By Linda Andron, Executive Director “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day, to make you. Everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.” – E. E. Cummings When I read this, I wondered whether this might be said by someone on the autism spectrum. What does it mean to be yourself? How does that resonate for those we work with and love…
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“Be true to yourself.” I enjoy working and volunteering with kids. I volunteer at Salvation Army, I work at We Rock The Spectrum Santa Monica, and at the FACT social skills groups. I recently was honored to received an Outstanding Volunteerism Award for 4 years of dedication from the Salvation Army Bessie and David Pregerson Child Care Center. The center provides child care and housing to low income families, and I feel very blessed to have been a good role model for these youngsters.…
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By Sherie, GAP Member Take it one step at a time. I am a administration assistant intern and a social media manager at FACT. I help with FACT fundraising efforts, events and I manage a GAP Facebook page for members and parents of the GAP program. One of my short term goals is to be Microsoft certified. One of my long term goals is to learn how to drive. GAP has helped me get better at self-advocating. It also motivates…
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by Sarita Freedman, PhD; FACT Board Member We know positive reinforcement helps students feel good about themselves. But positive reinforcement alone is not enough for our students with ASD. To effectively help these students understand and accept their strengths and limitations, educators and parents need training that goes above and beyond simple reinforcement techniques. Lack of this specialized training is one of many roadblocks to facilitating greater self-awareness in individuals with ASD. Related roadblocks include a paucity of well-trained diagnosticians…
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By Linda Andron-Ostrow, Executive Director I asked a group of parents where they thought the term neurotypical came from. They gave it some thought and said they were certain that it was a medical term (as I would have been in the past). In a great book called Neurotribes, Steve Silberman talks about the evolution of the autism self advocacy movement. Turns out, it was the people of this movement that coined the term, “neurotypical” to describe those not…
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by Sarita Freedman, PhD; FACT Board Member We all have individual differences regardless of whether we have a disability or not. We’re great at some things, good at others, and struggle with different aspects of our physical, emotional and social functioning. Yet, limitations in self-awareness can make it difficult to understand and accept our many strengths and weaknesses. We feel confusion over why something works out well and other situations fall apart. We may not be able to appreciate how…
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“I like to contemplate the future” We are proud to share with you that this month, Michael achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Throughout Boy Scouts, Michael feels he gained leadership skills and learned how to help his community. He also feels he learned how to better understand his strengths, weaknesses and goals. As he puts it, “I feel completely lifted having achieved this level of advancement in scouting. I am proud to see…
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By Andrew Schmidt, GAP Coordinator. In our last article, we introduced the newly formed “Farm to Fork” program implemented through out GAP student garden. We at GAP wanted to take some more time to dive deeper into the goals, opportunities, and educational avenues this innovative experience has presented to our students. Starting from the ground up, our volunteers are privileged in gaining the understanding of how labor intensive producing a single crop really is. In just one season we grow…
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By Sarita Freedman, PhD; FACT Board Member High functioning (HF) individuals with ASD are found in all walks of life, from high powered careers to significantly underemployed. What we’ve learned about this population of individuals over the past 15 years is that they have the ability to assimilate and function well, but that in order to do so, they need specific supports and guidance—the earlier the better. What can we do to improve the overall outcome of their endeavors so that…
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Marriage and Family Therapy Intern 70757 6909 Minstrel AveWest Hills, CA 91307818-340-7220E-mail: [email protected] Renee works with all ages, providing individual therapy, family therapy and couples counseling. For more information, please either call or email Renee. Check out her blog here! Renee’s expertise includes… Educational Therapy Study Skills Development Attention Deficit Disorder Reading and Writing Difficulties Dyslexia School and Test Anxiety Evaluation and Testing Special Education Language Processing Problems Tutoring Learning Disabilities Visual Processing Problems Low Academic Self-Esteem Asperger’s Syndrome Non-Verbal Learning…
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