Autism Walk April 23rd!

Hello again!!!

A lot of you have been asking how to join our team for the Autism Walk on April 23rd. Here are the details on how to join:

1. Go to: http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=442586
2. Find "Join or Support a Team) and type in: "CSULA" and press Submit
3. Click: CSULA National Student Speech Language Hearing Association
4. Click Join Our Team and you're in!!

Hope to see a lot of you with us at the walk!

February 15th Meeting Notes

Hello you guys!!

Our meeting was a success! Thanks so much to all of you that made it and especially to our guest speaker Gwendolyn Meier.

As always, here are our notes from the meeting:

February 15, 2011 NSSLHA Meeting

Guest Speaker:
Gwendolyn Meier, MA, CCC-SLP, MT-BC
Speech Therapist & Music Therapist
gmeier@villaesperanzaservices.org

• Announcements
• CASHA: conference for March 24th
• you can volunteer and go there for free (must be a CASHA member)
• CASHA president is coming to our March meeting
• Autism Walk on April 23rd (Saturday) starts at 10am at the Rose Bowl
• join our team at: http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=442586
• search for our team “CSULA”
• team goal of $2000
• LIKE our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Nsslha-at-csula/188094447878024

Gwendolyn:

• Works for Villa Esperanza Services School
• the clinic is open for the public
• opened primarily to students who attend this school
• several services are provided here including speech language therapy
• can LIKE Villa Esperanza on Facebook
• COMMUNICATION IN AUTISM
• Villa Esperanza primarily serves children with moderately to severely disabled children; several have Autism and are non-verbal.

• Autism

• is a neurological disorder that affects 1 in 150 or less births; 4:1 boys: girls
• no single cause- multiple, unknown factors combined

• -perhaps there are genetic and environmental factors

• defined by behavior- no medical test for autism
• no cure
• severity falls on a spectrum

• -there’s high functioning (like Aspergers)

• various treatments options
• the earlier you can get good intervention, the better
• Difficulties in:

• Social interaction (difficulty with eye contact, sharing enjoyment, reciprocity
• Communication (language delay, lack of make-believe play challenge in back-and-forth conversation
• Behavior (repetitive, insistence on sameness)
• it’s not Schizophrenia

• Symptoms and Characteristics
• Social interaction
• differences in: sharing/showing (don’t share and show,) connecting with others (do not connect with others), relationships/emotional reciprocity
• differences in social-imitative play
• back-and-forth play: children with autism tend to play around other kids and not with others
• differences in using language like others do
• to share interests
• to give and seek information (tend to not ask, “What’s that?”)
• Communication
• differences in understanding expectations
• waiting your turn, keeping hands to yourself, etc.
• reasoning of why things are done is usually lost
• differences in understanding and using nonverbal communication (point, shrug, hand signal, facial expressions, tone of voice)
• differences in learning and using language like others do
• i.e., children with autism tend to get into their own dialogues over the past
• for example like the movie in Temple Grandin
• Temple had autism who got her Phd in Agriculture and Cattling
• She learned through pictures
• differences in make-believe (using one object for another,) social-imitative play , and conversation
• abstract concepts
• dates, time
• why? how?
• can’t answer why and how questions
• emotions
• What will happen if? What can you do to help?
• hypotheticals and inferences are difficult
• Social interaction
• differences in seeing others’ point of view, making and keeping friends (i.e., sharing, doing what others want to do)
• Behavior
• differences in preoccupation with parts of objects
• i.e., instead of driving a toy car, the child may just spin the wheels only
• differences in motor mannerisms (flapping hands, stimming, etc.) and sensory sensitivities (do not like getting dirty, sensitive to light and sound)
• differences in
• intensity of focus
• i.e., focus on bubbles themselves except for asking for bubbles to be blown
• inflexible routines
• self-control/impulsivity
• Helping people with Autism
• More than Words Hanen program
• designed for children with autism
• TIPS: say less, and stress and go slow and show
• Say less:
• keep it simple but grammatical (i.e., “Turn page,” to “Turn the page.” This provides an intact model.)
• be direct and tell what TO do (don’t use negative words and direct them to what they should do)
• Stress:
• highlight the most important words (sometimes say the target word at the end)
• repetition
• carrier phrases, “The __ is ___.”
• Go slow:
• add pauses (allow for auditory processing time)
• be natural (use natural prosodic speech pattern)
• and Show
• provide a model
• provide pictures (like a choice board)
• provide a video
• can use an iPod application Model Me Kid (free)
• most children with autism are visual learners
• Choice boards
• these are pictures options
• which do you want? (break, book, toys, etc)
• Cue Cards- receptive and expressive
• Remind them what to DO and/or to SAY in a given setting or activity
• Social Stories online
• http://www.thewatsoninstitute.org/teacher-resources2.jsp?pageid=2161392240601226415747290
• example categories include: anger, at home, friends, upsetting behaviors, school routines, self control, sensory needs
• Increasing expression
• can use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• may supplement existing speech or replace speech that is not functional (ASHA)
• Visually-based communication
• picture exchange communication (PECs)
• exchange pictures for communication
• a low tech AAC system (without batteries)
• voice output devices
• GoTalk 4+
• Tech Talk 32
• touch screens
• Prentke-Romich (PRC) Vantage Life
• Dynavox V
• Apple iPod touch and iPad
• ProLoQuo2Go
• TouchChat HD by Silver Kite
• Resources Online:
• http://www.specialed.us/index.html
• Villa Esperanza Services
• event on Saturday February 26, 2011
• will be at Autism Walk on April 23rd at the Rose Bowl
• can get free bags
• look for jobs
• games and prizes for kids

• Autism Certificate
• requires 4 classes
• see Special Education Department at CSULA on the first floor of King Hall

• Autism Info Handout
  

February 15th Meeting

Happy February!

I have a few announcements to give you lovely COMD people!

1) Our second meeting of 2011 is coming up!

When: February 15, 6pm
Where: KH B4016
Who: Gwendolyn Meier
What: Gwendolyn Meier will discuss about working with children with severe communication disorders, specifically autism.

Again, food and drinks are provided, only to members who have paid their dues, and a raffle for a gift card for Starbucks OR a text book: 50 cents a ticket!

2) The Autism Walk is coming up (April 23rd) and we'd love to have all of you join us! Our goal is ultimately $2000, and any thing you or your friends/family can contribute truly helps.

How to join our team for Autism Walk
1. Go to: http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=442586
2. Find "Join or Support a Team) and type in: "CSULA" and press Submit
3. Click: CSULA National Student Speech Language Hearing Association
4. Click Join Our Team and you're in!!


3) Join our new Facebook PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Nsslha-at-Csula/188094447878024
**See posted pictures of NSSLHA last year at the Autism walk!!!