autism health and wellness magazine, vol. 1, issue 1

THERAPY SPOT INC.State of the art services for children – Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and MUCH MORE!

Visit us in Boca RatonCamino Real Centre

7100 Camino Real, suite 201Boca Raton, FL 33433

Monica M. Weller, MS, OTR/L Ellen Stern, MS, CCC-SLP Pediatric Occupational Therapist Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist

(561) 859-2100 (561) 859-2010 [email protected] [email protected]

www.therapyspotinc.com

Specializing in treating the WHOLE CHILD

Free Occupational & Speech Therapy Screens

Social Pragmatic Groups for Children Ages 5 – 12

Play Groups for the Early Years (ages 3 ½ - 5) – Designed to improve social skills, play skills andlearning

Social Skills Summer Camp for 10 weeks – Ages 5 – 8

Occupational and Speech Therapy provided in office, at preschools and at private schools

Individual & Group Services Provided

Offering The Interactive Metronome To Improve Attention And Processing Skills For Children 7 And Older

Autism Health and Wellness Vol. 1 Issue 1 • April - May 2009 • Page 1

in this issue

Innovative Teen Programs to Curb Symptoms of AutismPage 17

The latest breakthroughs in education and programs that promote indepen-dence among teens with autism.

Grass-Fed Meat AdvantagePage 23

Why grass-fed meat is so much heathier & how to save on its cost with this magazine.

Connecting With the AlmightyPage 27

The lasting power of giving. Words of inspiration by renown Dr. Tzvi Pearlstein

When Parents and Schools DisagreePage 29

How to deal with pitfalls if schools overstep their bounds.

Much more about:

Entertainment Pages 4 & 5Health Pages 12, 15 & 39Toys Pages 7, 9 & 16Advocacy Pages 18, 26, 39 & 40

Directory of Businesses that Support Autism Information

Page 43

Improving Behavior in Kids With AutismPage 19

Tips for instilling good behavior. Some most effective ways from expert Rebecca Klaw.

Stimulating Communication in Kids With AutismPage 24

Get your child to communicate. Here are some tips.

An Ounce of PreventionPage 28

Leading a healthy lifestyle - tips from Florida’s recent Chief Medical Officer, Marion Thorpe.

Choosing the Right Educational Toy3

So many educational toys to choose from and each have great benefits. Which are best? When are they best?

Books �at Help Raise a ChildPage 34

Best books on gearing special needs children for success

Educational Toy GuidePage 38

A full guide of the best kinds of toys.


Entertainment/Leisure:

Ooopsy the Clown and CompanySouth Florida's Most Loved Entertainers(954) 438-9977www.OoopsytheClown.comVisit us online.Check out and order wonderful videos for your children.______________

Summit Camp and TravelCamp and Travel Programs for Asperger Childrenwww.summitcamp.com1-800-323-9908______________

Terry's Face Painting(305) 519-0195www.TerrysFacePainting.comPrincess Parties & Airbrush

Educational:

TouchMath:Serving students with autism since 1975. Free Samples and Information at www.touchmath.com1-800-888-9191______________

Levy's Learning CenterTutoring in homes throughout South Florida(305) 496-7208

Advocacy:

Louis H. GeigermanNational ARD/IEP AdvocatesP.O. Box 16111Sugar Land, Texas [email protected]://www.narda.org/______________

Ruth Heitin, Ph.D.Educational Consulting Services100 West Howell Avenue,Alexandria, VA 22301Phone: 703-519-7181; Email: [email protected]______________

Law Offices of Mark BienathFinancial Planning for Special Needs(770) 455-0535www.biernathlaw.com______________

Torin D. TogutAttorney at Law140 Hanarry Drive Lawrenceville, Georgia 30045 (Tel) 678-372-1829 (Fax) 678-407-2449 ______________Florida Special Education Legal AdvocacyMark S. Kamleiter2509 First Avenue S.St. Petersburg, FL 33712Tel: (727) 323-2555Fax: (727) [email protected]

Prepaid Legal Protection & ServicesOne low monthly fee (personal plans under $20) for:

unlimited legal advice legal representation if sued legal letters unlimited traffic ticket disputes and much more

SIMPLY AMAZING – a huge resourceCall (954) 353-5955

Email [email protected]






Educational:



Advocacy:









Page 1

Autism Health and Wellness Vol. 1 Issue 1 • April - May 2009 • 3

Directory of Businesses

Support our advertisers who bring you the needed information found in Autism Health and Wellness.

Below is a directory of businesses. To advertise please call (954) 353-1898 or email [email protected].

Playworks (Toys) See Pgs 11 & 33Salt of the Earth (Weighted Gear) See Pgs 2, 13 & 14Grassland Meats (Grass Fed/Organics) See Pgs 6 & 23Therapy Spot Inc (OT/Speech Path) See Inside Cover & Pg 4A Premier Orthopedic & Rehab/1 Min. Stretch See Back Cover & Pg 27Ozmo Fun (Toys) See Pgs 11 & 38Cup Cakes to Go (Cupcake Holders) See Pgs 11 & 44QCharm (Portable Therapy) See Inside Back Flap & 34Autism Services By Klaw (Behavior Therapy) See Pgs 19 & 22Awareness Depot and Autism Things (Toys) See Pg 16Heavenly Heat Saunas (Sauna Detox) See Inside Back Flap & 36The Special Life (Therapeutic Products) See Inside Back Flap & 24AllegiCare (Allergy Therapy - Helps Autism) See Inside Back Flap & Pg 15Dolan Gift Store (Early Development Products) See Inside Back Flap & Pg 9The Special Needs Store (Toys & Therapeutic) See Inside Back Flap & Pg 7Shaklee (Green Cleaning Products & Vitamins) See Pgs 12 & 13Magical Trip Planner (Vacation Planning) See Pgs 4 & 5Tropical Chiropractic See Pgs 10 & 39NPC Financial (Planning & Insurance) See Pg 11The Gordon Group (Health Insurance) See Pg 33Warranty of America (Appliance Insurance) See Pg 22Lead Generation (Advertising) See Pg 37

Autism Therapeutic Supplies:

Providing a wide variety of fabrics, in a range of sizes and weights at surprisingly affordable prices has made the Original Bean Blanket the weighted blanket of choice for many occupational therapists.The Original Bean Blanketwww.BeanBlanket.com(805) 712-2020

Special Needs Toys:

TFH USA Ltd Special Needs ToysGibsonia, PA 15044800-467-6222www.specialneedstoys.comOffering a comprehensive line of adapted toys and products for the Special Needs population.

Medical:

Canadian Discount Drug Services, Inc.SAVE UP TO 80% OFF U.S. MED PRICESLicensed/RegisteredFDA Approved Pharmacies24/7 OPERATION and FREE SHIPPINGPH: (954) 971-6895FAX: (954) 972-9572EMAIL: [email protected]____________

Syndion® is a liquid antioxidant, multivitamin and mineral supplement developed for children and adults with special nutritional needs and food sensitivities.A pilot study showed beneficial effects on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist.www.syndion.com or call 1-877-SYNDION for more information.


A MESSAGE TO READERS

Autism Health and Wellness is unique magazine, designed to explore healthy living, innovative dietary research and to provide families of special needs children with up to date program infor-mation on everything from the latest in wellness breakthroughs,

advocacy and even home budgeting tips. In short, we provide needed information to parents and caregivers. We thank our

advertisers for their critical role in this process.

SUPPORT OUR SUPPORTERS

Dear Readers,

Please support our supporters, those who play the key role in providing you with all of the necessary information contained in this magazine. Please take a moment to review our excellent advertisers throughout this magazine and buy from them. It is they who bring you the cutting edge and information packed Autism Health and Wellness Magazine.

Thank you very much,

Yomin PostelnikPublisherAutism Health and Wellness

To subscribe to Autism Health and Wellness please call (954) 353- 1898 or email [email protected] for rates and

information.

Our Advertisers Are Crucial in Our Effort to Provide You With Needed Infor-mation. For more information or to become an advertiser please call (954) 353- 1898 or email

[email protected].

Vist us at www.AutismHealthandWellness.com






Educational:



Advocacy:









Page 2

www.SaltoftheEarthWeightedGear.com

Top Quality - Low Prices


transition meeting.2. School staff should obtain release of information to share relevant information with

non-school community agencies and services.

E. Transition Goals Should Be Considered for All Students as Part of Their IEP Meetings1. Students should be involved in identifying transition goals and needed services.2. School staff should conduct functional vocational assessment and situational

assessment of the student.3. Student should be given opportunity to participate in paid, integrated work

experiences, if appropriate.4. School staff should provide supervision and support as needed for students placed

in community based programs.

F. An Appropriate Curriculum Related to Student’s Postsecondary Education Goals Should Be Provided.1. School staff should conduct an assessment to determine post-secondary education

goals of student, if appropriate.2. Representatives from post-secondary educational setting should be part of

student’s transition meeting.3. Participants at student’s transition meeting should identify support services needed

for student to succeed in post-secondary education goals.

G. An Appropriate Curriculum Should Be Provided to Prepare Student for Independent Community Living1. School staff should assess and determine student’s independent community living

goals.2. Student should receive instruction in independent community living skills.3. Student should attain recreation and social skills for independent community living

goals.

H. Transition Needs Assessments, Including Transition Goals and Transition Services Should Be Prepared at Least Annually1. School staff should identify transition goals and services as part of the student’s

IEP meeting.2. A community needs assessment should be shared with local transition planning

committee.3. School staff should prepare a need assessment for the student.

I. School Staff Should Participate in Cooperative Training with Community Agencies, Services and Organizations Regarding Transition Planning and Service Delivery1. School staff should invite community resources to participate in development of

topics related to transition planning and services.2. School staff should participate in staff development activities of other agencies

related to transition planning and services.3. School and community agencies should conduct joint sponsored training events

related to transition planning and services.

J. School Staff Should Participate in Interagency Collaborative Efforts1. School staff should invite community agencies and organizations, as appropriate,

to participate in student’s transition planning and services.2. School staff should share relevant information with community agencies and

providers3. School staff should establish interagency agreements with other agencies and

services.


Is designed to be within the a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;

Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and interests; and

Includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.

20 U.S.C. §1401(34).

The IDEA requirements for transition services provides parents with powerful language to advocate for an array of services that will augment their child’s ability to move successfully from high school to post secondary activities. Transition services must begin no later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child is sixteen (16) years old, and updated annually. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A(i)(VIII). This means that transition services may begin before the child turns age sixteen (16) years of age if the IEP team believes it to be appropriate for the child.

There is no one template for defining what the essential components of an appropriate transition plan are. I have provided an outline below of several proposed components of a transition plan and services that may be useful to parents, advocates and parent attorneys to discuss at the child’s IEP meeting.

A. Parents and/or Guardians Should Be Involved in Transition Planning.

1. Parents should be informed of career and vocational opportunities at time student enters ninth grade under Carl D. Perkins Vocational Educational Act. 20 U.S.C. § 2328(b)(1).

2. Parents should be given a questionnaire regarding transition goals and needs of student.

3. Parents should be given the opportunity to identify resources they would like to see involved in their child’s transition planning.

4. Information should be provided to parents regarding transition services and the role of parents in transition planning process.

B. Students Should Be Involved in Their Transition Planning1. Students should be instructed in social skills related to self-determination,

empowerment and self-advocacy.2. Student preferences regarding transition goals and services should be obtained.3. Student should attend transition-planning meetings.4. Student should be given opportunity to identify school and non-school resources.

C. School Staff Should Be Involved in Transition Planning1. School staff should participate in-service training regarding transition planning and

transition services.2. Interdisciplinary group of staff should provide input regarding student’s transition

goals and needed services.3. Interdisciplinary group of staff should attend and participate in student’s transition

meeting.

D. Nonschool Agencies, Services and Community Organizations Should Be Involved in Transition Planning1. Community agencies should be given advance notice to participate in student’s


A Camp Unlike Any Other!

Therapy SPOT Inc. (TSI) offers an

annual Social Skills Summer Camp in Boca Raton, Fl. for kids with high functioning autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and other diagnoses that impair social skill and peer socialization development. The camp is a unique experience for children from 5-8 yrs. old to participate in a fun but challenging summer program. The camp schedule is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, for 10 weeks. Ellen Stern (SLP) and Monica Weller (OTR), Therapy SPOT Inc. directors, developed this one of a kind camp opportunity and are now going into their third camp season as camp organizers and facilitators.

TSI’s summer program addresses and

develops social skills, conversational skills, play skills, and other pragmatic skills. These skills are necessary in building friendships, developing problem solving skills, successfully participating in a typical classroom, as well as strengthening the skills needed for learning from a teacher within a group. A typical camp day consists of a morning warm up with a gross motor activity in the gym that includes games, dancing and yoga. This is followed by a social topic of the day. Some topics include bullying, compromising, accepting change, waiting and working together. Next the

children participate in arts and crafts activities that focus on group interaction and fine motor skill refinement. Then the children are partnered with a peer and are involved in working together in table top and floor games and activities. The camp day concludes with a small group board game or a sensory based activity that promotes sportsmanship, waiting your turn, conversation and attending. During lunch and snack time the children choose a topic that involves a common interest and are encouraged to work on conversational reciprocity and topic maintenance.

The children enrolled all make huge improvements by the end of the summer and make lasting friendships for play dates and birthday parties for the years ahead. Teachers and parents, both, have provided

excellent feedback to TSI about the

progress and carryover of these skills at home, in the classroom and within the community. However, the greatest reward has been in seeing the children learn to truly enjoy and derive pleasure from conversing and playing with their friends.

Please contact Ellen (561)859-2010 or Monica (561)859-2100 to register or for further

information.


Magical Trip PlannerMagical Trip Planner provides expert planning for families with disabilities or special needs.

Hi, my name is Mona Lane and I am the owner and manager of Magical Trip Planner. I've been a Registered Nursefor 27 years. My husband and I cared for and adopted special needs children. We now have 2 grown children and 4 adopted children and 4 grandchildren. We love to travel as a family, but with our size and many unique needs this was often difficult. Traveling with special needs children offers many challenges. I can share my planning expertise and tips to make traveling with any type of disability a memorable and enjoyable vacation.

The most important thing to remember on your vacation is PLANNING!Everyone needs to get away once in awhile and a little planning and preparation can reduce stress and avoid problems. Planning ahead will avoid most of the common obstacles of traveling with special needs. If your travel dates are flexible, visit your destination during none peak times. This will reduce cost, crowds and wait times. It is important to maintain a schedule even if it is little different than home. Disney and most other theme parks offer accommodations as needed for each person’s individual situation. I can give you particular advice on your unique situation. Pre-arranging equipment needs will also help your vacation go more smoothly.

Always be FLEXIBLE and have a sense of humor. Every child reacts differently to the sights, sounds and smells of a new place. Make your plans with frequent breaks and rest periods. If someone in your group is tired and cranky or

overloaded, no one will have a good time.

Be PREPARED with comfort items from home. Bring headphones, sunglasses, blanket or hoodie for children with sensory issues. Bring snacks and small toys that can be used to satisfy restlessness while waiting. I make a picture itinerary for our children so they can see each day what activities are planned.

ADVOCATE for your child and your family. During your travels you're likely to run into individuals who don't know what to do or how to react to an individual with special needs. As diplomatically as you can, let people know what you need and expect them to make accommodations for your child's special needs. Most people will be more than happy to help. If you are offered a room or seating accommodations that just won't work, politely decline and explain again what you need and why.

Plan a day of REST (or maybe 2!) Even the most experienced travelers need some quiet time before during and after their travel! Expect both your kids and your own body to need some down time when you arrive at your destination and again when you arrive home. Take a BREAK everyday from your activities. It is amazing how much a short nap will refresh your whole family.

ENJOY the small and unexpected moments. Making memories with your family is what it is really all about. Offering your child new experiences and seeing things from their perspective is a great opportunity for the family to bond.

Don't expect perfection. Traveling, like everything else, is an acquired skill. If


allows a designated person to make medical decisions on behalf of a person.

You cannot grant powers of attorney over someone else. Mother cannot grant to her adult son powers of attorney to make decisions for her incapacitated adult daughter. Son would have to seek appointment as guardian of his incapacitated adult sister to be able to make decisions for his sister.

