Blue & warm day tomorrow at Aptos beach? www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

Memorial Day weather?
Memorial Day weather?

Blue day tomorrow, Memorial Day at Aptos beach? Hope so. Nice day for a backyard barbacue? Hope so. Remember what Memorial Day is all about.

Remember to keep faith with those who died in Flanders Field, World War I.

“In Flanders field, the poppies blow…

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies blow
In Flanders Field.

A lot of young people have died to keep America safe and the world safe from terrorists. How best to keep faith with them?

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Aptos psychologist: Parent-led home programs for children with autism are available & work www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

Through Early Start the regional centers serve many children with social and communication delays. Children do not need a diagnosis of autism or autistic spectrum disorder to receive early start services from 0-3.

In Santa Cruz County, a variety of venders provide services under the auspices of the local regional center. A wide variety of programs are available from P.L.A.Y. – which as its name denotes helps parents to have fun while interacting and teaching age appropriate social and communication activities to their children – to strict ABA type programs such as ABRITE wherein, I have been told, the parent is not permitted in the room during therapy sessions.

Personally, for various reasons I support programs such as P.L.A.Y offerred locally through Easter Seals in Santa Cruz (http://central.easterseals.com). I also support Floortime approaches. One local therapist with Floortime using a DIR approach is licensed MFT Lisa de Faria, located in Scotts Valley. Through her you can obtain other names of competent therapists using the DIR and Floortime model.

It is possible, though not frequently done, for parents receiving Early Start regional center services to create their own particular mix of social skills training, speech and occupational therapy. When people come out to assess, that is the best time for the parent to state that they want to be in charge of the mix of services offerred.

Below is an article by Jill Echer. From her blog: Autism Tomorrows www.autismtomorrows.blogspot.com

What the Psychologist Should Have Said by Jill Echer from her blog: autismtomorrows.blogspot.com

“If psychologists told the truth when delivering an autism diagnosis, this is what they would say.

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, for bringing little Joey in to see me. It was an honor and privilege to spend time with such a sensitive and special child. I know you are concerned about Joey’s social development, and I can understand that; as you know, when we see distortions in social development, we usually give it a label, an autism spectrum disorder. But just because we have a label, that doesn’t mean we understand the problem any more than you do.

I see the same things you saw before you made the appointment, for example, Joey is not pointing to objects and then referencing you, as normal toddlers do many dozens of times each day. He’s not responding to his name or turning his head when you say, “Look at this!.” He does not share and show, or draw attention to himself. He has a few words to label objects but it not engaging in any little conversations or respond to questions. He’s not interested in other children, lacks eye contact, and does not pretend play with toys. I am not any more observant than you, I just have the ability to put these omissions in stark relief by administering some diagnostic tests.

We have no idea why Joey is developing so differently than other kids his age. New theories seem to be developing every day, and just about everyone agrees that autism is a neurobiological disturbance caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors. Some theories relate to neural under connectivity, neural overgrowth, lack of synaptic pruning, failure of certain neural pathways to develop, weakness of the mirror neuron system, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, even hormonal influence on the developing brain. But in the end, we just don’t know.

I know what you’re thinking: why would a psychologist like me have any business diagnosing and treating a mysterious neurological disorder? That’s a good question. In reality, the field of psychology is completely irrelevant to autism. And worse, and I’m very sorry about this, my profession has a history of doing more harm than good to people with autism, and their families. For decades, from the 50s through the 70s, we routinely blamed the children’s mothers for causing the social withdrawal resulting in autism. Then from the 80s to today most of us have portrayed autism as a behavioral disorder addressable at least in part through behavior modification based on discredited work by someone who knew nothing about autism, named BF Skinner. His legacy is a form of systematic rewards and punishments used originally on dogs and pigeons. Psychologists who follow the behavioral model don’t believe in addressing the core deficits of autism, just shaping external behaviors. My profession has done a poor job of developing or understanding effective therapies; in fact we do very little hands-on work with your kids. Most of our observations come from ivory tower research papers; we remain naive and a bit mystified about how to implement meaningful therapy.

