Playworks

Slacking on the blog

2010-09-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

I have been really slacking on the blog. Please check us out on Facebook. Search Playworks Redlands. Thanks!

A visionary passed today.

2010-04-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Stanley Greenspan, M.D. passed away yesterday following a stroke. Dr. Greenspan was a visionary... smart, eccentric, kind hearted, and a lovely man. A pioneer in the fields of infant mental health and autism, he was the most influential person in my career.

Check out our Facebook page.

2010-03-09T14:20:00.001-08:00

www.facebook.com/playworkscenter

Reading Remediation Seems to Rewire the Brain - US News and World Report

2010-02-26T15:58:00.001-08:00

Reading Remediation Seems to Rewire the Brain - US News and World Report

Posted using ShareThis

Link to WSJ Article on Temple Grandin

2010-02-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703525704575061123564007514-lMyQjAxMTAwMDIwMDEyNDAyWj.html

Current openings

2010-02-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

We have a few openings for speech therapy and developmental intervention.

Link to MSNBC interview with Temple Grandin

2010-02-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35150832/ns/health-mental_health/ns/health-mental_health/

Link to AP article on responses to DSM-5

2010-02-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35348917/ns/health-mental_health/

Class Action Suit Against Eastern LA Regional Center (ELARC)

2010-01-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, attorneys with Public Counsel and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP filed a class action law suit and preliminary injunction on behalf of children with autism against the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center (ELARC) for unlawfully terminating the most effective treatment for their condition. ELARC, a nonprofit agency through which the state provides statutorily-required services to people with disabilities, suddenly and illegally eliminated funding for the treatment, known as "DIR," after more than 10 years of providing it to hundreds, if not thousands, of mostly low-income children with autism.

Autism, a severe neurological disorder, is the fastest-growing developmental disability in California and the nation; today, 1 in 110 children born in the United States have some form of autism. The "DIR" or Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based treatment, as ELARC has long acknowledged, provides the children in the lawsuit with the only effective means by which they may grow into or continue to be healthy and functioning members of society.
"DIR treatment is what stands between these children and a life of dependence," said Laura Faer, the Directing Attorney of Public Counsel's Children's Rights Project. "At an economic low point for California, this agency could not have made a poorer choice for these children or for the state's finances. DIR is cost-effective, changes lives, and prevents state-funded hospitalization and institutionalization."

For twelve-year-old Benito R., DIR is the only treatment that has worked to control his violent, aggressive behavior.

"DIR treatment is making a huge difference," said Benito's mother, a low-income single mom who works full time. "Without this help, I would never be able to take Benito out into the world, even to do simple things like grocery shopping for fear of what might happen. I'm worried that he will revert back to the way he was, aggressive, dangerous and unable to interact even with me."

Like the other class members, Benito is entitled to these services under California's Lanterman Act, which was enacted to prevent the institutionalization of developmentally disabled persons. In particular, the Act prohibits the unilateral termination of authorized and necessary services.

"Raising a child with autism on a limited income is hard enough," said Brian Capra, Staff Attorney at Public Counsel. "ELARC has broken the law meant to protect those families and children and done so in a way that leaves them without options. It's inexplicable and wrong."
ELARC's termination of DIR is based on a misapplication of the so-called "Trailer Bill," which was passed by the California legislature last July, and prohibits Regional Centers like ELARC from, among other things, funding "experimental treatments."

"Far from being 'experimental,' DIR has successfully treated thousands of children with autism in 33 states and in countries throughout the world," said John Sharer of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. "Over the past 20 years, it has substantially improved the quality of their lives and has transformed many of these children into fully-functioning, well-adjusted members of society."

ELARC is also the only regional center, out of seven in Los Angeles County, to have misinterpreted the new legislation in this way. Â Attorneys for the case have learned that DIR programs are still being provided to children at the other Regional Centers in LA County and throughout California.

"ELARC's actions have no basis in law, and they will cause irreparable and irreversible harm to these children," said Katie Marquart, attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. "These children already face tremendous daily struggles. ELARC's action will unnecessarily result in devastating consequences for their psychological, emotional and physical well-being. It is for these reasons that today we ask the Court to immediately enjoin ELARC and stop it from eliminating this vital program."

About Public Counsel -
Public Counsel is the largest pro bono public interest law firm in the world. Founded in 1970, Public Counsel is dedicated to advancing equal justice under law by delivering free legal and social services to the most vulnerable members of our community, including abused and abandoned children, homeless families and veterans, senior citizens, victims of consumer fraud and nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities.

About Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based (DIR) –
The DIR treatment plan for autism focuses on the individual differences among children with autism, including understanding the child's emotional, social, behavioral, and intellectual level; individual differences in motor, sensory and language functioning and the child and family functioning and interaction patterns. It places a premium on forging a close bond between the parent and the child and the clinician and the child.
SOURCE Public Counsel

Prevalence Graph from Autism Speaks

2009-12-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Link to a new prevalence graph on the Autism Speaks website.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/docs/Prevalence_Graph_12_18_2009.pdf

Editorial on Autism Speaks

2009-11-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

An editorial I received today from a colleague. Original source is Autismlink.

-----Original Message-----
From: AutismLink
To: redacted
Sent: Mon, Nov 30, 2009 3:28 pm
Subject: Editorial: Autism Speaks. Its a Living.

Autism Speaks. It’s a Living.

