Notes From "Support For Families" Conference

Yesterday I went to the Support for Families of Children with Disabilities 2007 Information & Resource Conference. It amazes me what this group, which seems to be run on about five dollars and sheer will, can pull off. They ran 14 workshops in two tracks, ranging from "Adaptive Sports" to "Planning for Inclusive Transitions Across School Levels" to "Legal Rights of Public School Students with Disabilities." I chose two subjects that are near and dear to my heart these days: "Food & Eating Issues for Children with Autism" and "Toilet Training Children with Special Needs," the latter of which was run by Melissa Willa of Gateway Learning Group. Both sessions took a behavioral approach, and I could again see how these new ways of conducting ABA can open up whole worlds for children: a new degree of independence, the tolerance for--even interest in--new types of foods. The initial approach in these specific instances may be more adult led, but the consequences ultimately empower the kids to make a broader range of choices for themselves over time. So again that difficult balance between ABA and Floortime, between the child's agenda and the therapist's.

Both sessions reminded me that too often we rush into our kids' programs without really getting enough of the context behind what our providers plan to do. As a result, things that you think of as kind of optional (switching reinforcers, or forgetting to tell your school what you're doing at home) can have an impact and stretch out the learning process. And things that you slowly begin to disagree with (for example, the degree to which your child is pushed in a particular session), can become a real source of tension. So it was helpful to have an opportunity to sit down and start from the very beginning.

I can't possibly do justice to each session, but I do have one suggestion, and it's pretty simple. Even if you do team meetings already, try to find some non-therapy, non-IEP time to talk to your providers individually, even for a few minutes, so you can discuss what's on your mind and start to work it into your child's program. I realized yesterday that I had been worrying about Isaac's somewhat limited food repertoire, but in the chaos of everything else I wasn't even aware of it until I saw this class on the agenda. So now I'll approach his case manager to talk about it, and probably even add it to the IEP. (Tip: you CAN add eating and potty objectives to your child's IEP...I didn't realize that before).

Last thing, since I'm apparently on an advice kick today: take a breath. Not every minute of our lives should be a learning opportunity, or a heroically therapeutic moment. Autism may be a communication disorder, but there's plenty of communication in stillness, and silence, too. (Not to mention the guilty pleasure of sharing a pizza while you watch "Dancing with The Stars" together.)

For a copy of Melissa's presentation on toilet training, click here: Download toilet_training_presentation.pdf

Comments

[kristen]

Wow. You really are a wealth of information. Thanks so much for reporting. And you are so right—we do need to stop and take a breath every now and then.

[Vicki Forman]

Another tip (I love giving advice too, as you can see!) is to incorporate feeding and toileting goals into your regional center's IPP. That's what we do and it gives us that extra measure of support. But yes, definitely as part of the IEP too!!! Great post, as always. I will download that pdf file. Thanks so much for including it.