autismfc group - you are invited to read the recent messages

In the past two weeks, 15 new messages have been posted to the autismfc 
group, starting with:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/autismfc/message/1745
subject "try to be positive"

You are invited to read the recent messages on the autismfc group and 
add your comments.

A very long message is:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/autismfc/message/1752
subject mentioning TELEPATHY in connection with autism and/or FC 
(Facilitated Communication)

with links to 8 messages on another group (Autism-Ben_Golden) that I 
posted over the past 7 years.

Arthur Golden 

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Is it important to mention telepathy to assist persons with disabilities?

I just posted the following message at:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/autismfc/message/1762
(but I realize that at least one member of this autismlist may wish 
to discuss this message here on autismlist and you are free to do so)

Is it important to mention telepathy to assist persons with 
disabilities?

My 36 year-old son Ben has lived for 14 years in the ultra-orthodox 
Jewish community in Israel where people are allowed to mention 
telepathy.  I believe that being allowed to mention telepathy has 
greatly helped the development of my son Ben and giving him a good 
life, indeed a wonderful life.  Therefore, I think it may be 
important to mention telepathy to assist persons with disabilities.  
Please note that it is forbidden to mention telepathy or similar 
matters on the FCworld yahoo!group.

I realize that some of the members of this autismfc group want to 
have a completely open discussion about telepathy, and this autismfc 
group (set up by Tom Smith" but now "owned" by me) is set up to allow 
such a completely open discussion, as is the much larger membership 
autismlist owned by Tom Smith.  However, I believe that some of the 
members of this group want to have a restricted private discussion, 
especially when discussing their personal stories.  As many of you 
know, I also own "a_t_b" a restricted private yahoo!group, which was 
inactive for a long time but where such a discussion is now 
starting.  At this time, I think it is better to carry on a 
discussion of the question of "Is it important to mention telepathy 
to assist persons with disabilities?" on the private group which 

Re: Is it important to mention telepathy to assist persons with disabilities?

Re: Is it important to mention telepathy to assist persons with disabilities?

How much longer are we going to pay for their mistakes ? Lets SPEAK now ..we can

Let's hold them accountable for the promises.  We've paid for what the
insurance won't pay for,  We've paid for what the school district
won't pay for, we've had to go before due process hearing officers
biased as they work for the same state we are filing against !  Abuse
has run rampant and must stop.  It's time we put our foot down as a
community and let OUR voice be heard.  We've been promised billions,
why should we sit and not go after this ?  We've been promised an
office that will supervise just over Autism Spectrum Disorders.  How
much longer are parents going to work multiple jobs to pay for in home
programs ? How many parents have paid out of pocket.. I have. 
Probably close to 100,000.00 or more.  This will call for
reimbursement, it is not just something that we should look at.. it's
something we need to get everyone we know to put their vote in on it.
 This proposed ACT is worthy of attention.. read it and scroll down
and make your comment about what you have had to endure.

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/accept_and_sign_the_autism_reform_act_of_2009

Michael

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WE are currently in 9th place !! This will change alot for our kids/adults

This idea is currently in 9th Place in Education  and needs 286 more
votes to make it into the second round.

Those that haven't voted for it please do, we are going to deliver it
to  Obama either way - but it would be nice to go to the final round
and win it.. the top 10 should be Presidential Policy.  We want to
make sure so we're bringing it to him anyway and my Asst. who is
Autistic is going to present it.  Here is the site:

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/accept_and_sign_the_autism_reform_act_of_2009

Please help us make a difference.. if you go look you'll see a 12
parent panel will be in charge of all ammndments to this and Obama has
pledged 5 bil for Autism alone..so we'll ask for more as we will
include all disabilities and also provisions for those that are over 21.

Thank you very much,

Michael

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An Inspirational Message and a Thank you...

