For kids with special needs, camp comes with valuable therapy, higher price tag
The Autism News | English
At the Leaps and Bounds Occupational Therapy day camp in Washington, kids with autism, learning disabilities and other special needs have fun while they learn to improve their motor skills.
By Mari-Jane Williams | The Washington Post
Matthew Hoffman will spend much of his summer doing handwriting exercises set to music, practicing conversation techniques with other kids on the soccer field and improving his motor planning by learning to ride a bike.
In other words, the 6-year-old from Bethesda is going to camp.
Matthew has autism. So his five weeks at Basic Concepts in Rockville, which began June 28, will be very different from the typical summer day camp in the Washington area.
Few camp counselors here are home from college for the summer. The Basic Concepts staff members are trained specialists in speech and occupational therapy as well as special education teachers and play therapists. And there are lots of them: one therapist for every two or three children. Equipment goes far beyond what you usually find at the playground, including weighted vests, trampolines and swings commonly used in therapy sessions.
“I love that he can go to a summer camp like every other kid,” Matthew’s mother, Ali Hoffman, said.
Basic Concepts, a private therapy center offering speech and language services and other help for children with mild learning differences, began a therapeutic camp a decade ago with 10 children. This year it is at capacity with 90 students and had to turn families away because of a lack of space, said Katy Whidden, a speech and language pathologist at the practice.
Across the Washington region, enrollment in therapeutic camps soars every year, even though they are far more expensive than regular day camp.
Camp Friendship, which is run by Tots to Teens, a speech therapy practice in Woodbridge, drew kids from five counties last year for its program in Stafford County. This year it is adding a session in Prince William County to meet the demand. Lynne Israel, director of Lynne C. Israel and Associates in the District, an occupational therapy group, says she has been able to fill as many as 70 slots at her summer camp in recent years, with requests for more.
Most campers have a combination of delays and diagnoses that can include autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities as well as sensory processing problems, which are defined by a difficulty handling certain sounds, sights, smells, textures and other environmental stimuli. They struggle with reading, writing, cutting, and sustaining conversations with other kids. Loud noises, bright lights or unfamiliar tastes or textures can disrupt or disorganize them.
Therapeutic camps, with small group activities and individual plans for each camper, are often modeled after the weekly therapy sessions and classroom help many of these children receive during the school year. The goals are the same: to improve their academic and social skills and help them function better in what often seems like an overwhelming world.
So cooking, for example, becomes a way to expand vocabulary and teach campers how to work together. Science experiments force children to get their hands dirty and get accustomed to new textures. Arts and crafts projects double as intensive practice of fine motor skills.
“They give them therapy where they don’t even know they’re getting it,” said Holly Jankowski of Germantown. Her daughter Apryl, 6, has pervasive developmental disorder, an autism spectrum disorder, and is in her third summer at Basic Concepts.
Thick pudding, chewy gummy bears and hard candy used to make Apryl turn her chair around and face away from the table. But at Basic Concepts, she’s taken small steps to improving her diet: She must bring a snack to her lips, politely kiss it and put it back down on the plate before refusing it.
“It’s a new strategy that they tried and now we do that at home,” her mother said.
Across the nation, as more children are diagnosed with special needs, their parents are seeking out more help to hone skills from handwriting to playground etiquette.
The number of summer day camps for children with special needs listed on http://mysummercamps.com, one of the largest online camp directories, has quadrupled, from 235 in 2004 to 971 this year, said Carol Mendelsohn, a spokeswoman for the site.
Susan Feeley is director of admissions at the Lab School in the District, a private school for students with learning disabilities, which also runs a summer camp. She attributes the growing demand, in part, to an increase in early diagnosis of children with learning differences, and parents’ understanding that early intervention can make a tremendous difference in a child’s long-term success.
“Especially with younger children, the earlier you get remediation and therapy in place, while you can’t change the blueprint of who the child is, you can really help the child develop quicker and develop coping mechanisms,” Feeley said.
Allison Mistrett, an occupational therapist at Leaps and Bounds in the District, which offers a six-week camp for preschoolers, thinks that more strenuous academic demands for kindergartners is partly responsible for the increased interest. For children with learning delays, the standards at school are even more challenging.
“One of the things we hear more and more is that now kindergarten is what used to be first-grade,” Mistrett said. “I attribute a lot of it to the demands schools place on kids.”
But the downside of these camps is the price. The average day camp costs $100 to $275 per week, according to the American Camp Association. But a special needs camp, with a different program for nearly every child, small therapist-to-student ratios and lots of expensive gym equipment costs much more.
Camp Friendship is $500 for a week of half-day sessions. The Lab School’s five-week program ranges from $1,275 to $2,735, depending on the activities. The six-week camp at Leaps and Bounds is $2,400.
But many parents are willing to pay. They consider the summer a time for intense work on skills and an opportunity to help close the gap between their child and typically developing peers.
“Everything in the special needs community is expensive, so I feel almost immune to it at this point,” Hoffman said. “[Matthew would] get lost at a typical camp. This is really the best opportunity for him to have a camp experience, but get extra help. So for me it’s totally worth it.”
