The following two books were recently added to the collection at the
Peter White Public Library. If you don't live in Marquette, you can
request these titles through interlibrary loan-- just ask at your local
library. If they're checked-out, you can place a hold and get a call or
e-mail when they're available.
The Autism Revolution: Whole-body strategies for making life all it can be by Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, Harvard Health Publications, 2013.
From
the back cover: "After years of treating patients and analyzing
scientific data, Harvard Medical School researcher and clinician Dr.
Martha Herbert offers a revolutionary new view of autism and a
transformative strategy for dealing with it. Autism, she concludes,is
not a hardwired impairment programmed into a child's genes and destined
to remain fixed forever. Instead, it is the result of a cascade of
event, many seemingly minor. And while other doctors may dismiss your
child's physical symptoms--the anxiety, sensory overload, sleeplessness,
frequent illnesses or seizures-- as coincidental or irrelevant, Dr.
Herbert sees them as vital clues to what the underlying problems are,
and how to help. Drawing from the newest research, technologies, and
insights, as well as inspiring case studies of both children and adults,
Dr. Herbert guides you toward restoring health and resiliency in your
loved one with autism."
Currently I'm about half-way
through a recorded copy I downloaded from Audible.com. One thing I've
take from it so far is ebsom salt baths-- cheap and easy to implement,
might help, might not. Won't hurt to try. Other things like diet
changes would be much harder for us to put in place, but I appreciate
the careful look at the research that supports different approaches.
Self-Regulation
Interventions and Strategies: Keeping the body, mind & emotions on
task in children with autism, ADHD or sensory disorders by Teresa Garland, MOT, OTR, PESI Publising & Media, 2014.
From
the back cover: "Keeping children's bodies, minds and emotions on task
just got easier with this book from self-regulation expert Teresa
Garland. It features 200 practical and proven interventions, strategies
and adaptations for helping children gain more control over their
lives. Each chapter provides rich background and theoretical material
to better understand the challenges children face."
The Special Education Parent Advisory Committee is meeting this week on Thursday (20th) at 6 pm in the MARESA building. If the MARESA "Office" is closed on Thursday because of weather our meeting will be canceled.
On Sunday, October 12, The Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) will be hosting a
fun-filled evening for families at the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, 123
W. Baraga Avenue, Marquette. Doors will
open to all special education students and their families at 5:30 pm, and the
fun will be ongoing till 7:30 pm.
Guests will be free to explore the many hands-on exhibits. SEPAC members will be on hand, serving pizza
and beverages, and available to answer your questions.
SEPAC stands for the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee. It's a friendly group of parents of Special Needs kids enrolled in public schools in Marquette and Alger Counties. We meet once a month to plan events and share concerns. There is always a report from the Superintendent of Special Education and from a member of the MARESA school board. 
Registration: 10-11:30 am
Are you an adult with Aspergers, Autism, or PDD-NOS?
Peter White Public Library on Monday, July 14 at 6:30 pm for an informal "coffee house" book discussion. I finished the book this morning and enjoyed reading it. The author wrote the novel shortly after her own son was diagnosed with autism. That said, it's not strictly an autism book, rather there are three main story lines that are connected by a real time and place-- all the main characters were present on the Hudson River when a plane made an emergency landing there late in 2009. I found the story both relevant and transporting. I look forward to meeting the author to learn more about her experiences with her son and with creating this story. 
