Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Temple Grandin movie in April

I just learned that the library has the right to publicly show the Temple Grandin movie, and they have agreed to co-sponsor a special screening with us in April in honor of National Autism Awareness Month.  The movie will be shown in the Peter White Public Library Community Room on Monday, April 11 at 7:00.  This event will be free and open to the public.  Hopefully we can use this event to generate autism awareness in the community and help get the word out about this new support group. 

This HBO movie won 5 Emmy's last year, and Claire Danes won another best actress award from the Golden Globes this month for this role.  I have to admit, I really didn't think Claire Danes was a good casting choice, but when I reviewed the movie a week ago, I was very impressed.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Young Athletes postponed till next week

I got a message from Heidi that the Young Athletes program for tonight has been postponed till next Monday, January 24.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Upcoming speakers and meetings

Kristen, who came to the first meeting and had a very positive experience traveling to Georgia to visit the Brain Balance Center there, will talk about Brain Balance and give some demonstrations at the February meeting.

Barb Nelson, Autism Consultant for MARESA will talk, answer questions and share resources at the March meeting.

For the time being, I'm planning to continue to meet at 7:00 at Peter White on the first Wednesday of the month.  Requests for alternate meeting times are welcome and will be considered.

Am working on securing public performance rights for the HBO movie Temple Grandin.  Am hoping we can host a showing in the library in April, which is autism awareness month. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

January Meeting minutes

There were six people at this month' meeting last Wednesday at Peter White Public Library.  A couple of repeats from last month and some new faces.  Once again, I was really energized hearing from other people and just learning a bit about other people's experiences and their research.  Gene brought in two books to share with other members of the group.  Unstrange Minds by Richard Grinker, who is an anthropologist and a parent of a child on the spectrum, covers perspectives on autism from different world cultures.  Do You Hear What I Hear by Fialka and Mikus is a handy slim guide for parents working with an assortment of professionals and trying to get everyone on the same page.

Other people present included a mom interested in getting her junior high age son a strong functioning program in the schools and helping him navigate the social scene.  There was a school aid wanting help with problem behaviors, an uncle of young man graduating from college who wanted to help his nephew with aspergers establish a life path that included meaningful work and a social network. 

We talked about having a speaker come for the next meeting.  Since Kristen was one of the first people to volunteer to come speak, I asked if she was still willing to talk about her experiences working with the Brain Balance program and she has agreed to do so.  She will be demonstrating some exercises that have worked with her children and will answer questions related to her experience with the center in Georgia.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Single Point for Activities and Recreation-- SPAR

I recently spoke with Sarah, the Assistive Technology and Adaptive Recreation Specialist over at Superior Alliance for Independent Living (SAIL), about some of the programming that they've been sponsoring or co-sponsoring this winter.  While many of SAIL's activities are geared toward adults, many of the programs they are doing through SPAR are for all ages.  SPAR is a new program and it sounds like there is a lot of energy and neat ideas behind it.  Besides the snowshoeing and adaptive cross country skiing programs, they are sponsoring game nights, movie nights, a strong bodies class at the Y, and dances.  Activities are held in Marquette, Munising, Houghton, and other locations throughout the U.P.  Checkout their winter newsletter for more details.

Towards the end of the newsletter I noticed that SAIL is hosting a chocolate festival on Saturday, February 12 at the Westwood Mall in Marquette from 1:00-4 pm.  Tickets for this fundraiser are only $5.00 a persona and are available at the SAIL offices or at the event.

Special Education Parent Advisory Committee-- SEPAC

I've been meaning to write about last month's SEPAC meeting.  It was held at Coco's restaurant in order to provide a more festive setting for the holidays.  Most of the discussion was in anticipation of a soon to be released newsletter and the upcoming Special Education conference in February.  Also coming up is a family fun day that will be held on a Sunday afternoon in March.  In the past this event has been held at the Children's Museum.  This year it will be held at the YMCA in Marquette in an effort to attract a greater age range of children.  The next SEPAC meeting will be Thursday, January 20, from 7-9 pm at MARESA.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Young Athletes tonight

Just got the word that Young Athletes is happening tonight at Sandy Knoll.  That's 6:30-7:30 for kids ages 2-8.  We were able to attend most of the sessions last fall and we've had a good time.  They do music and movement activites, balance and coordination activites with balls, bean bags and tunnels.  For me the true test of it's worth is this:  everytime I ask my daughter if she wants to go, she says she does. 

If you can't make it tonight, Young Athletes will be meeting again in two weeks, Jan 17, and every first and third Monday this term. 

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Sensory Processing Disorder and other comorbid conditions

First off, happy new year!  Sorry the blog's been a little quiet over the holidays.  I do have a few items on my desk that I'd like to blog about and will hopefully get to most of them in next few days before the meeting on Wednesday. 

Got a question today that I had been expecting and thought I'd take a minute to make it clear to anyone who was curious: I'd like for this group to be as inclusive as it can be.  I think there are a lot of us who have kids with multiple diagnosis and certainly multiple issues.  Truly, we represent a spectrum, and I am open to defining that spectrum as broadly as needed.  Sensory processing disorder is certainly part of my daughter's mix, and I have included sensory friendly activities, supports and resources here and plan to continue to do so.  In our family we are also probably looking at ADHD.  Others are likely dealing with seizure and anxiety disorders.  I say lets go ahead and share as much information as we can.