Autism Speaks recently announced on their website that due to the
poor economy they have to “postpone” grant making and giving for
2009. Yes, this charity that hauled in a reported $68 million in funds
last year has fallen on hard times. Sad, really, on the surface. But
dig deeper. I ask you to consider the following information, taken
straight from this organization’s IRS 990 form on their own website:

Geraldine Dawson, Chief Science Officer – Salary: $669,751

Mark Roithmayer, President – Salary: $400,413

Peter Bell, Executive Vice President – Salary: $265,981

Glenn Tringali, Executive Vice President – Salary: $255,256

Alison Tepper Singer, Executive Vice President – Salary: $201,942

Amount Spent on Travel: $2,873,667

Credit Card and Banking Fees: $989,344

Premiums: $1,452,807

Management Fees: $2,038,024

Advertising and Promotion: $2,108,778

Temporary Help: $718,686

Income: $65,826,829

GRANTS PAID OUT: $27,593,390

Now I ask you, does this look like an organization that is suffering?
It looks, to me, to be an organization that cares more about highly
paid salaries, posh offices on #2 Park Avenue in New York, pricey
fundraisers and getting it’s name in the newspaper. They seem to
exist solely to pay salaries and throw parties.

But hey, they’ve fallen on hard times. So can someone please tell
me why the first thing to go is the grant making and giving -- the one
thing that they claim as their #1 mission? To give grants to find a
cure for autism? And don’t they seem a little top heavy to you? A
$700,000 salary?? Four Executive Vice Presidents?

Autism Speaks is gaining quite a reputation in the autism community.
The come into a town near you with their sweeping public relations
teams, hold their annual “walk for autism” dog and pony show,
sucking every last dollar out of the community, only to take it back
to those posh #2 Park Avenue offices. While it may seem like a noble
cause, the main result of Autism Speaks’ tactics is that LOCAL
organizations that actually HELP people in your very own community by
providing services and supports end up begging for funding. How long
are we, as an autism community, going to close our eyes to what’s
really going on here? The big corporate New York “show”
organization is going from town to town like an infestation of locusts
sucking out every last dollar that they can in order to pay 68% of its
income in salaries and overhead.

The average corporation or Joe on the street doesn’t have time or
inclination to investigate the charity. After all, they’re so well
known and have such a bevy of Hollywood stars behind them, they have
to be legitimate, right? Well, I’ll leave that for you to decide,
but I urge you to look at their official IRS 990 form, right on their
own page, and do a little bit of math. Maybe you will open your eyes
to reality, and take those walking shoes off, give to local
organizations, and tell Autism Speaks to walk off.

Many adults living with autism have done just that and have even gone
to the extreme of protesting their walks and events. Jerry Seinfeld,
one of their performers, was confronted by an adult with autism,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH2otGcEfYU
– in which he was completely blown off by the star. Their
controversial “I am autism” video controversy was even recently
covered by Time Magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1935959,00.html
.

Dozens of websites and blogs from around the globe are condemning
Autism Speaks for their spending habits, their scare tactics and their
treatment of the “neurodiverse” community. Their Washington, DC,
New York, Ohio State University, and several other locations for the
annual autism walk have been picketed and protested by individuals
with autism as well.

Even when Autism Speaks was in its infancy, the co-founders of the
organization told their daughter publicly (the mother of the child
with autism who was the impetus for starting the charity) that she was
not allowed to speak for them in any capacity. The story ended up on
the front page of the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/us/18autism.html?pagewanted=print

With a history mired in controversy and upheaval, Autism Speaks has
been at the Center of debate in the autism community for quite some
time, but now even die hard AS supporters are starting to see the
light. I used to be one of those supporters.

Pittsburgh was the very first walk for autism in the country, and I
was involved from the get-go. I did their newsletters, coined the
whole “Walk Talk” concept, produced and edited videos for them,
and helped raise thousands of dollars for this organization over the
years. Luckily, someone opened MY eyes to the truth, and I stopped
supporting them and began trying to educate others on how they
actually spend their money.

And, hot off of their website from today:

Announcement of Budget Reductions for Continuation Years of Autism
Speaks Research Grants

In view of the serious challenges that the economy is facing, Autism
Speaks made the difficult decision to institute budget reductions of
15% for all grant payments in FY2009. This includes most of the grants
awarded in December 2008 as well continuation budgets for grants
originally awarded prior to December 2008. Thus, if your second- or
subsequent budget year commences in 2009, a 15% reduction will apply
and you will be asked to submit a modified budget for the remaining
years before the continuation award will be activated. Please note
that Pilot and Fellowship grants are not subject to this reduction.
These changes were instituted to continue funding as many research
projects as possible and we regret any difficulty that you may
encounter because of the reduced budget. "

I wonder if the staff took a 15% wage reduction? So does this mean
that projects that were already promised funding won’t be fully
funded? That this will result in layoffs and the research not being
completed? Sounds like it to me.

I urge everyone to please take the time to read the IRS 990. The
proof is in the pudding – right there in black and white for
everyone to see. Don’t be a kool aid drinker – educate yourself
and get the facts before you walk even one more step for this
organization.

Cindy Waeltermann

Director, AutismLink

More Information and Links:

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-take-back-every-nice-thing-i-have.html

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/autism-autism-spectrum-article/local-chapter-of-autism-speaks-splits-from-autism-speaks/287832

http://www.autismspeaks.org/about_us.php

http://www.blisstree.com/articles/a-sad-story-on-fathers-day-the-wright-family-feud/

http://neurodiversity.com/weblog/?c=Advocacy

The Art of Autism

2009-10-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

11/4/09 6 PM
Fox Events Center, Downtown Redlands
www.kvcr.org for more info

Per diem opening - ST or OT

2009-10-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

We have an immediate opening for a per diem therapist 2-4 afternoons per week. Pediatric experience and CA license required.

Link to Huffington Post article by David Kirby

2009-10-17T19:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-associated-with_b_316986.html

Link to article by a mom who gives her kid with ASD medical marijuana

2009-10-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.theautismnews.com/2009/10/12/why-i-give-my-9-year-old-pot/

Link to Fox News article. What is wrong with people?

2009-10-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,563623,00.html

Press Enterprise article on school districts and autism

2009-10-02T23:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_autism28.43a1cc7.html

Article from ICDL's newsletter

2009-09-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.icdl.com/dirFloortime/Playground.shtml

Openings for fall

2009-09-24T23:37:00.001-07:00

We have a few morning openings for speech therapy.

