tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60319410819413201772024-03-10T10:49:39.321-07:00Autism Family AdventuresSingle parenting two teens on the Autism Spectrum.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-54084173422598592242016-03-28T00:24:00.000-07:002016-03-28T00:24:03.983-07:00Floor Time BasicsI attended an eight part training for Floor Time that was attended by other parents, service coordinators and therapists. We learned the terminology, observed videotapes of sessions with children in various phases of Floor Time, participated in play sessions and made our own videotapes for presenting to the group.<p>
Even though a few years back we had a Floor Time assessment from another agency, I honestly did not really comprehend what Floor Time was. I was under the impression that you play on the floor with the child following their lead.<p>
Floor Time can be done at any time of the day in any type of situation. There were examples given in the class of using it while taking a child to school and making conversation in the car. Twenty minutes is all you need to have a successful Floor Time session with your child. Many families have the siblings take part in some or all of the sessions with Therapists.<p>
Some agencies have Floor Time sessions at their location with the option of several rooms including a gym setting. Other organizations prefer to have the Therapists come to your home or even the child's school.<p>
An assessment can take place in one or two parts. One being at the home or the agency with an observation and parent interview with the second part being the school observation and input from teacher or aide. This is what happened with the first assessment Matthew had elsewhere. I was not too happy with the feedback the teacher and aide gave. Pros and Cons of Assessments covers the first Floor Time assessment outcome.
<p>
DIR Model means = Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based approach. There are six developmental levels. These stages are:<p>
1. Self-regulation and interest in the world (3+ months)<p>
2. Forming relationships, attachment and engagement (intimacy) (5+ months)<p>
3. Two-Way Communication (9+ months)<p>
4. Complex Communication (12-18+ months)<p>
5. Emotional Ideas (24-30+ months)<p>
6. Emotional Thinking (34+ months)<p>
For the last two sessions when the participants showed their video presentations we had a handout to check off which levels the child had achieved. These forms were given to each presenter to keep.<p>
In your Floor Time Assessment the milestones achieved thus far should be listed with explanations. Children can be at different levels at various times of the day, and they can change week to week in therapy sessions. A child could also have partial achievement in one milestone, depending on certain issues that take place where the child may need help in self regulating.
<p>
Circles of communication start at the two way communication level with the opening and closing of these dialogue circles. This is possible for children who are nonverbal. A smile and eye contact can open or close a circle of communication. There may even be a goal for how many circles of communication the child can reach in a session.
<p>
The intimacy stage is being able to engage with other people in relationships. How does the child get along with siblings, relatives, classmates, therapists, etc.
<p>
Some of the following are examples in the observation chart we were given to check off the current rating (always, sometimes, never present or loses ability under stress) and age mastered for the six levels. There was also a sensory-motor profile for tactile (sense of touch), auditory (hearing)sensation, olfactory sensation (sense of smell), visual sensation (seeing), gustoatory sensation (sense of taste), vestibular sensation (sense of balance), muscle tone (strength and balance), coordination and reflex integration.
<p>
Self Regulation - recovers from distress within 20 minutes with help from you<p>
Intimacy - protests and grows angry when frustrated<p>
Two-way communication - responds to your gestures<p>
Complex communication - uses imitation to deal with and recover from stress<p>
Emotional Ideas - multiple gestures in a row<p>
Emotional Thinking - uses pretend play that has a logical sequence of ideas<p>
Tactile - seems irritable when held, prefers certain textures<p>
Auditory - puts hands over ears in noisy settings, likes to make loud noises<p>
Olfactory - reacts defensively to smell, ignores noxious odors<p>
Visual - appear to turn away from bright light, discriminating colors<p>
Gustoatory - eats non edible foods (PICA), all food tastes the same<p>
Vestibular - seems fearful in space, likes to swing, enjoys being tossed in air<p>
Muscle Tone - Seems active or restless, tires easily, prefers to lie on floor<p>
Coordination - accident prone, bruises easily, consistent hand dominance<p>
Reflex - slow to walk or sit, irritable in infancy, isolating head movements<p>
Based on my presentation many of the forms mentioned that Matthew partially mastered the first two levels. His Floor Time Assessment states the same thing. Individual Differences covers the ways a child takes in the world in sights, sounds and touch. The nine senses mentioned are found in this part of the DIR component.<p>
My notes mentioned a great way to understand the difference between hypo and hyper. The hyper does not need more stimulation, the hypo responsive needs more stimulation. A child that has been over stimulated by swinging on the swing might get sick. This happened to Matthew a few times at his OT sessions where I saw it coming, but the Therapist had no clue she was over doing it.<p>
A hint I made note of for two of the milestones - 5 is the Emotional Ideas, creative use of ideas. This means children that can think outside of the box. For 6 in Emotional Thinking this is those kids who can answer the why questions in detail and have higher levels of abstract thinking.
<p>
In stage 4 a child should be able to attend 30-40 circles of communication. Circles are counted per activity and not per time. A child will have more emotions at stage 4 with complex circles. They can do symbolic play
<p>
Some tips for Floor Time for parents to make note of before applying techniques with your child - be at eye level, notice the same things your child is viewing, become animated (high affect), become a fun play partner, face the child and become part of the object the child is engaged with.
<p>
Matthew likes to lie on the bed under a blanket and shake legs on the bed. I make a game of like Simon Says and we start and stop stomping our legs in tune and he laughs a lot during this. He looks at me and smiles, opening circles of communication.
<p>
I sing songs in the car on the way to school and use his name in many of them. I say things like Yo Yo Mattie-O and repeat it several times. Matty is a silly boy, do da do da day hey! I use the high affect to keep his attention going and make the journey to school a pleasant one.
<p>
A child can take your hand and lead you to something they want and this is considered opening a circle of communication. Giving a hug or kiss is a circle of communication. If the child turns away from the conversation they have closed the circle.
<p>
The idea is to expand on what dialogue you may already have with the child and open up the lines of communication. Instead of asking how was school, get specific in your discussion. The key is to be persistent, show an interest in what they are dealing with or playing with. Explore feelings and encourage original thinking.
<p>
Floor Time can be music based or even OT based, depending on the needs of the child. The supervisor for Matthew will be an OT with the addition of Music at times per my request.
<p>
One of the handouts included a paper - Am I A Good Floor Timer? The questions to ponder are:
<p>
Do I observe the behavior, language, and gestures of the child?<p>
Do I observe the style of relating?<p>
Do I approach the child slowly, with respect and thoughtfulness?<p>
How often do I let the child take the lead?<p>
Do I let the child know through gestures, emotional tone and facial expressions that I am there for her?<p>
Do I know when to be verbally responsive, and when it's better to quietly share a child's emotion?<p>
Another issue that was brought up was for motor based challenges. The term crossing the mid-line was not something I had heard before. Topics in Occupational Therapy explains this phrase - " Crossing the midline, which relies on good bilateral coordination, means using part of one side of the body in the space of the other part. Some examples of crossing the midline include sitting cross-legged on the floor or drawing a horizontal line from one side of the paper to the other without switching the pencil to the other hand."I attended an eight part training for Floor Time that was attended by other parents, service coordinators and therapists. We learned the terminology, observed videotapes of sessions with children in various phases of Floor Time, participated in play sessions and made our own videotapes for presentating to the group.<p>
Even though a few years back we had a Floor Time assessment from another agency, I honestly did not really comprehend what Floor Time was. I was under the impression that you play on the floor with the child following their lead.
<p>
Floor Time can be done at any time of the day in any type of situation. There were examples given in the class of using it while taking a child to school and making conversation in the car. Twenty minutes is all you need to have a successful Floor Time session with your child. Many families have the siblings take part in some or all of the sessions with Therapists.
<p>
Some agencies have Floor Time sessions at their location with the option of several rooms including a gym setting. Other organizations prefer to have the Therapists come to your home or even the child's school.<p>
An assessment can take place in one or two parts. One being at the home or the agency with an observation and parent interview with the second part being the school observation and input from teacher or aide. This is what happened with the first assessment Matthew had elsewhere. I was not too happy with the feedback the teacher and aide gave. Pros and Cons of Assessments covers the first Floor Time assessment outcome.<p>
DIR Model means = Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based approach. There are six developmental levels. These stages are:
<p>
1. Self-regulation and interest in the world (3+ months)<p>
2. Forming relationships, attachment and engagement (intimacy) (5+ months)<p>
3. Two-Way Communication (9+ months)
4. Complex Communication (12-18+ months)
5. Emotional Ideas (24-30+ months)
6. Emotional Thinking (34+ months)
For the last two sessions when the participants showed their video presentations we had a handout to check off which levels the child had achieved. These forms were given to each presenter to keep.
In your Floor Time Assessment the milestones achieved thus far should be listed with explanations. Children can be at different levels at various times of the day, and they can change week to week in therapy sessions. A child could also have partial achievement in one milestone, depending on certain issues that take place where the child may need help in self regulating.
Circles of communication start at the two way communication level with the opening and closing of these dialogue circles. This is possible for children who are nonverbal. A smile and eye contact can open or close a circle of communication. There may even be a goal for how many circles of communication the child can reach in a session.
The intimacy stage is being able to engage with other people in relationships. How does the child get along with siblings, relatives, classmates, therapists, etc.
Some of the following are examples in the observation chart we were given to check off the current rating (always, sometimes, never present or loses ability under stress) and age mastered for the six levels. There was also a sensory-motor profile for tactile (sense of touch), auditory (hearing)sensation, olfactory sensation (sense of smell), visual sensation (seeing), gustoatory sensation (sense of taste), vestibular sensation (sense of balance), muscle tone (strength and balance), coordination and reflex integration.
Self Regulation - recovers from distress within 20 minutes with help from you
Intimacy - protests and grows angry when frustrated
Two-way communication - responds to your gestures
Complex communication - uses imitation to deal with and recover from stress
Emotional Ideas - multiple gestures in a row
Emotional Thinking - uses pretend play that has a logical sequence of ideas
Tactile - seems irritable when held, prefers certain textures
Auditory - puts hands over ears in noisy settings, likes to make loud noises
Olfactory - reacts defensively to smell, ignores noxious odors
Visual - appear to turn away from bright light, discriminating colors
Gustoatory - eats non edible foods (PICA), all food tastes the same
Vestibular - seems fearful in space, likes to swing, enjoys being tossed in air
Muscle Tone - Seems active or restless, tires easily, prefers to lie on floor
Coordination - accident prone, bruises easily, consistent hand dominance
Reflex - slow to walk or sit, irritable in infancy, isolating head movements
Based on my presentation many of the forms mentioned that Matthew partially mastered the first two levels. His Floor Time Assessment states the same thing. Individual Differences covers the ways a child takes in the world in sights, sounds and touch. The nine senses mentioned are found in this part of the DIR component.
My notes mentioned a great way to understand the difference between hypo and hyper. The hyper does not need more stimulation, the hypo responsive needs more stimulation. A child that has been over stimulated by swinging on the swing might get sick. This happened to Matthew a few times at his OT sessions where I saw it coming, but the Therapist had no clue she was over doing it.
A hint I made note of for two of the milestones - 5 is the Emotional Ideas, creative use of ideas. This means children that can think outside of the box. For 6 in Emotional Thinking this is those kids who can answer the why questions in detail and have higger levels of abstract thinking.
In stage 4 a child should be able to attend 30-40 circles of communication. Circles are conted per activity and not per time. A child will have more emotions at stage 4 with complex circles. They can do symbolic play
Some tips for Floor Time for parents to make note of before applying techniques with your child - be at eye level, notice the same things your child is viewing, become animated (high affect), become a fun play partner, face the child and become part of the object the chld is engaged with.
Matthew likes to lie on the bed under a blanket and shake legs on the bed. I make a game of like Simon Says and we start and stop stomping our legs in tune and he laughs a lot during this. He looks at me and smiles, opening circles of communication.
I sing songs in the car on the way to school and use his name in many of them. I say things like Yo Yo Mattie-O and repeat it several times. Matty is a silly boy, do da do da day hey! I use the high affect to keep his attention going and make the journey to school a pleasant one.
A child can take your hand and lead you to something they want and this is considered opening a circle of communication. Giving a hug or kiss is a circle of communication. If the child turns away from the conversation they have closed the circle.
The idea is to expand on what dialogue you may already have with the child and open up the lines of communication. Instead of asking how was school, get specific in your discussion. The key is to be persistent, show an interest in what they are dealing with or playing with. Explore feelings and encourage original thinking.
Floor Time can be music based or even OT based, depending on the needs of the child. The supervisor for Matthew will be an OT with the addition of Music at times per my request.
One of the handouts included a paper - Am I A Good Floor Timer? The questions to ponder are:
Do I observe the behavior, language, and gestures of the child?
Do I observe the style of relating?
Do I approach the child slowly, with respect and thoughtfulness?
How often do I let the child take the lead?<p>
Do I let the child know through gestures, emotional tone and facial expressions that I am there for her?<p>
Do I know when to be verbally responsive, and when it's better to quietly share a child's emotion?<p>
Another issue that was brought up was for motor based challenges. The term crossing the mid-line was not something I had heard before. Topics in Occupational Therapy explains this phrase - " Crossing the midline, which relies on good bilateral coordination, means using part of one side of the body in the space of the other part. Some examples of crossing the midline include sitting cross-legged on the floor or drawing a horizontal line from one side of the paper to the other without switching the pencil to the other hand."<p>
Look through assessments and reports to see if this term is ever used to describe your child and ask the Therapist their opinion. Another way to think of Floor Time is engaging in purposeful play with your child on the Autism Spectrum. During the assessment the Therapist took a book and walked around shaking it with Matthew following suit with him doing the same thing. He was quite interested to see someone doing the same thing as him in a quiet setting.<p>
Circles of communication can be verbal, gestures, eye contact or a combination of these. A circle starts with one and closes with the other person. Motor planning is the ability to formulate the idea of an action, organize it, and then execute it. Proprioceptive is the sense of body awareness created by interpreting the information from the muscles and joints.<p>
Receptive language - capacities involved in understanding the thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs of others. This includes the ability to interpret both verbal and nonverbal information from the muscles and joints.<p>
Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-1659516263734182422016-03-28T00:11:00.002-07:002016-03-28T00:11:38.280-07:00Our experience with Risperdal and side effectsMy children were diagnosed with autism in 1998 and 1999 and are now ages 9 and and 10. I have attended conventions, workshops and support groups over the past five years listening to parents speak about medications, enzymes, vitamins and diets to name a few therapies that families seek for their children who are on the autism spectrum. Along the way my children have developed other issues such as PICA, anemia, DSI, ADHD and OCD. Pica is the eating of non-food items such as dirt and paint chips. DSI (or SID as many know it) is sensory integration dysfunction, ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder.
<p>
I have a sister a few years younger than me that has been on many medications all her adult life and most of her childhood. My ex husband has been on several types of anti-psychotic medications for his paranoid schizophrenia. Although I have seen the progress and benefits of medication, I was totally against it for my children. My now nine year-old was severely anemic, malnourished and hospitalized a few times for dehydration. There was a push from many therapists for a gastronomy tube (feeding tube), we avoided that route and started him on Ensure Plus. The casein (milk) in this caused the PICA symptoms, but he was gaining weight and we switched over to a soy nutritional drink.