Since my son is non verbal, this really inspires me.. this is my Asst.
Kevin...he had speech delay and is Autistic/Aspergers..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hV048AtDgI

Thank you so much for your support of this ACT, we are now in 5th
place in the initial round. Regardless of how it turns out we will
still bring hard copy of this Presidential Proposal to Obama on Jan.
20th.. Obama asked for it in his promise and he shall get it!
Remember the Parental Counsel of 12 parents that will have 'oversight'
and also be responsible for recommending ideas for amendments to ADD
to this ACT...nothing shall be taken away.
We have decided to put " Relief for those that are or ever have been
in Special Education " under the the Name of the ACT.
Please help me if you can/want to spread awareness of this.. many
parents/others are helping to let others know to vote for it by
copy/pasting the site address along with their statement of support..
can you help me out ?  Pass this link along to friends and family
http://www.change. org/ideas/ view/accept_ and_sign_ the_autism_
reform_act_ of_2009

 
Please go and comment to vote & Let others know ASAP to do the same

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Re: WE are currently in 9th place !! This will change alot for our kids/adults

Darlene Hanson's Newsletter on Communication

Hi everyone,

Below I copied and pasted the latest newsletter from Darlene Hanson, the renowned expert on autistic
communication, that I found on Portia's site.  I thought many would be interested in how she is approaching
things these days.

Tom
​
​Partners Newsletter
​Message From Darlene
​
​There has been a lot happening in the past few months. Core Communication Partners has now become part of
WAPADH, Whittier Area Parent Association for the Developmentally Handicapped. WAPADH is a non-profit
agency supporting individuals in the Whittier and Santa Fe Springs area of California. Katie Bernal and I
are now staffing their Communication Services department. We are a Non Public Agency, and provide
assessment, therapy, coaching and training to individuals and their teams throughout California. We
are very excited about this new partnership.
​
​Dr. Christi Hendrickson and I, along with 17 participants, just completed our first Mentorship
Project in California. We had participants from the Davis , San Jose , and Los Angeles/Orange County area.
Those who participated have increased their skills in advocacy and coaching for teams who use
Facilitated Communication and AAC. Christi and I are now preparing to begin the second project in Iowa in
January of 2009.
​
​In this issue I want to discuss some of the nuts and bolts we can use to enhance communication and build a
team that works toward functional and "independent" communication.
​
​ Webcam consultations are available for those of you just needing some pointers. Contact us at: www.darlenehanson.com.
​
​What is Functional Communication?
​
​Some of us are into scrapbooking. If you are or are not, you can use this concept to create journals that
can be used to tell your stories, work on expressive language skills, and develop social skills. By taking
pictures or saving brochures you can create a folder or scrapbook of visuals to describe. Use these
visuals as something to talk about.
​
​To address functional communication you will want to look at a variety of means of communication. You
may be able to create expressive language through written language however that may not be appropriate on
a playground. You may be able to independently use your PECS book for basic wants and needs but this
wouldn't allow you to generate a five-paragraph essay for your language arts class. When choosing
equipment or writing goals think of all of the contexts of communication. Then build and design a program
that creates communicative opportunities in all settings.
​
​The Communication Dictionary
​
​The communication dictionary is a great way to document, and remind us, of all the various means of
communication a person uses. (I have a PDF of a communication dictionary on my website you can download.)
Why do you want one? The Communication Dictionary provides an opportunity to document the individual
acts of communication, what they mean when they happen, and how best for the communication partner to
respond. They are most often completed in written form, however you could take a photo if that is more descriptive.
​
​You want to document all acts of communication. Include vocalizations, words, phrases, gestures,
symbols used, devices, systems, or any other creative way a person communicates. Be sure to include how
the person does when asked to answer a "yes/no" question. This skill is often over emphasized and not reliable.
​
​In the past few months a colleague and I have started creating power point or keynote presentations to
describe the individuals communication. We insert video of the description into the presentation. This
allows for us to describe how communication is happening in different situations. However you choose to
create a dictionary is dependent on your needs and how you want to be able to share the information and train
new communication partners. Our goal in suggesting this is to assist the person with the communication
difference in describing who they are as a communicator and speed up the process of training new people.
You can find a copy of a Communication Dictionary form on my website: www.darlenehanson.com, look under 'resources'.
​
​Initiation
​
​A large part of functionality is the ability to initiate communication. When we ask people "How do you
initiate?" there are all kinds of different answers. Communication can be non verbal and/or verbal. So
initiation of communication can happen in both ways as well. Some people use their body language or
vocalizations to indicate they have something to say. Some people initiate by readying their hand in a
point. Others grab the arm of their support person. Others are able to go and retrieve their communication
system/device and bring it to their communication partners.
​
​If you are supporting a person to communicate and assisting them to work on "initiation" it is helpful to
enter into a discussion with your person on their views and how they think they are currently initiating.
From there you can work to fade the prompts and encourage initiation. Just the other day I was working with
my friend Emma on her initiation. We kept her Lightwriter on the table somewhat in position to
communicate. Emma would take my hand and place it where she needed it to communicate. For her she placed my
hand on her back. She was then able to move her device into position and started her communication. This
isn't her ultimate goal but it is progress and she is directing the process.
​
​It is also important to leave time and pauses in the timing of communication. If we hurry the process so
that as soon as the speaking person stops talking the AAC users starts communicating we may be missing an
opportunity for growth. When you finish speaking stay attentive to your AAC user/communication partner
and wait to see if there is a way the individual will initiate their turn. (Of course you have to be
reasonable on this and have a sense of how long to wait for this to occur.)
​
​Initiation of your turn and communication is an important social skill. We can support the individuals
who use AAC to develop this skill or we can continue to "help" them to communicate. If you haven't thought
about "initiation" lately make this a New Years Goal!
​ 

