What can an iPad do for a kid with autism?

by Beth Finke

Easter Seals Maine was featured in a story on WLBZ 2 TV in Portland, Maine about three-year-old Jeremiah, who uses iPad technology to communicate with his teachers and parents. Jeremiah is on the autism spectrum and receives speech therapy from Easter Seals Maine.

What I especially liked about this story was the way it spelled out some of the ways kids with autism can use iPads to express themselves.

His father, Zak Gould, suspected Jeremiah might respond well to the touch screen because he is a visual learner. Sure enough, they started playing with apps that allowed Jeremiah to make fireworks with the touch of a finger or pop bubbles, and he loved them. Other apps Jeremiah uses will show 3 photos on the screen, and the computer will ask him verbally to touch a specific picture. The computer congratulates him for picking the correct picture.
Jeremiah’s mother, Elise Gould, says she didn’t realize how many words her son comprehended until he started using the iPad. “It was almost like getting to know him a little bit more, and I think that was nice for him to be able to say, ‘Hey! I know how to do this, and I can do this!'”

Julie Fagone, Jeremiah’s speech language pathologist at Easter Seals Maine, was also quoted in the story. “We’ve seen an increase in his pointing, which is a big deficit in kids on the autism spectrum,” she said. “They don’t do these natural things, like pointing to call attention to something that interests them.” The story also points out how practical the iPad can be to families with autism.

His parents are teaching him to express his wants and needs by pointing at pictures on the iPad. It’s easier for them to take when they leave the house, rather than a large book full of pictures of things Jeremiah might ask them for.

New ADA regulations about service dogs start today

by Beth Finke

Today’s the day … starting today, March 15, 2011, only service dogs and trained miniature horses are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Monkeys, rodents, and reptiles, among others, are no longer permitted to accompany individuals with disabilities into places of public accommodation.

Department of Justice regulations (implementing Title III of the ADA) used to define a service animal as: “any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to provide assistance for the benefit of an individual with a disability.”

The revisions taking affect today define a service animal as: “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.”

Notice the specific word dog in that sentence. Aside from one provision for miniature horses, other species of animals (whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained) are no longer deemed service animals. That means monkeys, parrots, rodents, and reptiles, among others, are no longer permitted to accompany individuals with disabilities into places of public accommodation.

In the old days, having a service animal meant you were blind and traveled with a guide dog. Today, dogs help people cope with seizures, monitor medication or help minimize behavior troubles for children with autism. The potential of service animals is tremendous.

Unfortunately, the wider acceptance of service animals tempted some people to abuse the system. I’m in public all the time with my Seeing Eye dog, and I get an earful of stories about helper parrots who peck at shoppers in stores, comfort pigs going crazy in airplanes, even a therapeutic rat that quells anxiety in his owner but causes anxiety to others.

Under the revised regulations people can still use other animals like these to help them in their homes, but starting today they can no longer claim the ADA gives them the right to bring them to places of public accommodation. These revisions come after some disability advocates asked the Department of Justice to crack down on people who were faking or exaggerating disabilities in order to get special privileges for their companion animals.

My hope is that limiting the number of allowable species might stop erosion of the public’s trust in our well-behaved, helpful — and absolutely necessary — service dogs.

Keeping an eye on legislation

by Katy Beh Neas

On Wednesday, March 2, 2010, President Barack Obama signed a temporary appropriations bill that would fund federal operations until March 18. The current continuing resolution was set to expire on March 4. The resolution cuts $4 billion in spending by targeting programs that President Obama has already marked for elimination and reductions. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 1 and by the Senate on March 2.

Easter Seals actively supports people with autism and their families by appealing to Congress and federal agencies in Washington, D.C. to create and support programs that help people with disabilities gain greater independence. We will continue monitoring legislation covering the remainder of FY2011 (which ends September 30) in support of people with autism and other disabilities. Sign up for Easter Seals’ legislative email updates to stay on top of breaking news from Capitol Hill.

Apples and autism

by Crystal Ward

An article in Chicago Special Parent talks about a $40,000 grant Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region has received from the Tellabs Foundation. We’re using the grant to buy 12 iPads, eight iPod Touches and apps specifically for use with children who have autism. Our assistive technology therapist Kathleen Post explains in the article how assistive technology devices will help our kids.

“Children with autism face varying degrees of challenges and every child is different,” says Kathleen Post, Easter Seals assistive technology therapist. “Assistive technology devices can enable these children to have a simple way to communicate by using relevant images to build sentences and an audio component to share their message.”

With this new technology at their fingertips, our therapists will be able to give parents hands-on demonstrations. This way parents can give these devices a try before making the important decision to purchase one for their child. Therapists will also work with each child individually to recommend specific apps for parents to purchase.

We express our sincere thanks to the Tellabs Foundation for providing us with this state-of-the-art technology to better serve our clients with autism and other disabilities. The grant will truly help us open a new world of communication for these children. Visit the Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region web site for upcoming parent trainings and more information on Assistive Technology Therapy.

Oregon school says yes to autism assistance dog

by Beth Finke

The wheels of justice really do turn slowly sometimes. A school district in Oregon just announced that after fighting it for three years, it will finally allow Scooter Givens, a fourth-grader with autism, to bring his assistance dog to class for a trial period. The Department of Justice spent more than a year investigating the case, which finally came to a conclusion last Friday. From a story in The Oregonian:

the decision pitted two federal laws against each other. The district was citing Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, saying Scooter was “adequately achieving” the goals of his education plan. The Givens’ attorney focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act, which ensures equal access for people with disabilities.

The story described Scooter as a five foot tall boy who weighs 150 pounds and is prone to violent meltdowns.