<p>
We were also attending the Feeding clinic with a team that consists of an OT (occupational therapist), Dietitian and Developmental Pediatrician. After some discussion and observation the Developmental Pediatrician gave us a prescription for Risperdal (Johnson & Johnson), which is an anti-<p>spychotic medication prescribed for schizophrenics and only FDA approved for adults with schizophrenia.<p>
Luckily Risperdal is available in an oral solution, which makes it much easier to give to a child with feeding issues. For the first month the medication was administered I started a notebook to keep track of his sleeping times, food choices, bowel movements and behavior issues. There were only two instances where my son had regular solid bowel movements and they were when he started drinking Ensure Plus and taking Risperdal.<p>
Suddenly the nightly ritual that took 1.5 hours dropped to ten minutes as a result of the medication. My son started gaining weight regularly increasing his clothing size as well as shoe size. The medication started in late February with the notebook being tracked through early May. One month into the medication I had to pick up both kids who were sick at school. It was at this time that the Principal mentioned that my son on the medication seemed calmer, plus she added that I did as well!<p>
One dose was given in the morning before school with the second dose before dinner. The Dietitian through the Feeding clinic was regularly monitoring his weight. I brought the notebook along for each weekly session to read to the OT and gave feedback to the Developmental Pediatrician. The initial dosage ordered for my son is a low one. Within one to two months an adjustment in dosage takes place. Since the feeding clinic services are funded through the Regional Center I made a copy of the prescription for my records as well as our Pediatrician. In just two months the dosage was doubled for the Risperdal.<p>
I informed the school and the Pediatrician as well as documenting the data in our records. I was working on the funding for summer autism camp for my kids and made note of his medication on the application, but there would be no need to administer it during the camp hours. There were no signs of side effects noted by school personnel or the summer camp counselors.<p>
During the month of September I noticed jerky leg movements as well as twitching in his hands. These are side effects to Risperdal as noted in the PDR – Physician’s Desk Reference. During this time my four-year association with my therapist was ending due to a change in services. The therapist noticed also the movements of my son while she was in the home. This helped reinforce my findings since at one point earlier in the year I had her attend an IEP meeting at the school to confirm my son was picking the paint off the walls. It seemed that since he did not do this at school the teacher did not believe me. She was not aware of his eating dirt on the playground at recess until I brought it to her attention.<p>
I did research online to find something I could print out about the side effects of Risperdal to bring to school for their records and to keep on top of their observations during the day. Then my son started to grimace constantly. The data I found online mentioned that the side effects are also similar to stimming, which is a phrase used regularly to describe autistic symptoms. Stimming could be rocking, playing with a string, hand flapping, etc. The teacher and aide for my son disagreed with my findings that these new behaviors were indeed side effects.<p>
I kept in contact with the Developmental Pediatrician and she wanted me to observe my son and let her know how often these were occurring and when. The aide still insisted my son was mimicking another autistic child, which I found impossible on the part of my son due to his limitations. Finally one day the aide noticed the grimacing on the playground and understood what I was saying. This was after the fact that his dosage had been lowered back to the initial dosage.<p>
The previous year the aide had informed me that my son was touching himself through his pants while standing outside on the playground and other classes were in the area waiting to get inside the lunch room. It really helps to keep a keen eye on the child in question because what may appear like one thing is actually another. In actuality my son was perseverating on the string found inside his sweat pants. He cannot tolerate other clothing, so it has to be elastic waist pants. I have since removed the string from all his pants to stop this behavior. It is beneficial to the child that communication remains between parents and school personnel to dissect the behavior and get to the real root of it.<p>
Several times during this medication fiasco the teacher mentioned my son was just mimicking other children and that I was looking for things that were not there. The Developmental Pediatrician contacted me often to brainstorm on the possibility of trying another medication. I spoke regularly with the Pharmacists at Rite Aid since they were also aware of the side effects. I needed their guidance on what medications were available in liquid form.<p>
This was a difficult time being at crossroads with the teacher and I told her she needed to take me seriously because my son was on antipsychotics that are only tested on adults for schizophrenia. The side effects continued with the lower dosage, which is not unusual since it takes time for them to cease and in some cases months and years after stopping the medication.<p>
At this time we decided to switch to Geodon, a similar medication but with less side effects, but a new one relating to heart problems. This only comes in capsule form so I was instructed to open up a capsule and place half in the morning soymilk for my son and the other half at dinnertime. The side effects continued for a few weeks before diminishing totally.
<p>
The change in medication took place the end of October. At that time I requested a letter from the Developmental Pediatrician to give to those involved with my son. The letter mentions the change in medication due to the side effects with the statement that he needed to be monitored for movement of his hands, face and legs. It was written that this was crucial for decisions regarding medication.
<p>
I also made a copy of the listing in the PDR for Geodon and made copies of both for the nurse, teacher, aide and therapists at the school and gave one to our Pediatrician during the annual exam plus our records have been documented. It is imperative that all professional that work with my son be aware of the side effects risk so they can alert me to their observations regarding any change in behavior. Without a team effort the one who will not gain is the child with the disability.
<p>
After being on Geodon a few weeks the Developmental Pediatrician called me to see if I wanted to try the newly approved drug Abilify. At the time I was tired of opening the capsule and wanted to go back to the Risperdal, but after consulting with the Pharmacist decided to stay on the current medication of Geodon and make no further changes. I am a member of a few dozen groups pertaining to autism and learn from other parents who have their children on these medications. Every few weeks the Developmental Pediatrician comes to a session to observe my son and ask about the medication.
<p>
I have seen much improvement in my son since over two years ago when the medication issue was tackled. This is not a decision to take lightly and much research should be done on the part of the family. Also it is important to note that you should never stop the medication without the recommendation of a professional, the one who is prescribing the medication and monitoring the situation. I have read that the medication needs to be slowly tapered off and the withdrawals could be worse than the side effects. I have changed my mind and consider myself to be pro medication, depending on the child and situation.
<p>
For awhile last year I thought my older son needed medication for his OCD symptoms, but I noticed once the visits with his father ceased his facial and vocal tics subsided. Keen observation and note taking are essential in determining what is best for your child. I kept my son home the first week we changed medication so I would be able to notice any change in his behavior, diet or bowel movements and not have to rely on others to maintain this crucial scrutiny.
<p>
It was a boost to my parenting skills when the Developmental Pediatrician complimented me on my thorough notes and research on the medication issues and side effects. Initially our Pediatrician was against the data I would find online, but now she is pleased with the results and remarks highly on the knowledge I have acquired and contribute to the care of my children.
<p>
It is tough at times to push forward when there are obstacles at every corner, but ultimately we know our child best. Due to the seriousness of the medication my son is taking I was not going to give up until all members comprehended what the side effects are and note them when observed.<p>
Please note - The FDA has now approved (10-6-06) Risperdal for the treatmet of autistic symptoms in children and adolescents.<p>
Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-47806436662925602222016-03-28T00:06:00.001-07:002016-03-28T00:06:54.932-07:00Individual Program Plans for California ResidentsIf you are a resident of the State of California you are aware of the Regional Center through the Department of Developmental Services. "California's has 21 regional centers with more than 40 offices located throughout the state that serve individuals with developmental disabilities and their families."
<p>
There is an intake process that each consumer must go through before they are accepted as a consumer. They are assigned a Service Coordinator for their particular unit. This could start with Early Intervention and move into the School Age Unit and other units as the child gets older and becomes an Adult. For the child from 0-3 their plan is the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) before it becomes an Individual Program Plan (IPP). There is a transition at the age of 2.5 to prepare for the next phase and meetings for families to assist in this process. Matthew turned three at the end of June and the school services were set to commence in September. I did not want Matthew to have no program in place for the summer months, so I appealed and got him to continue in the Early Intervention Program through the summer so he would continue with his progress and therapies.
<p>
Families entering the Regional Center System want to know right away what services are available to them. There is no quick answer to this because each person has their own individual needs and issues. Plus there are a number of disabilities served by the Regional Center.
<p>
It also depends on which location you are served by and the actual diagnosis. Some offices do not count Asperger's Syndrome as an eligible diagnosis. Therefore parents try to get the diagnosis changed to access programs for their child. They might have to pay a fee for various services rendered based on these programs:
<p>
Parental Fee Program
<p>
Family Cost Participation Program
<p>
"There is a requirement for parents to share the cost of 24-hour out-of-home placements for children under age 18."
<p>
A child could be eligible based on the diagnosis of their sibling and obtain Early Intervention Services based on the risk of a disability. This is how my son Matthew accessed his Early Intervention Program. His first diagnosis through the Regional Center was ADHD and then seven months later another evaluation determined it was severe autism.<p>
Both my children are consumers of the Regional Center and have the same Service Coordinator. There is a training and events department where consumers or their parents can receive training a certain number of times per year. Each location works differently, but most have seminars and support groups at their offices and families get invited to participate based on the age and disability of the consumer.
<p>
I have taken part in some training courses at other locations on Behavior and Support. I went to a few seminars on communication resources to learn what options there are. The Regional Center funded for me to attend a few autism conferences over the years as well. The most recent funding is the Stanley Greenspan Online Course set for April 25, 2008.
<p>
There are also emergency funds that help families that are low income with clothing vouchers to stores like JC Penney or a vendor who carries clothing for school and has backpacks. During the holidays there are companies that will adopt families and bring toys and food items to the homes of the consumers. There are also programs that have grocery store certificates for families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They have parties at various offices and at the vendors locations for families.
<p>
Parents can sit on boards for the Regional Centers and volunteer at the offices. They also can work at the libraries and help set up at fairs and expos. There are fairs to share about social and leisure activities where families can learn more about these organizations. Employment Opportunities
<p>
Transportation Services is another option for families when they have no other means of getting to the therapy appointments. When our vehicle was out of service we received transportation through a taxi service where each week I had to call and request a pick up and then make sure they were at the clinic once our session was over. There were several instances where we waited a long time for a ride home and it was night and dark. This does happen if you have late afternoon appointments and the freeways here in Southern California are heavily traveled. It helps to always bring fidgets, food and drink for the appointments so everyone is occupied and not starving. You might want to bring homework also for the siblings while therapy is taking place.
<p>
Summer and winter camps are options through the Regional Center as well. You do need to look into these options early in the year due to waiting lists and the time it takes to get funding approved. If the school offers a similar program over the summer months you most likely will only get it partially funded. The summer camp my children attend runs for six weeks and they used to have Extended school year (ESY) through their respective schools for a three-week period that we declined. I apply through The Achievable Foundation for a grant to fund the autism summer camp.
<p>
Sports and recreation activities are services that can be added to the IPP. This would include baseball, wrestling, karate, bowling, swimming lessons and horse riding lessons. My children have no interest in sports so I have not pursued this further to see what exactly can be funded. I do know that Keen is a vendor.
<p>
Respite Services are for the parents to get a break and either have someone in the home from an agency watch the children while they go out for a meal, attend a workshop or see a movie. Another option is to have the respite worker in the home while you do some reading, computer work or just have an extra set of hands around.<p>
The problems with the respite system is that the pay is very low and there are a lot of requirements for the workers to gain employment through the agencies that are vendored with each Regional Center. Trying to get the same worker each time is not an easy task. Depending on the severity and number of children in your household who are consumers, your hours will not be the same as other families. Some locations might still let you hire your own worker, but I think this has changed throughout the State. I have gone through many agencies with not much luck.<p>
These services are changed on an annual basis with your IPP meeting at the home with the consumer and Service Coordinator. When you want to change a vendor you contact your worker with the request. They send an amendment that is signed by parent, service coordinator and the regional manager before it becomes effective.
<p>
This is the same policy for all therapies that are requested. The first step is an authorization for just the assessment. Once this is approved there is a time frame you need to get this done by. The vendor sends a report to the Regional Center that goes through the funding process. When this is approved the consumer receives another amendment with the dates the therapy is approved for, how often and where they take place. This is also contingent on an outcome that is listed on the form.
<p>
An example - IPP Amendment<p>
Reason for Amendment - Additional Outcome Plan/Living<p>
<p>
Outcome - To maintain consumer in the home family will receive respite care to alleviate the stress of raising a child with a disability.<p>
Supports - Mother will receive 32 hrs/mo (sib rate) of agency respite thru XXX to maintain consumers at home from 11/1/07 - 10/31/08<p>
Respite will be reviewed at least on a yearly basis and re-authorization will depend on outcome of providing relief to parent.
<p>
There have been times that I was not pleased with the assessment report for a therapy requested and did not pursue it further. Also a few years later we requested a therapy through another vendor and had better results. While receiving therapy services through a Regional Center vendor you can always request a change in therapists. We first changed vendors with Floor Time and then therapists at the second clinic.
<p>
My children each received a three month period of music therapy before they changed the rules to incorporate typical neighborhood children into sessions and we opted out. Nicholas had an adaptive skills trainer for a six month or one year period with Jay Nolan Services as the vendor.<p>
Other services available for families include the following:<p>
<p>
Parenting Skills Training<p>
Supported Living<p>
Speech Therapy<p>
Physical Therapy<p>
Behavior Management Training<p>
Behavior Support<p>
Classroom Aide<p>
Genetic Counseling<p>
Diagnostic Testing<p>
Adult Day Activity and Training<p>
Assistive Technology<p>
After School Care<p>
Lending Library<p>
Mobility Training<p>
Intensive Intervention Services<p>
Extended Day, Year and Saturday Services<p>
Childbirth Education and Preparation Services<p>
Licensed Residential Facilities<p>
<p>
The IPP Plan covers living, education/work, social/recreation and health. Consumers can get recommendations for dentists, therapists, support groups and also request their Service Coordinator to be part of the IEP team at school. If there is an incident at a vendor the Service Coordinator will have to visit the site to file a report and review their procedures. This happened many years ago when Nicholas burned his hand while they were cooking at summer camp.
<p>
The Regional Center will want copies of the IEP and obtain progress reports from vendors to determine continued therapy. They will also request physician records and want medical forms filled out. Consumers can have access to their files and have copies of documents for their own files.
<p>
I have taken part in studies that were done at the Regional Center offices and also a nurse visited once to see how the feeding was handled at home with Matthew. Many years ago when registered with a visitation network the counselors there faxed their reports to the Regional Center since I did not have a Lawyer and I wanted to know what was taking place during parent visits with the noncustodial father.
<p>
Regional Center workers also attend conferences, trainings and support groups and can pass along information they learn and obtain to consumers. Many Regional Center Service Coordinators and Managers are parents and relatives of those with developmental disabilities.
<p>
Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-2393186767075067752016-03-27T23:59:00.000-07:002016-03-27T23:59:53.733-07:00Communication Devices for Nonverbal ChildrenMy nonverbal son Matthew is almost finished with fifth grade. I recently purchased the Go Talk 9+ device for use at home and school. Prior to this device the Los Angeles Unified School District loaned us the Cheap Talk 8 device for home and school usage.<p>
We were first introduced to the low cost voice-output device when in preschool special ed for three years at an Elementary school campus. This is where the initial AAC assessment took place. The Cheap Talk followed Matthew to his next classroom, as well as onto the next Elementary School until I just returned it a month ago.
<p>
The Cheap Talk had six levels with four icon boxes on the top and four on the lower level. It was a bulky item that was not easy to carry back and forth and got banged around a lot by Matthew when dumping his backpack on the ground. The device has to be turned on and off automatically by an adult, which meant that in preschool it was left on most days sitting on a table for all students to pound on. Since I had signed for this device I asked that it be kept out of reach of the classmates who did not really grasp that this was not a toy but a means for communicating.
<p>
The problems we encountered over the years included having a different teacher each year along with a new SLP. By the time everyone was acclimated winter recess would come along and then intersession with a month of half school days. Then the next process was to decide on photos and obtain overlays from the AAC department.
<p>
There would never be any specific goals in the IEP for utilizing pecs and the communication device. Instead these were listed under supports and more generalized. I tried to implement the Cheap Talk for outside therapies and would take photographs of therapists and Matthew engaging in various forms of play and learning. We were met with resistance at every turn and step along the way.