Two problems arise with powers of attorney: 1) they can be revoked at any time, 2) in Georgia, there is no present requirement that financial institutions accept a financial power of attorney.From this arise several issues as to how useful powers of attorney actually are in a real and practical sense. In practice however, powers of attorney are generally accepted and are very useful.For the most part, if the person signed the durable powers of attorney prior to losing capacity, then the powers will be effective. An incapacitated child may never have had the capacity to enter into the contractual agreement which creates the power of attorney. Also, you must be at least 18 years old to sign a power of attorney.

I have heard of people who had their incapacitated children sign powers of attorney. They tell me that their children will sign anything they are told to sign. If that is true, then the child probably lacks the capacity to grant the powers of attorney.

"You must have capacity to grant powers of attorney, if you do not have capacity, you cannot grant powers of attorney."

If the incapacitated adult at one time had normal capacity, and signed a power of attorney when they had normal capacity, but then subsequently lost capacity (via illness, stroke, car accident, etc) you may not need to establish guardianship or conservatorship. Just because someone tells you to go and establish a guardianship does not necessarily mean you have to, if you have a viable alternative, then you can avoid a guardianship.

A word of caution, because people have abused financial powers of attorney, there is a risk that financial institutions will lose confidence in the integrity of financial powers and no longer be willing to accept them. With increasing identity theft problems, this is only going to get more difficult. If this occurs, more people will be forced to seek conservatorships, which are costly and time consuming.

© 2008 Mark E. Biernath, Atlanta, Georgia 770-455-0535 www.biernathlaw.comInformation for educational purposes only—no attorney client relationship created

Essential Components of Transition Planning

By Torin D. TogutAttorney at Law

Transition services and planning is perhaps one of the most important aspects of special education. As defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 2004 (IDEA), “transition services” means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that –


piece, pushing three buttons at once makes a sound that is really annoying to mom, cause and effect…

My favorite Christmas present as a child was just a box full of colored paper, glitter, glue, sequins, stickers, etc. My daughter’s favorite was a pretty box full of squares of silky or lacey fabrics, cheap plastic bead necklaces, and garage sale hats, for dress-up. My son’s favorite was a, well… flatulence imitating toy. Boys…….

One more thing-if a toy is to be used, it must be fun. We have probably all bought a wonderful educational toy that never got used more than once. Too many educational toys just don’t have enough of the fun factor. (However, the toy may still be appropriate for a classroom where anything that isn’t a worksheet is welcomed by the students!) So be careful and make sure that the toy is appealing and fun. A toy on a shelf isn’t teaching a child much of anything.

And yes, sometimes we can buy a toy just because it looks like fun.

See more info at www.ozmofun.com - The fun store for Autism

Some Plastic Toys Could Be Harmful to Your Children’s Health

The Wellness ColumnPresented by Scott Herman, D.C.

The holiday season is upon us, and everyone is searching for the perfect gifts for the children in their lives. But it’s important to always put safety first when buying children’s toys, especially plastic ones. A wealth of research reveals that a type of plastic known as PVC, which is used in many soft plastic baby toys, can leach harmful chemicals into children’s bloodstreams through their saliva.

And studies show that these chemicals are linked to cancer and kidney damage — and may interfere with reproduction and development.

Doctors of chiropractic are extremely concerned about the long-term effects of toxic chemicals on children and urge parents to avoid toys that contain PVC.

To identify a PVC-based toy, look for the three-arrow recycling symbol with the number 3 or the initials PVC. If you aren’t sure whether a product contains PVC or PVC parts, call themanufacturer’s question or comment line.

To find out more about chiropractic care and avoiding toxic chemicals, call Dr. Scott Herman, a chiropractor and holistic-care provider at (954) 917-4343 or check out our website at www.tropicalchiropractic.com.Dr. Herman is a noted health speaker and also a member of the Doctor's Speaker's Bureau. If you would like Dr. Herman to speak to your local business or organization, please call at (954) 917-4343.Upcoming topics include: Chiropractic Is for Seniors Too, The Piriformis Muscle: A Hidden Cause of Low-Back Pain, Vacation for the Health of It! and Cortisone Worsens Joint Pain.

Alternatives to Guardianship/Conservatorship

Powers of Attorney

By Mark Biernath, Esq.Attorney Specializing in Special Needs Planning

Many problems can be avoided with valid powers of attorney. These generally come in two varieties, one is a financial power of attorney, another is healthcare power of attorney. The financial power of attorney allows a designated person to conduct business and manage the financial affairs of a person. The healthcare power of attorney


you're first trip doesn't turn out perfectly, don't give up! Sit down (after you've rested) and analyze your vacation. How could you have prepared differently or more effectively?Which things worked well and which ones didn’t.

We love Disney Destinations! We travel several times a year with our special needs children. We have stayed at all resort levels and in all seasons. We can use our expertise and knowledge to work for you.

We can book special discounts...and we watch for rate reductions and apply the savings for you!

All information is confidential and never shared Concierge Style Service at no extra cost A Personal Planner who will assist you with details Complimentary Service for your dining arrangements We can save you time and money

If you have someone in your group with special dietary needs, limited mobility or medical issues, you have come to the right place. Maybe you've always dreamed of a family vacation or a cruise but were afraid your special situation could not be accommodated.....

No matter what your needs are, we can show you how to enjoy a dream vacation!

Mona Lane Vacation Specialist

Graduate College of Disney Knowledge Special Needs Planningwww.magicaltripplanner.com 832-752-1033

The Special Needs Store - Where No Kid Flies Solo

Kelly Savagewww.thespecialneedsstore.com

Our Goal: Making the lives of parents, therapists, and educators of children with special needs and developmental delays easier by enabling them to find a wide variety of resources and products in one location.

In June of 2003 our son, Joseph, was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome. We had so much to learn about his disability and have found as the years have passed, that this need to learn is an on-going process as Joseph moves from one stage of development to the next. What we learned early on is that we were unbelievably lucky to have been given such a gift, the value of which cannot be explained in words. Joe has broadened our horizons and led us down paths we would have never explored if not for him!

One day I spent a couple of hours on the internet, researching various items that I needed to get for Joe. I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated at the amount of time that I spent looking for just the right thing for Joe. There are a lot of terrific products out


Educational Toys That Help Kids Grow

By Dee CarrickOwner of OZMO - The fun store for Autismwww.ozmofun.com

Most parents try to give their children the best start in life they can. They feed

them carrots and apples for snacks, keep track of their school performance, and also try to buy educational toys. That is wonderful!

So what IS an Educational Toy?

Is it one that seems kind of boring but could teach them some facts?

Is it one that is labeled “educational” or “early learning” on a website or in a store?

Is it one that requires interaction with an adult before a lesson can be learned?

Is it some toy that is labeled with “teaches cause and effect” or “sequencing skills” or “fine motor skill practice” or maybe even “teaches spatial orientation concepts”?

Those sound really good and official! Isn’t it always better to buy toys that teach?

In truth, though, ALL toys are educational. Every toy teaches the child

something. Check out the following list of “toys” and the things they can teach:

Anyway, you get the idea. Babies and children absorb information all the time.

(Sometimes the lessons they learn are not always the ones we want them to learn!) So

don’t be too quick to think that a toy has to be labeled educational for it to be of value.

Get a variety of toys to see what they like or have talents for. Make sure they have access to crayons, paper, puzzles, books, balls, musical toys, and some free time to experiment. Sit down with them once in a while and enjoy playing with them. Inspire them by showing them new ways to use the toys and then let them use their imagination. Encourage them with impromptu art shows, parades, and by taking pictures of their results.

Cheap plastic toy - Really inexpensive toys can break quickly

Cup in the bathtub - How to pour, pouring slowly means dribbles down the cup, water surface stays flat

Squeezy toy - Practice in fine motor skills, sense of relaxation

Wrestling figure - How to hurt people, it is fun to hurt people

Paper and crayons - Spatial relations, color names, fine motor skills

Puzzles - Concentration, spatial relations, fine motor skills, cats lay on them and chew them

Spinning light toy - Cause and effect, fine motor skills, if you throw it down it will break, battery toys last longer if they go off automatically

Dirt - It smells good, it tastes bad, it turns to squishy mud if you add water,it can grow plants

Big new educational toy- you can sit on it, it won’t work if you lose this


therapy with HBOT worthy of the practitioner’s consideration.

Through tissue dilation, increased blood flow, and elevated tissue temperatures, some fat-stored toxins are mobilized during the sauna session, and cleared from storage. Much of this material is then excreted through the skin, and some is eliminated through the kidneys and bowels.

Additionally, the mild hyperthermic effects of the sauna include the stimulation of numerous immune responses, and the raised body temperature can be lethal to some bacteria and viruses. We have heard encouraging reports of lyme disease patients responding well in saunas. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, said: “Give me a fever and I will cure any illness.”

Heavenly Heat creates the ideal sauna detox environment for children and the chemically sensitive. Each sauna is built entirely with low-allergen white poplar wood and tempered safety glass, without the use of plywood, laminates, or wood glue - all of which can outgas into, and contaminate, the air of a sauna. We also include parental controls of the infrared intensity, along with a weekly progress chart for children, to assure a mild, safe, controlled environment in which youngsters can feel comfortable. Most kids love their new “playhouse” and greatly enjoy sauna time.

Much is made these days of the health benefits of far-infrared, or FIR saunas. The truth is that FIR can enhance and accelerate the sauna detox process, and can be highly beneficial if the sauna is designed and built properly. But, that is a big “if” as many are built quite improperly for a detox environment, with strong adhesives, concealed plywood, high electro-magnetic fields, etc.

On the other hand, any properly built sauna, when used in a moderate, safe manner, can be a vital detoxifier. Scores of 9/11 rescue workers are currently receiving enormous detox benefits in several sauna programs taking place in NYC using regular saunas. Blue and gray sweat, apparently laden with heavy metals, has been reported as pouring out of some of them. Traditional saunas can be used clinically if kept dry, and with the temperature limited to the low range and to the very low range for children.

Bob Morgan is the owner of Heavenly Heat Saunas. Visit www.heavenlyheatsaunas.com,call (800) 697-2862 or email [email protected].

Note: When saunas are used clinically, or to treat specific ailments, a full regime is implemented that includes patient monitoring, along with supplementation of fluids, electrolyte minerals, and particular vegetable oils, etc. One should not use a sauna for any medical purpose without appropriate guidance by a physician.

Complete Lead Generation System This unique and cost effective system integrates e-mail marketing, direct distribution of marketing materials, qualified lead generation, web presence and mobile advertising. As a member of the Complete Lead Generation System you will receive:

e-mail marketing to thousands of Broward and Palm Beach County entrepreneurs and business owners Expert listing on Mybizuniverse.com "Ask the Experts" page (coming soon) Direct distribution of your flyers to thousands of hard to reach business owners (954) 752-3930 [email protected] Qualified leads from the highly trained sales professionals manning the Entrepreneurial RV www.MyBizUniverse.com Exposure at over 20 business events per month Exposure to thousands of commuters during rush hour traffic Exposure to thousands of home based entrepreneurs Exposure to thousands of work at home executives Exposure to thousands of unregistered entrepreneurs


there, but I found that usually I would have to “stumble” across them while surfing the net or hear about them from another parent, teacher or therapist. It was time-consuming to have to go to so many different sites to find what I needed. Speech therapy tools in one place, toys and mealtime in another, potty training, DVDs, and the list goes on. Not to mention the cost of shipping orders from so many stores. Unfortunately, the vast majority of special needs products are not found in mainstream stores.

As our journey continued I realized that the products I was looking for are beneficial for all special needs kids. I thought, “There must be an easier way! Wouldn’t it be great if I could go to one place that offered a wide variety of products and resources?” The more I thought about it, the more excited I became about the potential benefits that we could offer other parents.

As a parent of a child with special needs as well as a B.S. degree in Exercise Science/Athletic Training, I felt I had a unique perspective into what other parents are looking for. We rely heavily on recommendations from parents, teachers, and therapists as these are the people who are using these products. The Special Needs Store allowsyou to consolidate your purchase from one location, with one shipping cost, and reduces the amount of time you have to spend searching for these items! We are adding more products every month to help ease this burden.

Many of our children are in therapy, but the reality is, this is such a tiny chunk of time in our kid’s life and we need to make our home as educationally “rich” as possible. Each new developmental phase is a whole new set of products and information and it can be very expensive for families. With that in mind, we try to think outside the box in order to give our customers lower cost alternatives that work well for kids with disabilities such as Autism, Down syndrome, Apraxia, Asthma and more, as well as offering many well-known products such as Talk Tools, Signing Time, Kid’s Express Train, The Writing Claw, eReadingPro, and much more. We offer products related to daily living, speech and language, oral motor therapy, special education, physical and occupational therapy, holistic, general health, books, DVDs, augmentative speech devices, visual aid, toys, Asthma and Allergy Friendly, and more!

The Special Needs Store Classified Section is a new addition to our site. We invite you to come take a look at www.thespecialneedsstore.com - Classifieds. Post an ad, or pass along our information to a business you think would be a good fit for what our customers are looking for. If our customers don’t find what they are looking for in our store, we want them to be able to find it in our classified section. Be sure to check out the Gently Used section – a very inexpensive place for you to resell some of the items that you no longer need!

Sign up for our newsletter to hear all of the latest news about the store – discount coupons, new products, drawings, and more.

Send us your comments, suggestions, and product ideas. Nothing is too small. If you are looking for it, someone else is too!

The Special Needs Store is not only a place for you to find many products to meet your child’s needs, but a place for you to learn, share, and be a part of a community that isdedicated to making the lives of our special kids enriched and brightened!


Unique and Dedicated - The Dolan Gift Company

On a cold January morning in 2006 a young couple packs up and heads to the hospital for a scheduled induced labor, like countless others before them. The difference is that the child she is carrying has been diagnosed in-utero with a brain malformation, leaving him with an uncertain outlook. Labor and delivery go smoothly, with little to no complications, but the uncertainty weighs heavy on their minds. Apart from a cleft palate and brain malformation, the beautiful little boy is in good health.

Within months, it becomes apparent that their little boy needs extra help. Therapies, including Physical Therapy and Special Instruction, begin at four months of age. Mom and dad have many concerns for his future, as they watch their tiny baby working so hard just to try to reach milestones that come so naturally to most infants. Therapists introduce new products and toys that the parents should use to help him achieve his goals. The young couple runs from store to store looking for what they need. Some products they find easily while others continue to elude them. The search for the recommended tools continues online to find what is needed. All this, while dealing with the regular day-to-day tasks of new parents.

In 2008, the Dolan Gift Co. was formed with intention of making life easier for other parents of children with special needs. A company whose main goal is to bring together the various products needed in the early developmental stages of a special child’s life. From balance to feeding to gross and fine motor skills, the list of helpful products is extensive. The Dolan Gift Co. is dedicated to finding the most sought after products and offering them at affordable prices.

The Dolan Gift Co.’s online store, www.DandyLionKids.com is a great place to find helpful products. The products being offered are the very products that were recommended, and used by, the Dolan family and therapists to further the development of their young son. After finding success with these products, they wanted to share them with other families in similar situations hoping that others will find success also. The Dolan Gift Co. is sharing the information that comes from personal experience, as well as information from professionals.

One product in particular that is being offered at www.DandyLionKids.com, was created by the father of a special needs child in need of a seating solution that offered more support than any standard child’s furniture. Most other toddler chairs, even those designed for special needs, were too large for such a small child. After hours of design calculations and consultations with a team of physical therapists, a dedicated father made the perfect chair for his son. His son, with low muscle tone and poor balance and coordination, was unable to sit in a standard chair. But with the Dandy Lion Hand-Crafted Toddler Chair™, he is finally able sit, fully supported, in an upright position, a position recommended to foster proper posture. This chair is also designed to adjust and meet the changing needs of a growing child.

The Dolan Gift Co. is a new business, but passionate about their mission. The products being offered are all hand-picked to aid in development. You can find puzzles to build and strengthen fine motor skills, special cups and spoons to aid in feeding and drinking, and special hand-made furniture. The goal atwww.DandyLionKids.com is to learn from other families, therapists, and customers about new products so that they can offer the most complete catalog of items. If you, or someone you care about, has a special needs child, please ask them to visit this online store to learn and also share their own experiences.


Solving Behavior Problems in Autism-Improving Communication with Visual Strategies. Parents and professionals will be discover many ways in which to improve your child’s communication needs and ways in which you can become a more effective communication partner. Check out her new website, http://www.autismfamilyonline.com.

