How do I know if my child has autism?

Easter Seals is committed to increasing awareness. Awareness about symptoms of autism, the capabilities of people with autism and any other awareness topic than can improve the lives of individuals living with autism.

One question we get frequently is, “How do I know if my child has autism?” We’ve been working on tools to assist parents in recognizing signs of autism. MOST importantly, we’ve been pursuing early effective treatment. Early intervention really does promote the best outcomes, and it’s comforting to know we are not the only group committed to this awareness work.

Many organizations produce materials to help parents and community members assess their child for early signs of autism. If you suspect your child is not developing normally, here’s a few resources that highlight the signs and symptoms of autism:

Awareness is not a job for one organization to tackle on its own. By working together, we can see that every child with autism will be diagnosed and receive treatment.

 

National Center on Educational Outcomes gives assistive technology a thumbs up

I enjoyed reading the post Laura Bierck wrote here last week about the 60 Minutes tribute to Steve Jobs and decided to sit down and write a short post about that segment myself.

I was lucky enough to catch the tribute when it aired on 60 Minutes and thought that one of the most telling parts of Leslie Stahl’s piece was when she interviewed the teachers at the special school for kids with autism. They were so amazed at the abilities their students were able to demonstrate via the ipad. The kids were able to communicate. They were able to express understanding, emotions and preferences that the teachers believed were never possible. Research from the National Center on Educational Outcomes shows that when kids with significant cognitive disabilities have access to appropriate assistive technology they are often able to demonstrate abilities that might have otherwise been lost or unseen.

Another person featured on the 60 Minutes piece was a non-verbal young adult who was able to directly communicate using a language app that also speaks. He and his mom were interviewed as he ordered dinner in a restaurant from a waitress using this iPad.

If you missed the 60 Minutes piece when it originally aired, you’re in luck: you can still see the Apps for Autism segment online. Remarkable.

 

Saved by rock ‘n roll!

I loved this article in the Chicago Reader about Arts of Life Inc., a nonprofit that encourages adults with developmental disabilities to explore visual and performance art—and to show it off in mainstream public venues. I was especially taken by the way the article highlighted Kelly Stone, a young man with autism who sings in the Arts of Life Band. Denise Fisher, cofounder and executive director of Arts of Life is quoted in the article about the improvements Stone has shown since joining the band:

He came to us with very little language because of his autism—not that he couldn’t talk, but because he didn’t understand the value of using language, so he would become very physical,” Fisher says. “And now he’s singing onstage.”

The story is more than just a “isn’t that cute” piece about a band made up of people who have disabilities — it discusses the lack of funding for services for adults with disabilities and whether or not music and art qualify as “work.”

Denise Fisher said in the article that while sending people with disabilities to workshops every day might have been a creative idea in the 70s, The only thing workshops provided was busy work. She described it this way: “Practice sorting these colored poker chips and we’ll find you a job—and the job never comes.”

The article highlights major music venues in Chicago where the Arts of Life Band has opened for the headliner, and points out that visual artists from Arts of Life display and sell their work at Starbucks and at Chicago art galleries and outdoor art fairs. Still, some disability advocates argue that making art all day can be just like stacking red and blue poker chips: busy work. I’ll end here with one last quote from the story and let you decide for yourself.

“We use art as a tool to teach things that are important to people—dignity, self-efficacy, independence,” Fisher says—things the residents hadn’t necessarily been thought capable of learning.

 

A reaction to the Steve Jobs tribute on 60 Minutes

Image courtesy of CBS and 60 MinutesI’m pleased to introduce Laura Bierck, MA, CCC-SLP as our guest blogger today. Laura is our Lead Speech-Language Pathologist / Lead Therapist for the Outpatient Rehabilitation team here at Easter Seals North Texas.

Good job, Steve Jobs

by Laura Bierck

I am the “iPad Person” here at work. Since I got my iPad last year for Christmas, I carry it with me each and every day, and if you ask me about it I’ll tell you about what an amazing therapy tool I think the iPad is.

I didn’t catch the 60 Minutes tribute to Steve Jobs when it originally aired, but when I heard that they did a section on the iPad and kids with Autism, I got on my Mac to find the story. The segment emphasized the large number of apps created for the iPad, and the number of apps created both to help children communicate and to teach other skills is beyond belief. But I want people to know that people with disabilities have been using computers with voice output for decades. The iPad did not give people with disabilities a new technology to communicate, but the iPad made this technology easy, more accessible, and really, more fun.

The iPad is something everyone wants to own, and for children with autism who already have difficulties fitting in, the iPad is something everyone is carrying around with them.

