Tag Archives: Resources

Sesame Place Opens Exclusively to Autism Speaks & Variety Club Families on April 26th for Autism Awareness

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Sesame Place, the nation’s only theme park based entirely on the award-winning television program, Sesame Street, opens exclusively to Autism Speaks and Variety Club children and their immediate families for Autism Awareness Month on April 26th, 2015. Registration opens on April 8th, 2015!

Special accommodations will be made to make sure all children, regardless of their disability, have an enriching experience. These accommodations include:

  • Designated quiet areas
  • Volume of public address system and music turned low
  • Characters are instructed not to initiate contact
  • Gluten-free, Casein-free foods
  • Staff training to familiarize the challenges those affected with autism face

There will also be a resource fair for parents to attend while the rest of the family plays.

For more information about the event and registering, visit the Variety Club’s website here or send an email to varietyphila@gmail.com.

April is Autism Awareness Month!

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April is Autism Awareness Month, which means we have a bunch of fun things planned out all month long for you!  You can stay up to date on social media with all of our special offers and promotions by liking our Facebook page, following us on Twitter, or subscribing to our email updates for announcements of special promotions, giveaways, exclusive articles, and more. We’re really excited to bring you a series of exclusive articles by Mark Sundberg, Mary Jane Weiss, and Gary Mayerson addressing critical questions and issues facing the autism community.

And we’re always thrilled to see engagement from our community of parents, professionals, and others. We hope you’ll share how you’re showing your awareness of autism this month. Just mention @difflearn and hashtag #AutismAwareness in your tweets and posts to join in on the raising awareness!

Don’t forget—you can also Light it Up Blue with Autism Speaks on World Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd, 2015). Register now and help shine the light on autism!

Temple Grandin and Dr. Jed Baker to Speak at Upcoming Autism Conference in White Plains, NY – April, 24

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10409199_10153276032427780_6229927242485176303_nTemple Grandin and Jed Baker are  speaking at this one day conference brought to you by Future Horizons.
Dr. Grandin describes the challenges she has faced and offers ideas on how others dealing with autism can meet these obstacles and improve the quality of their lives. Backed by her personal experience and evidence-based research, Temple shares her valuable insights on a wide variety of topics, and offers useful do’s and don’ts.

 

Dr. Baker is a behavioral consultant for several New Jersey school districts where, nearly two decades ago, he organized a group to help children with social communication problems.

This conference is intended for family members and professionals. ASHA, APA, AOTA, and NAPNAP Credits are offered and APA Continuing Education Credit = 6.

For more information, visit the Future Horizons’ Website here.

Pick of the Week: NEW Curriculum – “Teaching the Basics of Theory of Mind”

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Using principles from cognitive behavioral therapy, this evidence-based curriculum Teaching the Basics of Theory of Mind by Kirstina Ordetx, PhD, is designed to enhance social understanding in children with autism or other social challenges. With lesson plans, activity ideas, worksheets, reproducible flashcards, and reinforcement activities for use at home, this curriculum is ideal for use with children who demonstrate challenges with the prerequisite skills, leading to successful social relationships and situations.

This week only, you can save 15%* on your order of Teaching the Basics of Theory of Mind by using our promo code TOM15 when you check out online or over the phone with us!

This curriculum includes 42 unlabeled Feelings Photo Cards (Student’s set), 42 labeled Feelings Photo Cards (Instructor’s set), 28 Feelings Word Cards, 8 Follow the Eye Picture Cards, 12 Riddle Cards, 4 Picture Clue Cards, 8 “As If” Cards, 7 Point of View Prompt Cards, and 9 Me vs. We Cards.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EST on April 7th, 2015. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Free Weekly “Teens Social Skills Group” at YAI in New York Begins in April

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The YAI Autism Center in New York City will be hosting free social skills groups every Thursday for teens aged 15–18 years and on the autism spectrum starting on April 23, 2015. This social skills group will promote positive peer relationships among teens through role playing, recognizing emotions, social stories, and modeling. This group is ideal for teens who can independently engage in conversation.