<p>
One year the Cheap Talk would be at my house collecting dust, while the next year I would make contact with the AAC department to get them to utilize this once again at school. The first year at the current Elementary School the AAC accessor came and had meetings with the aide, teacher, SLP and OT. I was informed of these after the fact. I requested a report for Matthew's triennial IEP in 2005 and for an AAC representative to be present so we could brainstorm some ways to utilize more visual supports in the classroom.
<p>
My other son Nicholas is the one who recorded the words for the Cheap Talk device. This was a neutral voice for the classroom and would not distact the other students by being a familiar voice. We used many universal terms for all the levels, so that the last button to the right on the top row would always be Help and the bottom row would indicate Done.<p>
I would have an overlay with therapy items, another one for food related items, one with colors and then one for directions like - more, wait, look, bye, hi and no. One of the levels was to be utilized by the speech and language professional, but they never got around to bringing the Cheap Talk to the room for therapy.<p>
In order to get all this implemented one person needs to be the responsible person and make sure the device is being used with all related services, overlays need to be done and meetings to cover updates in goals and how the pictures need to be expanded, etc. Some people use colored photos, others want images from real items and then there are those who prefer the stick images and figures. There has to be a team effort with open lines of communication. We lost that objective for many years and it is my hope that with this transition into Middle school and a new aide that my son will start to thrive in his communication skills.
<p>
One year after attending an Autism Conference and browsing all the exhibits, I met with AAC and SLP at the classroom to observe Matthew. This was an attempt to try to get the district to change from the Cheap Talk to the Go Talk. I brought along catalogs of products and the camp report on how well Matthew did with the Go Talk. AAC brought along a broken device and said that pushing the buttons was harder for kids and really wanted to give the Cheap Talk another try. We came up with ideas for how Matthew could participate with the device at circle time each morning.
<p>
Once I received the Go Talk 9+ device I contacted the AAC department at LAUSD and let them know I wanted to return the Cheap Talk device and that I bought the Go Talk 9+ based on the experience Matthew had the two previous summers at camp, where this was utilized on a daily basis for communicating his wants and needs. You are not limited to overlays with these devices and can use regular picture cards and velcro them to the square box for whatever need that may arise. I have plenty available from the pecs wall, notebooks and boxes galore. There are Activities using picture cards and the Flash CD, plus I run a pecs group on yahoo.
<p>
Unfortunately the new assistant was not there the day AAC and I observed, but we came up with some ideas for Matthew to be conversational with his assistant when performing tasks. I wrote the following phrases down for overlay development:
<p>
you do one, I do one (turn taking)<p>
let me do it, help me (interactive)<p>
want a squeeze (or a hug)<p>
request a fidget (like a ball or pencil grip)<p>
the 3 top core vocabulary keys for all levels are (yes, breaktime, no)<p>
<p>
To get feedback on his work he could press button to ask - how did I do, what next, I am waiting or look to get attention on a task he did. For interacting with teacher during circle time the days of the week could be programmed for one level and then she would ask what day is today. The same thing with all the students names/photos and then ask who is absent today?
<p>
Some phrases for Matthew to indicate his needs - too cold, too loud, repeat, no more, wet, sick, feels good. Other ways to interact with others would be for good morning, hello, thank you. This makes it more conversational for Matthew to be part of the classroom.
<p>
We did receive the overlays from AAC last week so Nicholas and I got four levels programmed. I never indicated anything about Mc Donalds but there was a image there next to the help button that his assistant was working on when Matthew needs his new sneakers to be tied. That day upon getting home Matthew went into his backpack and got out the Go Talk pressed Mc Donalds three times and off we went to Burger King since they sell onion rings and that is his current food of choice.
<p>
The next day at school the assistant had to cover up the Mc Donalds icon. We need to do some fine tuning to this overlay. The Go Talk is sleek in deisgn and more appropriate for Matthew as he enters MiddleSchool.
<p>
Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-34656792767908252932016-03-27T23:55:00.000-07:002016-03-27T23:55:01.612-07:00Eating Issues For Autistic TeenSometimes as parents of children, teens or adults on the autism spectrum we hope to find someone who has experienced something similar to what we currently are dealing with in our own homes. It helps to know we are not the only ones with a kid who is doing that or having said difficulty or not being able to break a habit that should have happened years earlier.<p>
What I am about to share is not easy to publicly state, but if this could help one other parent know they are not alone with this dilemma or situation than it is worth the embarrassment. Several years ago I read an article in a magazine that had the same effect on me. I was able to locate through some research the Father in the article to contact him to seek some advice. A few years later I followed up as we were still dealing with the same issue and found out his son had been placed in a group home.
<p>
My nonverbal son Matthew is fourteen and turning fifteen in a few months. From 2003 to 2008 he received Feeding Therapy from a Medical Group. The Feeding Team consisted of a Dietitian, Occupational Therapist, Marriage and Family Therapist and a Developmental Pediatrician. This was funded through the Regional Center. For a few years therapy was at their location, which housed a few kitchens and therapy rooms.
<p>
This is where Matthew started on his anti-psychotic medication. They also visited at school through the years and then I requested the visits to be at our home where it was needed the most.
<p>
For the past four months we have received ABA in the home four nights a week. What the Feeding Team could not tackle in a five year period was finally mastered in a few months with the help of some behavior therapists.
<p>
Matthew can now drink a variety of liquids from a cup, utilize a fork, eat a variety of foods and no longer drinks from a bottle. For fourteen years my son has been getting the bulk of his nutrition from a baby bottle. He went from milk to ensure plus to a soy alternative drink to soymilk to ricemilk.
<p>
He would consume up to six bottles a day. Most often the only way to stop the screaming and wall banging was to let him have a bottle. At last count prior to the start of behavior therapy there were 21 holes in walls throughout the house we have rented for twelve years.
<p>
Two years ago summer camp stopped when the couple that ran it moved up north without any prior notice to families. Matthew spent eight summers going there. The classrooms had small refrigerators and there was always a bottle there for when Matthew might need it when they came back from a walking trip. He would drink one on the way home in the car. One summer I had jury duty which meant he spent two hours after camp supervised with access to bottles for one week.
<p>
He took his medication in the bottles. At one point he was drinking from a reusable squeeze type bottle that had a little straw inside. We ended up tossing the straw and he drank from the opening. This would be sent to school with soymilk and he liked soy yogurt. His food repertoire was string cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs and bacon. He did learn to like chicken noodle soup, tomato soup and squash soup from feeding therapy visits.
<p>
There were many food jags where one day he would stop eating a food item and never want it again. The foods offered through the Feeding Therapy were all finger type foods. I requested utilizing utensils so that Matthew could sit at the dinner table instead of pacing through the house with a bottle attached to him.
<p>
Five years ago when we took a trip to San Diego for three days to visit Sea World we had a supply of bottles and soymilk. We made sure our room at the Holiday Inn had a refrigerator and microwave.
<p>
The article I mentioned earlier that I related to had a picture of a Dad with his son at a park and he had a bottle that contained apple juice with his medicine. It was the first time I had heard of another family that had an older kid drinking a bottle.
<p>
I had inquired to the Medical Group if they could put me in contact with other families receiving Feeding Therapy, but that never materialized. The reports from Feeding Therapy looked organized, but that was not how the sessions went. We were left on our own without ever mastering the goals.
<p>
The whole experience with them is still hard to put into words, but through ABA the end result is that Matthew is eating turkey burgers, porkchops, macaroni and cheese, tacos, burritos, spaghetti, ravioli, peanut butter and jelly, chicken strips. He drinks orange juice, cran-raspberry juice, water from water bottles and in cups, yogurt drinks and ricemilk in a cup.
<p>
He even requests the juice and easily opens the refrigerator to open a water bottle and walks around with one in his hand. He does the same thing with water bottles at school, except he picks up the ones from the adult aides and drinks them.
<p>
This past summer there were a few weeks of vacation between the extended school year (ESY) due to furloughs. I spent those weeks at the drive through at Burger King everyday to buy chicken fries and french fries for Matthew at a cost of $50 each week. As I would place an order the guy inside would always say - "Oh, its you".
<p>
The ABA therapy started Dec 1st. Over the course of the three week holiday break I took Matthew with me to the laundromat Sunday mornings. One Sunday morning we went to Burger King and I ordered french toast sticks for Matthew. When I drove up to pay and get the order the guy who used to know my order and voice was very surprised to see me and asked where I had been. I pointed to Matthew in the back and said he changed his eating habits!
<p>
In January the Supervisor and Director for the ABA company came out to discuss the bottle and toilet training. That day we stopped the bottle. Matthew's Dad comes over on weekends for a few hours and I go out to do errands and workout at the gym. Matthew knew there was still a bottle in the cabinet and was drinking two during these times both Saturday and Sunday. We saw a difference in his behaviors on Mondays.
<p>
I was worried the Dad would not be able to handle Matthew's behaviors if he did not get the bottle, but it was hindering the progress we made and I tossed it in the garbage in front of Matthew last Saturday and they all survived the few hours I was out on Sunday.
<p>
The wall hitting has ceased so now the holes can be patched, except we might wait on the bathroom since April 1st is the start of Toilet Training.
<p>
Matt is also utilizing his Go Talk communication device more often in the home and is no longer attacking me. He washes his hands on his own and we are currently working with ABA therapists on tooth brushing.
<p>
We should have started ABA years ago. <p>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-68635160112044214902016-03-27T23:49:00.001-07:002016-03-27T23:49:24.563-07:00New ABA Skills for New YearA year has been completed in the home for ABA with much success in the eating areas. Matthew now knows how to use a fork and spoon and has increased his food choices to anything and everything. The issue of eating slower and taking bites instead of just inhaling food is still being worked on.
<p>
He regularly eats fruits like pears, melons, apple slices, bananas and grapes. Next step is to expand his vegetable picks from carrots to other options. He is eating cereals, but does prefer cinnamon and peanut butter varieties. Drinks include rice milk, V8 strawberry and banana light fusion drink, orange juice and yogurt drinks.
<p>
Matthew is a big meat eater as well, with turkey burgers being his favorite. Pancakes and macaroni cheese round out his favorite meals. Steak, chicken, meatloaf, pastas, porkchops and ham steaks are consumed with no hesitation. Gone are the mozzarella sticks and finger foods that he would snack on. A favorite snack now is peanuts.
<p>
Progress reports are done on a six month basis. Behaviors have changed over the course of time from banging walls and stomping feet to grabbing my arms. Holes in walls and broken windows hopefully are in the past. The rigid behaviors have all but ceased where before they were a daily constant.
<p>
I've been given choices on what adaptive living skills to work on and have added some that I find needing assistance with. At this point in time I prefer to focus on self help skills than on social or play skills. Because tying shoes is the goal on the IEP for Occupational Therapy I wanted to add that to our ABA in-home program. This has just started in the past week.
<p>
We have been working on Matthew not trying to bite me when I clip his fingernails. We now soak his hands in a container at the sink to soften them before I attempt a few clips on each hand. I always have to end the session with the emory board. Many days before the bus we are at the door with me filing his fingers. I decided it would make more sense to have Matthew learn to use the emory board on himself instead of all the steps and drama associated with cutting his fingernails. This was well received by the supervisor of our program, so we started this last week as well.
<p>
Tooth brushing is working quite well with Matthew able to do this with prompting, but the task of teaching him to spit is not working out. I have searched online for suggestions.
<p>
For years now I have been opening a capsule and putting it in his drink twice a day for his medication dosage. I asked about trying to teach Matthew how to swallow a capsule. We have started this but it is quite confusing to Matthew as he does see me break the capsule and has chewed vitamin capsules, caplets and opened them up. I am also looking online for guidance on this task.
<p>
I can always tell when Matthew has eaten his school lunch by looking at his pants upon exiting the bus. He has the habit of wiping his hands on his pants so this goal is being worked on in the ABA program to get him to use a wet napkin or towel to clean his hands. I think the food at school is a lot messier.
<p>
For tying shoe laces in the program they are using backward chaining. Matthew is able to remove and put on his shoes independently. He can put on his jacket and zipper it plus he is now comfortable wearing the hood in cold weather or when raining. He prefers that to holding an umbrella. Whenever he wears a jacket it needs to be zipped all the way up. This is something we may tackle at another time once the shoes has been mastered.
<p>
In the last year Matthew has met the goal for cup drinking, hand washing, putting his shirt on, his pants on and expanding his independent leisure skills by coloring for ten minutes. I did have to remove the crayons and pencils to a cabinet since he was drawing on furniture and walls.
<p>
I declined when asked by the ABA program supervisor if I wanted them to teach Matthew how to use the microwave. I suggested teaching him how to wash the dishes would be more appropriate for his level. We are now working on him doing his plate after eating and he is rinsing his cups and silverware before putting them in the sink bin.
<p>
We are still in the throes of toilet training with Matthew wearing boxers during session and sitting on the toilet for 5 minutes every 20 minutes. There were many accidents when we moved the time to 25 minute intervals three different times, so twenty minutes is his threshold. This is only being done three times a week during the 2.5 hours of ABA. This has not expanded beyond the program for home or school. It is a long process.
<p>
Once the toileting has been accomplished the next step will be learning to swim and hopefully go to a summer day camp.<p>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-18311125781799316962016-03-27T22:57:00.000-07:002016-03-27T23:11:57.722-07:00Emotions of Raising Autistic Teens p>Most often there is no advance warning with the incident lasting under a minute. The lingering affects cause an occasional flinch when he gets in close proximity. I am referring to the times my son Matthew goes on the attack. I am the victim with the scars to prove I survived the latest behavior battle.
<p>
I do learn from each instance but they all take my breath away leaving me wondering how we got to this point. The last two were provoked by therapists that I allowed to work in my home to assist in the teaching of adaptive living skills.
I know I need help in getting Matthew ready for the transitions into adulthood and living as independently as possible. Yet the very people we rely on do not seem to grasp the complexities of autism spectrum disorders and the challenges they face in their daily living.
<p>
Instead they come into our home telling us what we already know while we continually share the same sixteen year history that is on file and a waste of crucial therapy time. This last episode resulted with my face being pushed into the stove with his arm around my neck while three employees of this latest behavior agency stood by before one actually came to my rescue after I screamed for help.
<p>
The first meeting of the therapist also included the supervisor along with another therapist with no explanation on why she was here. No one bothered to inform me that there would be three of them. Maybe my household of three should show up at their office one day and invade their personal space for two hours.
<p>
The first session was meant to be observational on the three behaviors that were decided on from the behavior assessment. This meant watching Matthew eat to see that he gorges on food and walks around without sitting for the entire meal. The main behavior that is really an adaptive skill is the toilet training with the third skill transitioning from a bath to shower.
<p>
The supervisor stepped in the cat water bowl and soaked the whole floor. Due to their late arrival I postponed giving Matthew his night time medication by forty-five minutes, which also meant a later dinner hour. With three onlookers in my kitchen I opted for something quick in the microwave for Matthew while Nick and I had to wait until 8 PM for dinner.
<p>
Matthew reacted to the three strangers in the kitchen hovering over the table where his food was by lunging at me. I was near the stove so I ducked with my head down as he was pounding on me and scratching while in a choke hold.
<p>
The supervisor spent the entire two hours with a winter type coat and scarf wrapped around her neck. The other girl had on a coat as well with the male therapist in casual attire.
<p>
I lashed back at the supervisor by telling her she did not make us feel comfortable in our home by keeping her jacket and scarf on and not explaining things to Matthew. After that I left the room to compose myself. While in the living room Nicholas asked me if I was crying but it was too hard to even talk at that point.