Per Diem SLP

2009-09-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

We are looking for a talented SLP to join our practice on a per diem basis 2-4 afternoons per week. Pediatric experience required, as well as master's degree, state license, and Certificate of Clinical Competence. Qualified applicants, please check out our website www.playworks.cc and email kelli at that domain to begin the application process.

Huffington Post piece I just found...

2009-05-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Interesting article by Elaine Hall, Neal's Mom and Director of the Miracle Project

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elaine-hall/i-love-autism_b_167382.html

Summer schedules

2009-05-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

We're about to start working on our summer schedules. Please update us with summer school schedules, vacation dates, and any other constraints or preferences. Thanks.

Link to PE article on Gina, Chris, and the Logelins.

2009-04-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_matt13.426f839.html

Next week on Oprah...

2009-04-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

FYI. Next week on Oprah :)

On Monday, Chris and Gina Lee's work will be featured on Oprah. Gina was the photographer for our Christmas train event and her husband Chris was the video guy. Gina and Chris are both super talented and have such a heart for children. Should I ever become a mother, I will absolutely have Gina do my newborn photo shoot. Amazing work. Anyway, if you're home in the afternoon or have a DVR, Oprah is having Matt Logelin as her guest that day. Matt started the Liz Logelin foundation in honor of his late wife who died of a pulmonary embolism the day after their daughter Madeline was born. Gina has done quite a bit of photography work with them and Chris recently did a video of Madeline's first birthday photoshoot. Matt's foundation supports a great cause and I have great respect and gratitude for the Lee family. Should be a great show!

Here are some links:

http://www.mattlogelin.com
http://gleephotography.blogspot.com/2009/04/crazy-walk-in-target.html
http://www.onwardfilms.com

Link to an old Autism Diva blog re. Jenny McCarthy

2009-04-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Blog: Autism Diva
Post: Jenny McCarthy and the problem of illusions.
Link: http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/2007/09/jenny-mccarthy-and-problem-of-illusions.html

Summer enrollment

2009-04-07T20:26:00.001-07:00

We are beginning to think about our summer schedule, programs, etc. Please let your child's therapist know your availability and if you would like any changes to your services and/or hours. Current clients have "first dibs" on extra sessions. We will open enrollment to new clients in May. Thanks.

Link to interview with Erik Linthorst

2009-04-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Link to ABC News clip with Erik Linthorst and Ricki Robinson, M.D. Erik is the father of Graham, the little boy in the film, Autistic-Like: Graham's Story. More on Erik's film at www.autisticlike.com

Ignorance on World Autism Awareness Day

2009-04-02T23:41:00.001-07:00

Happened to catch 5 minutes of Dr. Laura today. Such ignorant comments to a mom of a boy with autism. Did anyone catch this? I'll have to get a transcript.

Promotion

2009-03-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Reanna has been promoted to the position of Assistant Director. She has already had the responsibility of the position for a long time and now I'm forcing her to take the title. :)

Spring Break

2009-03-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Please let your child's therapist know your spring break plans. We will be open throughout March and April. Our next holiday is Memorial Day. Thanks!

World Autism Awareness Day 4/2/09

2009-03-05T22:41:00.000-08:00

www.worldautismawarenessday.org

Book recommendation

2009-03-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

I have a book recommendation for families working with their kids on reading. "Teaching Word Recognition" is by Rollanda O'Connor, one of my former professors at UCR. I'd say it would be appropriate for parents of kids with a developmental reading age of 4 1/2 - 8 (focus on Kindergarten-1st grade). I ordered mine from Amazon.

Congratulations!

2009-03-05T11:14:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Fronie! She completed the requirements for her Clinical Fellowship Year and will receive her state license and Certificate of Clinical Competence.

Night at the Aquarium

2009-03-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

One of our families passed this along... Sounds fun.

Openings for winter and spring

2009-01-17T09:27:00.001-08:00

We have a few openings for developmental intervention and speech therapy - mornings only. Current clients get "first dibs."

Photos from train event

2009-01-09T12:55:00.001-08:00

http://ginaleephoto.com/polarexpress2008/

If anyone needs a photographer for their kids/family, Gina's work is pretty phenomenal.

More coverage of the Christmas train event.

2008-12-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_trains25.8bbc5d7.html

Video from train event

2008-12-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

Quick video on our train event from the Press Enterprise.

http://www.pe.com/video/sanbernardino-index.html?nvid=316263&shu=1

christopher lee | onward films | redlands filmmaker: 10 Days Only This Year...

2008-12-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

christopher lee | onward films | redlands filmmaker: 10 Days Only This Year...

Onward

2008-12-10T23:12:00.000-08:00

Christopher Lee is the guy doing our train event. I've only met him once and have been quite impressed with him... his approach to this event, children, and his apparent missions in life. This is a story from his blog.

http://onwardfilms.blogspot.com/2007/12/beautiful-story.html

Film Guy

2008-11-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

http://onwardfilms.blogspot.com/

Check out his Christmas light show. It's amazing!

Christmas Train

2008-11-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics of Jeff's train.

Openings for fall

2008-10-23T10:05:00.001-07:00

We have a few openings (mostly mornings) for speech therapy and developmental intervention.

Halloween Party

2008-10-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

10/29/08 3-5 PM

The Help Group Summit 2008

2008-09-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to their site: www.thehelpgroup.com

Website down

2008-09-08T20:57:00.001-07:00

Our website may be down for a couple days as we transition to a new host.

Closed 9/1

2008-08-27T21:33:00.001-07:00

We are closed on Labor Day.

Fall schedule

2008-08-24T10:49:00.001-07:00

FYI we anticipate a few openings for speech therapy and developmental intervention, but remain booked for occupational therapy.

Save the date: Halloween party

2008-08-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween party will be Wed. 10/29 3:00-5:00.

Documentary: Autistic-Like

2008-07-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRSL4b_N7BQ

Appearances on this trailer by Stanley Greenspan, M.D., Ricki Robinson, M.D., and my dear friend, DanaKae Bonahoom, M.A.

