Healing Thresholds Autism Therapy Topic Feed

Teen with Autism Prompts Dad to Write a Book About His Journey

scottie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:56:26 +0000

Teaser:

When asked about his autism, Ezra Fields-Meyer compares it to his religion.

Body:

When asked about his autism, Ezra Fields-Meyer compares it to his religion. The young man explains that he, "knows he has a good memory and likes to repeat things. As a Jew, he’s noticed similar qualities....We repeat Shabbat every week. And we sing the same songs." Ezra's dad said the journey wasn't always easy. His child went from a non-verbal 3 year old to a "son worth celebrating." Tom Fields-Meyer decided his story might be able to help other parents. He wrote Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from His Extraordinary Son. Tom says it started when a therapist suggested that he and his wife celebrate the boy they had, rather than the one they did not. Rather than pushing his son towards, for example, playing soccer the way it's supposed to be played, he and his wife let Tom develop his own interests and passions. One passion and talent Ezra has is animation; he recently completed his first film, Alphabet House.

Read original article: Beyond Labels, Raising Autistic Son Yields Treasure

Community Resources Work Together to Help Kids with Special Needs

scottie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:19:02 +0000

Teaser:

Tina Robbins realized just how special her Kalamazoo community was when they stepped up to help her out with her son with autism.

Body:

Tina Robbins realized just how special her Kalamazoo community was when they stepped up to help her out with her son with autism. Robbins is a single mom and her son Logan is a non-verbal youngster with autism. Robbins explained that Logan has sensory issues, wandering, and self-injurious behavior. As an advocate for her son, she reached out to Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (KCMHSAS) for help. Jeff Patton, CEO of KCMHSAS, explained that Kalamazoo is a caring community and different agencies pooled their resources to help Logan as well as other children with special needs. Western Michigan University provided speech and music therapy. He received his service dog, Denver, from Paws with a Cause. Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center provided equine therapy, while Project Lifesaver made sure that Logan didn’t wander away from home. Tina also gets help; Woods-Edge Learning Center and Family and Children’s Services Respite Program provides respite services, so that she can be re-energized and effective when caring for Logan.

Read original article: Kalamazoo Community Networks Support Children with Disabilities

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

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.

Horseback riding is a great tool!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:40:22 +0000

Andrew (7 years old) has been riding since he was 3 years old. He enjoys the trotting on the horse and I believes it helps him tone down his verbal scripting. The motion of the horse calms and relaxies him. He likes to ride backwards and lays his head on the horse's rump. He rides the horses at LaDawn Therapeutic Riding Center in Dayton, Maine and they have an indoor riding facility, outdoor ring and outdoor sensory trail to keep him on his toes for the entire year...no breaks for winter months. I highly recommend therapeutic riding!

Horseback riding is a great tool!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:39:13 +0000

Andrew (7 years old) has been riding since he was 3 years old. He enjoys the trotting on the horse and I believes it helphit one down his verbal scripting. The motion of the horse calms and relaxies him. He likes to ride backwards and lays his head on the horse's rump. He rides the horses at LaDawn Therapeutic Riding Center in Dayton, Maine and they have an indoor riding facility, outdoor ring and outdoor sensory trail to keep him on his toes for the entire year...no breaks for winter months. I highly recommend therapeutic riding!

911 Operators Learn Skills to Dealing with Autism

scottie — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:06:59 +0000

Teaser:

Monmouth County (NJ) 911 public safely operators have received five hours of training in how to deal with calls regarding people with autism.

Body:

Monmouth County (NJ) 911 public safely operators have received five hours of training in how to deal with calls regarding people with autism. Sheriff Shaun Golden explains, “They must be equipped with information on autism, so they can effectively assist the caller and prepare first responders about the emergency situation involving an individual with autism.” The training includes topic such as what questions to ask the caller, finding out if the person in need is verbal or non-verbal, how the person interacts with strangers, and are there unusual behaviors to be aware of. The goal is for the 911 operators to pass along as much information as possible to first responders.

Read original article: Autism Awareness Key for Telecommunicators

School Hosts Autism Awareness for All Students

scottie — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:24:31 +0000

Teaser:

St. Andrew School hosted an all-school assembly so that students could learn about autism.

Body:

St. Andrew School hosted an all-school assembly so that students could learn about autism. The main speaker, David Berry of Spinmaster Toys, talked about how his organization works with Kerry’s Place, which is a provider for people on the autism spectrum. Berry told students about some of the misconceptions of autism, for example, some kids with autism are non-verbal, but others may speak as well as neurotypical children. In addition, it’s not that students with autism always want to be left alone, it’s just that they don’t always know how to communicate socially. The mom of one student with autism was pleased to see the message of “diversity and tolerance.”

Read original article: Autism Subject of St. Andrew's Assembly

Idaho School District Focuses on Students with Autism

scottie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:22:16 +0000

Teaser:

Two elementary schools in Idaho’s Nampa School District decided that students with autism did not necessarily all belong in special ed classrooms.

Body:

Two elementary schools in Idaho’s Nampa School District decided that students with autism did not necessarily all belong in special ed classrooms. Reagan Elementary and Iowa Elementary have both added extended resource rooms to their facilities specifically for kids with autism. The teachers and aides serve kindergarten through 5th grade students and are able to work more closely with each child to increase communication, social, and academic skills. Even the schools’ fire drills have been adapted. For example, when the drill sounds, teachers hand out earmuffs and use visual and verbal cues to guide students outside. There are painted footprints on the sidewalk to lead the kids away from the school.

Read original article: New Nampa School Focuses On Students With Autism

Responding to Tenex - Intuniv (guanfacine)

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:10:03 +0000

We've used Tenex since my son was almost 4 in combination with Abilify (which we recently stopped). He is 8 now and weighs 125 lbs and is almost 5ft tall.. It has been amazing in helping him with the hyperactivity without sedating him or him a zombie. We tried the extended release version (Intuniv) but my son processes things very quickly and it didnt work well for us. We have found that giving him 1mg 2x per day and 2mg at bedtime with Melatonin (5mg) have increased his sleep. One thing to note about Melatonin is that it can cause night terrors so if thats happening you may need to switch to something else. Im not sure that using benadryl long term is good for our kids but you do what works and the dr is ok with. We also keep on hand ativan (he tends to have issues with anxiety ie drs appts, grocery shopping etc.) and clonazepam for long trips and severe aggression. The ativan and clonazepam are used sparingly. My son knows what his meds are, what they are for and can tell us if he needs something (he is rx'ed the tenex for am, lunch and bed but if he doesnt need it then he doesnt take the noon dose). Its been a long road to get him from non-verbal to verbal (still some delays but he can hold a conversation) and is now actaully quite social. His medications help allow him to be who he really is and dont just mask the problems that he has.