<p>
I had such mixed feelings since I was still scared that Matthew might strike me while my arm was stinging from the scratches and my jaw was very sore. At this point I was upset with myself for leaving Matthew alone with them in the kitchen but if I had gone back in it would have been to kick them out of the house.
<p>
I did not like how she went on to tell Matthew what to do when I finally emerged. I thought I was going to curse her out when she asked me to give Matthew a bath so they could observe. I refused to put us through that ordeal and told her so. I felt like clapping when they finally left, but enjoyed seeing a skunk in my front yard and their reaction as they made their way outside.
<p>
Over the years we have endured a bevy of therapists that spew their future success of toilet training Matthew and getting him to speak before services are even rendered. I would rather they show compassion and common sense when it comes to dealing with young teens on the autism spectrum.
<p>
The only person Matthew appears to be scared of is his brother and he has a fear of dogs. This does not stop him from leaving through the back door to walk along the streets of Los Angeles in his pajamas before LAPD picks him up. I worry that he may be enjoying the attention or perhaps it is the ride in the squad car that he is craving.
<p>
When I see him sitting on his bed looking adrift I feel sad because we have no real means of communication to get to the core of his emotions and his thought process. Nicholas wonders what Matthew thinks about and sometimes says that could have been him as the nonverbal one.
<p>
Having grown up with a disabled sibling I was often told to think how my life would have been had I been the one born with a brain tumor and blind. For years I lived in a house where I was scared of my own Mother. I preferred staying out all night to prolong the beating I would get from a bad report card.
<p>
While I certainly do not want any of my kids to be scared of me, I also do not want to be in the position where I fear for my safety as a result of an attack by my son. In a few years time he will be finished with high school and transition into the adult population.
<p>
For now, I’ll continue searching for answers.<p>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-33665542887014741732012-07-28T13:21:00.000-07:002012-07-28T13:21:30.509-07:00Autistic teen terrified of dogsMy son Matthew is nonverbal and now 16 years old. He has always been afraid of dogs and sometimes the encounters are chaotic in nature with the result someone getting hurt in the process, although not from the dog, it is usually from Matthew. <p>
For years we used to walk around the lake down the street but there was a busy street on one side and the actual lake on the other side so when a dog was coming around the sidewalk there was not a lot of room to move away. Also bicyclists used to be dangerous as Matthew did not know what to do when one was getting close to us and I had to guide him to the grass area or we would stop so they could get around us. <p>
Since the lake closed down for renovations we have been walking around the park and doing trails and stairs. This presents problems when we come upon a dog or dogs that may not be on a leash or get close to Matt when on a leash. He goes on the attack towards me and digs his fingers into my skin and runs or pushes me into the woods or a ditch and one time I almost went down the stairs. <p>
I get bruises and marks on my skin from his attacks. He also runs and I have to catch up to him to get a hold of his arm or hand. Now that he is taller at 5'6 or so and weighs about 105 pounds it is not as easy as when he was younger.<p>
Also in the earlier years I would get all those autism awareness shirts for Matthew to wear on excursions and for the summer months. Whether or not those really helped during this trying times is still a mystery because we get the stares and nodding of the head like they know or understand. <p>
This is the reason why we still live in the same duplex house for fourteen years. All the stores we go to have the same people working for a number of years and they are familiar with Matthew. It is basically the other customers that have no clue what this teen boy is all about. <p>
Now we deal with his foot stomping and constant burping while in line and out and about in public. He eats like an animal, gorging on food like he has not eaten in days. <p>
Matt is not toilet trained so he is wearing generic depends for men underwear. Due to the large amounts of water he is drinking this summer he needs changing every hour or you will find he wet the floor or bed. <p>
A few months ago we went to tour an open house for an autism school for high functioning college students. This was for my other son Nicholas. Matthew spent the whole time touching his private part while we were walking and he was laughing the whole time. Most of those in attendance did not seem to have any previous experience with a severe teen on the autism spectrum. Nick wanted to know why I brought Matt with us - like there was another option available. <p>
I wish there was some sort of therapy that taught those kids on the spectrum how to deal with their fear of dogs. I would think they would need to use dogs for this and that would never work. We would not be able to afford a dog for Matthew for therapy so that idea is out thinking that would protect him from other dogs and also from escaping the house and school grounds.<p>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-19764054225092234952012-07-01T14:40:00.003-07:002012-07-01T14:42:06.082-07:00Some regrets and some planning for the futureWhen you are raising two sons that are fifteen months apart on opposite ends of the autism spectrum some of their issues or needs might not be addressed due to one taking precedence over the other. <p>
My son Matthew turned 16 yesterday and gives me time to reflect on what we have endured and gone through since the diagnosis of autism at the age of two. Nicholas was diagnosed first and when Matthew was diagnosed I had assumed he would not be as severe as Nicholas. The opposite happened instead with Matthew still not toilet trained and nonverbal.
I wish I had done somethings differently and pursued other treatment options. This was at a time that having two with autism in the same household was not common. Every time I had an assessment for therapy for Nicholas or Matthew they wanted to give services to both boys when clearly they had different deficits and symptoms. <p>
For five years we had medical students coming on Sundays for an hour to learn about autism and spend time with Nicholas. This was my way for him to get some individual attention. For two years we had the same girl coming every week. The last year was a guy who would bring his girlfriend with him and talk about girls with Nicholas, which was inappropriate. <p>
I had an adaptive skills trainer for six months come and help him learn some skills, but then opted not to continue with that due to the way the guys dressed and feeling uncomfortable with them in my home. <p>
For a number of years I was a member of a DTT-NET egroup, although I hardly participated and more just absorbed all the information shared. DTT stands for Discrete Trial Training. We did not get the services other families did through the Regional Center. I should have pushed harder to get some therapy for Matthew to teach him to talk instead of them always focusing on pecs and sign language. Neither one of those worked for him. <p>
Now at age 17 Nick is interested in basketball. One of the Sunday volunteers had younger siblings involved in sports and she would share all about those events. I was hoping to get Nick involved in sports or musical instruments. Maybe had I pushed he would have had another activity to meet his peers. We could not do these though because of Matthew and his therapy appointments and issues with behavior and eating. <p>
Nick missed out on a lot and I tried to make it up to him by introducing him to Yugioh and Pokemon. I bought the gameboy for him even though he had no interest. That helped him in Elementary school as he had more in common with the other students. At the time all he talked about was Dinosaurs. <p>
From third grade on Nick wanted to go to the LA Zoo High School Magnet. His fifth grade teacher told me he would be good in Drama. Nicholas has recently told me he no longer wants to do online school and want so go back to public school. Next year he will be a Junior so we will use that time to prepare. The computer desktop is a loaner through his school so we need to get a new one. He needs clothing and to work more on his personal hygiene and communication skills. <p>
There is also the issue of which high school to attend. There are several within our home address that are known as his home school to choose from. We are considering an art academy. He spent his elementary school years drawing in note pads. We had at one time over 100 of them with his comic book drawings and his stories and characters. <p>
Other families helped their students explore and take their art drawings to the next level. We had ideas to make cards or sell mini books on etsy or other similar sites. I think Nicholas just needed some nudging to get there but due to issues with Matthew I could never find the time or money to help explore this venue with Nicholas. <p>
Recently the regional center coordinator had suggested that when he goes to College and takes art he may get some feedback from a teacher that would be beneficial. He is now open to drama classes. I just feel like all these ideas I had three years ago are now coming to light so we need to roll with it while the interest is there. I guess it is not too late. <p>
I cannot plan out his life for him but have shared with him how his interests can be something to explore for career. He loves watching some food shows like Cake Boss and I suggested taking a year to go to cooking school - this is good for his future as he will learn a vital skill. The art is a fun hobby he needs to be open to and learn about other aspects and not just be limited to drawing. He wants to work at the Zoo or at an animal Sanctuary someday. At this point he needs to work on learning some office type skills and do internships or volunteer at organizations for animals or shelters to get that experience.<p>
Matthew will be going to high school until he is 22 so the has many more years in the school system. Once he is toilet trained I want him to take part in the after school track program for special ed kids and then move on to Special Olympics. I do hope to take the one-year certificate course at the community college to learn to be a special education assistant. This will help Nicholas when he attends that college so we know the layout and system. Also will be something for me to fall back on.<p>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-82753767713872579412011-10-09T21:48:00.000-07:002011-10-09T21:48:30.783-07:00Update on Autismfamily AdventuresIt is time to get back into the blogging routine. Both teen sons are now in high school. Matthew turned 15 this past June and Nicholas turns 17 in March. Since Dec 1st of 2010 Matthew has been funded by the State of California through the Regional Center for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which was for the behavior of putting holes in the walls (last count it was 21) with his pounding on the wall as he walked by. <br />
<br />
Life skills are also part of the therapy - teach tooth brushing and toilet training. We have four nights a week for 2.5 hrs. One therapist for three nights and another therapist for one night. I will post another blog on the revolving door of therapists and supervisors we have had in less than one year. Another blog post will be on how Matthew went from being a poor picky eater to now consuming everything in sight, similar to a typical teenager. Toilet training is a slow process but will be covered in a blog as well.<br />
<br />
Matthew's teacher has an adult son in a group home - this was the selling point for me for this high school and class - which is a CBI - Community Based Instruction with MRS students - Mental Retardation Severe. His two elective classes are JROTC - his uniform is sharp and I am waiting for the day he has to wear it to school so I can take a picture. His class is after lunch so might have him change his shirt with his aide prior to lunch. <br />
<br />
The other elective class is drawing. I met the teacher at back to school night, where he mentioned his son has PDD. The bus that takes Matt and his aide to school also goes to another High school. On the bus are two students that Matthew went to elementary school with and they were all in the same Kindergarten. One of the aides was also in the First grade class Nicholas attended. <br />
<br />
The good news is that LAUSD starts school three weeks earlier next year. They get out still at the end of June. There was one incident with Matthew getting out of the house via the backdoor when I was at the gym one Saturday and their Father was here watching them. A neighbor spotted Matthew coming out of the gate and dashing around the corner. She knocked on the door and had the Dad drive his car down the hill to catch up to Matthew - who was running in his socks down the middle of the street. <br />
<br />
After learning of this escape and the first of its kind, I stopped going out on weekends and the Dad just comes for a quick visit on Sundays. I am not sure where Matthew was going - but he was on pure adrenaline. The neighbor ran all the way down to find him until the car got to him. <br />
<br />
The lake that we used to walk laps around is being drained and under construction for two years so we found a park that is closer and Matthew enjoys walking at a fast pace around and it is filled with trees and shade. <br />
<br />
Nicholas is still doing online schooling - taking Biology, Spanish, Modern World Studies, Literature and some other courses. There are some online clubs he is enjoying. I think I will send him to a camp next summer to work on social, life and community skills.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-6223174249823117952009-12-01T19:47:00.000-08:002011-06-02T21:04:09.546-07:00The Drive Home from SchoolToday I received a phone call from Matthew's teacher at almost 1PM. He said there was a bit of a problem with Matthew. I thought something really awful must have happened and he was hurt or hurt someone. But no the teacher said the aide had to leave school to take his son to the Doctor and since the aide needs to ride with Matthew on the bus and this year the bus route has no other aides on the bus - so I had to go pick him up.<br />
<br />
The teacher should have just said I need to pick up Matthew instead of mentioning some sort of problem with my son that did not exist. He needs to use his words better and not cause panic for the parent!<br />
<br />
There are four students, two personal aides and one classroom aide along with the teacher, so basically it is 4 adults and 4 students. I asked how the aide was able to get to his car since he parks near my house to ride the bus. The other personal aide drove him during their break, which left just one aide with the teacher for that duration. He seemed quite frazzled on the phone because the other two aides leave earlier than the time school gets out. The same thing took place at the Elementary school where the other aides shift ended earlier so that left Matt's aide to help all the other kids instead of mine. This resulted in leaving his jacket or communication device at school with the aide being distracted with other students.<br />
<br />
Matthew is the only boy in his class this year - this is Middle School - 6-8th grades in a MRS class - Mental Retardation Severe. I chose the school because they follow the traditional school calendar where other schools are year round with months off at various times of the year and not summer.<br />
<br />
This other girl was at the same Elementary school as Matt in another classroom and is a classmate of his. The Mom takes public transportation to take the girl to school as she does not want to put her on the bus. Matt's aide and I have told her it is not a problem. <br />
<br />
I gave her and the girl a ride home. The girl kept saying Hello in the car and likes to kiss hands and wave - she was fine back there next to Matthew who was chowing down on some fries from Mc Donalds. The Mom was constantly telling the girl to be quiet. I mentioned I would not mind if Matthew would say Hello and be so cheerful. <br />
<br />
I felt bad for the girl who has such a sweet disposition and likes Matthew. H seemed fine with them being in the car for the drive home. I went to Target earlier today to look for a jacket for Matt since the weather here in Los Angeles is getting colder and rain is in the forecast. All Matt has to wear is a fleece jacket. <br />
<br />
Matthew is not the type of kid that will try on clothes for me to see if they fit, so when I buy clothing I try to leave the pricetag on until he has tried the item on. I picked out this great looking orange four in one jacket, with a fleece/polyester reversible inside jacket, the outer jacket has the hood. I showed him the jacket and he wanted to put it on. Later he tried the fleece side of the other jacket and wanted to practice zippering on the orange jacket. He knew I was surprised he wanted to take part in this since he was smiling and quite happy with himself.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it is the little things that brighten your day. Now if only I could hear him repeatedly say Hello.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-66737091076237837392009-11-30T20:38:00.000-08:002009-12-01T16:45:42.511-08:00Pretty Please Press Books - Review and GiveawayI was given the opportunity to review these four hardcover books by <a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com">Pretty Please Press!</a> because of my membership at <a href="http://productreviewplace.ning.com">The Product Review Place</a>. Pretty Please Press! is a small publishing company that reached out to mommy bloggers as part of a grassroots marketing effort. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SxShCeh9hFI/AAAAAAAAAY4/nFlez0fbBo4/s1600/pretty+please+books.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SxShCeh9hFI/AAAAAAAAAY4/nFlez0fbBo4/s320/pretty+please+books.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410126116306125906" /></a><br /><br /><br />Pretty Please Press! has a special discount of 20% their books plus buy 3 get one free through the end of the year - <strong>ends December 31, 2009</strong>. You can read more about the <a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/about/authors-illustrators.php">authors and illustrators </a>at the site. <br /><br /><em>Pretty Please Press publishes children's books that are designed to be read aloud and talked about. Each book contains a message about character and values that helps parents and children think and talk about a variety of issues.</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I liked the vibrant colors of the books and the free educational downloads they have at their site - <a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/pdfs/Lesson_plan_Kick.pdf">Character Building Lesson Plans</a>,<a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/pdfs/pynx_concept_cards.pdf"> Concept Building Cards </a>and <a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/pdfs/Vocabulary_cards_bella.pdf">Vocabulary Building Cards</a>. These seemed very suitable to the autism community of parents, therapists and teachers alike. <br /><br />The lesson plans and cards are available for each book and include such vocabulary words as - galaxy, delighted, allergic, harmony, answer, demonstration, bow, cajole, balcony, bribe and bellow. Each book covers a specific theme as indicated below. The website has guidance for parents on <a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/parents/comprehending-comprehension.php">reading comprehension </a>and why reading aloud is so important. The books are suited for children from kindergarten through third grade. <br /><br />My high functioning autistic son Nicholas has also read each book and offered his opinion below. He has always enjoyed reading and one year took part in a read-in at the Elementary School he attended. When in the fourth grade he read a chapter from one of his favorite books to a lower grade class. The teacher told me Nick was very animated in his reading and should try out for drama once he reaches high school. