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Alabama High School Provides Typical School Experience for Students with Autism

scottie — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Teaser:

Spanish Fort HS, through its Project Reach program, allows students with autism to participate in everyday classroom and sports activities.

Body:

Spanish Fort High School, through its Project Reach program, allows students with autism to participate in everyday classroom and sports activities. Along with academics, the students learn life skills, go on field trips, and have after-school jobs. The teens receive individualized training throughout the day and interact with neurotypical students through a high school club – Project Outreach. Teens with autism can earn a certificate of attendance and participate in graduation activities. Special education teachers report students of all abilities learn from one another.

Read original article: Autistic Students Excelling at Spanish Fort High

Children with autism and horses

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:18:59 +0000

PREFACE:

My experience working with children diagnosed with Autism has been a little like knocking on the door to their place of business.

Option #1

Sometimes, no one answers the door and even if the hours of operation are posted, they are not always observed.

Option #2

If the door is answered, you rare sometimes invited in, but once inside you realize it is a waiting room where messages are exchanged. There is no direct contact. This can cause delays, miscommunication and confusion. Patience and timing are critical.

Option #3

With enough effort and understanding you are sometimes (and hopefully) invited into the main office and speak to the boss directly. In this setting, skills understanding and effort are still required but are less demanding and more productive.

This is the most rewarding and productive of the three options.

The equine program developed at the Westwind Rodeo Academy has facilitated the opportunity to enter the office and speak to the boss directly. (Remember - they are not YOUR boss, but the boss of the company you need to do business with.)

I personally believe it has been a key ingredient in several instances, in moving forward and grasping the potential for the Education system to assist and direct students diagnosed with Autism in their academic efforts and opportunities.

FOLLOWING : Is a cursory description of a multi-faceted program that will hopefully provide a glimpse into these concepts.

CAUTION: The thoughts information and data provided here are solely my responsibility and have not been endorsed, accredited, approved or even spell-checked by the Westwind School Division, the Westwind Rodeo Academy or any other authority.

Harlan (Lanny) Smith B.S.W., Family School Liaison Counselor

e-mail lannysmith56@gmail.com

The Program

More than just a riding program, the Westwind Rodeo Academy in Cardston Alberta provides a unique program centered on relationships that is based on a triad as part of a larger group of nine. Each child that attends the program is matched with a specific horse and equine specialist EQ (horse handler) that is chosen for their skills and experience working with children with special needs as well as their command of horse knowledge and competence.

The group of 9 is formed with 3 groups of 3 to allow for broader experience, interactive activities and comparative experiences and an ambience in the session. The selection of which 3 students will attend together is carefully considered and may include children with a variety of challenges not limited to Autism. The sessions are repeated for 6 consecutive weeks and may be repeated up to 4 times a year, space allows and need requires, although each section is provided as a stand alone intervention.

One of the most inspiring experiences is when children fully embrace the horse and the relationship when they take the opportunity to lay down on the horses back without saddle (sometimes with a bareback pad or blanket, but not always), and spend quiet time, just embracing the horse while the child is at rest. This can include conversation with the EQ as originated by the child and is largely a listening activity for the EQ, or just a silent time. This activity is sometimes suggested by the child and sometimes by the EQ and may occur at anytime during the session. It is can be used to de-escalate the child or address stress or emotional discomfort. It is also used as a modest celebration or reinforcement in the relationship.

Actual riding occurs during these sessions but is not the object or the goal. Many sessions pass without the child being on horseback as the situation dictates. Each session is focused on the child's orientation to the world around them as far as they can express through words, body language, choices or actions, their needs and concerns as well as interests and inclinations. Although safety is an over riding principal, convenience to the horse or EQ is secondary to the child's expressed or perceived preference.

We have witnessed EQ's trotting beside the horse as ridden by the child who has expressed a desire to have the horse move at faster than a walk.

(Again, safety is paramount which necessitates one or more EQs running beside the horse. In this case, the child's skills and aptitude to remain safely on the horse is previously determined. We also consider the horses history and attitude and performance on that particular day as part of the decision making process.)

This can be physically demanding and inconvenient for the EQ but a major contributor to the child's experience and benefit. The results the child experiences, the more effort required by the EQ to facilitate without imposing or tainting the child's experience.

