April is Autism Awareness Month
So
I hope you are all aware of autism now...
Doris Germain is again sponsoring KindTree's
Autism Forum - thank you, Doris. With her help
we are providing you an opportunity to share your successes,
your unique perspective as a member of the autism community,
your writing skills, yourself.
We don't spend much time talking about KindTree's mission
statement, but maybe this is a good time to review it.
"KindTree
is dedicated to serving and celebrating the Autism Community
through art, education, and recreation. With warm hearted
whimsy, an open sense of family and a deep level of caring,
we reach inside ourselves to embrace our flaws, gather
our strengths, and offer our love while reaching out to
people with autism spectrum disorders, their families
and care givers. Through the power of self-advocacy in
an atmosphere of acceptance and respect, autistic and
neuro-normal people alike can work toward self- realization.
"
That's what we will be doing at the Autism Forum
this May 18, 1 - 5 at the Hilyard Center. Please
join us. We'll have a craft area for the kids, writings
and presentations by people with autism and their friends
(that's YOU!), a cooking demo, and a really fun movement
exercise with Benjamin Luskin. We may have another surprise
for you, as well.
If you'd like, you can share this info
with others by using this
link to a .pdf poster you can print and distribute.
Tell your friends, colleagues and students.
"Autism Artism 2008" is back!
37 artists submitted 190 images for the June 14-July
18 Art Show at LCC Art Gallery. Wow! The jury
will be busy!
Our volunteer jury this year includes artist and mom
Nancy
Bright, artist and framer Karen Howe, artist and sculpture
Jud
Turner, LCC gallery director Jennifer
Salzman, care provider and KindTree board member Franklin
Michael, and myself.
Many thanks to these volunteers, and to sponsors Elizabeth
King, the Eugene Downtown Lions Club and GreyWolf
Projects. You can help, too, by making a donation
to help support this great program. Many of our artists
find inspiration and validation participating in this
program. Use the donation button on the right. Do what
you can.
Thanks - Tim Mueller
"Human salvation lies in the hands
of the creatively maladjusted."- Martin Luther King, Jr.
NEWS
See the amazing picture by an autistic artist
who drew London from memory after a single helicopter
trip. 2nd April 2008 London Eye
The 13ft canvas details seven miles of London between
Canary Wharf and the Tower of London. It was created entirely
from memory depicting the London skyline in fine detail,
was drawn after just one flight over the city and purely
from memory.
Stephen Wiltshire, who was diagnosed with autism at the
age of three, memorized the appearance and position of
hundreds of London's buildings in exact scale during a
helicopter ride along the Thames. Over the next five days,
the 33-year-old drew the seven-square mile panorama, including
landmarks such as the Swiss Re tower, and Canary Wharf,
on a 13ft curving canvas.
See
the picture here...
Very-Low-Birth-Weight
Infants More Likely to Show Early Signs of Autism
Marlene Busko Medscape Medical News
2008. © 2008 Medscape April 4, 2008
A
recent study found that, among 91 toddlers who had been
born prematurely and weighed from 1 pound to 3.28 pounds
(460 to1490 g) at birth, 25% screened positive for early
signs of autistic features.
This is the first study to document a high prevalence
of early autistic features in survivors of extreme prematurity,
the group, led by Catherine Limperopoulos, PhD, from McGill
University, in Montreal Quebec, writes.
The toddlers were screened at a mean age of 21.9 ± 4.7
months using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers.
The findings suggest that "routine, systematic screening
of very-low-birth-weight infants for early signs of autism
is important," Dr. Limperopoulos told Medscape Psychiatry.
"It's [also] important to perform formal diagnostic autism
testing in those who test positive to confirm whether
this initial positive screening does in fact translate
into autism spectrum disorders," she said, noting that
the team is currently performing these definitive follow-up
tests for autism in this cohort.
The study looked at an extremely high-risk subgroup of
premature infants with a gestational age range of 23 to
30 weeks (and did not include premature infants having
a gestational age of 31 to 37 weeks), she added. The study
is published in the April issue of Pediatrics. Advances
in neonatal intensive care have dramatically increased
the survival of preterm infants, but there is an increasing
population of very-low-birth-weight children who experience
significant disabilities in socialization, communication,
and behavior, the group writes.
The study was prompted in part because the team had clinically
observed that some very preterm infants displayed unusual
social behaviors at follow-up visits. In addition, validated
screening tests to detect early signs of autism have now
become available.
