Autism Resources
Exploring & Understanding Autism
Autistic Advocacy Network - Guides on navigating different environments and spaces, advocacy in the work place, understanding accessibility and disability rights.
Understanding the Science Behind Autistic Meltdowns - Neuroscience behind emotional meltdowns.
Neurodivergent Insights - Infographics and visual guides on understanding different neurodivergent experiences including Autism.
Embrace Autism - Free autism assessment screener (RAADS-R, CAT-Q).
Self-Care for Autistic People - 100+ exercises for self-care.
Unmasking Autism - Autistic experiences and the experience of masking Autism, giving tools to start unmasking and cultivate and embrace characteristics that are authentic to you.
Support and Aids
Autistic Advocacy Network - Guides on navigating different environments and spaces, advocacy in the work place, understanding accessibility and disability rights.
Paperflower Institute - Neurodivergent educational resources.
Neurodivergent Insights - Infographics and visual guides on understanding different neurodivergent experiences including Autism.
Local Resources in Tucson
Arizona Autism — Provides Tucson-area families with autism-related pediatric supports, including occupational therapy and coordination of home and communit based services.
Adult Diagnosed Autism Group — Free peer-led Tucson group for adults who were diagnosed with autism as adults, self-identify as autistic, or are exploring whether they may be autistic.
Autistic Adult Social Club — Inclusive in-person and virtual social opportunities where autistic adults 18+ can connect through conversation, games, drawing, and shared activities.
Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP) — Arizona’s early-intervention system connects families of infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities to evaluations and early intervention supports.
DDD (Department of Developmental Disabilities) - Provides eligible autistic individuals with state-funded supports that may include respite, habilitation, attendant care, therapies, employment supports, and other developmental-disability services ages 3+ through adulthood.
Southern Arizona Autism Society - Hosts free social groups for children , adults, caregivers in Central Tucson.
Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) – Tucson - Offers Tucson-based autism programming including the JumpStart parent education program and individualized home/community services, with a larger Tucson campus planned for 2027.
Tucson Alliance for Autism - Communication and social groups for kids, adults
University of Arizona Speech, Language & Hearing Clinics — University-based clinic providing speech and language services that may support autistic children and adults with communication needs
Common Treatment Options
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Speech Therapy supports communication, including speech, language development, social communication, and alternative forms of communication such as AAC. Speech-language pathologists may also provide support for feeding and swallowing needs.
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supports participation in everyday activities and may address fine motor skills, sensory processing, regulation, coordination, self-care, feeding, handwriting, and daily living skills.
Olive Branch has 1 Occupational Therapist on board, Alex Walcott, OTR/L, LAC-T. Feel free to reach out to Alex to inquire about OT services with Olive Branch: awalcott@olivebranchcounselingaz.com -
Therapy practices, Occupational Therapy clinics, and Community Mental Health Agencies typically have social skills groups with trained support staff to help children with ASD learn pro-social behaviors and communication skills with peers.
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Physical Therapy supports movement, strength, balance, coordination, mobility, and overall physical functioning to help individuals participate more comfortably and independently in daily activities.
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Individual counseling is a safe, supportive environment for children as young as 3 and through adulthood to explore their sensorhy profile and needs, neurodivergence, identity, relationships, school or work stress, and can involve parents, partners, siblings, and loved ones in general who need support or guidance on how to help.
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There is no approved or official medication that specifically treats Autism, but medication may sometimes help with co-occurring concerns such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, or sleep difficulties. Medical concerns that may be contributing to distress or changes in behavior should be appropriately evaluated.
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Equine-assisted therapy incorporates interactions with horses into the therapeutic process to support emotional, social, and physical well-being. It may be helpful for individuals navigating Autism, anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, developmental differences, or other mental health concerns.
Depending on the program, activities may include grooming, feeding, caring for, leading, or riding horses with support from trained professionals. Working alongside horses can provide opportunities to build confidence, practice communication and regulation skills, develop body awareness, and experience connection in a unique and supportive environment.
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Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses individualized strategies to teach skills and address behaviors that may interfere with daily life, learning, communication, or safety. Treatment may focus on areas such as communication, daily living skills, social interaction, emotional regulation, and increasing independence based on the individual's needs and goals.
When considering ABA, families may wish to seek providers who use neurodivergent-affirming, individualized approaches that respect autonomy, communication differences, sensory needs, and harmless autistic behaviors such as stimming, rather than emphasizing compliance or appearing less autistic.
ABA can be very intensive, so it’s important to ask about tailoring the ABA therapy to the child, as some programs can be close to 30 or 40 hours per week.
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Embrace Autism - Free autism assessment tools/screeners
Neurodivergent Insights - Has tons of diagrams, visual aids, and resources to help you figure out which criteria resonates, from an AuDHD therapist.
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Noise Dampening - Reduce auditory overwhelm:
Loop ear plugs
Noise cancelling headphones
Music playlists for different scenarios preloaded
Deep Pressure - Provides grounding and regulation:
Weighted lap pads
Weighted/heated blanket
Weighted stuffed animals
Compression vests
Lavender neck heating pad
Tight hug
Visual:
Dimmable lighting with warm light bulb options
Liquid motion timers
Glitter tubes
Fiber optic lamps
Lava lamps
Expanding breathing balls
Movement
Hanging Egg Chair – Adult swingy chair.
