Thursday, March 31, 2011

World Autism Awareness Day

This Saturday, April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day.  With 1 in 110 children being diagnosed with autism, it truly is an epidemic that needs special attention.  I work with many children diagnosed with autism and have worked with many in the past that have outgrown their diagnosis thanks to early therapeutic intervention.  I can't tell you the joy I feel when watching the smiles of a child and parent connecting for the first time playing peek-a-boo, seeing a child eager to engage with a sibling or hearing about a child making their first best friend. 

 Please take a moment to learn the signs of autism, so we can all better assist these children and make a difference in their lives and in the lives of their families. 

One of my favorite organizations, the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders is honoring World Autism Awareness Day by making a number of lectures on autism by Dr. Stanley Greenspan available until 4/3/11.  Topics include:

  • Early signs of ASD
  • Older children and adults with ASD
  • Raising the ceiling
  • The CDC-ICDL report
  • The do's and don'ts of early intervention
  • Attention, OCD and anxiety in children with ASD
  • How infants and children learn,
  • The DIR/Floortime approach
  • Bioethical approach to aggression
  • What makes an intervention works and
  • Reforming education

Also, all ICDL publications will be discounted 10% for the month of April.  Discount code is AA2011.

I urge you to take a peek.
Thanks!

2 comments:

  1. Hey, I just read through your blog post. I had no idea you worked with children w/ autism. That is so wonderful.

    My daughter will be ten this June. Just after her first birthday we noticed a dramatic change in her behavior and development and then shortly thereafter we received the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    I cant describe how lucky I feel that we got the diagnosis as early as we did and started PT, ST, and OT as soon as possible. It is absolutely amazing what is possible. (We also started using PEXs at the same time and by the time she was in Kindergarten she could read at a third grade level.)

    Good luck to you in all your endeavors, there is certainly no shortage in need and no limit in what is possible. Congratulations.

    -Mark

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  2. Very nice, thanks for the information.

    ReplyDelete