You asked about prognosis. There are few good longitudinal studies examining long-term outcome, but from my experience I see that children with these early developmental patterns have some level of social and sensory difficulty that persists throughout life, although there is evidence that some children do in fact recover. Some individuals move along the spectrum and become quite functional; others are wired in such a way that they always have profound problems relating to our world.

That said, we psychologists have done a terrible disservice by presuming your kids are mentally retarded, when in fact so many people with autism, though nonverbal and remote, have proven to have active and engaged intellects. We know this because many of them have learned to type or point to communicate amazing and complex thoughts. I myself have met several of these kids and believe that a great many people with autism could do the same if given appropriate help and guidance. I am sorry that my profession has perpetuated so many myths about people with autism. Autism for the most part is a disorder of the sensory-social system and not of the intellect.

You asked about next steps. We psychologists usually follow a cookie-cutter approach that recommends a total of 25 hours per week of intervention, including about 10-18 hours per week of ABA and about 7-15 hours of other therapies, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and play group.

But let me tell you the truth. By running a parent-led home program, you are free to emphasize the critical deficits in autism, namely development of social interest and relatedness. You will have complete control over quality and training of the therapists and the ability to videotape sessions to provide constructive feedback to the therapists. It is not as hard and daunting as it sounds. For one example of an excellent home program, see autismtreatmentcenter.org.

The real issue here is not parent competence, but availability of support and funding, even though 40 hour per week parent-led programs cost one-quarter as much as 20 hour per week therapist-led ABA programs. But because agencies, school districts and insurance do pay for some portion of an ABA program, cost efficiency is a moot point for some families, and I understand that.

You asked about Joey’s repetitive behaviors, like flapping his hands, and sifting sand, and spinning wheels. Well, I know we psychologists have labeled these type of repetitive behaviors as aberrant and maladaptive, and again, I am sorry about that. We have no idea why Joey does these things, but of course these activities have meaning and value to him; it how he is taking care of himself and exerting some control over his confusing world.

We have sought to extinguish these type of activities through behavior modification, but that almost never works. Please look at Joey’s repetitious behaviors as an opportunity to join him in his world, to get to know him better. It’s a wonderful starting point for strengthening your relationship and earning his trust. Do not judge him, after all he is doing the very best he can given his most unusual neural wiring. Your total acceptance will be the best starting point down the road.

For more articles by Jill Escher, go Jill Echer Autism Tomorrows

the above was written by Jill Escher
“I’m a former attorney, a stay at home mom of three, and an active community volunteer. For those who care about resume type information, I grew up in Los Angeles, have a BA from Stanford University (1987), and a Masters and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (both 1996). We live in San Jose and Santa Cruz, California. The goal of this blog is to help parents of children with autism think critically, and in a more informed way, about their children’s treatment options. Please reach me at jill.escher@gmail.com.
View my complete profile

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Aptos psychologist: support Autism Treatment & Acceleration Act 2009 by Durbin & Mendendez www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

Check out and support senate bill introduced by Senators Durbin (D-Il) Casey (D-PA ), and Menendez (D-NJ): the Autism Treatment and Acceleration Act 2009 (ATAA) http://www.autism-society.org/site/news2?page=NewsArticle&id=13301. ATAA would create many services for adults with autism- vocational, employment, housing and transportation to name a few. This is something for all of us to support.

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Aptos psychologist: Gudith Grether, Ph.D. speaks about the biological markers for autism, May 27, Morgan Autism Center www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

831 688-6002 Licensed psyhologist Dr. Cameron Jackson, Ph.D. writes: The increase in autistic spectrum disorders is so huge and fast that finding enviornmental causes — and doing so quickly — is crucial to getting a handle on this disorder. Per regional center data, in 30 years the number of persons served by the California regional centers diagnosed with autism jumped 1200% from 2,701 in 1987 to 34,656 in 2007.

