Win a grant … share your adult autism support program!

by Patricia Wright

Easter Seals is a member of the Leadership Council of Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA). AFAA is a collaborative group of organizations committed to improving the quality of life of adults living with autism. We have been active for several years conducting a Think Tank, a National Town Hall and an Autism Congress.

Our most recent endeavor is called AFAA Applauds. AFAA Applauds is a national recognition initiative highlighting the most promising support programs in the U.S. for adults living with autism. AFAA Applauds is designed to celebrate and encourage vocational, residential support and community life programs. Community life includes social skills, transportation, recreational, safety, spirituality or other categories of service that improve life experiences and outcomes for those living with autism.

Programs serving adults with autism are encouraged to apply for AFAA Applauds and share your success! Applications for AFAA Applauds will be reviewed by an expert panel. As many as six finalists will be selected and each finalist will receive up to a $5,000 grant for the development of a video and expanded program description to be developed according to AFAA guidelines and distributed on the AFAA website and other channels deemed appropriate by AFAA.

Applications are due November 16, 2012, so get started on your grant application now so we can share your successful service and support model with the greater autism community!

Films about disabilities — what are your favorites?

by Beth Finke

Al Pacino won an Oscar for Scent of a Woman, Dustin Hoffman for Rainman, Daniel Day-Lewis for My Left Foot, and John Voight for Coming Home. Marlee Matlin won best actress for Children of a Lesser God, and plenty of actors and actresses have been nominated for their roles portraying a person with a disability too: Russell Crowe was nominated for best Actor in A Beautiful Mind, Salma Hayek was nominated for best actress in Frieda, Mary McDonnell was nominated for best actress in Passion Fish and Judi Dench for best supporting actress in Iris.

Disability-focused movies are nothing new. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has so many of them in their collection that they have been spending the entire month of October exploring the ways disabilities have been portrayed in film. From the TCM Web site:

The Projected Image: A History of Disability in Film features more than 20 films ranging from the 1920s to the 1980s. Each night’s collection will explore particular aspects, themes, or types of disability, such as blindness, deafness and psychiatric or intellectual disabilities. In addition, one evening of programming will focus on newly disabled veterans returning home from war.

Lawrence Carter-Long has been joining TCM host Ben Mankiewicz at 7:00 p.m. Central Time every Tuesday in October to discuss the films they’re showing, which include:

• An Affair to Remember (1957) Deborah Kerr’s romantic rendezvous with Cary Grant is nearly derailed by a paralyzing accident.
• A Patch of Blue (1965) Elizabeth Hartman as a blind white girl who falls in love with a black man played by Sidney Poitier.
• Butterflies Are Free (1972) Edward Albert as a blind man attempting to break free from his over-protective mother.
• Johnny Belinda (1948) Jane Wyman as a “deaf-mute” forced to defy expectations.
• The Miracle Worker (1962) Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen Keller.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) Jack Nicholson as a patient in a mental institution and Louise Fletcher as the infamous Nurse Ratched.
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Post-War drama starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy and real-life disabled veteran Harold Russell.
• Charly (1968) Cliff Robertson as a man with an intellectual disability who questions the limits of science after being turned into a genius.

As an added bonus (and a first for Turner Classic Movies) all of these films are being presented with both closed captioning and audio description (via secondary audio) for audience members with auditory and visual disabilities. Tune in this Tuesday, and in the meantime, if you have any favorite movies about people with disabilities, please leave a comment here to let me know. I am, ahem, all ears.

Bow ties are back!

by Rachel Talen

You might remember the Make the First Five Count Bow Tie from my post back in June. Well, today we have a chance for that bow tie to be featured on national TV by Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal during a World Series game!

It’s all part of the Bow Tie Cause’s Facebook challenge, and all we have to do to make this happen is collect a lot of “likes,” and our Bow Tie wins! Please like and share to spread the word.

Bow Tie Cause is a unique organization. It was started in 2010 when former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones challenged others to rock a bow tie for a cause they believe in. How cool is that?

Thanks for your help in liking our cause and spreading awareness around Make the First Five Count® and what Easter Seals is doing to help young children who are at risk for developmental delays.