Finally, as parents we may place our needs near the bottom of the To-Do list. Please take time to care for yourself so that you can more effectively care for your child and your family. Consider reading It’s All About Attitude by Kathy Almeida and Gayle Nobel, Silent Angel-

The Joys and Challenges of Raising an Autistic Child and Keeping Your Marriage Alive in the Process by Tim and Melody Ravert, Solutions for Adults with Asperger Syndrome by Juanita P. Lovett, and The 7 Best Things Happy Couples Do by John Friel and Linda Friel.

In summary, to effectively advocate for your child, continuously equip yourself with knowledge. These books are excellent resources and starting points.

Denise Meissner may be contacted at [email protected], www.qcharm.com.

Sauna Detox

By Bob MorganOwner of Heavenly Heat

For centuries, cultures around the globe have used one form or another of sauna bathing as a means of physical cleansing and renewal. Using saunas to deeply cleanse the body makes perfect sense, as our skin is the body’s largest organ and an it’s organ of elimination.

Saunas have become a vital tool for home and clinical detoxification, for both adults and children – and they are powerfully effective. Through the skin’s secretions of sebum and sweat, a broad spectrum of both toxic chemicals and heavy metals are excreted.

Saunas utilize the body’s eliminative functions by inducing a state of mild hyperthermia. That simply means that the sauna raises body temperature modestly, like a mild fever does, to induce sweating, thereby instigating the cleansing process. Interestingly, many parents have reported that their autistic child’s cognition and eye contact improves noticeably when they have a mild fever, and the sauna induces what could be described as a brief, light, artificial fever.

When exposed to any form of heat stress, the primary aim of the body’s heat-control system is to protect the nervous system and the vital organs from overheating. The heart rate and blood pressure rise mildly for a brief period in order to shunt the warming blood outwards, away from the vital organs. The peripheral blood vessels then dilate to accommodate the suddenly increased load, and then blood pressure levels off and declines. The mild surge in blood flow facilitates waste removal from tissues and improves the delivery of oxygen and vital nutrients to the cells. This enhancement of oxygen transport makes a combination

Jenny: “Heavenly Heat rocks!!”

Jenny McCarthy with Bob at the Fall ‘07 DAN! Conference


my son’s behavior, communication, social, and sensory issues. To make matters worse, I was blown away by the task of advocating for his evaluations, diagnosis and treatments. I thought, “If I am an OT and have a mother-in-law who is a Physical Therapist (who specializes in early intervention) and I am struggling to care for my child, just imagine how hard this must be for other parents!”

The good news is that there are numerous treatment approaches, assistive devices, advocacy groups, books, programs, and other resources to help parents both care for their child’s current needs and prepare for future needs. The other side of this good news is that there is so much information that over-the-top exhausted parents barely have time to brush their teeth, much less research their options. This article highlights books written by experts in the field (professionals and parents) which offer techniques and insights critical for advocating and managing today’s challenges and preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.

I am focusing on books because they can be accessed and referenced at your convenience. Plus, some can be purchased new or used (since saving money is essential these days). To start, Dr. James Ball, in his book Early Intervention & Autism, spells out day-to-day issues, how to benefit from early intervention services, and how to select from the variety of treatment techniques. Dr. Ball also equips the reader with 10 Behavior Rules To Live By, Must Have EI Goals & Objectives, and 7 Effective Teaching Strategies. With over 20 years of experience working with and advocating for the autism community, Dr. Ball provides practical and necessary information.

Another set of books which offer practical and necessary information

include: The Child With Autism at Home: The Home Life Guide-350 Tips For Work &Play by Kathy Labosh and LaNita Miller; What You Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism byJonathan Levy; The Autistic Spectrum Parents’ Daily Helper-A Workbook forYou and Your Child by Philip Abrams and Leslie Henriques, and Raising a Child With Autism by Shira Richman. Although each child and each family situation is unique, there are frequently used techniques (ie. visual cues, environmental structure, verbal cues, and behavior management) that work to improve a child’s ability to communicate, socialize, and cope with daily tasks and challenges. These books are a great resource to help you help your child.

For more in depth information on visual strategies and how to use them at home and in the community, several books stand out. From the creators of the Picture Exchange Communication System (Andy Bondy and Lori Frost), the book Topics in Autism: A Picture’s Worth: PECS and Other Visual Communication Strategies in Autism explains how to improve your child’s ability to communicate (ie. to initiate communication with others and express their needs, to understand and cope with changes in their daily routine, and to cope with boundaries/limits often encountered during the day). The PECS system incorporates one of the most researched treatment approaches, which is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Please see http://www.pecs.com.

Another expert in the field, Linda Hodgdon, has several books, DVD’s and workshops regarding the importance and the use of visual strategies. Two of her books offer a wealth of information. They are: Visual Strategies For Improving Communication-Practical Supports for School and Home and

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Autism Health and Wellness Vol. 1 Issue 1 • April 2009 • Page 11

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877.579.9300 | www.playworks.net

toys f

or ser

ious p

layPLAY is serious business for children. Through play they experience the joy of discovery and learning. Child appeal is our first consideration in selecting toys that engage, entertain, and educate. All of our toys are child approved.

Each of our developmental toys addresses multiple special needs, providing sensory stimulation to children of diverse abilities and interests. We re-evaluate our selection to provide the best play choices as new toys become available.

We also choose developmental toys that lend themselves to adult/child interactions where the child gains social, cognitive, and communicative skills by interacting with adults who provide words to describe the child’s experiences.

Whatever your special needs, Playworks invites you to think of us first, knowing you can buy with confidence – and save time and money.


Here's the deal. Some children like motion and sound. They respond positively to the movement of the beads and the sound they make, experimenting and discovering how different movements create softer or louder sounds. They observe the different color beads and how light passing through the tube affects their brilliance.

Unfortunately, some children become so fascinated by these effects that they repeat their motions over and over, and become agitated when "time's up" and they must stop and move on to another activity. Other children are so sensitive to sound that Rainbomaker is absolutely not a choice.

For children with sensitivities to light and motion, a huge issue for many with autism spectrum, parents need to choose quiet toys that provide opportunities for exploring cause and effect and enhancing motor skill. Stringing, lacing, and threading activities might engage these children. Along the way, they will explore colors, shapes and sizes, perhaps creating patterns and learning about different textures and weights. Beads can be sorted and counted as well.

Think about the properties of the materials used to create the beads and laces. Wood feels different and weighs more than plastic. By interacting with toys from different materials, the child learns about those materials. When sharing the activity with an adult, the child can also gain language to describe both the toys and his play.

Sometimes if a toy, such as Rainbomaker, is a favorite, but one that causes the child to refuse to stop playing, teachers will turn a negative into a positive, "making a deal" with the child that they can play with the toy for a specific period of time after they complete a required task. Let’s say the assignment is sorting by color and shape but the child doesn't like to sort. The desire to create the sound of rain can be strong enough to win his or her cooperation. Of course, the success of this plan depends upon adhering to the agreement. And that's a whole other "learning experience."

For an excellent selection of toys for special needs and all children, feel free to visit www.playworks.net, email [email protected] or call (877) 579-9300.

Must Read Books to Help You Advocate for Your Child with Autism…Now and Tomorrow

By Denise MeissnerOccupational Therapist, parent and co-founder QCharm, LLC

Think about your child’s signs of developmental difficulty, the challenges your child experiences and how your child’s challenges are testing your parenting skills. Are you feeling like you are “in over your head?” Are you

exhausted from providing and anticipating your child’s safety, educational, communication, social and behavior needs?

As a mother of a child with Autism, there are many skills and lessons that my son’s developmental difficulties forced me to learn the hard way. Even though I am an Occupational Therapist by trade, I found myself feeling overwhelmed by






Educational:



Advocacy:









Page 11


and measurable ways.

I cannot begin to count the number of times that a student's progress is merely observed rather than measured in any way. Independent assessment, school standardized testing, state assessment measures and observational charts are all means of evaluating and measuring progress.

My advice to parents who think that their children are not making sufficient progress: Don't stop in your efforts to improve your child's progress.

Failure to make appropriate progress has devastating and cumulative

ramifications. This year's teacher will not be around to see the implications over time, but parents certainly will be.

Choosing the Right Toys for Special Needs Children

By Christina WallersteinFounder, Playworks.net

Choosing toys for children can be a daunting task. The choices seem endless, and advertising aimed at children often means parents are flooded by requests for the latest new toy. Then there are practical considerations: developmental appropriateness, play value, quality, durability and cost.

Most importantly, one needs to think carefully about the individual child's special needs, talents, and, perhaps most important of all, their preferences. I suspect we’ve all shared the following experience: We choose what we think is "the perfect toy" only to find that our child never quite takes a liking to it. It's a disappointment that cannot entirely beeliminated, despite our best efforts. It just underscores the challenges we face when we'reshopping for toys.

The best toys for any child are those chosen after observing the child at play. What do we learn from watching and playing with our children? Their preferences, what comes easily, and what challenges, and even frustrates them. With these insights, we can better evaluate toys and make more successful selections.

Remember the adage that one person's passion is another's poison? Well, the same is true about toys. I recall clearly how one toy that some parents and professionals at a conference on autism lauded as the "perfect" toy was lambasted by others. Each had a reason for their position, as will be clear as we explain why.

This toy, called a Rainbomaker©, allows the child to simulate the sound of rain without getting wet! The child can shake, turn, and twist the 16" tube, watching colorful beads cascade through levels making a gentle falling rain sound. The multi-colored beads create a prism of color as they tumble down the tube.


Green when green was just color!

Green Sealtm Certified

After developing the world’s first multi-vitamin/mineral product in 1915, Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee founded his company in 1956 with a commitment to develop products to improve the health of people and the health of the planet. He introduced one of the first (if not the first) biodegradable, nontoxic cleaner in 1960.When you use Get Clean™, you're never simply cleaning. While you make your home cleaner, you make your family healthier.

Over the decades, the company had developed such an Earth-friendly reputation, that scientists were coming to them for help. They participated in sevenof Time-Life’s 25 Greatest Adventures of All Time. These include Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society to provide environmentally friendly cleaning products for use onboard their research vessels, the Calypso and Alcyone. The also provided products for the first recorded expedition by god sled to the North Pole, led by National Geographic award-winning polar explorer, Will Steger. Here is a list of a few of their other accomplishments in the “Green” world:

In 1990, they had their main nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning product chosen as one of the first official Earth Day products.

In 1991, their cleaners (and other products) were selected for use in the Biosphere 2 Project in Arizona.

That same year, they introduced one of the world’s first phosphate-free automatic dishwashing detergents.

In 2000, they became the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral certification and totally offset its carbon emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment.

In 2000, they opened their world headquarters, one of the first green, energy-saving, award-winning buildingsdesigned using sustainable materials.

In 2002, his company received the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Protection Award.

In 2007, they were selected as a U.S. EPAClimate Leader, and is the EPA’s first consumer products company to offset 100% of its carbon emissions and use 100% green power.

In 2007, they became the first company in the world to offset its carbon emissions by providing sustainable energy to electrifyvillages in Africa in partnership with Millennium Promise.

In 2007, President Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative recognized Dr. Shaklee’s company for its carbon offset and creating renewable energy in Africa.

In 2007, they were honored with GlobalGreen USA’s Organizational Design Awardfor its outstanding environmental leadership role.

In 2007, they were selected by the nation’sleading child advocacy group, Healthy Child Healthy World, to be the exclusive partner for a new video, Creating Healthy Environments for Children.

In 2008, they were awarded the “Best Corporate Environmental Responsibility Program” by the American Business Awards.


As an Independent Distributor of Shaklee products, I provide non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners to those attempting to make their homes as “green” as possible. They are not only “green” but also safe and powerful. You should not have to sacrifice powerful convictions for powerful cleaners, and vice versa. In many instances, you have to choose between having cleaners that are as mean on the environment as they are on dirt, or you have nice, sweet, eco-friendly cleaners that don’t do diddly. Now you do not have to make a choice. These products are totally “green” and show dirt no mercy.

The products offer you cleaning choices that are SAFE, POWERFUL, GREEN and SMART. Because when it comes to keeping your house clean, your family healthy, and the earth safe, you shouldn’t have to choose. They also contain no phosphates, borates, nitrates, or other stuff the planet doesn’t appreciate. And by making them super concentrated, we leave you to add water so we can subtract waste. Less weight to ship. Less product to use. Less packaging to throw away.

The Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate is a double-concentrated super-safe, powerful cleaner. It is a no-rinse, no-residue, streak-free formula. By altering the mixing ration, it can be an all-purpose cleaner, a window cleaner, a degreaser, and a hundred other

uses. As an example, it only takes 2 drops of the concentrate and 16 ounces of water to make a completely competitive window cleaner, and ¼ teaspoon in 16 ounces of water to make an all-purpose cleaner.

Using the starter kit, instead of ready-to-use products, you're helping reduce over 100 pounds of packaging waste from landfills and eliminating 248 pounds of greenhouse gases.

This product meets the Green Sealtm

environmental standards for industrial and institutional cleaners based on its reduced human and aquatic toxicity and reduced smog potential.

For additional information, contact Mike Grubic, Independent Shaklee Distributor, at 717-653-2196 or by e-mail at [email protected]. On-line orders are also available at www.shaklee.net/mikegrubic.

SALT OF THE EARTH WEIGHTED GEARLocated in central Nebraska, we at Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear are proud to be providers of custom weighted blankets, weighted vests, and other products to meet the needs of the sensory challenged. We carry a wide selection of sizes, prints, and options. Great pride is taken in the quality of our products and all sales come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You won't be disappointed!We love small orders, large orders, special orders, purchase orders, odd orders, and even “Please hurry!” orders. Order directly from the web site, or by phone, mail, or fax. Authorized purchase orders, please include completed order form with fax. All major credit cards accepted. See all our products at www.SaltOfTheEarthWeightedGear.com. Avon and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Melissa Hoehn and Laurie Drietz for the hard work they do as contractors for Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear. They have often set aside their personal time to meet deadlines. Thanks also to Anna, Crystal, Diane, Glenda, John, Karesa, Nancy, Ruth and Sheila. And special thanks to Keith, who provides untold patience and muscle.

Phone: 402-723-5229 or 402-366-5883 Toll Free: 1-800-345-0579 Fax: 402-723-5226Email: [email protected] Web Site: www.SaltOfTheEarthWeightedGear.com


instead rely upon the ineffective traditional test measures in measuring learning issues.

When schools come to the conclusion that a child does not have a disability, they often justify their conclusion by espousing that they do not want to label the child. This presumes that labeling a child is a stigma or a negative factor in some way.

Schools never admit that they are being advised to limit the numbers of students being eligible, but I believe they are. What they fail to see too often is that if one is going to err, it is better to give services than not and miss valuable educational opportunities that cannot be regained.

Does the child's disability have an impact on his/her educational performance?

This is often a contentious area of disagreement between parents and schools. There is no federal definition of educational impact. Nationally, court cases continue to address the question of educational impact of a disability.

In my experience, schools will readily admit educational impact if a student's grades are failing or if the child's disability presents a challenge to them. However, in cases where a child's disability affects them in less conspicuous ways, as is often the case with homework difficulties, schools too often deny any educational impact. However, as long as schools demand homework, they cannot ignore the parents' reports about how the disability affects homework time.

Similarly, when the educational impact is emotionally-related, or even medically-related, schools tend to deny what they cannot see. Parents need to document the impact of the disability as well as they can to offer undeniable evidence.

Keep charts of the time spent on

homework or the number of headaches a child experiences. Document the help that the child requires in doing homework. It is harder to ignore data than narrative.

Does the child require special education services?

This question presents a difficult dilemma for the school system. The recent trend to educate all children in the general education classroom has too frequently resulted, in my opinion, in a watered-down system of offering specialized support for children.

Teachers and administrators too often seem to feel that if they admit that a child needs specialized instruction they are admitting their own failure. While it is certainly advantageous for some children to remain in the general education classroom for support, for others it denies them the opportunity for small group and specialized instruction that they need.

Historically, we have always known that children with special needs require specialized instruction, and the earlier the better. Recent research in learning disabilities, however, has articulated this even further.

Children with reading disabilities respond best to systematic, intensive, and specialized instruction. The window of opportunity for best results is to begin such programming before the child reaches his/her ninth birthday. After that, the prognosis for ameliorating the reading disability becomes less optimistic.

Are the special education services effective?