Recent studies have demonstrated benefits from intense
early interventions, and the American Academy of Pediatrics
is endorsing autism screening for all children by age
2 years, Dr. Limperopoulos noted. The team aimed to perform
autism screening tests on toddlers who had been born prematurely
and had a very low birth weight and to identify risk factors
associated with a positive screening result.
They studied 91 consecutive preterm infants with a birth
weight of less than 3.3 pounds (1500 g). When the infants
were between 18 and 24 months old, adjusted for prematurity,
they were tested using the Modified Checklist for Autism
in Toddlers (a 23-item yes/no parent report checklist
to detect early signs of autism at 16 to 30 months).
The children were also tested using the Child Behavior
Checklist for ages 1.5 to 5 years (a caregiver questionnaire
about behavior and emotional problems in young children)
and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (a measure of
a child's functional status in a wide range of skills).
One-Quarter Screened Positive A total of 23 of the 91
infants (25%) had a positive score on the Modified Checklist
for Autism in Toddlers screening test. Having abnormal
scores on this test correlated highly with having internalizing
behavioral problems according to the Child Behavior Checklist
and having socialization deficits according to the Vineland
Adaptive Behavior Scale.
The infants were more likely to screen positive for early
signs of autism if they had the following risk factors:
male sex, abnormal MRI studies, lower birth weight, lower
gestational age, maternal infection, maternal acute intrapartum
hemorrhage, and more severe illness at birth. What Does
this Mean?
"Early autistic behaviors seem to be an under recognized
feature of very-low-birth-weight infants," the group concludes.
"The results from this study suggest that early screening
for signs of autism may be warranted in this high-risk
population, followed by definitive autism testing in those
with positive screening results."
Larger, prospective studies are needed to corroborate
these findings and to determine to what extent this initial
positive screening test result is a transient or emerging
finding during a time of critical development, Dr. Limperopoulos
added.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes
of Health, the LifeBridge Fund, the Caroline Levine foundation,
the Trust Family Foundation, and the Canada Research Chairs
Program.
Pediatrics 2008;121:758-765. Abstract
How
can I get more services from my child’s school?
This question is a frequent one received by the Autism
Society of Oregon (ASO). Parents and caregivers of children
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) want the best possible
education for their child and sometimes feel like they
are running in place, losing valuable time and getting
no where in the special education system.
The intent of this article is to outline some steps when
advocating for your child with ASD within the school setting.
We always recommend that parents advocate in a positive
way, showing respect, applying good listening skills and
making a strong effort to relate to your child’s
education team. You want to develop a team whose number
one interest is the education of your child.
1. Develop a blueprint for your child
with ASD: Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder
and parents need to plan for this. Look at the long term
picture, not just the child’s educational needs
for the next school year. Before you go into the Individualized
Education Plan (IEP) meeting, ask yourself this question:
What do I want my child’s adult life to look like?
Then establish goals around how to achieve them over a
student's lifetime. What are the functional life skills
that are important now, and what are the critical life
skills that need to be learned for a student to be more
successful as an adult? By looking further down the road,
parents are able to identify and prioritize lifelong goals
so that the whole team can work towards greater success
for a student. This can look like more service time, but
more often results in better, more specialized and effective
service time. When a parent comes with specific goals
in mind, many teams do a better job of writing individualized
goals that really make a difference. Special education
teams accomplish more when they have a larger end goal
in mind.
2. Quantify your concerns: Many parents
go tell the special education team “I don’t
think my child is improving”. The school district
needs more information than this to evaluate your concerns.
You might want to look at the IEP short term goals and
try to quantify the data. If it says the goal should be
hit 80% of the time, try working on the goal with your
child at home and record your findings. Maybe not
as scientific as the school districts but will still have
a quantifiable element to it to help support your position
with the special education team. If the team response
is “We don’t see that at school. He/she
is meeting all of his goals here”, remind them that
good results need to transcend school and occur in ALL
environments-school, home, work environment, grocery store,
etc.