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/books/products.php?id=4">Kick Block Punch</a> - <strong>Setting goals</strong> - Written and illustrated by Jacquie Hann. This book begins on the first day of karate class with some enthusiastic students wanting to earn the black belt right away. This one actually showed perseverance with Sam never giving up and achieving his goals. One page at the start has him going home and kicking his brother Ben, which I did not really like due to there being no consequence for this action.<br /><br />Nick says that the kid was not learning the key aspects of karate in the beginning, but with practice he was able to earn a yellow belt with the green belt his next goal.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/books/products.php?id=2">Bella Basset Ballerina </a> - <strong>Perseverance</strong> - This book starts off on a fall day after school. Bella has twin brothers Beau and Bart. Bella wants to be a Ballerina in the big city. Nick's feedback was that this book was too girlish, but did get that there was a lesson taught on following your dreams. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/books/products.php?id=3"> The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters</a> - <strong>Resolving Conflicts</strong> - Written by Laura Aimee Garn and Illustrated by Erik Brooks. The title is a fun tongue twister to get the readers quickly interested in learning to read this book aloud. The sisters are constantly at odds with one another, which is not much different with two teen boys in my household. My sons are fifteen months apart and opposites. <br /><br />The sisters destroyed their toys and made life so impossible for their parents that they divided up the house. Mrs. Twitchell and Lavinia lived in one half of the house with Mr. Twitchell and Emmeline on other side. All their belongings were divided, labeled and locked away. They had piano, dance lessons and a very busy lifestyle. Nick's impression was that the sisters constantly fight for the attention of their parents. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.prettypleasepress.com/books/products.php?id=5">Pynx</a> - <strong>Tolerance</strong> - Written and illustrated by Jeffrey Greene. According to Nick, there were lots of alien creatures on this strange planet when the Pynx arrives. It makes many sounds that confuses and angers them. They have to learn to coexist and tolerate one another on the same planet. The jungle creates were interesting looking.<br /><br /><strong>Kick Block Punch</strong> and then <strong>Phynx</strong> were the favorite books of my son who is homeschooled. My son loves to draw creatures and is into animals. He was inspired to get out his sketch pad once again and write another book. His best one thus far is Ricky the Shark. <br /><br />I also received a second set of these four books to giveaway. The rules for this are as follows:<br /><br /><strong>Giveaway ends Monday, December 7, 2009 at 11:59pm EST</strong>. Open to U.S. addresses only. One winner will be selected at random and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment or have it readily available in your profile so that I may contact you if you're the winner.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Entries</strong> -<br /><br />1. Please leave a comment indicating whether the books are for a boy or a girl. <br /><br />2. Tweet this giveaway once a day - please post the status link to tweet.<br /><br />3. Follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/autismfamily">twitter</a> <br /><br />4. Leave a comment on any of my articles and leave title in comment section.<br /><br />5. Sign up for my autism <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/archive/AutismSpectrumDisorders">newsletter</a>.<br /><br />6. Post this giveaway on Facebook - use share this on sidebar - leave link to your wall<br /><br />7. grab my blog button from sidebar - leave link to your blog in comment. <br /><br />8. tweet any autism article from <a href="http://autismspectrumdisorders.bellaonline.com">site</a> using the icons at the bottom and leave status link in comment<br /><br />9. Place an entrecard on my blog - leave me link to your entreard page<br /><br />10. Follow my other two blogs and leave blog info in comments.<br /><br />Please note that Pretty Please Press! sent me the books, therefore I am financially responsible for mailing these out to the winner, paying for box and postage.<br /><br />I received the books in exchange for my honest review.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-42264952153248147812009-11-22T10:03:00.000-08:002009-11-22T10:19:46.618-08:00Explaining Birth Son to teen with autismThere is a new show on ABC entitled, <a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/find-my-family">Find My Family</a>. This is from the producers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. <br /><br />Today, November 22, 2009 is the day I gave birth back in 1978 to a son that I gave up for adoption through Catholic Charities in Newark, NJ. When I saw the commercial for the new show I did a google search, which led me to an email address for those who are interested in being on the show to contact. I did that and have yet to get a response.<br /><br />So far this is okay with me as I have yet to inform my oldest son about my first born son. I wrote a <a href="http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-49DB-1011AACF-38F4007D-prod5">Birth Mother's Open Letter </a>back in 2000 when I had two toddlers on the autism spectrum. They are now teens, but Matthew would not really grasp the story.<br /><br />The other day the commercial was on when Nick and I were watching TV and he told me it looked good and mentioned the bit about it being from same producers of the other show that we have watched over the years - although he mostly tuned in for the autism family stories/makeovers.<br /><br />I am located in Los Angeles and noticed Lisa Joyner is one of the hosts and she was in Los Angeles news at Fox for many year so I think this is the home base of the show. I mentioned in my email that I have two teens on the autism spectrum and from NJ where I gave up son. I discussed wondering if he has any kids and if autism is in my genes and should he be notified of this. I forgot to note in my email that I turn 50 in April.<br /><br />I almost started to tell Nick about my first born son but not sure what he will comprehend. I had an opportunity to write a letter and put in his file before he turned 18, just in case he had access to it or contacted Catholic Charities, but at that time I had received autism diagnosis and could not spend the time or money on a search. <br /><br />I keep the information I have on Catholic Charities in my earthquake kit also.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-30809271462930591182009-11-22T09:24:00.000-08:002009-11-22T09:50:08.534-08:00Money Management LessonsThe other morning I decided to look at my checking acct balance online and was surprised to see a negative in red with overdraft balance listed. This was 5.42 and I thought I must have forgotten to note the recent Burger King transaction of $6.87, plus the prior day I had used my paypal card as a credit card and it was going to transfer a dollar and change from my checking acct as I had gone over and this is set up to do that.<br /><br />I looked at my acct and register to see these were noted, but found online a charge for LA NEWSPAPER for $25.00. I called the number which was a recording saying the number for the paper and informing callers to tell the company that this was a personal number. I imagine this was the delivery person's phone number.<br /><br />I was quite irate on the phone with customer service after being told this was the third charge from my checking acct for $25. There was one in July and September. I have no idea how I missed those, but am quite distracted being a single Mom to two teens on the autism spectrum with one being homeschooled and utilizing the computer for work.<br /><br />I get a bill for the Los Angeles Daily News annually and give them my debit card for the payment, which has been $35.00 annually and I never gave authorization to use my card for future use. I have no paperwork citing this and did not sign anything. The customer service rep said I authorized it in July but could not come up with any print out for me. She said their site and info was recently upgraded. I asked for a history of my acct to show me how long I was paying the $35 fee and to see this in the mail, she could not produce anything like this.<br /><br />She said she would put in for a refund of the November charge and I called my Bank. My first call resulted in finding out that they would do an investigation after the refund came through and I called to notify them and if that charge was the cause of the NSF - non sufficient funds they would reimburse me. I was concerned with the dollar and change charge from paypal that did not come through and wanted to find out if that would give me another $24.00 NSF fee and he said yes and would not be reversed.<br /><br />My son Nicholas is homeschooled and this went on after his brother went to school on the bus and he woke up to some colorful language on my part. I had a stack of bank statements all over the kitchen table as I tried to find the previous $25 charges.<br /><br />I got out a bank statement and a credit report to show Nick what happens when a credit card company sees you have NSF and how this can spiral out of control. I also found the papers from the bank on their fee structure showing if you have so many NSF charges in a year the fee rises. This was my attempt to cover myself and do a quick lesson in money management.<br /><br />The big lesson was for me and the way I do my checking acct register. I look each item I have written up online and place a check mark next to them so that I have checks up and down the register. This is how I have done it for years but it is not foolproof as anything unexpected coming through would not be in my check register and would not get noted as I am looking from my register and not the actual withdrawals.<br /><br />I am now changing that way of balancing. A few weeks ago I had noticed when checking to find out why balances were not the same a calculation error on my part, or so I thought where I misread a 2 for a 5 and added the $30 back in, which might be why I had not noticed the $50 already taken out (July and Sep)<br /><br />I had to get to the laundromat and called from my cell the Bank again to put a dispute on the charge and I found out you have 60 days so the customer service rep was kind enough to place one on the Sep charge as well.<br /><br />I wrote a review on some <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art57527.asp">workbooks</a> awhile ago. The very large <strong>Life Skills Activities </strong>book has a great section in it, Practical Living Skills with Money Management one of the chapters. <br /><br />There are pages on Writing a Check that shows a blank check and the steps plus maintaining a checking account. I think it is time for Nick to learn this. We just recently started a <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art64362.asp">chore system</a> that is going well.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-57342999916139791882009-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:002009-11-08T15:23:34.129-08:00Screwed Over By ProfessionalsI have been thinking lately of how we as a family of two autistic teens have been treated by those professionals serving the disabled community. For nine years my son Nick attended the autism <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/9840.asp">summer camp </a> with Matthew being eight years. I start planning for camp early <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art38779.asp">each year </a> and due to this we do not sign up for <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art43383.asp">Extended School Year </a>, but that backfired this past summer.<br /><br />A few years ago I read about a <a href="http://www.blogher.com/school-uses-moms-blog-evidence-against-her">New Jersey Mom </a>where the school her special needs child attended read and utilized her blog against her at the IEP. Because of this I have been lax in posting my true feelings about the camp issue this past year along with what happened with the behavior parent training a few years back through one agency and the clinic where Matt received Feeding and Floortime therapy.<br /><br />But parents need to stick together and share both positive and negative experiences for others to glean from and determine what is the best resource for their kids. Quality control exists for a reason. <br /><br />Camp abruptly was cancelled before the start of summer, but way after the deadline to sign up for ESY so Matthew had nothing for two months to keep his progress going and his decline was evident to his teacher at the start of this school year. Things he once was able to do had to be taught over. There were obvious deficits due to not having any services over the summer. <br /><br />The camp ended their association with the State of California <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56587.asp">Regional Centers </a>and proceeded to send the written exchanges they had to the families. I felt this was poor judgement to air their dirty laundry to the very people they serve. They basically left us hanging with nothing - there was not even a planned day for families to get together so the kids can see one another. After nine years this is how my son was treated and I felt it was unacceptable.<br /><br />Over the course of the summer the Regional Center <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art64062.asp">cut</a> camps as a vendored option, leaving families scouring to find funding opportunities. Several weeks ago we started going to <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art63495.asp">Kids Enjoy Exercise Now </a>(KEEN LA) where we ran into a fellow camper that was in Nick's class for the previous two years. <br /><br />For years I had been telling other parents and promoting online about the summer camp and now we are in the dark about what will happen next year. In talking to the other parent at the KEEN sessions she also did not get her daughter into ESY because of camp, but in spite of that her child still wants to go to camp next summer as does mine. It is a conflicting feeling and I wonder how they will contact parents in the coming year. <br /><br />The Behavior parent training few years back was for a few months but the services were hardly professional. Since that experience the Regional Center has ceased doing business with that company, but after my calls to complain the so called therapist trashed me in the final report. This is why I hate <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art34599.asp">assessments </a>and reports. <br /><br />The girl got the job from an ad on craigslist and tried to use her version of PECS with my nonverbal son Matthew. I explained to her that she was no speech therapist and to stick to the assessment plan. One session she brought a new therapist who had a low cut tank top on. I called the office to complain about their attire and the way the therapist conducted herself in my home. <br /><br />The feeding therapy started years ago and went well for a long time until I requested the sessions to be at my kitchen where we needed the help. Matthew had no problems eating in their kitchens but the issues were here. There was never any organization to the sessions as the therapist would bring a piece of paper and never follow a plan or give me written directions. I asked many times to use foods that required a fork and spoon, but it was always foods that could be eaten by hand.<br /><br />The visits to school were inconsistent and the same questions were asked each week. For months no one ever showed up and there was a huge gap in services offered. We were basically just left hanging and Matthew is back to eating limited foods. <br /><br />I have run into the Occupational Therapist and Dietitian twice in the last year - once at a funeral and just last month they were presenters at a feeding seminar I attended. It is my belief that some professionals speak well on their topics and are good on paper, but fail in achieving success with the client.<br /><br />I requested many times to get the copies of the videos they took of me and Matt, yet to this day nothing ever arrived in the mail. I wanted to see the progress and learn from these tapes, but they were too busy using them at their seminars to help other professionals instead of following through with their own clients. My son has suffered because of this.<br /><br />The Floortime therapy was through the same clinic since we had a relationship with them, or so I thought. After a year at my home they stopped suddenly due to the therapist being allergic to cats and we had one from outside come inside. No one ever came again after that and just left my son in the midst of the progress with no help whatsoever.<br /><br />It sure would be nice if the therapy remained consistent and the families received some guidance before it all ended. Thanks for nothing..Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-37236719382085221892009-08-01T16:32:00.000-07:002009-08-01T18:32:10.175-07:00Blog Tour for Gather.comFor the past several years I have been joining online communities to connect with other parents who have kids with autism. I started with <a href="http://www.epinions.com/user-bonniesayers">epinions.com</a> in 2000 before finding <a href="http://autismfamily.gather.com">Gather.com</a> in August of 2006 <a href="http://www.cafemom.com/home/autismfamily">CafeMom.com</a> was the following summer along with <a href="http://www.wishuponahero.com/profile/?user=autismfamily">Wish Upon A Hero.com</a> also known as WUAH, with <a href="http://twitter.com/autismfamily">Twitter.com</a> June of 2008, as well as this blog last summer.<br /><br />The summer months are when I come across these online communities and expand my relationships and do my part to promote autism awareness. There are many rewards to finding another community to become part of, plus you find some of the same friends from other sites. Each site has their own style so you get to gain new insights from those previous relationships while delving into new opportunities at each site.<br /><br />I wrote about my impressions of <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976811449">Gather.com</a> back in October of 2006. I was so enthusiastic with the site that I created almost twenty groups for members to belong to where they could post articles, videos, photos and comment on other posts. Every idea I had would mean a new group.