Rocking/Gliding Chairs – For seeking movement and regulation.
Sensory Swings – All ages
Fidgets
Slime
Kinetic sand
Tangle toys – twistable segments that rotate endlessly
ONO rollers – smooth rolling motion between fingers
Thinking putty / therapy putty – stretch, squeeze, tear
Oral/Chewing Stims:
Chewelry necklaces
Silicone chew pencils
Chewable Lego-style pendants
Chew pencil toppers
Clothing:
Sensationally You - Sensory friendly clohing.
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Auditory: Speech-to-text & audio books
Task Initiation:
First Then Visual Schedule HD: First-Then visual schedule for your family with audio-visual representations of routines, activities, sequences and transitions.
Choice Works: App for custom visual schedules for transitioning students and children through multi-step tasks and routines, like getting ready in the morning, or calming down.
https://goblin.tools AI breaks large tasks into smaller steps, estimates time required, helps initiate tasks.
Forest Focus App https://www.forestapp.cc
Emotional Support:
Worry Dolls: Tell your worry to a worry doll and track it overtime.
iCreate…Social Skills Stories: Create social stories for transitions or new experiences with personal photos to make it customized.
Lifestyle:
Plant Nanny: Water tracking app that reminds you throughout the day.
I Can’t Wake Up!: Requires you to complete a puzzle or math problem to shut off the alarm.
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Classroom Tools
Wobble cushions / wobble seats – allow gentle rocking movement
Balance balls or yoga ball chairs
Chair bands (resistance bands on chair legs)
Standing desks or floor desks
Rocking stools
Quiet Fidgets
Tangle toys
Stress balls
Therapy putty
Pop-it fidgets
Marble mesh fidgets
Spinning rings
Kneaded erasers
Silent fidget cubes
Textured desk strips
Silicone “calm strips”
Executive Functioning
Auditory Processing
Speechify Text to Speech - Upload any PDF into the Speechify web app and have Speechify read it out loud to you, summarize it, or create a podcast.
Natural Reader - Transforms text into natural-sounding audio.
Audible - Audio books can be a more accessible way to absorb information.
Learning Ally - Human-narrated audiobooks for dyslexia, language-based learning differences, blindness, and low vision.
Scanmarker Pen - Scan books and documents and transform to audio.
Task Paralysis
Forest Focus App- Forest is a pomodoro-style focus timer where every minute of concentration grows a tree.
Pomodoro Technique - Structured series of short periods of focus that builds in time for your brain to take a break.
Body Doubling - Explains how body doubling helps with productivity and motivation specifically for ADHD.
Habit Stacking - Take a solid habit and stack a new habit on it. For example, when brushing your teeth in the morning, keep your medication bottle by the toothbrush so that you can stack the habit of consistent medication onto a solid habit.
Goblin Tools - AI program specifically broken down into sections: Breaking large tasks into small steps, estimates time required for tasks, recipe finder based on what you have in your home, helps initiate tasks.
Transitions & Change
iCreate Social Skills Stories - Create social stories for transitions or new experiences with personal photos to make it customized.
Visual Timers - Helps children grasp the concept of time and can be easier to process visually.
First Then Visual Schedule- First-Then visual schedule with audio-visual representations of customized routines, activities, sequences, and transitions.
Choice Works - App to create custom visual schedules for transitioning students and children through multi-step tasks and routines, like getting ready in the morning, or calming down.
How to Help with Transitions for Kids - List of transition supports for children.
Working Memory & Organization
Chunking - Chunking helps the brain hold more information in working memory by grouping pieces of information. That way, there are fewer items to store.
Tile - Similar to AirTags, an affordable way to tag items such as keys, purse, electronics, and ping their location any time.
Take pictures for visual memory - Use your phone to take pictures of where you parked, paperwork you need later, the thing you need to buy, and save to an album on your phone like an infodump space.
Give important things a visible home base — Keys, wallet, backpack, medication, paperwork and other frequently lost items benefit from consistent landing zones or home bases.
Color Coding/Traffic Light System - Can be used to indicate the importance or significance of tasks (and therefore help to prioritize tasks and work through them in a logical sequence). It supports looking at how many red (high energy, dificult), yellow (manageable but still productivity based, and green (restorative tasks that fill up your cup).
Time Blindness
I Can’t Wake Up! - Alarm that requires you to complete a puzzle or math problem to shut off the alarm.
Plant Nanny - Water tracking app that reminds you throughout the day to promote hydration.
Tiimo - App that provides visual timers/countdowns, widgets for the phone to easily reference routines and habits, to support planning and time management.
Practice setting timers for tasks - Helps gain a sens of how long a task takes.
Emotional Regulation
iCreate Social Skills Stories - Create social stories for transitions or new experiences with personal photos to make it customized.
Learn About Interoception - Through mindfulness and being present with the body’s internal cues such as hunger, thirst, exhaustion, you can address the basic biological needs that lead to dysregulation or meltdowns.
First Then Visual Schedule- First-Then visual schedule for your family with audio-visual representations of routines, activities, sequences, and transitions.
Choice Works- App to create custom visual schedules for transitioning students and children through multi-step tasks and routines, like getting ready in the morning, or calming down.
Worry Dolls- Tell your worry to a worry doll and track it overtime.
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