3. Call an IEP meeting: Yes, as the
caregivers of your child, you are entitled to call an
IEP meeting at any time during the school year. You do
not have to wait until the annual IEP meeting date to
discuss your concerns. Sometimes a 5 minute conversation
with the special education teacher will suffice, sometimes
not. If you do request an IEP meeting, our suggestions
are:
Put your meeting request in writing
Send it to all the IEP team participants and don’t
forget to include the special education person from the
school district
Outline in detail what it is you want
to accomplish in the meeting
Do your homework before hand, quantifying
your concerns as much as possible as recommended above
Make time recommendations (before school/after
school?) and give the team an idea of how long you think
the meeting should be. In
all due fairness to the teachers and specialists, they
are very busy people too so be respectful of their time.
Check out the IEP Partner Program with
Oregon PTI, www.orpti.org, 1-888-891-6784. The IEP Partner
can help you prepare for the meeting and take notes during
the meeting. If you can’t get an IEP Partner, take
a friend and ask them to take good notes for you.
4. Tap into the community beyond school:
Check out other autism non-profits such as the Autism
Society of Oregon, Bridgeway House, Kindtree, Autism Research
& Resources of Oregon, Northwest Autism Foundation
and the parent support groups around the state. Oregon
PTI, www.orpti.org, sponsors great workshops on the IEP
process, transition services, transitioning into kindergarten,
how to advocate in the IEP meeting, etc. These workshops
are free and occur throughout Oregon on a regular basis.
5. Tap into private therapies: If your
budget and/or insurance allow it, get additional therapy
for your child beyond what is being offered at school.
Oregon has many specialists offering speech, sensory integration,
ABA, RDI, behavioral consultations. Check the resource
listings on ASO’s website at www.oregonautism.com
or call ASO at 1-888-AUTISM1 for specialists in your area.
6. Share your concerns with your state representative!
Last but certainly not least, contact your district legislator
and tell them more services need to be allocated in the
education system for kids with ASD. Tell your legislator
that Nancy Latini, head of Special Education for the Oregon
Department of Education, is advocating for more funding
in the 2009 session (The Oregonian, March 13, 2008). Remind
your elected officials of how important education is for
children living with autism. In the long run, their life
will be greatly improved with the right education services
made available to them today.
Autism Society of Oregon
P.O. Box 396
Marylhurst, OR 97036
www.oregonautism.com
(503)636-1676
1-888-AUTISM1
2007
Special Education Spreadsheet
Do you want to see the prevalence of various disabilities
in the state of Oregon? Click
here...
Facial
Expression Simulator useful for helping autistics learn
facial expressions
Facial Expression Simulator Lets You Play with Emotions
mrl.nyu.edu — Apparently it's useful for helping
autistics learn
facial expressions, among other things............ http://digg.com/
http://mrl.nyu.edu/~perlin/facedemo/
How the face applet is helping children with autism
One day early in 2001, after I had shown this work at
a conference, I was approached by Dorothy Strickland,
who works with an organization, dotolearn.com, that helps
children with autism and their parents to build skills
to help in dealing with an often incomprehensible world.
She asked whether they could put the face applet up on
their site.
Of course I said yes. Since then, it's been a great success.
Read
how this applet is being used to help children with special
needs.
Asperger
Counseling Northwest
Please note: New e-mail address, location, and expansion
of services for the practice of
Nan Lester, MS, PC:
Asperger
Counseling Northwest
aspergercounseling@comcast.net
943 Washington Street
Eugene, Oregon 97401
Phone and Fax (541)345-8588
I
was having trouble with my computer. So I called
Eric, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks
like Mission Control and asked him to come over.
Eric clicked a couple of buttons and solved the
problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So,
what was wrong?
He replied, "It was an ID ten T error."
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless
inquired, "An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case
I need to fix it again."
Eric grinned.... "Haven't you ever heard of an "ID
ten T" error before?"
"No," I replied.
"Write it down," he said, "and I think you'll figure
it out."
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T
I used to like Eric............. |
Mainstreaming,
Integration, Inclusion—Is There a Difference?
Lots of words are bandied
about to describe people with disabilities being "in,"
or "part of" ordinary environments, such as
school, community activities, work, etc. These words "mainstreaming,
integration, and inclusion" are often used interchangeably.
But do they mean the same thing? Let's examine the issue
and explore what difference it all makes . .
(Click
here for the entire article.)
From
Disability is Natural
Life
on the Spectrum
Despite many sensory challenges and obstacles,
Qazi Fazli Azeem is a true success.
Poor eye contact and an inability to do math have not
stopped him from becoming Pakistan's highest certified
teacher in Multimedia/Graphic Design. He also has a natural
talent for numerology and is so proficient that he has
been requested to do readings for celebrities and even
government officials from over eleven countries.
