Interesting CNN article

Discusses evidence that Early Intervention in children with autism is effective . . . . .

"A Trip to Holland" by Emily Perl Kingsley

A Trip to Holland

by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this . . .

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans . . . the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, Gondolas. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go.

Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland!" "Holland?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place of pestilence, famine, and disease. It's just a different place.

So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.

But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. And Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that experience will never, ever, ever go away. The loss of that dream is a very signifcant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

Announcement: Interagency Task Force on Autism Survey

The New York State (NYS) Interagency Task Force on Autism, sponsored by the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, is seeking input on the needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families. As a member of the Task Force, the New York State Department of Health encourages individuals with ASD, parents, other family members, non-profit providers, professionals, advocates, and other interested parties to complete the survey. This brief online survey seeks your opinions regarding which services are most important for meeting the needs of individuals with ASD and their families and which activities related to autism NYS should make a priority. You may access the survey at https://app.expressemailmarketing.com/takesurvey.aspx?id=16666The due date for surveys is October 9, 2009. Feel free to share this information with other stakeholders.

CIGNA Autism Parent Education Series

CIGNA
2009-2010 Autism Parent Education Series

This series of telephone seminars will help you better understand physical, mental, and emotional growth in children who may display symptoms of developmental disorders like Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

The seminars are free, and there is no registration required. They are open to any parent or caregiver interested in learning more about Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders. You can attend any or all seminars.

TOPICS:
The PDD spectrum: What are Autism and Asperger's Syndrome?
September 17, 2009
8:00-9:00 pm EST

My child is autistic - Where do I go from here?
October 22, 2009
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Stress on families with a PDD-diagnosed child
November 12, 2009
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Sibling issues in a PDD family
December 17, 2009
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Tips for daily family life - Haircuts, hygiene, and doctor's visits
January 14, 2010
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Making friends/play dates - Helping your child connect to the outside world
February 11, 2010
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Safety concerns and self-injurious behavior
March 11, 2010
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Caregiver relief: Ways to take care of yourself while taking care of your PDD-diagnosed child
April 15, 2010
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Planning for summer: Routine changes and activities
May 13, 2010
8:00-9:00 pm EST

Seminars will be given by health advocates from the CIGNA Autism team. To listen to a seminar, call toll-free 1.888.892.6703 at the scheduled time. When prompted for a passcode, enter 164265.

Please note, these are general information seminars. If you have specific questions, please contact a health advocate by calling 1.800.274.7603.

Can’t make the seminar but still want the information? Seminars will be available by podcast after the live presentations. Please visit: www.itstimetofeelbetter.com/know_stuff/audio

NEW Online Mandated Reporter Training

Mandated reporters can participate in this 2-hour web-based online training course at any time, 24/7. Once you begin, you will have 30 days to complete the course. In this Flash-based learning application, the existing OCFS curriculum was divided into smaller, more manageable sections. This allows users to save their progress at the end of each section--so they can complete it at their own pace, either in one sitting, or in multiple sessions. Users who log out after completing a section will automatically be returned to the end of their last completed section when they log back on to the training site. The course features interactive exercises that are customized for the major disciplines: Social Services, Education, Law Enforcement, Child Day Care and Medical. The course also addresses definitions, indicators, and how to make a report to the State Central Register. The application is full narrated and includes taped video segments that enhance the learning points. This course meets the New York State Education Department mandatory requirements for Training in Child Abuse Identification and Reporting.

Please click HERE to visit the website.

ABA In-Service with Dr. Diane Fraser July 30, 2009

Cooper Kids Therapy Associates is excited to announce that Dr. Diane Fraser is returning this summer to offer another amazing ABA in-service. Please see the details below:

“Why Children With Autism Often Fail to Acquire a Functional Intraverbal Repertoire”
When: Thursday July 30th, 2009
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Where: Syosset Public Library
PLEASE NOTE – There is a $15 NON-REFUNDABLE registration fee for this in-service – certificates will be mailed to participants.

Space is limited – Please write to allison@cooperkidstherapy.com to reserve your spot as soon as possible. You will receive a confirmation email. The non-refundable registration fee will be deducted from your next invoice. If you do not have a current case with Cooper Kids we will send payment instructions with your confirmation email.

Cooper Kids Therapy is offering an In-service Training!

