Autism
Vaccines
Vaccines remain a top controversy.
Whether or not to vaccinate your child is a very personal decision and one SNAFU
believes is best left to each parent. This User-Friendly Vaccine Schedule may be just what you are looking for.
It provides information that allows your child receives vaccines in a safer
manner.
Diagnosing Autism
Do your own child's DSM-IV for Autistic Disorder 299.0, and Title 5 California Code of Federal
Regulations for "autistic-like behaviors".
Complete this form and decide if your child "Meets Criteria" or "Does Not Meet
Criteria" in each of the categories. Then write a formal letter to your child's Pediatrician and request for them to
do a DSM-IV diagnostic testing on your child if you suspect that your child may have Autism.
Take the TEST . Please remember
that a DSM-IV performed by a parent is not considered a "true diagnosis" of your
child. But parental input should and must be regarded as one of the most
important parts of the diagnostic process. Please also remember that this
DSM-IV is only for Autistic Disorder (sometimes known as "classic autism) and
does not include the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's Syndrome or PDD-NOS.
For more information, please contact us. For more information, please
check out the Parent Guide to Autism.
Educating Children with Autism
MUST READ!
- The National Research Council's (NRC) publication "Educating
Children With Autism" is a must-read for all of you parents and caregivers who
are advocating for one-to-one ABA services. The NRC conducted research on the
top autism schools across the United States and this book is the result of their
findings. "Educating Children With Autism" (2001) provides comprehensive
information covering a wide range of issues from diagnosis and assessment to
public policy. Many school districts attempt to create Special Day Classes (SDC)
allegedly offering ABA methodologies but do not meet the NRC standards.
Unfortunately, lack of CCTC certified teachers, lack of autism intervention
experts, lack of trained staff, lack of data collection, lack of knowledge and
training in principles of behavior analysis, lack of knowledge and training in
principles of reinforcement, school budget pressures, etc. result in children
making little to no educational gains. Ask if your SDC teacher holds the 'Early
Childhood Specialist Credential, Birth to Pre-K' to teach autistic children
Birth to Age 5.
Autism Interventions
If you have done any time researching autism,
you have quickly found out just how many different kinds of treatments there
are. From Anti-Yeast Therapy to Visions Therapy, this document offers
information on a wide variety of treatments. If you know of a treatment
that is not listing in the Autism
Interventions Guide, please contact us and we will add it. New
treatments are being developed every day. A word of caution: there
have been many cases of scammers taking advantage of desperate parents that want
to help their children. Before you spend large amounts of money on any
treatment, take some time to research the treatment. Post a question on
our Yahoo board (see our Contact Us page) and/or email us. We will offer
your question up to our wide email audience for feedback. More information
on various interventions can be found on this page.
Central Valley, California Resources
Check out the
Central Valley Resources Guide for
many local resources. Feel free to contact us as well for updated and/or
additional resources.
Embracing and Celebrating Autism
Please check out
What Does it Mean to Have Autism? A Fresh Outlook that will Alter your
View. This is an EXCELLENT book that will help put autism in
perspective for you as a parent. It will also help others understand the
parent point of view. This e-book will help you embrace and celebrate your
child with autism!
Occupational Therapy/Sensory Integration
Many children with autism have gross motor,
fine motor and/or sensory issues. Some examples include: clumsy
whole-body movements, difficulty with balance, sloppy handwriting, unable to tie
shoes, button buttons, sensitivity to noises, scratchy tags on clothing, walking
on tiptoes, low muscle tone (ie walking slow, unable to lift light objects),
spinning, flapping hands, wringing fingers, unable to sit still, etc.
School districts routinely provide Occupational Therapy (OT) and/or Sensory
Integration (SI) Therapy either on the school site or at a private clinic.
OT/SI is very common for children with autism to receive. If you child has
difficulty in any of these areas, request and assessment in writing. See
Sample Letters (below) for help. For more information on sensory
processing, click
HERE
Applied Behavioral Analysis/Applied Verbal Behavior (ABA/AVB)
ABA/AVB is the ONLY scientifically-based, research methodology
for the treatment of autism. School districts and regional centers are
reluctant to offer the intensity of ABA/AVB needed to treat a child with autism.
Often a lesser-intensive program is offered than what is truly needed. The
Valley Mountain Regional Center (VMRC) in our area requires ABA families to
enter into their Early Instensive Behavioral Treatment (EIBT) program and agree
to adhere to an arbitrary set of criteria through their Program, Procedures and
Guidelines (PP&G), formerly known as the 4-way agreement. You can read the
PP&G HERE. The federal
law called IDEA requires services to be based on the unique needs of each
child. Therefore, pre-determined criteria is not in line with IDEA.