Jodie Steiner said she’s hopeful that her son Gabriel Mini, 7, will get some help making friends during his three weeks of camp at Treatment and Learning Centers in Rockville. Gabriel has autism.
“He really, really wants to be social, he likes to be part of a group, but he gets there and freaks out,” said Steiner, of Takoma Park. “If he can get there and not be intimidated, that would be a huge step for him.”
At Camp Friendship, one of the cooking activities will be making popcorn, to go with the camp’s circus theme. Campers will watch the kernels pop to fully popped corn, and then talk to one another about it. Or, as the therapists see it, the activity will teach vocabulary and practice social language, according to Jennifer Ruckner, a speech and language pathologist at Tots to Teens Therapy, which runs Camp Friendship.
“They’re able to use very typical activities and learn how to play, how to use their language, how to socially use those skills to work simultaneously beside somebody and an adult doesn’t have to be there to prompt it all of the time,” Ruckner said.
“That’s what makes it different than going to a day camp.”
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Frenchie: She’s still a Pink Lady
The Autism News | English
Didi Conn as Frenchie in ‘Grease’
By Madeleine Marr | The Miami Herald
Didi Conn wants everyone to pull out their pink wigs Thursday when Grease Sing A-Long premieres.
The actress — who played the beauty school dropout Frenchie in the classic high school musical — is still as enthusiastic about the movie after 32 years.
“No one just says, `I saw your movie,’ ” she says from her home in New York City. “They say, `Oh my God, I’ve seen your movie like 50 times!’ .”
This new digitally remastered release features animated lyrics so the audience can belt out tunes like Hopelessly Devoted To You and Summer Nights.
The actress — who has worked in films and TV (Benson) and works to raise autism awareness (her son is autistic) — is still flagged as Frenchie.
“It’s usually my voice that triggers the recognition,” says Cohn, 58, in her signature Brooklyn-accented squeak.
Many of the castmates are still close.
“When we get together, it’s like no time has gone by,” she says. “We look at each other and just start giggling. I think that’s why the movie still sparkles. They cast a bunch of kids that never grew up.”
Conn is still friendly with Olivia Newton-John, who played innocent Sandy but admits she’s lost touch with greaser Danny Zuko, aka John Travolta.
Conn knows how important Grease was to pop culture and understands why movies like High School Musical and TV’s Glee are such hits.
“They’re all definitely offsprings of Grease in terms of that kind of friendship and energy and musicality and emotions,” she says.
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Lt. Gov. Tries to Block Health Care Reform
The Autism News | English
By Joe Harris | Courthouse News Service
ST. LOUIS (CN) – The lieutenant governor has joined officials from other states in suing the federal government to try to stave off health-care reform – though most of Missouri’s top political players aren’t on board. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, sued Uncle Sam after Attorney General Chris Koster and Gov. Jeremiah Nixon, both Democrats, refused to do it.
Kinder wanted to join a lawsuit in Florida involving 20 state attorneys generals, but couldn’t because he does not have the attorney general’s power to file a complaint on behalf of the state and use state money for it.
Kinder and three Missourians sued the Secretaries of Treasury, Labor, Health and Human Services, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in Federal Court.
“Many Missourians will lose the options for health insurance they currently enjoy,” Kinder said in a statement. “Missourians have less health care coverage after the federal law was passed than they did before it was passed.”
Kinder’s move was met with skepticism by state Democrats, who want him to release the names of donors to his private legal fund.
“For months he has refused to disclose his donors,” Missouri Democratic Party spokesman Ryan Hobart told The Associated Press. “Missourians deserve to know if Peter Kinder is allowing his office to be subsidized by the insurance industry and its lobbyists or candidates who want this law repealed. Instead, up to this point, all of that information has been hidden from the public, even though Lt. Gov. Kinder is using state resources to publicize his actions.”
Kinder, who has said he is considering running against Nixon for governor in 2012, told the AP through a spokesman that the list of donors will be released, except for those who have requested anonymity.
Kinder has set up a nonprofit corporation called Health Care in Action to raise money for the lawsuit. He said he filed the complaint as the state’s senior citizen advocate and as a private citizen.
Kinder claims that Obama administration’s historic reform, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is unconstitutional because it exceeds the powers granted to Congress under the Commerce Clause, by requiring individuals to carry a certain amount of health care coverage.
“Long before PPACA’s passage, Congress knew the individual mandate to buy certain federally sanctioned health insurance was constitutionally repugnant,” the complaint states. “A Congressional Research Service report to Congress noted the lack of constitutional authority for the mandate requirement, finding that ‘[d]espite the breadth of powers that have been exercised under the Commerce Clause, it is unclear whether the clause would provide a solid constitutional foundation for legislation containing a requirement to have health insurance. Whether such a requirement would be constitutional under the Commerce Clause is perhaps the most challenging question posed by such a proposal, as it is a novel issue whether Congress may use this clause to require an individual to purchase a good or service.’”
Kinder also claims that the bill forces state employees to enforce a federal health care scheme, in violation of Missouri’s sovereignty; that it mandates the compensation Missouri must provide to its constitutional officers; that it imposes a direct tax penalty upon Missouri because the state requires insurance companies to cover autism treatments; and that it forces the state to violate its own constitution and implement an unconstitutional state tax increase.
