[Deleted User]

Autism Partnership has relocated a consultant to Vancouver. Her name is Andrea Sharpe; I had the opportunity to meet her at the ASAT conference in March. We originally used Autism Partnership to set up our program in March 1997 with another consultant.

Andrea is originally from Vancouver and has her B.A.in psychology from UBC and a Masters Degree in Health Psychology from the University of Southampton in England. She worked as a Trainee Senior Supervisor for the P.E.A.Ch Young Autism Project, also in England. Prior to that she worked as Behaviour Intervention tutor and senior tutor for families both in England and the Vancouver area.
Andrea has been working for Autism Partnership in California since early 2000 as an Intern and Program Supervisor.
Autism Partnership provides excellent training to their consultants and this training is ongoing. Andrea will have the support of Autism Partnership and its directors Dr. John McEachin and Dr. Ron Leaf.

Some of Andrea's other areas of interest are developing and running play/social groups, toilet training programs, teaching parents the principles of behaviour intervention, working with older kids and working in schools.

Contact Information:

Vancouver Telephone:(604)632-4249
Autism Partnership, Seal Beach California:
(562) 431-9293 extension 141 for Julie McEachin or extension 209 for Andrea or 110 for operator.
E-mail address: asautpar@aol.com

I am providing this information as a service only and cannot personally endorse Andrea as a consultant although i have met her and can share my impression that she seems like a bright young professional. I did use Autism Partnership for consulting previously and was satisfied in general with the services provided. I would recommend that parents request and check references supplied by any consultant.

I can be reached at (604)275-4537 or by e-mail at ddoyle@nwdbc.com.

Andrea is scheduled to give a presentation to the FEAT parent support group in July.

[Deleted User]

Does anyone have any info on the EIBI program and what the government is now saying it will be comprised of? Are the liberals making significant changes to it? I understand the government is accepting proposals in regards to delivering EIBI from local special needs service providers, behavioral consultants(ministry contracted consultants), etc.. I find this both discouraging and alarming considering the lack of expertise these service providers have in this area.(Though at least one local service provider has approached me asking what a proper aba program should look like and in comparison what are the government pilot projects doing and how great is the difference). What can we do as the recipient families of these services to ensure that somewhere down the line they may be adequate for treating our children? My son is seven and we are starting with WEAP in a month or so I ain't waiting for the gov. to come up with something better but I know many other families in our small community who have younger ASD children and lack the means to afford consultants or therapists, they also lack education of the efficacy of quality aba services.

Alex Barclay
Sunshine Coast
thujalog@home.com
604 487 0048

[Deleted User]

feat of washington is having their conference in seattle in september. this is the information i recieved in response to my request. i attended a few years back and it was very worthwhile.

Hello,
thanks for your interest in the conference! You can e-mail Rori for more
info, feel free to pass it along….
Harmony

It’s not too early to start planning for the…

FEAT CONFERENCE

to be held at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue on Friday, September 28 and
Saturday, September 29. A third day for a workshop is scheduled for Sunday,
September 30.

The Conference will feature well known speakers David Cilberti, Eric London,
David Amaral, Joanne Gerenser, Shala Ala-Rosales, and More!
They will speak about a wide range of topics which affect all of us who have
a child or children with autism.

[Deleted User]

hi everyone. i came across an excellent website for creating worksheets. the beauty of it is that you can modify the worksheets to target the precise skill you're working on. for example, we're teaching addition facts 0-9 plus 0-3 and you can customize the worksheets specifically. also, you can personalize with the child's name and won't that make them feel special!

check out:

http://www.worksheetfactory.com/dlmathlite.html

[Deleted User]

Over the last couple years FEAT has sponsored an ABA training workshop held by the CEE. I was just wondering whether there was going to be a similar workshop this year, and if so, who was going to be presenting.

Also, there was a book published a couple years ago, which outlined the research on all the major Autism treatments. I am wondering what the title of this book was, and where I could get a copy.

[Deleted User]

BC…
I sincerely hope that your new government keeps it word. You must feel as if a weight has been lifted from you.
We in Ontario are continuing to try to make changes to ensure " equal" access to neccessary medical treatment for autism is the standard not the dream.
Many of us would like to start FEAT Ontario, but as one person said it does seem rather overwhelming to do so.
If there is anything I think many of us here realize is that even " icing " can taste bitter if its made with the wrong ingredients as the " IBI" program in Ontario has been.
There needs to be a group here who will do for Ontario what you have for BC.
Anyway G-d bless and keep the good fight.
Norrah

[Deleted User]

Free at last … free at last … free at last !!!

[Deleted User]

Hi Folks

I was very surprised to hear that Giant Steps was referred to as a "babysitting service" on the recent Bill Good show by a representative of FEAT BC. I did not hear it myself, but several families from Giant Steps have mentioned this to me, so I am assuming that this actually did happen.

