Personalized Autism Training and Certification Awarded To Caribbean-Based Hospitality Resort Chain

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Those that work with Temidayo say that he has a big thirst for knowledge and is committed to learning and improving his skills.

“I am proud to be the First AAC (Advance Autism Specialist) ever in Nigeria,” said Temidayo. “Only God made that possible.”

“Thank you IBCCES, and thanks to everyone who made this dream a reality.”

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IBCCES Board Member Dr. Stephen Mark Shore rang in Autism Awareness on the Nasdaq bell Thursday, April 6 to celebrate April’s Autism Awareness Month. Congratulations Dr. Shore! 

About Dr. Shore:

Diagnosed with “Atypical Development and strong autistic tendencies” and “too sick” for outpatient treatment Dr. Shore was recommended for institutionalization. Nonverbal until four, and with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Stephen is now a professor at Adelphi University where his research focuses on matching best practice to the needs of people with autism.

In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen is internationally renowned for presentations, consultations and writings on lifespan issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure. His most recent book College for Students with Disabilities combines personal stories and research for promoting success in higher education.

A current board member of Autism Speaks, IBCCES, president emeritus of the Asperger’s Association of New England, and advisory board member of the Autism Society, Dr. Shore serves on the boards of the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association, The US Autism and Asperger Association, the Scientific Counsel of OAR, and other autism related organizations.

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My daughter’s future is bright.  She is thriving at school because they are meeting her every need with an admirable flexibility, thoughtfulness and respect.  All of which has been achieved with close cooperation between home and school, something that I believe are key factors in improving a child’s quality of life.  Why? Because, on one hand we have the child’s parents, who are experts in the child and on the other hand we have the teacher, which is an expert in teaching methods and goal setting. When these two respect each others roles and take the time to listen and work together, magic happens!

Our teacher’s mentality is priceless.  They have so much respect for my daughter and they put every effort in customizing her curriculum and learning environment to her needs. As an example I could mention that she always arrives late for school. Is that okay? Imagine this; she arrives into an empty school building and is exposed to minimum sensory input, which means that her stress levels are low and she gets a good start of the day. Otherwise it would take her teachers about an hour to unwind her after a chaotic school start and a maximum sensory input. That kind of a solution requires flexible thinking and caring.

Another important factor is that we always assume she is trying her best and we look at her reaction and behavior as a form of communication. If she refuses to work on a certain project and acts in a negative way, we assume that she has some form of difficulty solving it. If she denies participating in some activities, we accept her refusal for now and then we try to figure out what is hindering her. We work on receiving her approval for the longer run.  We don’t give up and we do not look at her diagnose as a label.  We look at it as guide to a better quality of life and we believe that she can do anything she wants. Sometimes we just need to work harder in finding the appropriate solutions.

Achieving this level of close cooperation with our school was achieved by in-depth information about how my daughter experiences the world differently, how she reacts to different things and how the teachers can help.  You see, I decided to write a book about my daughter a few years back, describing her challenges and her strengths.  This book was so well received and well appreciated by the school staff because, even though they had worked with many other children on the autism spectrum before, they had no knowledge of working with her.  And this is key!

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” says Dr. Stephen Shore, world-known self-advocate and international speaker, and these words are so true. This particular book about my daughter had a great impact on her teachers. They became more understanding and more willing to cooperate with us, the parents.

Because this book had such a positive impact on our life, I decided to expand this idea and after one year of research I opened an Icelandic website called egerunik.is, where other parents or people on the autism spectrum can make their own personalized books. This has been a great success in Iceland and has received many awards and nominations (link: https://iamunik.com/about-i-am-unik/recognitions/). I therefore wanted to share this program and I have now opened iamunik.com.

A little bit about how the program works: after logging in you choose from a wide range of prewritten passages that best describes the child and you can always adapt these passages if needed so they fit perfectly.  All the passages are written in a personal and positive way and they have been proofread and approved by a large group of advisors that consists of autistic people and professionals (link: https://iamunik.com/about-i-am-unik/consultant-team/). After selecting the passages, you can upload personal pictures and choose illustrations for the book.  You now have made a caring book about a child that will help others to understand; teachers, classmates, family members and so on. Many have also used this opportunity to sit down with their children and create a personal book together – not just for others to understand but also to increase self-awareness and to create an open discussion and acceptance about the fact that it’s okay to be different.

