A Year in Review 

September 2012-2013 

The journey began after I attended the IECA Summer Training Institute in July 2012. I was so inspired to start my career as an EC that I jumped into a rental car in Philadelphia and made my way through Boston, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, visiting as many programs as I could schedule, all in 1 week. The travel bug bit me and my adventures continued over the course of the year. I made the 1 year commitment to see and experience as many programs as possible, building a strong foundation of knowledge so that I can better support the families I work with. I was extremely fortunate to have met some extraordinary people. Clinicians, administrative support, marketing, day & ground staff, even maintenance crew, all demonstrated a passion and love for the work they do with the clients. With every trip I was inspired to learn more. This year also afforded me the opportunity to participate in several conferences including speaking to families of young adults about Transitional programming options, conducting a 4 part training series for parents of current Seniors, and presenting a panel discussion on Innovative Young Adult Programming at the upcoming IECA 2013. Looking forward towards the future, I am excited to continue working with inspiring families, furthering my knowledge about specific treatment programs, gaining a greater understanding of evidence based practices and outcome measures, continuing to educate families about transitional topics, and assisting with the development of innovative programming for young adults. Thanks to everyone that have assisted me in this journey… Looking forward to many more adventures. 

The following is a list of some of the programs I have visited over the course of the year:

Academy @ Trails Carolina (RTC/W)