<br /><br />The site has grown and expanded with options over the years to include bookmarks and sharing of posts, pings on profile pages, spotlighting of our own articles for our profile page and having more information on members to help determine if you want to become friends. You can delete a comment on any of your posts, you can remove the option of ratings for anything you post also. Groups can be private for only family members if you choose. Your friends can be categorized by friends, family and colleagues. There are many options on gather.com to read and interact with others plus the fun in earning points for gift cards. The holidays are five months away - time to prepare is now. <br /><br />Meet people and make new friends is the <a href="http://www.gather.com">gather</a> motto. Once you become a member you can <a href="http://www.gather.com/people.action">search</a> by your location, interest or age group to find conversations and groups to join. At your home page the links to utilize include:<br /><br />my posts, my photos, my videos, my comments, my friends and my groups. Also the option for guarded viewing is on this page, plus email preferences, your account settings, friend updates are here and comments from your friends on posts around the site.<br /><br />Your <a href="https://earnings.gather.com/Offers.do">gather points</a> are posted next to your photo or avatar. This is a clickable link so you can find the gift cards available for your point total. The minimum to redeem is 315 points. There are options to get paid through paypal as well. I received a Borders card in the mail today. I redeemed last month. The <strong>gather </strong>home office is in Boston, Founder and CEO is Tom Gerace. I still get notified when Tom writes a <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977755584">new post</a>. The letter with the gift card thanks you for making gather such a special place. "<em>We love sharing our success with you</em>."<br /><br />Just last month was an opportunity for the first 500 Gather Moms to fill out the 2009 summer survey and receive 50 gather points. There are competitions, author chats, review opportunities and contests to take part in on <strong>gather.com</strong>.<br /><br />My teenage son has enjoyed over the years looking at photos of <a href="http://www.gather.com/searchResultsImages.jsp?contentType=Images&keywords=cat pics">cats</a> on <strong>gather.com</strong>. He will tell me what the rating should be and help with the comment. There are options to rate and comment posts, pictures and videos. You can set which groups are your favorite and change your settings to not receive emails from every group. If you join many groups there is the section at the bottom of your posts where you need t choose which group your photo, post or video gets linked up to.<br /><br />Some groups are very strict in what they will accept, there are tags that are helpful to find posts as well. My groups are moderated so I need to go into my home page and click on group tasks to find the new content and approve it on a weekly basis. <strong>Gather.com</strong> also takes copyright infringement very seriously. There are <a href="http://www.gather.com/searchResultsGroups.jsp?contentType=Groups&keywords=copyright&search=Searching...">groups</a> on this topic as well. <br /><br />You will meet many new people who share similar interests, post poetry, short stories, reviews of books and other products, share family experiences and post coupon codes to get deals at each week. Now for summer the reading is about vacations, picnics, movies, favorite television shows and recipes. <br /><br />There was a children's health product that had been recalled. I wrote a <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976834311">post</a> complaining about this and wanting to know what other parents were using. This article continued to get comments as it was found in online searches. Through these comments I learned of two new products that were just as good that I started purchasing and still use to this day. <br /><br />At your home page you will see what your friends are posting, what activity is happening in groups, recent comments and photos. There are many groups to discuss and learn about the site as well. This past week there was an offer to <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?grpId=3659174697248211&articleId=281474977754957">win a free book</a><br /><br />The first year I joined gather.com I stock piled 7 or 8 B+N gift cards for holiday shopping for my kids. Although B+N is no longer an option, Borders, Macy's and CVS have been my gift cards of choice since my first year. I have always received my gift cards within three weeks. You earn points for everything you do on the site. To join <a href="http://autismfamily.gather.com/joinme.action">gather</a> there are links for you to place on your blog or site, plus you can send invitations. There was a referral program with points earned for new members. I have had a banner on my blog since I started it. <br /><br /><a href="http://autismfamily.gather.com/joinme.action"><img src="http://www.gather.com/images/personalInvite/125x125.gif" border=0></a><br /><br />I highly recommend other bloggers join <strong>gather.com</strong> to form new bonds with those who have similar tastes. There have been cruises for members to attend and meet in person. Members share about their writings and new books, family ventures and find out about other places around the world from the diverse mix of members from all over. <br /><br />Some of the groups I created include:<br /><br /><a href="http://autismfamilies.gather.com">autism families</a><br /><br /><a href="http://acwriters.gather.com/">associated content writers</a><br /><br /><a href="http://beauty101.gather.com">Beauty 101</a><br /><br /><br />This is the first blog tour I have signed up with <a href="http://www.momcentral.com">Mom Central </a> since my blog was accepted into their program. Due to the fact that I have personal experience this is a perfect fit for me.<br /><br /><em>I wrote this review while participating in a blog and giveaway campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Gather. Mom Central sent me a gift cad to thank me for taking the time to participate</em>.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-31423568719168292332009-05-17T15:31:00.000-07:002009-05-17T16:27:14.902-07:00VizZle - Visual Learning Software Giveaway<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/ShCQtadN7KI/AAAAAAAAAXk/vTvdkG0K-ak/s1600-h/vizzle.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/ShCQtadN7KI/AAAAAAAAAXk/vTvdkG0K-ak/s320/vizzle.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336924668304420002" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>VizZle</strong> - Visual Learning Software for Children with Autism is web-based from Monarch Teaching Technologies. This is the answer for teachers, therapists and parents for quick, easy and effective visual supports.<br /><br />Back in March my high functioning son Nick and I went to the free exhibitor day at the <a href="http://csunconference.org/index.cfm?EID=80000144&p=88&page=Text&ECTID=144">CSUN </a> Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference. This is where I first saw and heard of <a href="http://www.monarchtt.com/">VizZle</a>. Awhile after the conference I noticed <strong>VizZle</strong> on <a href="http://twitter.com/govizzle">twitter</a>. <br /><br /><strong>VizZle</strong> has a searchable library of lessons that range from state-standard academics to personal hygiene, matching boards, game-boards, interactive books and a visual language lab. Lesson tracking will be available by August. Currently there are token boards that can be customized, timers plus first-then boards. <br /><br />You can match coins to their value, match coin images to written names, play the matching spider game, pick clothing appropriate for each season, learn about gardening, practice grouping animals in a table-top activity and for the next six weeks <strong>VizZle </strong>is giving away a $25 amazon card to the user with the most new lesson plans each week. There is a new winner every week. The site also has a <a href="http://www.monarchteachtech.com/product/try-vizzle-free">free trial </a>and there is a <a href="http://www.monarchteachtech.com/docs/VIZZLE-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf">quick start guide </a>to<strong> VizZle</strong> in pdf format. <br /><br />There is also the option to take a one-hour VizZle <a href="https://monarchtt.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=monarchtt">training</a> session. You can inquire about special group discounts for the school year 2009-10. The VizZle <a href="http://www.getsatisfaction.com/monarchtt">help</a> section. <br /><br />VizZle received a Best Education <a href="http://www.computedgazette.com/page5.html">Software</a> Award 2009 from Comput Ed Gazette. They are one of four finalists for the Technology Innovations <a href="http://www.aepweb.org/awards/lampfinalists.htm">Golden Lamp </a>Award from AEP (the Association of Educational Publishers), which will be awarded in June. In mid April <strong>VizZle</strong> sent out their 1000th username and password. <br /><br />I am thrilled to announce that Monarch Teaching Technologies, Inc. is giving away two 3-month subscriptions to VizZle to readers of Autism Family Adventures blog. This starts today and will run for one-week. This is a great giveaway for parents, teachers or therapists and gives you the summer to work on lesson plans and/or have your child practice learning while on summer break.<br /><br /><br /><strong>RULES FOR GIVEAWAY</strong><br /><br /><br />Please make sure I have a way to contact you should you be the winner. You can include your email address with your comment. Please do one comment for each entry. <br /><br />For the main entry please post in comments whether you would use the three month free subscription to<strong> VizZle</strong> as a parent, student, teacher or therapist. What age group are the students or your child?<br /><br />For extra entries leave a comment for each option<br /><br />1 entry - subscribe to my RSS feed or via email<br />1 entry - follow this blog - can be found in the sidebar<br />1 entry - follow me on twitter (autismfamily) leave your ID <br />1 entry - follow @govizzle on twitter - leave your ID<br />1 entry - grab my button from the sidebar - leave link to blog<br />1 entry - Fav Autism Family Adventures (this blog) in Technorati<br />1 entry - digg, stumbleupon or mixx this blog post - one comment for each<br />1 entry - tweet this giveaway - leave your twitter id & date of tweet<br />1 entry - join Autism Next Door on Facebook<br />1 entry - friend me on Facebook - Bonnie Sayers - leave me your name<br />1 entry - fan VizZle on Facebook - leave me your name<br />1 entry - connect with me on LinkedIn - Bonnie Sayers<br />2 entries - do a recommendation for me on LinkedIn<br />2 entries - blog about this giveaway - leave blog link<br /><br /><br />If you already do any of the above, please note that with your ID in a separate comment for each.<br /><br />This <strong>VizZle</strong> giveaway will run through Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 8 PM PST. The winners will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. Both winners will have 48 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen. Giveaway is open to US, Canada and International users.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-84168133200998946162009-05-03T13:40:00.000-07:002009-05-05T20:12:02.200-07:00Twitter Sonrise Chat LogThis is the summize log from the twitter chat with <a href="http://twitter.com/playtogrow">Tali Berman</a>, founder of Meir Autism Treatment Center in Israel that was held on April 28, 2009. Five copies of her <a href="http://meirautism.org/book.html">book</a>, <strong>Play to Grow!</strong> Over 200 games designed to help your special child develop fundamental social skills were given away during the <a href="http://www.twitter.com/autismfamily">twitter chat</a>. <br /><br />Welcome Tali - please tell us how you first learned of the Son-Rise program<br /><br />I began with a family in 1997 and was amazed by the honoring approach and progress- child is fully integrated now<br /><br />What are the 5 stages of development in The Son-Rise Program Developmental Model? <br /><br />what age range do you cover in your teaching of sonrise? <br /><br />do son-rise teachers work with therapists like OT and speech? is son-rise done at clinic or in home<br /><br />5 stages are organized by skill level in 4 fundamental areas:eye contact, language, interactive attention span, flexibility <br /><br />we work with children of all ages, including adults <br /><br />can you share some of the games from the book? <br /><br />Does sonrise target any specific behaviors? Can it help redirect behaviors? <br /><br />yes, if child has specific need for those therapies. Typically done at home but games can be used in clinics as well <br /><br />what does the Son-rise program maximum impact cover? How long was this? Do parents learn these programs too?<br /><br />for sample game ideas see inside our book at our site www.meirautism.org- too little space here for more details <br /><br />do you see many children with sensory challenges? is this covered in training? <br /><br />can you explain the flexibility aspect as one of the stages? sonrise <br /><br />Does sonrise target any specific behaviors? Can it help redirect behaviors?<br /><br />book is more about teaching skills through interactive play than redirecting- though Son-Rise does address this <br /><br />what are the 5 stages that are organized by skill level in 4 fundamental areas<br /><br />do you attend IEP meetings and offer input to the goals? <br /><br />how is sonrise different than floortime?<br /><br />yes- the Israeli equivalent to IEP <br /><br />does sonrise encourage siblings to be involved in playing and initiating games, etc? <br /><br />what does a sonrise assessment consist of and how long does the therapy last? <br /><br />play time is in specified room, repetitive play is joined not redirected and the parents attitude has big focus <br /><br />only if sibling wants to participate if so than yes!<br /><br />Do you guys offer any ideas on how to capture initial involvement in play? <br /><br />Identifying where your child's skills are in 4 areas. Developmental model can be downloaded at www.son-rise.org<br /><br />do you work on life skills, self-advocacy and/or social skills with adults <br /><br />any tips on dealing with a child who seeks deep pressure often, my son wants on his chin<br /><br />yes- this is key.playroom, fun props, your child's specific motivations during presentation and through out the game <br /><br />yes- social skills, conversations skills, social cues, reading body language, asking personal q's, etc <br /><br />Thank you! Was wondering about any play to help relax<br /><br />Are the 5 stages of development considered sort of like a "trade secret" or are you allowed to share them? <br /><br />give to him on ongoing basis- this can be used as leverage in game to keep him interested /willing to be challenged <br /><br />Just too extensive to share in a sentence- stages are explained in full detail at www.son-rise.org, download check out <br /><br />Have you found that your strategies help any child populations in addition to those on the spectrum? <br /><br />A great 'hot dog ' game-try rolling him like a hot dog in a thin blanket- give squeezes and roll out- kids love it <br /><br />Thank you! My son is very "hugged" inclined, we use to soothe a lot.<br /><br />yes- any child with social and language challenges- many of our children are not on the spectrum <br /><br />does therapy last more than one year? How do you know when to terminate - when move thru the 5 stages? <br /><br />If the play time is in a specified room, what do you do with a child who consistently refuses to stay in the room?<br /><br />there are dangers to rolling up in blanket, suffocation, need to be very careful with that <br /><br />start with 15 minutes, build to more time, once the children see the fun they go in and shut door themselves<br /><br />Specified room? Can we incorporate fresh outdoor play? And does it offer help with classroom transition or trans into adolescence <br /><br />yes- of course with child's head out! <br /><br />do you use sign language, comm devices or picture cards to communicate with nonverbal kids doing sonrise?<br /><br />yes, plus too much pressure in chest area can suffocate a child..sounds like a great program tho, will def check out<br /><br />In stages 4/5 games can be done outdoors, in earlier stages in the room. Son- Rise does address transition to school <br /><br />Yes, but some kids strongly desire to run/move in larger area, really want to leave room, do you force to stay at 1st?<br /><br />If appropriate for child- yes, still with focus on verbal lang <br /><br />we do recommend closed/ locked door (if necessary)for initial transition into the room- again, most kids love being there <br /><br />how long has this program been around?<br /><br />I recommend mixing it up- 15-20 minutes in room, energetic outdoor activity then room again- building to more time <br /><br />That makes total sense, but doesn't it kind of go against the Son-Rise principles? <br /><br />Will program work with kids with Ds who are also on the spectrum? <br /><br />I mean doesn't the closed/locked door sort of go against the basic Son-Rise principles?<br /><br />One of few places we go against the child- once in the room they have total control- effective environment is crucial <br /><br />Is there a specific room we should use for a playroom in the house that would work to our advantage? Dont have spare room here. <br /><br />Interesting! What are some of the other ways you would go against the child's wishes?<br /><br />If you don;t have spare room you can use child's bedroom- just need to modify it so it can be used effectively <br /><br />If child was hurting himself, others or destroying property<br /><br />how do sonrise teachers address biting and hitting during therapy? <br /><br />In short (obviously a bigger discussion) being preventative, give alternative (chew toy to bite), praise when gentle <br /><br />also offering deep pressure squeezes (if child lets) on head and rest of body- could be a way to release pressure <br /><br />Does "being preventive" include changing gears when see behaviors coming, could communicate power through aggression?<br /><br />changing gears just before the aggression, also tracking if there is link to foods, time of day, over stimulation, sleep <br /><br />Thank you Bonnie for this chat. You are a force of nature! I hope all you winners out there get a lot from the book <br /><br />So if change gears right before aggression, might still be pre-aggression behaviors, but you honor as communication?<br /><br />Looking forward to new ideas and less frustration, thank u again<br /><br />Thank you for sharing your time and talents! <br /><br />You can check out @playtogrow book on #sonrise program at: http://meirautism.org/principlesBonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-3225286467482491222009-04-30T22:54:00.000-07:002009-05-01T17:23:33.724-07:00Joey Tote Bags GiveawayI recently wrote a review on <a href="http://bonniesayers.blogspot.com/2009/04/joey-tote-bags.html">Joey Tote Bags </a>at my personal blog. Chris & Kate of <a href="http://www.joeytotes.com/OUR_BAGS.html">Joey Totes </a> are offering two sets as a giveaway to my readers. A set consists of 1 large and 2 small sized tote bags.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SfaLPxoUQtI/AAAAAAAAAXE/xnGRRUW6AxM/s1600-h/shapeimage_1-150x150.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SfaLPxoUQtI/AAAAAAAAAXE/xnGRRUW6AxM/s320/shapeimage_1-150x150.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329600312176296658" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>RULES FOR GIVEAWAY</strong><br /><br />Please make sure I have a way to contact you should you be the winner. You can include your email address with your comment. Please do one comment for each entry.<br /><br />For the main entry please post in comments what you would use <strong>Joey Tote Bags</strong> for.