This is a new program to the American market, and in honor of the International Autism Acceptance day in April, I would like to offer anyone interested to try this out for free.  You may find more information about the gift code on the website (link: https://iamunik.com).  It is my sincere hope that this program can help fight stereotypes and increase acceptance.  What do you think?

Love,

Donna

Iamunik.com is a webpage that has the mission to promote increased acceptance for those with ASD by making it easy for them to introduce their different perspective on life.  It contains a program to create customized books about Autism or ADHD. Adalheidur Sigurdardottir (Donna) is the founder and also a mother of a 12-year-old girl on the autism spectrum.  These last three years Donna has dedicated herself to the world of autism and it has now become her passion to help open the eyes of society for the fact that it’s okay to be different.

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I’ve written many articles about how the lack of having a peer role model growing up on the spectrum affected me. I didn’t know about Dr. Temple Grandin and others who had autism that I could look upon to show me how far I could go. As I reached adulthood though I learned about advocates such as Dr. Grandin, Carly Fleischmann, Alexis Wineman, John Elder Robison, Amy Gravino, Jesse Saperstein, the list goes on and on.

One person though who I particularly look up to is none other than international speaker Dr. Stephen Shore. Stephen Shore is not only a dear friend but also one of the biggest role models I currently have in my life.

When I first met Stephen it was at an Autism Society of America conference. He immediately befriended me and wanted to get to know me better. After our first meeting I’d go on to read several of his books and later would be able to contribute a chapter to a book he co-authored called College for Students with Disabilities: We Do Belong. I to this day use his quote “if you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one individual with autism” in a majority of my presentations. It shows how wide and unique our spectrum truly is.

Another quote which I enjoy from Stephen is on his website where he mentions the “unlimited potential for people on the autism spectrum.” What a wonderful message. I think that’s something our entire community wants to see for our loved ones.

Now even years later it’s been astonishing to see how many times our paths have crossed. Although we are only a trade ride away from each other, me being from New Jersey and Stephen teaching in New York at Adelphi University, we still end up running into each other around the world speaking at different events. Most recently, our paths even crossed at ISCRD 2017 hosted by IBCCES in St. Augustine, Florida.

If Stephen ever reads this I would like him to know how much he’s meant to my development and to those in our autism community. To see him featured on IBCCES website and many others today just shows the impact he truly has.

I can only hope that our loved ones, regardless of being on the spectrum can have their own Stephen Shore in their corner to show them all the things they are capable of.

To learn more about IBCCES guest contributor Kerry Magro, visit his website at www.kerrymagro.com.

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By Anita Lesko, BSN, RN, MS, CRNA 

I have the good fortune to be a friend of Dr. Temple Grandin. We have a lot in common. We are both autistic, and we share a very similar youth that played a big factor in our adult life. We both started having jobs at a very early age. Temple often talks about her early days, when her job was to greet guests at the door for her mom’s dinner party, and take their coats to hang up. Yes, it was a job. She was given a responsibility to carry out.

Among her numerous other childhood jobs was the one I, too, did for many years — mucking out horse stalls. In conversations with Temple on the phone, we’ve talked about those days of our teenage years spent shoveling out one stall after another. We both love horses and being around them. It was peaceful and it was also a form of therapy. In essence, it was our occupational therapy.

All the childhood jobs we did prepared us for the day when we’d start our careers. We were used to working, showing up on time, following orders from a boss, figuring out how to get a job done. It was just a regular part of our life. So, when the day came to embark into our careers, we really didn’t have to transition into anything. We were already there.

Temple is world-famous for her life and career. She’s beyond amazing! She inspires everyone, autistic or not. I also hope to inspire people with my story and wisdom. I’ve got a lot to offer.