Project SEARCH finds jobs for young adults with disabilities

by Bob Glowacki

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, the Secretary of Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development presented Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin with a Proclamation commending the work we did together to create a new Project SEARCH program in Milwaukee County. The Project SEARCH page on our web site explains:

Project SEARCH is a new program partnering Easter Seals with Children’s Hospital to offer a year long classroom and work experience for young adults beginning their senior year of high school. Easter Seals provides job coaching in rotating job internship opportunities at Children’s Hospital. The goal is for these young adults to learn skills that can transition to community-based employment.

In addition to the job skills learned in the internship, the classroom curriculum includes learning about appropriate interpersonal skills with supervisors and co workers, resume writing, job searching, how to apply for a job and how to understand what employers are looking for, understanding company policies and attendance, honesty and appropriate dress codes for your job. Other internship opportunities in the program at Children’s Hospital also include the Histology Lab, Pharmacy, Distribution Services, Imaging, and Neuroscience Clinic.

We started our first Project SEARCH class at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin last year. Six interns learned how to handle the hard skills of their jobs and the soft skills, too: things like how to engage their co-workers, learn workplace etiquette and how to compose professional emails. Those first six interns are now making their way in the world. Five interns have found community employment and the sixth has continued her education to build her skills.

Two interns from our inaugural class, Olivia and Marcus who both work at Children’s Hospital, spoke at the ceremony last week. I met both of them early in their internships last year. They were nervous and self-conscious then, but last week they spoke with confidence in front of 25 people about their year at Project SEARCH. Olivia and Marcus said it was one of the most important years of their young lives. Watching them made me feel like a proud father seeing his children spread their wings.

As the Secretary commended our partnership and program, I looked at our new interns, a full class of 12 young adults. They have started their first rotations, working the welcome center, catering, working at the genetics clinic. Each one was smiling, so proud. As I was given the Proclamation, I could only think of the very special staff that worked so hard to create the partnerships and make our first year so successful. The unsung heroes of Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin: Michelle Schaefer, Beth Lohmann, Suzie Feider-Kelly and Gloria McCullough. I am proud to sing their praises.

Watch a video of the proud graduates of our first Project SEARCH class and read a feature story about Olivia on our web site to learn more about the job she has now as a result of Project SEARCH.

Laugh out loud for autism

by Patricia Wright

Laughing out loud always makes me feel better. If you tune in to the Night of Too Many Stars on Comedy Central this SaturdaySunday, October 21, you can feel good for two reasons … you’ll be laughing a lot, and you’ll be supporting individuals living with autism.

Night of Too Many Stars only happens once every two years. The last event raised more than $3.1 million in grants, distributed to 41 programs in 13 states.

Some really BIG names in comedy are lending their support to the cause this year: Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Bill O’Reilly, Amy Poehler, Seth Rogen, Bob Saget, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Sudeikis, Katy Perry, Matthew Broderick and Jimmy Kimmel are all scheduled to appear. I am particularly excited about Tina Fey. I was a huge fan of hers when she was on Saturday Night Live, and her current television shows are an absolute hoot!

The purpose of Night of Too Many stars is to “benefit a variety of autism programs across the country in support of the overabundance of individuals with autism that so desperately need quality services.” As a service provider, Easter Seals is well aware of the need for quality services of those living with autism.

So if you get a chance, tune in this SaturdaySunday, October 21st at 8:00 p.m., Eastern time to laugh out loud and provide support to those living with autism.

Get informed, get involved and vote!

by Sara Croft

The vice presidential debate is tonight, Thursday, October 11 at 9:00 p.m. EST. The debate will be broadcast on all national news networks, and with less than one month until Election Day, it is more important than ever to research and pay close attention to the issues affecting people with disabilities on the state and federal level.

In the recent Presidential Debate, President Obama brought up issues relating to people with disabilities twice. In short moments like that, though, it can be difficult to understand his and Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney’s positions. If you weren’t around to listen to the debates, you can read the transcript or listen to the audio here. Our officials make very important decisions regarding funding for special education, employment training, and Medicaid and Medicare, so it is important to make sure that not only do you get out and vote, but that you make your vote count for the issues that affect you and your family members and loved ones with disabilities.

