The holidays are only a few weeks away so gift buying is in full swing. Today we are joined by a few special needs parents that are discussing gift giving. Which toys are a hit with their kiddos, which are a miss, and how to make the holidays special on a budget.
References:
Famous Joe’s Vendor Emporium, 9126 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley, WA 99206
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On today’s episode we discuss the ISAAC Foundation Station Visit program. We are joined by Lt. Matt Cowles of the Spokane Police Department, and Lt. John Goodman of the Spokane Fire Department. Joined by Holly of the The ISAAC Foundation, this group helped to create the Station Visit program that generally takes place every other month at both a Spokane, and Spokane Valley fire station (big thanks to the Spokane AMR first responders for their contributions as well!).
We discuss why the program was invented, the curriculum that is covered, and we share some fun anecdotes from past visits. If you have a loved one impacted with autism or other special needs this program is pivotal in creating safe perceptions of emergency personnel in case the day comes where they need to interact.
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In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild Podcast Holly has a conversation with a few of our local moms to check in during the quarantine to see how they are holding up. We began with episode with no plan, just a chance to share their successes and epic fails while parenting their special needs child during this unique time. We discuss Covid infections, social media, self care, virtual learning and more.
Join us for some laughs, woes and tips for surviving during this next round of quarantine.
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In this COVID-19 world we live in we are forced to accept a lot of “new-normals.” One of the challenges that affects a lot of our families is online schooling. Online school has been tough for a lot of us, but despite the issues we are looking to discuss hidden little gems of wisdom we have learned over the past few months. Hidden inside the uprooted schedules, changes in scenery, and endless questions presented to the parents who are now teacher aides…we have found MANY unexpected “WINNING” moments. Listen in as Holly, of the ISAAC Foundation, discusses these bright points with a few parents of children with special needs.
Healthy Body Solutions
509-724-8980, Hours: 7:00am-5:30pm Monday – Friday
https://yourhealthybodysolutions.com/
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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
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Join us as we talk with a fellow autism mama that has made her way through the sometimes disheartening game of waitlist navigation. We discuss strategies for getting therapy while waiting for the “perfect” therapy regimen to fall in to place. We also cover ways to work your way up the list, how COVID-19 has affected the local wait lists, share stories of our experiences, and find the humor in our missteps.
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There are so many therapy options available for our children with autism. Over the next few months we are will be interviewing local providers that offer each of these services to give you a better understanding of what each of these therapy options are and how they can benefit your children.
In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild we are delving in to Music Therapy with Carla Carnegie of Willow Song Music Therapy in Otis Orchards, WA.
About Carla
Carla is the primary manager and therapist for Willow Song Music Therapy Services. She is an experienced board-certified music therapist as well as a musician. She is trained on the violin, accordion, guitar, piano, percussive instruments, as well as vocals.
She has extensive experience working with older adults, individuals with neurologic disorders, individuals with mental illness, and military veterans. Carla holds high standards for the practice of music therapy and has based her work on the latest evidence-based techniques.
Carla received her degree from Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon with her Bachelor’s of Music in music therapy. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Music & Composition degree from Whitworth University in Spokane WA. She completed her 7 month clinical internship with Earthtones Music Therapy Services of Portland. She has recently completed her Neurologic Music Therapy training. Carla, wife and mother of 4 grown children, resides in Otis Orchards, WA and is dedicated to providing Music Therapy services to individuals and organizations in the Inland Empire area.
Beyond her experience as a Music Therapist, Carla is an active composer and is dedicated to her community. She serves as a pianist at two local churches as well as at the Brighton Court Assisted Living facility. She volunteers for VASA Lodge and is an active member of St. Andrew’s Society and Spokane Folklore Society. She is also a member of the band Crooked Kilt, a celtic band, where she lends her violin and accordion playing talents.
Willow Song Music Therapy
E. 21101 Wellesley, #102-103, Otis Orchards WA 99027
Phone: 509.592.7875
http://willowsongmusictherapy.com/
Please check out this video detailing a functional mri that shows just how much your brain responds to music to understand visually the impact of music on your brain. https://youtu.be/jkMlOrxYqWA
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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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There was just so much more to cover on the topic of anxiety and its relationship to Executive Function that we decided to record a part 2 to this topic. In this episode, we dive into the 12-areas of executive function and talk about how anxiety manifests where struggles exist.
Becky Gardner comes to A Life of my Own with a holistic, collaborative approach created from a unique and varied background.
With a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, which has its roots in purposeful, meaningful work to increase independence in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), she brings a student-focus and student-driven approach to this work.
Having a deep Social justice / Neurodiversity core belief system brings a focus of self-determination and self-advocacy. This was further developed during work at Bellevue College’s Disability Resource Center, determining individualized college accommodations for students with disabilities so that they may have equal access to course materials.
Operating from a strengths-based educational model brings emphasis in student empowerment and nurturing their belief in their own self-efficacy. This was developed / enhanced while working with Sara Gardner (no relation, autistic creator of the current Neurodiversity Navigators program), and from working in and around the Autism Spectrum Navigators program at Bellevue College since its conception, Becky was the adjunct faculty for the Executive Functioning course, and co-taught other courses including Self-Advocacy.
Having experience working through her own disability / executive functioning deficits, and having two neurodiverse adult children, brings an understanding of the day-to-day events and efforts that go with these experiences.
Working with college, high school, and middle school students at varying stages on the continuum of independence, brings rich and varied experience to this work.
A Life of my Own is the natural culmination of this prior work and life experience.
Becky is excited to offer her skills and experience to a wider group of young adults to improve their understanding of what ”adulting” / independent living looks like, and to assist with increasing abilities in necessary areas leading to independence – and their feeling of A Life of my Own.
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This week I had the pleasure of talking to a few parents that were willing to share their experiences with a CPS investigation into their own families. We discuss the events leading up to their reports, their experiences while being investigated, and how both of their cases eventually were closed.
This is a scary and sometimes embarrassing situation that special needs families often find themselves in. Our hope is that by sharing these stories we can help to support each other, as well as urge more intensive training for mandated reporters so that these unfounded reports are less common in our community.
Watch for PT 3 where we will discuss this topic with John, a first responder and an autism dad, who has been involved on both sides of a CPS investigation.
If you have questions for Holly or our CPS contact, Meg please reach out to: hello@theisaacfoundation.org
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