In 1997, when IDEA was reauthorized, an important change was implemented in which schools were required to evaluate special education students' progress as often as they did the progress of general education students. IDEA has long required that progress be evaluated in observable


my opinion, generally a wise one.

It is also important for parents to know that whoever does the evaluation is the one who will take the lead in determining the child's needs. The school personnel who do this are too often the same ones who will have to serve the child in their already-too-busy schedules. Having a private evaluator assess the child allows independent determination of the child's issues and needs without any bureaucratic constraints.

Of course, if the school system does the evaluation, and the parents question the results or the methods, they can seek an Independent Educational Evaluation at the school's expense. The down side of this is that it makes an already-protracted evaluation period even longer, requiring months before a child's needs can be appropriately understood and addressed.

Once evaluation is completed the determination can be made as to whether or not a child has a disability. Federal law does not specify the criteria for determining disabilities, that is left to the local school district. And, in my experience, the many local school districts in our area all have different criteria for determining eligibility for special education.

I have spent the past ten years helping parents in the eligibility process, and I can relate hundreds of horror stories about the process. For example, schools have found children not to be learning disabled based on the fact that they demonstrate no processing deficits, but the school has not effectively assessed the processing skills. This is tantamount to saying that a child does not have strep throat, despite all the symptoms, when one has not done a culture. Naturally, I believe that having an educational consultant assist you through the eligibility process for special education is a wise decision.

When the determination is made as to

whether a disability exists, it is appropriate to look at this through all appropriate definitions. For school children, two laws address special needs - The Individuals with Disability Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

While both federal acts allow provision of special education services, practicality has dictated otherwise. IDEA has federal money attached to it, giving schools some reimbursement for serving special needs children, while Section 504 does not. Any child who is eligible for services under IDEA automatically is eligible under Section 504, but not the reverse. Primarily in practice today, the difference is that those who require special education services are eligible under IDEA while those who require only classroom accommodations rather are eligible under Section 504.

A key point in eligibility is whether the disability has an impact on educational performance and how. For example, some students with asthma are able to control it well while others require special accommodations when it comes to exercise and stress. Only in the latter case would it be necessary to identify the child as disabled educationally.

An important note here is that identifying disabilities in young children presents special challenges that the schools are often unable to manage.

Traditional achievement testing is insensitive with young children for a very good reason. Since achievement is the product of what a child has been taught and how much he/she has learned from that, and since formal instruction is limited in young children, it is very difficult to identify underachievement. In testing young children, information processing testing in areas such as phonemic awareness and rapid naming, for examples, must be relied upon to identify learning disabilities. Schools frequently fail to test these areas and


Inspirational Stories of What Each of Us Can do to Make a Better World

By Melissa Hoehnwww.SaltoftheEarthWeightedGear.com

My friend Annie is the owner of Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear. Her blankets have been a tremendous help to the autism and special needs community, showing how one person, with the help of a loyal and dedicated staff, really can make a difference.

When Annie became aware of a real need in the ‘community-at-large’ for weighted blankets to help the autistic and sensory challenged, she turned to her sister Avon for help. Together, they set their minds and hands to developing quality weighted blankets inexpensively. Thus, in 2002, “Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear” started out, filled a desire to do good to families in need of weighted blankets for their autistic children.Annie built a web site and she and Avon worked hard and long to develop and perfect a system that would produce quality weighted blankets. They agonized over the need to set prices high enough to be viable, yet low enough to be fair to the customers.

Whenever she heard of anyone else’s need, Annie enjoyed developing a new weighted product to meet that need. Some of these were dropped over time, some were developed until they became mainstays.

Eventually several other products were added to the line. At one point Avon took on the challenge of developing a line of top quality weighted vests. At every level production, the products by Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear have been transformed over the years in the effort to improve efficiency and quality while, wherever possible, keeping rising costs from the customers who need them.

Meanwhile, as business grew large enough for these sisters to need help, I was approached to take on one stage of the weighted blanket production. Since that time, I have been impressed with Annie’s heart and how it shines through in every step of this endeavor. For instance, I am asked, though not required, to pray for the person and their family/caregivers that will be using each weighted blanket that I work on.

Although Annie has been an easy person to work with and is very fair with those of us who do work for her company, she is a stickler about little things in the production that will make life easier for people who are already dealing with the challenges of autism.

Through the years, rather than business coming between us in friendship, working together has strengthened and deepened our friendship. This says a lot about how she conducts herself! She is touched by families’ stories and speaks with many of the customers personally as she listens to their needs and takes orders.

Annie receives thank you notes from many customers who are pleased with the quality of the work and the huge print selection. Usually they are just thankful for a good nights’ rest! Occasionally she brightens our day by passing on a particularly interesting one.

I am not a part of the ownership of the company itself, but am proud that I am able to do part of the work that makes Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear the useful, affordable, attractive, and comforting weighted products that they are. As with each weighted blanket I work on, I pray the Lord will ease the way of all who deal with autism.


Can treating allergy symptoms help with autism?

New laser treatment may help answer this question

Dr. Darren Lastofsky

AllergiCare™ Relief Centers of South Florida has introduced a new, non-invasive laser treatment for the effective relief of allergy symptoms allowing allergy sufferers the opportunity to no longer experience these debilitating symptoms and once again enjoy an uninhibited quality of life.

What makes this new method of treatment even more remarkable is the success that has been seen in treating patients with autism. “What we have found,” says AllergiCare™ clinic director Darren Lastofsky, D.C. “is that when we have treated autism patients for many of the food substances, primarily wheat, milk, and gluten, it has been reported back to us by families that there has been a decrease in the symptoms associated with autism”.

The link between autism and allergies has been highly debated over recent years with many researchers confident that food allergies do play a major role. According to the National Autistic Society, “people with autism are often intolerant of gluten, a protein in four types of cereal, and casein, a protein found in animals’ milk.”

According to over 30 years of studies carried out by the Sage Laboratory in Florida, food allergies are always present in children with autism and each situation seems to be with a unique combination of foods. Finding the foods that are toxic to your child is well worth the effort because it will affect their behavior dramatically. If a food can affect a child’s mood, it is hard to say what else it could be doing to the overall health and well being of that same child.

Although food allergies and sensitivities are most likely not the cause of autism, Lastofsky believes that the reactions to these substances magnifies the symptoms. He explains that by removing these reactions, the symptoms become increasingly manageable, and remarkable improvement in behavior, communication and social interaction have been the result.

The unique biofeedback and laser system used in the clinics can assess inappropriate reactions to over 10,000 different food, airborne, outdoor and environmental substances. “What make this technique so special”, says Lastofsky is that in addition to its effects, the treatments are affordable, pain-free, there are no allergy shots or medication, and it is safe and effective for adults and children of all ages.”

AllergiCare Relief Centers has three area locations in Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Ft. Lauderdale and can be contacted at 1-866-788-3391 or www.AllergiCare.com.


parent. Now, as an educational consultant, I am able to see both viewpoints. And, what I have learned over the past ten years is that while both parents and schools want what is best for children, their constraints and their perspectives will always differ.

What is important to know is that when parents and schools disagree, the ways that they resolve their disagreements depend upon the issues. Federal laws and regulations provide a framework for addressing the needs of special education students. When a child is not suspected of or diagnosed with a disability, the local school district has the right to govern its own programs. Dealing with general education requires politics, dealing with special education requires knowledge of the laws.

The following are some of the ways in which parents and schools disagree when a child is suspected of a disability with suggestions as to how to address these.

Does the student have an educationally-related disability?





In my experience, it is a parent's natural inclination to believe that all is right with his/her child. For parents to get to the point of believing that their child could have some kind of problem, they have to have done some serious reflection and data gathering on their own. Once a parent comes to the point of concern that a disability exists, it is incumbent upon the school professionals to take those parents' concerns very seriously.

However, it is also the natural inclination for schools to seek some outside explanation for a child's problems. Often they indulge in believing that the nature of the problem is a simple matter within the parents' control.

The only way to determine if a disability exists with a child is through comprehensive evaluation. The first step in this process is for the parents and school professional to meet to discuss the child in a meeting of professionals called a Child Study Committee or the like, depending upon the school district.

Schools often offer first to try a variety of interventions before doing evaluation, which is tantamount to a trial-and-error method of addressing a child's problems. Why would we try to address a problem without understanding it first? The role of this committee is to ask only if, based on the information available through their normal procedures, there is justification for further evaluation of the child. The school cannot ask parents to gather more information for them first nor can the school make a determination of eligibility for special education at that time; that is the role of another committee.

If the school does agree to do the evaluation, it is important for parents to understand the limitations of any school system in their evaluation.

One of the reasons that I left the school system was to have the opportunity to assess children in the way that I knew was necessary. School employees have little control over the time and the materials at their disposal in order to do evaluations. No matter how good a school professional is at evaluation, it is unlikely that he/she can perform the job as well as someone who is equally qualified in private practice. Private assessments are expensive because of the time that they require, but parentsshould know that the investment is, in


health practices positively impact the likelihood of maintaining a good baseline health status over a great many years.

As this is the first installment of “An Ounce of Prevention,” I will focus solely on the first steps of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. For starters, eat sensibly, maintain a weekly exercise regimen, and get a good night’s sleep. Secondly, practice moderation.If you smoke cigarettes and have trouble quitting, at the very least reduce the number of cigarettes that you smoke. If you tend to “clean your plate” at every meal, diligently reduce the size of portions on your plate. If you tend to burn the midnight oil on a regular basis, implement time management techniques that will increase your number of sleep hours in every 24 hour period. Lastly, utilize common sense when it comes to your health. The human body has a way of letting us know when we need to make healthy lifestyle changes (e.g., smoker’s cough, pizza-induced acid indigestion, joint-stiffness experienced by coach potatoes).

May each of you enjoy longevity marked by an enduring quality of life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marion D. Thorpe, Jr. MD MPH

Chief Medical Officer (former)

State of Florida

Dr. Marion Thorpe is the former Chief Medical Officer for the State of Florida, a position in which he fought strongly for HMO reform and for the introduction of preventative health care as an integral part of all treatments systems. Dr. Thorpe is now a candidate for United States Senate and. has begun a statewide listening tour for ways to provide better and more effective health care while strengthening physician choice and diversity of options. For more information on his platform and initiatives, please visit www.marionthorpe.com or www.healamericawiththorpe.com.

When Parents & Schools Disagree

by Ruth Heitin, Ph.D., Educational Consultant

I often tell my clients that if my own parents were alive, they would never understand what I do for a living.

I am an independent educational consultant, and as a private professional I work for parents in seeking appropriate educational services for their children. Far more often than I prefer, I disagree with the schools - something my parents and their generation saw as heresy.

For the past ten years, I have worked

with hundreds of families of students with special needs. Every time I think I have seen the most egregious case of educational unenlightenment, another case comes along that is even more disturbing.

As a former teacher, I fully understand the challenges that teachers face. In my opinion, teaching is one of the toughest and most important jobs of all. I have also sat on the other side of the school conference table as a


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We opened www.awarenessdepot.com in 2003 specializing in cancer awareness and we added a section for autism in 2005. Here you can get autism magnets, autism bracelets, pins, autism puzzle fabric in cotton or fleece, autism Swarovski crystal jewelry, decals, flashcards, books and much more. The minimum order is $10 and you can get several items for that. Since we had so many phone calls for fundraising prices on Awareness Depot, we decided to open www.AutismThings.com so people could order directly online with deep discounts. On www.AutismThings.com we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $250 placed by June 15th, 2009. There is a $75 minimum on this website.

We have many new fundraising products this year and our prices are unbeatable. We have even added a FUNDRAISING tab with combo packages already made for your convenience. With our secure servers, ordering online is easy and safe. Most packages will arrive to you within a week of placing your order. If you need assistance or advice on your fundraising event, kindly reach me at 866-982-3524 or email me directly at [email protected]. I look forward in working with you and making your fundraiser a huge success!!! So, don‛t delay…act now. This free shipping offer will expire on June 15th.

Also, ordering early will guarantee that the items you request will be in stock. And lastly, I am proud to say that a percentage of all sales are donated to several nonprofit autism organizations to help find a cure for autism. I look forward in hearing from you.

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Innovative Teen Programs to Curb the Symptoms of Autism

By Yomin Postelnik

The general rule is that treatment for autism must be delivered in the early stages of a child’s life. To be sure, early detection is critical and can mean the difference between mainstreaming a child or not as he or she gets ready to enter school.

Yet while early detection is essential, one should not think that nothing can be done in the later years of a child’s development.In fact, many innovative programs are being developed that have been incredibly effective in allowing teens with autism to flourish. This article will examine a few of the latest and most successful ones.

One program that is excellent for teens who need to develop social skills as well as job training capabilities is the Botvin Lifeskills Training Program. Generally used to curb substance abuse among teens, the program is also highly effective at developing a teen’s sense of self worth and personal responsibility. This program can be extremely effective in motivating teens with autism to succeed in school and allows them to adjust and even thrive in a workplace environment.

However, the above program is not specific to youth with special needs and is only effective with those who possess the highest levels of functionality. Other programs that are of greater value to special needs youth as a whole include a variety of software programs that facilitate learning, hands on programs that develop social skills, physical abilities and team work, as well as motivational programs that propel special teens to realize their full potential.

Sports and fitness programs for youth with autism abound. Special needs schools and social service agencies in most cities throughout the nation can provide lists of innovative therapeutic programs designed for special needs students. That said, one recent program started in Montague, New Jersey, is truly noteworthy and should be replicated in as many areas as possible.

Montague is home to Fountain House, a farming community maintained by adults with special needs. With the assistance of a grant from the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, Fountain House and the Boy Scouts of America embarked on a cooperative project in which teens with autism built a wildlife habitat trail on the farm’s property. In addition to receiving their Eagle Scout badges, participating teens learned a valuable lesson; that they are valuable and effective members of society. This program would serve as an ideal model for other therapeutic social and fitness programs in all cities and states.

In the field of education, one highly effective program for math instruction is ABA Math, a free software program that was designed by a parent to help his own child learn arthmatic. Available at http://abamath.sourceforge.net/, the program is designed to allow the student to practice level appropriate math problems in a variety of different ways until the problems’ concepts are fully understood. It is based on the Applied Behavioral Analysis methods of UCLA’s Dr. O. Ivor Lovaas and is highly effective at increasing the mathematical abilities of teens who struggle greatly in this area. Another excellent resource for free educational software designed specifically for kids with


number ten is all inclusive, comprising all human attributes. When you reach out your hand and your five fingers combine in a handshake with another’s five fingers, the result is a combined whole holy Godly unit. This is the meaning of the Hebrew greeting, “Shalom.” You and me--together we make a united whole—Peace onto us and the world.

When you see someone in need--someone less fortunate than yourself in any realm— be ready to give a hand and elevate the world. And should that person be a widow, an orphan, or a child or adult with autism, cancer, or one of many human afflictions—give of yourself—bring kindness, love and joy into the world.

Dr. Tzvi Pearlstein practices orthopedic medicine/surgery in Coral Springs and serves as a consultant throughout Southeast Florida from Jacksonville to Miami, with a focus on preventive medicine and orthopedic surgery. Dr. Pearlstein is a graduate of PrincetonUniversity and New York University School of Medicine. The author of several published studies, Dr. Pearlstein also served as Chief Orthopedic Surgeon in the United States Air Force at Clark Air Base, Philippines, and at Andrews Air Force Base, Wash. D.C., as a professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, and left his practice of orthopedic surgery in Anaheim, California in 1990 to serve as a Major during the first Gulf War. His current Book/DVD/Web Project THE ONE MINUTE STRETCH will soon be available o line & in book stores. Dr. Pearlstein can be seen playing trumpet with various bands in various musical establishments in South Florida. You can reach him at his office, 954-344-0111 or 877-REHAB30.

An Ounce of Prevention…

Leading a Healthy Lifestyle

By Marion Thorpe, MD MPHFormer Chief Medical Officer for the State of Florida

One of the key components of successful Health Care reform hinges on the ability of the American public to fully embrace lifestyle decisions that aid Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. While many people understand the need to eat sensibly, maintain a weekly exercise regimen, and get a good night’s sleep, all too many people forego the routine steps needed to stay healthy over the long run. As life’s pace is ever quickening in the 21st century, it is imperative that we find the time to ensure that each and every one of us practices common sense preventive care techniques; thus, ensuring individual longevity accompanied with a sound baseline health status.