Finding unbiased, honest information about how a candidate stands on a particular issue can be difficult. How can you learn about the facts? Nonpartisan websites like factcheck.org and politifact.com help sort out fact and fiction. votesmart.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan website that allows you to enter your address to see candidates and government officials at the city, state and federal level, complete with a history of the candidates so you can see how they voted on issues in the past.

Once you’ve feel you’re ready to make an informed decision, be vocal about it! Consider volunteering for your party’s campaign: participate in a phone bank, organize a candidate forum to educate your peers, work the polls on Election Day. Your vote isn’t just about electing a candidate — when you exercise your right to vote, you’re telling the government that change is important.

Gone are the days of barely surviving

by Bob Glowacki

I am pleased to introduce Erin Raber, Children Services Director here at Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin, as a guest blogger today.

A more meaningful life

by Erin Raber

Tasha Rieck, one of the Board Certified Behavior Analysts on the Southeast Wisconsin Children’s Services Autism Team, won a well-deserved professional award from our chapter of the Wisconsin Association for Behavior Analysis for her work with a local client.

Local medical centers were at a loss after an 18-year-old with dual diagnoses of hydrocephaly and autism underwent incredibly invasive shunt surgery. The young woman refused to wear her glasses and took to self injurious behaviors that involved severe head hitting and throat damage due to significant screaming outbursts. Numerous drugs changes were prescribed in an attempt to control the negative behaviors with no success.

The family was at a loss and desperate to protect their daughter from hurting herself. As the young woman transitioned home after a lengthy stay at an inpatient center, a viable solution was needed — and fast.

Enter Tasha Rieck. A Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Tasha is skilled in the science of behavior change and began consulting with the family. After thorough observation and identification of the function and maintaining factors of the behaviors, Tasha determined that this young woman’s serious maladaptive behavior was maintained by several functions across environments, including head banging as a way to relieve pain from headaches. Tasha began implementing a process of systematic desensitization in order to help the participant wear her glasses.

Within 10 weeks, the participant was wearing her glasses all day without any aggressive behaviors towards removal of her glasses. This resulted in a decrease in her self injurious behavior, and allowed Tasha to more specifically target the remaining problem behaviors. By helping her decrease her severe self injurious behaviors, Tasha has allowed this young woman to live a more meaningful life. Her neurologist was able to remove many of her sedating medications, which allows her to take fewer behavior management medications, too.

Fewer negative behaviors is also significant for the family. Her parents no longer stress and worry about their daughter injuring herself, and the relief this alone offers is invaluable. They’ve stopped the struggle with the guilt and helplessness of not knowing what to do to help their daughter, and they are no longer considering long-term out-of-home care. They can now truly operate as a family and enjoy day-to-day activities (such as dinner) together.

And lastly, for the community, this young woman can now go out in public, be successful, and function in a fashion that does not draw additional attention to herself or set her further apart. She is able to live and play, and she will hopefully someday work in her local community.

This is just the beginning of this young woman’s story, and as we complete our work and transition her services, we eagerly await updates from her family on her continued progress.

The expertise and the hard work and dedication of our staff offers help, hope, and answers to families in the midst of life’s most challenging moments. This blog post is just one example of the progress our clients, from birth through adult, are making here at Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin.

Congratulations to Tasha Rieck for such a well-deserved award. We’re proud of you!

A new special friend named Kayla

by Beth Finke

In my other life, I’m a published author. My children’s book Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound won a Henry Bergh children’s book award from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Schools and festivals regularly ask me to visit with my Seeing Eye dog to talk with kids about that book and what its like to be blind.

Last week I was in Champaign, Ill. With my current Seeing Eye dog Whitney for the Youth Literature Festival put on by the College of Education at the University of Illinois. The Youth Literature Festival partnered with a federally-funded project called Special Friends to sponsor our visit to Westview Elementary School.

