September 2008

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2008 Autism Conference : WalkAbout 2008 : Raffle Items

PECS Basic Training : Parent Tip : Upcoming Events

Parents Help Encourage Social Issues at Home, Too : Q&A with ABA (and Speech!)

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2008 Autism Conference

Vision
That people with Autism Spectrum Disorders achieve their maximum individual potential and that they and their families have access to the education, information, training, and resources they require.

Mission
This site is dedicated to providing quality information, education, and resources to parents, professionals, and school personnel involved in the lives of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Goals

• To raise knowledge and awareness in Texas around Autism Spectrum Disorders by supporting affected families, individuals and professionals touched by ASD.  Through the Texas State Conference on Autism, we hope to assist in positive, long-term outcomes and quality of life for individuals with ASD and their families.
• To increase awareness of needs, interests, concerns and solutions related to Autism Spectrum Disorders in Texas.
• To assist in creating a statewide information and resource network with Texas Education Agency, its 20 Regional Education Service Centers, and families, individuals and professionals touched by ASD.
• To promote increased awareness and understanding of evidence-based services, education and treatment, best practices and standards.
To promote increased collaboration and networking between Texas Education Agency, its 20 Regional Education Service Centers, and families, individuals and professionals touched by ASD.

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WalkAbout 2008

Come and join us for a fun and exciting time at this year's walk! We will have activities and games for the kids, a raffle, a bicycle rodeo, and of course there will be lots of walking! We hope to see everyone out and we thank everyone for their support!  

This year’s Walkabout will be held on September 20th, 2008 from 9am until 1pm at Andy Brown Park East.  We hope to see you and your family there.

We are currently gathering donations for the raffle.  If you would like to help us or know of someone that would like to donate, please let us know.

Visit our WalkAbout Info Page Here!

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WalkAbout 2008 Raffle Items

The BWF has raffle going on for a 5 night Cruise to Mexico and the Yucatan.  The cruise is scheduled to leave November 15th.  Raffle tickets are $2 for one and $20 for a book of ten.  Drawing will be held on September 27th and you do not have to be present to win.This money will go directly to secure the building and it affects everyone who attends the Brent Woodall Foundation.

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Upcoming PECS Basic Training

October 20-21,2008 - Arlington, TX
September 29-30, 2008 - Houston, TX
December 15, 2008 - Austin, TX

More information can be found at www.pecs.com.

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Parent Tip

Hello Parents,

The end of summer is approaching and fall is around the corner.  For most of us this means that kids are heading back to school or starting a new school program and adjustments will be required of all of us, including our little ones.

As you and your child with special needs face this transition, there’s a good chance you are anticipating the behavioral struggles that will take place.  This anticipatory anxiety on your part can serve you well if you put it to good use.  You can start by acknowledging it for what it is without misdirecting it.  Do this and you are well on your way to a more manageable transition.
First, recognize that how you handle your own anxiety affects your child.  You are constantly modeling how to handle various emotions – including anxiety - as he/she is observing and learning from you perhaps without you even noticing.  Take the opportunity to show your child some skills that can benefit you both whether that be relaxation with some soothing music, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, physical exercise, positive self-talk with “cool” thoughts (I can handle this even if I feel a bit uncomfortable”) – as opposed to “hot” thoughts (“This will be awful – I just know it”), and breaking a large (seemingly unmanageable) task into smaller tasks that allow you to make and celebrate small successes.

Also, keep in mind that your child’s behavior serves a purpose - he or she is trying to communicate with you and maybe using action rather than verbal words to tell you what they need or want.  Dr. Temple Grandin and Sean Byron (both adults with autism) discuss this in their book, Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships as they recall growing up and struggling to understand the world around them and manage their behavior.  Dr. Grandin talks about her mother’s application of different consequences depending on the “function” of her behavior.  For example, when her mother knew that Temple’s behavior was a result of her feeling tired or hungry – the consequences of misbehavior were different than if Temple was acting out to establish control.    Her mother also allowed her a safe place to “act out” – so that she knew she could make a mess of her room, but tearing up the living room was against the rules and privileges would certainly be taken away for this conduct.