If you are facing a situation involving the PP&G, please contact us. If
your child is over the age of three, your school district, NOT THE REGIONAL
CENTER, is responsible for providing ABA/AVB if the child needs it. Your
child does not have to be a client of VMRC to receive ABA/AVB. VMRC offers
a program called EIBT. Before you agree to place your child in EIBT, you
should make sure you are fully-informed of the positives as well as potential
negatives to this program. For more information on EIBT, visit our EIBT
page HERE.
What is ABA? Most people think of Lovaas when they think
of ABA which is commonly known as Discrete Trial Teaching. This method is
commonly used for children under the age of 5 and is what VMRC's EIBT program
basically is. However, the Lovaas method is not the only methodology
available to children with autism. Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB) or
simply, Verbal Behavior, is based on the studies of B. F. Skinner. Both
the Discrete Trial Teaching and Applied Verbal Behavior are ABA. They are
simply different types of ABA. Verbal Behavior is commonly used for
children over the age of 5. For more information on exactly what is ABA
and AVB, please check out
What is ABA? and What is
AVB?
Biomedical and Stem Cell Information
Many SNAFU parents have pursued and found success with
biomedical intervention for autism. One of our own SNAFU moms has become
pretty much an expert in biomedical and stem cell information. Please
check out her site at
http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/ . Gabby Devilbiss is SNAFU's
own expert biomedical and stem cell expert. She is an invaluable resource
and passionate about helping other parents help their children. She keeps
up-to-date on the most recent advances with natural and "alternative" remedies
including vitamins, supplements, herbal remedies, HBOT (hyberbaric oxygen
therapy), stem cell therapy and more. Contact Gabby through her blog site
above or at
gabrieladevelbiss@yahoo.com.
Insurance Help
Insurance coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis
(ABA) by health insurance companies is becoming more prevalent. Some
states are passing laws to require such coverage. In the state of
California, some health plans are covering ABA services on a case-by-case basis.
Read Insurance Help for Autism
for information on how to approach your insurance company. Applying for
such coverage can be a long process but well worth your efforts. SNAFU is
a part of the Alliance of California Autism Organizations (ACAO). ACAO is
working hard to get California's legislature to clarify AB88 - the state mandate
that requires coverage of autism treatment including ABA, OT, physical therapy
and speech therapy. Read ACAO's position letter signed by all ACAO
organizations
HERE and
HERE. We also recommend contact Kristin Jacobson at
kjacobson5@yahoo.com or (650) 759-5737
or Feda Almaliti at feda77@gmail.com or
(510) 579-0349 for help in obtaining insurance coverage for autism treatment.
Behaviors
If you are the parent of a child with autism or
other disability, you probably know all too well the behavior struggles you deal
with on a daily basis. Did you know that if your child is over the age of
three and exhibits behaviors, that you can request a Functional Analysis
Assessment from your school district? If your child does have behaviors
that impede their learning, a Behavior Support Plan or Behavior Intervention
Plan must be written. Behavior modification using the principles of
Applied Behavioral Analysis works! Read Shaping Behavior
by Dr. Vincent J. Carbone & Gina Zecchin, BCABA for more information.
If your child is over the age of three and has
hit, kicked, bitten, caused property damage, has self-injurious behaviors
(hitting self in head, head-banging, etc), and you live in California, your
school district MUST perform an FAA (Functional Analysis Assessment) and develop
a Positive Behavior Intervention Plan (PBIP). If your child has autism and
exhibits these behaviors, they CANNOT be suspended for them if a PBIP exists.
YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT SHOULD NOT BE USING RESTRAINT TECHNIQUES ON YOUR CHILD!
Please check out THIS REPORT ON
RESTRAINTS. There are better and more effective ways to treat
behaviors using the techniques and principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis. Contact us for more information or help on this topic.
Sample Letters
David Sherman is a special education attorney that
specialized in autism. He has written a book called
Autism: Asserting Your
Child's Rights to a Special Education which is available for
purchase on his web site,
www.aboutautismlaw.com. He has a set of sample letters specifically
geared toward autism. They have proven very helpful for many parents and
can be found HERE.
This site is still under construction. Check back soon for more
information! If you would like to share information that you would like
posted on our site, please contact us!