Come and learn from the real experts!
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|
What's
New at
KINDTREE.ORG
Submit
Your Story
KindTree needs your stories about the
positive side of living with autism for our
Autism Forum 2008
The Spectrum Speaks
how to submit here..
May 10 Deadline
Autism Rocks Art Show
"Autism Artism 2008"
Gala Opening
June 14, 4-8pm
with Mayor Kitty Piercy
Rep Chris Edwards
SLUG Queen "Glo"
and "HOKOYO"
marimba music
More
here...
Support
the Artists
Mother's
Day
is Coming
Other
Artist Opportunities
New
Health & Human Services
Building in Salem Needs Art
Needed:
1. Artwork on paper, poster board or canvas, approximately
18” x 24” inches that can be framed.
2. Hand-written thank you
letters from people who wanted to express what
services from the State of Oregon have meant to
their well-being.
DEADLINE - April 14.
Sudha
Ramakrishnan, 503-945-6937, sudha.ramakrishnan@state.or.us
HAP
2008 Online Literary Magazine
Call for Authors / Call for Artists
Individual
poems and artistic images are welcome for submission
to the HAP 2008 Online Literary Magazine - http://HAP2008magazine.googlepages.com
There is no fee to submit to or to view this literary
magazine.This is not a contest but an open submission
to individuals in the spectrum or with disabilities.
POEMS
should not exceed one printed page and may be
submitted in the body of an email to TheFaceOfPoetry@mindspring.com.
No attachment text files will be accepted or open. PDF
files will be accepted.
ARTISTIC
EXPRESSIONS submitted as jpg files cannot exceed
2MG in size and may be submitted as PDF attachments
to
TheFaceOfPoetry@mindspring.com.
No
stamp mail submissions can be accepted.
Submissions must include the first name and last
initial, age, and state of artist/author.
All submissions retain the copyright of the submitting
artist/author. Submissions will be accepted
starting April 1, 2008 in recognition of Autism
Awareness month, and will continue to be accepted
throughout 2008.
Visit
http://HAP2008magazine.googlepages.com for
more information.
Contact TheFaceOfPoetry@mindspring.com with questions
or feedback. Looking forward to receiving
your creative expressions.
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Friday,
April 11, the Autism Society
of America, the nation's leading grassroots
autism organization, the Autism Society of Oregon
(ASA's state chapter), and Pump It Up, the nation's
largest and fastest-growing franchise of giant
indoor inflatable playgrounds for private parties,
host "Bounce for Autism"
from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at 9665 SW Allen Blvd.,
No. 110, Beaverton.
Read
more here...
April
12
"Wonderland"
the next Bridgeway House Players Production
1:00 pm at the Wildish Community Theatre on
630 Main Street in Springfield, with $5.00 admission
at the door.
More
about Bridgeway House events here...
April 13- ASO 6th
annual Autism Walk-a-thon, Oaks Park
in SE Portland. More info: www.autismwalkathon.com
April 18 - The Autism Ball Portland.
Hilton Grand Ballroom, 921 W Sixth Avenue, 7:00pm
- 12:30am Dinner, Drinks, Dancing & Silent
Auction.
Black Tie Please - $150/per ticket (Inquire
about discounts for table purchases) theautismball@hotmail.com
April 18 : Premiere!
Variety Open Mic~Hosted by Larry Dobberstein
of Community TV: Musicians, poets, other performers
welcome Sign ups at 6 PM, Starts 6:30 PM at
"The Moon Upstairs", the SAFE performing
venue 225 Main St Springfield
Wednesdays,
April 16 - June 25
4- 5:15 pm Cost: $35
Instructor: Alexis Reed
SPACE AVAILABLE!
A 12 week class offered at Hilyard
Community Center through Adaptive
Recreation.
Safe, Strong and Free is a
co-ed
class for adults who have cognitive
disabilities and who want to learn skills that
will help them to be safe in the community,
to be more comfortable knowing and expressing
their choices, and to develop healthy relationships.
Class content will
include feelings, boundaries, physical and
verbal self-defense, types of relationships,
safe person, private body parts, types of
abuse, rules of touching, and the influence
of media. For ages 18 and up.
