Latest News

|

PlayDate Behavioral Interventions provides ABA, respite, and educational placement for kids with autism and their families. PlayDate founder, Christina Nulk, notice a gap in Colorado Springs' services; there were more kids with special needs requiring intervention and therapy than there were facilities to provide them. PlayDate therapists provide in-home therapy, in-school therapy, and therapy at their 5,000 square foot facility, which contains a sensory gym and a kitchen for life skills training. In addition, PlayDate offers much of its care for free. Nulk explained, “There is an unmet need for behavioral therapy in a fun environment and we are working hard to ensure that every child that needs it has the opportunity for this kind of service.”


The Twin Cities Airport and the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) are presenting a program for families with autism to familiarize the kids and airport staff to travelling with autism. Navigating Autism occurs one Saturday each month when children and their families are shown the entire airplane boarding process. The focus is to prepare the children for potential sensory overload, lots of people, and loud noise. While practice doesn’t cover plane delays, parents are encouraged to have books, iPads, or other things their children like to do on hand.


Melissa Richardson, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), founded the West Texas Autism Center in Abilene. Having worked in the autism and special education field for over 35 years, she’s a strong believer in early intervention. The center focuses on applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for the clients, who range in age from 2 to 27. Richardson explained, “The earlier we get in there and teach them those skills, the more they're going to progress and be able to apply what they know.”


Joslyn Gray, mom of kids on the autism spectrum, wrote a great blog about what parents and neurotypical kids should know about autism. Gray talks about issues such as arm flapping, brains working differently, difficulty understanding facial expressions, socializing, and the fact that everyone is an important and unique individual. This would be a useful article to send to your friends, family, and child’s school.


|