Long post again Fw: Information Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder...Please don't flame me ya'll

September 18, 2002

Is there some way we can store this on the list serve....I have updated it and if you all can think of anything I need to add please let me know....

Subject: Information Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder

Hope this Helps!! Easter Seals has services which they will pay for, like gymnasics, tap/ballet, swimming, specialized teaching, horseback riding ect.

If you cannot find some of these books check with Babies Can't Wait (BCW) and see if they can order it for their library or your local library may have some.

Books: (these are ordered form the most crucial to read first and then very important) Many you can get at the local library. note items in red are a must to read first)

Let Me hear You Voice by Maurice

Biomedical Treatments for Autism and PDD by Shaw

Facing Autism by Lynn Hamilton

The Out of Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz (This book deals with Sensory Integration)

The Omega 3 connection by Dr. Stohl

Special Diets for Special Kids by

Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism, edited by C. Maurice, G. Green, S. Luce. A "how-to" manual on ABA, including research, curriculum, teaching methods, and legal information

Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood

Eating An Artichoke Echo Fling

Autism and Asperger's: Solving the Relationship Puzzle by Steve Gutstein

Asperger's Syndrome and Sensory Issues by Miles and

Emergence: Labeled Autistic by Temple Grandin

Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin

Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments by Myles

A Mind at a Time and All kinds of Minds by Mel Levine

To get a copy of Misunderstood Minds go to NPR.org or GPTV and order the 90 minute tape.

Incorporating Social Goals in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers and Parents of Children with High functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome by Moyes and J Moreno

From Emotions to Advocacy by Pam and Pete

Solving the Realtionship Puzzle by Steve Gutstein

Relationship Development Intervention with Young Children for Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, and PDD and NLD by Gutstein and le Sheely

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Websites: Related to Asperger's Syndrome

http://www.connectionscenter.com This is the website for Gutstein and Sheeley who have a clinic in Houston, Texas and see children clinically, as psychologist they are in the top of their field. Cost for a two day intake ranges from $1400 to $2500...depending on what type of intervention is needed.

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger This is the O. A.S.I.S. site, it is very informative and a popular website related to all aspects of Asperger's Syndrome.

http://www.asperger.org/index_asc.html This is the national Asperger Syndrome Coalition of the US, it sponsors a variety of training and conferences to help parents, children and adults with AS.

http://www.tonyattwood.com This is Dr. Attwood website, research articles are available as well as other resources.

http://www.autism.com/ari This website is made available by Autism Research International by Bernard Rimland who has a son now 40 years old with classic autism most associated in the movie Rain Man....Dr. Rimland actually was the single person who brought autism out into the open by acting as an expert on the Rain Man movie and helped Hoffman to portray his character. He was also the first to point out the increase in the number of autism cases, he was the first to theoretically point a finger at increases related to the number of immunizations which children are receiving....proposing a neuro-immune response in supposedly 1 out of every 250 children. The rates for autism have increased in some states by 400 per cent in the last 2 years. He was also the first to think autism had some metabolic cause and showed through clinical trials that B6 added to the diet helped with thinking skills and ADD. Check out the articles. This is also the place to find a DAN Practioner.

http://www.thegraycenter.org/2002_autism_conference.htm The Gray Center dedicated to the promotion of people with Asperger's Syndrome. People with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) characteristically have very individual diagnostic profiles with symptoms falling in the areas of communication, socialization, and imagination/restricted interests. Most notable is the impairment in communication and social interaction, a far-reaching challenge which impacts daily activities and relationships at home, school, and work.

Schools for All Kinds of MindsThis month as we continue to explore different areas of importance to students with learning differences, All Kinds of Minds Online focuses on what schools can do to help students succeed. As we discover more and more about how students learn and how different minds learn differently, educators can help all children and adolescents develop their unique strengths while overcoming the negative effects of their weaknesses. In doing so, they will have created schools for all kinds of minds.Read an article by Dr. Levine about "Schools in Which All Kinds of Minds Can Grow in All Kinds of Good Ways"http://www.allkindsofminds.org/library/articles/schools.htmExplore strategies that can be used in school or at homehttp://www.allkindsofminds.org/navframe/navchallengesFS.aspFind case studies describing students' profiles of strengths, weaknesses, and affinities and some suggestions for helping these students succeed in schoolhttp://www.allkindsofminds.org/library/casestudies/case1.htmLearn more about the Schools Attuned program for educatorshttp://www.allkindsofminds.org/store/attuned.htm

Gluten and Casein Free Diet Websites

www.glutensolutions.com Website of Gluten-Free Tips is ready, loaded with lots of new tips on gluten-free products. Plus, we listened to your requests, and have lowered shipping rates for certain order sizes.

New Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Products at http://www.glutensolutions.com

We started carrying Aunt products about a month ago, and the feedback has been terrific. Aunt specializes in gluten-free, casein-free baking mixes and delicious cookies. Here's one customer's comment:

"My husband is the pancake maker at our house, and swears that your mix is the best GF pancake mix available. My son loves your pre made cookies. I'm planning to make cookies myself from the mix today. Thank you so much for providing such wonderful products for our GFCF kids."

NEW AUNT CANDICE PRODUCTS (gluten-free, casein-free)

http://www.authenticfoods.com/ From milling, to blending, to packaging, we are Dedicated to Manufacturing Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free Foods within a Gluten-Free Environment.

http://www.causeyourespecial.com/ Cause You're Special! Gourmet mixes are made with the finest, all natural ingredients available on the market today. They are free of Genetically Modified Organisms, artificial coloring and artificial preservatives. After extensive research, we have combined these gourmet quality ingredients to come up with the best possible taste and texture. We have a reputation for providing baking mixes that produce the most delicious baked goods, with a "mouth feel" amazingly similar to equivalent products containing wheat or gluten.

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Gluten-Free Magazine is Here!

Looking for a magazine that caters to people on special diets? Try Sully's Living Without, Fall 2002. In this issue:

A menu of hope for those with autism

How to get a chef to eat out of your hand

Restaurant etiquette for the food allergic

Special diet cafes and bakeries

Product tests and reviews, and much more.

You can pick up the Fall 2002 issue at http://www.glutensolutions.com in our Books section. Or,just type "Sully's" into our search engine.

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Nutritional Supplements and Articles

http://www.kirkmanlabs.com For supplements, gluten and casein free foods, plus up to date articles on allopathic remedies.

http://www.nordicnaturals.com For Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplements.

Conferences and Resources for Books and Tools

http://www.futurehorizons-autism.com This is a wonderful resource for conferences, and books related to Autism/AS. They put on the best conferences at the most affordable prices.

http://www.superduperinc.com This is a wonderful resource for speech language books, social skills, and other language drills and games.

http://www.wrightslaw.org This website deals with advocacy and the law dealing with children with disabilities, IDEA, and 504.

http://www.hwtears.com This is a website put together by an Occupational therapist who has a program to assist children with dysgraphia.

Current Conferences October 5 in Albany -- Sponsored by Unlocking Autism ask Joy Caldera on this list serve for info..

Future Horizons December 5th - 6th Speakers will be Temple Grandin, Tony Attwood, Carol Gray

Fees for these conferences can be paid through Babies Can't Wait, LICC, or GLRS, Easter Seals and the Regional Board.

Sensory Integration

http://www.sinetwork.org A resource website that will give you an overview of sensory integration dysfunction.

http://www.sensoryresources.com Part of the Future Horizons program which has conference to teach about sensory integration.

http://www.interactivemetronome.com/default.asp?cate_id=1 & pg_id=213 This is a program that helps children process information faster, helps with primary central auditory processsing.

Positive Behavioral Supports

http://www.pbis.org Two two really great websites on Positive Behavior Supports.http://www.rrtcpbs.org Subject: Websites on Positive Behavior Supports

ABA: Teaching Children with Autism

http://rsaffran.tripod.com/aba.html

What is ABA? There are probably a hundred people who have written answers, but please bear with me.

"Applied" means practice, rather than research or philosophy. "Behavior analysis" may be read as "learning theory," that is, understanding what leads to (or doesn't lead to) new skills. (This is a simplification: ABA is just as much about maintaining and using skills as about learning.) It may seem odd to use the word "behavior" when talking about learning to talk, play, and live as a complex social animal, but to a behaviorist all these can be taught, so long as there are intact brain functions to learn and practice the skills. (That is the essence of the recovery hypothesis--that for many children, the excesses and deficits of autism result largely from a learning 'blockage,' which can be overcome by intensive teaching.)

Typically developing children learn without our intervention--that is, the 'typical' environment they are born into provides the right conditions to learn language, play, and social skills. (After a few years, however, this breaks down, and we no longer learn everything 'naturally'--it takes a very structured environment, for example, for most of us to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic.)

Children with autism learn much, much less from the environment. They are often capable of learning, but it takes a very structured environment, one where conditions are optimized for acquiring the same skills that typical children learn 'naturally.' ABA is all about the rules for setting up the environment to enable our kids to learn.