Group Information
Time: Every Thursday from 4:00–5:00 pm EST
Location: 460 W. 34th Street, New York, NY 10001

For intake information, please contact Michelle Lang at (212) 273-6238 or at michelle.lang@yai.org.

Volunteers Needed to Test Database of Colleges for Students for Autism

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ASD-DR.com is launching a college-search resource to help families with autistic students. There are many online search sites with information about colleges, but few of them include information on the support services available at these institutions. This new resource allows parents and other caregivers of students with autism to search through a database of over 300 colleges across the U.S. with autism services.

They are looking for volunteers to help in developing this database by previewing the content and answering the following questions:

  1. What additional information would you like?
  2. What search options should be added?
  3. What information is not needed?

Be sure to sign up by March 30. The database will be available only for those who have a log-in and password, which Dawn Marcotte will provide on April 1, 2015. Those interested should sign up at www.asd-dr.com.

ASD-DR Volunteer Request

 

Tip of the Week: Recognizing Fad Autism Treatments

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Learning that your child has autism is incredibly overwhelming. You’re under intense stress to make the best decisions possible for your child, and to do so quickly. Add to the fact that autism is a popular topic in the news and social media, so tips and quick fixes frequently show up in headlines and news feeds. Autism is considered to be a fad treatment magnet, and while some of the fad treatments are ineffective, others are flat out dangerous. How is it possible to parse through all this to find reliable information? Here are a few tips to help you out:

  1. Avoid products or organizations that promise a cure or rapid progress. All children respond to intervention at different rates. There is no known cure for autism, and there is no “quick fix” either.
  2. Avoid products or organizations that use scare tactics. Anyone who is trying to scare you into using their products or services does not have your best interest at heart. Instilling fear in parents can make it more difficult to make knowledgeable choices and increase the pressure already felt. Scare tactics are generally used to encourage you to make a snap decision, often at a high monetary cost.
  3. Avoid products or organizations that utilize subjective testimonials instead of data-driven science to measure progress. Testimonials may be compelling, but without scientific research it’s impossible to know what actually caused progress. Research should be completed that illustrates an intervention or treatment is directly linked to progress.
  4. Avoid products or organizations that advertise easy solutions which don’t require a professional’s help. Many of the behaviors presented with autism are incredibly challenging. Approaching those issues without the assistance of a trained professional can be detrimental or potentially dangerous for your child, especially when your child exhibits self-injurious behaviors.
  5. Avoid products or organizations that do not measure progress for the intervention being used. It should be very clear what the expected outcome of a product or treatment is, as well as how it will be measured. Relying on informal reports from either parents and/or teachers does not supply valid information about the effectiveness of the product or treatment.
  6. Be wary of treatments that require “faith” to work. If a treatment is not working, it is not because you didn’t believe in it, it’s because something in the treatment needs to be changed to meet the unique needs of your child.

So where can you find valid information? The Association for Science in Autism Treatment is a reliable source for up-to-date information about the many types of treatment available for individuals with autism. The website is packed with useful information, but you may find “Questions to Ask Marketers of Autism Interventions” especially helpful as you make decisions about your child’s treatment. You may also want to pick up Sabrina Freeman’s book, The Complete Guide to Autism Treatments: A Parent’s Handbook: Make Sure Your Child Gets What Works!

 

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Upcoming New York Family Workshop & Support Group Events

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Parent to Parent New York, Inc. will be hosting a free workshop and several family support groups throughout March that you won’t want to miss! Their free workshop “Special Education Mediation: A Collaborative Option for Resolving Disputes” aims to help parents and school districts become more effective partners, offering attendees an opportunity to look at conflict differently, learn about resources that enable people to communicate more effectively, and meet with representatives from organizations to assist parents and schools with communication issues.

