REACH for a Difference
E-Newsletter
March 2012 Vol.
2, No. 3
Table
of Contents
l. ABC’s of ABA Rachel King~Parent
2. Welcome Sara
Collins~President/CEO
3.
Invitation for a walk and talk Shelby
Weatherford~Chairman
ABC’S
of ABA
When our son was diagnosed with Autism in March of
2007, we immediately began searching for what to do next. Through my research,
it was quickly apparent to me that my husband and I needed to get him into
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy as quickly and as often as possible. We
soon found ourselves at the Child Study Center in Fort Worth (where we lived at
the time) working with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) a few hours
each week. Although everything I read indicated we should be doing ABA 30-40
hours a week, we took what we could get at the time. In a very short period of
time, we began to see significant progress in our son’s behavior, his speech,
and his interactions with others. After a year of seeing his BCBA on a limited
basis, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to enroll our son in a newly
created intensive 30-hour per week program at the Child Study Center. It was
during this second year in ABA that we saw a pronounced improvement in his
behavior, and a new world truly started to open for him and for us as his
parents.
Although there are many other successful approaches
to working with children on the Autism spectrum, I am an avid proponent of ABA
therapy! Even though our son is no longer seeing a BCBA, ABA is a part of our
everyday life. As parents, we learned how to integrate the ABA concepts and
protocols into our interactions with our son and how to respond to his
behaviors appropriately. ABA is a way of life for us, and the time our son
spent in therapy was the starting point, a time of learning and training that
will carry us well into the future.
I am excited to share more details of our journey in
ABA during this month’s meeting on Tuesday, March 6. I will be joined by Dr.
Trube Miller from the Irvin School of Education at Hardin-Simmons University,
and Ms. Melissa Richardson, Autism Consultant for the Region 14 Education
Service Center. They will be presenting the “ABC’s of ABA,” a very informative
introduction and overview of Applied Behavior Analysis, including the philosophy
behind the approach and some practical applications of ABA. Please join us to
learn more! Rachel King~ Parent of a
child with ASD
Welcome to a Conversation (Different, but not
less)
I hope everyone enjoyed our last meeting and
the new location for our monthly meetings. Many thanks to the United Way of
Abilene for their hospitality by allowing REACH the use of their facilities.
There were many new faces and representatives from other community
organizations at the February meeting. I was so excited you came and hope you
were inspired by the courage and passion REACH for a Difference has in creating
something very much needed in our community; “a difference that makes a
difference”. I look forward to seeing you on March 6th at the United
Way of Abilene 240 Cypress 6-7:30 pm. We will have a guest speaker introducing
ABA therapy for individuals on the spectrum. We hope that by introducing a
variety of therapies, one can become more knowledgeable and empowered to make
choices about what therapies are available to us in the community and to be better informed to make decisions that
affect our loved ones. REACH for a Difference goal is not to promote any one
form of therapy but to open the door to new ideas and different avenues and
venues of learning. We do not discriminate when it comes to sharing ideas.
REACH believes we all have something special to offer. We will be informing you
in our e-Newsletter each month on what topic will be presented allowing you to
choose topics that interest you. If you are interested in presenting your
therapy, thoughts or ideas please contact us at reachforadifference@gmail.com.
REACH for a Difference is participating in the West
Texas Walk for Autism to contribute to finding a cure for autism. Autism is the second most common
developmental disorder in the United States affecting one in 110 children born
today. Despite some promising discoveries, the cause of autism is unknown and a
cure does not exist. Research is crucial. Every 20 minutes another child is
diagnosed with autism.
Walk Now for Autism Speaks is our chance to make a
difference in the fight against autism by raising money for autism research and
heightening public awareness. Please join us in our effort to raise money to
help fund essential research. You can donate To Walk Now for Autism Speaks
and/or join my team online by going to autismspeaks.org. Donations can be made by sending me a check
made out to Autism Speaks. Thank you for taking an important step in the fight
against autism. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by
law. Autism Speaks 501© (3) Tax Id#: 20-2329938
REACH for a Difference is our team name and will be
selling T-shirts for $20 at our next meeting. The Walk for Autism will be held
April 14th at the Abilene Zoo at 9am. Come by to visit the REACH for
a Difference booth. Sara Collins~President/CEO
An
Invitation to walk and talk
Reach for a
Difference is entering into its first 6th month of existence with
the arrival of March. What an exciting
ride it has been. In our efforts to
create a Road Map to Resources for our local professionals, individuals and families
of the spectrum, the REACH staff has found many nuggets of gold at every
turn. We are finding wonderfully
inspired and involved individuals right here in our own community which are
addressing the issues of those found on the spectrum. These individuals and organizations are
presently doing an effective job of taking their resources, energies and skills
into the community to help those on the spectrum with the struggle to adapt to
the demands of our present society.
Among these entities, we have been much
impressed with the work that Region 14, a State Board of
Education mandated program, regularly produces within the education community,
through the able leadership of Melissa Richardson. In the numerous counties
that she serves, Ms. Richardson through her efforts with West Texas Walk for
Autism has raised over a million dollars that goes directly to research
projects directed towards the determination of the causes and treatment of the
neurological disorder of autism. Please join with Ms. Richardson and Reach for
a Difference by supporting the upcoming walk in April.
--Shelby Weatherford,
Chairman of the Board
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