When he’s with Madison, Scooter wears a belt that is attached to a harness on the shepherd. When Scooter tries to bolt, the dog sits or digs his claws into the ground and pulls back, stopping the boy.

If Scooter works himself into a violent on-the-floor meltdown, the dog puts his paw on the boy to calm him. If that doesn’t work, Madison stands over him and then lies down on the boy.

Scootter’s mother said her son’s flailing and yelling stop almost immediately when his dog is around. She felt vindicated by the case but wished it hadn’t taken three years.

People with disabilities need their government to work

by Katy Beh Neas

Last month, President Obama unveiled his budget recommendations for the fiscal year 2012 that begins on October 1, 2011. The president’s budget does not have the force of law. But, its recommendations will have significant weight with the democratic-controlled Senate. A number of key programs that support the independence of people with disabilities are slated for increases, including:

• Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
• lifespan respite, and
• the National Family Caregivers Support Act.

We at Easter Seals feel REALLY good about these proposed increases. President Obama’s proposed budget gives us strength to leverage in the upcoming debate, which has already been eventful. As you know from reading the paper and watching the news last week, the House of Representatives debated the spending bill to continue funding the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year (FY 2011) which ends on September 30, 2011.

After 5 days and more than 500 amendments, the House passed a bill on Saturday that cut more than 12 percent of funding from the current year for programs in the areas of labor, health, human services, and education. They cut border patrol, they cut homeland security, and they even proposed a cut to IDEA — these three areas had previously been labeled as top priorities for the new House leadership.

These cuts will not become law. The president issued a statement saying he would veto this bill if it made its way to him. Congress then decided to kick the can down the street and passed another short term spending bill that funds the government through March 18th. Yesterday, Vice President Biden hosted a session with House and Senate democratic and republican leaders to hammer out the details of a spending bill that gets us through the end of September.

People with disabilities need their government to work. And for a government to work, government agencies must know what their budgets are.

Music lessons for students with autism

by Beth Finke

Most of us have heard that music therapy could be beneficial for people with autism, But this is the first time I’ve heard of a formal program that actually gives music lessons to people on the spectrum. A story in Your Town reports that the Boston Conservatory, a private performing arts college, has teamed up with the Autism Higher Education Foundation to form the Boston Conservatory Program for Students on the Autism Spectrum.

This little-known program pairs each child with a single teacher, who also works with a consulting team that includes a music therapist, a speech pathologist, a special educator and professionals in the music industry who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis.
The program, which provides music lessons, rather than the more traditional music-based therapy, is the first of its kind, said Rhoda Bernard, director of the program. While most participants live within 45 miles of Boston, some families travel from the far corners of the state to attend.

The story said that professionals hope the program will change the lives of students who have trouble interacting with others and expressing themselves.

“Finding pathways of communication that will help you and the student be on the same wavelength of understanding can sometimes be really difficult,” said Jill Hogan, program assistant and a Conservatory graduate. She said music “provides another area of communication that may be more accessible to those children.”

The program offers training sessions for local teachers every September. It is also piloting an “on-the-road” teacher-training arm, but so far the “on the road” program is planning to travel only to schools within the state of Massachusetts. Who knows, though? Maybe this program will take off.

The ripple effect of autism

by Crystal Ward

Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region was featured in a story in the Spring 2011 issue of Chicago Special Parent Magazine. The story focused on our staff member Holly Aldrich. Holly runs a group for siblings of children with special needs, and working with siblings has given her insight into how autism and other disabilities affect everyone in the family. From the article:

“The disability has a ripple effect on how parents see the world and how the siblings see the world,” she says. “Oftentimes the siblings have their own set of issues, but they can get overlooked.

They’re expected to be fine. But having a disabled sibling changes their world, too.”

Read more about Holly and this wonderful group of siblings at Chicago Parent Magazine — it’s a great read!

A protest rally that worked

by Beth Finke

Members of organizations representing a wide range of disabilities joined people with disabilities in Chicago on February 24th to rally against Governor Quinn’s proposed budget cuts in human services. Mental health care, development disability services and centers for independent living would have all been affected by Quinn’s $1 billion in proposed cuts.

The advocacy groups were also protesting major cuts in human services for the current fiscal year. and guess what? Their voices were heard! Quinn announced later Thursday that he would halt half of the human services cuts for this year, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

Quinn’s budget office and the human services officials recently informed social service providers of planned cuts totaling $208 million. But on Thursday, the size of the cuts was reduced to about $100 million. Quinn said he had concerns about the fairness of how programs were targeted for cutbacks.

Thank you to the thousands of people who went out yesterday and made their voices heard. Sounds like it worked!

To drive or not to drive

by Beth Finke

For Americans, learning to drive is a teenage right of passage. That goes for many teenagers with autism, too. An article in Disability Scoop points out that even though many people with autism struggle with motor skills and coordination, and some also have difficulty in situations that lack predictability, none of the 50 states restricts driving privileges for people who have autism.

The article goes on to describe a driving simulator that may help teenagers with autism take on the challenges of handling a car. From the article:

Using a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers at the University of Virginia plan to study 20 teenagers with high functioning autism — half of whom will be trained in a driving simulator and half of whom will be taught to drive in a more typical fashion through driver’s education or by their parents.

“We hope that by controlling the complexities of driving for these teens on the simulator, and by replaying mistakes to provide a safe environment for practice, we can build skills in teen drivers with Asperger’s and high-functioning autism,” said Daniel Cox, a professor of behavioral medicine who is working on the study.

Researchers are hoping the simulator will also help determine which of the teenagers with autism are good candidates to become independent drivers — and which ones are not.