New Yorkers: Urge Governor Cuomo to Approve ABA Licensure Bills Today

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As of Tuesday night,  the bill to license Behavior Analysts was passed by both the New York State Senate & Assembly. This bill requires insurers to cover Applied Behavior Anaylsis (ABA) for people with autism. We need your help NOW! We urge you all to call New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and urge him to sign Bills A6963 and S4862. To contact Governor Andrew Cuomo, please call (518) 474-8390 and ask him to join us in supporting New York families raising kids with autism.

Many advocacy groups, including our friends at Elija and NYSABA, have been working to get the State of New York to recognize the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) credential. This legislation will enable BCBAs to engage in professional behavior analytic activities independent of other licenses or certifications. Legislative members of NYSABA have met with numerous legislators and drafted recommendations to include a plan for the appropriate oversight and training in behavior analysis as part of the exemption of behavioral intervention practices from the psychology practice act. Currently, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) has certified more than 12,000 behavior analysts in over 40 countries, 747 of which practice in New York. The BCBA credential requires a related academic degree, behavior-analytic coursework, supervised experience, passage of a psychometrically sound examination, compliance with disciplinary standards, continuing education, and ongoing supervision.

ABA professionals and supporters just need your continued support and efforts to push for the signing of the bill by Governor Cuomo and make it into a law! Please call Governor Cuomo at (518) 474-8390 and urge him to sign this important legislation.

ABA has been a validated evidence-based therapy for developmentally disabled and delayed children since the 1970s and continues to be the leading form of therapy for children with autism and other developmental disabilities today.

Pick of the Week: “Community Helpers” Series

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Children are introduced early on to the workers in their community who make an important impact everyday in their daily lives. As they associate police officers, fire fighters, doctors, librarians, school bus drivers, postal workers, and other workers in our community with familiar objects in their surroundings, it is important to teach them the various occupations our community helpers engage in.

Our Pick of the Week this week features the “Community Helpers” series, which includes the Community Helpers Puzzle, Occupations Early Learning Skill Cards, People in My Neighborhood Cards, Occupations Cards from Stages, Community Workers Miniatures, and Community Helpers Listening Lotto. This series is designed to help build vocabulary and language development in young children and to promote understanding of the people they encounter in their communities.

This week only, save 15% on any item of our “Community Helpers” series in your online order by entering in the promotional code BLOGCHS2 at check out!

The Community Helpers Puzzle contains 20 different two-piece puzzles that are a great introduction to teaching occupations. Children will match the community helpers, which include a dentist, librarian, nurse, police officer, school bus driver, and more, with their tools of trade.

 

The Occupations Early Learning Skill Cards is a set of 64 full-color cards that focus on 16 occupations and the equipment that the workers use to do their jobs. The cards depict cheerful images that promote sorting, classifying, and an understanding of the people children meet in their communities. The cards also feature reproducible illustrations and labels in English and Spanish on the reverse side. A teacher’s guide with suggested activities is also included.

 

The Occupation Cards from Stages include 61 different occupations in a set of 115 photographic cards. These cards depict community workers in the natural setting with contextual clues, and also serve as a great tool for teaching gender labels, pronouns, and storytelling.

 

The People in My Neighborhood Cards is a wonderful set of 24 large-face flashcards for young learners. The cards depict community helpers that children commonly see in their daily lives, as well as a variety of their tools-of-trade. This set includes a businesswoman, dentist, baker, and more!

The Community Helpers Listening Lotto presents a creative and interactive way to teach young learners about the workers they encounter in their communities. The lotto contains 12 photographic game boards, 120 paper game tokens, and a CD-ROM with instructions in English, Spanish, and French.

 

The Community Workers miniatures present easily recognizable occupations to young learners. These figures can also be paired with flashcards for a full learning experience. This set includes a policeman, fire fighter, postal workers, construction worker, pilot, veterinarian, and chef.

This week only, take 15% off any one of these items in your online order by entering in the promotional code BLOGCHS2 at check out!*

*Offer expires on June 13, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout!