In the same manner that residents of Florida prepare for the onset of hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters, my fellow Floridians and Americans are well-served by preparatory actions that will prevent the onset of chronic and catastrophic diseases. For those of us who have survived Florida’s hurricanes, we are fully cognizant of the impending doom sensation triggered by the high category winds that besiege our state during “the season.” In essence, heart attacks, strokes, and various types of cancer are often accompanied by similar feelings of impending doom. Of note, one significant difference occurs when comparing hurricanes and health: Namely, there is nothing one can do to alter the course or intensity of a hurricane; however, one certainly has the ability to thwart a bad health outcome at its origins. It is quite simple, good preventive


A few ideas to consider:

When the child is an early teen, teach them to schedule their own doctor appointments.

Open a checking account as early as possible to help them understand money management by balancing checkbooks and living within their means.

Have them start cooking simple meals.

Help them to understand about food spoilage and the importance of cleaning out refrigerators.

By thinking ahead, we can insure better outcomes for our kids.

http://www.narda.org/[email protected]

Connecting With The Almighty

Words of Inspiration By Tzvi Pearlstein, MD, FAAOS, FACS, Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon

As a doctor, I have seen the suffering of many patients. I have also seen how trying circumstances have brought out the best in both patients themselves and in their families and loved ones.

Pain is not a new experience. I am the eldest son of a holocaust survivor. As a child I was patterned to provide my mother with joy and with joyful events after all the suffering she had witnessed as a young teenager. My awareness of this as an adult made me realize that I was not only fulfilling her need. I was also growing my own character. By helping her, I was truly also helping myself, and, as is the case when any two people share an act of kindness, was thereby elevating the entire world at the same time—acts of kindness tend to multiply and spread resulting in more kind acts.

By caring for another we can accomplish great things, not only for others, and not only for our own self improvement, but also in our connection to God. And the stronger our connection to the Almighty, the greater the benefits we receive in every aspect of our lives.

Building a foundation is always an effort and the same is true with our connection to God.Building a relationship with the Almighty is an effort and a process. It can start with, and is most easily achieved, by doing something for another human being. Each of us can and must share our own unique talents and attributes with those who have less--and doing so is not only man’s work. It is the work of the Divine. It is a partnership we share with God.

A child with any disability or challenge to overcome is indeed a special child, one who deserves great love and attention. We need to transform any pain that may arise from such a condition into constructive loving efforts. It’s about time for human beings, made in the image of God (meaning that we can and must emulate the will of God), to WAKE UP and truly emulate God.

Lend your hand. Do not be a taker. The model for what we need to do is the handshake.According to Torah (Bible) sages and authentic Kabbalah, ten fingers represents a whole. The


autism is www.frasermckaysoftware.co.uk/AutismSoftware/.

With regard to social interaction programs, an organization called The Friendship Circle is taking the lead in promoting big brother/big sister type programs in which mainstream teens befriend children and fellow teens with autism. The program calls for home visitations, under the supervision and guidance of the parents or caregivers of special needs participants.

The program encourages volunteerism, which is shown to increase a teen’s civic awareness, sense of responsibility, public speaking abilities and academic performance, while greatly curbing his/her chances of falling into the pitfalls of crime, truancy or substance abuse. The program is also unique in its ability to develop lasting friendships between special needs teens and their mainstream peers. While the goal of the majority of treatment/therapeutic programs for teens with autism must be mainstreaming (and many of the Friendship Circle’s activities assist in this area as well; not the least of which are its sports and creative programs), mentoring and friendship building is essential for teens with more severe cases of autism.

These are a few of the most innovative programs that are currently available for teens with autism. And while early detection is key and much emphasis needs to be placed on treatment during the early years, the need for teen programs cannot be overstated. It is my two-pronged goal in featuring the best of these programs, that a) parents of special needs teenagers be made aware of their existence and b) these and other such programs be replicated wherever possible.

Yomin Postelnik may be contacted at (954) 353-1898 or [email protected].

Securing an Appropriate Education

By Mark S. Kamleiter

Attorney and Advocate for Children with Special Needs

Education is one of the most challenging trials for families of children with autism.For many years, society and educators considered children with autism to be mentally deficient and treated them accordingly. Today, we are learning that autism often hides very intact, even superior intellects. The problem is that a number of neurological issues interfere with the child’s ability to express his/her true intellect.

Depending upon the way the autism affects the child, the child may have difficulty understanding and expressing language.Sensory needs may cause distracting stereotypic behaviors, movement, and vocalizations. The child can have severe difficulty focusing on tasks, have a low threshold for frustration, and high levels of anxiety. Interactions with others may be difficult, because the child may not desire to or understand how to relate to others.

While the combination of the above issues may make the education of a child with autism seem daunting, we have learned that these children can be successfully taught. Every day, we are improving effective educational techniques for children with autism. We know how to help our children learn appropriate behavior and how to communicate their knowledge with us. We can teach our children to interact with us and each other and help them develop social skills.


Success in educating children with autism, however, depends upon several essential elements. First, only the most advanced, research-based, peer reviewed educational methods must be used. It is vital that we bring “best practices” to the education of children with autism and no longer accept twenty-year old practices instead.

Second, children with autism require extremely focused and intensive services, especially in the early years as pre-school skills are being developed. Third, we need to insist upon high expectations for our children. No one knows just how far our children can go educationally, so we need to bet on them. Finally, it is important that children with autism be educated with their typically-developing peers. The only way children with language, behavioral, and social disabilities will be able to reach beyond their disabilities is to be integrated with children who have well developed

language, behavioral, and social skills. If this requires additional classroom support, then so be.

It is hard for schools to provide the level of services our children require. It is easier to put children with autism together in a classroom, with caretakers who do their best to gradually teach life skills. Insisting that children with autism receive essential, high-quality services will require a serious struggle against an archaic educational system.

This may be the most important challenge you will undertake to give your child a shot at breaking free of the restraints of autism. As you struggle, know that thousands of other parents are fighting the same fight.Our children are worth it.

Effective Methods Of Improving Behavior In Kids With Autism Spectrum Conditions

Reacting To Agitation, Escalation And Outburst

By Rebecca Klaw, MS, M. Ed.Owner, Autism Services by Klaw

A word about consequences

Treating “out of control”, irrational, incoherent, destructive and sometimes abusive behavior with consequences is not routinely effective in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Children who are developmentally compromised in the areas of flexibility and frustration management usually:

Lack the capacity to manage emotions associated with frustration well enough to think clearly in the midst of crisis; and

Lack the ability to shift their thoughts from their agenda to your agenda even when faced with consequences.

Even when the punishment is very meaningful to the child, remembering the consequence in the middle of a meltdown in order to miraculously regain control, remains exceptionally difficult.

Proactive strategies for maintaining a calm, productive learning environment


also uses picture communication symbols or images (standard or custom) to communicate. But it has several very important advantages – access, portability, sound and durability.

With the Go Talk line of communication devices, there are a number of symbols available for display at any one time, but there are also additional layers of symbols also available at the touch of a button. The Go Talk 20, for instance, has 5 standard buttons that can be programmed, as well as 20 variable buttons that are available on 5 different levels. That means that at any point in time, he can have 105 communication symbols available to him wherever he goes. And, each button allows you to record a voice message for each level.

With the Go Talk, for the first time he was able to participate in a classroom.He could raise his hand and answer the teacher’s questions just like everybody else, just by pressing on the right button to speak for him.

It also allowed him to take part in drama class since he learned to listen for his cue and ‘speak’ his lines when ready.He loved it. And of course, he can use the Go Talk to tell us about his day, or tell his classmates what he did on the weekend.

I realized that this type of small low-tech and affordable device wasn’t readily available, and often people didn’t even know it existed. So, in addition to talking about it in my existing website, I created an online store to make it easy to find and purchase all sorts of useful equipment.

Using the right communication device can help autistic kids get their words out.

For more information or to purchase a Go Talk or other communication device, picture communication cards and stickers, and other products for autism, visit my online store at:

http://www.special-need-products.com/autism-store.

Transition Planning For The Child With High Functioning Autism

By Louis H. Geigerman, PresidentNational ARD/IEP Advocates

In my special education advocacy practice I represent families with children from ages 3 to 21. In addition, I know a number of adults in the spectrum all the way to their early 60’s. Statistics have shown that only about 3% of individuals in the spectrum are able to live independently and are self supporting. If you have a child in elementary school, the focus on skill acquisition is totally different than the child in high school. But both scenarios should have the same goal in common which is preparing students for further education, employment and independent living. For instance, should we spend an inordinate amount of time coloring the interior of a circle when a student’s communication or social needs are significantly deficient? The key to getting your child in the 3% that are independent is to understand what skills that they will need to master when living alone.


He’s also a big fan of videos. So we created custom cards with images of the covers of his favourite shows and

created another communication board placed at his height next to the TV in the

living room. This was actually a huge benefit to us, as until then he’d just cry and scream, pointing to the TV and we had no clue what he wanted. After the PCS cards were set up, the tantrums stopped.

In the hallway near the kitchen, we created a board with picture symbols of different facial expressions, with the printed word of different feelings. This was a very useful experiment, as it gave him a way of expressing his feelings when it would be next to impossible to guess what his thoughts were. For instance, he’d bring us a “scared” card to let us know that he was afraid of the dark in his room. How else would we ever have guessed that? And how important is it to a child to have a parent appease their fears?

Another time he grabbed the “quiet” card and brought it to me, making sure that I knew that was what he wanted.Puzzled, I then watched as he took the card and poked his noisy little brother with it!

He was smiling all the while, mind you, but it was great to see that he had figured out a way of telling us both that he wanted his brother’s behaviour to change.

On the occasion that we had a caregiver in charge that wasn’t as familiar with our son’s routine, he was also able to use the communication cards to help the caregiver understand what he needed.

In the daycare and schools, they used a similar setup with picture communication symbols. They found it most useful to help create a map of the daily activities, and help train kids in the steps of individual routines, such as getting dressed, washing hands, bathroom routines and so on.

Setting up this type of communication system can take a fair bit of time though, and I realized that not everyone has that luxury. So, I started a small business offering to create custom communication cards and boards for them. As autistic kids often respond much better to photos of actual items they know, this can be a real benefit in promoting communication, with minimal effort for families and caregivers.

That project in turn led to the creation of a website offering other tips and tools for families with special needs, The-Special-Life.com.

Later on I found Prompt communication cards and stickers that are pre-printed and ready to use. This of course is a huge time saver, especially for the daycare and school environment. There are even sets available to help communicate and learn life skills and routines such as shopping or going out to the restaurant.

The next step up in alternative communication is to provide an actual voice that will do the speaking on their behalf. For this, we’ve found the Go Talk to be the best solution. This augmentative communication device


Strategies for maintaining a learning environment are individualized but often include the following:

Access to communication Access to choice Predictability Access to meaningful reinforcers that increase quality of life Environmental adaptations Analysis of common challenging behaviors and the motivation behind these

behaviors Utilization of strengths and special interests as a mechanism for teaching

Yet even with these strategies in place, there are times that new learning and growing expectations create frustration and our meltdown cycle begins.

Warning signs of agitation and escalation

While each child is different and has his or her own set of warning signs that indicate mounting stress and frustration, often an episode of agitation starts with refusal. Refusal can be shown in lots of ways: By saying “No!” effectively; falling to the floor; not moving; hitting, kicking, pinching, biting; or hiding under the table. Children with autism may refuse for many reasons and most of these reasons are linked to the universal difficulty with shifting attention.

Intervening

It is important to intervene quickly once agitation is observed. You need to try and find the moment when the child is upset but can still reason and respond. One thing that should be done immediately is to reconsider the demands that you are making on the child. Is the demand a non-negotiable request? Worth pursuing on a good day but not on a bad day? How important is it? One way to prioritize demands is:

A level demands = Non-negotiableB level demands = Important, but not totally essential, can be put on

hold if the child is stressed about other thingsC level demands= Non-essential, not important

A-level requests – those that involve health and safety and are non-negotiable - are often the trigger for full escalations and there is no easy way to avoid this. For a child that is inflexible, rigid, and routine-bound (as many of our children with autism are), being told that he/she must or mustn’t do something is often intolerable.

B-level requests – important but not essential - can be withdrawn or changed if you realize that there are too many other variables contributing to your child’s distress. Ifhe/she is sick or tired, if there have been changes in routine, if there is sensory overload, do not choose this moment in time to teach a new skill. Save it for another time when the child is more available for learning.

If you find yourself withdrawing your B-level demand once you note the rising agitation, you can do the following: partner with the child (“Why don’t we both clean up today”), label the emotion and empathize, give the child time and space to absorb your request,


use humor to de-escalate the situation and/or teach the child some negotiating skills around the demand that is causing agitation.

C-level requests can simply be withdrawn. Pick your battles thoughtfully. Remember that meltdowns are not good for anyone – not for you, not for others around you, and certainly not for the distressed child.

Meltdown

What do you do?

Wait it out safely. Stop talking unless your words have a soothing effect. Have one person manage the meltdown with others nearby to help you (not to help

the child). Know the child well. If you are uncertain or overwhelmed or if you have lost your

objectivity, hand the job over to someone else. Isolate the child. If he/she doesn’t want to come with you into a safe spot, then move

other children and/or other staff away. Use protective strategies so that no one gets injured. Once the child has begun to calm down, you might offer sensory activities such as

rocking or deep pressure if, and only if, you know that this is helpful in re-organizing the child.

Once the child has begun to calm down, you might offer the child a drink or something to eat if, and only if, you know that eating and drinking is helpful in calming and refocusing this child.

Offer the child with calming strategies that he/she has practiced during non-crisis times such as counting backwards, deep breathing or singing a repetitive song.

Recovery

When the child is out of crisis, and the request has been met (medicine has been swallowed, seatbelt has been fastened, etc.), let the child know that even though it was hard, they did a good job complying and you are proud of them.

If the outburst was triggered by an A level or even a B level request, it is likely that that request, in the future, will once again cause the child to escalate and potentially meltdown even if the child has shown remorse and has “talked it through” with you during recovery. The child’s team, then, needs to come up with ways of understanding why this particular request is so difficult for the child and what to do to make it easier on the front-end, proactively. You might try:

Gathering more information from the child and the team about why this request was so problematic;

Writing a social story that gives the child information and coping strategies; Setting up regular and highly desired rewards for compliance; Reading the social stories, rehearsal and role play; Finding effective calming methods that can be practiced and made readily

available to the child even when agitated.

Conclusion


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Deena Kastor, the current U.S. women’s marathon record holder, is a great proponent of grass-fed meats. Ms. Kastor has been encouraging aspiring athletes to understand the grass-fed difference as she trains for Gold in 2008.

The U.S. Wellness Meats product line is touching a few premier athletes, but more importantly we are slowly proving to families across the country there is a smart choice in proteins that can be savored by your persona for a host of healthy advantages including your longevity.

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Stimulating Communication in Children with Autism

By Anna LucaFounder of The-Special-Life.com

Looking for ideas on helping an autistic child communicate? This article may help. I’m the parent of a child with Aspergers Syndrome and he experienced speech development delay. My other child has cerebral palsy, and is unable to speak. Similar to what is being reported by some of the kids with autism, he has lots to say, but can’t get the words out –at least not well enough that everyone can understand him.

There’s a good chance that if you’re dealing with an autistic child that has trouble communicating, you’ll be able to benefit from some of the alternative communication methods we’ve used.

Here are some ideas for you to think about.

Picture communication is a great technique. You can use symbols, images or personal photos on cards or even stickers as a way of communicating.This is how we started at home. We created custom images and photos of his favourite foods and drinks on laminated cards and attached them with Velcro to a large Bristol board on the side of the fridge, placed at his height for convenience. When he was hungry or thirsty, he’d go and examine the board, take the card of what he wanted, and bring it to us.


The Grass-Fed Meats Advantage

BY: John Wood – www.uswellnessmeats.com

The majority of Americans don’t understand the grass-fed advantage for their health. Our forefathers consumed grass-fed meat in this country for decades until the land grand universities saw an opportunity to dispose of excess nitrogen stockpiles following WWII as plant food for corn production. This created a glut of corn and initiated the modern era of commercial cattle feeding with high energy starches. As a nation, we now consume just a fraction of grass-fed compared to grain fed which is a 180 degree turn from 1950.

