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Various Articles : Special Bike for Autistic Children
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 21, 2007 (21:04:33)
To Whom It May Concern:
My father has developed a bicycle designed specifically for children with autism. It's a tandem bicycle that is unique because the disabled child sits in front but doesn't steer. There are two sets of handlebars at the front of the bike, one normal sized pair for the child and one larger pair which extends to the backseat where the adult steers.
I thought you might be interested in mentioning the bike on your website. You can find more information at www.buddybike.com. The bike recently won third place out of 160 applicants for the Miami Herald's business challenge and was written up for a full page article in the business section. If you have any questions, please email me at jake@buddybike.com or call the office at (305) 932-2000. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jacob Nelson
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Various Articles : Center has given autistic boy a new life
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, January 29, 2007 (21:41:52)
Chioer
January 2007
By CHRIS GULLICK
At the home of Brian and Camillia Horne, 3-year-old Daniel flashed a grin at his visitors, squealed with excitement, clapped his hands at a camera flash and hopped up and down on the couch, chattering constantly  typical high-energy behavior for a preschooler, apparently.
But his parents have learned that children don't always exhibit those typical behaviors.
In fact, autistic children are very seldom noisy or friendly.
Daniel is autistic.
Daniel's playfulness is the result of about a year and a half of intense therapy through Far Northern Regional Center, a referral and resource for people with disabilities or delayed development.
About a year and a half ago, Daniel's parents observed behaviors in their child that frightened them.
He stopped talking, stopped making eye contact, stopped playing and stopped responding  becoming extremely unsocial.
Camillia described the way he would sit in his high chair at meal times and stare out the window instead of looking at his parents.
When she or Brian entered a room Daniel was in, the toddler would often leave. If a loud noise erupted next to Daniel's head, it failed to get a reaction.
The once happy, easy-going and playful little boy didn't want to play peek-a-boo or have anything to do with his parents.
Up until about 15 months old, Daniel followed the pediatrician's chart of what babies typically accomplish, Camillia said.
The only area in which he lagged, she said, was speech. Daniel had only mastered a vocabulary of about 20 words, but he also used some sign language and other means of communication.
As a teacher who's specialized in child development, Camillia knew his vocabulary should contain closer to 50 words by that age.
"I was very aware that he wasn't where he was supposed to be," Camillia said, but all other milestones had been on time  smiling, laughing, sitting, crawling, walking and playing games like peek-a-boo.
Camillia described how worried she became when he quit communicating. Over the next few months, she talked to her friends, other teachers and family members about Daniel's behavior, asking everyone for ideas and wondering what was wrong.
Camillia suspected, apprehensively, that Daniel was autistic.
It seemed like no one believed her, she said, just assuring her that Daniel would catch up, that children mature at different rates and that boys usually don't talk as early as girls.
"I can't tell you how many times I heard, 'He's a boy'," Camillia said.
Finally, a friend at church listened to her and suggested she call Far Northern Regional Center for an evaluation.
On a Monday in August 2005, Camillia contacted Far Northern.
By Friday, she said, representatives from the center were at their house, starting to assess Daniel.
Specialists performed hearing and language tests and initiated a comprehensive plan that included one-on-one therapy, books and other resources, speech therapy, occupational therapy, time in a play group and classes for Daniel's parents.
Daniel's autism wasn't diagnosed until he was 3 years old, but the early evaluations showed him far below average for his age in speech and socialization. So his intense therapy began.
At first it was hard to have people in the house so much, Camillia said, adding that the therapists and center staff eased their way into it, starting the services slowly and then accelerating.
"Then it got like having family in the home every day," she said.
Therapist Erin Reed worked with Daniel for about two hours each day, and Camillia found they had better success if she spent that time in another room, to avoid distracting him.
He spent time twice a week with a speech therapist and an hour a week with an occupational therapist.
A range of techniques were used by different therapists, such as sign language, music and imitation.
Camillia described how Daniel had quit imitating altogether and a lot of the activities Reed did encouraged that behavior.
"Imitation is huge in learning," she pointed out, putting on a music video that Daniel likes and joining him when he imitated the singer on the screen.
The therapist created a large scrapbook, full of pictures of Daniel involved with family, friends and therapists at different stages of his progress.
Besides direct services for their son, the center funded classes for Camillia and Brian, to instruct them in ways to teach a child with autism.
