The Echo October 2011 Volume 10, Issue 2

The Echo October 2011

Heidi Choice Editor

Volume 10, Issue 2

~Monthly Parent Education Program~ October 10, 2011

Chris Nealy, MSW Calendar of Events: 

Oct 6, 9:00 am, Newly Diagnosed Workshop at PFC Resource Center, Room 414

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Oct 10, 5:45 pm, HFA Support Group at Dorothy Spainhour Center

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Oct 10, 6:30 pm, Parent Education Meeting at Dorothy Spainhour Center

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Oct 11, 11:30 am, ALC Support Group at Little Italy Restaurant

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Oct 19, 9:30 am, ABC Support Group at PFC Resource Center, Room 414

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Oct 25, 11:00 am, Board of Directors Mtg. at PFC Resource Center

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Oct 27, 9:30 am, Preschool Support Group, PFC Resource Center, Conf. Rm. B Board of Directors: Chris Leacock, President Anna Finch, Vice President Lydia Short, Secretary Gwen Scott, Treasurer Warren Aronson Cynthia Billops Dr. Debra Gillum Brandy Mello

Autism Society of North Carolina, Training Specialist CEO and Co-Founder of Rock the Spectrum “Social Interactions in Young Children with Autism” Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize your child’s social and communication needs.

2. Learn how structuring your home can help you communicate with your child.

3. Identify ways to organize playtime to be fun learning opportunities.

For your convenience, free respite care is available on site through Community Based Developmental Services. Please contact Cynthia Billops at 488-5820 or 488-4584 to reserve your space at least 24 hours in advance.

You may leave a message to reserve your space. Please be aware that you will not receive a return phone call.

October 10, 2011, 6:30 pm at the Dorothy Spainhour Center, 223 Hull Road, Fayetteville

~For Your Calendar~ 4th Vera Bradley Autism Awareness Bingo October 14, 2011, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Village Drive, Fayetteville

Fayetteville TEACCH Center Conference October 12—14, 2011, FAHEC, Owen Drive, Fayetteville

2011 ASNC Triangle Run/Walk for Autism

2012 ASNC Annual Conference

Staff:

October 8, 2011,

Director of Programs and Outreach:

9:00 am

Hilton University Place,

Moore Square, Raleigh

Charlotte

Heidi Choice Program and Outreach Assistant: Mary Potter

March 30-31, 2012,

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Support Groups: ASCC Monthly Support Groups provide an opportunity to share, learn, and connect with others. Each group reflects an area of focus; however, all parents, caregivers, guardians, and professionals are welcome to participate in all of our support groups.

The Autism Breakfast Club (ABC) Support Group will meet Wednesday, Oct 19 at 9:30 am at the PFC Resource Center, Room 414.

Focus: Families of children with ASD up to age 12.

The Autism Lunch Club (ALC) Support Group will meet Tuesday, Oct 11 at 11:30 am at Little Italy. Focus: Families of adolescents and adults with ASD. The High Functioning Autism (HFA) Support Group will meet Monday, Oct 10 at 5:45 pm at the Dorothy Spainhour Center. Focus: F a m ilie s of ch ild re n , adolescents, and adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s.

The Preschool Support Group will meet on Oct. 27 at 9:30 am at the PFC Resource Center in Conference Room B. Focus: Families of young children with ASD ages 1-5 years.

The Stedman Support Group will meet on Monday, Oct 10&24 at 6:00 pm at the Stedman Recreation Center.

Focus: Families of children, adolescents, and adults with ASD. For more information, please call JoAnn Bass (910) 705-5360.

October 2011

~Membership Drive~ Become a member of the Autism Society of Cumberland County and help us sustain our programs. Your $10 annual membership fee will ensure your voting privileges in matters discussed during Parent Education nights, eligibility to serve on the board and on committees, priority selection for scholarships, as well as the continuity of all programs offered by the ASCC. You will also receive a free 8”x 4” “Autism Awareness” car magnet as displayed in the picture box. Please mail your $10 membership fee to the ASCC, 351 Wagoner Drive, Suite 410, Fayetteville, NC 28303 today. Thank you!

~Support Parents Needed~ Are you a parent of a child diagnosed with autism? Would you like to provide emotional support to parents who are new to the ASCC family? If so, please call (910) 826-3004/3005 to learn more about this rewarding program. Thank you for your consideration.

~Ben Lucero Scholarship Fund~ Please support

The Second Annual Ben Lucero Memorial Golf Tournament Friday, October 28, 2011 The Bayonet at Puppy Creek Golf Club Hosted by the Ft. Bragg DPTM Training Division All proceeds from this event are donated to the Ben Lucero Scholarship Fund to help families of the ASCC’s Camp Sunshine Summer Developmental Day Program. In the 2011 season, five families benefitted from the Ben Lucero Scholarship Fund. Four families received a partial scholarship, and one received a full scholarship.

