When bullying backfires — a happy ending!

by Beth Finke

It’s high school homecoming time, and apparently some kids at a high school in southern California decided to play a cruel joke and put Rachel Sampson, a 14-year-old girl with Asperger’s, on the ballot for homecoming princess. Rachel Sampson’s mother Kathleen was quoted in a story about the prank on NBC News saying, “Rachel has a lot of friends, but she doesn’t socialize outside of school, that’s a little too difficult for her right now.”

In the end, it sounds like Rachel has more friends than those bullies who pulled the prank do. After her fellow students at the high school in Poway, Calif., learned what the bullies had done, they rallied and voted for Rachel — and she won!

The NBC News story reported that Rachel Sampson wasn’t discouraged by the prank. “I decided that if it was a mean joke, it would drive those kids really nuts if I actually won and had a lot of fun with it,” she said in the NBC interview. “I’m just hoping that other kids who have been bullied are going to get a message from this and other kids who are bullies realize what they’re doing is wrong.”

Wow. What a great story. Rachel Sampson really is a princess!

Tapping the potential of special abilities

by Bob Glowacki

October is disability awareness month, and in Milwaukee County, we’ve given this month a special theme: Tap the Potential. I love that theme because it speaks to what we miss if we don’t engage people with autism and other disabilities in mainstream society. We miss their talents and abilities, and there is so much there that we could benefit from.

Derek Paravacini, for example. He’s 32, from the United Kingdom, and such a talent. He is blind and lives with autism, and he played to a sold-out audience in London recently. People describe him as the “human iPod” — you play him a tune, and he plays it back perfectly.

A story about Paravacini on the ABC News web site reported that people with autism often show a particular affinity for music. The story quoted Lori Warner, a psychologist and the director of the HOPE Center at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan, describing the way music can open a pathway to emotion and communication that might otherwise be closed to people with autism. “It’s a way to connect without the use of words, but still get that emotion, that feeling,” she said. “It’s especially appealing if your ability to use language is somewhat limited.”

The story also mentioned that Paravacini is a big Gershwin fan. Seems appropriate that a man without sight would be drawn to the rhythms of Gershwin.

I guess as we continue to learn more about the human mind and assure people with autism and other disabilities that they are truly a part of our community, we can tap more potential. It would be ‘S Wonderful don’t you think?

I’d love to hear the special abilities that someone you love with disability has. Tell us.

We have Steve Jobs to thank

by Beth Finke

When Apple unveiled the Macintosh way back in 1984, they promoted it as “the computer for the rest of us.” Computers before then had been designed with high-tech geeks in mind, but Steve Jobs was a visionary. He understood that everyone could benefit from the technology.

Twenty-seven years later, I pick up my iPhone, rub my finger over the screen until I hear it call out the name of the person I want to phone, tap the screen twice, and voila! I’ve dialed. “But you’re blind,” onlookers say. “How can you use a touch screen?” I can, because back when Steve Jobs said that Apple’s computers were for “the rest of us” he really meant it. He understood that some of the rest of us have disabilities, and he saw to it that Apple utilized universal design when creating new products.

Last March when Steve Jobs announced the release of the iPad2, we here at Easter Seals watched the hour-long video with rapt attention. We were curious what this new device might have to offer people with autism and other disabilities, and Steve Jobs did not disappoint. His presentation that day included a two-minute clip about autism! The iPad has been successfully utilized as a piece of assistive technology in programs for children with autism, and Jobs found the use of the iPad with children with autism worthy enough to include in his appearance.

The use of assistive technology, including the iPhone and the iPad2, has proven to be a great tool to improve access to work, recreation and education for the rest of us, including people like me, who are blind. And people who read this blog, who are affected by autism.

Through his work with Apple, Steve Jobs has taught millions of people that those of us with disabilities are capable of meaningful, purposeful and enjoyable lives. We cannot thank you enough, Mr. Jobs. Rest in peace. You will be missed.