Advance LA

Advance LA- LIVE

Agape Homes

Aim House

Almansor Academy - AUT

Alpine Academy

Arroyo Vista

Ashcreek Academy

Asheville Acadmey

Aspiro

Autsim Academy

Bard College @ Simon's Rock

Berkshire Hills Music

Boulder Creek Academy

Brandon Hall

Bridges Academy

Bridges to Recovery

Brinkman House

Building Bridges

Burlington College

Cardinal Cushing Academy

Carlbrook

Casa Bella

Casa Capri

Casa De Amma

Cascade Crest Transitions

Catalyst

Center for Independent Futures

Chamberlain School

Champlain College

Chapel Haven

Chapel Haven- West

Cherokee Creek

Chrysalis

Clarity House

College Excel

College Internship Program

CooperRiis

Copper Canyon

Copper Hills

Cottonwood

Daniels Academy

Destinations to Recovery

Deveruex, Arizona

Deveruex Glenholme School

Discovery Academy

Discovery Connections

Discovery Ranch

Dragonfly Transitions

Eagle Hill School

Edge Collegiate Community

Elk Mountain

Eva Carlston

Excelsior Youth Center

Falcon Ridge

Focus Point

Four Circles Recovery

Franklin Academy

Frostig School

Fusion Academy

Germain Lawerence

Greenwood

Grove School

Heritage School

Hope Homes

In Balance Ranch

In Balance Transition

Independence Center

Innercept

Insight Intensive @ Gold Lake

Intermountain

Kildonan

La Europa

Lake House

Lakeview

Landmark College

Landmark School

Latham Center

Lava Heights

Life Adjustment Team

Life Development Institute

Living Well Transitions

Login River

Mansfield Hall

Maplebrook

Middlebridge

Milestones

Monarch

Monarch Transitions

Montana Academy

Mountain Valley Treatment

Mt. Pleasant

New Haven

New Leaf Academy

New Vision Wilderness- Bend

New Vision Wilderness- Wisconsin

Northwest Academy

Northwest Passage

Northwoods

Ohana House

Oliverian School

One to One Therapy

Open Sky

Optimum Performance Institute

Pacfic Quest, Reeds Bay

Pacific Quest

Pacific Shores Recovery

PCH Treatment

Red Rock

Riverview School

Rock Point School

Rogers Memorial

Scenic View Academy

Schrom Boy's home

Second Nature 360

Second Nature Blue Ridge

Shortridge Academy

Sierra Tuscon

Skyland Trails

Sober College

Solstice- Journey Home

Soltice Academy- East

Soltice Academy- West

Sovereign Journey

Spectrum College

Spring Lake Ranch

Spring Ridge Academy

Spruce Mountain Inn

St. Johnsbury Academy

Summit Achievement

Summit Prep

Sunrise

SUWS

Sweetwater

Talbott Recovery

Tierra Del Sol- Nexus

Timberline Knolls

Trails

Trails Academy

Transcend

True North Wilderness

UCLA Pathways

Uinta

University of Arizona- SALT Center

Valley View School

Visions Treatment Center

Visions- Launch

Vista Counseling Services

Vista Dimpledell

Vista Magna RTC

Vista Vocational  

Vive

Waterfall Canyon

Watsach Academy

Way Point Academy

Wediko

Wellspring

Westmark School

Westview School

Whetstone

Wilcrick

Wilderness Treatment Center

Winchendon

Project SEARCH High School Transition Program: a unique, business led, one year school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace

Wonderful program and resource for those families searching for a transition program.

The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a unique, business led, one year school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations. http://www.projectsearch.us/

Experts from:

7 Tips for Helping Your Child Manage Stress

The key to helping kids manage stress is teaching them to problem-solve, plan and know when to say yes and no to activities and commitments, she said. It isn’t to “make everything smooth and comfortable.”

“If you don’t teach [your kids] how to manage stress, they will self-medicate with food, drugs and alcohol.” In other words, kids will reach for something to make them feel better right away, and usually it won’t be something healthy, she said.

Here’s how you can help your kids manage stress successfully.

1. Stop over scheduling.

 One of the biggest stressors for kids is being over scheduled, Lyons said. And yet, today, kids are expected to pay attention and perform in school for seven hours, excel at extracurricular activities, come home, finish homework, and go to bed just to do it all over again the next day. As Lyons said, “Where’s the downtime?”

Kids need downtime to rejuvenate. Their brains and bodies need to rest. And they might not realize this by themselves. So knowing when your child is over scheduled is important.

Lyons suggested looking at your kids’ schedules over the course of a week and making sure that there’s enough downtime — “when you’re not watching the clock.” Are there several hours on the weekend or a few nights during the week when your child can simply kick back and relax?

Also, “pay attention to how your family is eating their meals. Is everybody eating on the run, in the car, grabbing and going? That’s an indicator that too much is going on.”

2. Make time for play.

 Lyons emphasized the importance of “play that isn’t pressured.” There’s no lesson, competition or end goal, she said. Younger kids will do this naturally. But older kids may forget how to simply play.

Combine play with physical activity, which is critical for well-being. Some ideas include: riding your bikes, throwing around the baseball, wrestling and hiking, she said.

3. Make sleep a priority.

 Sleep is vital for everything from minimizing stress to boosting mood to improving school performance, Lyons said. If your child isn’t getting enough sleep, that’s another red flag that they’re overscheduled, she said.

Again, reducing commitments helps. Also helpful is stressing the importance of sleep, and creating an environment that facilitates it. For instance, keep TV – and other electronics – out of your child’s bedroom. (“There’s no research that says TV is good for kids.”)

4. Teach your kids to listen to their bodies.

 Teach your kids “to understand their own bodies and the physiology of stress,” Lyons said. For instance, sit in the car with your child, and press the gas and brake, and listen to the engine revving. Explain that “our body just revs and revs, and then it wears out and says ‘enough.’”

Encourage them to listen to what their bodies are saying. While it’s normal for a child’s stomach to feel jumpy on the first day of school, leaving class because their stomach hurts or waking up repeatedly with a headache is a sign there’s too much going on, she said.

5. Manage your own stress.

 "Stress is really contagious,” Lyons said. “When parents are stressed out, kids are stressed out. If you’re living in an environment with one thing after another, your kid is going to pick up on that.”

She underscored the importance of showing your kids how to relax and effectively deal with stress. “They have to see you slowing down.”