Statistics show that  85 percent of people on the autism spectrum are unemployed or underemployed. That’s a staggering number. I see this to be a very complex situation with multiple factors. One of those factors can be changed by parents. Getting your kid working! Every little chore you have them do around the house is a job. Having them help you set the table, do laundry, tidy up; it’s all working. Once they become a teenager, jobs that have more responsibility are in order. Cutting lawns in the neighborhood, helping elderly neighbors or working at a fast-food restaurant can build the foundation for a child’s future in the workforce.

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t working. As a young kid, my mom would have me helping her in the kitchen. She’d teach me the art of cooking and baking, and under her close supervision she would give me little jobs to carry out. I would be “assigned” to gather all the ingredients for baking a cake. After I’d assemble everything on the counter, she would stand by me as I followed the recipe and mixed up the batter. Of course safety was always her first concern, so she would use the mixer until I was old enough to be able to safely handle it. Then I’d get to pour the batter into the pan, mom would put it into the oven, she’d take it out, and once cool, I’d put the icing on the cake. I would feel very proud of my accomplishment! I’d be chattering away to her during that whole time, as she was my best friend.

I fell in love with horses around the age of four. It became one of my Special Interests, one that has sustained my entire life. I desperately wanted to learn to ride. Unfortunately, my parents were unable to afford riding lessons for me. When I was 12, I became a working student at a nearby stable. In return for work, you could earn riding lessons. I became quite proficient at mucking out stalls. The more I shoveled, the more riding time I got. I dreamed of jumping horses over big fences in competition. My dream eventually came true, because by the time I was 16, I was jumping horses over six-foot-high fences in some big shows. It was my hard work and perseverance that got me there.

During all those summers and weekends spent at the stable, I not only mucked out stalls, but did other tasks like painting fences, picking rocks out of pastures, emptying trash bins, etc. I was interacting with people, learning to follow orders, knowing the importance of showing up on time, getting a job done, and feeling pride in myself. Little did I know that all of those things were preparing me for my “real” job.

Besides the stable job, once in college I held a variety of other great jobs. I worked as a graphic arts designer at my undergraduate college for the four years I was there. I also worked as a skate guard at a public ice skating arena. I was into ice dancing for a number of years, and because I worked at the arena, it allowed me to get free ice time for practicing. That job also entailed selling tickets at the window for the public skating sessions, making popcorn and hot dogs in the snack shop and other sundry tasks. Again, these jobs were preparing me for my future.

In 1988 I graduated from Columbia University in New York City with my Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia and embarked on my now 26-year career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I’ve been working full time ever since, in a job that’s not for the faint-of-heart. The operating room is a very fast-paced, ever-changing, high stress environment, loaded with massive sensory violations. Most significantly, as I call it, I’m floating in an ocean of neurotypicals! I would have sunk long ago without all the life experiences of those jobs I’d done in my younger days. I would not have been prepared to interact with people, situations, and the job itself. To date I’ve done over 50,000 anesthetics, and as I’ve carefully calculated, I’ve interacted with over one million people. That’s a lot, particularly for an autistic person.

My specialty area in anesthesia is neuroanesthesia, which is anesthesia for neurosurgery cases like aneurysm clippings, brain tumors, spinal fusions and more. It’s highly detailed and complex, just what an autistic person loves.

When I see articles about transitioning from school to work, I wonder why the transition is always such a big deal. I believe work experience should start early and be part of education. Working at a job and all that comes with it should be second nature by the time students graduate. If it isn’t, life will be very stressful, and possibly even unsuccessful. Those 85 percent of us who are unemployed or underemployed might have had a different story if they were prepared to enter the job market. If you have never worked any kind of job as a kid and teenager, nothing can substitute for that lack of life skills.

Being autistic and working at a career-type job is like going to a foreign country, not speaking their language, and trying to survive. To this day, all these years later, I still feel like a foreigner in a strange land. Yet I’ve built enough experience and “learned the language” enough to stay employed and have a successful career. I know without a doubt in my mind that I would never have made it as an anesthetist if I hadn’t had all my previous jobs.