Rolling the clock back 60 years cancer, diabetes and heart disease were much smaller risks than at the dawn of the 21st century. Needless to say, beef is not the only major shift in the American diet but one has to recognize that shifting omega 6:3 ratios from 3:1 to 20:1 and dropping CLA content to insignificant levels has impacted the American meat consumer’s diet.

The next time you drive in rural America, please note beef cattle, lambs and goats contently grazing swards of grass. During this daily ritual which takes place primarily in the first hours after dawn and aggressively before sunset, the species mentioned are performing the tasks their maker intended. The forage diet will yield a pH of 7 in the first chamber or fermentation vat of the 4 stomach ruminant animal that is driven by the bacteria in the first chamber responsible for fermentation. The output of the billion plus family of pH 7 forage bacteria drives the next 3 chambers ending in the small intestine. The pH 7 family bacteria are responsible for increased CLA, omega 3, vitamins A&E, branch chain amino acids and enzymes in the finished retail cuts for consumers.

What happens when man replaces forage with starch heavy grains? In 30 days, the first chamber bacteria flora switches from pH 7 friendly bacteria to billions of pH 4 bacteria. During this 30 day time frame omega 3, CLA, Vitamins A&E, branch chain amino acids and good enzyme levels plummet. Not only is this a sad day for the end consumer but a hardship for the animals as well. It is customary to feed low grade levels of antibiotics to keep liver abscesses at bay in beef cattle on high starch diets yielding acidic stomachs.

200 days of excellent forage management can be ruined in 30 days of grain feeding.Consequently, www.uswellnessmeats.com forbids starch in the diet.

U.S. Wellness Meats has 6 years worth of grass-fed beef consumption experience in high performance athletes specializing in strong man, power lifting, figure fitness, women’s marathon running and personal trainers working with a mix of professional athletes. These athletes will attest in increased lean muscle mass, reduce joint pains, improved digestion and excellent blood chemistry.

Jon Andersen is in the top tier of world class strong man competitors and consumes 100 pounds of beef per month. He reports that would be impossible with commodity beef as constipation would prohibit his levels of consumption. He indicates the number one training improvement in the last 6 years has been switching to the grass-fed protein source. He has added approximately 27 pounds of lean muscle with excellent blood chemistry to the surprise of his medical team.


Understanding basic characteristics that cause distress in a child with autism will prevent adults from choosing inappropriate techniques to manage the crisis. Understand what fuels the child’s frustration and select techniques that seem to fit:

What you always do….

Responding to basic needs: Proactive strategies for helping to manage stress for the child and optimize functioning and learning are an important part of every child’s treatment, whether it be in the home, the school, the community or in groups. These include enhancing the opportunity for both receptive and expressive communication; adapting the environment; providing predictability; and fulfilling sensory needs.

But if they don’t work on a given day or in a particular circumstance…

Responding to agitation and escalation: The strategies for defusing potential meltdowns include: becoming the child’s partner as opposed to adversary; giving the child space and time to process the problem; empathizing and labeling the feelings; and, if possible, helping the child frame and solve the problem in a way that is satisfying to both you and the child.

But if these interventions don’t work…

Responding to crisis: The strategies for managing a meltdown in a therapeutic manner include isolating the child for his/her safety and the safety of others, using protective strategies in the event of dangerous and/or aggressive behavior, and waiting for the storm to blow over. As the child begins to calm, you may find that certain sensory activities increase the child’s ability to grow calm and focused again.

After it is over…

The learning phase: Although many children with autism have limited insight into their own behaviors, it is important to eventually discuss what happened with the child and to devise, as a team, ways to rehearse similar situations during non-stressed moments. Social stories, rehearsal and possibly desensitization with regular reinforcement are all appropriate post-meltdown techniques.

For a complete training DVD on overcoming difficult behaviors in children with autism related conditions please call (412) 247-0599, email [email protected] or visit www.rebeccaklaw.com.

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use humor to de-escalate the situation and/or teach the child some negotiating skills around the demand that is causing agitation.

C-level requests can simply be withdrawn. Pick your battles thoughtfully. Remember that meltdowns are not good for anyone – not for you, not for others around you, and certainly not for the distressed child.

Meltdown

What do you do?

Wait it out safely. Stop talking unless your words have a soothing effect. Have one person manage the meltdown with others nearby to help you (not to help

the child). Know the child well. If you are uncertain or overwhelmed or if you have lost your

objectivity, hand the job over to someone else. Isolate the child. If he/she doesn’t want to come with you into a safe spot, then move

other children and/or other staff away. Use protective strategies so that no one gets injured. Once the child has begun to calm down, you might offer sensory activities such as

rocking or deep pressure if, and only if, you know that this is helpful in re-organizing the child.

Once the child has begun to calm down, you might offer the child a drink or something to eat if, and only if, you know that eating and drinking is helpful in calming and refocusing this child.

Offer the child with calming strategies that he/she has practiced during non-crisis times such as counting backwards, deep breathing or singing a repetitive song.

Recovery

When the child is out of crisis, and the request has been met (medicine has been swallowed, seatbelt has been fastened, etc.), let the child know that even though it was hard, they did a good job complying and you are proud of them.

If the outburst was triggered by an A level or even a B level request, it is likely that that request, in the future, will once again cause the child to escalate and potentially meltdown even if the child has shown remorse and has “talked it through” with you during recovery. The child’s team, then, needs to come up with ways of understanding why this particular request is so difficult for the child and what to do to make it easier on the front-end, proactively. You might try:

Gathering more information from the child and the team about why this request was so problematic;

Writing a social story that gives the child information and coping strategies; Setting up regular and highly desired rewards for compliance; Reading the social stories, rehearsal and role play; Finding effective calming methods that can be practiced and made readily

available to the child even when agitated.

Conclusion


Jon Diflorio, owner of Institute 3E, is a world class fitness trainer on Long Island who has been one of our best supporters since inception. Mr. Diflorio encouraged U.S. Wellness to produce beef pemmican from a native American recipe. After 18 months of effort, Mr. Diflorio is convinced we have the premier energy bar on the planet. 18 grams of protein and 340 calories packed into 3.2 ounces direct from the Cherokee nation recipe. Mr. Diflorio trains many professional athletes on the east cost.

Deena Kastor, the current U.S. women’s marathon record holder, is a great proponent of grass-fed meats. Ms. Kastor has been encouraging aspiring athletes to understand the grass-fed difference as she trains for Gold in 2008.

The U.S. Wellness Meats product line is touching a few premier athletes, but more importantly we are slowly proving to families across the country there is a smart choice in proteins that can be savored by your persona for a host of healthy advantages including your longevity.

We thank you for reading this brief article and encourage you to spread the good news of grass-fed meats. We’d like for you to enjoy 15% off your first order, use promo code: autism. Call for details.

At U.S. Wellness Meats… “Our animals eat right so you can too!”

Stimulating Communication in Children with Autism

By Anna LucaFounder of The-Special-Life.com

Looking for ideas on helping an autistic child communicate? This article may help. I’m the parent of a child with Aspergers Syndrome and he experienced speech development delay. My other child has cerebral palsy, and is unable to speak. Similar to what is being reported by some of the kids with autism, he has lots to say, but can’t get the words out –at least not well enough that everyone can understand him.

There’s a good chance that if you’re dealing with an autistic child that has trouble communicating, you’ll be able to benefit from some of the alternative communication methods we’ve used.

Here are some ideas for you to think about.

Picture communication is a great technique. You can use symbols, images or personal photos on cards or even stickers as a way of communicating.This is how we started at home. We created custom images and photos of his favourite foods and drinks on laminated cards and attached them with Velcro to a large Bristol board on the side of the fridge, placed at his height for convenience. When he was hungry or thirsty, he’d go and examine the board, take the card of what he wanted, and bring it to us.


He’s also a big fan of videos. So we created custom cards with images of the covers of his favourite shows and

created another communication board placed at his height next to the TV in the

living room. This was actually a huge benefit to us, as until then he’d just cry and scream, pointing to the TV and we had no clue what he wanted. After the PCS cards were set up, the tantrums stopped.

In the hallway near the kitchen, we created a board with picture symbols of different facial expressions, with the printed word of different feelings. This was a very useful experiment, as it gave him a way of expressing his feelings when it would be next to impossible to guess what his thoughts were. For instance, he’d bring us a “scared” card to let us know that he was afraid of the dark in his room. How else would we ever have guessed that? And how important is it to a child to have a parent appease their fears?

Another time he grabbed the “quiet” card and brought it to me, making sure that I knew that was what he wanted.Puzzled, I then watched as he took the card and poked his noisy little brother with it!

He was smiling all the while, mind you, but it was great to see that he had figured out a way of telling us both that he wanted his brother’s behaviour to change.

On the occasion that we had a caregiver in charge that wasn’t as familiar with our son’s routine, he was also able to use the communication cards to help the caregiver understand what he needed.

In the daycare and schools, they used a similar setup with picture communication symbols. They found it most useful to help create a map of the daily activities, and help train kids in the steps of individual routines, such as getting dressed, washing hands, bathroom routines and so on.

Setting up this type of communication system can take a fair bit of time though, and I realized that not everyone has that luxury. So, I started a small business offering to create custom communication cards and boards for them. As autistic kids often respond much better to photos of actual items they know, this can be a real benefit in promoting communication, with minimal effort for families and caregivers.

That project in turn led to the creation of a website offering other tips and tools for families with special needs, The-Special-Life.com.

Later on I found Prompt communication cards and stickers that are pre-printed and ready to use. This of course is a huge time saver, especially for the daycare and school environment. There are even sets available to help communicate and learn life skills and routines such as shopping or going out to the restaurant.

The next step up in alternative communication is to provide an actual voice that will do the speaking on their behalf. For this, we’ve found the Go Talk to be the best solution. This augmentative communication device


Strategies for maintaining a learning environment are individualized but often include the following:

Access to communication Access to choice Predictability Access to meaningful reinforcers that increase quality of life Environmental adaptations Analysis of common challenging behaviors and the motivation behind these

behaviors Utilization of strengths and special interests as a mechanism for teaching

Yet even with these strategies in place, there are times that new learning and growing expectations create frustration and our meltdown cycle begins.

Warning signs of agitation and escalation

While each child is different and has his or her own set of warning signs that indicate mounting stress and frustration, often an episode of agitation starts with refusal. Refusal can be shown in lots of ways: By saying “No!” effectively; falling to the floor; not moving; hitting, kicking, pinching, biting; or hiding under the table. Children with autism may refuse for many reasons and most of these reasons are linked to the universal difficulty with shifting attention.

Intervening

It is important to intervene quickly once agitation is observed. You need to try and find the moment when the child is upset but can still reason and respond. One thing that should be done immediately is to reconsider the demands that you are making on the child. Is the demand a non-negotiable request? Worth pursuing on a good day but not on a bad day? How important is it? One way to prioritize demands is:

A level demands = Non-negotiableB level demands = Important, but not totally essential, can be put on

hold if the child is stressed about other thingsC level demands= Non-essential, not important

A-level requests – those that involve health and safety and are non-negotiable - are often the trigger for full escalations and there is no easy way to avoid this. For a child that is inflexible, rigid, and routine-bound (as many of our children with autism are), being told that he/she must or mustn’t do something is often intolerable.

B-level requests – important but not essential - can be withdrawn or changed if you realize that there are too many other variables contributing to your child’s distress. Ifhe/she is sick or tired, if there have been changes in routine, if there is sensory overload, do not choose this moment in time to teach a new skill. Save it for another time when the child is more available for learning.

If you find yourself withdrawing your B-level demand once you note the rising agitation, you can do the following: partner with the child (“Why don’t we both clean up today”), label the emotion and empathize, give the child time and space to absorb your request,


Success in educating children with autism, however, depends upon several essential elements. First, only the most advanced, research-based, peer reviewed educational methods must be used. It is vital that we bring “best practices” to the education of children with autism and no longer accept twenty-year old practices instead.

Second, children with autism require extremely focused and intensive services, especially in the early years as pre-school skills are being developed. Third, we need to insist upon high expectations for our children. No one knows just how far our children can go educationally, so we need to bet on them. Finally, it is important that children with autism be educated with their typically-developing peers. The only way children with language, behavioral, and social disabilities will be able to reach beyond their disabilities is to be integrated with children who have well developed

language, behavioral, and social skills. If this requires additional classroom support, then so be.

It is hard for schools to provide the level of services our children require. It is easier to put children with autism together in a classroom, with caretakers who do their best to gradually teach life skills. Insisting that children with autism receive essential, high-quality services will require a serious struggle against an archaic educational system.

This may be the most important challenge you will undertake to give your child a shot at breaking free of the restraints of autism. As you struggle, know that thousands of other parents are fighting the same fight.Our children are worth it.

Effective Methods Of Improving Behavior In Kids With Autism Spectrum Conditions

Reacting To Agitation, Escalation And Outburst

By Rebecca Klaw, MS, M. Ed.Owner, Autism Services by Klaw

A word about consequences

Treating “out of control”, irrational, incoherent, destructive and sometimes abusive behavior with consequences is not routinely effective in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Children who are developmentally compromised in the areas of flexibility and frustration management usually:

Lack the capacity to manage emotions associated with frustration well enough to think clearly in the midst of crisis; and

Lack the ability to shift their thoughts from their agenda to your agenda even when faced with consequences.

Even when the punishment is very meaningful to the child, remembering the consequence in the middle of a meltdown in order to miraculously regain control, remains exceptionally difficult.

Proactive strategies for maintaining a calm, productive learning environment


also uses picture communication symbols or images (standard or custom) to communicate. But it has several very important advantages – access, portability, sound and durability.

With the Go Talk line of communication devices, there are a number of symbols available for display at any one time, but there are also additional layers of symbols also available at the touch of a button. The Go Talk 20, for instance, has 5 standard buttons that can be programmed, as well as 20 variable buttons that are available on 5 different levels. That means that at any point in time, he can have 105 communication symbols available to him wherever he goes. And, each button allows you to record a voice message for each level.

With the Go Talk, for the first time he was able to participate in a classroom.He could raise his hand and answer the teacher’s questions just like everybody else, just by pressing on the right button to speak for him.

It also allowed him to take part in drama class since he learned to listen for his cue and ‘speak’ his lines when ready.He loved it. And of course, he can use the Go Talk to tell us about his day, or tell his classmates what he did on the weekend.

I realized that this type of small low-tech and affordable device wasn’t readily available, and often people didn’t even know it existed. So, in addition to talking about it in my existing website, I created an online store to make it easy to find and purchase all sorts of useful equipment.

Using the right communication device can help autistic kids get their words out.

For more information or to purchase a Go Talk or other communication device, picture communication cards and stickers, and other products for autism, visit my online store at:

http://www.special-need-products.com/autism-store.

Transition Planning For The Child With High Functioning Autism

By Louis H. Geigerman, PresidentNational ARD/IEP Advocates

In my special education advocacy practice I represent families with children from ages 3 to 21. In addition, I know a number of adults in the spectrum all the way to their early 60’s. Statistics have shown that only about 3% of individuals in the spectrum are able to live independently and are self supporting. If you have a child in elementary school, the focus on skill acquisition is totally different than the child in high school. But both scenarios should have the same goal in common which is preparing students for further education, employment and independent living. For instance, should we spend an inordinate amount of time coloring the interior of a circle when a student’s communication or social needs are significantly deficient? The key to getting your child in the 3% that are independent is to understand what skills that they will need to master when living alone.


A few ideas to consider:

When the child is an early teen, teach them to schedule their own doctor appointments.

Open a checking account as early as possible to help them understand money management by balancing checkbooks and living within their means.

Have them start cooking simple meals.

Help them to understand about food spoilage and the importance of cleaning out refrigerators.

By thinking ahead, we can insure better outcomes for our kids.

http://www.narda.org/[email protected]

Connecting With The Almighty

Words of Inspiration By Tzvi Pearlstein, MD, FAAOS, FACS, Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon

As a doctor, I have seen the suffering of many patients. I have also seen how trying circumstances have brought out the best in both patients themselves and in their families and loved ones.

Pain is not a new experience. I am the eldest son of a holocaust survivor. As a child I was patterned to provide my mother with joy and with joyful events after all the suffering she had witnessed as a young teenager. My awareness of this as an adult made me realize that I was not only fulfilling her need. I was also growing my own character. By helping her, I was truly also helping myself, and, as is the case when any two people share an act of kindness, was thereby elevating the entire world at the same time—acts of kindness tend to multiply and spread resulting in more kind acts.