6. Make mornings calmer.

 A disorganized home is another stressful trigger for kids, and this is especially evident in the mornings. Lyons suggested making mornings smoother, because this “sets the tone for the day.” This piece has specific suggestions.

7. Prepare your kids to deal with mistakes.

 For kids a lot of stress comes from the fear of making mistakes, Lyons said. Remind them that they’re not supposed to know “how to do everything or do everything right.”

Also, while making good decisions is an important skill to learn, the skill that might be even more important is learning how to recover from a bad decision, Lyons said.

”We can really stress out our kids by not helping them understand that screwing up is part of the process.” Help your child learn to figure out the next steps after a bad decision or mistake. Help them figure out how to fix it, make amends, learn the lesson and move on, she said.

Overall, Lyons suggested parents look at the bigger picture. “You can’t live a stressful life and then teach stress management.”

 Tartakovsky, M. (2013). 7 Tips for Helping Your Child Manage Stress. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 16, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/7-tips-for-helping-your-child-manage-stress/00017829

Back to School: Helpful Suggestions for Easing into the Year.

It's that time again:  What "Back to School" means for many families

This annual 'end of summer' shift can signify of myriad of changes for teens, including entering high school, enrolling in a new school, transitioning from wilderness to residential placement, reintegrating back into school or college after a therapeutic school, and various other anxiety-producing adjustments. 

For some, the end of summer simply means getting back into the swing of things and becoming accustomed to the routine and structure of school after a summer of leisure, play, or work. 

Whatever the change, parents often wonder how best to support their child through this time. Similarly, parents may also struggle with their own end of summer shift in environment and feel a heightened sense of uncertainty and apprehension during this time. 

Below are several helpful suggestions for easing into a new school year:

1. Check in with your kids about how they are handling the upcoming (or current!) change. Be aware of body language and subtleties that may alert you to their true level of anxiety or stress.

2. Create a routine. On some level, we all crave structure. Especially adolescents--even if they claim otherwise. Provide several predictable and stable daily activities your family can count on and be accountable for.

3. Set boundaries. Curfews and time with friends most likely will look different during the school year than it did during summer. Be firm. Expect pushback.

4. Be on the lookout for signs that your child (or yourself) is having a difficult time adjusting...Isolation, irritability, changes in friends, reluctance to go to school, and secretiveness can all be signs of struggle.

5. Especially if your child is re-entering 'traditional' school after a therapeutic placement, be aware that this transition is in and of itself stressful and potentially intimidating. The 'safety net' of their therapeutic environment is no longer there and your student may feel vulnerable, unsure, and highly susceptible to old patterns.

6. Let go of your expectations. Yes, we mean it. Transitions are messy and clinging to a belief of how things are 'supposed' to look is counterproductive. Practice boundaries and accountability, without losing flexibility and the acknowledgment that things don't have to be perfect. 

7. If you hoped/expected your child to be home for the start of the new school year and it didn't happen, acknowledging your feelings about this is a must. It is ok to be disappointed, sad, or frustrated...It is not ok to pull them early to satisfy these uncomfortable and difficult emotions. 

8. Personal consistency is key, especially in times of external or environmental change. Fluctuating on household or family expectations, rules, or limits sends conflicting and anxiety-producing messages. In two-parent households, it is your job as parents to provide a unified front. This means being proactive, communicating, and working through parenting differences. 

9. Be mindful of your own worries and emotional reactions during this transitional time. "Back to school" can bring about disruptive changes to your own daily routine, and often, increased time alone during the day. Have a plan for what will fill your time, especially if this is the first time your child has been away. 

10. Stay present in the moment. Avoid looking too far into the future and trying to predict what may happen. All of this planning and strategizing will be in vain if you are not acutely aware of what is happening right now in front of you. 

Author: Emily Long for Horizon Family Solutions

http://www.horizonfamilysolutions.com/

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc: Class Action Settlement

"If you are a subscriber of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and you, or your dependent, have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder from April 8, 2004 through June 30, 2012, you could receive benefits from a class action settlement.

