Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Spectrum Sunday Play Group in Brooklyn

Jill has tried this out with her boys (one on the spectrum and
another not), and gives it a good review. Not all of the programming is spectrum focused, but the Sunday play group is, and they will apparently be a SNACK expansion site in fall 2007.
__________________________________________

This Summer at Brooklyn “PLAY” Spot!
399 Atlantic Ave, Lower level Corner of Bond
Brooklyn, NY 11217 718-852-2494

In door drop in play, private parties, events, classes
Free to members, 12.00 per day, per family for members

www.brooklynplayspot.com

Sunday's
10:30 am Special Needs Play Date Free to members. $12. for non-members

Tuesday's
10:00 am Life Coaching with Bethany Rule $10. for members. $20. for non members
11:00 am Ciao Ciao Bambino with Ludo $4.00 for members. $16. for non members

Thursday's
10:30 am Music for Aardvarks

Friday's
10:30 am Come Knit! Free to members. 12. for non members
3:30 pm Storytelling with Cricket $2. for members. $14. for non members

Space is limited, please RSVP by responding to this to email.
All events include a full day of drop in play.

Sunday July 28th, 2007. The Deedle Deedle Dee’s will perform at
Brooklyn “PLAY” Spot.
$8. for members. $20. for non members
Space is limited, please RSVP by responding to this email.

August 17, 2007 Jump For Joy will offer a preview to their Fall of
2007 movement class.

We will offer 1 class for special needs kids and 1 class for general education kids.

Free to members $12. for non-members

***Prices are per family, per day***

12 packs, memberships and day passes can be purchased in line on our
web site.

Starting September 2007 at Brooklyn “PLAY” Spot!
Jump for Joy, Let's Dance Brooklyn, SNACK (Special Needs Activity Center for Kids), Karma Kids Yoga, Life Coaching, Music for Aardvarks, Ciao Ciao Bambino, Story Telling with Cricket, Knitting, Reading etc…
Please email for registration and details. zrenner@earthlink.net

New ABA School in Manhattan

Here's their announcement. Word from parents who have inquired is that they plan to have 30 pupils, and they will be Carter funded, with an estimated tuition of $90K. I'm thrilled to learn of new seats offering what sounds like a quality ABA program, but whew is that a big ticket.
________________________________________

Manhattan Childrens Center
Opening its Manhattan Campus September 2007

Providing services for children with autism and pervasive developmental disorders.


The Children’s Center’s Upper West Side campus will provide scientifically based world class treatment and education to children ages 3 to 12 utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

The program’s Interdisciplinary Model will incorporate ABA, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy as well as natural environment training and family support.

The Children's Center is a partner in research and service activities with Columbia University, Teachers College faculty and students.

Program information may be obtained by contacting Abigail Szoszun-Weiss, Director of Admissions at 347-578-3442.


The Children’s Center’s Brooklyn Campus (www.schoolworksonline.org) was established in 1996 to provide educational and therapeutic services to children with developmental delays including children diagnosed with PDD and Autism. Over the years of its existence, The Children's Center has served over 1,500 children and employed over 200 professionals in its Interdisciplinary Model. It is this level of front line experience that gives The Children's Center its expertise in delivering quality services to the right children at the right time by the right people.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Feb 5: NYC Talk on Unstrange Minds

What does a father do when his two-year-old is diagnosed with a
mysterious illness he knows nothing about?

He learns all there is to know about the illness; he fights so his
child receives the best services and support; and---if you are a
father and a highly regarded anthropologist like Roy Richard
Grinker---you travel abroad studying in other countries/cultures and
develop an improved understand of the illness, and, along the way,
discover a new humility in the face of this challenge.

Roy Richard Grinker will talk and sign copies of

UNSTRANGE MINDS: Remapping the World of Autism
(forthcoming February 1, 2007) in New York City
Monday, February 5 at 7pm.

at
MO PITKIN'S HOUSE OF SATISFACTION/UPSTAIRS
Talk/Signing
34 Avenue A
New York, NY (between 2nd and 3rd Streets)

For more information about Unstrange Minds, see Professor Grinker's website:
www.unstrange.com.

Professor Grinker's recent Q & A with US News and World Report can be read at
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070107/15autism.htm
--

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Collaborative on Health and the Environment Conference Call

Listening in to this call will provide a broad understanding of the bases of the environmental causation or catalyst view of autism.


CHE Partnership Call Announcement - December 12

We hope you will join us for the next CHE National Partnership Call -- Rethinking Autism: Towards a Whole Body Paradigm -- scheduled for Tuesday, December 12 @ 9am Pacific /12noon Eastern time.