Summer enrollment

2008-06-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

We have a few openings for speech therapy and developmental intervention this summer.

Thanks!

2008-03-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Lori Becker and Cal Skate for a great session of roller skating with the Playworks kids!

Elaine's project

2008-01-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.autismthemusical.com/index.php?session=myhomepage&id=

Halloween party

2007-10-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Our 6th annual party is scheduled for Friday 10/26 3:00-5:00.

Have You No Shame?: Naperville School District Said to “Blackmail” Parents

2007-07-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

Just found this on AutismVox. Particularly interesting to me since I just attended a workshop on the Tango! last week and saw video of Killian working on the device with his therapist.

It’s hard not to be alarmed on reading the title for a July 15th article in the Naperville Sun:
Judge: Dist. 203 ‘blackmailed’ parents Kevin and Beth Hynes of Naperville, IL, took legal action against their school district for withholding their autistic 6-year-old son Killian’s augmentative communication device, a Tango. Killian is nonverbal and the Tango, his father noted, “….is as important to Killian as a wheelchair would be to a child with a physical disability.” Killian started using the Tango in January and its use was written into his IEP. When summer came, a dispute arose regarding Killian’s school placement and the school staff’s ability to use it; the Hynes wanted their son to attend the more “technologically advanced Carol Stream program” instead of the Summit school, where he had been placed and was “bored and regressing.” Then this chain of events happened: And, Kevin said, they were willing to pay the difference - about $100 a week for nine weeks - despite the provision of laws such as the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Laws such as these require school districts to pay for placement of special needs students like Killian in private, out-of-district facilities if parents, teachers and administrators determine that the student’s needs can’t be met within the district. “IDEA isn’t supposed to be about how much it costs. It’s about if it’s appropriate for the kid, he gets it,” Hynes said. “Still, I understand everybody has a budget, and we’re willing to work within that.” In various e-mails to the Hyneses, District 203 administrators agreed that Killian wasn’t getting what he needed at Summit. They indicated interest in the Carol Stream program, but they also expressed concerns regarding its costs.
The matter remained unresolved as of June 11, when Killian’s summer IEP was set to begin, and when Kevin dropped by District 203 to pick up the new Tango. When he got there, administrators told him he couldn’t have it. Then, in correspondence with the Hyneses, special education and students’ rights attorney Laura Sinars, District 203’s legal counsel, indicated the only way District 203 would provide the device would be if the Hyneses agreed to send Killian to one of two programs the district preferred. District 203 either wanted to continue sending him to Summit for the summer, or enroll him in a District 203 program, which Killian’s IEP team already had deemed an inappropriate fit for his needs, Kevin said. But District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis said the district believes it can provide appropriate instruction for Killian within the school system. “We weren’t opposed to the technology at all,” he said. “We just wanted it integrated into a longer-term solution.”………. The Hyneses had a different take on the situation than did District 203. “I’m like, ‘That’s coercion. My son needs a communication device, and you can’t coerce me,’” Kevin said. Judges agree with the Hynses and “severely scolded” the school district. Said Federal Judge Milton Shadur: “The undisputed picture here is regrettably one of the defendants holding, I guess, a 6-year-old autistic boy hostage, depriving him of what is without dispute really a promised Tango communication device, something that everyone agrees - even the professionals agree - is essential to his effective functioning……… And to hold that back as what has to be viewed, I regret to say, as blackmail for his parents, seeking to compel them to accept a program that the defendant’s own professionals have found not to be in his best interest.” The judge also posed the same question asked to no one other than U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in 1954: “Have you no shame?” Some parents have referred to the misconduct hearings of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who first linked the MMR vaccine to autism, as a “witch hunt“: The web has been clogged with news stories about this today. But when a federal judge speaks of a school district as holding an augmentative communication device “hostage” and “blackmailing” the parents of an autistic child, I think there is some serious misconduct going on, indeed.

Appalled

2007-02-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

I'm watching ABC and completely appalled... a Dr. Israel touting the benefits of shock treatment (GED) as a treatment for children with autism. Apparently the program costs taxpayers $213,000 a year. I'm thankful Barry Prizant presented, albeit briefly, his perspective re. this treatment going against what we know about the neurobiology of kids with ASD. Contrary to popular belief, I am not against behavioral treatment. I AM against abuse.

Here's an interesting link on the subject.

http://www.autismvox.com/aversive-stimulation-improper-behavior-and-the-jrc/

Infancy & Early Childhood Training Course

2007-02-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.stanleygreenspan.com/

Autism prevalence study

2007-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

U.S. says autism rate about 1 in 150 - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070208/ap_on_he_me/autism_prevalence

Halloween party

2006-10-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that our Halloween Party is Monday 3:00-5:00. Invitation only.

Lead in kids' lunchboxes

2006-07-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.cehca.org/lunchboxes.htm

Autism Every Day

2006-06-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/autism_every_day.php

Playworks is closed Monday.

2006-05-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Comments on the NAA Campaign

2006-04-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

I was thinking it was a bit creepy myself...

http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/2006/04/create-hopelessness.html
http://autismvox.com/a-butterfly-escaping-from-the-cocoon-tired-of-autism-stereotypes/

Conference

2006-04-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

www.earlysignsofautism.com

Engaging Autism

2006-04-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

New book by Greenspan & Wieder

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0738210285/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/002-7614343-5315209?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

Full-time SLP Position

2006-04-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

PEDIATRIC SPEECH/LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST (CFY)

Playworks is seeking a bright Clinical Fellow to begin a full-time position (year round) in June, 2006.

Playworks is a local private practice providing assessment, intervention, and consultative services to families of young children (infancy through early school age) with complex communicative disorders. The practice is directed by a speech-language pathologist, with full-time clinical staff in areas including speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and early childhood special education. We are committed to developmentally appropriate practices and specialize in the use of Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR) model in our work with young children with autism spectrum disorders.

