Twiter Notes From Autism Webinar on Multi-Treatments

I belong to the Spectrum Gold Club through www.momsfightingautism.com 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.

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 Intensive Multi-Treatment Intervention.

The following are the tweets I posted on my twitter page 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.

After the introduction Jonathan gave some background information on himself. He went on to mention the principles for choosing a treatment plan.

1st principle to choose treatment program is to start with idea that dx of autism is multifaceted and multi factorial, not just 1 modality

physical health of child needs to be a priority

child has bowel issues, distended stomach, diet intervention working in conjunction with medical Drs within 2-4 months kid did play therapy

principle # 3 each indiv treatment/strategy (slp, ot, music) chosen & brought into an indication that are pre conditioned and timing

try behavior or swimming with other programs you are doing, ask W questions to therapists - what is this specifically for?

be wary if they say the product helps everything, which symptoms does it address and doesn't address, when (HBOT) is best time/age?

don't start HBOT first, do other Biomedical treatments first, this one company turned parents away, principle - which area does it work on

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

service providers need to talk to one another, tell a parent if the treatment is not the right one, maybe try this one first

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

both programs fit under a play based model plus social and maybe even use pieces of both to address social dev and social communication

can start with play therapy and move on to behavioral therapy, might have better eye contact spontaneously,now structured adult led learning

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

it is possible that certain sounds they are sensitive too, only one example, not for all nonverbal children, a health concern related?

go beyond hearing tests, speech therapy is low frequency & he says not enough, make sure the SLPs are teaching parents techniques to do home

parent needs to be included or switch therapists with someone who includes you the parent,also make language and talking a game rather than

an exercise that is controlled, be playful with words, mom pours juice, next time sing orange song in a playful way, make language engaging

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

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

the focus could than be on the inappropriate behaviors instead of teaching to communicate, don't isolate out language, look at bigger picture

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

investigate - maybe biochemical - beta carotene someone named Mary M published papers on - peripheral vision, hand clapping

Dr in NY Kaplan specializes in vision a therapy not the colored ones but this is lenses that are designed to help depth perception

I typed biochemical, mistake he said bio medical both times

I just submitted a question about my sons vocal tics - burping and then asked about brushing protocol

other callers said the other kid could have yeast over growth

learn how to ask questions if the therapist cannot answer maybe find another one his website is www.imti.ca

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

autism can be co morbid with other disorders, can have aspergers and depression

In this brief presentation he will share his insights into how to effectively combine treatments

paying specific attention to phases of development, the order and timing of treatments.

GRASP is good advocacy program, 50% of the board are on the spectrum, also cognitive therapy is good to learn from #asd #autism

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

a teen with aspergers needs to have fun social experiences need a balance not only interact with just therapists #aspergers #asd

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

next question about natural healing - oil of oregano, he runs a program with families following DAN protocol

dont do protocols under your own direction, find someone with state certification need right dose, etc.

they have not asked my question, this one is 12 yr old boy with PDD-NOS, tested for mercury levels, he has high levels,

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

kids had other therapies so not scientific studies to see if was specific to chelation when memory improved

can adults benefit with auditory and music therapy, what about HBOT for adults, maybe higher functioning, they need to be participating

include the adults in the decision process for their own therapies, caregivers supporting the person, helpers believe help is possible, be +

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

the treatment map evolves with each new strength, clear up one issue like hyperactivity use play therapy first, by third phase better

isolate on other distractions to get their language

in the first instance make trial in ABA make more varied, opposite of how ABA is applied, a bit of reconstruction of ABA model,

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

kids can function in this way, all with autism dont need instruction the same way, change up where therapists sits or change their tone

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

use puppets to practice scripts, play around and testing boundaries

get a session of therapy recorded and try to implement it, not an extra burden for parent to become therapist, use strategies at home

treatment effect speeds up as consistency across the environment and teach other therapists to do it too, ABA and speech, etc connect

a conduit for generalizing therapists, next question from CAIRO asking about homeschooling and HBOT for autistic infant at 2 yrs old

HBOT are used throughout North America in hospitals, for an infant need to speak to a Dr, not going to do an opinion

lets list what are your financial resources, family support, time, professional, do an inventory to see if comfortable to do homeschool

socializing is to be placed with other children and adults, research child can benefit from socializing in peer groups and play,

low eye contact, close to no language, more intensive adult led program best to begin with

toileting methods with severely autistic children, his method is - consider biomedical, autism correlated with gut issues, if kid has gut

