The Autism News | English
By Sky News Wire
People with autism may have a difficult time making friends or being one, for the fact that most of them have limited social skills, which makes it hard for them to relate to others or be a friend. In addition, many have not been taught social and communication skills or how to relate to them. Because of these difficulties that autistic people may experience, the question is, how can you be a friend to them?
* I believe it is imperative that you must be a friend to yourself first. This is accomplished by understanding yourself and nurturing yourself as you grow.
* To be a friend to an autistic person, you want to become strength to him or her. This is done by encouraging the autistic individual, not by putting them down with criticism, which will cause discouragement and low self-esteem.
* Many individuals with autism have difficult behaviors, because of their various levels of the disorder which creates numerous challenges. This may vary according to their age and environment. Be patient with the person with the disorder of autism and let him or her know you do care about them and want to be their friend. Be on common ground with them.
* It is important for you as parent(s), caregiver(s) to become sensitive to the disorder of autism. Practice companionship. Sometimes it is wise not to talk at times but be silent, listen to what the person is communicating or trying to say. I have learned, there are times when the wrong words or not using the right words can destroy friendships that are in its embryo stage.
* To be a friend to an autistic person, is to try to overlook his or her faults and understand that he or she is overcoming their weaknesses, as you are overcoming yours. Be patient with the person and let him or her know you do care about them and want to be their friend. Be on common ground with them.
* I have learned, not to attempt to change or find fault with people who have the disorder of autism, but make them comfortable with your presence, give them time to get to know you. Be tolerant of these individuals and have an understanding with a forgiving heart.
* Autistic individuals are people who want and need friends just as people who do not have the disorder. They want to belong, feel accepted and loved. They may have difficulties socializing or communicating, but you can discover how to be friends with them and continue to grow with them.
* Another way to be a friend to a person who has autism, find out what their likes and dislikes are. If the person enjoys lunch, take him or her to a restaurant that will be enjoyable. If sports is an enjoyment, take the person to a baseball game or watch it with them in a park or on television. Be creative, find out what the person wants to do, what he or she likes, and enjoy it with them. You can also make new suggestions and create new ideas.
* Send an autistic person a card in the mail with encouraging words on it, or a letter to say you are thinking about the person and you care. This can be done once a week or whenever there is a special occasion or just for fun.
* Bring the individual some treats, home made cookies, or candy. Many autistic children will appreciate balloons, so will adults as a gesture to be friends with the person. Use your imagination, and you will discover that making a friend with a person who has autism will be rewarding.
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
Special autism school set to open this fall
The Autism News | English
By Jamie Hersch | Madison, WI – WKOW
McFarland (WKOW) — As schools across the area are winding down for the year, one special school is trying to gather support for its grand opening this fall.
Common Threads is a family resource center in McFarland that offers support and direction for families dealing with autism. Soon, it will be a full-time school.
Terri Carufel-Wert knows her daughter, Gabby, has special needs that can’t be met in a typical public school setting.
“Gabby learned differently than other kids. It couldn’t be in a very structured environment,” said Carufel-Wert.
In 2008, Carufel-Wert took Gabby out of public school and enrolled her in Common Threads’ pilot school.
“What we’ve seen is exactly what we were hoping and praying for. In a nutshell, it’s been a dream come true,” said Carufel-Wert.
In the very first week, 10-year-old Gabby started to read.
It’s about adjusting the curriculum to meet each student’s needs, and they will learn just as much about social interaction as letters and numbers.
Such a specialized education doesn’t come cheap. In fact, one year’s tuition at Common Threads costs about $25,000 per student. But Carufel-Wert says Gabby’s education there is worth every penny.
“Every day, I go to work and she gives me a great big hug and kiss and she never used to do that. Last Mother’s Day, she wrote her name in my card for the very first time, and I just welled up in tears because that was the first time she’d ever done that for me,” said Carufel-Wert.
Jackie Moen started Common Threads four years ago. Now, her dream of having a full-time school designed especially for autistic children like her sons, Peter and Calvin, is almost a reality.
She’s seen these teachers do incredible work with Peter, who communicates through the use of a computer-like device.
“To introduce something to him, a concept like learning to tell time might be very difficult, but with enough intensive work and enough repetition, he’s learning,” said Moen.
Now, Moen and Carufel-Wert hope to share the same success with others.
“We want every child to be able to experience what we’ve experienced in a short time because everyone has that potential in them; it’s just figuring out how to pull that potential out of the kids,” said Carufel-Wert.
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
Finally, a home for a blind child with autism
The Autism News | English
By Carla Gomez | Inquirer
After a long and near-hopeless search for a home for a blind orphan child with autism, God provided a miracle.
And John Wigley, 25, of the Associate Missionaries of the Assumption (AMA) from Manchester, England, said it was wonderful to be involved in it.
On Tuesday, Wigley accompanied Ricor de la Cruz, whom he believes is about 7 years old as there are no records of his birth, to his new home at the Calvary Chapel Children’s Home in Bacolod City to live with missionaries Billy and Joe Rosmarino and their 169 other children, after learning about their work through an Inquirer article (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20091127-238780/Abused-children-find-love-in-this-home) published in November last year.