I guess we are one of the few families here in B.C. with experience with in-home ABA programs (we have two children with autism and have been running ABA programs for over three years) AND with direct knowledge of Giant Steps (our older son attends this year, our younger will also attend next year). I am a firm believer in ABA, but unlike some, do not think it is the ONLY thing that can help our kids. I feel it is an important part of the solution, but not the entire solution. Giant Steps takes intensive one-on-one therapy to another level, incorporating diet, sensory integration, OT, speech etc. The diet alone has made a HUGE difference for our kids. In fact, many of the principles of ABA are utilized by the Giant Steps program – because they work!

Referring to Giant Steps as a "babysitting service" could only have been made by somebody who does not have any direct knowledge of what Giant Steps is all about. There is just no other explanation that makes logical sense. It also smacks of a "there is only one God and that God is Allah" mentality. Do you realize how many of the worlds major conflicts are because of this kind of attitude? This kind of exclusionary attitude belongs back in the 15th century, not here in the 21st century.

I am very pleased that the vision of Giant Steps does not exclude other perspectives. I am very disappointed that a representative of the FEAT group chose to refer to Giant Steps in this manner. I think this kind of attitude puts a stain on the integrity of the FEAT group, and on the autism community in general.

Please, lets work together, not fight amongst ourselves. I know deep in all our hearts, the goal is the same, its about helping our kids.

Rob (Eric and Chris' Dad)

P.S. If you wish to learn more about Giant Steps Vancouver, have a look at our website. Its not yet complete, but it certainly has some good information about the program. You can find it at http://www.giantstepsvancouver.bc.ca

[Deleted User]

After careful consideration I have decided to let
FEAT parents know what I learned about the
PCARD program (now known as EIBI) over the
weekend. Not that we didn't know this already,
but this program our government is setting up
is nothing short of a "slap in the face". For
those parents who are counting on this as
their last hope, these are the sad facts.
1. they will only be taking 25 children in
Victoria, 25 in the Interior, and 25 in the Surrey,
Delta, White Rock area (Langley, Vancouver,
Abbotsford etc. are not included)
2. children will be ages 2-4 (no child born
before April '97 will be accepted)
3. program will only provide 20 hours/week of
ABA therapy "using discrete trials and natural
training" (when asked if this was Lovaas style
ABA, the answer was "that will be part of it")
4. Delta association has hired 15 therapists
and are in the process of training them now
under Dr. Gerry Kysela who set up Autism
Linkages in Edmonton (when asked if the
program would be anything like the one in
Edmonton, the answer was "NO")
5. within the next 3 years they will be setting
up a program that will include children up to
age 7 (for some of us that means our children
will still be diqualified)
6. the consolation prize is: those of us who do
not qualify will be able to recieve "special
enhanced services" from the ministry for
Children and Families (ooooh, I can hardly
wait!!)

My purpose for this post is to make people
mad. What this government is doing to our
children is outrageous!! What about the
hundreds and hundreds of families who have
no help, no hope, and can not afford the cost
of real ABA therapy?? Does our government
expect us to be grateful for this "crumb" they
are throwing our way? Do they even have a
clue what Autism does in a family and how it
can push one to their very limits??
We need to do all we can to ensure our
childrens future.
(For those of you who have been accepted into
this governments program, and who
desperately need it, please know that you are
wished well. For those who were counting on
this program as a last resort, there is still
hope. If enough of us get fed up with this
garbage, maybe someone will listen…..)

[Deleted User]

Good afternoon all.
By way of introduction as I'm new to the boards, my name is Stuart Cadwallader and I am the proud father of a six year old boy with Autism.
As mentioned in Linda's post, I am endeavoring to make available to all interested and involved parents of children with autism, the Liberal candidates for the Tri-cities area so that they can answer our questions directly.
As an aside I am not affiliated with any political or umbrella organization but am simply acting in the best interests of my child, and hopefully your own.
To this end, the Candidates and/or their campaign managers for Burquitlam (Richard Stewart), Westwood-Port Moody (Christy Clark), and Port Coquitlam (Karn Manhas) have been provided with a brief of documents related to our concerns and have made the assurance that they are willing to answer ALL questions related to the intended provision of services when they become our next government. This is an opportunity that we, as parents MUST NOT pass up as their interest level and availability assuredly will not be as high once they are in Victoria with the election past.
The meeting as mentioned by Linda will be held at the Old Orchard Hall, 646 Bentley Rd., Port Moody on Sunday May 6 (7 PM). It is an open meeting, and
I have contacted ASBC/Simon Fraser Society/Now Newspaper/Shaw Cable etc to attempt to provide as much notice to as many families as possible.

As responsible parents, and to ensure responsible participation I would ask all readers to contact the listed MLA's and media outlets themselves so that they can get an idea as to the level of our
voice and not ignore us as yet another small-time special interest group.

Richard Stewart's Office 939-8293
Karn Manhas…………..941-8882
Christy Clark…………461-0097
Shaw Cable/George Laknee (Prod. Mgr)..431-1090
Coquitlam NOW Newspaper……………942-4192

If you have any questions you can reach me at 464-2119.

Stuart Cadwallader
Nathan's Dad.

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