Challenging pediatric caseload comprised primarily of young children (2-10) with autism spectrum disorders, but expanding to include a broader range of pediatric cases. The CFY will be encouraged to pursue continuing education and explore specialized clinical interests (e.g., fluency, aural rehab, phonology, written language) as we expand our scope of practice to include infant development and assessment/treatment for children with learning disabilities.

A master’s degree in communicative disorders is required, as is eligibility to begin the clinical fellowship year. The ideal candidate would have a child development background, clinical reasoning abilities, an interest in interdisciplinary treatment, and excellent communication skills. The person must be organized, dependable, flexible, and sincerely interested in learning. Primary job site is at our pediatric clinic in downtown Redlands. Home-, school-, and clinic-based work with some driving required.

Serious applicants are requested to submit a letter of interest and resume with three references and an expected salary range to Kelli Wilms, M.S., CCC-SLP. Our contact info is as follows:

Playworks
112 Eleventh Street
Redlands, CA 92374
(909) 792-0543
(909) 792-0546 FAX
www.playworks.cc

Teenager with Autism Scores 20 in Basketball Game

2006-02-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?id=1656512&page=1

Jobs

2006-02-26T13:29:00.000-08:00

Here we grow...
We're looking for a few exceptional people to join our team. We have positions available for an SLP, as well as an OTR/L or COTA. Positions are described in more detail on our website www.playworks.cc

MSNBC.com article: Children in the grip of autism

2006-02-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

Children in the grip of autism While the causes for the dramatic rise in autism cases over the past decade are the subject of much debate, one thing is certain: early diagnosis is crucial.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6901860/from/ET/

MSNBC.com article: As autism cases soar, a search for clues

2006-02-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

As autism cases soar, a search for clues While more kids are being labeled autistic, whether the condition is truly more common among today's children than past generations of youngsters is largely unclear.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6947652/from/ET/

Here come the lawsuits...

2006-02-20T21:24:00.000-08:00

McDonald's facing lawsuits over gluten in french fries

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11459132/

Playworks: Here we grow...

2006-01-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

Here we grow...: Here we grow... We're looking for a few exceptional people to join our team. We have part-time positions for one SLP and one OTR/L or COTA. Potential for full-time employment. Positions are described in more detail on our website www.playworks.cc

UPI article re. vaccines

2005-12-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

Consumer Health
The Age of Autism: Question of the year
By DAN OLMSTED
UPI Senior Editor

This was the year Big Media pitted parents against experts over whether vaccines cause autism -- and decided the experts are right. But they may have forgotten to ask an embarrassingly obvious question.

In its new issue on medicine in 2005, Time weighs in: "The idea that childhood vaccinations might lead to autism has gained currency among some concerned parents, fueled by unsubstantiated reports on the Internet. ... Most scientists are convinced that the shots are safe."

There you have it -- a more telling summary perhaps than Time intended. This was the year of "Parents vs. Research," as the equally estimable New York Times put it in a front-page headline in June.

But beneath this seemingly intractable fault line, the earth has been shifting. One major temblor: The April book "Evidence of Harm" by David Kirby, which painted those parents as armed not just with eyewitness accounts but their own critique of the experts' conflicts and flaws.

In our last column we summarized our take on the issue this way: If you're going to tell those parents it's time to shut up and leave the science to the scientists, where is the simple, straightforward study of autism in never-vaccinated U.S. children?

Given the sheer certitude of federal health authorities and mainstream medical groups such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, we were surprised we couldn't find comparisons between real-live American kids who've gotten vaccines, and those who haven't. Officials say such a study would be hard to do, in part because so many kids are vaccinated that you couldn't find a "control group" of kids who aren't.

We found tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands.

Our search started among the mostly unvaccinated Amish in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana; moved on to homeschooling families who choose not to vaccinate for religious religions, and wound up in Chicago, where we reported on a medical practice with thousands of unvaccinated children.

We didn't find much autism.

That "finding" -- we use quotes because we know it's not scientific -- has fallen on deaf ears, at least as far as the rest of the media is concerned. Time, the New York Times, the Washington Post -- no major newspaper or magazine has so much as paused to wonder whether never-vaccinated Americans have autism at anywhere near the rate of the rest of the population.

Two exceptions: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an article in Rolling Stone and on Salon.com, cited the Amish. And Daniel Schulman, in a groundbreaking piece in the Columbia Journalism Review, did the same thing while portraying the media as perhaps too willing to treat what the "experts" say as revealed truth.

While most journalists seem oblivious to the issue, it continues to resonate with those who suspect vaccines -- perhaps via the mercury-based preservative thimerosal -- triggered an autism epidemic:

-- "Those of you who have been following me over the years know that my mantra has always been that there are almost no vaccine safety or efficacy studies using never vaccinated children as controls," wrote Sandy Mintz at vaccinationnews.com. "It has long been my hope that I would somehow be able to make that point to the right person or persons, to appeal to someone who might have the ability to seriously address the problem."

Mintz got her chance at a congressional hearing in 2002.

"Hi. My name is Sandy Mintz. I am from Anchorage, Alaska. I am lucky enough not to have a child who has been injured by a vaccine. My question is, is NIH (National Institutes of Health) ever planning on doing a study using the only proper control group, that is, never vaccinated children?"

Dr. Steve Foote of NIH responded: "I am not aware of -- but note carefully what I said, that I am not aware of -- a proposed study to use a suitably constructed group of never vaccinated children. Now CDC would be more likely perhaps to be aware of such an opportunity."

Responded Dr. Melinda Wharton of the CDC: "The difficulty with doing such a study in the United States, of course, is that a very small portion of children have never received any vaccines, and these children probably differ in other ways from vaccinated children. So performing such a study would, in fact, be quite difficult."

In her Web posting, Mintz disagreed:

"1) There are more than enough never vaccinated children in the states which allow philosophical exemptions to conduct a proper study.