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HBOT and AIT for Autism

Those of you who are familiar with Miracle Mountain know that we are a
cooperative using therapies like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and
Oxy-Sound Harmonics, aka AIT or Auditory Integration Therapy to treat
autism and our success rate has been excellent.  We feel strong about
combining AIT because of the success it has shown on a stand-alone
basis in improving auditory processing and speech in children with
autism.  By combining AIT with HBOT and the oxygen saturation of the
Neurons which increases the reception to the sound harmonics program,
the success rate is increased considerably.  This is the reason that
we normally require the AIT program when doing HBOT for our clients
with autism.

If you have ever investigated AIT, you know that the cost is normally
$1400 or more for the therapy which is 20 sessions, 2x a day for 10
days.   At Miracle Mountain, we are a cooperative which means simply,
we operate as close to cost as possible and your combined buying power
provides benefits to everyone.

In order to provide both HBOT and AIT as 2 of the most important
therapies you can do for your child and to make them affordable, we
are doing a temporary price combination which includes doing hbot for
only $49 per session for 40 sessions and AIT for only $10 per session
for 20 sessions.   That is less than $2200 for both therapies combined.

We have treated hundreds of children but have come to realize there
are many more who have never done HBOT or AIT for your child.  In our
continued dedication to providing these therapies as a cooperative in
an effort to help those who normally cannot afford them, we are doing
this on a temporary basis to determine if we can continue and still
operate in the black.  We cannot afford to operate at a loss but if we
determine after 2 months of this combination pricing that we can
continue to operate without losing money, we may continue the pricing.

Doing these programs require coming to Miracle Mountain in the
beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC for 23 days.  We provide therapy
6 days per week.   We have housing available complete with satellite
tv, phone, kitchen facilities, etc. We provide silverware, linens, and
everything needed to make your stay here seem more like a vacation.

To learn more about HBOT for autism, you can join the
hdotherapyforautism yahoo group.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/HDOTherapyforAutism

The 2 sessions we are offering this special combination are from Jan
26-Feb.17 and March 2-Mar.24
To learn more about the Children's Hyperbaric Cooperative at Miracle
Mountain, go to www.MiracleMountain.org

For more information, email Alice at HBOT <at> skybest.com and include your
phone number or call 336-385-1775.

We will do whatever it takes to help make these therapies available to
your child if you will call us.

Robert Hartsoe
www.miraclemountain.org

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