For more information, call Molly
Elliott, 682-6307
Hilyard Community Center
Eugene, Wednesday,
April 23, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Lane Community College Center for Meeting and
Learning 4000 E. 30th Avenue, Building 19
YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND A DHS COMMUNITY
FORUM Help develop the Oregon Department
of Human Services 2009-2011 budget.
Every day in Oregon the Oregon Department
of Human Services is there to help. Now we need
your ideas about how to best prioritize and
deliver the services your community receives
— services that touch the lives of all
Oregonians.
This spring, in a series of meetings across
the state, DHS will host community forums to
gather input from local stakeholders and families
about how to best shape the agency’s 2009-2011
agenda and budget so that DHS and its local
partners can deliver services in a manner that
best meets each community's priorities and needs.
We invite you to be part of that discussion.
Seven community forums are being held throughout
Oregon. You are invited to attend any of the
following events. You can download a copy of
this schedule at http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/aboutdhs/
budget/09-11budget/index.shtml
April 24-25
Autism EI Conference,
Medford, OR
Presentations include:
- Autism: How to Teach Parents Strategies to
Enhance their Child's Social Communication Skills
- Building Listening Skills
- Putting Relationships in the Forefront - Understanding
the Individual Differences and How We Can Support
the Strengths in the Child
And many more. Info
here...
April
25 Norm Kunc / June 20 David
Pitnoyak / September 25 Cathy
Ficker-Terill
2008 Oregon Trainings Series on Direct
Supports This series of trainings will
be targeted to "direct support providers
and related professionals who support individuals
with developmental disabilities, including independent
and family providers."
The series will deliver six four-hour teleconferences
to a network of host sites throughout the state
and feature nationally-recognized speakers.
All trainings are from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.
More info: www.directsupports.com
April 26
Sean's Run from Autism
Oaks Park, 7805
SE Oaks Park Way, in SE Portland at the east
end of the Sellwood Bridge!
This is a 10K Run, 5K Run, and 5K Walk. All
levels of fitness welcome!
Registration opens at 9 a.m. and the Run starts
at 10 a.m.
For more information go to www.seansrun.org
or call 503-351-9255.
This is a benefit for Autism Research and Resources
of Oregon and our ongoing efforts to open the
Oregon Autism Center!
May 3
Bridgeway House Cinco DeMayo
More info at www.bridgewayhouse.org
May
18
KindTree Autism Forum
"The Spectrum Speaks"
Stories by people with autism - and more. 1-5
pm Hilyard Center
Poster Here
- More info Here
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| May
30-31, 2008
Oregon Disabilities
MEGA CONFERENCE
Educate, Empower,
Inspire, Connect, Bend
Or.
Join KindTree at this event
- we'll be presenting on "How to create an
Autism Retreat".
more here...
June
14 "Autism Artism 2008" Gala Opening
Party,
LCC Art Gallery, Bldg #11, 4-8pm. Come celebrate
artists with autism. Free. More
info here
July
4-6 Art & the Vineyard featuring the Autism
Rocks Traveling Art Show, Alton
Baker Park.
August
22-24 KindTree Autism Camp/Retreat. More
info here.
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| September
4 - 7, 2008
National Institute
on
Recreation Inclusion
Registration and Housing Open
April 2008
Visit www.nrpa.org/niri
for more information or call 800.626.NRPA (6772)
Save the Date!
Hilton Eugene and Conference Center, Eugene, Oregon
October
22 - 24
Healthy Brain Conference
Key Impacts and Interventions
in Eugene, OR
SAVE THE DATE
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ASO
Respite Program Extended:
Take a Break on ASO
Read
more here...
Asperger's
teen pleads guilty to cyber crime
By
ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE | Tuesday, 01 April 2008
A
young Whitianga nerd with no formal computer training
has confessed to cyber crime which has surprised international
investigators with its sophistication.
Owen
Thor Walker, who taught himself computer programming and
encryption, was allegedly the mastermind of a "botnet"
coding group said to have infected a million computers
and caused millions of dollars of damage.
In
Thames District Court today, the unremarkable-looking
teenager pleaded guilty through his lawyer, Tony Balme,
to six charges between January 30, 2006 and November 28,
2007, when he was aged 17 and 18 years.
According
to police, Walker - known on-line as "Akill"
- received just under $40,000 for his part in the attacks,
which included a global adware scheme and the collapse
of a computer server at the University of Pennsylvania.
Read
more here...
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