Fourthirty Brand is a local bowtie business that hand crafts bowties. This month, there is a special autism awareness bowtie available for purchase. Not only will this bowtie help bring awareness to the community, but ten percent of sales will benefit Jackson Autism Center! The donation Fourthirty makes will go towards sensory equipment for Jackson Autism Center’s gym. You can find the business on facebook under “Fourthirty Brand.” Thank you Fourthirty!
A local school, Madison Avenue Lower Elementary, participated in “Light it Up Blue” on April 2. This is the second year in a row that this school has had a school-wide event for World Autism Awareness Day. Special educator, Mrs. Lisa Gerard, organizes this event through Autism Speaks. Last year, they raised over $100. This year was even bigger than last; many of the staff members purchased autism shirts and students could participate by donating a dollar. Shirt totals equaled $600 for Autism Speaks and the school raised over $500! Students were given a sticker for their donation. Autism bracelets were also available.
Mrs. Gerard stated that the school had really good participation. One girl wore a blue tutu with her blue shirt. Families sent notes with their donations saying it was in honor of a cousin or friend with autism.Thank you, Mrs. Gerard and Madison Avenue for helping shine a light on autism and increase awareness in our community!
A friend brought this cute necklace to my attention. I just wanted to share. I have worked with many clients who love Legos and I think this necklace is awesome for Autism Awareness!
Jackson Association for Children Under Six (JACUS) recently had their annual conference at the end of January. I was so excited to be a part of this conference and help bring awareness to autism and other developmental delays as well as posing strategies for how to work with children with delays and disabilities within typical environments. It is most ideal to have children with disabilities in typical environments so that they have opportunities to learn from their peers as well as learning the typical curriculum. However, this is not always suited for each child as some children may need to focus on learning specific skills.
I was excited to share with these teachers and directors how they can accommodate and modify within the preschool or early learning environment to better hold the child’s attention, increase participation, communication, and social opportunities. Check back for part 2 where five of these strategies will be discussed.
There are some exciting events coming up at Jackson Autism Center! There will be two support group meetings on Saturday, April 19: for parents of children 2-8 at 9:30 and parents of children 9+ at 10:45. These meetings will gauge interest in support group meetings and get information about what help and support families need.Our open house will be Wednesday, April 23 from 4:00-7:00. Please come see the center and meet Dr. Rebecca Mullican. We look forward to seeing you!
There will be a couple of special activities posted soon for the kids. Keep checking back to find out more information!
On April 3 at 10:30 am, Jackson Autism Center celebrated its ribbon cutting as we joined the Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce. It was such an exciting day filled with friends, family, hopes, and dreams! Thank you to all who have made this dream a reality. Jackson Autism Center strives to help families and individuals with autism every day! Here are a few snapshots taken on this special day.
This article about a family using Disney animated movies to reach their son has been shared on facebook a few times and I had not had the chance to read it until yesterday…and boy, was I blown away with this story!
As many of us are well aware, lots of children on the spectrum LOVE Disney movies…and when I say love, I mean LOVE! They want to watch movies over and over, quote the whole movie for memory, and rewind and play special parts again and again. A parent and I were having a discussion recently about movie scripting, as she was concerned about her daughter constantly using scripts to communicate and also just repeating an entire script to herself out loud and quietly to herself. It is not uncommon for kids, young adults, and adults to use phrases and sentences from movies to communicate what they are thinking or feeling. I think movies in general can be a wonderful tool to use to continue getting children focused and engaged in learning and allow them to communicate things that they may not have otherwise found the words to communicate. I think as we learn more about the brain of someone with autism, we will see why this plays such a critical role. As long as we continue finding ways to bridge the gap between the animated Disney world and our world, I think we can teach a variety of skills this way. Recently, when I watched Frozen, I found myself “really” watching it…paying attention to Olaf the snowman and the phrases he used, some were silly and some really got to the bottom of the movie. Now, I plan to use the movie Frozen with a client to discuss social interactions. I see a new set of social classes in Jackson Autism Center’s future…
Today, I wanted to share an amazing mom’s journey with her daughter who has autism. I have the wonderful joy to work with her and her sweet family. After I met Bri in December, I poured over this book, devouring it within two or three days, amidst Christmas company, Santa, and the busiest time of the year. If you are new to autism or have a child on the spectrum, this books will help you realize you are not alone. If you are a professional or are in school to become a professional in the field, this book will give you insight into a family’s life with autism. Thank you, Sgt. Mom for sharing your journal and journey!
When I took my Christmas tree down a few weeks ago, I found a beautiful ornament that was given to me by a student I taught. I was so touched by the quote that I wanted to share it and pose it as a resolution for myself as well as parents and teachers alike for 2014.
The quote reads: “One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” Helen Keller
Spend 2014 pushing your child or student to soar to new places and limits. The more we expect, the more we will see achieved. Happy April 2014 and I can’t wait to see what our little kiddos can achieve this year!
During spring break, Lisa Gerard and I attended the Across the Spectrum Autism/Asperger Conference in Atlanta, GA. The 2 day conference was filled with great breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and inspirational individuals with disabilities. The sessions ranged from picky eaters to LAMP strategies for communication, video modeling, teenagers on the spectrum, and lots more!
Dr. Glenis Benson was the keynote Thursday morning and focused on communicative intent of challenging behaviors. She stated “if they could do better they would do better” indicating that children on the spectrum are not trying to be naughty when using challenging behaviors to communicate. It was encouraging to hear another professional focus so much energy on the communicative intent behind the challenging behavior. It is so important to not only describe and identify the behavior, but really focus on understanding why it is occurring. I was working with a preschool client the other day who was trying to jump out of his chair. If I had not taken the time to try and understand the behavior, I would not have understood that he was wanting to pick something up he dropped and I would have thought he was just trying to escape his work. If I had not understood, I may have kept him in his chair leading to a huge meltdown that could have been avoided. By focusing on what he was trying to communicate, we avoided unnecessary challenging behaviors and/or meltdowns.
Alexis Wineman, Miss Montana 2012, spoke Friday morning and shared her story. She talked about the challenges of the Miss America pageant as an individual on the spectrum and how she did not request accommodations. She currently attends college, but made sure the audience knew that she was not cured from autism and meltdowns, but has learned how to thrive with her disability.
The conference was a wonderful reminder of how much we need to push individuals to reach their potential as well as taking the time to understand behaviors individuals have and why those behaviors may be occurring. I have already marked my calendar for the 2015 conference!