Posted in ABA

2013 GRASP Benefit: “A Time for Change”

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We were delighted to attend the 2013 Global Regional Asperger’s Syndrome Partnership (GRASP) Benefit last Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the Downtown Community Television Center in New York to congratulate founder and former executive director Michael John Carley for his ten years of cultivating GRASP into the influential network of support groups it is today. Since its launch in 2003, GRASP has become a nation-wide organization that provides community outreach, support groups, advocacy, and education to adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum. The 2013 Benefit: “A Time for Change” also presented GRASP’s Friend and Benefactor Award, Distinguished Spectrumite Medal, and Divine Neurotypical Award to three prominent individuals for the work that they have done in the autism and mental health communities.

GRASP2013Benefit_Photo1 This year, GRASP awarded author Andrew Solomon the Friend and Benefactor Award for his book “Far From the Tree,” which describes the travails of families impacted by numerous diagnoses of deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, and more. His book “Far From the Tree” is considered one of the greatest tributes GRASP now has to pluralism itself. A native New Yorker, Andrew studied at Yale and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Cambridge. He has also written several other novels, including “The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression” and “A Stone Boat,” as well as pieces for the New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker.

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The Distinguished Spectrumite Medal was awarded to Bob Hedin, who has contributed to GRASP’s national status by forming and leading the first GRASP network outside the tri-state area. As an individual with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), Bob recognized the need for support groups for adults with AS and launched a membership drive in 2004 for adults with AS in Philadelphia. Since then, his group has grown to over 250 members and boasts a lending library of over 125 books on autism.

 

The Divine Neurotypical Award was awarded to scholar and researcher Dr. Barry Prizant, who has been a longtime friend to GRASP. Dr. Prizant has had forty years of experience as a clinical scholar, researcher, and program consultant to children and adults with autism and related developmental disabilities. His most recent work involved developing the SCERTS® Model for children who have or are at-risk for social-communicative difficulties, and their families. Barry also co-facilitates an annual weekend retreat for parents of autistic children each year, and has organized the ASD Symposium for parents, educators, SLPs, OTs, and therapists to address the importance of understanding interests, strengths, and talents of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

We want to congratulate Michael John Carley on the incredible work he has done with GRASP and as a spectacular human being. We know he will continue to do amazing things.

For more information about the history and mission of GRASP, visit their website at www.grasp.org.

Pick of the Week: ConversaCards

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Many strategies to help individuals on the autism spectrum organize and prioritize their daily activities propose using visual supports, color coding, lists, and other teaching materials such as timers and sequence cards. Understanding the concept of time and honing critical thinking and expressive language skills early in development is especially vital to  creating plans and making conversation independently later on in life.

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Our Pick of this Week this week features the ConversaCards, which were developed to encourage organization, critical thinking, and conversation skills in children. The ConversaCards include six different packs: What Comes Next?, What Do You Do With It?, What Do You Like?, What Do You Need?, What Happened?, and Where Does It Go?

This week only, save 15% on your order with any one of these packs of ConversaCards by using promo code BLOGCNV3 at checkout!

What Comes Next? invites young learners to speculate about sequences of events. Full-color photographs on the cards show children performing sequential activities in identifiable scenarios in series of 2 and 3 cards. Designed to develop effective conversation, listening and social skills, these cards are easy to use and are developmentally appropriate for all levels.

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What Do You Do With it? invites children to speculate about the uses for the everyday objects shown. The photographic objects contain relatable images such as a toothbrush, piano, towel, alarm clock, keys, and ice cream scoop. This set ultimately improves conversation and critical thinking skills, in addition to social skills and sorting in learners.

What Do You Like? invites young learners to identify and share their preferences as well as their reasoning. Designed to promote effective communication and social skills, these cards depict photographs of common objects and scenarios that will encourage analysis and self-awareness.