<br /><br />For extra entries leave a comment for each option<br /><br />1 entry - list one of the cons or pros I have in my <a href="http://www.joeytotes.com/OUR_BAGS.html">review </a><br />1 entry - follow this blog - can be found in the sidebar<br />1 entry - follow me on twitter (autismfamily) leave your ID <br />1 entry - grab my button from the sidebar - leave link to blog<br />1 entry - Fav Autism Family Adventures (this blog) in Technorati<br />1 entry - tweet this giveaway - leave your twitter id & date of tweet<br /><br /><br />This <strong>Joey Totes Bag</strong> giveaway will run through Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 9 PM PST. The winners will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-13620681746071939592009-04-30T19:13:00.001-07:002009-04-30T22:54:12.920-07:00Muvee Reveal Information Plus A GiveawayI have never made a movie online before or put something up on YouTube. It all seems too techy for me to figure out. I finally had the opportunity to make a movie through <a href="http://www.muvee.com/en/">Muvee Reveal</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SfqKQQFESlI/AAAAAAAAAXc/qLJTP6kwmHg/s1600-h/reveal_logo_web.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 137px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SfqKQQFESlI/AAAAAAAAAXc/qLJTP6kwmHg/s320/reveal_logo_web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330725120745163346" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Animal Pics is the name of our <STRONG>Muvee Reveal </STRONG>, which consists of pictures from the Los Angeles Zoo, Sea World and the California Wildlife Center that had animals on stage Earth Day for the first day of showing Disney's Earth Adventure.<br /><br />The download took over one hour to complete, which gave me a warning before the setup phase -<br /><br /><em>Your system does not meet the recommended system requirements of 1GB RAM and 128 MB dedicated Video RAM to run Muvee Reveal optimally. Overall performance may be sluggish especially when using High Definition material or saving option.</em><br /><br />The setup took about another half hour before I finally got into the site to make my <a href="http://www.muvee.com/en/products/reveal/">Muvee Reveal</a>. The first step is to add pictures. They are loaded at the top of the page. In four easy steps we had Animal Pics. <br /><br />1. Add photos or videos - we use pics from flip video camera<br />2. Choose the Style - we went with default, found options after finished<br />3. Select Music - I could not figure that out so I think it was default<br />4. Press play - I got a message a few times telling me that I needed to add more photos - I started at 12, ended at 18 with the message indicating I needed 6 more to have the pictures rotate faster to keep up with music.<br /><br />Seems the pictures are slower in my Muvee Reveal due to the limited number of photos I uploaded. I liked the way the video turned out. It did not appear sluggish as the warning indicated after the download prior to setup. It seems 24 is the number of photos recommended. <br /><br />The Reviewer's Guide really helped guide me through making my Muvee. There are 8 styles to choose from and at the end you can do a voice-over, put up a title and do the credits. Our microphone is not working but I did add a title and my name in the credits. There is a muveee share option for iPod, DVD burning and for various devices and through www.shwup.com you can import for private family album sharing.<br /><br />There is a 15-day free trial at <strong>Muvee Reveal </strong>, as well as <a href="http://www.muvee.com/en/celebratemom">$20.00 off </a>as a Mother's Day promotion. <br /><br /><strong>Muvee Reveal</strong> is offering a CD program to one winner. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SfqJqoifquI/AAAAAAAAAXU/CpYpOSrRiWc/s1600-h/boximage.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8NHPAll__FE/SfqJqoifquI/AAAAAAAAAXU/CpYpOSrRiWc/s320/boximage.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330724474476014306" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>RULES FOR GIVEAWAY</strong><br /><br />Please make sure I have a way to contact you should you be the winner. You can include your email address with your comment. Please do one comment for each entry.<br /><br />For the main entry please post in comments who you would feature in your Muvee.<br /><br />For extra entries leave a comment for each option<br /><br />1 entry - subscribe to my RSS feed or via email<br />1 entry - follow this blog - can be found in the sidebar<br />1 entry - follow me on twitter (autismfamily) leave your ID <br />1 entry - grab my button from the sidebar - leave link to blog<br />1 entry - Fav Autism Family Adventures (this blog) in Technorati<br />1 entry - tweet this giveaway - leave your twitter id & date of tweet<br /><br /><br />This<strong> Muvee giveaway </strong>will run through <strong>Tuesday, May 5, 2009 </strong>at 9 PM PST. The winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-68138699004410227872009-04-27T17:08:00.000-07:002009-04-27T17:21:16.481-07:00A Few Autism Emotional MomentsAs the parent to two teens on the autism spectrum I have not been through the stages some families go through during or after the initial diagnosis. I have never been in denial or cried for what could have been or lost time, etc. I read stories of how Dads are sad they will never play ball with their sons or whatever.<br /><br />While I do not understand that since it is not the end of the world to have a child with autism or for the person who is on the autism spectrum I have had a few moments over the years when I got emotional.<br /><br />The ones that I can recall are when I listened to Temple Grandin at a Back to School Conference in August held in Pasadena. I felt the tears start as I got up to leave the auditorium to see the exhibitor tables out in the hall. A little while later I went up to Temple at the table she was hanging out at and felt awkward trying to come up with something to say besides great speech. It was like meeting a celebrity.<br /><br />The other day we went to the autism fair at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I was parking the car and got that emotional feeling come over me. It was quite a sight to see all these cars and families with their kids getting ready to do the fair and the walk. I am not sure if I was emotional because it was just me and my kids while the other vehicles had extended family members and friends with them or just knowing that this many families were at the same location at one time seemed amazing to me.<br /><br />Then yesterday while I was agitated over some rude remarks on twitter my nonverbal son who likes to flip through the photo albums brought me one with a picture in his hand that fell out. He needed me to put the photo back into the plastic . I turned it over to see the first picture taken of him with me at the Hospital the day he was born. It was like he knew this was a special picture and it was a great moment to see that picture again after all these years. I got up from the computer and to be with my kid instead of dealing with individuals online that pushed my buttons.Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-64375626610981011952009-04-24T22:50:00.001-07:002009-07-16T18:03:01.688-07:00Join The Play To Grow Twitter ChatI am hosting a chat with author <a href="http://www.twitter.com/playtogrow">Tali Berman </a>of <strong>Play to Grow!</strong> Over 200 games designed to help your special child develop fundamental social skills. This is taking place on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/autismfamily">twitter</a> Tuesday, April 28th at 11 am PST. <br /><br />The chat will last for one hour with <strong>five <a href="http://meirautism.org/book.html">books</a> to give away</strong>. If a winner is located in Canada or International they will get the book for free, but have to pay shipping charges.<br /><br />The hashtag used for the chat and promoting the chat is <strong>#sonrise</strong>. <a href="http://meirautism.org/about.html">Talia</a> is a Son-Rise Teacher located in Israel. I am in California so this is the best time for both of us to have the chat. <br /><br /><strong>Over 200 games </strong>designed to help your special child develop fundamental social skills, is the essential companion to The Son-Rise Program® Developmental Model. This user-friendly book contains 201 fun, creative and simple-to-prepare games.<br /><br />The games are divided according to the 5 stages of development outlined in <strong>The Son-Rise Program Developmental Model</strong>, and each game is designed to address a very specific goal listed within each stage. Now parents simply need to locate their child’s level on the developmental model and use Play to Grow as their guide.<br /><br />There are various twitter applications that you can use. I prefer www.summize.com where you would just type in #sonrise and follow along in real time and click reply to respond to a particular post. <br /><br />When I attend twitter events I keep a window open to the host and another one for the guest and then one for <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23sonrise">summize</a>. When you hit reply in summize it opens a new window in twitter with the @ sign ready to respond to that twitter member. You might want to close window when it has finished posting. You will also need to make room in your tweet for the #sonrise hashtag.<br /><br />There is also www.tweetchat.com where you would sign in using your twitter ID and password and when it asks what room to enter you would type in #sonrise. I have tried it a few times. You do not have to keep typing in the hashtag if you use tweetchat.<br /><br />Another option is to utilize www.tweetdeck.com. I went there once and got lost so never tried to figure it out. There are many twitter members that use this if you seek guidance. I would test it out now with other twitter gatherings that take place on a weekly basis like Monday nights it is #journchat and Tuesday evenings it is #gno (girls night out).<br /><br />I suggest trying these out if you are new to twitter to see how real time chat events work and how they flow, etc. When you RSVP below in Mr Linky you will be using your twitter ID, not a website as this is a twitter chat and going to your website is not going to help another twitter member follow you at the chat.<br /><br />Feel free to post relevant questions in the comments. This chat will last for one hour on <strong>Tuesday, April 28th</strong> 11AM PST, 2PM EST. <strong>Five copies </strong>of the book will be given away.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=autismfamily&postid=25Apr2009"></script>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-34925685038477439392009-04-24T16:25:00.001-07:002009-04-24T18:05:55.556-07:00Twitter RDI Chat LogThis is a log of the tweets that were done using #RDI for the chat Friday, April 24, 2009 with the RDI Founder Steve Gutstein. <br /><br />RDI stands for Relationship Development Intervention program - new book out called The RDI Book, read chapter at www.rdiconnect.com<br /><br />A copy of the RDI Book will be given away during this chat as well #RDI this therapy is for PDD, autism, aspergers<br /><br />RDI embraces the premise that all family members must be nurtured and cared for and that they all sink or swim together #RDI from the book <br /><br />It is becoming increasingly clear to scientists that ASD derive from the failure of the brain to develop normal dynamic functioning. #RDI <br /><br />here are some questions I have for @steveamherst on #RDI What are the most significant ways that RDI differs from floortime? <br /><br />what are the age ranges for RDI, can a teen start doing RDI if not had any other therapies #RDI <br /><br />Is RDI helpful 4 persons on the spectrum w/little language (verbal OR visual) and behavior probs? <br /><br />RDI is not one specific technique. It is a new way of approaching ASD that can benefit anyone on the spectrum<br /><br />RDI is based on empowering families <br /><br />RDI is also based on recognizing that people with ASD are highly diverse in most ways <br /><br />any tips for families dealing with self injurious behavior in young autistic children<br /><br />RDI goal is providing potential for quality of life for folks with ASD <br /><br />a new link now saying autism and anorexia, last few weeks was to vinyl flooring, what do you make of all these?<br /><br />RDI consultants work with families on bio psycho social levels to customize <br /><br />Process is disrupted in ASD due to neurological difficulties so dynamic intelligence doesnt develop <br /><br />RDI started about 1999. Now 205 certified consultants, about 3,000 families in 18 countries <br /><br />can you define "dynamic" functioning <br /><br />What feedback do you receive most often from RDI families? (I'm an RDI parent. Husband & I have 11 yo Aspergers)<br /><br />Parents report significant increase in child's flexibility <br /><br />Parents report tremendous increase in child's desire to "open" their world to new experiences <br /><br />Dynamic functioning means being able to solve real-world problems and participate in the flow of everyday life<br /><br />can you give an example in flexibility?<br /><br />RDI is also based on recognizing that people with ASD are highly diverse in most ways<br /><br />Dynamic Intelligence is the single most important predictor of future success<br /><br />any advice for parents of kids who are biters to themselves - self injurious behaviors? <br /><br />do RDI consultants come to IEP meetings? Do they help with goals? how many hours does one usually do of RDI a week <br /><br />For self injurious we first need to understand why <br /><br />Is the behavior an avoidance? Is it a temporal lobe dysfunction?<br /><br />What people with ASD have in common is that their brains don't develop in integrated manne<br /><br />is there any connection to stuttering and autism?<br /><br />People with ASD are much too diverse to ever give an "ASD answer" or solution without knowing that individual <br /><br />what is the oldest person you know of who receives RDI <br /><br />I am suspicious of those professionals who claim they know "the answers" for everyone on the spectrum <br /><br />any advice on perseverations for a teen, should they be limited to specific times to speak on favorite topic?<br /><br />my son is HFA (14) homeschooled for Middle school yrs, was in gen ed, he needs to say good bye to animal tv shows <br /><br />If your teen wants to perseveratively talk to him or herself I wouldn't try to limit it. But I wouldn't let them do it with you<br /><br />he was so upset crying the other day because the cat distracted him & he could not say goodbye to show, stumped me <br /><br />RDI consultants can help you with IEP's. You and they set very specific goals and have very clear objectives <br /><br />RDI is teaching your family how to be super functional and you to be optimal guide of children's mental development.<br /><br />third person to tweet to me what RDI stands for gets the new RDI Book <br /><br />can you explain the readiness stage of RDI <br /><br />what are yr thoughts on taking RDI to developing countries where the need for need is great but the cost of RDI too high?<br /><br />No connection I know of between stuttering and ASD<br /><br />People with ASD typically have several co-occurring disorders <br /><br />I like the information on scaffolding in The RDI Book, can you explain about that now<br /><br />what are yr thoughts on taking RDI to developing countries where help is needed but cost of RDI to high <br /><br />I love the fact that #RDI equips parents to be the ultimate guides as they work through process as a family. Progressive!<br /><br />what are your thoughts on eye contact, is it required with #RDI? <br /><br />Scaffolding is learning how to take a mental process and gradually transfer it from yourself to the child <br /><br />We carefully select a mental objective from the approx 1,000 I wrote that are developmentally staged <br /><br />We make sure child is ready and we have developed mental foundations for it <br /><br />good info in the RDI Book on meaningful activities, can you share some here on twitter?<br /><br />Then parents and consultant collaborate on a plan to break it into small steps and gradually transfer responsibility for it <br /><br />how does RDI work with nonverbal kids, do consultants use pecs or devices, are they trained or learn thru family?<br /><br />We are carefully building dynamic brains and minds <br /><br />Responsibility means the child knows that from now on they are responsible for the mental process <br /><br />Something like Piaget's scaffolding/concrete operational stage? Systematic<br /><br />For example - from now on child must check to see that he or she is coordinating actions with partners <br /><br />Or checking to see if others understand and are interested in what he is communicating <br /><br />For older kids augmented communication might be necessary to provide purely instrumental, means-to-ends communication<br /><br />Professionals can go to our website www.rdiconnect.com and find out information about becoming an RDI consultant <br /><br />last call for questions for RDI Founder Steve Gutstein @steveamherst<br /><br />It takes about 12-18 months but folks can do almost all training (except 3 wks.) in their local area<br /><br />Your thoughts on RDI in conjuction with other therapies (ABA, VB, Floortime, etc) vs a 'strict' RDI approach?<br /><br />OK. Well I have to get to the airport. Thanks for the opportunity<br /><br />thanks to all who participated in #RDI chat sorry about twitter glitchBonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-76709043126411531732009-04-23T15:58:00.000-07:002009-04-23T17:47:30.415-07:00A Free Premium Membership Weekend to Find Help at Care.comI have been spending the last few days at <a href="http://www.care.com">Care.com</a> checking out the <strong>free premium membership </strong>offerings that are available <strong>this weekend</strong>. It starts off at midnight pacific time Friday, April 24th and goes through this weekend.<br /><br />I had heard of www.care.com but honestly I never really knew what the site was about. I am glad I had the opportunity to explore this site in detail because what I found was very organized search options for finding special needs care.<br /><br />As the parent to two teens on the autism spectrum I require someone with related experience pertaining to behavior, feeding, communication, stimming, bathing/grooming and hygiene. I prefer them to have their own transportation and to be a non-smoker. <br /><br />Your search can be limited to availability on short notice, various age groups, individual or company, hourly rate, age of caregiver, mileage from the home, disability and key words.<br /><br />The initial search for someone to care for special needs has a drop down box with disabilities that include:<br /><br />ADHD<br />Aspergers<br />Asthma<br />Autism<br />Blindness/Visual Impairment<br />Celiac<br />Cerebral Palsy<br />Down Syndrome<br />Epilepsy<br />Food Allergies<br />Fragile X<br />Seizure Disorder<br />Sensory Integration Disorder<br />Speech Delay<br />Tourette Syndrome<br /><br /><br />The next step is to input your zipcode and choose the mileage in five mile increments from 1-50. There will be a list in the middle of the page with results showing ten possible caregivers per page. This list can be changed according to age, name, city, experience, distance, membership length and refine the search. I have done this several times, changing the distance and the care service experience.