Cooper Kids Therapy is offering an in-service training to our therapists. Please see the information below:

Finding Your Inner Child: FUNctional Therapeutic Buffoonery
Presented by Gary Wynn, OTR/L, M.A., M.F.A
Date: Thursday April 23, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Syosset Public Library

FUNctional therapeutic buffoonery is an innovative therapeutic technique aimed at transforming the therapeutic environment into a creative play presentation. Learn about the psycho-neurological connection between humor and healing. Leave behind your sense of embarrassment for we will ALL be silly.

SPACE IS LIMITED - RESERVED SEATING - FIRST COME FIRST SERVED

PLEASE WRITE TO ALLISON@COOPERKIDSTHERAPY.COM TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY - YOU WILL RECEIVE WRITTEN CONFIRMATION

Article re: ABA therapy

Cnn.com posted an interesting article about Autism and the effectiveness of ABA therapy. Check it out HERE.

Oppose Early Intervention Parent Fee Proposal

The NYS Legislature may consider the budget, including the proposal to charge parents fees for Early Intervention services, as early as the week of March 23rd. It is critical to spread the word and take action now!

1. Email your state legislators via the InterAgency Council's Web site. An email for parents of children in EI and an email for staff are both available at http://capwiz.com/iacny/state/main/?state=NY

2. Add your name to the New York Zero-to-Three Network's online petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-Early-Intervention-in-NYS

3. Forward this information to as many people as possible and urge others to take action!

4. For more information and updates on what you can do to oppose this proposal, contact Randi Levine at (212) 822-9532 or rlevine@advocatesforchildren.org

Copied from the NYC Parent to Parent Website NYC_ParenttoParentNYS@yahoogroups.com

Reminder about EI cuts

In today's economy everybody is hurting. Please take the time to send a message to Gov. Patterson that our children shouldn't suffer for it. Take a moment to visit this website and learn how the NYS legislature is proposing to cut funding to Early Intervention.

Once you access the site, there is a link you can click on to print out preaddressed letters to politicians in Albany. Please print the letters and sign them. Ask your family, friends, and EI families to sign a set as well and mail them off. Let Albany know that it is not acceptable to cut funds to developmentally delayed and disabled children!

NYCEI - Documenting Missed Sessions

According to NYCEI regulations – therapists must document on their session notes anytime a child is absent, whether it’s due to illness, vacation, etc on the part of the child and/or the therapist.

Please be sure that you write on your session notes each date that you are scheduled to go in and document if you or the child missed the session. DO NOT have the parent or caregiver sign for any missed sessions. Just document the date that was missed and the reason.

Also, if you provide a makeup session, document which session is a makeup by writing “makeup” in the margin next to the session. If you’d like, you can also list the date that you are making up in the margin.

Please also note, if a child misses three consecutive sessions you MUST document it on a new form that gets completed and faxed to our office. We will forward the completed forms to the child’s Service Coordinator and file it in the child’s chart. Our office sent the form out via email - but feel free to call us if you ever need a copy! We'll also work on having the form posted to our website at www.cooperkidstherapy.com.

Therapist Referral Program

Cooper Kids introduced a new Therapist Referral Program effective January 6, 2009! We are actively recruiting therapists looking to pick up EI cases in the Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn areas. If you know of a friend and/or colleague who is looking in those areas, please refer them to Cooper Kids and receive a $50 referral bonus per therapist after they submit their first invoice. Please see the details below for eligibility:

1. Therapist must be new to Cooper Kids Therapy and not currently listed in our database. They must also be properly licensed and/or certified for the Early Intervention Program.

2. Therapist must sign up with Cooper Kids and accept a case in the Bronx, Queens, or Brooklyn.

3. After an eligible therapist submits their first month of billing, we mail you a check for $50!

Please pass along our information to your friends and colleagues! Be sure to have them contact Anne-Marie Lynch at (516) 496-4460 ext 112 or annemarie@cooperkidstherapy.com and have them mention your name! Help spread the word to friends and colleagues by becoming a fan of Cooper Kids Therapy on Facebook.com. Thanks!

Actively Recruiting Providers

Cooper Kids Therapy Associates is an Early Intervention Agency actively seeking new providers to work with us as Independent Contractors. We provide Early Intervention services and evaluations in Nassau County, Suffolk County, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. We are seeking the following providers:

• NYS Licensed Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Nutritionists, and Social Workers.
• NYS Certified Special Instructors (Certification must be permanent Special Instruction or Birth - Grade 2)
• NYS Certified Teacher of Speech and Hearing Handicapped

Earn extra money on your own terms and around your schedule! Call our office at 516-496-4460 ext. 112 if you or someone you know is interested in learning more about becoming an Early Intervention Provider.