WhDoYouNeed

What Do You Need? cards were developed to encourage sequencing and critical thinking and invites children to speculate about the possible next steps necessary in order to continue with an activity. Created to promote listening, conversation, and social skills, these cards also inspire creative story-telling.

What Happened? cards were developed to build language skills while inspiring story-telling. These cards are fun and easy to use, so children will enjoy working with them independently or in lessons.

Where Does It Go? cards will encourage children to categorize and place identifiable items, furthering critical thinking while building conversation skills in creative story-telling and sharing experiences.

The back of each card in the ConversaCards™ series contains questions and prompts that can be used for independent work, in one-on-one sessions, or in group lessons. Learning to respond to “what” and “where” questions is the foundation of conversation and expressive language. These flashcards can be used to teach sequencing, storytelling, and logical thinking for a wide range of ability levels. Each deck contains 54 3″ x 5″ cards, a resource guide containing helpful prompts, questioning strategies, and suggested lesson ideas.

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This week only, save 15% on your order of any one of our six ConversaCards by entering in the promo code BLOGCNV3 at checkout!*

*Offer expires on May 28, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout. 

Hope Springs Farm

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We relish the opportunity to share creative, inspired programs that support individuals with developmental disabilities with you. Today, we want to tell you about Hope Springs Farm, a scenic 17-acre farm located in the quiet countryside of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Started by Neil and Nina Rovner to support their daughter, they now run a day program for adults with developmental disabilities and autism.The farm features a large activity center and program building surrounded by quaint flower beds, a 6,000 square-foot fruit, vegetable and herb garden, a barn, a large chicken house, fenced grazing pastures, wheel-chair accessible paths and plenty of swings and benches to take in the incredible views. The mission of Hope Springs Farm is to provide adults with developmental disabilities meaningful work on a farm and joyful group activities that lead to satisfying friendships in a licensed adult day program. Hope Springs Farm has a new motto, too – Real Farm. Real People.

Take a tour of Hope Springs and meet the Rovners and their program partcipants by watching this wonderful video. We think you’ll be as moved and inspired as we were.

 

Pick of the Week: The VB-MAPP Set

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DRB_680_VB_Mapp_SetAssessment and data collection are critical for every student on the spectrum…and can get expensive. This week, we’re thrilled to give you a bit of a break by offering the VB-MAPP Set by Dr. Mark Sundberg as our Pick of the Week. This week only, SAVE 15% on the VB-MAPP Set, VB-MAPP Guide or VB-MAPP Protocol by entering in the promo code BLOGVBM9 at checkout.

Dr. Mark Sundberg’s Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) is an assessment with a curriculum guide and skill-tracking system that assists educators, speech pathologists, psychologists, and parents in creating individualized intervention programs for children with autism or language-based learning disabilities. Continue reading →

Different Roads to Learning Celebrates National Teacher Appreciation Week

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This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week! Are you doing something special to honor the hard work a teacher has done for you or your child? The second week of May is set aside to pay tribute to those who help educate our children in the classroom, build leadership skills, and are passionate about molding future generations into successful individuals. We encourage you all to take the time this week to reach out to a teacher who has impacted you or your child and say “thank you.” Let the teachers in your community know that you appreciate the patience, dedication, and positivity they bring to their job and classroom.

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We at Different Roads to Learning would like to show our own appreciation for the commitment that educators all around the world give to ensure that each child is brought to the highest level of potential in his learning and development.

Today, May 9, 2013 through May 16, 2013, we will be accepting stories from you about a special teacher and how he or she has impacted yours or another student’s life. Take the opportunity this and next week to show your continual thanks to a teacher by nominating him or her in our Teacher Appreciation Giveaway. The lucky winner of the giveaway will receive a $100 gift certificate to the Different Roads to Learning store for purchase of any of our products. Stories from entries will be streamed and posted to our Facebook page throughout the week. The winner of the giveaway will be randomly chosen by us and announced on Facebook on Friday, May 17, 2013.

Submit your entries now on our Contest page through May 16, 2013 to give thanks to your teachers!

