Category: Community

Episode #67 | ABA Therapy with Lilac City Behavioral

Episode #67 | ABA Therapy with Lilac City Behavioral

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After receiving an autism diagnosis one of the “go-to” therapy interventions that will be suggested for your child will likely be ABA therapy.  But what is ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis)?  How does it work?  What benefits will it have for your child?  These are a few of the questions we discuss in this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild today while chatting with Jeff Kalles of Lilac City Behavioral.

Center of Excellence Providers by county in Washington State: https://www.hca.wa.gov/assets/billers-and-providers/index-coe-applied-behavioral-analysis.pdf

Provider List: https://theisaacfoundation.configio.com/ShoppingCart.aspx?com=detailview&iid=487

 

Lilac City Behavior Services, PLLC

318 E Rowan Ave STE 201

Spokane, WA 99207

Phone: (509) 844–2429

https://www.lcbehavioral.com/

 

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Episode #64 | Autism & Friendship

Episode #64 | Autism & Friendship

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This week we have a great panel of parents discussing the ins and outs of friendship as it relates to their kiddos with autism.  There is a common myth that children with autism generally do not crave the attention of peers and will not seek out friendship.  Although that may be true to some capacity for some of our children, it is most definitely not the case for all children with autism.  Many of our children still enjoy and seek meaningful friendship with their peers, it just may not always look the same as it does with our neurotypical children.

Listen in to hear us discuss the Friendship Algorithm which was brought to us through the TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” Although this algorithm was written to be comical, it is actually a great tool to approach friendship and learning the boundaries and intent of your actions to make and maintain friends.

Finally we share stories of friendships gone well…and not so well, and how these particular parents handled these situations.

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Episode #63 | Extra-Curricular Activities

Episode #63 | Extra-Curricular Activities

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Extra-curricular activities are often an important outlet for all children to take part in during their school year.  These opportunities bring about the benefit of physical activity, social and emotional communication with peers, a sense of community and more.  But are all special needs extra curricular activities created equal?  And how do we find activities our kiddos are actually interested in participating in?  Today we discuss with a few autism parents what activities they have tried, which were successful, and which were duds!

Contact Info for some of the programs we discussed:

  • Bambino Buddy-Ball | bambinobballmom1@yahoo.com | (509) 251-2588
  • Adaptive Skiing & Snowboarding | Spokaneparks.org | mtspokane.com/specialty-programs
  • Spokane Powderhounds | (509) 999-8586 Downhill skiing and snowboarding program for individuals with special needs.
  • Adaptive Skiing: (509)714-7654 for individuals with mobiity challenges.
  • Blue Waxers | Cross Country Skiing | (509) 953-6062.
  • iCan Shine Bike Camp | icanshine.org/ican-bike-spokane-wa/ | (509) 999-9603 Contact Casey Traver: icanshine.spokane@comcast.net
  • Lilac City Warriors | Lilac City Warriors’ Facebook Page, A Youth Special Olympics’ track and field team
  • PASS Soccer | monaca.pass@gmail.com | (509) 862-8065 PASS (Player Adaptive Soccer Skills) is an organization that provides soccer to children and adults with physical and/or cognitive challenges.
  • Gonzaga Exceptional Bulldogs Hockey Team | gonzagaexceptionalbulldogs@gmail.com Any child, 5 years–High School who is Differently Abled. Sponsored by Gonzaga University. Coach Mark Derby: (509) 590-9926

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Episode #53 | Wandering and Eloping (Part 2)

Episode #53 | Wandering and Eloping (Part 2)

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In this week’s episode, I was able to interview three amazing local first responders: 911 dispatcher Raegan Hays, Lt. Matt Cowles of the Spokane Police Department and Lt. John Goodman of the Spokane Fire Department.  John and Raegan are not only first responders, they are also parents of wandering children with autism. In this episode our first responders walk us through a call reporting an eloping child from the time the call is placed to the time a child is located and reunited with their family. Lt. Matt Cowles also lets us know how and when CPS becomes involved.

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Episode #50 | Autism Language Debate

Episode #50 | Autism Language Debate

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In this podcast, we discuss the language and symbols most commonly used within our autism community and how it relates to our loved ones touched by autism.  We discuss why parents choose certain language and how it can help and, at times, hinder our ability to effectively communicate information about our loved ones; specifically when engaging in discussions with individuals in our community who may have less knowledge of the disorder.

We discuss:

  • Autistic vs. Person with autism (AKA people first language)
  • Heavily touched vs. low functioning
  • High functioning vs. Aspergers
  • Autistic vs. Neuro-Diverse
  • Touched by autism vs. impacted by autism
  • Disabled vs. Differently-Abled

 

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Episode #48 | If autism was curable, would you?

Episode #48 | If autism was curable, would you?

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In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild, a group of autism parents join me to discuss this very emotionally charged topic: if you could cure your child from autism, would you? It was a fantastic discussion of parents respectfully sharing their thoughts and feelings on this sensitive topic. Our hope is that this podcast sheds light on both sides of this discussion and may help individuals who sit at one end of these two extremes to hopefully see the perspectives of those who live in the middle or even the other end of this debate. Our hope is that we can all grow in empathy and compassion of others within our autism tribe.

*This podcast is intended to be a respectful discussion. Rude and hurtful comments will be removed out of respect for our guests who were brave enough to openly share their perspective in this podcast.

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Episode #43 | Pros and Cons of Full General Education Integration

Episode #43 | Pros and Cons of Full General Education Integration

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A group of parents joined me to discuss some of their experiences with their special needs child and integration in the general education setting. In this episode we discuss:

  • The positive experiences and advantages of time spent in the general education setting;
  • Where parents feel they had more input in the time spent in general education;
  • Challenges of time spent in general education settings;
  • Changed perspectives over time…
  • Other considerations and options for integrating special needs children with their peers.

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Podcast #40 | Media Characters: Do they help or hurt the public’s perception of autism

Podcast #40 | Media Characters: Do they help or hurt the public’s perception of autism

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In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild Podcast, a group of parents joined me remotely to talk about various television, movie, and theater characters who depict autism and whether they are truly helpful in educating the public about autism spectrum disorders. We also talk about the gaps in portraying those that are more significantly impacted by autism and other disabilities.

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