<br /><br />In all honesty it can be a bit overwhelming to see all the options to find someone to assist in the care of the special needs child. The profile pages of the caregivers contains all sorts of data at your fingertips. <br /><br />I searched using "autism" in the keyword and also wanted to only see profiles of members with a photo and who had logged in within the last two weeks. This can also be last week or last month. I specified wanting experience with teens. This has the age range of 12-17. Another option here is if they are comfortable with pets. This I did not check off since we only have a cat. <br /><br />The general information in this refined search has drop down boxes for the provider's age, gender, language and hourly rate. I left the default "any" for provider age, gender and hourly rate on all my special needs searches. I specified for housekeeping female only.<br /><br />Some of the options for care service experience you can search include:<br /><br />Assistive Technology/AAC<br />Behavior - Applied Behavior Analysis<br />Brushing Protocol<br />Epi Pen Injections<br />G Tubes<br />Respiratory Care<br />Sign Language<br />Stimming Attendance<br /><br />There is also a willing to learn section - if that box is checked the caregiver is open to learning new skills. Under other services the options cover - medical transport, errands, shopping, laundry, meal preparation and housekeeping. There is another box for choosing part or full time plus live-in or out. <br /><br />I really limited my results when I chose AAC and stimming, which left me with no one. Once I changed my search choices I found 6 caregivers within my categories. Their profiles had some interesting information for me to limit my choices even further.<br /><br />At the profile of the caregivers I saw the last time they logged in, their reviews if any, their certifications, their background check - which is a verification of their social security number and a national criminal records search. You need to apply to obtain this information if it is readily available at their profile. The reviews are also available in audio. I found one profile that had one waiting for approval.<br /><br />The profile has their name, age, years of experience, hourly rate, availability, response to messages, ratings, diagnosis experience, specific care experience, additional options, qualifications, education, language. There is a check mark indicating experience. The chart lists all days of the week and time frames with checks for openings. <br /><br />What really caught my eye was not responding to all messages as I found some that had 50% listed there. I was quite interested in the blurb the caregivers used to describe themselves. I would think of this like the opening paragraph of a resume. The remarks by some had nothing to do with caring for special needs or their terms used were not appropriate. <br /><br />I would prefer someone with CPR, First Aid for their qualifications. One of the choices in my search had let these expire but was willing to take them. I was surprised at this statement as I would rather someone want to do this on their own to speed up the hiring process.<br /><br />There are green tabs at the top of each profile so you can switch over to child care, tutoring, pet care, housekeeping and senior care. These are all dependant on what the specified caregiver is interested in providing at www.care.com. One profile I read had housekeeping and tutoring while some others just had child care and special needs.<br /><br />The other options in the green tabs is the contact to send a message, reviews to read, background check, videos and your notes on this profile. The notes are for your eyes only.<br /><br />I like that there is a page for me that shows my messages, my stats, care exchanges, my jobs, my favorites and my profile and settings. When I logged back into the site my messages were at the home page for me to review. My stats showed that I sent 3 messages and received 1 reply, plus that I had logged in five times. I have two profiles in my favorites and two emails. When the background check was approved by the caregiver for me to access I received an email. <br /><br />The care exchange is a way for caregivers to get service from other members/caregivers. I uploaded a profile picture and my settings allowed for me to receive listings of new members in my area and for weekly care tips and advice.<br /><br />While in the special needs section at the main page for the initial search I noticed this was also an area for articles. I did not see anything pertaining to autism at the present time.<br /><br />I received an email with profiles showing all new members in my location. I contacted two for special needs with specifics for summer help to go to a conference. The one reply said she is a college student and not sure her summer schedule yet. I also contacted one person in regard to Housekeeping. That is also an extensive search. I utilized bathroom, kitchen, windows and refrigerator cleaning for my housekeeping search.<br /><br />They also have oven cleaning, attic or basement cleaning, pet cleanup, plant care, house sitting, laundry, dishes, cabinet cleaning. Too bad they did not have painting, but they did have wall cleaning, which is something a family with a child on the autism spectrum can surely use. <br /><br />I rent the stove and refrigerator and would like to get my own refrigerator, so this is something of interest. I asked in my email how long it would take to do this type of job and what it entailed. <br /><br />The hourly rates for special needs varied from $10-15 all the way to almost $50 per hour. The housekeeping was less expensive. I am looking forward to finding someone to meet my two search requests. The summer camp wants parents to go to a group orientation in June and children are not allowed. I need to find someone for a few hours one evening. Also every August is an autism conference on a Saturday and Sunday. I am waiting to see the schedule and considering going if I can find someone to watch my sons for about 6 hours one day.<br /><br />I do have respite care through the Regional Center here in California, they pay very low and there is a revolving door. I have a problem with them not speaking English clearly and am hoping the results will be rewarding through <a href="http://www.care.com">Care.com</a>.<br /><br />I hope these details are helpful to other autism families, as well as other special needs so that you will sign up for the free premium membership this weekend to find care. We all need to take care of ourselves, an evening out for dinner, the movies, a concert, a day spa are all something to consider when you find the right caregiver at www.care.com. <br /><br />Mother's Day is a few weeks away while summer is just around the corner. Maybe you need the house cleaned up, the dog taken for walks while away for a few days or at work long hours, or someone to assist with some light chores or child care. <br /><br />I suggest taking advantage of the <strong>FREE </strong>Premium Weekend at <strong>www.care.</strong>com. I liked the layout and options so much that I am considering offering services in the fall to other families of special needs kids for mornings or senior care to help out another caregiver that may need a few hours break.<br /><br />I hope to see you at <a href="http://www.care.com">www.Care.com</a>Bonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031941081941320177.post-76252384111690250252009-04-21T21:22:00.001-07:002009-04-21T22:21:51.656-07:00Twiter Notes From Autism Webinar on Multi-TreatmentsI belong to the Spectrum Gold Club through <a href="http://www.momsfightingautism.com">www.momsfightingautism.com</a> at the cost of $14.95 per month via paypal. Through the club I get advanced notice of the free webinars, that are moderated by author Chantal Sicile-Kira and transcripts from the webinars at a later date.<br /><br />This webinar took place on Monday April 20, 2009 with Jonathan Alderson in Canada as the guest. He specializes in merging best-practice strategies and techniques into cohesive customizes Multi-Treatment Interventions. His website is <a href="http://www.imti.ca">Intensive Multi-Treatment Intervention</a>.<br /><br />The following are the tweets I posted on my <a href="http://www.twitter.com/autismfamily">twitter page </a>that I was able to gather. My son was in the kitchen at the same time so it was hard to get all the information. <br /><br />After the introduction Jonathan gave some background information on himself. He went on to mention the principles for choosing a treatment plan.<br /><br />1st principle to choose treatment program is to start with idea that dx of autism is multifaceted and multi factorial, not just 1 modality<br /><br />physical health of child needs to be a priority<br /><br />child has bowel issues, distended stomach, diet intervention working in conjunction with medical Drs within 2-4 months kid did play therapy<br /><br />principle # 3 each indiv treatment/strategy (slp, ot, music) chosen & brought into an indication that are pre conditioned and timing<br /><br />try behavior or swimming with other programs you are doing, ask W questions to therapists - what is this specifically for?<br /><br />be wary if they say the product helps everything, which symptoms does it address and doesn't address, when (HBOT) is best time/age?<br /><br />don't start HBOT first, do other Biomedical treatments first, this one company turned parents away, principle - which area does it work on<br /><br />multi treatment does not mean doing them all at the same time or at once, review program that is happening already, might be able eliminate<br /><br />service providers need to talk to one another, tell a parent if the treatment is not the right one, maybe try this one first<br /><br />where do all the treatments fit in the map, now taking questions that were sent in, first from Puerto Rico asking about RDI and floortime<br /><br />both programs fit under a play based model plus social and maybe even use pieces of both to address social dev and social communication<br /><br />can start with play therapy and move on to behavioral therapy, might have better eye contact spontaneously,now structured adult led learning<br /><br />son is 6 & does not speak, speech therapy is useless, what can I do. He says consider physical help, high # of kids have chronic ear infect<br /><br />it is possible that certain sounds they are sensitive too, only one example, not for all nonverbal children, a health concern related?<br /><br />go beyond hearing tests, speech therapy is low frequency & he says not enough, make sure the SLPs are teaching parents techniques to do home<br /><br />parent needs to be included or switch therapists with someone who includes you the parent,also make language and talking a game rather than<br /><br />an exercise that is controlled, be playful with words, mom pours juice, next time sing orange song in a playful way, make language engaging<br /><br />the child may tug on parent to let them know they want song to sing again, also Chantal says might be motor problem, they need alternative<br /><br />means of communication, many scared that they will not learn to speak if have a device to communicate, this is not true, will help speech<br /><br />the focus could than be on the inappropriate behaviors instead of teaching to communicate, don't isolate out language, look at bigger picture<br /><br />question now on stimming 4 yr old with classic autism likes air conditioners and fans, some say stop them from self stimulating, he is not<br /><br />investigate - maybe biochemical - beta carotene someone named Mary M published papers on - peripheral vision, hand clapping<br /><br />Dr in NY Kaplan specializes in vision a therapy not the colored ones but this is lenses that are designed to help depth perception<br /><br />I typed biochemical, mistake he said bio medical both times<br /><br />I just submitted a question about my sons vocal tics - burping and then asked about brushing protocol<br /><br />other callers said the other kid could have yeast over growth<br /><br />learn how to ask questions if the therapist cannot answer maybe find another one his website is www.imti.ca<br /><br />next question about B12 shots, he is not a med Dr - personal opinion says there is good research on the B12 shot comparing to creams/spray<br /><br />he has started four DAN conferences, last one in San Diego, he started long time ago, in Washington, NJ he was invited to Physician training<br /><br />what does he think of the gfcf diet - what to do and when, specifically to eliminate the proteins in wheat and milk, families in conj w/Dr<br /><br />a peptide test will tell them if the child needs those eliminated, determine if child needs it or not, dont jump in, others say just try it<br /><br />at least close to a yr to get results, cannot determine in a few months, make sure full range of nutrition they are getting, SDC appropriate<br /><br />gfcf does not address a yeast issue where SDC is, Chantal gets responses on trying the gfcf diet for a few months, at least 8 months<br /><br />gfcf does not address a yeast issue where SDC is, Chantal gets responses on trying the gfcf diet for a few months, at least 8 months<br /><br />autism can be co morbid with other disorders, can have aspergers and depression<br /><br />In this brief presentation he will share his insights into how to effectively combine treatments<br /><br />paying specific attention to phases of development, the order and timing of treatments.<br /><br />GRASP is good advocacy program, 50% of the board are on the spectrum, also cognitive therapy is good to learn from #asd #autism<br /><br />Brenda Smith Myles book and Chantal 's book on life skills are both recommended, she touted her own book, but it is good I have it<br /><br />a teen with aspergers needs to have fun social experiences need a balance not only interact with just therapists #aspergers #asd <br /><br />Chantal talking about her son who is 20 and he wants to have more friends and a girl friend, he is practicing at various locales, beach<br /><br />next question about natural healing - oil of oregano, he runs a program with families following DAN protocol<br /><br />dont do protocols under your own direction, find someone with state certification need right dose, etc.<br /><br />they have not asked my question, this one is 12 yr old boy with PDD-NOS, tested for mercury levels, he has high levels,<br /><br />now on vaccine schedule he said the Mom should go to a DAN conference, now about chelation - he has worked with kids with IV chelation<br /><br />kids had other therapies so not scientific studies to see if was specific to chelation when memory improved<br /><br />can adults benefit with auditory and music therapy, what about HBOT for adults, maybe higher functioning, they need to be participating<br /><br />include the adults in the decision process for their own therapies, caregivers supporting the person, helpers believe help is possible, be +<br /><br />auditory therapy - analyze what can help for them her son Jeremy has written a lot down and is publishing it,. he started vision therapy 19<br /><br />the treatment map evolves with each new strength, clear up one issue like hyperactivity use play therapy first, by third phase better<br /><br />isolate on other distractions to get their language <br /><br />in the first instance make trial in ABA make more varied, opposite of how ABA is applied, a bit of reconstruction of ABA model,<br /><br />don't prescribe the interactions, in a strict ABA each therapist is strict to give same verbal inst, he allows therapists to instruct dif way<br /><br />kids can function in this way, all with autism dont need instruction the same way, change up where therapists sits or change their tone<br /><br />Chantal says generalization to start with changing one thing at a time, good at ABA change tone but not stimuli, keep same tone & then chng<br /><br />use puppets to practice scripts, play around and testing boundaries<br /><br />get a session of therapy recorded and try to implement it, not an extra burden for parent to become therapist, use strategies at home<br /><br />treatment effect speeds up as consistency across the environment and teach other therapists to do it too, ABA and speech, etc connect<br /><br />a conduit for generalizing therapists, next question from CAIRO asking about homeschooling and HBOT for autistic infant at 2 yrs old<br /><br />HBOT are used throughout North America in hospitals, for an infant need to speak to a Dr, not going to do an opinion<br /><br />lets list what are your financial resources, family support, time, professional, do an inventory to see if comfortable to do homeschool<br /><br />socializing is to be placed with other children and adults, research child can benefit from socializing in peer groups and play,<br /><br />low eye contact, close to no language, more intensive adult led program best to begin with<br /><br />toileting methods with severely autistic children, his method is - consider biomedical, autism correlated with gut issues, if kid has gut<br /><br />seal up the gut issues of constip, diar, etc before trying toileting, kid could be in pain, no tug of war or effort until gut is resolved<br /><br />if child is fairly regular, make toilet/washroom a place where the child has control - not an area to forced to sit on toilet -user friendly<br /><br />keep consistent - associate bathroom with diaper changes 99% of time get them into the bathroom and do it beside toilet, yoga mat to use<br /><br />keep all the supplies stocked in the bathroom, diapers, wipes, step one, two is how you respond & react with facial expressions, attitude<br /><br />parents in gest and fun and the parents make comments about the diaper, the msg child gets that this is something they are not happy about<br /><br />the presentation is to take off diaper, look at child even if not looking back, and voice is calm, enthusiastic, you did a ---- this is good<br /><br />give the message that he did the pppp and the attitude is really important, empty contents into the toilet, make association - visual behav<br /><br />pretend if not able to get into toilet and verbalize, once they are wiped, clothes on and they get to flush, he encourages use tp so kid<br /><br />can see the process of taking the toilet paper off the roll and putting in toilet, than use the wipes to clean them up better,no force flush<br /><br />empower the child to take control of their own body, encourage rather than force<br /><br />child might not be ready due to hypotonia, an accessory is a foot stool for child to have feet flat and supported, can relax muscles<br /><br />some books say take kids once an hr, he says no get more blanks and false negatives, no person on the planet goes once an hour<br /><br />kids have a hard time feeling their body, this girl sets an alarm to remind herself to go to bathroom every few hrs when out in public<br /><br />adults have told Chantal that they cannot tell the difference between a full stomach and having to go to the bathroom, timer helps them<br /><br />if your child holds bowel movements until they come home - theory is that school overwhelmed they are more comfortable at home, so can go<br /><br />some children with sensory issues modify bathroom with a rug - could have auditory challenges, bathrooms are super echoy & the flush<br /><br />if a kid talks softly, covers ears often than use the rug and do not have them flush, paent can flush for them, tiles and seats cold, warmup<br /><br />best way to find therapists in your area - he says parents ahead of you are beating the path, dont recreate the wheel with research<br /><br />save parents hours of finding stuff, local support groups, list at ARI of DAN Dr's, the list is for Canada and other countries, TACA<br /><br />TACA has real time chat now, local ASA chapters (I always say this)<br /><br />they never did my question about brushing protocol<br /><br />interview the professional - open to work with team members, do not engage in contract with someone not willing to engage with others<br /><br />are they personable to you, your the child's advocate, how do they respond to you, parent friendly therapistBonnie sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04619518559264215095noreply@blogger.com3