Ozzie Guillen: gone but not forgotten

by Maurice Snell

All the baseball playoff games over the weekend got me thinking. How would I define the word “champion”?

A champion is the one who takes risks to get to the top of their sport or game. A champion also is the one who gives back to those who are less fortunate in this world. Ozzie Guillen is all of that. He is a champion on the field and off. He guided the Chicago White Sox to a World Series championship in 2005 and touched the lives of many individuals with autism here at Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago.

When the news broke last week that Ozzie was not returning for the 2012 season with the White Sox, a lot of things went through my mind. How in the world would a classy guy like Ozzie not return to the Sox for one more season, just to fulfill his contract? What will Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago be like without his presence at events?

Even though his resignation from the White Sox is not what I hoped for, I hope it is what’s best for Ozzie and the city of Chicago. Ozzie has supported Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago on numerous occasions. He came to Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago’s Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research when we dedicated a softball field for the students bearing the White Sox name. That was when we got a first glimpse of Ozzie, and right there, he vowed to be a part of the Easter Seals organization. He was true to his word, serving as a board member and spokesperson for our autism program. He was also there for other Easter Seals events — he was there for the Festival of Trees and also collaborated with Hollywood actor Joe Mantegna on some occasions. For the past three years, he has reached out to many individuals with autism and we can’t thank him enough for his efforts during his time with us.

Ozzie may be gone from the Chicago spotlight, but will never be forgotten. While the rest of Chicago will remember him mostly for his play on and off the field, I will remember him as a humanitarian and urge him to continue doing what he does best: be a champion for Easter Seals!

We love Parents!

by Beth Finke

October’s issue of Parents Magazine features Easter Seals in a five-page article called Understanding Autism. The article is about Easter Seals Make the First Five Count — 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.

Every year, millions of 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 autism and other special needs 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. As Dr. Patricia Wright, our National Director of Autism services, says in the article, “we can do so much to help children manage their challenges. Wherever your child is now, he or she can make significant progress over time.”

The power of an idea

by Patricia Wright

My friend and colleague Helen McCabe just posted a fabulous video on YouTube that shows how she took an IDEA about improving the lives of individuals living with autism in China and made it a reality.

Helen and her sister Karen McCabe founded the Five Project in 2006. Its mission:

• Increase the capacity of autism and other disability organizations in China to provide effective intervention services.
• Promote and support self-help and self-advocacy skills in Chinese individuals with disabilities and their families.

Helen’s idea is now reality and is producing meaningful outcomes. Getting an idea to reality takes a lot of work. I’ve been privileged enough to work with the Five Project in China a couple of times and have seen the amazing outcomes. Helen and Karen have devoted thousands of hours over many years building relationships with families and professionals in China and throughout the world. They have developed autism awareness videos in Mandarin. The Five Project newsletter comes out in both English and Mandarin so we can share information with others who might be interested.

It is easy to have an idea.. The tough part is making that Idea a reality. Helen McCabe and the Five Project are a wonderful example of the powerful outcomes that can come from an idea.

Tech company seeks out employees with autism

by Beth Finke

An Associated Press article quotes Scott Standifer of the University of Missouri’s Disability Policy and Studies office delivering a pretty startling statistic:

A 2009 U.S. Department of Education survey found the employment rate for young adults with autism was on par with that for deaf-and-blind young adults, and well below the rate of those with blindness alone or learning disabilities or traumatic brain injuries.

The article applauds the efforts of a non-profit right here in the Chicago area that uses the talents of young adults with autism to find software bugs. Aspiritech (the name plays on the words “Asperger’s,” ”spirit” and “technology”) was founded by Moshe and Brenda Weitzberg after their son Oran, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 14, was fired from a job bagging groceries.