Posted in ABA

Pick of the Week: “I See I Learn” Books

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Early childhood is a period of vital learning through sensory experiences. Visual learning and comprehension are expressed long before children learn to read and utter a wide range of vocabulary. The I See I Learn series by visual learning specialist Stuart J. Murphy applies this natural capacity of young children with engaging and stimulating stories that are reinforced with visual strategies that help young learners prepare for school and other situations.

I See I Learn BooksThe I See I Learn series introduces a neighborhood of gentle, caring individuals, who respect and nurture each other. The stories are infused with experiences in which our fictional friends Freda, Percy, Emma, Carlos, Camille, and Ajay learn basic life lessons by effecting positive results.

 

This week only, SAVE 15% on the I See I Learn books, by entering in the promo code BLOGISIL3 at checkout.

The books are divided into the comprehensive domains of Social and Emotional Skills. Each title addresses a particular issue relevant to the experiences of young learners. In Percy Gets Upset, readers learn how to deal with frustration. Good Job, Ajay! helps children build confidence. Emma’s Friendwich explores the fun and challenges of making friends. In Camille’s Team, the gang must work together to share in the fun and learn cooperation. Percy Listens Up gently helps children understand that not listening often leads to missing out on great fun. And Freda Stops a Bully explores how it feels to be teased and bullied and what strategies kids can use to stop it.

Informative illustrations paired with diagrams that illustrate various issues encountered in children’s daily lives help make these lessons easier for young learners to remember.

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Additional activities and questions in the back of the books also help educators and caregivers further explore each issue discussed in the stories with their children.

Experts in the field of educational development for young children agree that learning tools need to have the ability to apply children’s own viewpoints in solving the conflicts that they may face on a daily basis. Stuart J. Murphy does this exactly with a positive-child approach in his series. Each layout – each word – reflects Murphy’s ability to see scenarios and dilemmas “as a child” and to present them in natural, kid-friendly language with solutions that make sense from their perspectives. The dynamic illustrations in each story are engaging and help generate excitement in young learners when you decide to introduce a new title.
 
 

BLOGISIL3 Promo Code

This week only, SAVE 15% on any one of our selections from the I See I Learn series by Stuart J. Murphy, by entering in the promo code BLOGISIL3 at checkout.*

 

 

 

*Offer expires on May 14, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

“Ability vs. Disability” by Gary Shulman

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It is important to remind ourselves as parents and providers of children with special needs of the little joys and pride we take in the skills and passions our children display. We recently received a moving anecdote from Special Needs Consultant and Trainer Gary Shulman about Matthew, whose six years of life has touched so many around him despite his label of being a disabled child. Please take a moment to read his story, for we do believe that “behind every child with a label of disability is a child with ability to be cherished, praised, and supported.”

Ability vs. Disability

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.
shulman.gary@yahoo.com
Special Needs Consultant and Trainer

April, 2013

During my more than 24 years as Program Director of Social Services and Training Coordinator for Resources for Children with Special Needs and now as a private consultant and trainer, I have had the great pleasure of asking thousands of parents of children with disabilities to tell me about their children’s talents, skills, abilities and passions. Very often that question has been met with astonishment, “Someone is actually asking me to accentuate the positive as the old song says!” What a concept! My heart has always been warmed and my soul and spirit uplifted by the myriad responses that gleefully utter from the lips of these proud parents: “Susan is a gifted musician-she hears a song once then sits down and figures it out on the piano”, “My son swims like a fish!” “Thomas has memorized the entire subway system-he is passionate about trains.”, “Hector always greets me with a hug and seems to know when I am feeling down-he brightens up my life.” …and on and on. My response is to have everyone in the room praise and applaud these positive stories of hope, joy and delight. We of course also move on to discussing the needs, wants, wishes and dreams.