Wigley came to the Philippines in September 2009 to work with the Philippine Blind Union in Jaro District in Iloilo as part of a mission that helps the blind and the deaf. It was there where he met Ricor, who was abandoned by his father after his mother died.
Ricor roamed the city with no clothes, played in polluted gutters, and had had little or no care.
With financial help from his friends and family in England, Wigley took Ricor, who had a respiratory problem, for medical treatment. The boy was diagnosed with autism.
The missionary was also told that there was a chance Ricor could see again.
A glimpse
On Dec. 18, 2009, he found the resources to have the boy undergo a cataract operation. But since Ricor should have had the procedure much earlier, the eyes had absorbed the cataract and he will never have a 20/20 vision, Wigley said.
The operation gave Ricor a little of his sight back to be able to run around objects, but Wigley said he was praying that someday, the boy would be able to see colors.
Wigley said that with the money he had raised, he was able to bring Ricor to a caregiver
in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, where the country air helped him recover from his respiratory problem.
in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, where the country air helped him recover from his respiratory problem.
When Wigley’s money from England ran out, however, he had to bring Ricor back to the blind center in Jaro in February.
The blind adults there should be given lots of credit for having taken Ricor in despite their poverty. Some earn money by giving massage while some beg on the streets, he said.
Wigley said he visited the blind center every day and Ricor, most of the time, ran around unsupervised without any clothes on.
Worried that his stay in the Philippines would be ending on July 14, Wigley began a serious search for a suitable home for Ricor anywhere on Panay Island and approached maybe around 100 Catholic churches, the Mormons and Jesuits.
He also went almost daily to the Department of Social Welfare and Development office in Iloilo, begging for help. “I was desperate, I needed to find a home for Ricor before leaving the Philippines. I prayed to God for a miracle,” he said.
Then one day in February, while he was at the DSWD again, a woman whom he did not know handed him an Inquirer newspaper clip about abused and abandoned children who found love at Calvary Chapel Children’s Home in Bacolod.
She had told him to contact the woman named Anna Balcells who was mentioned in the story. But Wigley did not even look at the woman in the eye as he was so frustrated and angry. He just stuck the article in his bag.
Four weeks ago, Wigley said he remembered to read the article and found the e-mail address of Balcells, president of the Kalipay Negrense Foundation Inc. (www.kalipaynegrense.org), which helps raise funds for the care of abused and abandoned children.
In an e-mail to Balcells dated May 6, Wigley wrote: “I am in search of a suitable home for an abandoned boy named Ricor de la Cruz. He is a very special child with autism and visual impairment. He has no family and is currently being looked after by a group of blind persons. As a result he is losing weight at an alarming rate and I worry immensely for his future. Can you help? If your foundation does not cater for a boy like Ricor, do you have any contacts that may be able to help me find this boy a home?”
Home at last
Balcells said she was out of town and eventually got his
e-mail on May 13 and assured him that she would find a happy home for the boy.
e-mail on May 13 and assured him that she would find a happy home for the boy.
She said she knew the Rosmarinos would be perfect for the child but did not want to burden them with another, knowing how many they already had to care for with limited resources.
So she contacted homes in Manila, but on May 24, while with Nanay Billy Rosmarino in Bacolod, she told her about Ricor.
“I told Billy I did not want to burden her with another child knowing how many children Calvary already had, but needed her advise on where to place Ricor,” Balcells said.
“Right away, Billy wanted to know where Ricor was and by Monday she and a delegation from Calvary where in Iloilo checking on how he was,” Balcells said.
On Tuesday, Billy Rosmarino, accompanied by Wigley, brought Ricor home to Calvary—his new home.
Balcells said that when the Rosmarinos saw Ricor, they were so excited and welcomed him like he was the very first child into their home.
“Ricor has come to a home where he will have lots of love and care, the woman who handed the Inquirer article to Wigley so he could find me so I could lead him to Calvary must have been God’s angel,” Balcells said.
Ricor just fits perfectly into their home, it was totally the Lord who brought him to them, Billy said.
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
Schools must have autism training
The Autism News | English
By The Arizona Republic
The situation in the June 6 article “Diagnosis of Gilbert boy’s autism pits doctors vs. schools,” accurately depicts how unprepared public schools are in working effectively with children with autism.
Schools usually shoulder the responsibility onto the special-education department and professionals to create conducive learning environments and create strategic educational goals for children with autism.
However, not all children with autism will be placed in self-contained classrooms where they learn life skills and basic concepts. The majority of these students will be placed in core and even advanced classes with teachers who may be skilled in their subject area and classroom management, but ill-prepared to meet the needs of a student with autism.
The solution is training. Professional development must be provided to all staff members so they can learn exactly what autism is and understand how to work effectively with these children.
Education leaders claim to do “what’s in the best interest of kids.” Prove it by providing professional development to the staff on how to work effectively with kids with autism. With effective training, teaching a child with autism can be a rewarding experience for everyone involved. – Erik M. Francis, Phoenix
Source: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/06/11/20100611frilets116.html
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
No comments:
Post a Comment