[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[Mike & Jean]

Please see the following invitation. For those who don't know, David has provided FEAT with strategic advice for the last three years. He is also one of the founding directors of Medicare for Autism Now! If elected, he will publicly advocate for legislation amending the provincial guidelines to have autism treatment covered under Medicare. I encourage you to attend this event, regardless of where you live.

Everyone who knows him wonders what took so long….but… we’re thrilled that our friend, neighbour, former lawyer, public affairs consultant, tireless community activist, powerful advocate for the voiceless……

David Marley is finally running for public office as an Independent Candidate for election as MLA for
West Vancouver – Capilano on May 12th.

Please join us in launching his campaign:

“Vote for a Voice – It’s Time to be Heard!”

Saturday, February 28th, 2009
2:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Tamarack Room – Delbrook Recreation Centre
600 West Queens Rd.,
North Vancouver, BC

David would love to meet you. Come and find out who he is and why he wants to be your MLA. Hear speakers representing diverse groups describe how David’s expertise and commitment made a positive difference in their lives and organizations. This will be a fun and informal event! Talking and laughing are encouraged! Everyone, including children is welcome! Light refreshments will be available.

Due to space limitations and enormous interest – please RSVP •••.A.P. to vote4marley@gmail.com or call: 604-290-5737

We rely upon and respect your opinions. If you live in West Vancouver – Capilano, please click on: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=lh_2fZN5_2fBAO9qSPggA4_2fWpQ_3d_3d and complete our questionnaire. Thanks!

[Jemma Lee]

Hi Ursula,

Thank you for warning other parents about your consultant. Due to a shortage of qualified service providers, some parents are afraid to complain when they are mistreated. There are, unfortunately, consultants who take advantage of the parents' desperation and bully them. We should steer the less assertive families away from consultants who think they have the right to do any of the following:

1. Treat the families with disrespect.

2. Commit acts of revenge (e.g., take away program notes) when a family bruises his/her ego by switching consultants.

3. Unceremoniously dump a client without giving the family enough time to find another consultant.

These are just a few (real-life) examples off the top of my head. I would like to hear from families who have experienced other types of unethical conduct.

Jemma

[Ursula Lee]

Hello fellow FEATers,
I need some help or advice.
I am in the process of switching consultants. My current consultant, who has been with us for 4 years, since we started ABA when my son was 2, is insisting that all the program writeups must be removed and go back to her. My feeling is that all the writeups and data and documentation forming my son's treatment record belong to me. I will never use these programs again, but in the future, I may need to refer to what was previously done/tried. She insists, the programs will be removed even before the end of the month while we are still using them (will stop using at the end of Feb). I paid a lot of money for this service and have already paid till the end of Feb for her services.
I would like to get some opinions and also whether this is common practice for consultants to remove their programs when they leave. This is a very important issue for all families using consultants. I think you should clarify with your own consultant so you do not run into the same problem, and write it into your contract. This issue was not in my contract with my consultant.
I would appreciate feedback, opinions including a legal opinion if there is anyone out there who is a lawyer.
If you would like to contact me or find out who my consultant is, you may reach me at:
ursulalee@telus.net
tel: 604-374-5830
or 604-535-8082

thnx
Ursula Lee

[Lisa Hruda]

Harmony House is holding a one day class based on the Lovaas-based Applied Behaviour Analysis and its application to the treatment of autism spectrum disorder. The class will address several topics that outline the basic foundation of a Lovaas-based treatment program and will include information on autism and general behaviour strategies. The main focus, however, will be on practical application with 50% hands-on approach in small groups, with the remaining time spent on larger group discussion and video reviews. The group will be facilitated by our two interns: Joanne Ma and Gabrielle Stigant.

Date: February 21, 2009
Time: 9:30am to 3:00pm
Location: Harmony House offices/school 2916 Mcbride Ave.
(corner of Mcbride and Sunshine Alley)
Cost: $40.00 (cash or cheque made out to Harmony House)
Contact us: hhschoolteam@gmail.com OR phone 604-542-1550

[Ting Lin]

Does anybody know where I can find information on ABA that is in Chinese?

