P.L.A.Y. in Wisconsin
by Bob
Many of you have heard of Dr. Richard Solomon. Dr. Solomon is a board certified developmental pediatrician who specializes in autism. He has over 15 years experience working with families and children with autism. Currently, he has a clinic in Ann Arbor, Mich. where he provides diagnostic services and intervention through his specialized program called The P.L.A.Y. (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) Project.
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P.L.A.Y. is a parent coaching, family empowerment model that’s provided in the child’s home. Parents are coached to “play” in a way that draws interactions from their child. Dr. Solomon developed this program to address the growing need for a cost-effective relationship-based intervention.
Right now, the state of Wisconsin offers several ABA (applied behavior analysis) programs but few relationship-based programs. In October 2006, Carrie Cianciola, Early Intervention Services Director, and Amanda Dobberstein, Speech Pathologist and P.L.A.Y. consultant, attended Dr. Solomon’s intense, four-day training. Our staff returned to Wisconsin excited to implement techniques and train parents!
Since attending the training, Amanda has been using The P.L.A.Y. Project model with families and seen its benefits first hand. Parents are reporting that their children now go to them for affection and requests to play.
So, you can imagine how excited Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin is to be hosting Dr. Solomon this weekend — he will present his two-day workshop for parents and professionals about The P.L.A.Y. Project on March 7-8 in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb.
If you’ve never seen Dr. Solomon present and you can make it to the Milwaukee area this weekend, please come and visit!
For more information, contact Carrie Cianciola at 414-449-4444 ext. 212, or download the registration flyer (pdf).