Aspiritech provides meaningful work (pay is $12 to $15 an hour) in a relaxed environment where bosses never yell if you’re late and nobody minds if you need to be alone for a while. What’s more, the company is building social skills. The software testers, who are in their 20s and 30s, are trained to work together and they take part in organized outings: miniature golf, bowling, eating at a restaurant.

“We want to improve social skills among people who tend to be socially isolated,” said Marc Lazar, Aspiritech’s autism specialist. For many of them, software testing is not going to be their lifelong career, Lazar said, “but while they’re here they’re going to improve their job skills and they’re going to learn what kind of behavior is expected on the job and they’re going to have more to put on their resumes.”

The article also quotes Molly Losh, an autism researcher at Northwestern University, explaining that most research dollars have gone toward studying children with autism while adults have been neglected. “Our vocational structure really isn’t suited to funnel people with autism into the workforce,” Losh said. Aspiritech “is a magnificent and innovative venture,” she said. I agree.

Kudos to Aspiritech for increasing awareness of the needs of adults with autism, and addressing those needs where it counts the most: in the workplace.

Two award-winning middle-grade books about autism

by Beth Finke

With kids back in school, I thought this might be a great time to recommend two children’s books about autism. Al Capone Does My Shirts and Rules were both included on a American Library Association list of “outstanding books that portray emotional, mental, or physical disability experiences.” Here’s how the American Library Association describes the two books about autism on the list:

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. Putnam’s Sons, 2004.
Twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when his father takes a job at the maximum-security prison there. Moose struggles to make friends while taking care of Natalie, his older autistic sister, and their mother unrealistically tries to have Natalie accepted at a special school. For grades 5 to 8. Newbery Honor book, 2005.

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic Press, 2006.
Sometimes twelve-year-old Catherine resents her brother David, who is autistic, breaks all the rules, and gets all her parents’ attention. Then she meets Jason, a teenage nonverbal paraplegic, at David’s therapy center. As the two become friends, Catherine realizes that accepting differences matters more than any rules. For grades 5 to 8. Schneider Family Book Award, 2007.

Happy reading!

The doctor is in

by Beth Finke

Hey, check this out! Patricia Wright, the National Director of Autism Services at Easter Seals, was interviewed for a podcast this month about autism and technology for Assistive Technology Update. Assistive Technology Update is a weekly dose of information that keeps listeners up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.

The Assistive Technology Update is a fast-paced weekly update for assistive technology professionals and enthusiasts, and the podcasts are available for free on the Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) web site:

Easter Seals Crossroads has been providing assistive technology solutions in Indiana since 1979. In 2007, Easter Seals Crossroads partnered with the State of Indiana, Bureau of Rehabilitative Services to establish the Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project. The INDATA Project is one of 56 similar, federally-funded projects designed to increase access and awareness of assistive technology.

Give the podcast a listen — trust me, Dr. Wright knows what she’s talking about!

A good night’s sleep

by Beth Finke

Our son Gus turned 25 earlier this month. In some ways it is nearly impossible to believe he’s that old already. But then when I think about it, hmmm. He really did age us when he was still living at home! Gus has always had problems falling asleep. And then he had problems staying asleep. As a result, so did we.

A post on Autism Research Blog: Translating Autism reviewed an article in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry called Sleep Patterns in Preschool-Age Children With Autism, Developmental Delay, and Typical Development. The study found that children with autism sleep significantly less than typically developing kids in a 24-hour period. Of particular interest to me was the fact that typically developing kids had more awakenings than children with autism, but when kids with autism woke up in the night, they’d stay up significantly longer.

This suggests that while children with autism do not seem to have difficulty staying asleep, they do experience difficulty falling asleep after sleep interruptions.

This has always been the case with our Gus. He lives in a group home now, and when we went to visit on his birthday, staff members told us that even now when Gus wakes up in the middle of the night, it’s pretty impossible to convince him to go back to sleep. It goes without saying that we’ve missed having Gus at home since he moved away, but gotta admit: I really do appreciate a good night’s sleep now.