Behavior analysis dates back at least to Skinner, who performed animal experiments showing that food rewards (immediate positive consequences to a target behavior) lead to behavior changes. This is accepted by everyone who wants to train their dog to 'go' outside, but we are not so inclined to want to believe the same of ourselves. Part of the problem is that people do respond to a broad range of reinforcements (rewards), but it is really true that an edible treat is among the most reliable, especially at first. (The skills that we more often think lead to learning--motivation, self-discipline, curiosity--are marvelous, and really do set us apart from other animals--but those are truly sophisticated 'behaviors' that fully develop only after more basic language and social skills are in place.)

Conversely, any new behavior that an animal (or you or I) may try, but is never rewarded, is likely to die out after a while (how often will you dial that busy number?). And, as common sense would have it, a behavior that results in something unpleasant (an aversive) is even less likely to be repeated. These are the basics of learning theory. ABA uses these principles to set up an environment in which our kids learn as much as they can as quickly as possible. It is a science, not a 'philosophy.' (Even the "as quickly as possible" part is based on science, since there is some--not conclusive--evidence that the developmentally disordered brain "learns how to learn" best if the basic skills are taught in early childhood.)

Behavioral learning is not the only type of learning. Most learning in schools is from an explanation or from a model, what people call 'natural' learning. The whole point of ABA is to teach the prerequisites to make it possible for a child to learn 'naturally.' If our kids could learn from a model in the first place they wouldn't have autism!

The most common and distinguishing result of intervention based on applied behavior analysis is discrete trial teaching. It is what people most often think of when you say "ABA" or "Lovaas method." This is partly because there are so many hundreds of hours of DT teaching, and partly because it looks so odd. But it is what it is because that's what works--every aspect has been refined (and is still being refined) to result in maximum learning efficiency.

(Briefly: the student is given a stimulus--a question, a set of blocks and a pattern, a request to go ask Mom for a glass of water--along with the correct response, or a strong 'hint' at what the response should be. He is rewarded (an M & M, a piggy-back ride, a happy "good job!") for repeating the right answer; anything else is ignored or corrected very neutrally. As his response becomes more reliable, the 'clues' are withdrawn until he can respond independently. This is usually done one-on-one at a table (thus the term table-top work), with detailed planning of the requests, timing, wording, and the therapist's reaction to the student's responses.)

It is a mistake, however, to think of an ABA program as just DT teaching. Lovaas (among others) notes very clearly that a behavioral program is a comprehensive intervention, carried out in every setting, every possible waking moment. The skills that are taught so efficiently in discrete trial drills must be practiced and generalized in 'natural' settings. A child who does not know the difference between 'ask' and 'tell' may slowly get a higher and higher percentage of right answers during table-top drills until he is considered to have 'mastered' that skill; but he will not go on to use 'ask' and 'tell' appropriately without additional support in natural situations; it takes time to go from 'mastery' to 'ownership.' It takes trained and supportive people--parents, teachers, relatives, even peers--to help reinforce a wide range of appropriate behaviors in a variety of settings, until the level of reinforcement fades to a typical level (such as the smile you get when you greet someone).

Here is a child's interaction with a teacher or other adult who hasn't had appropriate training:

Teacher: Hi, , are you excited about Christmas?A: [no response]Teacher: What are you going to do on Christmas?A: I don't know.Teacher: Are you going to get presents?A: Yes.Teacher: What else are you going to do?A: [no response]Teacher: Do you have a tree?A: Yes.Teacher: Who's going to bring presents on Christmas?A: I don't know.Teacher: Is it Santa Claus?A: Yes.Teacher: [smile] Thanks, !

This is the child's half of the conversation:

"I don't know, Yes, Yes, I don't know, Yes."

Any learning going on? (By the way, I've watched people have 'conversations' like this, then comment "He's talking so much more!")

Here's how a trained person might make this an opportunity for practicing conversation skills:

Teacher: Hi, , are you excited about Christmas?A: [no response]Teacher: Are you excited about Christmas? Say, Yeah, I want to open my...A: Yeah, I want to open my presents!Teacher: [smile] Me too! What presents did you ask for?A: I asked for presents.Teacher: What presents did you ask for? Say, For Christmas, I asked for...A: I asked for a bike. For Christmas.Teacher: Cool! [small tickle] Are you excited about Christmas?A: Yeah, I want a bike.Teacher: [bigger tickle] A bike! That's great! I've got my tree all decorated with ornaments. I put lots of ornaments on MY tree. [Point to A's tree.]A: I put heart ornaments on my tree.Teacher: , that's so great! [Great big tickle]A: Ahhhhh! Cut it out!

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Long post again Fw: Information Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder...Please don't flame me ya'll

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