Autism, first identified in the 1940s, was initially believed to be an entirely psychological problem; then later, a strongly genetic disorder. Now, driven by suggestive evidence that incidence is increasing and that some children are responding to biomedical treatment, a new paradigm of autism as a set of phenotypes involving environmental modulation or triggering of genetic vulnerability is emerging. Environmental contaminants may play a significant role in some of these hypothesized phenotypes, as do gastrointestinal disorders and other conditions.

Harvard neuroscientist Martha Herbert, MD, Ph.D., will discuss the new paradigm with comments from Lee Grossman, President of the Autism Society of America and the proud parent of an autistic child, and from Michael Lerner, Ph.D., President of Commonweal. This call will be moderated by Elise Miller, M.Ed., Executive Director, Institute for Children's Environmental Health, and Coordinator of CHE's Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative Working Group.

Please RSVP to Julia Varshavsky at: Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org to receive call details.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Turning 5 Orientations Schedule

Citywide schedule and translation in many languages can be found at:
http://schools.nyc.gov/Parents/Essentials/Special+Education/Documents.htm

Many of the dates have passed, but most of the Region 9 ones are still to come.

District 1 November 30, 2006 9:00 am-11:00 am
PS 142
100 Attorney Street
New York, NY 10002

District 2 November 29, 2006 9:00 am-11:00 am
PS 33
281 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10001

District 4 November 27, 2006 9:00 am-11:00 am
PS 72
131 East 104th Street
New York, NY 10029

District 7 November 28, 2006 9:00 am-11:00 am
PS 49
383 East 139th Street
Bronx, NY 10454

Districts 1,2,4,7 November 28, 2006 6:30 pm-8:30 pm
Region 9 Office (7th Fl.)
333 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10001

Friday, November 10, 2006

A Gift for Your Infant, Your Peace of Mind, and Science Too

Our younger son was a subject in the "Baby Sibs" study at Johns Hopkins, and while we lost a small bet with the universe in that he also is on the autism spectrum, we gained, at least briefly, the confidence that his development was being monitored while we launched into an array of interventions for his older brother.

Like a folk "worry box", I put my concerns about baby's development away and was able to enjoy his infancy for what it was, at least in small measure. When he failed to show a wider array of normal responses at 14 months, we went to Early Intervention with a well respected referral and got a program in place lickety-split. With all that we had on our plate, we might have let baby's delays go unaddressed for quite a while, particularly since his presentation did not have the stark regression that we saw in our older son.

In the bargain, we contributed to science, as the early films of my younger son confirmed Dr. Landa's suspicion that subtle social weaknesses would be apparent even at six months, and this evidence is helping in the development and refinement of screening measures that will reliably build at least the possiblity of effective interventions for very young children.

When we participated in Baby Sibs, it was a NAAR funded study, which has now been picked up by the National Institutes of Health and expanded to more sites, including the Yale Child Study Center. They need both infant siblings of ASD kids, and control infant siblings of non-affected kids. If your family can make the trip to New Haven, I strongly encourage you to consider participating.

The announcement from Autism Speaks follows.


Your Next Child Can Be Monitored from Birth for Vulnerabilities Associated with Autism
High Risk Baby Siblings Project at Yale looking for Participants

Autism Speaks continues to support the High Risk Baby Siblings Research Projects currently being conducted at universities around the nation. By studying the younger siblings of children with autism, clinicians are identifying risk factors associated with autism. Their goal is to lower the age at which autism may be reliably diagnosed. Early identification is key to improving the eventual outcome of children with autism and related disorders.

At the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, researchers are studying how infants from birth to 24 months engage visually with people and objects around them. Yale is looking to expand participation in this project and is actively seeking to enroll parents of children with autism who are pregnant. If selected for the study, your baby will watch brief animated videos and look at pictures. He or she will play with toys, listen to sounds and interact with experienced professionals. Babies usually love it and parents find the feedback extremely informative. Babies who participate are monitored closely for any signs of autism from birth to 24 months, and beyond. Compensation is available for participants.

To learn more about participating in this study, please contact Irene Zilber by email at Irene.Zilber@yale.edu or by phone at (203) 785-6237. Also, to learn more about this research project please visit www.autism.fm/babysibs.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

FREE!: Transition Planning, Resource Fair, Hunter GI Seminar, and Resources Series

A Gateway to Real Lives
November 14, 2006
9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
City University of NY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue,Manhattan

A conference about transition to adult life for youth with disabilities, their families and the professionals who support them. For more information, contact Jennifer Teich, Project Coordinator at 212-944-0564.