I have seen children with autism do amazing things with an iPad. I have a child that I worked with for months on identifying objects quickly learn this skill when the pictures were put on an iPad, because after he selected the right picture it bounced around the screen and cheered for him. I have had children learn the names of their friends, learn what to say next in a conversation, and even form friendships with the help of an iPad. And as showed on the 60 Minutes segment, I have seen kids who previously had no clear way to communicate use an iPad to express what they want. It makes my heart happy.

All that said, I have also seen children with autism who use an iPad only as another way to “stim,” who open and close applications quickly, not caring to look at any programs at all. The iPad is not a “cure” for Autism. However, for the right kids, and with the right people in their lives to help them navigate these programs, Apple devices and the thousands of apps developed for them have created a fun and motivating way to help kids learn and to help them communicate with the world. I’m sure that when Mr. Jobs created the iPad, he was not considering the special needs population. We have the amazing app developers, parents, teachers, and therapists to thank for coming up with creative ways to use what he developed to create a more exciting way to teach and communicate. I thank Mr. Jobs for creating a device that is able to mainstream the available technology in order to reach kids with autism. Technology can make them excited to learn and participate in the world around them.

 

A work of Art

The Naperville Patch here in Illinois debuted a new weekly feature to recognize local people doing great things by honoring Art and Sandy Davis, who helped launch “Rotary and Easter Seals: Uniting Again to Change the World for People with Autism,” a multi-year fund-raising campaign. From the article:

Most recently, Art has worked to reunite Rotary International with Easter Seals through a $250,000 Rotary pledge to provide programs and materials for Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago’s Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.

Art Davis also worked with the Chicago White Sox to raise funds for Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago’s Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research. Part of the center’s first phase, a research wing, will be named in Rotary’s honor. The $32-million facility will be built in four phases over the next few years. Link to Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago’s web site for more information about the “house that Art built,” the Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.

 

CVS Caremark + Easter Seals kids = a boo-tiful Halloween party

CVS/Caremark logoPartnerships. Collaboration. Cooperation. Friends. These powerful words represent the fantastic relationship we have with our Easter Seals corporate partner CVS Caremark. This partnership came shining through in Dallas during a Halloween celebration this year. Our friends at CVS ensured the children of Easter Seals had a wonderful celebration. Our guest blogger, Lenee Bashamwall, Vice President of Programs at Easter Seals North Texas, graciously provides an eye-witness account of the event.

Amazing, fabulous and wonderful

by Lenee Bashamwall

Last Monday Easter Seals North Texas was invited to bring a group of our children to CVS Caremark’s Regional Business Office to do an early trick or treat event with CVS leadership and associates there. Brian Ridgeway, the HR Director for Area 4, and his colleague Scott Lason were the ones who spearheaded this event. Brian has a nephew with autism, so our work really hits home with him. This celebration came right on the heels of a recent event at which nearly 100 CVS Caremark associates volunteered at three Easter Seals centers throughout North Texas!

It’s hard to find words to describe the Halloween party, but let me try. It was amazing, fabulous, and wonderful! They went all out. Their staff was dressed in costumes, they gave out all kinds of goodies, had crafts and games set up for the kids, provided lunch for everyone, and to top it all off, they gave our kids Toys R Us gift cards, and then gave the Easter Seals staff who attended $20 CVS gift cards!

CVS Caremark has a long standing commitment to making life easier for children with autism and other disabilities. Through its signature program, All Kids Can, CVS and theCVS/Pharmacy Charitable Trust help nonprofit organizations like Easter Seals raise awareness in schools and in local communities about the importance of inclusion.

Thank you, CVS Caremark, for including us in such a fun, fun, celebration. Happy Halloween!

 

Happy 25th birthday to a great idea

Twenty-five years ago today, President Ronald Reagan signed into law a bill that established the federal early intervention program, now known as the Infant and Families program, Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It took nearly eight years to bring every state on board to create a statewide system of early intervention services for children between the ages of birth and 3 years.

One of the most powerful aspects of the early intervention program is that services are delivered in the context of the young child’s family. Services are designed to help FAMILIES know how to help their child learn and grow. As a result, families gain the skills they need to work effectively with schools if their child needs additional supports starting in kindergarten.

In my 20 years in the world of disability policy, I’ve seen a lot of change. I’ve seen a lot of kids prove everyone wrong who told them what they would never be able to do. So, today, let’s celebrate all the hard earned victories of these young kids who learned to walk, to talk, to make friends, to be fully engaged members of their families and communities.

