10/25, Keynote Speakers

Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD
Why Is Autism More Common in Males?

Winnie Dunn, PhD, OTR, FAOTA   
Focus on Strengths: Imagine the Possibilities
Sensory Processing Patterns and Impact on Everyday Life
Impact of Strengths-Based Contextual Interventions

Michael Forbes Wilcox
Growing Old Disgracefully: Adventures of an Activist Aspergerian

Click "Get more information" below for  registration fees and full conference details. 

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Join us Monday, 10/20for an evening with 
Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD
Author and Clinical Psychologist
CLICK HERE for more information or to purchase tickets.
Monday, October, 20, 2014 
Preforming Arts Center (PAC) 73 Alden Street Duxbury, MA
6:30pm Reception
7:00pm Presentation (followed by Q&A and book signing) 
Family communication is changing. How do we adapt to this digital age? Using years of research, Dr. Steiner-Adair offers strategies that can be used immediately to help strengthen the connections and relationships in your family. 

Reserve tickets online at TheParentConnection.org, Westwinds Bookshop or Bay Farm Academy for $7.00 each.  Tickets are also available at the door for $10.00 each.
 

Is your child's homework causing a lot of stress in your family? You're not alone. Join Brenda Dater, author of Parenting without Panic and Director of Child and Teen Services at AANE, to learn why homework is challenging and what you can do to help. You'll walk away with practical strategies to help your children "show what they know" and cut down on the time spent fighting over homework. We'll use real homework examples to illustrate how to turn a confusing or overwhelming assignment into one your child can understand and manage.
Presented by Brenda Dater, MPH, MSW
Director of Child and Teen Services, AANE
 Brenda Dater is the author of Parenting without Panic: A Pocket Support Group for Parents of Children and Teens on the Autism Spectrum (Asperger's Syndrome). She is also the Director of Child and Teen Services at AANE where she teaches workshops, facilitates support groups, and provides consultations for parents, grandparents, and professionals. Brenda is the mom of 3 boys, 2 of whom have diagnoses of Asperger's and ADHD.

Date: October 16, 2014
Time: 7 - 9 p.m.

Location: AANE, 51 Water St., Suite 206, Watertown

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER

ROOM 511
DDMA will be meeting at the State House of the Commonwealth of MA from 2:00 - 4:00.  For a  Picture on the State House Grand Staircase
How YOU can make this event effective
1. Plan to attend, if all you do is come that is fine, the more the better.
 
2. Contact your Representative and Senator and ask them and their staff to attend.
(If you do not ask them they will not come.)

Find your REPRESENTATIVE HERE
Contact them by email and phone (Don’t be shy they have staff sitting around all day waiting for you to call they work for you remember.)  
DON'T FORGET to check and see who is actually up for reelection and is anyone running against them.

Invite them to support Dyslexia Awareness by taking a photo with the proclamation. Make your points in person. Just focus on awareness for now to get them involved. 

TALKING POINTS When we are at the State House stick to the relevant points.

1.  Dyslexia is Biological/Neurological and is not a disease

2.  Dyslexia makes it hard to learn to read but scientists know with 30 years of research exactly what type of teaching (Sequenced, Explicit, Multi-sensory, Instruction that is Evidence Based) will work

3.  Schools often do not recognize dyslexia, find it too late or use the wrong instruction (Reading Recovery is expensive and proven not to work with dyslexic students.  

4.  The community cost when parents and teachers don’t know

5.  The private/personal cost to those that have to fight for their kids

Any questions please email Nancy at n.duggan@verizon.net or Nicole Mitsakis at beecustom@verizon.net

10/15 11A-1P Parent-to-Parent Support coffee at Helane Child’s home, 73 Pond St.
As always, babies are welcome!

Cohasset families, please join us for an informal ‘working’ coffee. We will be reviewing helpful pages provided, and distributing 2” IEP binders for families. Please leave a message if you want to pre-order a 2” binder filled with 8 pre-labeled tabs (below) and 77 pages of helpful information pertaining to IEP/504s. Your cost is our cost - $15.  If you want to just come and listen to advise from years of experience - just come for coffee and muffins, and listen.  the SEPAC is here to help YOU.

You should keep ALL your child’s information in ONE binder for EACH year and bring it to every meeting.  
Please retain these important records until they are at least 22 years of age.
On the cover of your binder place a photo of your child so that we all remember we are dealing with a beautiful individual and not a number or record.

Tabs will be labeled: 

• CONTACTS
• MEETING NOTES
• COMMUNICATIONS
• TESTING RESULTS - NeuroPsych, SLP, PT, OT, Transition, Independent Evals
• CURRENT IEP - please file immediately so you won’t need the district to print a 30 page document over and over - think GREEN!
• TRANSITION PLAN if over 14 years old
• Work SAMPLES from that year
• REPORT CARDS, MCAS, SATS, etc

Join us for a Webinar on October 14  Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now :

 Students with social/emotional disabilities, including complex trauma, and especially with challenging behaviors can sometimes lead to debate among the IEP Team members.  When agreement cannot be reached between the school and the parents (or Special Education Surrogate Parent), the Board of Special Education Appeals can proceed with a Mediation.  

Susan Papanek McHugh is currently a Special Education Surrogate Parent and a parent consultant. For 12 years, she was a Mediator for the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA). She was responsible for mediating in Boston, and North and West of Boston, conducting 150 Mediations a year.  She will use her years of experience to present a very informative Webinar on the protocols and procedures of Mediation as well as personal tips to help us all become educated in the process. Title:Mediation: Process, Benefits, Myths, and TipsDate:Tuesday, October 14, 2014Time:12:30 PM - 1:30 PM EDT 

A webinar with Erika Drezner
The playdate is a staple of friendship for elementary school age kids, yet it is a struggle for kids with Asperger's or a related Autism Spectrum profile. This workshop will take you through the steps of a successful playdate including choosing a friend to invite, picking appropriate activities, parental involvement, and conflict resolution. We will also review how to teach your child social and friendship skills through these experiences.

Erika Drezner, Coordinator of Child and Teen Services, is a social worker who has worked at AANE for 4 years. She is the mother of two children with ASD diagnoses.
 
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2014
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 
Fee: $40 

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER HERE

A webinar with Stephen Shore
The variation in perception of sensory stimuli for many with autism often causes great discomfort, and the information received may be not even be usable. The aim of this presentation is to enable susceptible individuals and those close to them to avoid and minimize the effect of sensory overload through easy-to-implement solutions, thereby enabling those with sensory issues to lead fulfilling and productive lives. 

Participants will be able to:

1. Experience what sensory overload may feel like for an individual on the Autism Spectrum.
2. List at least three situations that might indicate that a sensory issue is present.
3. Develop knowledge in developing accommodations for sensory issues.
4. Become familiar with instruments for assessing for sensory issues.

As a young child, Dr. Shore -- who was nonverbal until four years of age and diagnosed with "atypical development with strong autistic tendencies" --  was viewed as "too sick" to be treated on an outpatient basis and recommended for institutionalization. Dr. Shore credits the support of family members, friends, and teachers for his success in completing his doctoral dissertation at Boston University. His dissertation topic focused on matching best practice to the needs of people on the Autism Spectrum. 

In addition to working with children and talking about life on the Autism Spectrum, Dr. Shore presents and consults internationally on adult issues as discussed in his books Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism & Asperger Syndrome,
Ask & Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum, and the critically acclaimed Understanding Autism for Dummies. President emeritus of the Asperger's Association of New England (now the Asperger/Autism Network), he serves on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, for the Board of Directors for Autism Society of America, Unlocking Autism, MAAP, the College Internship Program, and USAAA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION