[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

Topic

[David Chan]

Just a last minute reminder, don't bring a knife to a gun fight. Get up to speed with the Tao of Advocacy

Which is to say the WAY of effective advocacy. Learn the Zen of getting it done.

Attention all parent-advocates:

The "Getting it Done" Advocacy workshop scheduled for this Saturday,
April 30th by Medicare for Autism Now! is FULLY BOOKED. We are
wait-listing people until Friday afternoon, in case of cancellations

Due to the exraordinary interest, we anticipate scheduling more
workshops in the near future both in the lower mainland and Vancouver
Island. Don't be disappointed – stay posted here and at
http://www.medicareforautismnow.org for details on future workshops and other
Medicare for Autism Now initiatives.

If you haven't already done so, please go to
http://www.medicareforautismnow.org and sign the on-line petition. While
you're there, check-out the message board to see who in this election
campaign will publicly commit to supporting legislation to include
autism treatment under Medicare. Share your own candidates'
responses…but…do so before election day!

Questions about "Getting it Done" Advocacy workshop? Future workshops?
Candidate responses? Other Medicare for Autism Now!
initiatives?….contact us at mfanow@gmail.com

We're looking forward to a great workshop – see you all this Saturday!

[T. Chiao]

Dear Franca,
Thank you for your comments and encouragement.
Our son wouldn't be getting the help and support he needs if it weren't for the generation of parent advocates before us. I still have much to understand, but it gives me confidence to know I'm networking with and learning from the best. Thank you also for your friendship!

Tina

[Franca Pastro]

Hello everyone,

I want to thank Tina for sharing her experiences while starting to set up her ABA team for her son. She is doing all the right things when starting out: talking to parents who are running ABA programs to gather information – who are the consultants in town, how do you look for BI s, what do the therapy sessions look like, and so on. Many questions that can be answered by us – parents who are running ABA programs. Tina and other new parents to FEAT are great examples of the power of NETWORKING. After 13 years of “doing” ABA, I have questions myself: about school and school districts, about finding new BI s, about new issues that come up with a teenager affected with autism, about transitioning into adulthood. Networking is never obsolete.

We don't only need to network for our own personal and family needs, but we need to promote high quality ABA programming especially in the schools – this concerns all of us. In Surrey, the ABA parents have formed an ABA Advisory with is similar to a PAC and is associated with the district to do exactly that. Maybe there are not enough ABA families in a district to form an ABA advisory, that's even a better reason to work together. One way to do this is by joining your local ABA Support Network group. Not only we need ABA to help our loved ones, but “high quality” ABA needs us in order to prevail.

Thanks for reading.

Franca

[Janet Toye]

Suggestions Needed

I am interested in speaking with anyone (parents, teachers, B.I.s, behaviour consultants,etc.) who has had experience with the socialization of a very rigid deaf/blind child. Strategies on how to encourage a nine year old boy to be interested in interacting with his peers is needed. (He has not been formally diagnosed with autism yet but it is in the works.) Please contact jftoye@hotmail.com

[T. Chiao]

We attended tonight's ABA Support Network workshop "The Birds and the Bees and ASD". It was a wealth of information and an excellent opportunity to meet other ASD families. Our son is only 2.5 years old and non-verbal, so we have some time yet before we'll need to have this talk with him. However, we valued the opportunity to hear from other parents who are at this stage.

Kathryn Theroux was a dynamic speaker and we were impressed with her ability to present such a taboo topic in an open and encouraging way.

Thank you to Louise, Nancy, Dione and Elaine for welcoming us as new members to this community and encouraging us to attend our first ABA SN event tonight. We're already looking forward to joining the next meeting.

Tina Chiao and Lee McCormick

[Stella Li]

Hi everyone,

Reminder of our upcoming meeting Friday May 6th 10am-12noon, in the Studio, #301 – 3701 East Hastings, Burnaby.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Jenny Gorton and Kathryn Theroux, top notch professionals in the autism field, and other participants/parents to discuss the topic on social thinking in a group setting.

If you haven’t RSVP yet, please do so ASAP: shui@autismbc.ca. Thanks.

The ASBC Burnaby Support Group presents:

Learning Social Thinking in a Group Setting:
Results of the Summer Social Camp 2010

by
Jenny Gorton, M.A., SLP
Kathryn Theroux, M.S., RCC
ABLE Development Clinic

on

Friday, May 6th 10am-12noon

at the
Studio, #301 – 3701 East Hastings, Burnaby (across the Autism Society of BC)

at the north east corner on Hastings and Boundary, close to the bus stop and a red mail box, a few steps up to find a long staircase from ground level to 3/F. Parking: on Hastings or the back streets.

