volume focuses on reinforcing eye contact, greetings, and the importance of physical connections such as waving and high-fives. There are also lessons on reading body language and using words to share your feelings. The series targets children with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder) aged 2-7 and includes a free CD with original music and sing-alongs.

“Skill-Building Buddies: Handling Transitions and Change” is from the same company that created “Go Potty Go (review here). This DVD was also designed for children with a PDD and helps children to cope and accept transitions or those little changes that can be harrowing for children on the Autism Spectrum. Mikey, Mandy, and their dog, Marvel, guide children by teaching the “Look-Listen-Reman Calm” process as modeling what to do in various scenarios, like choosing a different snack.

Both of these DVDs will be releasing on April 1, during National Autism Month. You can find “Kibbles Rocking Clubhouse Volume 1: Expressing Yourself” here and “Skill-Building Buddies: Handling Transitions and Change” here.