Judith Grether, Ph.D.
research scientist with the Enviornmental Health Investigations branch of the California Department of Public Health speaks this Wed., May 27 at the Morgan Autism Center, 2280 Kenwood Av., San Jose, CA 95128. Cost is $20. Call 408 241 8161 for more information.

For more information about Morgan Autism Center go to Morgan Center

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Aptos psychologist: Easter Seals offers P.L.A.Y. autism therapy in Santa Cruz & Monterey Counties www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

written by Dr. Cameron Jackson, Ph.D.. L.D. Licensed Psychologist 831 688-6002

Children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, NOS) have major social and communication difficulties.

Families need to be given the TOOLS how to have fun and be spontaneous with their children as they teach them. It is very hard on families to be social and engaging with ASDD children who seem to be in their own world, who seem to ignore their parents, who seem unaware of brothers and sisters.

The P.L.A.Y. project’s goal is to teach parents to PLAY in a fun way in developmentally appropriate ways. Not only the child – the whole family can benefit. Currently available in Monterey County, P.L.A.Y. is also available to Santa Cruz County parents. P.L.A.Y. is a vendor of San Andreas Regional Center which covers the four counties of Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara. Pl.L.A.Y. is a regional center vendor for under 3 children. It is appropriate for children before attending school.

The following information comes from the Easter Seals site. There is a link to the site at the bottom.

“Easter Seals P.L.A.Y. Project (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) program started in 2006. The mission of the project is to help young children (up to age 6) with autism spectrum disorders and their families obtain interventions that consist of 2-3 hours of intensive, individualized therapy per day, and are integrated with other therapies saving the parents time and money.

“The P.L.A.Y. Project is unique in that it provides training for the parents of children with autism so they can implement therapy at home. Easter Seals has home consultants, including specially trained occupational therapists and speech pathologists, to implement the P.L.A.Y. Project, enabling them to teach parents how to initiate therapy in the home setting. A child with autism needs 20-30 hours per week of therapy to learn and grow as quickly as possible. This project is highly cost effective for families and enables the child to receive a continuum of service throughout their day.

“The P.L.A.Y. Project was founded by Dr. Rick Solomon, who has diagnosed and treated children with autism for over 15 years. Dr. Solomon’s initial study of 70 children with autism demonstrated that 65% of the children in the P.L.A.Y. Project made good to excellent progress. Solomon’s study has been given tremendous credibility with its recent acceptance for publication in the Journal of Autism and receipt of a National Institute of Health grant.

Goals of the P.L.A.Y. Project include:

Improving parent/child relationships.
Improving behavior of the child reducing stress within the home.
Including siblings in coaching and training.
Creating strong families including improved spousal relationships
Improving child development so children are ready for school.
Improving systems for families so services are integrated, accessible, culturally-appropriate and of high quality.
The P.L.A.Y. Project is partially funded by First 5 Monterey County, First 5 Fresno County and the Fansler Foundation.

“If you or someone you know would like information regarding the P.L.A.Y. Project, please contact Drea Martinez at 559-267-3952 in Fresno and Mark Wenzler at 831-684-2166 in Monterey.

“For more information about the P.L.A.Y. Project, you can also visit www.playproject.org.

Above comes from Easter Seals

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Aptos psychologist: In memory of those who died to keep our country safe…”In Flanders fieds the poppies blow..Between the crosses, row on row… www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

In Flanders field poppies blow
In Flanders field poppies blow
The Memorial Day Poppy

“In Flanders Field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders Field.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies blow
In Flanders Field.

John McCrae, 1915.

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Aptos restautant Cafe Rio: 7th Wave playing at 8. What is the FISH special???? www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

The 7th Wave is playing at the Cafe Rio in Aptos. Aptos has few live music bands on the weekend so that is GREAT to hear. But what is the FISH special of the day? Ah, well, guess I will go and see since last time the food (mussels) were excellent. I hear they have some new Big Bite appetizers to try.

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