And now here’s more!

by Patricia Wright

The Easter Seals Autism Blog has been a great success. The opportunity to write about autism issues and hear from the blog readers via their comments has been a fun part of my job as National Director of Autism Services here at Easter Seals. Easter Seals provides a wide-array of services and supports in addition to our work in autism, so I’m excited that the Autism Blog is morphing into the Easter Seals Blog.

I have specialized in autism for many years but started out my teaching career as a special education teacher, teaching children with all disabilities. I found myself drawn to children with autism but I thoroughly enjoyed working with children with physical and intellectual disabilities, too.

My personal mission has always been one of social justice, working to ensure that individuals with disabilities are full participants in society. The disability community, including those living with autism, often work together to promote awareness and inclusion.

I look forward to continuing to write blog posts about autism, and I know readers will appreciate hearing news about the greater disability community here, too. The new Easter Seals Blog will be a great forum to share information about our services and supports and for the disability community to engage in dialogue.

Notice anything different?

by Beth Finke

Notice anything different? I sure hope so! Easter Seals has been working long and hard to expand our blog into one that covers other disabilities, in addition to autism, and today’s our launch day!

If you’ve been following the Easter Seals and Autism blog already, you know that my name is Beth Finke, and I’m the Easter Seals Interactive Community Coordinator. And if you’ve been reading very closely over the past six years, you also know that I am blind. That means I have first-hand experience with the resourcefulness it takes to live with a disability — I use assistive technology. A computer program called JAWS reads the text on my screen out loud. That’s how I’m able to read your comments to the blog. I also have a grown son who has developmental and mental disabilities of his own. What that all means is I am familiar with — and have an inherent interest in — the services and feelings you all are writing about when it comes to dealing with disabilities. You are not alone, and we want to hear from you.

We will still be covering autism on our blog, of course, and we’ll also talk about Easter Seals and its services to children, adults and families … with all sorts of other disabilities as well. My fancy-schmancey Interactive Community Coordinator title means I’m the one who will be moderating this new edition of the Easter Seals blog. I’ll keep my ear open for articles and news involving people with disabilities, then ask our featured bloggers and spokespeople at Easter Seals affiliates across the country to write blog posts about those things. They’ll email the posts to me, I’ll use my talking computer to edit them and add html code, and, presto!

And that’s where you come in. It’s my job to read through the comments you leave on our blog, and I hope you’ll weigh in with comments and questions. When appropriate, I’ll forward your comments to Easter Seals blog authors and information and referral staff for answers. We want you to feel comfortable sharing information and interacting — that way, this online community will thrive. So please keep your comments, questions and recommendations about life with autism and other disabilities coming. It’s a privilege to hear from you.

Read Beth Finke’s biography.

Read all about us in Parents Magazine

by Kristen Barnfield

All of us at Easter Seals are so jazzed that the April issue of Parents Magazine is hitting newsstands and subscribers’ hands this week! The April edition prominently showcases our Make the First Five Count initiative to its more than 8 million readers — young moms and dads across the country.

Make the First Five Count is our 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.

Every year, more than one million young children with unidentified disabilities enter school with learning and health issues that put them far behind their peers and have a lasting, negative effect on their ability to meet their full potential. Many will never catch up. But we know young children with special needs, autism and developmental delays can succeed in school alongside their peers if they receive early intervention services — therapies that work to strengthen their physical, social, emotional and intellectual abilities at a very young age.

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

It’s a message that rings true with Easter Seals’ family of corporate partners, too. We’re thrilled CVS Caremark and our other corporate partners made this 4-page spread in Parents possible. It highlights different ways these companies are working to raise awareness and funds for Easter Seals services for young children. Be sure to pick up the April issue on newsstands now to learn much more about Make the First Five Count.

Traveling over spring break?

by Beth Finke

We live in Chicago, and trust me, O’Hare International Airport can be an overwhelming sensory experience for anyone, let alone a child with a disability like autism. Our son Gus is 25 years old now, and he’s only flown with us twice. The first time, he was 2 years old. After the second time, when Gus was 10 years old, we vowed he’d never fly with us again. But now maybe we’ll consider giving it another try.

The Autism Program of Illinois, The Hope Institute for Children and Families, and Have Dreams have come together to create aviation accessibility kits they say could make the trip from ticket counter, through security, on to the gate and finally into the air easier for people on the autism spectrum.

The kits lay out the steps involved in moving through an airport in words and pictures, and although they were made with the help of the Chicago Department of Aviation, they are intended for use at many other airports across the state and country.

So like I say, maybe it’s worth another try. Airline tickets may be expensive, but hey, you can download the aviation accessibility kits for free!

Puppy love!

by Beth Finke

Yesterday morning my Seeing Eye dog Whitney and I caught a commuter train to Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region to visit the Lily Garden Child Care Center, an inclusive preschool and child care program for children with or without disabilities. The Lily Garden Child Care Center offers full and part-time child care to children from the community, children enrolled in therapy services, their siblings and children of Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region employees.

The Lily Garden Child Care Center is working on a new project this year that features guest authors who come to read to the kids. They thought it would be especially appropriate for me to read from a Braille version of my children’s book Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound, and they were right. We had a ball!