I hope every parent will recognize the importance of teaching their child the skills to succeed at work. Keeping them sheltered is not helpful, and can set them up for failure. The only way to get skilled at socializing, learning responsibility and learning to work is by getting out there and working. The more an autistic individual interacts with others, the better they get at it. Therapists, counselors and the like all have their places in helping those on the autism spectrum. But nothing can substitute for real life experiences. Nothing.

Upon completion of school, going out and seeking a job shouldn’t be a first-time experience. Having to learn a new job is stressful enough. If you are prepared ahead of time with years of life experience, you will be able to use all your energy to focus on the job. If you are also having to learn how to interact with people, how to follow orders and how to get along in the workplace, it may seem insurmountable.

I believe it is a parent’s duty to help prepare their autistic child for the future by giving them chores, then in their teen years getting them out there doing some type of job. Real life experience can only be learned by first-hand experience. Sure, your kid will make blunders. I’ve made plenty, and still do! But I keep going. And they will too. It will be the best “therapy” you can ever give your child. Help them to have a job and be able to support themselves for the rest of their life.

About Anita:

Anita was diagnosed with autism at age 50.  A graduate of Columbia University, she earned her Master’s in Nurse Anesthesia and has been working full time for 28 years.  Her special interests have earned her a flight in an F-15 fighter jet and jumping horses over 6 foot fences.  An internationally recognized autism advocate and member of Autism Society of America’s Panel of Autistic Advisors,  Anita is married to her husband who is also autistic.  She has a new book coming out in September 2017 by Future Horizons that’s going to change health care for autistic individuals around the world.  Anita is also a Project Co-Lead on a $250,000 PCORI funded grant for Adults with Autism and other Stakeholders Engaging Together.  This project aims to  improve healthcare for autistic adults.  Anita is speaking at the United Nations for World Autism Awareness Day. 

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By Kerry Magro, Self-Advocate, National Speaker, and Author

Someone once said that ‘sarcasm is a metric for potential.’ Often at times though this is one of the hardest struggles for those with autism growing up.

A lack of sarcasm is often one of the most common characteristics of struggling with an autism diagnosis along with things such as social and communication issues, difficulties reading body language, using different tones in their voices and many more.

I remember as a young boy on the spectrum in computer class and hearing a joke that I didn’t find funny. It was a sarcastic joke by our teacher and while everyone else in the class laughed I was there completely blank. A girl looked at me after the joke had stopped like I had three heads.

To fit in, I’d often laugh whenever my peers would laugh so I could be part of the group.

Are you joking or are you serious became a common challenge for me during my adolescence. Luckily, my parents started pointing out sarcasm in every day situations and phrases. I could remember a very short woman who was wearing heels one day at school and someone saying, “oh wow, you are SO tall today” and me saying, “but wait, she’s still only 5 feet tall.” Along with my parents, teachers would quickly come in to make me understand the different between a serious moment and sarcasm.

Unfortunately, due to my lack of understanding sarcasm I would often befriend bullies who I thought wanted to be my friends. I was overweight when I was a child for example and a kid would say “Oh, Kerry, you are so skinny” and I’d take that as a compliment.

For educators and parents I often encourage to be as clear in your messaging as humanly possible to avoid misunderstandings. There are many sarcastic phrases today that may go over our heads including phrases such as ‘well that’s just great’ that can be taken literally by many of us.

Also understand though that, like many of my mentees today who are teenagers on the spectrum that they can often out-sarcasam their neurotypical peers at times.

It’s a spectrum.

If your child had a social skills class make sure that this is addressed. Bring it up at a parent/teacher conference. Also, this is something that you can mention in your child’s IEP as something they need additional help with.

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By Carol S. Weinman, Esq., Autism Legal Specialist

What better time to initiate a conversation about encounters with the criminal justice system than during Autism Awareness Month in April? While it may be well known that many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are victimized and bullied, it often comes as a surprise to learn that individuals with ASD are increasingly finding themselves detained in the back of a police wagon or seated in a courtroom at the defendant’s table. That’s why the demand for education and awareness on this timely topic is greater than ever before.

