[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[Bev Sharpe]

The FEAT BC discussion forum is your meeting place with other parents of children with autism, and an information resource for the Behavioural Autism Treatment program of your child.

Recent posts regarding questions and answers regarding a child-specific behaviour issue MUST be addressed by a qualified Behaviour Consultant.

To be clear, any and all information about solutions to behaviour questions MUST be carefully considered by a qualified Behaviour
Consultant first, before being implemented.

This forum is not intended to take the place of a qualified Behaviour Consultant.

Beverley Sharpe
Director

[Elaine Raynault]

I use a dawn simmulator–a lamp that turns on slowly, a fan that turns off on a timer and a regular radio alarm with my kids (they all like different things)they can't tell time well yet, so it is a signal to them that it is morning. The trick can be to start this off at the time that she normally wakes up, then bump it later 5 mins at a time.
My last thought–and this would trump the other ones, is that by 10 years old, your daughter may be telling you that she only needs 8 hrs of sleep. It may be time to push her bedtime back by an hour.
Hope some of that helps!

[Elaine Raynault]

Hi Cathy,
I'll let others with relevant experiences address the oral portion of your post, but I definitely have a lot of experience with sleep issues.
Based on what you said, it sounds like she is going to bed and falling asleep well–just waking up early. This is good news! It means she doesn't have melatonin issues and sleeping through the night is something many of us struggle with for years. The first thing to consider is, how much light is in her room at 5 or 6 AM. IF you have throughly explored block out blinds and you are sure she isn't waking with the sun, the next is to give her some kind of signal that it is morning. I

[Cathy Fitzhugh]

Hi FEATers,

I have two recent issues that have arisen with my daughter and was hoping for your always wise and helpful suggestions and feedback. (She is high-functioning, and is ten years old but has a lot of physical challenges.)

The first issue is that her need for oral stimulation have skyrocketed to the point where she constantly has to have something in her mouth. Gum used to solve this problem, but now she is just swallowing her gum. Once the gum is gone, she chews and sucks on her clothing, or if given, will chew on a Chewy Tube. (A few months ago her dentist asked us to stop using the tubes as he thought they might me shifting her teeth around.)

She has also developed sores on the inside of her cheeks that she chews on or rubs with her tongue, and that cause her pain when eating and also pain when we try to brush her teeth. The gum was great, but without it, at school, her speech is difficult to understand and the tubes are just channeling drool all over her desk. It's very worrisome and I'm feeling overwhelmed.

I'm assuming it's a sign that she's feeling an increase in anxiety and am considering raising her dose of Fluoxetine/ Prozac (which is currently at 10 MG a day.)

The other issue has to do with her being an early riser. A very early riser. She goes to bed around 8:00PM always wakes up at around 5:00-6:00 in the morning. She will usually make her way to the computer and keep herself relatively busy until we get up, but I'd rather NOT have her start the day with hours of obsessive computer time, plus, I'm thinking it might possibly be motivating her to get out of bed, but I'm not sure what else she can do or how she can keep herself busy so we can continue to sleep at least until 6:30 or 7:00.

Anyone else dealing with early risers?

Thanks in advance VERY MUCH for any input.
There's a lot going on these days.

Sincerely,

{Cathy}

[Cathy Fitzhugh]

Hi FEATers,

I have two recent issues that have arisen with my daughter and was hoping for your always wise and helpful suggestions and feedback. (She is high-functioning, and is ten years old but has a lot of physical challenges.)

The first issue is that her need for oral stimulation have skyrocketed to the point where she constantly has to have something in her mouth. Gum used to solve this problem, but now she is just swallowing her gum. Once the gum is gone, she chews and sucks on her clothing, or if given, will chew on a Chewy Tube. (A few months ago her dentist asked us to stop using the tubes as he thought they might me shifting her teeth around.)

She has also developed sores on the inside of her cheeks that she chews on or rubs with her tongue, and that cause her pain when eating and also pain when we try to brush her teeth. The gum was great, but without it, at school, her speech is difficult to understand and the tubes are just channeling drool all over her desk. It's very worrisome and I'm feeling overwhelmed.

I'm assuming it's a sign that she's feeling an increase in anxiety and am considering raising her dose of Fluoxetine/ Prozac (which is currently at 10 MG a day.)

The other issue has to do with her being an early riser. A very early riser. She goes to bed around 8:00PM always wakes up at around 5:00-6:00 in the morning. She will usually make her way to the computer and keep herself relatively busy until we get up, but I'd rather NOT have her start the day with hours of obsessive computer time, plus, I'm thinking it might possibly be motivating her to get out of bed, but I'm not sure what else she can do or how she can keep herself busy so we can continue to sleep at least until 6:30 or 7:00.

Anyone else dealing with early risers?

Thanks in advance VERY MUCH for any input.
There's a lot going on these days.

