If you haven’t read about the new report form the National Autism Center on evidence-based treatments, it is worth taking a look at their website.

Advancing the Future Lives of Adults with Autism
Karen Kaplan

On Friday, the 13th of November, I had the pleasure of being one of 10 table facilitators at America Speaks on Advancing Future Lives of Adults with Autism Town Hall held at the M.I.N.D Institute in Sacramento.

Mayor Dailey of Chicago and his inspiring wife kicked off the event which connected 16 cities across the United States through web casting by pledging their total support to work towards ensuring the full potential of people with autism spectrum disorders. Next, Lisa Goring, Director of Family Services from Autism Speaks announced that it was time to get busy and lay the foundation for better outcomes.

Finally a father of a 17 year old boy with autism stood up and shared with over 1,000 participants that he and his wife’s dreams of bringing a child into the world and wishing their child to have love, happiness, good health, adventure, fun, education and life long learning, good friends, a sense of humor, a job, a safe home, a welcoming community and to be able to make a contribution have not changed since they sat in their home and completed the section in his baby book years ago prior to hearing the diagnosis of autism.

Daniel Stone, national facilitator of the event, then set the event in forward motion by making the following statement, “When the School Bus Stops Coming, Who Will?
It was clear then to all of us that the work we were about to do this day would have a major impact on what would happen when the school bus did stop coming. It was also clear that we were just the first part of the WHO WILL and that it was going to be our responsibility to inspire, motivate, educate and move our home communities towards action on the key issues of housing, employment, vocational training and flexibility of funding.

So we began our work. At my table the business community, the parent community, the therapeutic community, the medical community, the regional center community, the governmental community, the private consultant community and the consumer community sat around the table ready to listen, provide ideas and agree on strategies to from a national agenda. Each of the 10 tables in the room mirrored our diversity and the same diversity was seen throughout all 16 cities participating in the days’ agenda.

The vision that adults with ASD will have an increase in housing choices, an increase in job opportunities with on going training and support was clearly stated next. The vision that adults will be valued contributing members of their own community set the tone for our work.

The agenda would be to change existing and established funding streams so that financial assistance follows the person. There would be strategies put in place to increase the numbers of available, qualified and motivated personnel and that adults would have access to supports to develop life skills.

In the area of Housing, the agenda was to direct support to residential models that are person-centered, to expand public and private funding for residential services and to engage people and institutions that direct capital and influence housing policy.

In the area of Employment the agenda would be to create and expand career development and vocational skills training programs while they are still in school, ensure on going accessibility to employment supports in the technical and social area and to increase the number of successful programs that match adults with autism with meaningful jobs.

Finally in the area of Community Life the agenda is to educate first responders about challenging behaviors and prepare them to handle occasions in the safest and most effective manner, to create a comprehensive public awareness campaign to help the general public better understand, engage and support adults with autism and their families and to assist adults in accessing public and private transportation as well as providing training for transportation providers.

Daniel Stone brought closure to the day by asking each of the 1000 participants to identify at least one activity they each could commit to the advance the work to today’s town hall. Participants in each of the 16 local areas shared their ideas amongst themselves and the meeting was adjourned.

For detailed information on the event and next steps check out www.afaa-us.org. See what you can do to help advance the futures of adults with autism.

Karen Kaplan
Autism Consultant
Karensupportsu@comcast.net

College Living Experience

For all you professionals who have students, teens etc that have the interest in attending post secondary schools, here is a possibility.

For all you parents who have students interested in attending a post secondary program that can support their individual needs, here is a possibility.

For all you parents who have junior high and almost high school students, here is a future possibility.

Please pass this on to friends, colleagues and students.

Karen Kaplan
Special Needs Consultant
karensupportsu@comcast.net

October 27, 2009
Autism Youth Sub Committee Notes by Karen Kaplan, chair

Thank you Barry from Lifehouse agency, Rebecca Breen from Jewish Children and Family Services, Louse Bruce from the Chris Connection, Cheryl Markowitz from Psychology Learning and You, Zipora Anker from Golden Gate Regional Center and Judi Shepard, parent for joining our meeting today.

Today’s Accomplishments: The committee looked at potential projects, added information to help understand the projects and assigned next steps. The following is a list of the projects and their next steps.