The other component of this system is the support of a Mental Health Practitioner and supervision by the Facility Director. This completes the formal team. Decisions about activities, concepts and specific goals are managed by the Facility Director and Bahavior Specialist and the EQ's in consultation.

We have also encouraged with some success, the attendance to at least one of the sessions in each section by a significant family member as well as the students classroom teacher and possible other support personnel. These individuals are given direction about the concepts of non-interference and non-projecting on the child's experience while acknowledging the elements the child is embracing. They meet the horse, the EQ and observe the activities. We often take pictures or video and encourage this experience to be talked about at home and in the classroom.

Of course this is a snapshot of the experience in condensed form and there are many details and intricacies that cannot be explained or properly presented in this format. Overall, the development of this process has been most rewarding and inspiring and worth the investment of time, money and effort. It requires many elements working in concert to achieve this model. We are fortunate that these things have come together thus far.

Questions or comments leading to discussion and education are appreciated.

Texas School Uses Communication Device to Give a Voice to Children with Autism

scottie — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Teaser:

The Vantage Lite is a communication tool that gives non-verbal children with autism a voice.

Body:

The Vantage Lite is a communication tool that gives a voice to non-verbal children with autism. For example, a young student was able to use the augmentative communication device to ask for cardboard tubes. The Vine School uses Vantage Lite to help students use more than just colors and shapes – it offers unlimited communication. One example has a child clicking a photo of a bed, not only does the child see and hear “bed”, but also sees words such as sleep, tired, bedspread, and pillow. Meredith Potts, a Vine School speech pathologist says the main goal remains to enable children to learn to speak, although they understand that some will always be dependent on the computer. Another gain offered by Vantage Lite and communication devices is that children may become less frustrated as they are able to make their thoughts and needs known.

Read original article: Computer Technology Gives Voice to Children with Autism

Rodeo School Also Benefits Kids with Autism

scottie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:26:45 +0000

Teaser:

The Westwind Rodeo Academy in Alberta Canada offers equine therapy for people with autism.

Body:

Along with its rodeo-themed curriculum, the Westwind Rodeo Academy in Alberta Canada offers equine therapy for people with autism. Shellee Shaw, the academy’s director began focusing on kids with disabilities in 2009. She believes that horses and kids with autism are a natural match; there is unconditional love from the animal, full body movement for the child, and reduction of stress. Teachers and therapists who help with the horseback riding talk about the improvements they have seen in children’s confidence and communication. “It probably is the most effective thing that I’ve done with kids,” said Lanny Smith, a counselor at Cardston Elementary School.

Read original article: More than Horseplay: Rodeo School Helps Children with Special Needs

Minnesota Community Provides Information on Autism to Parents and Caregivers

scottie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:22:57 +0000

Teaser:

Osseo Area Source of Information and Support (OASIS) has begun a series of lectures on dealing with kids on the autism spectrum.

Body:

Osseo Area Source of Information and Support (OASIS) in Minnesota has begun a series of lectures on dealing with kids on the autism spectrum. OASIS will meet once a month and will focus on ADHD, ADD, LD, EBD, ODD, OCD, anxiety, depression and bipolar issues as well as autism. While the meetings last from 6:30-8:30, participants may stay longer to continue with questions and answers. PrairieCare and Weaver Lake Elementary School sponsor OASIS. Future topics will include: behavior therapy, social skills, and use of technology.

Read original article: OASIS Meetings Planned for Parents, Caregivers

Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:54:13 +0000

I am a parent of an 18 yr. old young man with ASD who we have been doing RDI with for the past 3 years. Once we began the program his life and ours changed. He now initiates conversation with us - true conversation, with give and take, perspective sharing, observations are related and my interests considered. He is much more other-focused and considerate. Outbursts and anti-social behaviors have been significantly decreased. Our household is so much more calm and life normalized. His ability to make study us during communication (total body language - faces, posture, tone - not just the words said) and approrpriately respond and interpret this non-verbal aspect of language is really imporved and remarked upon by family/friends and teachers. He is able to do this on his own, no prompting, no scripting - it is becoming "normal" and happening as expected. We are completely satisfied with this program and while costly, it has delivered the results where others haven't. It really changed his life. I work in Special Olympics and have a control group to compare him and this intervention against as a result. His progress compared against his peers (same age/ school experiences/ but different interventions) is significantly better. We very much look forward to how far he can go.

