Social Recreation and Leisure Resource Fair

The Office of Intellectual Disabilities and the Delaware County Intermediate Unit present their Social Recreation and Leisure Resource Fair.  The fair will be held at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, Education Service Center, 200 Yale Avenue, Morton PA 19070, in rooms 171 & 172.  The fair will be held from 4pm to 7pm so you have plenty of time to get off from work and come on over.

Consumers, families, providers and educators are all invited to attend.  Come and discover the community resources available throughout Delaware County.  Join a day of fun and find lots of ways to expand your leisure activities. Bring your friends and find out which activities you'd like to do together. Meet the people providing the services and find out more about them. This day is all about FUN! Your fun. So come out and join in! Find out about camps, trips, or other activities you are interested in taking part in. There's something for everyone!

For additional information, contact Kim Rosati, DCIU OPTIONS Secretary mrosati@dciu.org. 

Cheat Sheet On Veggie Cooking-Post on Refrigerator

Source: kidspot.com.au via Gerda on Pinterest

Always have to look up how long to cook your favorite vegetables? Here's a simple 'cheat sheet' to post on your frig. Makes cooking veggies easy for everyone (able or less able!)

Impossible?

Source: becauseofthiswoman.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

If you ever thought you couldn't,
or thought that something was IMPOSSIBLE, post this on your bulletin board to remind yourself that you're wrong. (All of us are wrong once in awhile!)

We all fight self doubt at times and this is a good way to remind ourselves that YES WE CAN!

Theater Performances Designed To Include Autistic Children

Theater for Children Performed by The Pushcart Players at The Papermill Playhouse With Theater Environment Designed to be comfortable and judgement free for all families including those with Autism & Developmental Disabilities.

Red Riding Hood & Other Stories, A Theater For Everyone Performance

Saturday, April 21, 2012. Pushcart Players
Ages 5 & up
Here is an enchanting collection of classic tales - Little Red Riding Hood, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea and Hans Christian Anderson's All's Well That Ends Well.
A Paper Mill Playhouse "Theatre for Everyone" Presentation
This unique presentation is designed in cooperation with AUTISM NEW JERSEY, THE DOUGLASS DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CENTER AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY and PUSHCART PLAYERS. At this special performance, the theater environment will be altered to offer a comfortable, judgment-free space that is welcoming for all families:
• Lights up inside the theater
• Lower volume & consistent sound level
• Kids free to talk & leave their seat (supervised)
• Show runs about one-hour with an intermission
• Chill-out space provided
• Family bathrooms
• BYO snacks & drinks
• Online resource materials: "THIS IS MY THEATRE" Sequence Book may be downloaded at the bottom of this page. One version has no words so parents may tailor the book for their own child by handwriting their own descriptions.
• New to the theater experience? “MEET YOUR SEAT!” before the show! Join us for our FREE Open House on Friday, April 20, 2012 from 3:00pm - 6:00pm, expressly for children to visit the theater space before the show. (no reservation required)

Theater for Everyone performances are supported by a grant from The Merck Company Foundation

Spring Forward Into Helping Others

An important element of any individual who is living on their own is having extra-curricular activities.  Fun with friends is important but so is giving back to the community. One of my daughter's great joys is raising money for charity or her church. On any given Sunday you can find Kate helping to plan fundraisers with her Church or on Saturdays taking part in charitable walks.  This year she's walking in The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. She has done the A.I.D.S. walk multiple times, walks for a variety of schools or charities that provide services for the disabled, The March of Dimes, and more. 

I look at her and think, 'do I do enough for others?' Maybe this weekend is a good time to evaluate ourselves and see what we do for other people. Is it enough? Could we do more? I admit, my daughter has me beat. I guess it's time for me to take a long hard look and see what else I could do for someone else.

How about you? Since the clocks are changing this is a good time for us to re-evaluate our lives and move forward, just like the clocks, to a more giving lifestyle.

If you'd like to help Kate and the Preeclampsia Foundations Promise Walk in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area, sign up to walk, support them as a corporate sponsor, or form your own team.  Everyone can get involved. There is a block on the sidebar that will take let you support Kate walking in The Promise Walk this May 2012, or sign up yourself.

Take time. Give a little. It's time to spring forward into a better year of giving to others.

Promise Walk Info:

8:30 Registration opens- Bounce House, Face Painting, Balloon Twisting

9:10 Opening Ceremonies with Trish Adkins of our Mission Family and Mayor Kahn
9:30 Walk kicks off
10:30 Raffle and Silent Auctions close

2 mile stroller friendly walk
Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Starting and Ending at Jake's Place Playground (see photo above)

Autism Workshop At Bancroft

The Haddonfield Patch announced that Bancroft will hold a free workshop called "Planning For The Needs Of Adults With Autism."  For those who may not be from the Southern New Jersey area or other areas Bancroft serves, Bancroft is a non-profit organization that provides services for people with acquired brain injuries and developmental disabilities.  