He wants PPACA enjoined. He is represented by Mark “Thor” Hearne II, with Arent Fox of Los Angeles.
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Autism Study Gives Parents Blueprint
The Autism News | English
By My FOX Philly
Initiative To Help Families Deal With Challenges
PHILADELPHIA – A new study is being circulated everywhere to help parents with one of the hardest things for any family to deal with, autism.
On Thursday morning, “Good Day” had results of a new study that lists goals and activities that will improve the quality of life for your child.
Linda Meyer, executive director of Autism New Jersey, told “Good Day” that parents, when they get a diagnosis, crave information and just want answers.
The new study is called “Connecting with Autism: A Blueprint for Lifetime Support.” Copies are being distributed to the governor, legislators, local officials, community leaders.
About 80,000 people are living with autism in New Jersey. The study identifies the critical goals and activities that will improve the quality of life for people on the autism spectrum.
The goal is to help people with autism lead full and productive lives from their infant years through adulthood.
The group says the more people know, the more we can create a society that understands and can help.
Source: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/good_day_philadelphia/autism-study-gives-parents-blueprint-070810
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Dolphins to help treat autistic children in China
The Autism News | English
A dolphin demonstrates a performance with a trainer at a dolphin pool in Ta…
By Sify News
Beijing: A marine amusement park in China has purchased four dolphins, but they are not intended for amusement. The mammals will be used for treating children suffering from autism.
Autism is a neural disorder characterised by impaired social interaction and communication as well as repetitive behaviour.
The dolphins, bought from Japan with five million yuan ($738,000), have begun working with young patients after a month’s adaptation and training, Chen Rujun, chief inspector of animals at the Royal Ocean World in Fushun city in Liaoning province, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
“Royal Ocean World has provided therapy for autistic children since 2007, when we had three dolphins as ‘doctors’, treating more than 20 children, ranging from two years to ten years of age,” Chen said.
Children of authoritative parents eat nutritious food
Each child would have to come to the park 12 times a month, play with a dolphin as part of therapy, and the effect would depend on the time spent, he said.
A five-year-old boy from Anshan city who used to speak only a few words was able to go to kindergarten and even sing along with songs on television after a one-and-a-half-month treatment, Chen said.
The treatment used to be free of charge, but as there has been an increase in demand, the park is now charging each family 2,000 yuan per month, and a lesser amount for poor families.
“More than 100 families from Liaoning, Hebei and Tianjin have lined up to make an appointment,” said Zhang Yingying, business manager of the park.
Chen said dolphins emit high-frequency ultrasonic waves which stimulate dormant brain cells in autistic children. However, such treatment is only an assisted therapy and is not effective for all autistic children.
“Although the effectiveness reaches 90 per cent, some families still said the treatment was not effective for their children,” Chen said.
“There is no scientific proof right now that dolphin therapy cures autistic people, and while it might be helpful for children, little effect has been seen on adults,” Zhang Zhonghe, a professor at Liaoning-based Dalian Medical University, said.
Dolphin treatment is also being used in marine parks in other provinces including Shandong and Guangdong.
Source: http://sify.com/news/dolphins-to-help-treat-autistic-children-in-china-news-animals-khim5Tgjaij.html
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Seaford woman facing abuse charges incidents as caretaker
The Autism News | English
Seaford resident Bonnie E. Cornish, 46, is facing two charges after a police investigation yielded evidence she allegedly abused two mentally ill patients of Falcon Crest Group Home.
By Sussex Countian
HARBESON, DEL. — Delaware State Police on Monday, June 28, arrested a Seaford woman for allegedly abusing two mentally ill patients at the Falcon Crest Group Home in Harbeson.
Bonnie E. Cornish, 46, allegedly abused and mistreated two victims who suffer from autism and mental retardation, police learned after an investigation.
In the first incident, a 26-year-old victim was eating dinner around 5 p.m. and did not want to sit while eating. Cornish, who was the caretaker on duty at the time, escorted the victim to her room. Shortly after, however, the alleged victim returned to the eating area, which angered Cornish. Cornish then allegedly took out a belt and struck the victim an undetermined amount of times while in the victim’s room. Moments later the victim again returned to the eating area, where Cornish again stuck the victim, this time on the head with a studded belt. While escorting the victim back to her room, Cornish allegedly continued striking her and gave the victim injuries to her back and thighs.
Another incident with the other alleged victim occurred on the same evening as Cornish was transporting victim one and two, a 27-year-old female, to an appointment in Georgetown. The 27-year-old, who police said has trouble adjusting to traveling in vehicles, began to cry, which made Cornish decide to pull the van over on Zoar Road. Cornish then allegedly slapped the victim across the face, which resulted in two scratches, swelling and redness under the victim’s left eye.
Following the police investigation, Cornish was arrested on two counts of abuse, mistreat or neglect of a patient or resident of a facility. She was arraigned at the Justice of the Peace Court 3 and released on $2,000 unsecured bond.
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