Thanks!

[Mike & Jean]

Posted on behalf of Dr. Sara White –

Hello everyone,

As some of you may know I am in the process of trying to put together a website with information for siblings of individuals with autism and with resources for parents on sibling issues.

The following is a rough outline of what I'm planning on including on the website:

Sibling Section
A Bunch of General Information
i. Symptoms of Atusim

ii. Myths about autism

iii. Things to Read

iv. Journal of someone with autism

2. Things by Siblings

i. Speeches, poems, creative writing

ii. Ideas for things to do with their brother/sister

1. Pictures of brothers/sisters playing together

3. Feelings About Autism

i. Survey on what they worry about

ii. Most embarrassing moments

iii. Question and answer section (where they can write in with questions and answers will be posted

Parents Section
Recommendations for how to talk with siblings about feelings about sibling with autism
Activities to do with siblings
Recommended readings
Facts about siblings with autism
i. Including genetics and chance they will have a child with autism

How to answer questions from siblings
How to help siblings cope (e.g., with teasing of sibling by others in school)
Sources for family activities
Let me know if there's something that you want in that I forgot. A few things that I could use from siblings (if they are interested in participating):

1. A list of the top three favorite websites they go to

2. Poems, speeches, journal entries, etc. that they'd be comfortable with us posting. Just send it to me along with the info you want included about who wrote/created it.

3. Questions (for the question and answer section)

4. What's your number one worry about having a brother/sister with autism?

5. What's your most embarrassing moment with your brother/sister?

Thanks again for all of your help! It will still be awhile before things are up and running … but keep your fingers crossed it will be soon You can email the information to me at: sarawhite@excite.com.

Thanks!
Sara

[Dione Costanzo]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any experience with the WHISLTER ADAPTIVE SPORTS PROGRAM? If so I would love to hear about it.

We are going for a family weekend in Whistler and have our 6 year old signed up for ski lessons with this program.

Thanks and cheers,
Dione
dionec@shaw.ca

[Kathryn Donabedian]

Thank you for posting all of those links Jen. That takes a lot of time. Parents of children with autism are ALWAYS having to read between the lines. How TWISTED our media is! Although I am not surprised – it saddens me. I would like to -one day know why my beautiful son has autism and not have to feel foolish for wanting answers, because I DON"T believe he was born this way.
KATHY

[Kimberley Yoshihara]

FYI – please be aware that there is a woman using the FEAT boards to solicit business for herself. I won't use her name publicly, but if you would like it you can contact me. When she called me she said she saw my posting on the FEAT boards looking for a therapist – I was a little concerned since it had been at least 3 or 4 years since I had advertised here for a therapist. When I questioned her further about her experience she admitted she wasn't looking for a job for herself, but that she trains "Lead" therapists and finds positions for them. Apparently, she charges a fee (under $100) to train people in the principles of ABA. She then uses the FEAT boards to call families looking for placements – she told me she trains Leads – however, these people are brand new to ABA.

Then she will offer them to families for a finder’s fee she charges to the family.
She also will ask families what hours and rate of pay they will provide as this enables her to know how much $$$ to expect below.

Then she requires the therapist to hand over their first months earnings with each family she finds them or they pay her 1/3 of their monthly earnings over a three month period.

[Super Dad]

*** DEADLINE ***

AUTISM AND INCOME TAX

Register for the FREE workshop TODAY!

Doug Querns, a fellow parent and accountant, has graciously volunteered to give a presentation on income tax on February 20 at 7:00pm.

Another family has graciously volunteered to host the meeting at their house near Park Royal Shopping Centre.

To register for the workshop, please send me your full name and phone number TODAY! The hostess will send her address to you shortly.

Please send the info to: tony.tamer@yahoo.com

I thank both the lecturer and the hostess for setting a great example of parents helping parents!

p.s. For ASBC members who cannot attend this workshop, there will be another one in the ASBC Burnaby office the week after. It will be provided by an accountant who is less familiar with autism, but is nonetheless expected to be very informative. For details call the ASBC office.

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