So, why are we seeing this rise in criminal offenders? For one, what may appear to be an increase in offenders with ASD may simply be attributed to an improvement in identifying them.  The prevalence of autism is far more common than we knew. According to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 68 individuals have autism and 1 in 42 males are on the autism spectrum. Secondly, police officers do not recognize the tell-tale signs of ASD and innocently mistake key behaviors as suspicious activity. And lastly, these so-called offenders do not understand that what they are doing may be wrong, let alone criminal.

Figuring out why we are experiencing greater numbers of ASD offenders is not as simple as it may seem. As is often the case, we must first pinpoint the problem before we can remedy it. Is it because police officers don’t understand? Is it because those with ASD lack the requisite mental capacity to understand right from wrong? Even if we begin to understand why this is occurring, what’s the fix? And, how do we balance the need for the public’s safety against the need to protect the rights of the vulnerable ASD population?

Here’s what I do know. While I am rewarded in representing criminal defendants with ASD, I am also left heartbroken. The issue of ASD and crime is complicated and there is a lot of work to be done. And, raising awareness is a good first step on the road to initiating change.

Carol Weinman is an attorney that specializes in autism legal consulting, criminal law, and special education services with her office in Fort Washington, PA. Carol additionally speaks at conferences around the world, including ISCRD. More information can be found at www.weinmanlawoffice.com. 

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Dr. Wexler was a visiting professor at Peking University in 2008, and has given multiple invited lectures throughout China, Korea, Japan and Europe as well as North and South America. As a consultant for Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders, Dr. Wexler conducted a U.S. State Department funded study of how the “other” is portrayed in Israeli and Palestinian schoolbooks. Dr. Wexler received an NIH Director’s award for high innovation potentially paradigm changing research and the Kempf Fund Award from the American Psychiatric Association. He has served as a member of the Kennedy Foundation Forum on Technology and Mental Health Innovations, the GE Brain Trust and a consultant for the Gates Foundation.

“Research has over-and-over demonstrated the importance of cognitive problems in limiting success in school and life,” Wexler said. “Now new research is establishing increasingly effective methods to help children and adults with cognitive deficits succeed despite the deficits, or even reduce the deficits themselves. This conference brings together many people who are in the forefront of these important efforts.”

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Being a caregiver is hard. The scheduling of medical, dental, school and after school activities and appointments is daunting. Let us not forget meal prep and clean up followed by the constant cleaning after little people who leave toys, and food everywhere. Yes, being a caregiver is difficult, and it is not easy when one is the caregiver of a child with Special Needs such as Intellectually Disabilities or Autism.   Is there care for the caregiver and if so, what does care include? Here are some helpful tips to help caregivers.

1. Create a To- Do List
To – do list allows one to prioritize their schedule.  This plan may include scheduling doctor and dental appointments along with other appointments such as Physical, Occupational Therapies.

On the To- Do- should be carved out time for the caregiver to do something for themselves this can be to schedule respite for the child, getting a massage or just finishing the last chapter in a book they were reading. The caregiver needs are critical. Taking the time to write out a to-do list and placing one needs on it will help avoid burnout. http://www.thecompletecaregiver.com/visual_vacations

Ask for Help
As a caregiver, one can quickly put their wants and needs aside to attend to their family member, however, acknowledge where you are. Do you need help with the small tasks, such having a family member get the child off the bus, or setting up a schedule for other medical specialties Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor?  How does the family unit work and what system has the family unit created to help the caregiver? Help may include incorporating grandparents and siblings.http://www.grandparents.com/family-and-relationships/caring-for-children/special-needs-three-a-different-kind,https://siblingsupport.org/

Creating Balance

Every caregiver needs balance. For them to be effective and efficient creating balance includes reaching out to support groups in one’s place of worship.  Or finding support groups online  Getting educated on the child’s diagnosis is very empowering as well.   The International  Board of  Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards has a plethora of resources https://ibcces.org/resources/

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