This workshop is a free educational program designed to assist parents and professionals working with the adults with autism. Sessions will be held at Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Farrington building on Bancroft’s Haddonfield Campus at 425 Kings Highway East in Haddonfield. 

"The February workshop will focus on the social, emotional, clinical, medical, vocational and financial needs of the rapidly expanding population of adults with autism spectrum disorders. Discussion will include the needs for ongoing supports in community and residential settings, adult day services, supported employment and the right of decision-making for families and individuals."

"Geared toward family members, educators and other professionals in disabilities-related fields, the session will be presented by Karen Parenti, MS, PsyD, and Victoria Sweeney. Parenti is senior clinical director of Bancroft’s New Jersey Adult Developmental Disabilities Services. Sweeney is senior program director of Bancroft Community Vocational Services for Adults."

Bancroft, Based in Haddonfield, serves 1,300 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities annually, including autism and acquired brain injuries through a wide range of programs. Bancroft was founded in 1883, the nonprofit organization has sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Their include "early childhood, education, vocational, supported employment, structured day programs, rehabilitation, community living, behavioral treatment, and in-home and outpatient services."

Autism Lecture at CHOP

I just received this email from Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia about a presentation by Dr. Timothy Roberts, holder of the Oberkircher Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Radiology and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Radiology at CHOP, Professor of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. 

 

CHOP is presenting a lecture titled "Electrophysiological Signatures of Language Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Developmental Trajectory and Correlation with Clinical Indices" This lecture is open to families of individuals on the autism spectrum, individuals interested in ASD, and professionals supporting individuals on the autism spectrum. Act 48 credits are available for attendance. Although the title may seem intimidating to the non-medical professional don't let that dissuade you from going.  As the saying goes "Knowledge is Power."  The more you know the better you can advocate for your child.

 

As a member of a family with a child on the autism spectrum, these lectures go a long way toward helping increase your understanding of the autism spectrum.  You also have a chance to meet other individuals involved in the lives of your child. Register early.

 

RSVP required.  See contact information below.

 

Parking is available in the Wood Center Garage for $4. To access this garage, travel south (away from the Penn campus) on 34th St. past the main Hospital building. Make a right onto Osler Circle at the second light and proceed to the security booth. A ramp entrance to the underground Wood Center garage is on your right. Once you exit the Wood Center garage, you will see Abramson Research Center (large glass building) in front of you.

Please allow yourself 10 minutes to park and walk to the building.

 

When:

Thursday, February 2, 2012

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Where:

Abramson Research Center

Room 123 ABC

3615 Civic Center Blvd

Philadelphia, PA

 

Contact and RSVP for reservations:

 

 

 

Sohee Kim

267-425-3135

autism@email.chop.edu

www.centerforautismresearch.com

 

"Electrophysiological Signatures of Language Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Developmental Trajectory and Correlation with Clinical Indices"

Dr. Timothy Roberts is the holder of the Oberkircher Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Radiology and the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Radiology of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. His research studies focus on how the brain of a person with autism processes sounds, words and pictures. He uses magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology to "map" the brains of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by measuring the brain's electrical activity in space and time. He is also interested in ways to improve techniques and methods in neuroradiology that enhance scientists' ability to look at the brain.

In this lecture, Dr. Roberts will present cutting edge approaches to brain imaging in ASD research. He will introduce novel technologies used in his lab, such as MEG for "brainwave scanning", and variations of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for investigating the integrity of brain white matter and its underlying neurochemistry. The goal of this research is to use the differing sensitivities of these imaging and electrophysiologic techniques to understand the neurobiological basis of ASD. These findings will help develop biomarkers to quantify the brain traits of ASD for improved diagnosis, prognosis, future differentiation of potential therapies, and monitoring treatment efficacy. Implications for future treatment tailoring and pharmaceutical evaluation will be discussed.

This lecture is intended for families of individuals on the autism spectrum and professionals supporting individuals on the autism spectrum. We also invite anyone who is interested in learning more about ASD.

Upon completion of this lecture, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss the novel brain imaging technology (MEG) for assessing brain dynamics.
2. Explain the role of objective biomarkers of ASD - diagnosis, prognosis, stratification, and treatment monitoring.
3. Describe the approach to neurobiological basis of ASD through multimodal imaging and electrophysiology.