1) Work with Mike Gardner (program manager for MCOE) in bringing awareness training to his 22 teachers. NEXT STEP: Karen Kaplan and Cheryl Markowitz will schedule a meeting with Mike to discuss logistics and outcomes for this awareness meeting.

2) Ensure that the MAC web site provide current information on health reform, insurance reform and the Autism Task Force. Next Step Karen Kaplan will ask Katrina Ferreyra, MAC coordinator, if it is possible to send out periodic requests for information from experts in these areas and post information on the MAC web site. Perhaps it would be possible to have links to this information posted on the MAC web site as well or blog about these issues on the site.

3) Develop a school age resource directory of services for physicians as well as a school age resource directory of after school services for families. Next Step: Karen Kaplan will check in with the birth through 5 autism committee and the autism transition committee to identify any current projects they have of developing resource guides. Perhaps one person from each committee could come together to work on a number of resource guides that could be posted on the MAC web site. Zipora Anker is going to bring GGRC’s resource guides to our next sub committee meeting.

4) Develop first responder training. A DVD has been developed and is soon to be sent to first responder trainers. Next Step Karen Kaplan will inform committee when DVD has been completed and send and then our community can find ways of connecting with our first responders to ensure that the DVD is offered in our local community.

5) Find ways to expand the access of autism resources to the Marin County community. Next Step Barry Benda is going to connect with Gabriel Rogin who is currently working on a similar project occurring between GGRC and Support for Families. Barry will report back to the committee next month.

Interesting website, especially for parents. Check out the videos on Asperger’s too.

Autismspot

Have you seen the movie, The Horse Boy?

I had the opportunity to be one of the 80 in attendance, at the Rafael Movie Theater on 4th street in San Rafael, to experience the journey that a mom and dad made with their son with autism in search of hope. How is it that a mom and dad from Texas sought a trip to Mongolia to find HOPE? How is it that they could not find HOPE in the state of Texas or for that matter any state in the United States for their son? When will more professionals in the United States be able to work side by side with families to help them feel hopeful in stead of telling them that the interventions their son or daughter needs are not available, too expensive, not covered by insurance or not evidence based.

You must see the lengths that Rowan’s mom and dad go through in order to locate healers, reindeer, the reindeer people and the miracle waters they hope will change the course of their son’s autism. They have been to all the right specialists and doctors in the United States but Rowan still has restricted play skills, no friends, either chooses not to communicate or communicates in his own unique jargon, has sever tantrums several times a day and is not making any progress in toileting training. He goes no where without his plastic animals in his hands and continues to line them up like trains on a track in no apparent meaningful manner.

Rowan’s parents want more than anything to see the pain their son experiences several times a day vanish. They hope that the day will come soon when their son will not need them to clean him off after a bowel movement in his pants, down his legs, in his shoe and they long for their son to enjoy a real connection with another child.

One of the insights they discover and hang deeply onto is Rowan’s incredible ability to interact and relate to animals. What they appreciate is the animals’ tolerances of Rowan’s interactions. The animals seem to be able to remain calm while Rowan touches them in, lifts them, puts them in a cardboard box with him and lies upon them. Rowan’s father has one special wish; that Rowan successfully rides a horse, totally independent and with extreme excitement and joy, something he has experienced in his life and wants desperately for Rowan to share. He gets excited about the possibility when Rowan has an amazing experience on a neighbors horse, (Betsy).

Rowan makes some small changes along the journey but some amazing changes immediately after his final session with the shaman of the reindeer people. Both Kristin and Rupert engage you in reflective thinking at this point in the movie. You are left to decide for yourself if it was the healing from the shaman, the journey, their expectations or all of it.

I choose to admire the strength and courage of this family. I choose to value the process this family went through to accept their child and I choose to believe that hope and faith are still needed in our world today. It has been and will always be parents like Rowan’s who find ways to reach and teach their children. I choose remain open to possibilities.

See the movie and decide for yourself.

I plan on reading the book published by Little, Brown and Company by Rupert Isaacson to explore in more detail the journey.

I also plan to find out about the amazing therapeutic riding school that Rowan’s father has set up in Austin, Texas, where he is helping other children.

Karen Kaplan
Private Consultant/Special Needs
karensupportsu@comcast.net
www.karenkaplanasd.com