"We learned a lot about what it's like for Daniel," Brian commented.
They learned to simplify communication, use repetition and slow down their speech, because Daniel could be confused by too much input.
People with autism are often sensitive to sensory stimuli, such as loud noises or too much activity, and they simply tune them out and withdraw.
Then his case worker matched him with a play group of three other autistic children and Camillia was able to share experiences with the mothers.
"I cannot say enough great things about Far Northern," she said. "They gave us the resources we wouldn't know about."
She admitted that Daniel may have life-long speech difficulties, but she credits Far Northern for his success so far.
"I want people to know there's help and not be ashamed or afraid," Camillia said.
Daniel now attends a special preschool class four mornings a week and will continue to receive some services from Far Northern.
Brian said he would like some of the stereotypes about autism to collapse, pointing out that Daniel looks like other children and now he acts like other children.
"Other than language, he's pretty much exactly like other children," Camillia agreed.
Connie Moreland-Bishop, a Far Northern supervisor, told the Enterprise-Record that Daniel's case is fairly typical of services the center arranges for young children.
The early intervention program, which she supervises from the central office in Redding, provides services to children from birth to three years who exhibit any developmental delay or who are at high risk for a developmental disability.
When the center gets a referral  which can come from diverse places, such as family physicians, social services, child care workers or other concerned individuals  the first step is for an intake specialist to meet with the family and arrange for appropriate evaluations.
In the Chico office, four specialists manage the 200-240 early intervention cases that are open now, she estimated.
But in the bulk of the center's cases, services are provided to children over 3 years old and adults who are developmentally disabled  people with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and other neurological handicaps.
The center provides referrals and pays for professionals and resources for education, recreation, health, rehabilitation and welfare.
The therapists sent to the Hornes, Moreland-Bishop explained, were outside services contracted by the center, rather than center staff.
Funds are used to purchase support services for clients  everything from art therapy and bus fare, to in-home support and respite care.
"The key is knowing you have to ask for help," Brian concluded.
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Various Articles : Mothers try to organize support group
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Posted by Sylvia on Saturday, January 27, 2007 (17:43:40)
News Journal
By MAGGIE SOUZA
When Loretta Ward learned that her son, Trent, was autistic, she didn't know where to turn for help.
"At first, I was paralyzed," Ward said. She checked books, went online, searched for information on autism through a variety of channels  all to no avail.
"In every direction I went, the doors were shut," she said.
Finally, Ward made contact with a teacher and a behavioral specialist and, with their help, began to understand what Trent's diagnosis meant for him and the family.
In order to make it easier for other families to find the resources they need, Ward and Cheri Hurst, who does therapy programs for people with special needs, created a support group called Parents of Autistic Children. The first meeting is Saturday.
Ward and Hurst decided to start the group after holding a seminar in October on autism. Feedback from the audience made it clear that Longview was in need of such an organization.
"It's kind of amazing that there's not been a support group here already," Hurst said. "There's a hunger for information."
Before doing work with therapy programs, Hurst was an epidemiologist. She studied patterns and determinants of diseases or conditions as they related to a general population. In 1992, she started studying autism.
"There is, I think, an epidemic of autism," said Hurst, whose son had characteristics of autism growing up.
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 1 in 166 children has an autism-related disorder.
Boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed as autistic; other than that, the rate is constant regardless of race or economic background, Hurst said.
The diagnostic criteria for autistic disorder as set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders include: impairments in nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze and facial expression; a lack of social or emotional reciprocity; failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level; delay in or total lack of spoken language; repetitive use of language; persistent preoccupation with parts of objects; and repetitive motor mannerism such as hand or finger flapping or twisting.
The onset of delays or abnormal functioning must come before a child is 3 years old.
Ward found out that Trent was autistic when he was 18 months old. Her second son, Troy, was diagnosed with autism at about the same age.
She and Hurst were both given disheartening advice from medical professionals. Doctors told Ward she needed to put her sons in a home for children with special needs, she said.
Hurst said she was told by a neurologist that she should treat her son "like a pet."
But both kept looking for real solutions, and as a result, their children are flourishing.
Hurst's son is an attorney. Ward's son, Trent, is supposed to be in fourth grade but has been placed at the fifth- and sixth-grade levels, and her son, Troy, is on the honor roll and in his normal grade level.