I’m sure some of the kids at the Lily Garden Child Care Center had autism, but truth is, without being able to see them, I couldn’t tell. Some were scared of Whitney, some couldn’t stop petting her, others gave her kisses. Some seemed shy, others went on and on and on and on and on and on about their own dog at home. Which were symptoms of autism, and which were symptoms of … well … childhood? Who knew? All we did know is that something different was happening in the room today, and that we were all having fun.

A big thank you to the folks at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region for inviting us out today. It was a privilege to be part of your reading program.

Autism insurance sure can be confusing

by Patricia Wright

Autism insurance mandates have been passed in 29 states. Clearly something to celebrate! Unfortunately though, some challenges have come along with the coverage.

MedClaims Liaison and Autism Speaks recently conducted a survey on the issue of autism and insurance. The majority of respondents indicated confusion around their own state’s law and how it impacts their coverage. Seventy-seven percent of respondents are frustrated by the process of dealing with medical bills and reimbursements.

Trying to access effective treatment, and then trying to pay for those services, is challenging for families. And these are families who are already experiencing significant stress. Medical insurance covering autism treatment is definitely a step forward. Now I guess we all need to work together to make the system of care transparent and accessible to the people truly in need: families and children living with autism.

A perfect escape for kids with autism

by Beth Finke

With spring break coming up, you might want to take a look at this great article in the spring 2012 edition of Special Parent magazine. The piece is called Five Travel Ideas for Families with Kids on the Autism Spectrum, and I appreciated the way Author Cindy Richards acknowledges that it’s tough to predict what destination will work for kids on the spectrum — in fact, places that work for kids on one part of the spectrum don’t always work for kids with Asperger’s and vice versa.

With that caveat, the author offers five suggestions: book a condo, house or suite (rather than a small confining hotel room); visit during a less chaotic period; look for places that offers special programs for special needs visitors; visit a dude ranch; and consider Madison, Wisconsin.

Richards goes into detail about each suggestion, and I was especially tickled to read about Madison. My son’s group home is near Madison, and it’s a great place to go with Gus: vibrant, yet calming at the same time.

The article is spot on when it says, “The capital of Wisconsin has a small town feel, but a plethora of autism-friendly attractions and support programs.” And I’m giving the city of Madison extra points for having the wisdom to have an autism expert on staff. Richards quotes Judy Frankel (public relations manager for the city’s visitor bureau) in the piece, and Frankel has a son with autism.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

by Beth Finke

My husband and I went to Wisconsin over the weekend to visit our son. Gus is 25 years old and lives in a group home with three other guys. In many ways it is nearly impossible to believe he’s old enough to live on his own already. But then when I think about it, hmmm. He really did age us when he was still living at home!

Gus has always, always had problems falling asleep. And then he had problems staying asleep. As a result, so did we. Research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry shows that children with autism sleep significantly less than typically developing kids in a 24-hour period. Recognizing this, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has created a resource that might help improve sleep for children and teens with autism. The
toolkit is called Sleep Strategies for Children with Autism: A Parent’s Guide and it offers ideas for families whose children with autism have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep through the night.

It goes without saying that we’ve missed having Gus at home since he moved away … but I have to admit: I really do appreciate a good night’s sleep now! If you are suffering from sleep deprivation at home, read this toolkit for ideas. And hey, you don’t even have to lose sleep worrying how much the resource guide will dent your wallet: you can download the toolkit for free!

A real game-changer for children with autism

by Jim Leiker

Easter Seals Capper Foundation received a generous gift of five iPads from the Downtown Topeka Rotary Club Foundation on February 16th. The iPads can be loaded with special applications for communication that will assist nonverbal children with autism or other disabilities to communicate with audible sentences. Children will be able to select images on the iPad screen, and the images translate into words to form sentences, allowing the children to audibly express their thoughts.

This is a real game-changer for children with autism, and their families are amazed at the abilities that can be demonstrated via the iPad. The kids are able to communicate. They are able to express understanding, emotions and preferences in a way that wasn’t possible before.

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. We are very grateful to the Rotary for bringing up-to-date assistive technology to children and their families who might otherwise not have access. Thank you.

Spacious halls, natural lighting and larger therapy rooms!

by Allison Knopp

Read Allison Knopp’s biography

We just opened a new facility here at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, and it has made the news. The new space offers bilingual social work therapies in English and Spanish in addition to our recognized therapy services.

Our President and CEO Theresa Forthofer was quoted in a TribLocal article saying that this new facility (in Elgin, Illinois) is “a vital step” in helping more families. “The quality of our facility was achieved with careful planning in order to match the excellence of our skilled and experienced therapists,” she told the reporter, pointing out that our other space was older, darker and very crowded. “Our therapists are some of the best in the nation. We wanted (the space) to match that level of service.”

Every year here at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region we provide physical therapy, social work programs, early learning intervention and occupational and speech therapy for more than 1,000 people who have autism and other disabilities. Our new facility is 7,200 square feet and features more spacious halls, natural light and larger therapy rooms for us to serve these clients.

Look for us in the news again next week — we’re having our official ribbon cutting and open house on Thursday, March 8!