On November 15, I attended the Professionals Networking Brunch sponsored by Westview School. The invited speaker for the brunch was John Robert Hall author of "Am I Still Autistic? How a Low-Functioning, Slightly Retarded Toddler Became a CEO of a Multi-Million Dollar National Corporation". I was stuck by his honesty and candor when describing the challenges he faced growing up Autistic. Now the father of a recently diagnosed boy, John is faced with seeking the appropriate care for his son. I was honored to be apart of the brunch and appreciated the tour of Westview. All of the kids appeared to be enjoying classes and free time. The staff and administration all demonstrate a passion for the kids and are dedicated to offering quality education.
http://westviewschool.com
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Vive: Therapeutic Mentoring
Today I had a great meeting with the members of the Vive team spearheaded by Rohini Ross. Vive is a therapeutic mentoring program for young people and their families. All of the Vive coaches have their Masters degrees in a related field, many of whom have private practices. It was great meeting like minded professionals that care deeply about the families they work with and are dedicated to best practices. Over the course of the last couple of years I have heard wonderful things about the program. It was nice to see it in person and I am looking forward to working with them. http://www.vivenow.com
Re-Thinking Autism Conference 2012
November 1, 2012 was the Re-Thinking Autism conference presented by Vista Del Mar. This was the 4th annual conference held at Vista. The conference was very well attended and presented topics such as "viewing autism through a neurobiological lens", harnessing technology, and advocacy. The conference ended with a Q &A panel with Dr. Schmidt-Lachner, Peter Bell, and Diana O'Brien. I was moved by the performances of the kids from the Vista Inspire- Miracle Project. The Miracle Project is an awesome program directed by Elaine Hall. http://www.vistadelmar.org/miracletheatre/
At the end of the conference I was able to speak with Diana O'Brien about her new app, Impact Everyday. I believe it will truly revolutionize the way we coordinate services and assist with communication. https://impacteverydayapp.com.
Another wonderful resource for professionals is the "Saturdays at the Center". I did not know that Vista offers a monthly series with CEU opportunities. The next one is 12/8 and will be presented by Katherine Gould, discussing, "A Method for Treating Children Diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder".
For more information; http://www.vistadelmar.org/continuingeducationunits/
I was asked to be apart of the Leadership Council and am looking forward to our first meeting. Stay tuned for updates from the council.
IECA Atlanta 2012
The week of November 5- 10, 2012, I had the opportunity to visit Atlanta, Georgia and attended the annual Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) conference. The weather was beautiful and the colors of the leaves were changing into a deep red. Something I still appreciate given my upbringing in Southern California. The IECA event was exciting, overwhelming, and exhausting. This was the first IECA conference I had attended as a consultant. I had been to a previous IECA in Carolina several years ago as an exhibitor. The day before the conference commenced I was able to visit 3 local programs. The 3 programs were unique and serve young adults and that are challenged by sobriety and developmental disabilities. I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the programs and was impressed by the positive evidenced based outcomes.
- Skyland Trail is a non-profit, community-based residential and day mental health treatment facility for adults with serious mental illness. http://www.skylandtrail.org
- Talbott Recovery, "functions primarily as an alcohol recovery center, drug abuse treatment center, and addiction rehab center for young adults, professionals in the healing fields, and general adults in need of treatment. "https://www.talbottcampus.com
- Hope Homes Inc. is a long-term residential program designed to bridge the gap from early recovery to independent living.http://hopehomesrecovery.org
The conference itself was Wednesday-Saturday. I was able to attend many of the breakout sessions. The most memorable was a panel of directors from some of the most prominent young adult programs. The directors have created an organization, YATA (Young Adult Transition Association). The mission is to "promote young adult residential transitional schools and programs that support issues and practices of common interests and enhance the quality of care of the young adults and their families". Of course this is a topic of interest for me so I was happy to be able to participate in the dialogue. Other conference highlights included attending a beautiful dinner at Brandon Hall sponsored by several programs. The dinner was in support of Saving Teens, a very important program dedicated to assisting children and their families access necessary services despite financial struggles.http://www.savingteens.org
Over the course of the 3 days I had the opportunity to meet with several programs, clinical directors, and other consultants. It was at times a challenge to make it through a room but in the end I believe I was able to make long lasting connections. I am definitely looking forward to the next IECA in Chicago.
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