Extensive ABA in Childhood Gives a Young Adult a Head Start in Life

scottie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:58:42 +0000

Teaser:

Daniel Thompson didn’t speak until he was four; his autism had been diagnosed when he was three.

Body:

Daniel Thompson didn’t speak until he was four; his autism had been diagnosed when he was three. The now 19-year-old is the subject of a documentary by Act-A-Part titled “Daniel’s Autism – Not Anymore.” Daniel’s father explains that Daniel, who has a driver’s license and bowls a 200, excels because of 80 hours a week of applied behavior analysis (ABA) at the Allegro Autism School in New Jersey. When Daniel was not at school, the family continued with the ABA. The family discovered that Daniel “thinks in pictures and learns in numbers and sequences.” Along with the ABA, Daniel received stimulation to his brain. His parents have found research showing that the stimulation may help form neural connections in his brain. Daniel has held several jobs and prefers those where he can do repetitive work on his own. He may be able to do speaking tours once his documentary is complete; his parents are hopeful that he can learn skills to earn money for independence.

Read original article: Filmmakers Track Teens Life with Autism

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Computer Game Engages Children with Autism

scottie — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:11:29 +0000

Teaser:

Paul O’Donoghue has written an article highlighting study on use of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for kids with autism.

Body:

Paul O’Donoghue, an Irish clinical psychologist, has written an article highlighting a study on use of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for kids with autism and other developmental delays. O’Donoghue first explains the difference between evidence-based therapy and alternative therapies. He then goes on to discuss a study using a computer game to teach evidence-based CBT to children who “otherwise find the usual therapeutic process boring or difficult.” Dr Gary O’Reilly of the School of Psychology at UCD led a team to develop a game that would provide feedback to behaviors in an attempt to increase positive behaviors and decrease negative ones. The game allows the children to visit a place called Gnattenborough’s Island where they are introduced to the main character, David Gnattenborough, who acts as a guide. The kids learn to recognize and deal with different emotions, for example, NATS (Negative Automatic Thoughts). The training is generic, but children keep a personalized diary on their progress. A CBT-trained therapist leads the game.

Young Man with Autism Makes Walking Sticks to Help Others

scottie — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:39:56 +0000

Teaser:

A young adult with autism has found that making walking sticks not only helps those who need the support, but they help him earn a living.

Body:

A young adult with autism has found that making walking sticks not only helps those who need the support, but they help him earn a living. Leonard Williams of Wyoming is able to focus and use fine motor skills as he peels the sticks, shapes them, and paints them. Leonard was diagnosed 20 years ago when there were not a lot of early intervention or therapy options. His mom took on the duties of presenting life skills to him. Throughout the years, he’s had various passions, but the walking sticks came about as a 4-H project and his school’s suggestion that he learn a skill to help him in the job place. He currently accepts sticks and branches from neighbors and has started a small business; he sold his walking sticks at craft fairs. His mom thought at first that the business would be mostly online; however, it turns out that there is a community interest in what he does. “It seems everywhere they go, Leonard is waving and greeting people who know him by name.”

Read original article: Walking Sticks Provide Support for Autistic Man

Center Opens for Autism Teacher Training and Observation

scottie — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:56:41 +0000

Teaser:

The Northwest Regional Education Service District Hillsboro Education Center recently opened in Oregon to help kids with autism.

Body:

The Northwest Regional Education Service District Hillsboro Education Center recently opened in Oregon to help kids with autism. The center is the first in Oregon to provide both teacher training and teacher/parent observation. There are 500 three-to-five year olds served by the center, which also offers one-on-one and online training. Part of the focus is for special ed and other teachers to learn techniques and interventions for working with autism so that they can go back to their school districts and train still more teachers. In addition to the chance to observe their children, parents can spend time in the toy room to see what items and colors and textures their child prefers so that they don’t waste money on items that may not help their child.

Read original article: Hillsboro Education Center Provides Autism Teacher Training and Services for Disabled Youngsters