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

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

keep consistent - associate bathroom with diaper changes 99% of time get them into the bathroom and do it beside toilet, yoga mat to use

keep all the supplies stocked in the bathroom, diapers, wipes, step one, two is how you respond & react with facial expressions, attitude

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

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

give the message that he did the pppp and the attitude is really important, empty contents into the toilet, make association - visual behav

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

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

empower the child to take control of their own body, encourage rather than force

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

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

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

adults have told Chantal that they cannot tell the difference between a full stomach and having to go to the bathroom, timer helps them

if your child holds bowel movements until they come home - theory is that school overwhelmed they are more comfortable at home, so can go

some children with sensory issues modify bathroom with a rug - could have auditory challenges, bathrooms are super echoy & the flush

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

best way to find therapists in your area - he says parents ahead of you are beating the path, dont recreate the wheel with research

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

TACA has real time chat now, local ASA chapters (I always say this)

they never did my question about brushing protocol

interview the professional - open to work with team members, do not engage in contract with someone not willing to engage with others

are they personable to you, your the child's advocate, how do they respond to you, parent friendly therapist

Notes from Food Aversions Webinar

I spent two hours on Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009 listening in on a Teleseminar thru Moms Fighting Autism that was moderated by Chantal Sicile-Kira. The speaker who responded to questions posed beforehand and during the Webinar was Dr. Lori Ensperger.

The topic Autism, Food Aversions, and Eating Challenges: Effective Answers that Help

I spent the time typing my notes on twitter, basically I tweeted them instead of handwriting in a notebook like I had planned to do. On twitter you use 140 characters, so these will be brief tips I typed out while listening. The following are those tweets:

At the start of the webinar Dr. Ensperger mentioned her book, Just Take A Bite.

Dr says there is no scientific evidence on gfcf diet helping kids with autism. she follows evidence based method.

statististics for typical child to acquire a new food - introduce peaches or broccoli - can take several months based on research.

can take up to ten-fifteen times for the 1-2 yr old to take to a new food - accept it, ones with dev disabilities - put food on plate.

an offer of food is not the same as forcing a child to eat, it means just putting it on the plate.

offer new gfcf food to pair it with another food they are eating, use in systematic way, small portion of item that might have gluten.

when trying new foods have foods that we are comfortable with, feel safe with the food, 3 months not long time to do diet 4 yr old.

does not want to see a 4 yr old getting hungry since not into the gfcf, do not take all foods away at one time from child, explore new food.

another question on gfcf. she is reminding about her position that relies heavily on science for the gfcf diet, mentioning the cost now.

check with Ped for an allergy, many have not mentioned age of their child in their questions, talk about food jags now, we have those.

food jag - same food, same cup, same way the food is on plate, certain brand name only, maybe even music in background all the time.

food jags are normal typical behavior - a 2 yr old might eat peanut butter every day for a month, those with ASD do food jags for yrs.

my son used to have bacon breakfast, hotdog for lunch, nuggets for dinner, now none of those,she says ASD kids do not go back to food jags.

happens to me where I stock up on item,then food jag stops, left with lots food serious issue she cautions parents dont support food jags.

keep exposing them with changes, if always chicken nuggets to turkey nuggets, change brand of nuggets, add sauce, change fork.

if we keep their food jags in tact and no changes, they will eventually stop and never go back to that food again, need to change it up.

parental responsibility, how to change mac & cheese, put food coloring in it, does not change taste, add texture, make slight gentle changes.

do not hide or sneak foods into another food doesn not work guess I will not be buying Jerry Seinfelds wife book.

she is talking about sensory issues and the temp of the foods and how they work for or against trying a new food.

just becasuse you gag does not mean you have low muscle tone. Book covers signals in low muscle tone - Just take a bite (book)

practice chewing with chewy tubes - wont work for my kids she recommends Thera Pro website, always adult supervision.

put knot in chewy tube, have kid play tug and war to practice swallowing techniques, use baby safe feeder from target.

gagging can be a learned behavior that kids use to get food away from them. If I gag mom takes food away.