GUEST SPEAKERS:
Jenny Gorton, MA, SL-P(C), is a speech-language pathologist at the ABLE Developmental Clinic. She works primarily with children, teenagers and families to foster social success at home and at school. Jenny also consults to families and school districts to perform assessments for the Fraser Health Assessment Network. Prior to returning to Vancouver, Jenny worked closely with Michelle Garcia Winner to provide treatment for clients with social and language deficits (mostly on the Autism Spectrum), at the Teach Social Silicon Valley (previously known as the Centre for Social Thinking).

Kathryn Theroux, MS, RCC, is a clinical counsellor, behavior consultant, and intern at ABLE Developmental Clinic. She is also a part of ABLE’s autism diagnostic team. During the school year, Kathryn supports families to set goals and treatment plans that help parents, teachers, and students to work well together. She works with children with special needs to increase skills and reduce problem behaviors. She is a firm believer in evidence-based practice and data-based decision-making.

TOPIC:
The presentation will provide a summary of what was taught at the Summer Social Camp 2010.
http://www.summersocial.ca

Coffee/Tea and snacks provided. Donations are greatly appreciated.

Please RSVP to Stella at shui@autismbc.ca ASAP, to help us set up venue and prepare handouts and refreshments.

[Mike & Jean]

Attention all parent-advocates:

The "Getting it Done" Advocacy workshop scheduled for this Saturday, April 30th by Medicare for Autism Now! is FULLY BOOKED. We are wait-listing people until Friday afternoon, in case of cancellations

Due to the exraordinary interest, we anticipate scheduling more workshops in the near future both in the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. Don't be disappointed – stay posted here and at http://www.medicareforautismnow.org for details on future workshops and other Medicare for Autism Now initiatives.

If you haven't already done so, please go to http://www.medicareforautismnow.org and sign the on-line petition. While you're there, check-out the message board to see who in this election campaign will publicly commit to supporting legislation to include autism treatment under Medicare. Share your own candidates' responses…but…do so before election day!

Questions about "Getting it Done" Advocacy workshop? Future workshops? Candidate responses? Other Medicare for Autism Now! initiatives?….contact us at mfanow@gmail.com

We're looking forward to a great workshop – see you all this Saturday!

Jean and David

[Ducky Piyo]

Hi Tanja,

Thanks for your posting. I hope you are going to the April Advocacy Workshop. I have lots to learn myself and I am looking forward to learn more on how to amend the Canada Health Act.

Surrey appears to have ABA implemented in schools but your therapist needs to go through a bit of an obstacle course. It seems some districts hire and some don't but the best and sure way to implement ABA in schools is using the Hewko case.

RIGHTS OF AN AUTISTIC CHILD IN SCHOOL

Recently the Districts are all proposing Homosexual Curriculum into our school systems across BC because of protection under the human rights code.

I think that protection from harassment of all individuals including staff and students is important and mandatory. I support that!

It is interesting that the school districts spend so much time and money preserving equality of these individuals but not the right of the students with Autism. Mental Disability is also under the Human Rights Code.

When Autistic kids have behaviors they are ousted out of school (Langley) yet when a person makes a choice to engage in behavior that results in Homosexual lifestyle, the school community including families have to support and embrace them.

The Autistic child did not have a choice with their behaviors. (hence we do ABA)

I have to be honest, where's the money coming from? Hope not from our kid's Category G funding allocated to the schools.

Until there is a cure, Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder. When will Autism get equality in our Health and Education system, school inclusion and respect it deserves? How many more years of paying out of pocket because with a stroke of a pen there could be nothing for our kids?

I must state that my purpose to post is to adhere to the topic of ABA and Schools, Advocacy etc. I am not posting here to make any comments directly to anyone about their choice of sexual orientation.

My purpose is to raise awareness of the rights of my child with Autism in school.

Thank you for allowing me to air out concerns of the right of my child to be treated equal.

[Tanja Weiser]

In regards to your last message to me Ducky…so true…I can't agree with you more! Thanks for your support and absolutely…I won't give up the fight! We need our government to recognize the strong, growing need for increased Autism funding (ie: Medicare for Autism), as well as awareness/education to the people that will be responsible for our children in the public school system. We need ABA in all of our schools!! ABA has been implemented in the Surrey schools. (After a very long fight of course). What I don't understand is, why does each individual community need to fight to get it in their schools? Shouldn't this have set a precedence and be in all schools across BC? Or even Canada for that matter? Or are we all expected to pack our families up & move to Surrey, so that our kids can get the proper treatment & education? Bureaucracies, Politics…Red tape…gotta love it!

-Tanja

[Tanja Weiser]

Thanks Monika! Good advice!
-Tanja

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