The support group meeting Saturday will focus on the different ways that parents can help their children.
A speech and language pathologist will speak, followed by a panel discussion where audience members will be able to ask questions.
While every child and situation is different, the meeting should be able to help by at least pointing people in the right direction, Ward said.
Although there is still no cure for autism, there's much more information now on ways to overcome it and live a normal life, Hurst said.
"I think it's important not to give up hope," she said.
"That's what I really want to push," Ward added. "There is hope. There's no reason (children with autism) can't grow up to be successful."
If you go:
What: Parents of Autistic Children support group meeting
When: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday
Where: St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 2500 McCann Road at Hampton Court
Contact: Call Loretta Ward at (903) 758-3400 or Cheri Hurst at (903) 757-6008
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Various Articles : Piecing it together
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, March 27, 2006 (10:51:42)
Orlando Sentinel
By April Hunt
Relaxation comes in five-minute bursts in the Schiller household.
That's about how long a Barney video or tape of Jeopardy! captures the attention of Aaron and Ben, 13-year-old twins whose autism hinders their social and communication skills.
Happy but with limited awareness of the world around them, the twins are usually in constant motion, fiddling with puzzles, shoving each other like typical brothers and finding things to get into and messes to make. Beth Schiller has had to replace every window in the house with shatterproof glass because of the boys' exuberant play.
"It's a very guilty feeling, wanting a break," Schiller said of relishing those moments. "You feel like you should be able to handle it."
The Altamonte Springs mother did handle it, for years. She was awake at 5:30 every morning so she could shower before rousing the twins and her other son, Sloan, and didn't get to sleep until midnight.
As a single parent, she juggled the children, her teaching job, doctors appointments, therapy visits and keeping up the home. But it was becoming harder and harder to keep it all going with short "sanity breaks" as the only reprieve, Schiller said.
Enter Camp Thunderbird. Quest Inc., one of the charities that benefits from the Orlando Sentinel Family Fund Holiday Campaign, runs the Apopka camp.
One of just three camps accredited for working with the disabled in the area, Camp Thunderbird gives families of the developmentally disabled a much-needed rest. And for its 420 clients every summer, it provides close supervision for them to enjoy usual camp activities such as arts, games and time with nature.
"We make it as best we can, individually, for each child to have a vacation in a safe environment," Camp Director Shirley O'Brien said.
Nearly everyone who applies is accepted, and many families, such as the Schillers, qualify for scholarships. That has cost the camp -- it ran $250,000 in the red last year -- but gives families a respite like they've never had before.
Schiller wasn't sure she trusted it. The twins had never been away from her before. Because of that, she and Sloan, 16, had also never taken a vacation.
O'Brien reassured her that the entire staff was trained to work with children like Aaron and Ben. They would get one-on-one attention, which would allow them to explore things on their own for the first time in their lives.
Schiller finally agreed to the six-day stay. She called O'Brien's cell phone several times a day to check in, but staff reassured her that things were fine.
On the third day, Schiller took Sloan to Daytona Beach. The overnight stay was their first vacation, but Schiller was still anxious about the twins.
When she went to pick them up, her fear melted. Neither boy wanted to leave. Ben, who like his brother has a limited vocabulary, got his message across by hiding from his mother behind a tree.
"We were in tears watching that, because it was so wonderful to see him expressing himself in such a dramatic way," Camp Coordinator Rosa Figueroa.
In case that message wasn't clear, Aaron and Ben both learned a new word. But Schiller and Sloan made sure they only talked about "camp!" -- always said as an exclamation -- just before the twins attended camp again last summer.
Otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible to explain that it wasn't time yet.
When it was time, Ben was able to enjoy camp in a small group, rather than requiring a staffer just for him. Aaron and he stayed for the longest session possible: 12 days.
And Schiller and Sloan decided to venture farther from home. They flew to visit family in Arizona.
In five days, they packed in trips to Sedona, Tucson, the Petrified Forest, the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert. They talked about the twins, but both were excited to have something new in common.
"It gives all my kids an opportunity to be like other kids," Schiller said. "Sometimes it's hard for Sloan and I to have a conversation. We made up for lost time."
Everyone returned home recharged. The boys have made improvements this year in school. Sloan got his first dog, Midnight, who gives kisses on command to Aaron.