kiss the food goodbye, do not over react to gagging, be calm, leave it there, maybe tomorrow we will try again.

food meal phobia - real thing - fearful of putting food in our mouth, fear of new foods, a true fear (yes I have that with seafood)

Chantal Sicile-Kira wants to know how cultural the foods of kids with autism is, doesnt think kids in France eat mac/ch,, fries & nuggets.

food jags, list of foods kids eat is prevalent in other countries too, Lorna Wing did study at her clinic, 70% of kids in UK had aversions.

question about school OTs not working on feeding since it is not educational, an issue heard often that public schools are responsible.

school OTs and SLPS are not taught on feeding aversions, need to be highly trained, can do more damage if not trained, oral motor dev

I heard that yrs ago from two diff OTs, she says put it in writing, do ltr to school by registered mail, been denied OT svcs, kid not eating

child with low weight, going all day without eating, school does need to address this as it is impacting their education/learning, advocate

listening to the teleseminar now, typically ASD kids eat mac/cheese, hot dogs, fries and chicken nuggets, that is what they stated, google?

talking about window of opportunity = question reading now

one of the myths is that children are not going to starve themselves, not true among ASD kids

Ellen Satter - she says she is a role model for mothers, a registered Dietitian, how to get your kid to eat but not too much.

How to get kid to eat, but not too much

we are responsible for where kids eat, how often they eat, the serving size, not following parent responsibiltiesi if allowing these

here are my articles for Feeding Teens, any suggestions let me know.

www.usda.gov - food pyramid for kids - says print and put on refrigerator

always a serving size of preferred food so kid can make transition to a new food

1 hr done, none of my questions yet, although she seemed to group many about trying new foods & mentioned older kids, refer to me maybe

she is talking about fight or flight over food, going over rules for parents, start a schedule for food, check for times to eat

4 yr old is too young to be picking out their own food, parents responsibility, appropriate and child friendly foods for 4 yr old

www.new-vis.com New Vision - site to see Suzanne Evan morris, on oral motor stuff, OT, etc

talking about me right now, doing my links for my review of her book

talking about utensils from my question

kids only use fingers for food, goes back to sensory processing, body awareness, spatial awareness, proprioception, no body awareness

after trying several times can use fingers easier, have child eat in front of mirror, allow them to use visual system to over compensate

can see the fork in the mirror, motor planning will assist child in using the utensil. plastic ones instead of medal (yes) safe, coated one

weighted utensils, proprioceptive delay, use this instead, grasps similar to pencil grips, neat answers

lil dipper from Gerber is a good spoon with chunky grip, spoon part is small with a guard so child cannot get in too far, no gagging

Gerber LIL DIPPER spoon, baby safe feeder - recommended items for kids at any age

bowling with food, bop for kiwi or chicken legs, put music on, 5-10 mins daily, not forced and no pressure there, away from table

playing with food is separate from eating time, reason why not at table for play, use your imagination to create ways to introduce new foods

they are more willing to move along those 35 steps to tryng food, kiss it goodbye, get used to it gently

play guess the food, get shoe box, put hole in bottom, put food in there, they need to feel food in the mystery box, they might lick it too

try to stay calm and not react to their trying new food, do not need to call grandma and not over zealous, puts pressure on kid

do an obstacle course on foods,like to feel, - movement/motivating, pillows to crawl under box crawl over - our OT used to put food on swing

schools need to do ongoing assessment for preferred items, they dont like to use food as reinforcer at school

kid motivated by edibles, get sugar free gummie bears at the diabetic aisle for kids that are heavier, music is good motivator

tangible or activity based reinforcers at school, at home get kids to experience different things, like sports and music,books, etc

www.dole.com tips for parents to introduce foods, fruit and veggie bingo game and talk tools is another company we have their stuff too

talking about kids seeing dentist, food issues can be related to issues in their mouth, yep my kid lost a tooth recently, go to CHLA

cavities affects if doing a feeding program, especially with textures, smells, she mentioned my name again about my review of her book

I think I have a review on amazon, if not willl get one there drlori@cox.net - her email with questions, can give you answers

her book is from future horizons, just take a bite sicilekira@mac.com that is Chantal Sicile-Kira email address, has son 20 with ASD

Webinar has finished.