[Super Dad]

Hi Andrew,

You story about Dane Spurrell reminded me of the tragic story of Yu Man-Hon:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22Yu+Man-Hon%22+or+%22Yu+Lai+Wai-ling%22

Jemma sent me the story a long time ago, but she hesitated to post it here because it was so heart-breaking. I feel, however, that parents should be warned about the potential dangers.

Tony

[Super Dad]

*** REMINDER ***

Don't miss the opportunity to hear two experts with years of experience in the school environment!

As a bonus, David Marley, founding director of "Medicare for Autism Now" will be updating us on the latest initiative to have autism treatment covered under Medicare. Come meet the brain behind the effort.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Social Strategies and Inclusive Environments in School
by
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, April 21
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very excited to have Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock as our guest speakers. The objective of this lecture is to promote understanding of inclusion for children with autism and strategies to enhance social integration in the school setting.

Topics to be covered include:
– Social development and its role in inclusion;
– Identifying and defining the levels of friendship;
– Strategies for inclusion in the classroom setting and during social/recreational times;
– Facilitation of peer play;
– Getting buy-in from all stakeholders;
– Organizing a "lunch bunch."

This is a 2-hour version of the 1-day workshop previous provided at Harmony House.

DATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre ( 600 West Queens Road , North Vancouver ), North Building

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

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

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

*** REMINDER ***

Don't miss the opportunity to hear two experts with years of experience in the school environment!

As a bonus, David Marley, founding director of "Medicare for Autism Now" will be updating us on the latest initiative to have autism treatment covered under Medicare. Come meet the brain behind the effort.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Social Strategies and Inclusive Environments in School
by
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, April 21
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very excited to have Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock as our guest speakers. The objective of this lecture is to promote understanding of inclusion for children with autism and strategies to enhance social integration in the school setting.

Topics to be covered include:
– Social development and its role in inclusion;
– Identifying and defining the levels of friendship;
– Strategies for inclusion in the classroom setting and during social/recreational times;
– Facilitation of peer play;
– Getting buy-in from all stakeholders;
– Organizing a "lunch bunch."

This is a 2-hour version of the 1-day workshop previous provided at Harmony House.

DATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre ( 600 West Queens Road , North Vancouver ), North Building

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

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

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

*** REMINDER ***

Don't miss the opportunity to hear two experts with years of experience in the school environment!

As a bonus, David Marley, founding director of "Medicare for Autism Now" will be updating us on the latest initiative to have autism treatment covered under Medicare. Come meet the brain behind the effort.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Social Strategies and Inclusive Environments in School
by
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, April 21
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very excited to have Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock as our guest speakers. The objective of this lecture is to promote understanding of inclusion for children with autism and strategies to enhance social integration in the school setting.

Topics to be covered include:
– Social development and its role in inclusion;
– Identifying and defining the levels of friendship;
– Strategies for inclusion in the classroom setting and during social/recreational times;
– Facilitation of peer play;
– Getting buy-in from all stakeholders;
– Organizing a "lunch bunch."

This is a 2-hour version of the 1-day workshop previous provided at Harmony House.

DATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre ( 600 West Queens Road , North Vancouver ), North Building

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

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

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

Hello fellow FEAT parents:

I am thinking of taking my whole family to Zajac Ranch for a weekend. Would any of you please share any experience (good or bad) with this camp?

Thank you in advance.

Tony.Tamer@yahoo.com

[Super Dad]

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Social Strategies and Inclusive Environments in School
by
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, April 21
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very excited to have Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock as our guest speakers. The objective of this lecture is to promote understanding of inclusion for children with autism and strategies to enhance social integration in the school setting.

Topics to be covered include:
– Social development and its role in inclusion;
– Identifying and defining the levels of friendship;
– Strategies for inclusion in the classroom setting and during social/recreational times;
– Facilitation of peer play;
– Getting buy-in from all stakeholders;
– Organizing a "lunch bunch."

This is a 2-hour version of the 1-day workshop previous provided at Harmony House.

DATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre (600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver), North Building

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

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

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Social Strategies and Inclusive Environments in School
by
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, April 21
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very excited to have Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock as our guest speakers. The objective of this lecture is to promote understanding of inclusion for children with autism and strategies to enhance social integration in the school setting.

Topics to be covered include:
– Social development and its role in inclusion;
– Identifying and defining the levels of friendship;
– Strategies for inclusion in the classroom setting and during social/recreational times;
– Facilitation of peer play;
– Getting buy-in from all stakeholders;
– Organizing a "lunch bunch."

This is a 2-hour version of the 1-day workshop previous provided at Harmony House.

DATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre (600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver), North Building

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

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

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

Social Strategies and Inclusive Environments in School
by
Harmony House
at
7:00pm, April 21
in the North Building of the
Delbrook Recreation Centre in North Vancouver

We are very excited to have Bohdanna Popowycz Kvam and Michele Shilvock as our guest speakers. The objective of this lecture is to promote understanding of inclusion for children with autism and strategies to enhance social integration in the school setting.

Topics to be covered include:
– Social development and its role in inclusion;
– Identifying and defining the levels of friendship;
– Strategies for inclusion in the classroom setting and during social/recreational times;
– Facilitation of peer play;
– Getting buy-in from all stakeholders;
– Organizing a "lunch bunch."