"2) If children who have not been vaccinated are different in ways that prevent them from getting autism, wouldn't we want to know that?

"Well, wouldn't we?"

-- "There have never been any large, prospective, long-term studies comparing the long-term health of highly vaccinated individuals versus those who have never been vaccinated at all," Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center wrote in Mothering Magazine last year.

"Therefore, the background rates for ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, seizure disorders, asthma, diabetes, intestinal bowel disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and other brain and immune-system dysfunction in a genetically diverse unvaccinated population remains unknown."

-- "Why hasn't the most obvious research been done -- that is, assess the incidence of autism in unvaccinated children?" wrote Illinois autism activist Dr. David Ayoub this fall.

-- Kennedy, in a white paper called "Tobacco Science and the Thimerosal Scandal," quotes University of Kentucky chemistry professor Boyd Haley as saying, "If the CDC were really interested in uncovering the truth, it would commission epidemiological studies of cohorts who escaped vaccination, most obviously the children of Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists or the Amish."

Instead, Kennedy said, the CDC has "worked furiously to quash such studies" and prevent access to its own vaccine safety database -- a charge the CDC denies. Kennedy said he asked an official at the Institute of Medicine -- which last year rejected a vaccines-autism link -- why it didn't encourage those studies rather than recommend research money be redirected.

"That's a great idea, no one has ever suggested it before," Kennedy quoted the official as saying. Kennedy commented: "That statement is incredible. ... The idea of finding an uncontaminated U.S. cohort is Science 101. ... In fact, Dr. Boyd Haley has repeatedly urged IOM and CDC to conduct such a study, including at two public and tape-recorded meetings."

All these people are saying the same thing: Given the stakes, where's the study? This winter the government wants all pregnant women and 6-to-23-month-olds to get flu shots, most of which contain thimerosal.

What's more, as we pointed out in our last column, tens of millions of children worldwide are being injected with thimerosal-containing vaccines every year, largely due to the reassurances of U.S. public health authorities and allied experts like the IOM.

Maybe 2006 will be the year journalists ask them about the autism rate in never-vaccinated American kids. That would be the question of the year.

--

E-mail: dolmsted@upi.com

© Copyright 2005 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Want to email or reprint this story? Click here for options.

Court Rules Against Special Ed. Parents

2005-11-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051114/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_schools

While I'm on my soapbox...

2005-10-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

Playworks

http://www.temeculavalleynews.com/story.asp?story_ID=2920

Lake Elsinore school’s Autism Program under investigation

Temecula--Trustee blames problems on autism

2005-10-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

I rarely use this blog as my soapbox, but check out this commentary re. a Temecula Valley USD board member's recent comments on children with autism. According to this commentary (and I hear there are some fascinating audio clips), Ken Ray stated that "the unwanted stepchildren" are the reason the board must "steal" from band programs, teacher raises, etc. How can a board member possibly be supported for villifying a group of children? 1 in 166 of OUR children whose lives can be changed with intensive intervention.

This commentary is from the North County Times.

By: Brian Hulihan - Commentary

The Temecula Valley school board is facing increased pressure and scrutiny for financial problems and program cuts. Board member Ken Ray has identified autism, a developmental disability, as a "huge hunk" of the problem, and as an answer to the question of where the money is going.

At a board meeting on May 3 of this year, Ray made a public comment about the money spent on autistic children, calling for a separate state agency to take responsibility for them, and calling the children themselves "the unwanted stepchildren under the public schools."

At a public meeting on Sept. 20 he did it again, telling the audience that the board is "stealing" from their kids to pay for autism, and that the results are cuts to band programs, physical education programs and raises for teachers.

He added that students with autism deserve services, but not from the public schools. He urged the audience to "get on Sacramento" so that the state assumes responsibility for all autistic students.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District has an annual budget of $150 million, and their financial problems are on the order of millions of dollars. In coming years their revenues will stagnate, their new schools will age and their mounting debt will, along with other factors, turn millions into tens of millions.

They are currently dealing with a grand jury investigation, harassment and wrongful termination lawsuits, and a growing morale crisis among their employees. The administration and board continue to deny that the situation is bad or that they have any problems at all. The position they take makes it impossible for them to improve, and they blame Congress, the state of California, special education, the grand jury, whatever they can find that is not themselves.

Ken Ray told the audience on May 3 that they "are not the bad guys here." In other words, they're the good guys, but that doesn't mean much. Perhaps he can tell us where the responsible guys are. The stand-up guys.

Perhaps Ken Ray sees the writing on the wall and is concerned as to what will be the legacy of the current board. However, publicly blaming a minority of children and setting the community against them into the bargain is an irresponsible act for an elected official. His naive suggestion that we just change California law shows he does not understand how discrimination has been outlawed over decades.

His actions shed light on the problems associated with autism, but they also raise the big question of whether he and the rest of the board have the judgment needed to realistically deal with their growing responsibilities. By singling out a small group of disabled children as the cause of widespread and systemic problems, he gives himself the appearance of a man who is in over his head.

Brian Hulihan lives in Temecula.

LUAU

2005-08-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hi. We’re going to have a LUAU and would love for you to come. The party is for Playworks kids and their siblings who are younger than about 6-8 years old. Older siblings are welcome to come and HELP us if they arrange a job with Playworks staff prior to the party. The party is geared toward younger kids and we don’t want anyone to mow down the little ones in the kiddy pools or bounce house. The kids should wear swim suits and bring a towel and change of clothes. Hawaiian print is encouraged. A parent (or other adult caregiver) must remain present at all times to supervise their child(ren). Please prep the kids that they won’t be playing inside the clinic that day. The party will be in our parking lot.

There will be no therapy appointments later than 1:00 that day.

WHAT: LUAU
WHEN: WED. 8/24/05 3:00-5:00
WHERE: PLAYWORKS parking lot
PARKING: Please don’t park in our lot or the drycleaner’s lot next door. Try State Street.
RSVP: Please email reanna@playworks.cc by August 17th.

