Autism BR

For those people who are working with children who have autism the iPad has become a main tool. A nonthreatening device that is both light and reasonably inexpensive has changed the way therapists, teachers and parents have taught their autistic learners.   This device is changing the way special education departments in school’s have been working with their students. These current actions definitely foreshadow the teaching methods of tomorrow. Dawn Ferrer is a speech therapist who is also an iPad developer. She uses the iPad in her practice and teaches her clients families how to use the iPad at home. She joins Senior Dad Stan Goldberg to discuss the iPad, it’s uses and shows us how it can be used in teaching. Dawn Ferrer, I have an app to you.

When we are pregnant we visualize different teaching situations that we will explore with our future child. None of us could anticipate the unfamiliar territory that confronts a parent when their child is diagnosed with autism. For parent Tammy Graham the diagnosis of autism changed her lifestyle. From a full-time working parent she became a stay-at-home parent who utilized many different strategies to teach her daughter. Not long ago she was unsatisfied with her daughter's progress and started using the family's iPad to help teach her daughter. New doors opened. The teaching accelerated. Tammy Graham joins Senior Dad Stan Goldberg to share her journey into using technology to teach her child.

For those people who are working with children who have autism the iPad has become a main tool. A nonthreatening device that is both light and reasonably inexpensive has changed the way therapists, teachers and parents have taught their autistic learners.   This device is changing the way special education departments in school’s have been working with their students. These current actions definitely foreshadow the teaching methods of tomorrow. Dawn Ferrer is a speech therapist who is also an iPad developer. She uses the iPad in her practice and teaches her clients families how to use the iPad at home. She joins Senior Dad Stan Goldberg to discuss the iPad, it’s uses and shows us how it can be used in teaching. Dawn Ferrer, I have an app to you.

Max Gibson goes to school in New York State. Max has hearing issues. His father Tom tried to get the school district to give Max the support he needed in order to learn. Things didn’t go as Tom Gibson had envisioned and soon he was embroiled in complicated meetings that delayed his son’s education. Tom Gibson wrote a book called” Lost in the system” where he describes some of the issues he encountered. He joins Senior Dad Stan Goldberg to discuss some of the issues that parents face when trying to get services for the children who are in special education. Tom Gibson: “ Not Lost Anymore”

“Home for the holidays?” Or, “let’s get this party started?” The holidays can be a stressful time for families under the best of circumstances. For your child with autism, they can be particularly difficult. Familiar routines are out the window and unfamiliar – and sometimes unfair – expectations arise at every turn. Listen in and hear how to empower your child with autism during this bustling time.  Internationally known award-winning author and columnist Ellen Notbohm (Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew) and San Francisco special needs activist Katy Franklin join “Senior Dad” Stan Goldberg in the Autism Briefing Room, explaining how the holidays effect their children with autism and their friends and families. Hear tips what to do before and during holiday parties and strategies for graceful departure. What to do about gifts and gift lists, and how to handle the lure of those attractive TV commercials?  Ellen and Katy share some of their experiences with their children and what works for them. Some of the lessons we learn apply to teaching and handling all children as well as helping us begin to understand the challenges of a family with a child with autism.

The last twenty years has shown an increasing awareness of autism. A variety of programs to treat and aid children with autism at different stages of social development have only begun to emerge over the last five years. One such program is beginning in Thorne Hill, a suburb of Toronto. Lital Rotman Gurneir is starting “Social Butterflies” an ABA-like program targeting children with Asperger's playing with typical children to learn social skills. She joins Senior Dad Stan Goldberg to explain the program and its goals just before the launch of Social Butterflies.

How do you stand back and let your grown child go out into the world? Does it tug at your heart? Now add to your emotions the fact that your child was born with autism and you have been very closely guiding his progress for 19 years. That’s what Ellen Notbohm is going through as she is watching her son Bryce graduate from high school. Bryce views himself as “a man, not a man with autism”. Ellen has written about Bryce in her three books and has been a frequent guest on the Autism Briefing Room, speaking about autism and her family’s journey. Ellen Notbohm letting go

Three years ago Autism Speaks awarded Dr. Pamela Wolfberg of California State University at San Francisco the 2008 Research Award for Clinical Research for a project using Wolfberg’s Integrated Play Groups™ (IPG) model. This research involved typical children playing with children with Autism at an afterschool program. Now that research project is completed, Mariel Goldberg, age 9 ¾, one of the expert players that participated in the project joins me to share some of the things she and the other participants learned. (Full disclosure, Mariel is also my youngest daughter.)

Lynn Koegel Co-Director of the Koegel Autism Institute of the University of California at Santa Barbara discusses the early results of new research on Autism

When faced with difficult conditions humans turn to humor. What better way to relieve tension than a nice solid laugh? Two parents have harnessed humor to teach school districts and parents how to work together to help extra needs children be successful in school. Their video spoof of an IEP meeting is a hoot (shutupabout.com). Pat Terrasi Konjoian and Gina Terrasi Gallagher join me via Skype video to share what they are doing and in the process relieve my tension with laughter. Using laughter to build bridges and open hearts “The Movement of the Imperfect”.

Sound is a very intriguing property. The quantity of words we hear from birth to age three determine our vocabulary, potentially for life. This was learned from Betty Hart and Todd Risley’s research published in 1995. New research has found a way to analyze children's speech patterns to determine if the child has Autism. The tool analyzes the social behavior of parents and children while they converse. Joining me to discuss the implications of this research and other related research is Steven F. Warren, Ph.D., a member of the team that developed the research. He is the Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies and Professor of Applied Behavioral Sciences at the University of Kansas

What is a learning disability?  Can you properly identify a learning disability? What should we do when our children seem to be behind in reading or math? Is it really a problem or is it just our imagination?  How do we get our children through the education process with their egos intact? Deborah Waber, researcher, clinical neuropsychologist joins me to discuss these issues among others and her new book, “Rethinking Learning Disabilities: Understanding Children Who Struggle in School”.

How do you change the culture and practice of a school district’s special education department? San Francisco is trying to do just that after committing to enacting some of the recommendations of the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative audit which found many issues with what San Francisco was doing in special education. Joining me is Richard Carranza, Deputy Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, and Cecilia Dodge, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Special Education and SELPA to explain what the District is doing to foster inclusion in all of the schools of the District and how this is going to effect almost every classroom, teacher, and child in the district.

In 2008, the San Francisco Unified School District's Special Education department decided to illegally censor the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education’s newsletter. This Committee is state-mandated to provide oversight of SFUSD’s special education department and reports directly to the School Board. The School Board did not support the Committee and allowed the Committee to be censored. As an aftermath of this cataclysmic event, the director of special education retired. Shortly after that, the head of the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) also left the school district. After one interim special education director, in the spring of 2010, the school district engaged the services of the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative to audit SFUSD’s special education department. David Riley, Executive Director of the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative, joins me to elaborate on this far-reaching audit.

For over 30 years the Hanen Center of Toronto Canada has been training audiologists to work with parents to improve their children’s language skills. In 2000 they started a program aimed at teaching parents of children with autism how to work with their children to improve their child’s language skills and social interactions. The program is called “More than words®” designed to work with younger learners. More than words was followed by a program designed for older children call “It takes two to talk®”. Elaine Weitzman has been with the Hanen Center for over 25 years and is currently their Executive Director. She joins me to share why the Hanen Center focuses on teaching parents to work with their own children rather than working with the children directly. Elaine Weitzman, more than words.