Months later, things can still get chaotic. The boys have hit growth spurts and seem to have renewed energy.
So some of the boys' Hanukkah gifts this year will be clothes, and of course, Barney videos and toys that make sounds. The twins are still quieted, briefly, by such games.
"It's good to have a chance to remember they are good kids with autistic behavior," Schiller said. "It sounds weird to say it, but it's really nice to be here when it's quiet."
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Various Articles : Autism and hope
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Posted by sylvia on Saturday, March 25, 2006 (08:52:51)
Washington Times
By C.A. Garland/Michael O'Hanlon/Barbara Firestone
Autism spectrum disorders are the fastest-growing severe developmental disabilities facing children -- and thus future generations of adults -- in the U.S. today. More than 1 in 200 young children may now be affected by autism, pervasive development disorder, or Asperger's syndrome.
While highly variable in type and severity, these disorders tend to include obsessive behaviors, excessive rigidities, limited social skills and communications deficits.
There is some good news. Over the last 20 years, early intervention regimens for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have become much more effective. Given intensive early intervention, ideally before age 3, many children with ASD now have prospects for productive, fulfilling lives with meaningful personal relationships and career opportunities. Even the more severely challenged can do much better than before.
However, availability and affordability of intensive early intervention vary greatly in our country. More than 100,000 American children under age 5 are believed affected by ASD, but only a small fraction -- perhaps 10 percent -- get the rigorous therapy the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Pediatrics and other professional groups have documented are needed.
Enormous public policy challenges need to be overcome if early and intensive interventions are to be made available to every child on the spectrum. Notably, even where available, the major autism therapy methods are generally not affordable. Costs can reach or exceed $50,000 a year. They are not routinely covered either by health insurance or by federal, state and local programs. Some localities provide coverage, but it is often incomplete, reaching only some affected children or providing perhaps 10 to 20 percent of the recommended intensity of intervention (optimally 25 to 40 hours a week).
An example is found in two of us who have a child on the autism spectrum living in Montgomery County, Md. Because our daughter was deemed relatively high-functioning, she was offered only two hours a week of intervention when diagnosed at age 2. Private insurance paid for another hour a week of speech therapy. The other 90 percent of her treatment, which included one-on-one tutoring (through a method known as Applied Behavior Analysis), as well as various exercises targeting her social and play skills (known as Floortime and Relationship Development Intervention), was funded entirely out of pocket. But we are lucky; we can scrape by and afford it. Many clearly cannot (and if the Congress cuts Medicaid to pay for Katrina relief, even fewer will be able to do so).
Now contrast our situation to those of some families in Los Angeles. That is where one of us (Barbara Firestone) oversees the Help Group that includes a wide range of specialized day school programs serving 550 children with ASD.
These programs apply numerous specialized education strategies and therapies, including those noted above. These services are offered at no cost to parents whose children are deemed to need the program by local school districts.
The HELP Group's Young Learners Preschool is dedicated to children with ASD ages 3 through 5. This innovative, intensive, six-hour daily, five days per week program provides a comprehensive, individualized program for each child. But this is still the exception, not the rule.
Several policy initiatives are possible to redress this sorry state of affairs, and in fact some combination of them is probably optimal. They could include the following illustrative ideas:
• Support for ongoing efforts to have the Office of Personnel Management mandate that federal government health plans cover certified intervention programs carried out by qualified professionals -- in hopes the idea will then spread to the broader insurance market.
• Federal legislation mandating coverage of treatment costs by all health insurance plans (akin to the federal legislation on parity for mental health conditions of the 1990s, as well as federal mandates on minimum length of hospital stays after childbirth). Even if not passed promptly, proposed federal legislation may be very useful as a model for state legislation.
• Efforts to ensure that, under the IDEA legislation and/or the EPSDT provisions of Medicaid, an austic disorder diagnosis leads to assurance of available services for any afflicted child. These laws and regulations often do not have their promised effect. Parents end up paying for, or children going without, services not only promised but mandated by law.
Autism and hope are no longer mutually exclusive. While we press to find causes and cures, we must also emphasize the compelling need to ensure effective treatment strategies are available as soon as possible to all children with autism spectrum disorders across the United States.
C.A. Garland and Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, are parents of a child with ASD. Dr. Barbara Firestone is president and chief executive officer of The Help Group in Los Angeles.
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