By caring for another we can accomplish great things, not only for others, and not only for our own self improvement, but also in our connection to God. And the stronger our connection to the Almighty, the greater the benefits we receive in every aspect of our lives.

Building a foundation is always an effort and the same is true with our connection to God.Building a relationship with the Almighty is an effort and a process. It can start with, and is most easily achieved, by doing something for another human being. Each of us can and must share our own unique talents and attributes with those who have less--and doing so is not only man’s work. It is the work of the Divine. It is a partnership we share with God.

A child with any disability or challenge to overcome is indeed a special child, one who deserves great love and attention. We need to transform any pain that may arise from such a condition into constructive loving efforts. It’s about time for human beings, made in the image of God (meaning that we can and must emulate the will of God), to WAKE UP and truly emulate God.

Lend your hand. Do not be a taker. The model for what we need to do is the handshake.According to Torah (Bible) sages and authentic Kabbalah, ten fingers represents a whole. The


autism is www.frasermckaysoftware.co.uk/AutismSoftware/.

With regard to social interaction programs, an organization called The Friendship Circle is taking the lead in promoting big brother/big sister type programs in which mainstream teens befriend children and fellow teens with autism. The program calls for home visitations, under the supervision and guidance of the parents or caregivers of special needs participants.

The program encourages volunteerism, which is shown to increase a teen’s civic awareness, sense of responsibility, public speaking abilities and academic performance, while greatly curbing his/her chances of falling into the pitfalls of crime, truancy or substance abuse. The program is also unique in its ability to develop lasting friendships between special needs teens and their mainstream peers. While the goal of the majority of treatment/therapeutic programs for teens with autism must be mainstreaming (and many of the Friendship Circle’s activities assist in this area as well; not the least of which are its sports and creative programs), mentoring and friendship building is essential for teens with more severe cases of autism.

These are a few of the most innovative programs that are currently available for teens with autism. And while early detection is key and much emphasis needs to be placed on treatment during the early years, the need for teen programs cannot be overstated. It is my two-pronged goal in featuring the best of these programs, that a) parents of special needs teenagers be made aware of their existence and b) these and other such programs be replicated wherever possible.

Yomin Postelnik may be contacted at (954) 353-1898 or [email protected].

Securing an Appropriate Education

By Mark S. Kamleiter

Attorney and Advocate for Children with Special Needs

Education is one of the most challenging trials for families of children with autism.For many years, society and educators considered children with autism to be mentally deficient and treated them accordingly. Today, we are learning that autism often hides very intact, even superior intellects. The problem is that a number of neurological issues interfere with the child’s ability to express his/her true intellect.

Depending upon the way the autism affects the child, the child may have difficulty understanding and expressing language.Sensory needs may cause distracting stereotypic behaviors, movement, and vocalizations. The child can have severe difficulty focusing on tasks, have a low threshold for frustration, and high levels of anxiety. Interactions with others may be difficult, because the child may not desire to or understand how to relate to others.

While the combination of the above issues may make the education of a child with autism seem daunting, we have learned that these children can be successfully taught. Every day, we are improving effective educational techniques for children with autism. We know how to help our children learn appropriate behavior and how to communicate their knowledge with us. We can teach our children to interact with us and each other and help them develop social skills.


Innovative Teen Programs to Curb the Symptoms of Autism

By Yomin Postelnik

The general rule is that treatment for autism must be delivered in the early stages of a child’s life. To be sure, early detection is critical and can mean the difference between mainstreaming a child or not as he or she gets ready to enter school.

Yet while early detection is essential, one should not think that nothing can be done in the later years of a child’s development.In fact, many innovative programs are being developed that have been incredibly effective in allowing teens with autism to flourish. This article will examine a few of the latest and most successful ones.

One program that is excellent for teens who need to develop social skills as well as job training capabilities is the Botvin Lifeskills Training Program. Generally used to curb substance abuse among teens, the program is also highly effective at developing a teen’s sense of self worth and personal responsibility. This program can be extremely effective in motivating teens with autism to succeed in school and allows them to adjust and even thrive in a workplace environment.

However, the above program is not specific to youth with special needs and is only effective with those who possess the highest levels of functionality. Other programs that are of greater value to special needs youth as a whole include a variety of software programs that facilitate learning, hands on programs that develop social skills, physical abilities and team work, as well as motivational programs that propel special teens to realize their full potential.

Sports and fitness programs for youth with autism abound. Special needs schools and social service agencies in most cities throughout the nation can provide lists of innovative therapeutic programs designed for special needs students. That said, one recent program started in Montague, New Jersey, is truly noteworthy and should be replicated in as many areas as possible.

Montague is home to Fountain House, a farming community maintained by adults with special needs. With the assistance of a grant from the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, Fountain House and the Boy Scouts of America embarked on a cooperative project in which teens with autism built a wildlife habitat trail on the farm’s property. In addition to receiving their Eagle Scout badges, participating teens learned a valuable lesson; that they are valuable and effective members of society. This program would serve as an ideal model for other therapeutic social and fitness programs in all cities and states.

In the field of education, one highly effective program for math instruction is ABA Math, a free software program that was designed by a parent to help his own child learn arthmatic. Available at http://abamath.sourceforge.net/, the program is designed to allow the student to practice level appropriate math problems in a variety of different ways until the problems’ concepts are fully understood. It is based on the Applied Behavioral Analysis methods of UCLA’s Dr. O. Ivor Lovaas and is highly effective at increasing the mathematical abilities of teens who struggle greatly in this area. Another excellent resource for free educational software designed specifically for kids with


number ten is all inclusive, comprising all human attributes. When you reach out your hand and your five fingers combine in a handshake with another’s five fingers, the result is a combined whole holy Godly unit. This is the meaning of the Hebrew greeting, “Shalom.” You and me--together we make a united whole—Peace onto us and the world.

When you see someone in need--someone less fortunate than yourself in any realm— be ready to give a hand and elevate the world. And should that person be a widow, an orphan, or a child or adult with autism, cancer, or one of many human afflictions—give of yourself—bring kindness, love and joy into the world.

Dr. Tzvi Pearlstein practices orthopedic medicine/surgery in Coral Springs and serves as a consultant throughout Southeast Florida from Jacksonville to Miami, with a focus on preventive medicine and orthopedic surgery. Dr. Pearlstein is a graduate of PrincetonUniversity and New York University School of Medicine. The author of several published studies, Dr. Pearlstein also served as Chief Orthopedic Surgeon in the United States Air Force at Clark Air Base, Philippines, and at Andrews Air Force Base, Wash. D.C., as a professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, and left his practice of orthopedic surgery in Anaheim, California in 1990 to serve as a Major during the first Gulf War. His current Book/DVD/Web Project THE ONE MINUTE STRETCH will soon be available o line & in book stores. Dr. Pearlstein can be seen playing trumpet with various bands in various musical establishments in South Florida. You can reach him at his office, 954-344-0111 or 877-REHAB30.

An Ounce of Prevention…

Leading a Healthy Lifestyle

By Marion Thorpe, MD MPHFormer Chief Medical Officer for the State of Florida

One of the key components of successful Health Care reform hinges on the ability of the American public to fully embrace lifestyle decisions that aid Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. While many people understand the need to eat sensibly, maintain a weekly exercise regimen, and get a good night’s sleep, all too many people forego the routine steps needed to stay healthy over the long run. As life’s pace is ever quickening in the 21st century, it is imperative that we find the time to ensure that each and every one of us practices common sense preventive care techniques; thus, ensuring individual longevity accompanied with a sound baseline health status.

In the same manner that residents of Florida prepare for the onset of hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters, my fellow Floridians and Americans are well-served by preparatory actions that will prevent the onset of chronic and catastrophic diseases. For those of us who have survived Florida’s hurricanes, we are fully cognizant of the impending doom sensation triggered by the high category winds that besiege our state during “the season.” In essence, heart attacks, strokes, and various types of cancer are often accompanied by similar feelings of impending doom. Of note, one significant difference occurs when comparing hurricanes and health: Namely, there is nothing one can do to alter the course or intensity of a hurricane; however, one certainly has the ability to thwart a bad health outcome at its origins. It is quite simple, good preventive


health practices positively impact the likelihood of maintaining a good baseline health status over a great many years.

As this is the first installment of “An Ounce of Prevention,” I will focus solely on the first steps of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. For starters, eat sensibly, maintain a weekly exercise regimen, and get a good night’s sleep. Secondly, practice moderation.If you smoke cigarettes and have trouble quitting, at the very least reduce the number of cigarettes that you smoke. If you tend to “clean your plate” at every meal, diligently reduce the size of portions on your plate. If you tend to burn the midnight oil on a regular basis, implement time management techniques that will increase your number of sleep hours in every 24 hour period. Lastly, utilize common sense when it comes to your health. The human body has a way of letting us know when we need to make healthy lifestyle changes (e.g., smoker’s cough, pizza-induced acid indigestion, joint-stiffness experienced by coach potatoes).

May each of you enjoy longevity marked by an enduring quality of life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marion D. Thorpe, Jr. MD MPH

Chief Medical Officer (former)

State of Florida

Dr. Marion Thorpe is the former Chief Medical Officer for the State of Florida, a position in which he fought strongly for HMO reform and for the introduction of preventative health care as an integral part of all treatments systems. Dr. Thorpe is now a candidate for United States Senate and. has begun a statewide listening tour for ways to provide better and more effective health care while strengthening physician choice and diversity of options. For more information on his platform and initiatives, please visit www.marionthorpe.com or www.healamericawiththorpe.com.

When Parents & Schools Disagree

by Ruth Heitin, Ph.D., Educational Consultant

I often tell my clients that if my own parents were alive, they would never understand what I do for a living.

I am an independent educational consultant, and as a private professional I work for parents in seeking appropriate educational services for their children. Far more often than I prefer, I disagree with the schools - something my parents and their generation saw as heresy.

For the past ten years, I have worked

with hundreds of families of students with special needs. Every time I think I have seen the most egregious case of educational unenlightenment, another case comes along that is even more disturbing.

As a former teacher, I fully understand the challenges that teachers face. In my opinion, teaching is one of the toughest and most important jobs of all. I have also sat on the other side of the school conference table as a


AwarenessDepot.com & AutismThings.com - Great Wholesale Outlet Stores that Promote Awareness

AutismThings.com is a wholesale outlet store that caters to your fundraising needs and helps promote the awareness of Autism. We are a family operated store that started because we saw a need for autism awareness. As a former elementary school teacher that worked with special needs children, I felt that more needed to be done to find a cure for autism. I retired from the school system as an assistant principal and started this company. We donate a large percentage of all sales towards autism research.

We opened www.awarenessdepot.com in 2003 specializing in cancer awareness and we added a section for autism in 2005. Here you can get autism magnets, autism bracelets, pins, autism puzzle fabric in cotton or fleece, autism Swarovski crystal jewelry, decals, flashcards, books and much more. The minimum order is $10 and you can get several items for that. Since we had so many phone calls for fundraising prices on Awareness Depot, we decided to open www.AutismThings.com so people could order directly online with deep discounts. On www.AutismThings.com we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $250 placed by June 15th, 2009. There is a $75 minimum on this website.

We have many new fundraising products this year and our prices are unbeatable. We have even added a FUNDRAISING tab with combo packages already made for your convenience. With our secure servers, ordering online is easy and safe. Most packages will arrive to you within a week of placing your order. If you need assistance or advice on your fundraising event, kindly reach me at 866-982-3524 or email me directly at [email protected]. I look forward in working with you and making your fundraiser a huge success!!! So, don‛t delay…act now. This free shipping offer will expire on June 15th.

Also, ordering early will guarantee that the items you request will be in stock. And lastly, I am proud to say that a percentage of all sales are donated to several nonprofit autism organizations to help find a cure for autism. I look forward in hearing from you.

Lorraine & Robert RealOwners


Can treating allergy symptoms help with autism?

New laser treatment may help answer this question

Dr. Darren Lastofsky

AllergiCare™ Relief Centers of South Florida has introduced a new, non-invasive laser treatment for the effective relief of allergy symptoms allowing allergy sufferers the opportunity to no longer experience these debilitating symptoms and once again enjoy an uninhibited quality of life.

What makes this new method of treatment even more remarkable is the success that has been seen in treating patients with autism. “What we have found,” says AllergiCare™ clinic director Darren Lastofsky, D.C. “is that when we have treated autism patients for many of the food substances, primarily wheat, milk, and gluten, it has been reported back to us by families that there has been a decrease in the symptoms associated with autism”.

The link between autism and allergies has been highly debated over recent years with many researchers confident that food allergies do play a major role. According to the National Autistic Society, “people with autism are often intolerant of gluten, a protein in four types of cereal, and casein, a protein found in animals’ milk.”

According to over 30 years of studies carried out by the Sage Laboratory in Florida, food allergies are always present in children with autism and each situation seems to be with a unique combination of foods. Finding the foods that are toxic to your child is well worth the effort because it will affect their behavior dramatically. If a food can affect a child’s mood, it is hard to say what else it could be doing to the overall health and well being of that same child.

Although food allergies and sensitivities are most likely not the cause of autism, Lastofsky believes that the reactions to these substances magnifies the symptoms. He explains that by removing these reactions, the symptoms become increasingly manageable, and remarkable improvement in behavior, communication and social interaction have been the result.

The unique biofeedback and laser system used in the clinics can assess inappropriate reactions to over 10,000 different food, airborne, outdoor and environmental substances. “What make this technique so special”, says Lastofsky is that in addition to its effects, the treatments are affordable, pain-free, there are no allergy shots or medication, and it is safe and effective for adults and children of all ages.”

AllergiCare Relief Centers has three area locations in Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Ft. Lauderdale and can be contacted at 1-866-788-3391 or www.AllergiCare.com.


parent. Now, as an educational consultant, I am able to see both viewpoints. And, what I have learned over the past ten years is that while both parents and schools want what is best for children, their constraints and their perspectives will always differ.

What is important to know is that when parents and schools disagree, the ways that they resolve their disagreements depend upon the issues. Federal laws and regulations provide a framework for addressing the needs of special education students. When a child is not suspected of or diagnosed with a disability, the local school district has the right to govern its own programs. Dealing with general education requires politics, dealing with special education requires knowledge of the laws.

The following are some of the ways in which parents and schools disagree when a child is suspected of a disability with suggestions as to how to address these.






In my experience, it is a parent's natural inclination to believe that all is right with his/her child. For parents to get to the point of believing that their child could have some kind of problem, they have to have done some serious reflection and data gathering on their own. Once a parent comes to the point of concern that a disability exists, it is incumbent upon the school professionals to take those parents' concerns very seriously.

However, it is also the natural inclination for schools to seek some outside explanation for a child's problems. Often they indulge in believing that the nature of the problem is a simple matter within the parents' control.

The only way to determine if a disability exists with a child is through comprehensive evaluation. The first step in this process is for the parents and school professional to meet to discuss the child in a meeting of professionals called a Child Study Committee or the like, depending upon the school district.

Schools often offer first to try a variety of interventions before doing evaluation, which is tantamount to a trial-and-error method of addressing a child's problems. Why would we try to address a problem without understanding it first? The role of this committee is to ask only if, based on the information available through their normal procedures, there is justification for further evaluation of the child. The school cannot ask parents to gather more information for them first nor can the school make a determination of eligibility for special education at that time; that is the role of another committee.

If the school does agree to do the evaluation, it is important for parents to understand the limitations of any school system in their evaluation.

One of the reasons that I left the school system was to have the opportunity to assess children in the way that I knew was necessary. School employees have little control over the time and the materials at their disposal in order to do evaluations. No matter how good a school professional is at evaluation, it is unlikely that he/she can perform the job as well as someone who is equally qualified in private practice. Private assessments are expensive because of the time that they require, but parentsshould know that the investment is, in


my opinion, generally a wise one.

It is also important for parents to know that whoever does the evaluation is the one who will take the lead in determining the child's needs. The school personnel who do this are too often the same ones who will have to serve the child in their already-too-busy schedules. Having a private evaluator assess the child allows independent determination of the child's issues and needs without any bureaucratic constraints.

Of course, if the school system does the evaluation, and the parents question the results or the methods, they can seek an Independent Educational Evaluation at the school's expense. The down side of this is that it makes an already-protracted evaluation period even longer, requiring months before a child's needs can be appropriately understood and addressed.