Sincerely,

{Cathy}

[Dione Costanzo]

An additional note regarding Neighborhood Network meetings – we would like to get a group started in Vancouver. If you are a Vancouver parent and are interested in facilitating a monthly meeting for local parents to attend please contact me at dione@abasupportnetwork.com

Thank you!!

ps – South Surrey/White Rock is Jan 31 (tomorrow)

[Dione Costanzo]

Hi everyone

I have to give a call out to the awesome parents that are facilitating meetings for the ABA Support Network! These "Neighborhood Network" groups have been meeting monthly, providing support to new parents and sharing information and experience on various topics.

School is a hot topic these days with lots of K parents getting ready for the fall and some changes in district administration for Surrey.

Please contact any of these parents if you are interested in attending a meeting.

THANK YOU ROXANNE – facilitator of South Surrey/White Rock group which meets every month. Next meeting is tomorrow March 31 at 7:30 please rsvp to bradrox@shaw.ca

THANK YOU HOLLY – facilitator of Cloverdale/Langley group which meets every month. They are meeting TONIGHT at 8pm please rsvp to hkorstad@gmail.com

THANK YOU JEN – facilitator of Central/North Surrey group which meets every month. Their next meeting with be in February please rsvp to jantic@telus.net for details.

All meetings are posted on our online calendar here http://abasupportnetwork.com/calendar.php and on our Facebook events page.

We also post ASBC meetings and sponsored events as well as ABA related conferences in BC.

Parents helping parents!!

[Stella Li]

Autism Society of BC: Burnaby Support Group Meeting: Friday Feb 1st 10am-12noon

What is a Will?
Why do you need a Will?
What happens to your child with Autism if you die without a Will?
What makes a Will invalid?
What does a Will cost?
How can we manage the affairs of a person with a Disability?
What is a Representation Agreement and who needs it?
And more…

Don’t miss the opportunity! If you’re available this Friday morning, come spend 2-hour to listen to a well-known lawyer in the autism community, to get valuable information to protect your child’s future with no charge! Informative handouts will be provided. Please RSVP to shui@autismbc.ca ASAP.

We will have a video presentation of Mary Hamilton’s seminar on “Legal Documents to Protect Your Child’s Future”.

Date: February 1, 2013
Time: 10am-12noon
Place: Board Room, Autism Society of BC, Suite#303 – 3701 East Hastings, Burnaby (NE corner of Hastings and Boundary, long stairs from G/F to 3/F)

Legal Documents to Protect Your Child’s Future
by
Mary Hamilton, Davis LLP

TOPIC:
The presentation will cover the following documents:
* Will
* Living Will
* Nomination of Committee
* Representation Agreement
* Enduring Power of Attorney
* Insurance Declaration or RRSP Designation

GUEST SPEAKER IN VIDEO:
Mary Hamilton has almost 25 years of experience in matters relating to wills, trusts and estate administration. She has held senior positions with the various wills, estates and trusts groups in Vancouver and was named Vancouver Trusts and Estates Lawyer of Year 2011 by the Best Lawyers organization. Mary is considered the best lawyer available for advising executors, administrators and trustees about the probate process, and for administration of estates and trusts. She is highly sought-after for the preparation of powers of attorney, nominations of committee and representation agreements, and for advising attorneys, committees and representatives about their roles and responsibilities.

[Brad & Roxanne Black]

Hello,

I am hosting a ABA Support Network meeting for South Surrey, White Rock. Will be talking about entering the school system, many new families with kids going into school. Parents with lots of knowledge will be here to talk to you. Also any other issues you may be facing. Please email bradrox@shaw.ca for more info. Parents helping parents!!!!

[Dione Costanzo]

Upcoming Autism Support Group Meetings and Events:
Please check our website calendar for full descriptions:
http://abasupportnetwork.com/calendar.php

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series (scroll down this page for detail)
Date: Tuesday, January 15
Time: 7pm
Location: Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library
RSVP to asbcnorthshore@yahoo.ca

ABA Advisory Meeting – SD36
Date: Tuesday, January 15
Time: 7pm
Location: District Education Centre, 14033 92nd Ave, Surrey
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/abaadvisory/

Neighborhood Network Meeting – Central/North Surrey
Date: Thursday, January 17
Time: 7pm
Location: Central Surrey please RSVP for address
RSVP to jantic@shaw.ca

Neighborhood Network Meeting – Cloverdale/Langley
Date: Wednesday, January 23
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Cloverdale please RSVP for address
RSVP to hkorstad@gmail.com

ABAI 7th Annual Autism Conference
Date: January 25 – 27
Location: Marriot Portland Downtown Waterfront
Website: http://www.abainternational.org/events.asp

Richmond ASBC Parent Support Group Meeting and Presentation (scroll down this page for detail)
Date: Monday, January 28
Time: 7pm
Location: Tyee Room at Steveston Community Centre, 4111 Moncton Street, Richmond
RSVP to Richmond.asbc@gmail.com

Neighborhood Network Meeting – South Surrey/White Rock
Date: Thursday, January 31
Time: 7:30pm
Location: South Surrey please RSVP for address
RSVP to bradrox@shaw.ca

To see updates and new events as they are added please check our calendar regularly at http://abasupportnetwork.com/calendar.php

Please forward this information to anyone who might be interested! Thank you!

[Author]

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