Following Dr. Alfred Adler’s theory about the function of behavior, you might ask yourself if your child’s acting out behaviors are attention-seeking, for power, for revenge for avoidance or for validating a sense of inadequacy.  For children with autism, a sense of inadequacy is often felt as they have trouble understanding the social world and feel overwhelmed by the world around them.  Helping them feel a sense of mastery over small tasks can be helpful – you can do this by creating situations (asking them to help with laundry – matching socks, for example or putting dishes in the sink, etc.) where they can be successful – they can recognize their own success and receive praise from you.  For children with anxiety and OCD symptoms, power or the desire to avoid can be motivators.  Creating situations that offer them choices (all of which you are content with) can go a long way to helping them gain a sense of power or control.  You might advise them that they can choose which breakfast they’d like to eat, what outfit they’d like to wear to school, how they would like to make the bed, or which chores they would like to do to earn money toward a treat.  Of course you will need to determine which choices are appropriate based on your child’s age, etc. And, as mentioned above, breaking up a task into its smallest parts and reinforcing attempts to master these smaller tasks while teaching positive self talk can help children who are trying to avoid fearful situations.

As a final note, do remember what has allowed both you and your child to successfully negotiate transitions in the past.  You both have strengths that you can call upon.  Use them and the above for a more smooth start to a new school year!

Best wishes,

Penny S. Apollaro, LCSW

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Upcoming Events

• September 13th, 2008
  Walk Pre-Registration at Starbucks in Coppell on Denton Tap Rd. from 7am -10am
  
  
• September 20th, 2008
  4th Annual Walkabout for Autism at Andy Brown Park East.  Registration starts at 8am and the Walk begins at 9am.
  
  Children with special needs and their families can receive FREE Rangers tickets. Just call 214-560-2263 or email vaw@varietynorthtexas.org.
  
  
• Variety the Children’s Charity of North Texas will be having a Special Needs screening of the movie Igor.  Please check out their website for more information at http://www.varietynorthtexas.org.  Children with special needs and their siblings get in free and adults pay regular price.

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Parents Help Encourage Social Success at Home, Too!

by Audrey Prince, M.Ed.
© 2006 Super Duper® Publications

Parents are fundamental contributors to their child’s success. As many
educators acknowledge, parents are a child’s first teachers. A home environment that promotes academic and social success should not be undervalued. Many parents work to improve a child’s academic success by making sure the child completes all homework, studies for tests, and develops creative projects. But parents also have opportunities to help improve a child’s social success. Below are suggestions for teaching social skills that parents can practice with their children at home.

Steps for Teaching Social Skills at Home

• Discuss the Need for Social Skills- Children need to understand that social skills are important. Share with your child that adults use social skills in their  workplaces and community. Talk about/point out experiences that you or your child may have had or observed when social skills were necessary. Brainstorm and come up with a list of social skills that you and your child can work on throughout the year. Below is a list of suggested social skills to work on at home with your child.

 List of Suggested Social Skills
• celebrating success
• sharing ideas
• organizing materials
• paraphrasing
• following directions
• resolving conflicts
• active listening
• accepting differences
• communicating clearly
• waiting patiently
• taking turns
• helping others
• praising
• sharing materials
• asking for help
• using quiet voices
• participating
• staying on task
• saying kind things
• using people’s names
© 2006 Super Duper® Publications

2. Work on One Social Skill at a Time- When working with your child on social skills, focus on just one skill at a time. You may want to select one skill to focus on each week. Create a chart to list the skill for that week and record how the child is doing.  Use a simple system such as happy face, neutral face, and sad face to show progress.

3. Talk About the Social Skill- Help your child identify what appropriate behavior looks and sounds like. For example, praising looks like a thumbs up, clapping, or smiling.  Praising sounds like, “Terrific!” “I knew you could do it!” “You’re so smart!” or “Way to go!” Make a list with your child of “looks like” and “sounds like” behaviors and post it next to your chart for recording the target behavior, and the progress your child makes in demonstrating appropriate behavior.

4. Practice the Social Skill- After discussing what a particular social skill looks and
sounds like, provide an immediate opportunity for your child to practice the
appropriate social skill behavior (looks like and sounds like). Act out a scenario with your child in which he/she must use appropriate behaviors to respond in a
social situation.

 5. Pause, Reflect, and Review- At the end of each day, take the time to pause, reflect, and review your child’s use of social skills that day. You may want to encourage your child to keep a journal to write down thoughts about the day. If your child is not yet writing, you can keep a journal together, in which you write the entries. Help your child celebrate his/her social skills successes – if you make it a big deal, your child will, too.  Parents can engage their children in these types of activities anytime during the day. Think about using time in the car or at the dinner table to discuss social skills. As parents, emphasizing the necessity of social skills is one of the most important things you can do to help your child succeed in school—but more importantly, in life.

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Q&A with ABA (and Speech!)

New to our newsletter we are adding a public Q & A regarding your questions about therapy.  Email Tracy at info@woodallkids.org with a question and she will choose a few to answer each month.  The answers will be posted on the webpage.  Questions are not limited to ABA.

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