To register, please contact John Ferjerange (910) 643-6452.

… and then …

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October 2011

~ Goals ~

by Destiny Sandoval

We went to a meeting last week to discuss the therapy needs of my older son. It was one of those meetings where you walk in already knowing that no matter what you say, they're just not going to approve it. It's very frustrating as the mother of a child with disabilities knowing that there are ways to help your child but that help is not available to you due to insurance coverage- or lack thereof, finances, or availability of trained professionals in the area. Parents of typically developing children will never know the heart ache and the battles we have on a daily basis just to have something that resembles "normal" life.

Therapy isn't supposed to be forever. In fact, a good therapy program will end at the point where the individual or family is able to at least cope with the difficulties facing them, even if some of those challenges never fully go away. It should be noted also that there is no need for a therapy or intervention if the individual or family is not bothered by the issue. I find it is much more common that parents of children with disabilities are, more often than not, failing to receive interventions and waiting ridiculous amounts of time on waiting lists to get services than asking for services that aren't necessary.

It's a difficult balance determining when to push and when to accept. For children with autism spectrum disorders, we never fully know what they are capable of doing. At the meeting we attended, the person running the meeting insisted that we don't "make goals that are above his mental age" in opposition to making goals based on his chronological age. In some ways this makes sense to me. For example, I don't expect my son to be driving at the age of 16 like his typically developing peers. The thought of that is very frightening actually. I'm practical, if my son ends up collecting carts at Wal-Mart, I'm going to be one very proud parent!

On the other hand, I do not believe it is asking too much to have a ten year old make his own bed, help sort laundry into "colors" and "whites," or pick up his toys. I was told that I was asking too much of him and that at a mental age of 3, children aren't capable of doing these things. I wanted to take out the photographic evidence I have of him doing these things of which he isn't capable. I thought it best to allow her to continue with the verbal insensitivity, however, since she didn't really want to see the truth anyway and was bent on just cutting services.

I understand that testing children is the only way to get tangible, measurable evidence of the need for help and that retesting is the only way to prove that therapy actually helped. Children on the spectrum however, don't do well on these standardized tests for a number of reasons. The main one being that they are verbally loaded. How can you answer a question if you can't understand what is being asked of you? Even the quote "non-verbal" tests require that you understand the question or the directions. Another not so well noted factor in testing children with autism is that many of their skills are uneven. They might only understand certain types of language and do well identifying colors and shapes but not understand what you mean when you ask them to point out the "happy" face. Many of the standardized tests don't break the skills down into individual scores.

Rather, the average of all the different areas are taken which much of the time makes a child on the spectrum appear lower functioning on paper than they are in real life. Unfortunately many people underestimate what they are capable of based on test scores.

Not every child on the spectrum is a genius and I get really frustrated when someone compares my child to a special they saw on TV or a movie they watched and assume my child is exactly like the person they saw. Some treatments and some therapies help one child on the spectrum but do not help the next child with the same label. Not all of us have the same resources either so what one child is able to receive, might not be available to another one. For example, we can't afford a personal nanny to work with our son one on one the way the great Temple Grandin's parents did. It is best to remember the saying: "If you've met one child on the spectrum, that's just it, you've met ONE child on the spectrum."

I take issue however, in letting testing be the end all factor in helping my child. If I never ask my child to be a ten year old, how will I ever know if he's capable of doing it? If I only ask him to be a 3 year old, how can I ever expect him to progress or know what other talents might lie beneath the surface? I love my son today, as he is, and I will always love him. Even if he never does progress past the age of 3, I will love my child. But I'm certainly not going to let test scores and labels determine my child's life.

How well would we all do if our lives were based on the scores we received on the advanced physics exam? What if that score was seen as all there was to who we are? Temple Grandin, Ron Kaufman, Sean Barron, Tito, and Daniel Tammet are doing so well in their adult lives right now because their parents only set goals based on test scores and labels, right? Wrong!

My child is a person. He's not an IQ score. He's not an autism label. He's not a number. He's not paperwork. He's not a client or participant. My child is Darrian and I think he's awesome! The only limits placed on him should be the ones he places on himself.

Destiny Sandoval is the proud wife of John Sandoval and mother of 3 kids, two of whom have autism spectrum disorders. She moved to Hope Mills, NC, 4 years ago in search of better resources and information about autism. She has a history of teaching ballet but is currently dedicating time to her own children. She enjoys sharing stories and being a support for other parents who have children with special needs.