Family & Professional Resource Fair at Church of St. Paul the Apostle (same venue as annual Camp Fair), 59th Street and 9th Avenue.
November 30, 10 AM to 2 PM
Workshops, Goodie Bags for Caregivers, and Cash Raffles.
Pick up an updated Family Support Services Directory for Manhattan Residents


The Hunter College AUTISM CENTER

In collaboration with

Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc.
and the Early Childhood Direction Center, Manhattan

Invite you to a seminar for parents on:
Gastrointestinal Issues and
Nutritional Considerations
Affecting Young Children on the
with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Saturday, December 2, 2006 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
Room 714 West, Hunter College
(SW corner of E. 68th Street and Lexington Avenue)

Presenters

Dr. Joseph Levy, MD, Director of the Children's Digestive Health Center and the Program in Neuro-gastroenterology at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian

Anne Roland Lee, MSED, RD, nutritionist at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and an expert on the gluten- free, casein- free diet

Admission is free. To reserve a place, register in advance by leaving a message with your name and phone number at (212) 772-4822 or e-mail: cohenshirley@hunter.cuny.edu by November 27, 2006. (Child care will not be available.)

Coffee and sign-in at 9:30. Presentation begins promptly at 10.


Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc. Presents What?s Out There and How to Get It

2006-2007 Free Training Series

For Families and Professionals Needing Programs and Services for Children with Disabilities

Gary Shulman, MS.Ed.:212-677-4650
gshulman@resourcesnyc.org
www.resourcesnyc.org
www.resourcesnycdatabase.org

Bronx

Jewish Child Care Association 555 Bergen Ave. Bronx 10455
November 1, 2006 Education Options for Children with Special Needs 10AM-1PM
December 6, 2006 Transition from School to Adult Life 10AM-1PM
February 7, 2007 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10AM-1PM
March 7, 2007 Advocacy Skills for Parents 10AM-1PM
April 11, 2007 Community Resources 10AM-12Noon

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Heights Library 280 Cadman Plaza West Bklyn. 11201
October 19, 2006 Education Options for Children with Special Needs 10 AM-1 PM
October 26, 2006 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10 AM-1 PM
November 9, 2006 Transition from School to Adult Life 10 AM-1 PM
December 7, 2006 Community Resources 10 AM-12 Noon
Jan. 25, 2007 Advocacy Skills for Parents 10 AM-1 PM
March 15, 2007 Early Childhood Services : Birth to 5 10 AM-1 PM
Manhattan

Andrew Heiskell Braille & Talking Book Library 40 W. 20th St. NYC 10011
November 14, 2006 Education Options for Children with Special Needs 10:00 AM- 1
PM
November 21, 2006 Advocacy Skills for Parents 10:00 AM- 1 PM
November 29, 2006 Transition from School to Adult Life 10:00 AM-1 PM
December 12, 2006 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10:00AM-1 PM
December 19, 2006 Community Resources 10:00 AM-12:00 noon

West Harlem Head Start 121 W. 128th Street, NYC 10027
March 14, 2007 Community Resources 10 AM-12 Noon
March, 28 2007 Turning 5:Transition to School Age 10 AM-1:00 PM
April 18, 2007 Opciónes Educatívas (In Spanish/En Español) 10 AM-1 PM

Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc. 116 E. 16th St. 5th Floor NY,
NY 10003
November 15, 2006 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10 AM-1 PM
January 17, 2007 Turning 5:Transition to School-Age 10AM-1PM
February 8, 2007 Education Options for Children with Special Needs 10AM-1 PM
March 7, 2007 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10AM-1 PM
March 21, 2007 Transition from School to Adult Life 10AM-1 PM
March 27, 2007 Community Resources 6PM-8PM
April 12, 2007 PM Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 6PM-8 PM

Queens
Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning 161-04 Jamaica Ave. Jamaica NY 11432
January 4, 2007 Education Options for Children with Special Needs 10:00 AM-1 PM
January 11, 2007 Advocacy Skills 10:00 AM-1 PM
January 18, 2007 Transition from School to Adult Life 10:00 AM-1 PM
February 1, 2007 Community Resources 10:00 AM-12:00 Noon
February 15, 2007 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10:00 AM-1 PM

Staten Island
Staten Island University Hospital
Dietary Conference Room 2nd Floor
475 Seaview Ave. SI, NY 10305
In Collaboration with the Staten Island Early Childhood Direction Center
Dec. 5, 2006 Education Options for Children with Special Needs 10:00 AM-1PM
Jan. 9, 2007 Early Childhood Services: Birth to 5 10:00 AM-1PM
Feb. 6, 2007 Advocacy Skills for Parents 10:00 AM-1 PM
March 13, 2007 Transition from School to Adult Life 10:00 AM-1PM
April 17, 2007 Community Resources 10:00 AM-12 Noon