[SPECIALFAMILIESGUIDE] Handling the Holidays; New Special Needs Blog; Research Abstracts, etc

[Guest guest]

robertnaseef wrote: From Rudy- Handling the Holidays with a Child on the Autism Spectrum Good old holiday stress. Everyone's doing it. But for

most people, the stress is around keeping up with the holiday rush... making plans to welcome extended family... attending all those wonderful Christmas parties. For those of us with children on the autism spectrum, though, there's a double whammy: we're getting ready for the holidays while also keeping our children from feeling the stress. We're shopping and decorating while carefully maintaining our usual schedules and therapies so our children can feel a sense of stability and structure. And we're doing it all with the knowledge that, for many of our kids, holidays are just another reason to feel overwhelmed. At the stores, some of us look longingly at "age-appropriate" toys, wishing our children were able to enjoy an X-Box or Gameboy, put together a bionicle, or balance on a skateboard. Instead, we're perusing the shelves of toys for toddlers... considering sensory toys to help our children cope with their physical sensitivies... and

knowing in our hearts that many of the gifts we choose will go unused. This article from regular About.com contributors Drs. Naseef and Ariel offer some wonderful insights and reflections on how to make the season more fun and less stressful while also acknowledging the challenges of celebrating with a child on the autism spectrum. What's tough for you this week? Are you shopping for the holidays with an autistic child in tow? Trying to manage the demands of typical and autistic siblings? Or dreading the onslaught of insensitive relatives? Share your thoughts -- and your survival strategies! Read the rest at http://autism.about.com/od/copingwithautism/f/holidayfaq.htm Please Share: What Do You Love Best About the Autistic Person in Your Life? I've asked readers of the www.autism.about.com website to share what they love best about the autistic person in their lives. When I have a collection of stories (and the ones so far are wonderful!), I'll compile them into a single article -- as a holiday gift to the autism community! If you'd like to be a part of this (or you know someone who would) -- please go to http://autism.about.com/b/a/257684.htm and add your story to the comments. Thanks so very much! Rudy from SpecialKids (Philadelphia) Voices from the Spectrum: A Loving Autism Chorus A. Naseef, PhD and N. Ariel, PhD, have assembled insightful, often heart-warming personal accounts in Voices from the Spectrum: Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, People with Autism and Professionals Share Their Wisdom ( Kingsley, $19.95). Drs. Naseef and Ariel are co-founders of Alternative Choices, a Philadelphia psychotherapy practice specializing in counseling for families with special needs. They have pledged all of the royalties from this book to UNICEF. In this chorus of some 60 voices, readers will find frankness, coping strategies and new understandings of the vast autism spectrum. Most of all, they will find wonderful expressions of love and acceptance. From Autism Society of Northwest Ohio Ariel and Naseef have put together a collection of essays that are heartbreaking and heartwarming, by turn. All points along the spectrum are represented and all age groups. I couldn't help but think of the Autism Society puzzle piece logo as I read this terrific little book. Each essay seemed to represent a piece of the puzzle. There were essays written by people with autism, essays written by parents, siblings, grandparents, and professionals who work with autistic people. The points of view were

different. Some essays were angry, some sad or fearful. They were all authentic, real in a way that touches the bone. This is perfect waiting room reading, since each essay is only a few pages long. I would recommend this book highly to anyone who knows someone on the autism spectrum. Voices from the Spectrum can make a good gift, order a copy at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1843107864/qid=1143312927/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-4430253-3063208?s=books & v=glance & n=283155 "SPECIAL FOCUS: A Parent's Adventures with Asperger's and AD/HD" www.specialfocusblog.blogspot.com * PERSONAL ESSAYS on parenting special needs kids * SPECIAL SMARTS – the things kids do & say that make it all worthwhile * SPECIAL BOOKS – book lists on parenting, psychology, special needs, Asperger's Syndrome, and special books for kids. Book reviews too! * SPECIAL PROJECT – A non-fiction book-in-progress, "Parents On Trial: A Journey Through the Maze of Special Education" * SPECIAL LINKS and HAPPENINGS - Online places and real-world events of note to the special ed community. * MAILING LIST – To receive notifications of new posts, send an e-mail to specialfocusblog with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject area.) Come test-drive the site. Visit often! New essays are added weekly, as well as book reviews, and "Special Smarts" posts. Comments are welcome. HELP ME GET THE WORD OUT! Know any parents, educators, special ed or special services providers, or anyone else who'd be interested in this blog? Please forward this announcement to them. Thanks! From "About Me" section, SPECIAL FOCUS: A Parent's Adventure with Asperger's & ADHD: Twelve-year-old "Sasha" is a gifted reader, writer and artist. She's humorous, messy, and did I mention GORGEOUS? She's also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD. "Mo" is a darn cuddly and kibbitzy seven-year-old, always ready with a smile or, more likely, a joke and a "Yo dude, how's it goin'?!" Mo has central auditory processing difficulties and, like his sister, distraction & focus issues and, while I'm confessing, both kids have difficulty sitting down for more than five seconds. Sasha and Mo are keeping their parents, "Ozzie" and "Not Harriet" (also known as Special Mom) mighty sleep-deprived. But in that state, I

tend to get philosophical about the intricacies of this, our Special Life. SPECIAL FOCUS: A Parent's Adventures with Asperger's & AD/HD www.specialfocusblog.blogspot.com Research Abstracts, etc. *Harvard Study Links Industrial Chemicals to Developmental DisordersResearchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have concluded that 202 industrial chemicals have the capacity to damage the human brain, possibly leading to developmental disorders such as Autism and mental retardation. The study also found that very few of these chemicals are regulated so as to prevent this damage.http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press11072006.html *Fact Sheet Released Supporting Unclaimed ChildrenSupplementing the National

Center for Children in Poverty's follow-up study Unclaimed Children Revisited, the Center has released its first fact sheet "Children's Mental Health: Facts for Policy Makers." This document highlights the widespread nature of mental health problems among children and youth and the lack of adequate services.http://nccp.org/pub_ucr.html *Website Helps Professionals Connect Youth with Disabilities to Workforce OpportunitiesThe National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWDY) has launched a new webpage providing information about the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) Initiative and offering training resources to professionals. This site includes information about KSA competency areas, development tools, and other resources to connect youth to better workforce development opportunities.http://www.ncwd-youth.info/ksa/ *Evidence-Based Practice Website Provides Compendium of Elusive InformationThough teachers are required by law to use evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the classroom, criteria for EBP and solid Special Education foundations for EBP have not been determined. This website from the Council for Exceptional Children offers summaries on EBP research, EBP in the classroom, teacher opinions of EBPs and links to other EBP resources.http://tinyurl.com/uf2lk*Assessing Evidence-Based Practice Implementation in Eight StatesSince 2001, the Evidence-Based Practice Project has been investigating the implementation of evidence-based mental health practices across the United States. Drawing from evaluations of state public mental health systems, this report, "Innovations in Mental Health Services implementation," offers a classification scheme and a

list of innovative implementation methods.http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1562440 & blobtype=pdf*Brain's Fear Center is Abnormally Small in Severely Impaired Cases of AutismResearch funded by the National Institutes of Health, Mental Health, and Child Health and Human Development has indicated that the part of the brain triggering fear or danger first grows, then shrinks abnormally in the most severe cases of autism. A related study found that well siblings of people with autism might share some behavioral and neural features with their siblings.http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/autismmenu.cfm If you think thus information may be of use to someone you know, please forward this e-mail or direct them to subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SPECIALFAMILIESGUIDE/ Best regards- Naseef http://alternativechoices.com/specialfamilies.htm

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