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October 2011

~Join Us for A Fun Evening~

4thAutism Awareness

Vera Bradley Bingo Friday, October 14, 6:00 pm Doors open at 5:00 pm St. Patrick’s Catholic Church 2844 Village Dr. Fayetteville, NC $20 and $25 packages will be offered at the door.

20 regular games, 1 bonus game, and 20 door prize drawings A fun-filled evening of Vera Bradley products and door prizes Concessions will be available.

Children are welcome, but they must be paid participants.

Proceeds will benefit:

For more information: 910-826-3004/3005 Not affiliated with Vera Bradley, Inc.

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October 2011

~Newly Diagnosed Workshop~ We are excited to offer a new monthly workshop opportunity for parents of children newly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Amy Perry, Parent Advocate for the Autism Society of North Caroline (ASNC), will present the workshop. It will be held at the Partnership for Children Resource Center, Room 414, every first Thursday of the month beginning October 6, 9:00 am — 12:00 pm. Registration is required to attend this workshop. Please call the ASCC office at (910) 826-3004/3005 for more information and to register.

~Rhythm and Rhyme Story Time~ The Cumberland County Public Library’s Hope Mills Branch will offer a Rhythm and Rhyme Story Time for exceptional children and their families on Saturday, October 15, 10:30 am — 11:00 am. For more information about this new event, please call Vicki Sheeler at 425-8455, ext. 225.

~Autism Society of North Carolina—Regional Office in Fayetteville~ The ASNC Regional Office in Fayetteville will hold an Open House on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 9:00 am — 12:00 pm at the Partnership for Children Resource Center, 351 Wagoner Drive, Multipurpose Room. Please note also that the ASNC School-Age Social Skills Group has resumed for the fall. For more information, please call Steven King at (910) 864-2769.

~Did You Know?~ Research shows that participation in family-centered early intervention services during the first years of life has substantial positive effects on the cognitive development, social adjustment, and overall development of children with developmental disabilities. These services to eligible children are federally mandated under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). Upon referral to an early intervention program, providers work with families to develop an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), and each family is provided a service coordinator to advocate at their request. (NASET, Vol 7, Issue 30, August 2011)

~TEACCH Conference~ The annual Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication-related handicapped Children Conference is scheduled to be held from October 12-14, at the Fayetteville Area Health Education Center on 1601 Owen Drive. For more information about the upcoming conference, please call the TEACCH office at (910) 437-2517.

Due to a time constraint, ASCC scholarship information was disseminated via our mass email, and scholarships have been awarded. If you would like to be added to our mass email listings, please call the ASCC office at (910) 826-3004/3005.

October 2011

Return Service Requested

351 Wagoner Drive, Suite 410 Fayetteville, NC 28303 Tel: 910-826-3004/3005 Fax: 910-868-5881 E-mail: autismcc@ccpfc.org Web: www.autismcc.org

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Winner of the Autism Society of North Carolina affiliate of the Year Award—1996, 2002, & 2003

“Supporting Individuals Within The Autism Spectrum”

The Autism Society of Cumberland County is an affiliate of the Autism Society of North Carolina.

Mission Statement:

~Donations~ Please remember the ASCC with your tax-deductible charitable contribution.

Make checks payable to:

The Autism Society of Cumberland County is committed to providing support and promoting opportunities which enhance the lives of individuals within the autism spectrum and their families.

Vision Statement: The Autism Society of Cumberland County strives to create a community where people within the autism spectrum and their families receive respect, services, and supports based on individual differences, needs, and preferences.

Autism Society of Cumberland County 351 Wagoner Drive, Suite 410 Fayetteville, NC 28303 Name: Address: Amount of Contribution:

Disclaimer: The Autism Society of Cumberland County does not take any position regarding studies of ASD, nor endorse any particular form of treatment, intervention, or therapy. This newsletter allows us to pass along current information in the field of ASD to our families and organization members.

Funded In Part By:

~Membership~ Autism Society of Cumberland County 351 Wagoner Drive, Suite 410 Fayetteville, NC 28303 Name: ________________________________ __ Parent/Caregiver

__ Professional

__ Sibling

__ Individual with ASD

Address: _______________________________ _______________________________ Telephone: _____________________________ Email: _________________________________

Annual Membership Categories:

__ Local ASCC Membership only: $10.00 (Make your check payable to: Autism Society of Cumberland County)

OR __ Combined State & Local Membership: $45.00 (Make your check payable to: Autism Society of NC) __ Yes, I would like $10 to be returned to the ASCC for local membership fees.