Kaiser Permanente has recently agreed to pay $9 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged that the health plan illegally refused to cover behavioral therapy for children with autism before the enactment of a state law (SB 946) required them to do so. Kaiser will establish a fund to reimburse any class members who paid out-of-pocket for the therapy prior to the state law. Any remaining funding will go toward autism research.

This settlement resolves a class action lawsuit brought by Plaintiffs on behalf of a class of Kaiser members over whether Kaiser improperly denied coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and Speech Therapy (ST) for those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The settlement avoids costs and risks from continuing the lawsuit; it reimburses monies paid or owed for ABA and ST by you; and it releases Kaiser from liability.

The settlement will provide up to $9,290,000 to reimburse Kaiser members who spent or owe money for ABA and ST to treat ASD. To qualify, you must submit a claim form and supporting documentation. The settlement also requires Kaiser to follow certain practices in providing ABA and ST to those with an ASD in the future.

Court-appointed lawyers for the class of Kaiser members will ask the Court for up to $2,890,000 to be paid separately by Kaiser, as fees and expenses for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the settlement."

Go to: http://www.gilardi.com/KaiserASDLitigation/

The relationship factor: when special needs challenge a household

The relationship factor: when special needs challenge a household

Written by: Cindy N. Ariel for http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/

Becoming a parent for the first time changes our identity forever. There is a balancing act between caring for the needs of children and putting time and effort into the maintenance and growth of ourselves and our relationships. Frequently we must redefine our values and relationships with others. This transition in the development of family life is challenged even further by disability or chronic illness. "There is a strain on any marriage whenever a baby is sick. And we always have a sick baby," according to Josh Greenfield, the father of a child with autism, in A Child Called Noah (1970).

The kind of chronic stress that raising a child with special needs entails can affect relationships at their weakest points. This is just as true for families who have "volunteered" by adopting children with special needs or providing a foster home. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2000), 47% of all first marriages fail and 57% of all marriages end in divorce. Although the findings are inconsistent, there is general consensus among the experts that while the divorce rates are comparable, there appears to be more reported marital distress among families of children with special needs (Seligman and Darling, Ordinary Families, Special Children, 1997).

Together you and your partner dreamed of a healthy child--now you face a life very different from what you imagined. Your overwhelming feelings, both individually and combined, are normal and natural in the situation but very difficult nonetheless. The needs of the children are often complex and illusive.

Searching to find the cause of children's developmental problems and the best treatment can be a long hard journey. Getting wrapped up in the stresses and strains of everyday life, relationships inevitably suffer from lack of attention. Communication problems, lack of time and energy for personal, marital, and family activities, and social isolation affect many families. When a disability or chronic illness is discovered, powerful emotions surface and may put relationships on trial. How can couples understand each other in the wake of such devastating pain?

For a relationship that is fragile or unstable, disability can be "the last straw." On the other hand, challenging life events can serve as catalysts for change. Some families disintegrate while others thrive despite their hardships. People can emerge from crisis revitalized and enriched. Hope for relationships can really spring from the crises people experience when their child has a disability.

If you and your partner are parenting a child with special needs, here are some suggestions to help your relationship:

Work to understand each other's needs.

Family life can be a test of love and resilience, so taking good notes and working to understand each other's wants and needs are vital to the success and survival of an intimate relationship. Life has veered sharply from what you had expected it to be. Try not to blame each other for the situation. It takes time to sort this stuff out. Be kind to yourself and each other about how difficult this can be.

Spend alone time together.

While the issues in any particular relationship are complex, it can be a good start to plan time together alone, even if only for a few hours. In study after study, people who report their marriages to be satisfying describe their spouses as their best friends, and people who are best friends have activities that they enjoy together. Most people get married, in large part, because they enjoy each other and make each other feel good. Who would have married their spouse if the last time they relaxed and/or had fun together was months ago? A close bond between partners can help parents through the rough spots. You can start with sharing a cup of coffee or tea, dinner out, or a movie or concert.

Take care of your individual selves.

Your children have conditions that may require lots of care and supervision. In the struggle to advocate for our children's needs, our own needs as individuals and as couples get lost. Many people stop focusing on their marriage, but this never helps. As hard as it may sound at first, start to think about taking care of yourself and adding some fun and enjoyment into your life even though it can take a long time for this to feel okay. Take some time for yourself doing things you enjoy. This can be anything from physical exercise or journaling to just grabbing time to read the newspaper or a good book.

Reach out.

When possible share the responsibilities at home by working together on chores, childcare, and education. It is helpful when couples both work to learn about their child's disability, prepare for and attend IEP meetings, etc. Get involved in the special needs community if you can. There's so much to manage everyday that reaching out to your partner, relatives or friends can help lessen the burden.

Communicate.

When a person is in pain he or she may withdraw, or become frustrated and angry. It's hard to talk about something we have no power to change or fix. At times the reactions of couples can become polarized or opposite. For example, one may notice problems in the child and tend to worry and feel negative while the other holds hope and optimism that in time everything will be fine. Try to consider all your feelings toward your child-- both positive and negative-- and discuss issues in ways that will help both of you feel understood and find solutions to problems. In general, the way out requires working through the painful feelings with one's partner and arriving at some form of joint acceptance and effective co- parenting strategies.

Seek assistance.

Sometimes a mental health professional (a social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist) can be helpful to you in understanding the needs of the children, yourself and your marriage. Some people are reluctant to take this step, but when it becomes hard to function from day to day, this kind of help may be in order. Just as you would consult more than one specialist for your child if necessary, do likewise for yourself. If your partner is too discouraged, then start by yourself. Sometimes a change in one partner changes the chemistry of the situation for the better. It is intelligent and wise to acknowledge the needs of yourself and your marriage over time as well as your child's needs. Your special family is worth it!

In spite of grim statistics and feelings of being overwhelmed, having a disability in the family can have a positive impact as well. Here are some suggestions to offer comfort and direction for couples as well as singles who are parenting a child with special needs:

1.         Communication is key, so

            a.         Resist the tendency to blame

            b.         Ask for what you need from others; also take good notes about your partner's needs

            c.         Listen actively and with compassion to each other; tell your partner what he or she is      

                       doing right.

2.         Add some fun and enjoyment in your life-- alone and with your partner. If you worry too              much about leaving your child with someone else, take your beeper or cell phone.

3.         It helps to be as active as you are comfortable being in the community as a whole and in the                 

            special education community in particular.

4.         Exercise-- almost any form of exercise will lift your sagging spirits if you do a form of         

            exercise that you enjoy and do it regularly.

5.         Journaling-- writing down thoughts and feelings and experiences is helpful for many of us 

            trying to put things into perspective.

6.         Support groups-- It is often helpful to share experiences, thoughts and feelings with others who 

            are in the "same boat" and can understand.

7.         Break problems down into more manageable pieces.

8.         Remember that you are both on the same parenting team-- not competing or fighting          

            against each other.

9.         Seek professional guidance when necessary. It is not a sign of weakness to seek help when you 

            need it. On the contrary, it is wise to think of your needs as well as those of your children.

10.       Keep in mind that a hard life can still be a good life!

Written by;

Cindy N. Ariel, Ph.D. and Robert A. Naseef, Ph.D. are psychologists who specialize in helping couples cope with special needs in their family (www.alternativechoices.com). They are the co-editors of "Voices from the Spectrum: Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, People with Autism, and Professionals Share Their Wisdom" Naseef is also the author of the highly acclaimed book, Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability

Read more: http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/relationship-factor-when-special-needs-challenge-household-133245#ixzz2WU3aC300