This is a 2-hour version of the 1-day workshop previous provided at Harmony House.

DATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Delbrook Recreation Centre (600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver), North Building

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn right at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 17 for Westview Dr, turn left at Westview Dr, and then turn right at Queens Rd.

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

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/April2009/02/c6055.html

New autism advocacy group launches

Parent-run initiative focused on making main autism therapy more accessible

TORONTO, April 2 /CNW/ – Today, on World Autism Awareness Day, hundreds of parents of children with autism in Ontario are uniting to combat government discrimination against their children and to make autism therapy more accessible.

"My son has been waiting for a year and a half to receive government-subsidized therapy, and we have another one to two years to go. Hundreds of other children in this province are in the same boat. Instead of helping our children make key gains in their early years, the government has abandoned them. We've had enough. We're going to expose this injustice and fight for our children's rights," says Sharon Aschaiek, founder of Autism Resolution Ontario (ARO), and mother of Jaiden, 3, who has autism.

At 9:30 a.m. at the Queen's Park media studio (room No.148, main floor) in Toronto, the parents of ARO will present their plans to launch an ongoing, province-wide, high-profile public awareness campaign to alert the public about how the provincial government is neglecting and violating the civil rights of children with autism, and to achieve greater access to ABA therapy.

ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, is a teaching style that uses rewards and repetition to teach individuals with autism communication, socialization and other life skills. The approach relies on systematic observation and data collection to measure results. With more than 30 years of research showing its effectiveness, ABA is the most scientifically proven autism intervention.

ABA works best during children's early preschool years, and those who receive it intensively – 30 to 40 hours a week of one-on-one instruction – can make great strides in catching up to their typically developing peers.

The Ontario government has a provincially funded program in place to provide children with autism this therapy. However, children must wait three to four years, or longer, to access it; as a result, they lose out on the opportunity to maximize their early years, and many regress in their symptoms. Currently, about 1,400 children in Ontario are waiting for subsidized autism treatment or eligibility assessments. Many parents pursue private ABA, but its high price – about $50,000 a year – puts it out of reach for most families. Still, Aschaiek says, many parents go into serious debt trying to pay for private ABA.

"We can only afford a few hours a week of intensive ABA for my son," says Leah Kalvari, mother of six-year-old Mendy, who has been waiting for three years for subsidized ABA. "Our son's early years are going to waste. He is suffering, and there's nothing we can do about it."

In addition to advocating for more timely therapy, ARO (http://www.autismresolutionontario.com) is also pushing for more fairness, efficiency and transparency in the way ABA is administered in Ontario. Once children finally receive ABA, Aschaiek says, they're under constant threat of having it terminated. Currently, she says, the government does not consult with children's therapists, nor review data on their progress with ABA, when deciding whether to cut off therapy.

Another ARO goal is to make ABA more accessible in schools. Currently, Aschaiek says, kids with autism may receive some special education services or ABA-style support, but true, individualized ABA isn't available, even though it's widely understood to be the best, and often only, way to help them learn. Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs communication and social interaction and causes repetitive, non-functional, and sometimes aggressive, behaviour. Currently, one in every 150 children is diagnosed autism – that's up from one in 10,000 kids 30 years ago.

This dramatic spike in the number of cases, Aschaiek says, is why the government should act now to prevent all these children from becoming dysfunctional, social services-dependent adults.

"Children with autism who receive insufficient ABA go on to cost taxpayers millions of dollars more in lifetime care," Aschaiek says. "The most cost-effective approach is to help these children now, so that they can become independent, contributing adults."

[Super Dad]

http://www.medbroadcast.com/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=17653

Autistic Hamilton girl wins right to continue treatment, for now

Apr. 02, 2009

Provided by: The Canadian Press
Written by: THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO – A six-year-old autistic girl in Hamilton won the right to continue receiving treatment for her condition on a temporary basis Thursday, a day after her father asked the Ontario government to keep both his twin daughters on the program.

Paul Ceretti said he was happy to hear his daughter Delanie will continue to receive IBI, or Intensive Behavioural Intervention treatment, until the courts make a permanent decision in her case.

"They're still cutting her off – they're just maintaining the status quo for now," said Ceretti, who still plans to fight to keep Delanie on the program long-term. "It's just a Band-Aid."

The Ontario government had decided to cut off Delanie's treatment while allowing her twin sister Mackenzie to stay on the program – a move critics said was arbitrary and intended to reduce wait lists.

The government didn't provide any reason for reversing its decision, and declined to comment further.

Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews has denied using arbitrary guidelines to disqualify children from autism treatment, and said those decisions are in the hands of experts.

But Ceretti argues he was told Delanie had been taken off the program because she wasn't learning fast enough – even though her caregivers and psychologist disagree.

The Ontario Autism Coalition has expressed concern that other children will be thrown off the program through rigid and arbitrary benchmarks.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who had raised Delanie's case in the legislature Thursday, which was World Autism Day, said she would continue to lobby for the family.

"Dalton McGuinty promised that all Ontario children would have access to IBI therapy regardless of their age," Horwath said.

"We will do everything we can to ensure Delanie has this vital therapy restored permanently."

New Democrats said for the period ending Dec. 31, there were 1,419 youngsters waiting for treatment and another 377 waiting to be assessed.

[Author]

Posts