I often tell the story of an “angel” who blessed this world by the name of Matthew. When Matthew was born, the doctor who had obviously not been through any sensitivity training, felt compelled to tell the new parents the bad news that after conducting genetic testing, Matthew was determined to have a very rare condition called I-Cell Disease. “So what does that mean?-when can we bring Matthew home to enjoy and love him?” The doctor proceeded to elucidate that Matthew should not be brought home but rather institutionalized! He then felt compelled to share that Matthew’s immunological system would over the course of 5 or 6 years, destroy all organs in Matthews tiny body. “Why put yourself through such misery-he will never grow or develop. Needless to say these spiritual, caring, loving dedicated parents took Matthew home and received Medicaid under the Medicaid Waiver program to meet many of his complex medical needs. He was enrolled in Early Intervention where his miraculous and talented Occupational Therapist Ilaine, only saw the potential skills, talents and strengths. Matthew learned to happily feed himself, walk with a walker, sing, dance and love……..oh how this child gave and received love. He was pure love. This beautiful child positively affected ever human being who was fortunate enough to have the joy of knowing this angel on earth. I made him pancakes during one visit and he stopped eating for a moment, turned his steroid filled, barely moving body, to face me so he could tell me, “Hey Gary! These are delicious!” Matthew by the way had a photographic memory and could tell you every player in the Yankee dugout, give you directions to Grandma’s house and direct you to all food items in the supermarket.

There is no miraculous ending here — Matthew died after 6 glorious years on earth. Six years of love and joy. Six years of enhancing the lives of everyone who was fortunate enough to have known this miraculous child. At his funeral were all the friends, neighbors, family members and admirers whose lives had been touched by this angel of humanity. The doctor who had diagnosed Matthew of course was not present. His memory lives on in every workshop I conduct. His parents graced me with a gift that I will always cherish. Knowing that Matthew would soon be leaving this world, they had him record anything that he wanted to say to those people in his life whom he cared for. Sitting on my dresser is a small photo book with Matthew’s picture in it. There is a button in that photo-book. When you press that button, Matthew’s sweet voice can be heard saying, “Hello Gary-I love you!” His spirit helps to motivate all parents of children with disabilities who have been told by “professionals” what their children would never be able to do. Just as the Bumblebee should not fly according to scientists, yet does (because nobody has ever told the bumblebee he can’t fly) so too will all children with disabilities continue to FLY as long as we continue to recognize that behind every label of disability there is a human being with abilities, talents, skills and passions…………………..and love to give and receive. We must never take the hope away!

Behind every child with a label of disability is a child with ability to be cherished, praised and supported.

 

Pick of the Week: Bullying & ASD – The Perfect Storm – NEW from Autism Partnership

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Work in Progress v6 Cover.inddBullying & ASD: The Perfect Storm – the brand new booklet and DVD from Autism Partnership – comes at a most important time. Recent school bullying and cyberbullying statistics show that:

  • 1 out of 4 kids are bullied
  • 77% of students are bullied either mentally, verbally or physically
  • Cyberbullying statistics are rapidly approaching similar numbers, with 43% experiencing cyberbullying
  • Of the 77% of students that said they had been bullied, 14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse

Bullying is a real and pressing issue in our schools and online, and children with autism spectrum disorder are especially at risk. In the most recent volume of the Work in Progress Companion Series, Doctors Leaf, McEachin and Taubman explore not only the reasons that children with ASD are targets for bullying, but more importantly, they offer realistic and attainable strategies for kids on the spectrum.  

Several traditional methods of dealing with bullies are explored in this booklet and DVD, including avoidance, informing an authority figure, and fighting back.  In addition, there are strategies for educating and preparing the victims so that students with ASD can better combat bullying.  The included DVD features over an hour and 40 minutes of footage including advice from experts, one-on-one interviews with students, and real classroom brainstorming sessions where students with autism spectrum disorder are shown:

  • The difference between teasing and bullying
  • How to avoid the behaviors invite bullying, including determining the important difference between “cool” and “uncool”
  • When and when not to listen to peers
  • How to react to a bully

This week only, save 15% on the important new booklet and DVD – Bullying & ASD: The Perfect Storm –  by entering the promo code BLOGBASD2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on April 30, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.