Once evaluation is completed the determination can be made as to whether or not a child has a disability. Federal law does not specify the criteria for determining disabilities, that is left to the local school district. And, in my experience, the many local school districts in our area all have different criteria for determining eligibility for special education.

I have spent the past ten years helping parents in the eligibility process, and I can relate hundreds of horror stories about the process. For example, schools have found children not to be learning disabled based on the fact that they demonstrate no processing deficits, but the school has not effectively assessed the processing skills. This is tantamount to saying that a child does not have strep throat, despite all the symptoms, when one has not done a culture. Naturally, I believe that having an educational consultant assist you through the eligibility process for special education is a wise decision.

When the determination is made as to

whether a disability exists, it is appropriate to look at this through all appropriate definitions. For school children, two laws address special needs - The Individuals with Disability Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

While both federal acts allow provision of special education services, practicality has dictated otherwise. IDEA has federal money attached to it, giving schools some reimbursement for serving special needs children, while Section 504 does not. Any child who is eligible for services under IDEA automatically is eligible under Section 504, but not the reverse. Primarily in practice today, the difference is that those who require special education services are eligible under IDEA while those who require only classroom accommodations rather are eligible under Section 504.

A key point in eligibility is whether the disability has an impact on educational performance and how. For example, some students with asthma are able to control it well while others require special accommodations when it comes to exercise and stress. Only in the latter case would it be necessary to identify the child as disabled educationally.

An important note here is that identifying disabilities in young children presents special challenges that the schools are often unable to manage.

Traditional achievement testing is insensitive with young children for a very good reason. Since achievement is the product of what a child has been taught and how much he/she has learned from that, and since formal instruction is limited in young children, it is very difficult to identify underachievement. In testing young children, information processing testing in areas such as phonemic awareness and rapid naming, for examples, must be relied upon to identify learning disabilities. Schools frequently fail to test these areas and


Inspirational Stories of What Each of Us Can do to Make a Better World

By Melissa Hoehnwww.SaltoftheEarthWeightedGear.com

My friend Annie is the owner of Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear. Her blankets have been a tremendous help to the autism and special needs community, showing how one person, with the help of a loyal and dedicated staff, really can make a difference.

When Annie became aware of a real need in the ‘community-at-large’ for weighted blankets to help the autistic and sensory challenged, she turned to her sister Avon for help. Together, they set their minds and hands to developing quality weighted blankets inexpensively. Thus, in 2002, “Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear” started out, filled a desire to do good to families in need of weighted blankets for their autistic children.Annie built a web site and she and Avon worked hard and long to develop and perfect a system that would produce quality weighted blankets. They agonized over the need to set prices high enough to be viable, yet low enough to be fair to the customers.

Whenever she heard of anyone else’s need, Annie enjoyed developing a new weighted product to meet that need. Some of these were dropped over time, some were developed until they became mainstays.

Eventually several other products were added to the line. At one point Avon took on the challenge of developing a line of top quality weighted vests. At every level production, the products by Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear have been transformed over the years in the effort to improve efficiency and quality while, wherever possible, keeping rising costs from the customers who need them.

Meanwhile, as business grew large enough for these sisters to need help, I was approached to take on one stage of the weighted blanket production. Since that time, I have been impressed with Annie’s heart and how it shines through in every step of this endeavor. For instance, I am asked, though not required, to pray for the person and their family/caregivers that will be using each weighted blanket that I work on.

Although Annie has been an easy person to work with and is very fair with those of us who do work for her company, she is a stickler about little things in the production that will make life easier for people who are already dealing with the challenges of autism.

Through the years, rather than business coming between us in friendship, working together has strengthened and deepened our friendship. This says a lot about how she conducts herself! She is touched by families’ stories and speaks with many of the customers personally as she listens to their needs and takes orders.

Annie receives thank you notes from many customers who are pleased with the quality of the work and the huge print selection. Usually they are just thankful for a good nights’ rest! Occasionally she brightens our day by passing on a particularly interesting one.

I am not a part of the ownership of the company itself, but am proud that I am able to do part of the work that makes Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear the useful, affordable, attractive, and comforting weighted products that they are. As with each weighted blanket I work on, I pray the Lord will ease the way of all who deal with autism.


As an Independent Distributor of Shaklee products, I provide non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners to those attempting to make their homes as “green” as possible. They are not only “green” but also safe and powerful. You should not have to sacrifice powerful convictions for powerful cleaners, and vice versa. In many instances, you have to choose between having cleaners that are as mean on the environment as they are on dirt, or you have nice, sweet, eco-friendly cleaners that don’t do diddly. Now you do not have to make a choice. These products are totally “green” and show dirt no mercy.

The products offer you cleaning choices that are SAFE, POWERFUL, GREEN and SMART. Because when it comes to keeping your house clean, your family healthy, and the earth safe, you shouldn’t have to choose. They also contain no phosphates, borates, nitrates, or other stuff the planet doesn’t appreciate. And by making them super concentrated, we leave you to add water so we can subtract waste. Less weight to ship. Less product to use. Less packaging to throw away.

The Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate is a double-concentrated super-safe, powerful cleaner. It is a no-rinse, no-residue, streak-free formula. By altering the mixing ration, it can be an all-purpose cleaner, a window cleaner, a degreaser, and a hundred other

uses. As an example, it only takes 2 drops of the concentrate and 16 ounces of water to make a completely competitive window cleaner, and ¼ teaspoon in 16 ounces of water to make an all-purpose cleaner.

Using the starter kit, instead of ready-to-use products, you're helping reduce over 100 pounds of packaging waste from landfills and eliminating 248 pounds of greenhouse gases.

This product meets the Green Sealtm

environmental standards for industrial and institutional cleaners based on its reduced human and aquatic toxicity and reduced smog potential.

For additional information, contact Mike Grubic, Independent Shaklee Distributor, at 717-653-2196 or by e-mail at [email protected]. On-line orders are also available at www.shaklee.net/mikegrubic.

SALT OF THE EARTH WEIGHTED GEARLocated in central Nebraska, we at Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear are proud to be providers of custom weighted blankets, weighted vests, and other products to meet the needs of the sensory challenged. We carry a wide selection of sizes, prints, and options. Great pride is taken in the quality of our products and all sales come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You won't be disappointed!We love small orders, large orders, special orders, purchase orders, odd orders, and even “Please hurry!” orders. Order directly from the web site, or by phone, mail, or fax. Authorized purchase orders, please include completed order form with fax. All major credit cards accepted. See all our products at www.SaltOfTheEarthWeightedGear.com. Avon and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Melissa Hoehn and Laurie Drietz for the hard work they do as contractors for Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear. They have often set aside their personal time to meet deadlines. Thanks also to Anna, Crystal, Diane, Glenda, John, Karesa, Nancy, Ruth and Sheila. And special thanks to Keith, who provides untold patience and muscle.

Phone: 402-723-5229 or 402-366-5883 Toll Free: 1-800-345-0579 Fax: 402-723-5226Email: [email protected] Web Site: www.SaltOfTheEarthWeightedGear.com


instead rely upon the ineffective traditional test measures in measuring learning issues.

When schools come to the conclusion that a child does not have a disability, they often justify their conclusion by espousing that they do not want to label the child. This presumes that labeling a child is a stigma or a negative factor in some way.

Schools never admit that they are being advised to limit the numbers of students being eligible, but I believe they are. What they fail to see too often is that if one is going to err, it is better to give services than not and miss valuable educational opportunities that cannot be regained.


This is often a contentious area of disagreement between parents and schools. There is no federal definition of educational impact. Nationally, court cases continue to address the question of educational impact of a disability.

In my experience, schools will readily admit educational impact if a student's grades are failing or if the child's disability presents a challenge to them. However, in cases where a child's disability affects them in less conspicuous ways, as is often the case with homework difficulties, schools too often deny any educational impact. However, as long as schools demand homework, they cannot ignore the parents' reports about how the disability affects homework time.

Similarly, when the educational impact is emotionally-related, or even medically-related, schools tend to deny what they cannot see. Parents need to document the impact of the disability as well as they can to offer undeniable evidence.

Keep charts of the time spent on

homework or the number of headaches a child experiences. Document the help that the child requires in doing homework. It is harder to ignore data than narrative.


This question presents a difficult dilemma for the school system. The recent trend to educate all children in the general education classroom has too frequently resulted, in my opinion, in a watered-down system of offering specialized support for children.

Teachers and administrators too often seem to feel that if they admit that a child needs specialized instruction they are admitting their own failure. While it is certainly advantageous for some children to remain in the general education classroom for support, for others it denies them the opportunity for small group and specialized instruction that they need.

Historically, we have always known that children with special needs require specialized instruction, and the earlier the better. Recent research in learning disabilities, however, has articulated this even further.

Children with reading disabilities respond best to systematic, intensive, and specialized instruction. The window of opportunity for best results is to begin such programming before the child reaches his/her ninth birthday. After that, the prognosis for ameliorating the reading disability becomes less optimistic.


In 1997, when IDEA was reauthorized, an important change was implemented in which schools were required to evaluate special education students' progress as often as they did the progress of general education students. IDEA has long required that progress be evaluated in observable


and measurable ways.

I cannot begin to count the number of times that a student's progress is merely observed rather than measured in any way. Independent assessment, school standardized testing, state assessment measures and observational charts are all means of evaluating and measuring progress.

My advice to parents who think that their children are not making sufficient progress: Don't stop in your efforts to improve your child's progress.

Failure to make appropriate progress has devastating and cumulative

ramifications. This year's teacher will not be around to see the implications over time, but parents certainly will be.

Choosing the Right Toys for Special Needs Children

By Christina WallersteinFounder, Playworks.net

Choosing toys for children can be a daunting task. The choices seem endless, and advertising aimed at children often means parents are flooded by requests for the latest new toy. Then there are practical considerations: developmental appropriateness, play value, quality, durability and cost.

Most importantly, one needs to think carefully about the individual child's special needs, talents, and, perhaps most important of all, their preferences. I suspect we’ve all shared the following experience: We choose what we think is "the perfect toy" only to find that our child never quite takes a liking to it. It's a disappointment that cannot entirely beeliminated, despite our best efforts. It just underscores the challenges we face when we'reshopping for toys.

The best toys for any child are those chosen after observing the child at play. What do we learn from watching and playing with our children? Their preferences, what comes easily, and what challenges, and even frustrates them. With these insights, we can better evaluate toys and make more successful selections.

Remember the adage that one person's passion is another's poison? Well, the same is true about toys. I recall clearly how one toy that some parents and professionals at a conference on autism lauded as the "perfect" toy was lambasted by others. Each had a reason for their position, as will be clear as we explain why.

This toy, called a Rainbomaker©, allows the child to simulate the sound of rain without getting wet! The child can shake, turn, and twist the 16" tube, watching colorful beads cascade through levels making a gentle falling rain sound. The multi-colored beads create a prism of color as they tumble down the tube.


Green when green was just color!

Green Sealtm Certified

After developing the world’s first multi-vitamin/mineral product in 1915, Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee founded his company in 1956 with a commitment to develop products to improve the health of people and the health of the planet. He introduced one of the first (if not the first) biodegradable, nontoxic cleaner in 1960.When you use Get Clean™, you're never simply cleaning. While you make your home cleaner, you make your family healthier.

Over the decades, the company had developed such an Earth-friendly reputation, that scientists were coming to them for help. They participated in sevenof Time-Life’s 25 Greatest Adventures of All Time. These include Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society to provide environmentally friendly cleaning products for use onboard their research vessels, the Calypso and Alcyone. The also provided products for the first recorded expedition by god sled to the North Pole, led by National Geographic award-winning polar explorer, Will Steger. Here is a list of a few of their other accomplishments in the “Green” world:

In 1990, they had their main nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning product chosen as one of the first official Earth Day products.

In 1991, their cleaners (and other products) were selected for use in the Biosphere 2 Project in Arizona.

That same year, they introduced one of the world’s first phosphate-free automatic dishwashing detergents.

In 2000, they became the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral certification and totally offset its carbon emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment.

In 2000, they opened their world headquarters, one of the first green, energy-saving, award-winning buildingsdesigned using sustainable materials.

In 2002, his company received the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Protection Award.

In 2007, they were selected as a U.S. EPAClimate Leader, and is the EPA’s first consumer products company to offset 100% of its carbon emissions and use 100% green power.

In 2007, they became the first company in the world to offset its carbon emissions by providing sustainable energy to electrifyvillages in Africa in partnership with Millennium Promise.

In 2007, President Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative recognized Dr. Shaklee’s company for its carbon offset and creating renewable energy in Africa.

In 2007, they were honored with GlobalGreen USA’s Organizational Design Awardfor its outstanding environmental leadership role.

In 2007, they were selected by the nation’sleading child advocacy group, Healthy Child Healthy World, to be the exclusive partner for a new video, Creating Healthy Environments for Children.

In 2008, they were awarded the “Best Corporate Environmental Responsibility Program” by the American Business Awards.

Autism Health and Wellness Vol. 1 Issue 1 • April 2009 • Page 11

Cupcakes to Go! Transporting single cupcakes is a piece of cake

with the original CUP-A-CAKE containers. Your gourmet cupcakes will arrive at their

destination intact, frosting and all! Use the CUP-A-CAKE containers for picnic,

lunches, parties and anywhere else a sweet treat is enjoyed!

Call us at (313)521.4557, email [email protected] or purchase your

CUP-A-CAKE containers online at www.cupacake.com.

Je�rey A. SimonFinancial Representative National Planning Corporation4000 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 310 NHollywood, FL 33021 Tel: 954-862-5440 Cell: 954-205-2950 Je�rey_Simon@NPC�nancial.com

877.579.9300 | www.playworks.net

toys f

or ser

ious p

lay

PLAY is serious business for children. Through play they experience the joy of discovery and learning. Child appeal is our first consideration in selecting toys that engage, entertain, and educate. All of our toys are child approved.

Each of our developmental toys addresses multiple special needs, providing sensory stimulation to children of diverse abilities and interests. We re-evaluate our selection to provide the best play choices as new toys become available.

We also choose developmental toys that lend themselves to adult/child interactions where the child gains social, cognitive, and communicative skills by interacting with adults who provide words to describe the child’s experiences.

Whatever your special needs, Playworks invites you to think of us first, knowing you can buy with confidence – and save time and money.


Here's the deal. Some children like motion and sound. They respond positively to the movement of the beads and the sound they make, experimenting and discovering how different movements create softer or louder sounds. They observe the different color beads and how light passing through the tube affects their brilliance.

Unfortunately, some children become so fascinated by these effects that they repeat their motions over and over, and become agitated when "time's up" and they must stop and move on to another activity. Other children are so sensitive to sound that Rainbomaker is absolutely not a choice.

For children with sensitivities to light and motion, a huge issue for many with autism spectrum, parents need to choose quiet toys that provide opportunities for exploring cause and effect and enhancing motor skill. Stringing, lacing, and threading activities might engage these children. Along the way, they will explore colors, shapes and sizes, perhaps creating patterns and learning about different textures and weights. Beads can be sorted and counted as well.

Think about the properties of the materials used to create the beads and laces. Wood feels different and weighs more than plastic. By interacting with toys from different materials, the child learns about those materials. When sharing the activity with an adult, the child can also gain language to describe both the toys and his play.

Sometimes if a toy, such as Rainbomaker, is a favorite, but one that causes the child to refuse to stop playing, teachers will turn a negative into a positive, "making a deal" with the child that they can play with the toy for a specific period of time after they complete a required task. Let’s say the assignment is sorting by color and shape but the child doesn't like to sort. The desire to create the sound of rain can be strong enough to win his or her cooperation. Of course, the success of this plan depends upon adhering to the agreement. And that's a whole other "learning experience."

For an excellent selection of toys for special needs and all children, feel free to visit www.playworks.net, email [email protected] or call (877) 579-9300.

Must Read Books to Help You Advocate for Your Child with Autism…Now and Tomorrow

By Denise MeissnerOccupational Therapist, parent and co-founder QCharm, LLC

Think about your child’s signs of developmental difficulty, the challenges your child experiences and how your child’s challenges are testing your parenting skills. Are you feeling like you are “in over your head?” Are you

exhausted from providing and anticipating your child’s safety, educational, communication, social and behavior needs?

As a mother of a child with Autism, there are many skills and lessons that my son’s developmental difficulties forced me to learn the hard way. Even though I am an Occupational Therapist by trade, I found myself feeling overwhelmed by






Educational:



Advocacy:









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