Article - Doing Battle With Your Insurance Company

2005-08-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.additudemag.com/additude.asp?DEPT_NO=504&ARTICLE_NO=31&ARCV=1

Taxes and special education costs

2005-08-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Playworks

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/0521003.pdf

DIR segment on KVCR program Wed. April 13th

2005-04-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

Playworks

Dr. Greenspan will be featured on a segment of the show, followed by Kelli taking questions re. the DIR model from 9-9:30. The program schedule is as follows:

KVCR
Vision for the Future!

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 AT 9:00AM KVCR-FM 91.1 WILL HOST A RADIO CALL-IN SHOW TAKING LISTENERS' CALLS.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 KVCR-TV (CH 24) WILL PRESENT AN EVENING OF PROGRAMMING ON THE SUBJECT OF AUTISM.

7:30 IT’S YOUR CALL [LIVE/PHONE-IN]; “Autism: Update”; First of two live call-ins tonight. Erin O’Toole moderates this program taking calls from the public in the field of autism.

8:00 AUTISM – OH, THE POSSIBILITIES; The third documentary produced by KVCR-TV on this disorder which is having increased influence in our health and educational systems and our families. The show is split into four segments: Early Signs and Signals, Possible Intervention, Possible Causes and Possible Futures. Educators, physicians, health care experts, and parents are all included in this update.

9:00 AUTISM – ON CALL [LIVE/PHONE-IN] As a live follow up to the 8 pm documentary, this live call-in is hosted by Lillian Vasquez. Others on the show take calls reacting to the documentary.

9:30 CHILDREN AND AUTISM: TIME IS BRAIN; A sensitive and engaging portrait of two families faced with the daunting challenge of raising an autistic child.

2005-03-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

Playworks

More jobs

2005-03-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

Tutors

Families of our clients are seeking early childhood teachers or bright college students majoring in fields including communicative disorders, occupational therapy, psychology, and early childhood education to provide 1:1 tutoring to their young children (2-8) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The children participate in home-based intervention programs based on a Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR) model. The home programs serve to supplement and reinforce the children’s primary educational placements and therapeutic programs.

Applicants must be reliable, patient, organized, and energetic, with excellent communication skills. The positions require a general understanding of typical child development and experience working with young children. A background in child development would be more important than experience with autism. Although tutors are not employed by or affiliated with Playworks, our agency does provide consultative services and support to the families and tutors.

Positions are currently available in Redlands, Riverside, LaVerne, and Palm Desert. In addition to working with a child 4-12 hours per week, tutors are also expected to attend at least one therapy session per week and a team meeting once a month. The therapy sessions and team meetings with Playworks staff are at our clinic in downtown Redlands.

The positions offer flexible hours, ongoing training/support with Playworks staff, and excellent experience for students majoring in related fields. Hourly rate is $10-12 commensurate with education/experience. Interested applicants are requested to submit a letter of interest and resume with three professional references to Kelli Wilms, M.S., CCC-SLP. Our contact info is as follows:

Playworks
112 Eleventh Street
Redlands, CA 92374
(909) 792-0543
(909) 792-0546 FAX
www.playworks.cc

Jobs-OTR/L and/or COTA

2005-03-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

Playworks

Occupational Therapist (OTR/L) and/or Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)

We are seeking an experienced Occupational Therapist to join our team on an hourly or half-time basis. We would consider an exceptional COTA. Our practice is growing and there is the potential for a full-time position in the future.

The position is based in our pediatric clinic near downtown Redlands. Scheduling is relatively flexible, with afternoon availability preferred. Challenging pediatric caseload comprised of young children (2-10) with diagnoses including autism spectrum disorder, dyspraxia, seizure disorders, and sensory integrative dysfunction. The therapist will be responsible for direct treatment and parent training.

Playworks is a local private practice providing assessment, intervention, and consultative services to families of young children (infancy through early school age) with complex developmental issues. We are committed to developmentally appropriate practices and specialize in the use of Greenspan and Wieder’s Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR) model in our work with families of young children with autism spectrum disorders. The directors of the practice are two of the four professionals from southern California who are faculty with the DIR Certificate Program (www.icdl.com).

The ideal candidate would be bright, playful, and creative with a background in child development and sensory integration. The position requires experience in the implementation of developmentally-appropriate sensorimotor activities. Required skills include clinical reasoning abilities, an interest in transdisciplinary treatment, and excellent communication skills. Experience working with young children and families is essential. Experience with oral-motor/feeding issues would be helpful. The person must be organized, dependable, flexible, and sincerely interested in learning.

Qualified applicants are requested to submit a letter of interest, resume, three references, and an expected salary range to Kelli Wilms, M.S., CCC-SLP. Our contact info is as follows:

Playworks
112 Eleventh Street
Redlands, CA 92374
(909) 792-0543
(909) 792-0546 FAX
www.playworks.cc

Research

2005-02-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

Playworks

http://icdl.com/publications/pdf/10-15yearfollow-up.pdf
http://www.floortime.org/downloads/behavioral_treatment_autism.pdf

Dr. Greenspan on the Today Show Wed. 2/23/05

2005-02-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

Playworks

"Today" Show to Feature Dr. Greenspan, DIR/Floortime in Autism Series

Beginning Monday, February 21st, the Today Show will spend a week "looking at autism from all angles." Tune in on Wednesday, February 23, when Dr. Stanley Greenspan and others discuss the DIR/Floortime approach to intervention. "Today" will air two segments each morning, at approximately 8:10 and 9:10am EST. Joining Dr. Greenspan will be Barbara Guterman, mother of two boys who have benefitted from DIR/Floortime; and Pat Stacey, author of The Boy Who Loved Windows, who speaks about the extraordinary role Floortime played in her son's recovery. Also, on Monday, February 21, Nancy Wiseman, founder of First Signs, will speak about Early Detection and Intervention. On Friday, February 25, Dr. Ricki Robinson, pediatrician and Floortime Foundation co-founder, is scheduled to appear live on "Today" to answer email questions.