Before we visited Westview, Whitney and I were treated to lunch with faculty, students and staff working on Special Friends, and they explained how the six-week program works to help average kids understand and appreciate children with disabilities. For all six weeks, kindergarten teachers read stories about children with disabilities to their students three times a week. The Special Friends kindergarteners enjoy a 15-minute learning activity about disabilities three times a week, too. And then the kids take home one of the books they read in class every week to read and discuss with family members. After this six-week concentration on disabilities, the Special Friends people I had lunch with Friday keep track of the kindergartners to determine the short and long-term effects of this six-week program.

The highlight of our whole time in Champaign was meeting Kayla, a delightful second-grader who goes to Westview Elementary School. I usually don’t let kids pet Whitney when she has her harness on, but this was an exception. Kayla is blind, and she’d never been near a guide dog before. The only way for her to see how Whitney’s harness works was to touch it.

This spunky little sprite slid right down to the floor to feel Whitney’s ears, too. And her tail. And her back. And her belly. At one point they were face-to-face. “She’s staring at me!” Kayla exclaimed in delight. “That means she likes me.” It was true. And really, who wouldn’t like Kayla? Her mother Nicole was at the school when I visited, and when I complimented her on what a terrific job she is doing raising her daughter, Nicole told me Kayla has visited a couple special education students in college classes to give talks. “She comes in, says she’s blind, shows off her white cane, talks about learning Braille and tells them why they oughta like her,” her mom said with a laugh. “And by the end of the session, they do!” Westview Elementary, where Kayla goes to school, is one of the schools participating in Special Friends. If Kayla’s confidence and self-assurance is any indication, I’d say the six-week program is an unqualified success!

Meeting Miss Montana

by Patricia Wright

I traveled to Montana last month to give an autism workshop, and the day before I left home I got a notice that the workshop would start 15 minutes earlier than planned: Miss Montana would be speaking beforehand.

I simply thought, “huh, that’s interesting. I wonder why Miss Montana is going to be at an autism/asperger conference?” Clearly I could have consulted Google to assess the situation further, but it just didn’t make my agenda.

And so, it was with great delight and surprise that I listened to Alexis Wineman share her story to open the workshop. Her story included a childhood with serious social struggles, an autism diagnosis in grade seven, success in high school with the cross-country and drama club and most recently … victory at the Miss Montana pageant.

Ms. Wineman shared her story eloquently with 300 workshop attendees. Many of the attendees were parents, and hearing Ms. Wineman share her story clearly gave them a positive perspective on the possibilities for people living with autism.

There were many quotable moments in Ms. Wineman’s speech, but my favorite was definitely this one: “Being on the spectrum is not a death sentence, but a life adventure, and one that I realize has been given to me for a reason.”

Fall lineup: actors with disabilities on TV

by Rachel Talen

The new TV season has started, and it seems actors with disabilities are popping up on TV now more than ever. It’s one of the reasons I love Glee. The show has intentional positive messaging (mainly that it’s ok to be different) and it also has fresh plot lines, diversity and awareness characters.

I’ll start with Becky. She’s played by Lauren Potter, who has Down syndrome. And then there’s Robin Trocki, the actress who played Sue Sylvester’s big sister, Jean. Robin has Down syndrome too. And now last month Jordyn Orr debuted as Sue’s daughter. Both Jordyn and the character she portrays on Glee have Down syndrome. A story on ABC about actors with Down Syndrome said that showing actors who have real disabilities helps employers to see past a disability and consider the job seeker’s work ethic and skill set instead.

Let’s not forget actors who play characters with disabilities, either. Whether it’s Glee’s Kevin McHale, who plays a character named Artie who uses a wheelchair, or Parenthood’s Max Burkholder, who plays a character named Max who has Asperger’s, I believe the more the media includes realistic and positive examples of people with disabilities, the more society can move away from harmful stereotypes.

Using characters with disabilities on TV provides audiences with a good example of how to treat people who may be different than what they’re used to. Even the season premiere of Law & Order: SVU included a character who walks with crutches, and we got to see that character receive occupational therapy on the show.

I hope that through these actors and the characters they play on TV, the media can change how the public perceives people with disabilities. We learn a lot more from people who are different from us, and that’s why I’m thoroughly enjoying 2012’s fall TV lineup!