Let’s also celebrate their families and friends who supported them. Link to our Make the First Five Count page to learn about our new awareness and advocacy effort designed to give children with or at risk of autism, developmental delays or disabilities the right support they need to be school-ready and build a foundation for a lifetime of learning.

We want to spread the word about the importance of early intervention and let every parent know more about their child’s development, where to go for help if something doesn’t feel right, and how to take action early.

On to the next 25 years!

 

Watch this PBS documentary chronicling the disability rights movement

Scene from Lives Worth Living documentary, courtesy of PBSA first-of-its-kind television documentary will premiere on PBS tomorrow night, October 27th. The film, Lives Worth Living, follows the development of the disability rights movement from its beginning (after World War II, when thousands of disabled veterans returned home) through its burgeoning in the 1960s and 1970s, when it began to adopt the tactics of other social movements.

Lives Worth Living explores how Americans with a wide variety of disabilities banded together to change public perception and policy. The story is told through interviews with people with disabilities who emerged as key leaders and legislators who were influential in passing the ADA. Historical footage shows how activists took action, breaking down curbs that were inaccessible and crawling up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to illustrate their struggles and demand change.

Through demonstrations and legislative battles, the disability rights community finally secured equal civil rights with the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the most transformative pieces of civil rights legislation in American history.

You can visit the film’s website to learn more about the issues involved, view preview clips and read an interview with the filmmaker. A Talkback section on the site allows viewers to share their ideas and opinions.

If you’re not going to be home, check your local listings and set your TIVO or DVR now: Lives Worth Living premieres tomorrow night, Oct. 27th on PBS’s Independent Lens series.

 

It’s never too early to start planning

Download the flyerNow here’s something I wish had been around back when we were raising our son Gus at home: workshops specially intended for families who financially support or care for either a family member or friend with special needs.

Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley Region is sponsoring a workshop like this — their special needs planning workshop will be held at the Villa Park, Ill. facility from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. next Tuesday night, November 1, 2011. Mary Anne Ehlert from Protected Tomorrows will lead the program, and she’ll present on all aspects of special needs planning, including :

  • the creation of a life plan,
  • government benefits,
  • special needs trusts, and
  • guardianship.

There is no charge for the event, and Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley Region assures me that no financial products or services will be sold or promoted there.

If you live in the Chicago area and want to attend, you can call 847-522-8086 or email registration (at) protectedtomorrows (dot) com to register. If you are unable to attend the event, but are interested in planning for the financial future of your child with autism or another special need, please download our With Open Arms brochure. Easter Seals and the National Endowment for Financial Education® collaborated to create the With Open Arms financial planning booklet for parents, caregivers, grandparents or others involved in the care of a special needs child. It’s never too early to start planning for the financial future of a child with special needs!

 

High five, Hilltoppers!

Photo of Mateo running with a football, courtesy of Angela Peterson, Milwaukee Journal SentinelI am pleased to have Nicole Berlowski as a guest blogger today. Nicole is a senior therapist here at Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin, supporting families and people living with autism.

Kids with autism find heroes at football camp

by Nicole Berlowski, MS

Last weekend Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin had the pleasure of teaming with the Marquette University High School (MUHS) Hilltoppers football team to offer a football camp for children with autism and their siblings. When a colleague and I first approached MUHS with the idea of integrating our participants into a camp with typically developing peers to help the children build relationships and form new heroes, the Hilltoppers embraced our vision.

we could have never in a million years imagined how incredible the event would be. Thank you to MUHS Head Coach Jeff Mazurczak and all the other MUHS coaches and players who were there for us last weekend. Not only did Coach Maz allow us to use the school’s field, but the Hilltoppers also supplied equipment and developed fun stations that supported the children’s needs. They even provided a photo booth for trying on uniforms!

Every drill at the camp was designed and run by members of the team’s coaching staff and demonstrated by members of the MUHS team. The players and coaches went above and beyond with the patience and encouragement they gave to every participant. Thanks to the Hilltoppers outstanding efforts and collaboration with Easter Seals, participants and their families had the joy of experiencing an afternoon of football fun that will not be forgotten.

It’s difficult for me to put into words how amazing it was to see the children running around with smiles on their faces and footballs in their arms. The football camp truly was a great example of Easter Seals fulfilling their mission to support integrating children with autism into the community. Feedback from the camp indicates the respect other parents and coaches have for the autism community. My hope is for Easter Seals and the community to continue to develop opportunities for these children to be supported in the natural environment.

You can visit our photo gallery to see what fun we all had at football camp last weekend. Who could resist watching a bunch of children tackling others or running up to you for a high five??