Special Education Mediation: A Collaborative Option for Resolving Disputes
10:00am–12:00pm EST
Thursday, March 19th, 2015
Institute for Basic Research
Parent to Parent NY, Inc.
1050 Forest Hill Road
Staten Island, NY 10314

Those who wish to attend should RSVP by calling (718) 494-4872 or emailing SIPTP@aol.com.

They will also be hosting several support groups throughout the rest of the month. The Aspergers, Mothers, and Sibling Support Groups will also be held at the Institute for Basic Research. The Fathers Support Group will be held at the Page Plaza Diner in Tottenville, Staten Island. Please find the times and dates below for each support group:

Aspergers Support Group
10:00am–12:00pm EST
Wed, March 4th & March 18th, 2015

Mothers Support Group
10:00am–12:00pm EST
Wed, March 11th & March 25th, 2015

Fathers Support Group
6:30pm–9:00pm EST
Wed, March 11th, 2015

Siblings Support Group
6:30pm–8:00pm EST
Fri, March 6th & March 20th, 2015
RSVP is required, by calling (718) 494-4872.

For more information about these parent support groups, please call (718) 494-4872 or send an email to Parent to Parent New York at SIPTP@aol.com.

Pick of the Week: NEW! Inferencing Card Sets

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Help students improve their inferencing skills with these brand new inferencing cards we’ve just added to our catalog! This week, you can save 15%* on the Inferencing Quick Take Along! Mini Book or the WH Inference Question Cards by applying our promo code INFER15 at check-out!

The pocket-sized Inferencing Quick Take Along! Mini Book is perfect for the busy speech-language pathologist, special educator, teacher, or parent. Help students practice their inferencing skills by responding to 520 prompts in 13 different categories covering: Actions, Categories, Cloze Sentences, Context Clues, Descriptive Clues, Emotions, Locations, Naming Tools & Devices, Occupations & Jobs, Problems & Solutions, Pronoun Antecedents, and Time & Seasons.

This small 5″ x 3″ book is spiral-bound, so you can easily flip pages and keep it open to the page you’re working on. The sturdy, laminated pages are tear-resistant and easy-to-read. Includes an Answer Key.

WH Inference Question Cards is a robust set of five card decks ideal for helping students reach the next stage of Wh-development, once they have mastered the basics. Each deck contains 56 double-sided cards that provide clues and hints to answer various Wh- questions. Side A has a colorful picture and a Wh-question (“Why is Karla waving?”). This picture provides clues that the children must use to infer the correct answer. Side B has a second, related picture and the answer (“She is going on a trip”).

The durable tin comes with 5 decks for Who?, What?, When?, Where?, and Why? Questions, each on a long-lasting metal ring for convenient use and storage. Leave the cards on the color-coded rings as you teach, or easily remove them as needed. Each of the 56 cards in the five decks measures 2½” x 3½”.

Don’t forget – you can take 15% off* either or both of these inferencing card sets by using our promo code INFER15 at check-out this week!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EST on February 24th, 2015. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

2015 Autism Speaks Baker Summer Camp Grant Application Now Open!

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Summer camp can have a significant impact on individuals with autism. Applications for the Autism Speaks Baker Summer Camp Program are now being accepted! The program selects eligible camps in the United States to identify qualified campers and offer up to $5000 in scholarship funds for financially disadvantaged children with autism to attend a summer camp.

Autism Speaks recruits members for the Autism Speaks’ Baker Summer Camp Program Review Committee. The national committee is composed of families affected by autism, individuals with autism, and autism professionals. The Committee reviews eligible applications and selects camps to receive a Camp Scholarship Fund.

Visit their website to learn more about the program and its eligibility requirements. Click here for the scholarship fund application. For more information about the Baker Summer Camp Grant program, you can contact Elizabeth Fields, Family Services Grants Coordinator at elizabeth.fields@autismspeaks.org.