On Wednesday, May 9, I participated in a panel discussion on the topic of Universal Access in youth services at the MLA annual conference in Worcester.
As part of my presentation, I put together a great resource list for MA librarians looking for information about universal access and services for families with special needs children. Here it is:Universal Access Resources
And here is my Prezi:
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch! waring@noblenet.org
May 11th, 2012
Ashley Waring
I did not attend PLA in Philadelphia last month, but my division head did. There was a preconference morning session called “Special Needs, Talented Children: Outreach Services to Families with Special Needs,” presented by a team of people, including librarians from the Libraries and Autism group. Their conference materials are available online here. (do a program title search for “special needs”)
A team of librarians from the Sherman Library in Miami, FL gave a presentation titled “Serving Preschool-aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Families.” Their conference materials are also available online. (do a program keyword search for “autism”)
The Sherman Library has a wonderful website for their All Star Storytime, including a social story and book lists.
Did anyone attend either of these sessions? What did you think?
April 7th, 2012
Ashley Waring
As part of the Newburyport Literary Festival, Nora Raleigh Baskin author of “Anything But Typical” will be visiting the Newburyport Public Library! On Saturday, April 24 at 3:00 she will be speaking about her book in the Program Room. This event is open to the public and does not require a ticket or pre-registration. You can go to www.newburyportliteraryfestival.org to find out more information.
April 7th, 2010
Kim Butler
On Friday Nov. 6th and Saturday Nov. 7th , I attended the 14th annual LADDERS Current Trends in Autism conference. LADDERS is a local autism “clinic” of sorts. It is affiliated with Boston hospitals and has neurologists, GIs, nurses, sleep doctors, SLPs, OTs, PTs, psychologists, etc. on staff to help diagnose and treat kids on the spectrum.
The conference was very interesting. It was for parents as well as practitioners, and there was a real mix in attendance. Many therapists and doctors were there to gain information as well as professional development credits. There were also a lot of eager parents milling about. Some, like me, have young children, and others had adolescents or adult children with an ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
Over the 2 days, I attended 8 breakout sessions. There was so much information flying around! It was like being back in school; trying to get a good seat, frantically taking notes, trying to think, listen and write at the same time… We were presented with a thick, 300+ page booklet with the slides from every presentation, plus some research papers and bibliographies. It is a great resource. There were vendors and organizations set up in the halls, so I was able to sign up with local support groups, research consortiums, etc. One local group, the Autism Alliance of Metrowest, sells videos about autism. Perhaps they would be good for our libraries? One video is for teaching first responders about autism, the other is for teaching typical children about it.
On Friday, I started by seeing a pediatric GI, who researches the phenomenon of GI issues and children with autism. He is world-famous, and many families fly all the way to Boston to see him. His session was chock-full of information; he covered everything from the GFCF diet, to the MMR vaccine, to “leaky gut” theory, to GERD.
The next session I attended was given by a developmental psychologist who presented strategies for behavioral interventions.
Then I saw a great presentation on visual communication supports given by a mom of an autistic son. She has no formal training like many of the other presenters, but through her experiences with her son, her passion and drive, she has become a well-known name in the field and does work with many local schools and hospitals. She was amazing. She has 6 kids, one of whom is severely autistic. She gave a great presentation full of ideas on how to support communication in the home, car, at the beach – anywhere! – with visual supports. It was nice to hear a fellow mom speak; she had a great sense of humor and really “gets” what it’s like for all of us.
My last session on the first day was by a developmental and behavioral optometrist.
On Saturday, I saw a presentation by a pediatric psychologist who talked about the phenomenon of “recovery” in ASD children. It was a very interesting overview of research that shows that many kids do work their way off of the spectrum, meaning they no longer fit the medical definition of the diagnosis. Many have continuing problems with anxiety and/or attention (many change diagnoses to ADD or ADHD).
Next I saw a presentation by a physician from the sleep disorders unit at MGH. Sleep issues are a common problem among the ASD population.
Next I saw a presentation by a Speech and Language Pathologist on “promoting success in a social environment” by using “creative group interventions” (basically, tips on how to run a successful social skills group).
The last breakout session I attended was led by another developmental psychologist, who presented on using behavioral interventions to deal with aggressive/tantruming behaviors. He was engaging and dynamic (he has a TV show up in Canada, I learned) and reaffirmed by belief that to be a good parent of an autistic child, you need to first and foremost be a good parent. Meaning, you need to respect your child, listen to your child and love your child, while also setting high expectations and firm limits. He said that these are not just “kids with autism” they are KIDS, they have thoughts, feelings, moods, etc. We need to recognize that when we deal with their behaviors.
After the breakout sessions were done, we all gathered in the large dining hall to hear the final presenter – a 40 year old woman with autism named Ros Blackburn. Her speech was powerful and fascinating. It is such a gift to be able to hear what it is like to live inside an autistic mind. Although I also feel for her; her ability to communicate so well often leads people to underestimate the severity of her disability. She reiterated that autism is a mosaic, not a spectrum, and that it is primarily a social disorder. Her main lesson can be summarized in this quote from her mother, a quote that I love:
Never make autism the excuse, but help the person overcome the problems caused by it.
November 14th, 2009
Ashley Waring