For the NBC press release and description of the complete NBC network coverage of autism, please go to www.floortime.org and click on the NBC headline in the News and Events section.

NY Times article

2005-02-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

Focus Narrows in Search for Autism's Cause

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

February 8, 2005

There comes a point in every great mystery when a confusing set of clues begins to narrow. For scientists who study autism, that moment may be near, thanks to a combination of new tools for examining brain anatomy and of old-fashioned keen observation.

Within the last year, several laboratories have reported finding important new clues about the mysterious syndrome that derails normal childhood brain development.

For the first time, they say, a coherent picture is emerging.

In autism, subtle brain abnormalities are present from birth. Infants and toddlers move their bodies differently. From 6 months to 2 years, their heads grow much too fast. Parts of their brain have too many connections, while other parts are underconnected.

Moreover, their brains show signs of chronic inflammation in the same areas that show excessive growth. The inflammation appears to last a lifetime.

"Autism is still a confusing disorder, but one thing is now clear," said Dr. Pat R. Levitt, a neuroscientist who is the director of the Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. "There is a specific disruption of circuitry in brain development. We can really dig in and begin to explain the splintered brains of autistic children."

To that end, Dr. Levitt and two dozen leading brain researchers held a three-day "autism summit" in Malibu, Calif., sponsored by the Cure Autism Now Foundation, to discuss this emerging view and to plan collaborative studies. The meeting ended Sunday.

"Up to now, there was no theory to link one anatomical study to the next," said Dr. William T. Greenough of the University of Illinois, an expert on brain development. "We now have a theoretical framework that can generate predictions to test."

People with autism have great difficulty with social interaction. Some cannot speak. Many are clumsy. A common trait is obsessive attention to certain details. Symptoms can be severe to mild.

Diagnoses of the disorder have increased in recent years, although no one knows why. One child in 166 born today may fall on the autism spectrum.

Researchers agree that an unknown number of genes interact with unidentified environmental factors to produce the disorder. The new clues focus on brain development and circuitry, and especially on the brain's white matter. White matter contains fibers that connect neurons in separate areas of the brain, whereas gray matter contains the neurons themselves. "You can think of this distinction as analogous to that between cables, or white matter, and circuit boards, or gray matter, inside a computer," said Dr. Matthew Belmonte, an autism researcher at the University of Cambridge in England. "Even though each individual circuit board may be intact, if the cables are disrupted then the computer can't function."

Using a new technique called morphometric analysis, in which post-mortem brain tissue is divided into tiny parcels and examined, Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist at Harvard Medical School, found an anomaly in the white matter of autistic brains - it is asymmetrical.

In autism, white matter grows normally until 9 months, Dr. Herbert said. Then it goes haywire. By 2 years, excessive white matter is found in the frontal lobes, the cerebellum and association areas, where higher-order processing occurs.

The right side of the brain, the nonverbal hemisphere, is especially encased in white matter. The two sides of the brain are poorly connected. Moreover, small functional regions in each hemisphere tend to be prematurely insulated by excess white matter.

Another clue was reported last year by Dr. Eric Courchesne, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego. Using a simple tape measure, he found that newborns who later developed autism had smaller head circumferences than average. From 1 to 2 months of age, their brains suddenly begin to grow rapidly. Another spurt occurs between 6 months and 2 years, giving rise to exceptionally large heads.

MSNBC article

2005-02-09T08:17:00.000-08:00

Playworks

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6929275/

Steep Rise in Inland Autism

2005-02-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

Playworks

Steep rise in Inland autism

HEALTH: Experts are puzzled by the increase, and worried about the strain on resources. http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/stories/PE_News_Local_autism205.a0ab3.html

Playworks

2005-01-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

Playworks

Okay it's January, but our DECEMBER newsletter is finally ready. It's on the front counter at the clinic. I am such a wanna be computer geek...

Yahoo List-Floortime

2004-12-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Playworks

This is the link to a Yahoo mailing list on Floortime. Cindy Harrison, one of my colleagues on the ICDL faculty, established this list 5 years ago. She is a Speech Pathologist in Canada who has also used the DIR model with her own son for several years. Most of the postings are from parents of kids with ASD... You can set the mailing list to "digest" so that you only receive one email per day.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Floortime/

Playworks

2004-12-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

TACA Video
Check out this video from TACA.

http://www.tacanow.com/VIDEO.htm

Autism awareness wristband

2004-12-01T22:29:00.000-08:00

Playworks

http://www.findthecure.us/auawwr.html

We bought 20 of these if any of our parents would like one...

Any one of those groups to whom we can designate the $2.00/bracelet donation is great...though we're of course big fans of The Floortime Foundation.

Charity

2004-11-21T22:00:00.000-08:00

Playworks

Dear Playworks parents,

In working with the kids in Friends Group on concepts related to understanding the perspectives of others, considering needs vs. wants, and expressing gratitude, we've decided to set up a holiday project in which we are collecting new, unwrapped gifts for a local charity serving disadvantaged children.

Over the next couple weeks, some of our kids will be decorating handprints in which they (or we) write something for which they are thankful. Those leaves will go on a "giving tree." They will also brainstorm lists of items that would be appropriate gifts (needs and wants) for other kids of varying ages (infancy-12). Those gift ideas will be transferred to simple paper ornaments that will be hung on the tree. Some of the gift ideas will be extravagant and not particularly realistic (e.g., monster truck, XBox, trip to Hawaii, etc.), but we will use all of the ideas in our discussion of related concepts.

Although it is completely optional, we would encourage families who are able/interested to choose an ornament and engage your child in the process of choosing a gift for another child. We will collect all the toys and have them ready for delivery by Friday, December 17th, 2004. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. Thanks so much! Kelli et al

Playworks

2004-11-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

This is the Playworks blog.
Our website is http://www.playworks.cc