North Texas Giving Day-September 13, 2012

With much anticipation, North Texas Giving Day 2012 is upon us and this year, the 

Hope Center for Autism has been accepted to take part in this one day drive 

for online donations geared toward North Texans.

On September 13th, 2012 from 7:00 a.m. to Midnight every donation of $25.00 or greater made to the Hope Center For Autism thru the DonorBridgeTX.org website will be matched by a percentage of one million dollars!    Your donation this day will have an even greater impact for the Hope Center for Autism because of those available matching funds so remember, every gift large or small, made through DonorBridgeTX.org on that day will make a difference.

We are very excited about this tremendous opportunity to participate on a much larger scale outside of our traditional fundraising efforts.  As always, we appreciate your continued support!

PLEASE Save the Date:  September 13, 2012  From 7:00 a.m.m to Midnight

PLEASE Save and Share This Link: DonorBridgeTX-Hope Center for Autism

PLEASE Ask Your Family and Friends to Particpate

Preparing Yourself for the Token System

The first thing that must happen is the parent needs to understand the token system.  To help you understand that, think of your time card and your paycheck.  You go to work, you keep track of your time on your time card and at the end of the week you trade in your time card for your reinforcer…the PAYCHECK.

Now you understand the idea behind the token system.  You do the work your boss asks you to do and then your trade that in for your paycheck.

Pick the desired behavior you wish to increase.  (brushing teeth, doing dishes, going potty)

The next step is to figure out what is a good enough reinforcer for your child to do the desired task you have asked them to do.

Pick a reinforce that your child will want to earn.  A good reinforcer will be something that the child doe not have free access to daily.  It needs to be a highly desired item. The reinforcer might be a toy, food, the park or limited computer time.

 
If your child has no knowledge of a token system, start with a first / then system. 

first you do X (desired behavior) then you earn X (high reinforcer). 

The First / Then System is simple, fast.this can be used almost anywhere; home, store, church, a party, virtually any place. Please use it and use it often.

Join us for the Parent Support Group Meeting on Tuesday September 4th at the Hope Center where we will have all the supplies you need to make your customized First / Then Boards and Token Systems! 

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Want an inside look at the Autism Jedi's way of thinking?  Follow her blog! Autism Jedi

Good News / Good News

I have worked very hard this last year to be able to open up my schedule to start a new phase in our therapy.  I am super excited to say it is now up and running!  I now have the ability to have private time/training with parents. 

It’s similar to our support group time except that they will have my undivided attention.  During this meeting, I am all theirs.  This is a time for you to talk about your needs, your wants and your dreams as a parent.  We can talk about spouses getting more involved.  We can talk about poop issues, which is always big topic at the Hope Center for Autism.  We can also talk about parenting. 

I never thought I would say this but being able to have this one on one time with the parents is almost as rewarding as doing ABA therapy with their children.  The idea that the home life is being upgraded to meet the needs of your child is a “feel good to the bone” moment.  Yes, Scot named me the “Autism Jedi” and I think it’s quite funny, but just know that I am here and I want to help.  It may take a while to get everyone scheduled but just know this is my goal.  We can do major things with your child at Hope but when you get on board and change your lifestyle at home, the possibilities are endless.

Tuesday -  Today was great.  I had a wonderful meeting with a client’s mom and dad.  We have a schedule to meet weekly to work on needs within the home and this was our second meeting.  I am very pleased and proud of what they are doing to help their child.  They had filled in the charts and took notes on their week.  When the household changes, everything changes.

After meeting with the parents, my day continued on and I had an hour of therapy with a young man who screamed for almost 45 minutes of our hour together.  That was so awesome because at the end of our session he understood he needed to use a “nice voice” and ask permission before taking something.  Will he do the same thing again?  Sure, maybe…but today he learned.  Today for one hour working with me he learned.  How awesome is that?

My third hour of therapy was interesting.  The report from the sitter on his week was, “he has been good with me, but Sunday he made mom so upset she cried.” This boy is a great kid and he has always told me the truth.  Sometimes it’s a long process but he most always will tell me when I ask the right questions.  He is very typical in this area.  He only answers the question, no more, no less.  As much as parents hate it, I always love when a child begins to lie and then know when they are good at doing so.  It is a developmental milestone typical children reach.  Knowing when to tell and knowing when to keep quiet is a major skill.  (I never learned that one.)  With the help of the sitter and more information, the truth came out and the story was told.  I advised mom to implement a cost response token system tonight and off they went for another week, out there in the world.

What Happens Now?

What happens now? We were just given a diagnosis of autism. 

Parents are often so overwhelmed they become frozen for a time; Their world is turned upside down. While autism does have challenges, it is not a dangerous condition. Remember you still have your child and your family. This is a time to think clearly, calmly, and rationally. 

1) Your child has not changed as a result of being given a diagnosis, but your parenting will.

Because children with autism tend to learn differently than their typical peers, lessons must be taught differently. The diagnosis enables you to find and use teaching approaches that have been proven affective for children with autism spectrum conditions.

2) Early intervention is vital; please do not wait.

Most autism treatment centers in Texas have a waiting list, so get on them as soon as you suspect your child may have autism. The younger the child is when he begins learning developmentally appropriate behaviors, the easier it will be to continue helping him develop typically.

3) Find a support group.

The emotions you experience during this time are normal. Find others who are or have previously gone through this transition. Talk with them about autism, life changes and navigating through the new every-day-life. Most of these families have a new “normal” that is just as great. They go to movies, take vacations, and do many “normal” family things.

Hope Center for Autism has a monthly support group. Many others can be found at FEATnt.org.

Seek knowledge, seek help, get educated, and get support. Autism is treatable.

Hope:
BELIEVING THINGS CAN CHANGE
WE BELIEVE
BE THE CHANGE

A blessings from my week:

Thank you so much for the positive reinforcement 

Where to begin... I can't even to describe how grateful I am for the gift of being one of the nine choosing for the scholarship. With the help of the scholarship from Hope Center, it gives the opportunity for my son to continue to grow, learn and to be the best version of  a child living with Autism. You, your husband and daughters have made such a huge impact on our lives and what a blessing it is to know you were giving to us by going to a garage sale almost five years ago. You all plus Nadia have brought so much happiness, joy and laughter and I appreciate how you have been completely understanding of me being a single mom of two special need kids. Thank you, Thank you and thank you so more.

BIG hugs to you all and to your amazing staff!
Jessica and Christopher

Why I Do What I Do

I hope this gets easier for me. Writing my thoughts down is easy; putting them out for the world to see is hard.

Hope Center for Autism is such a personal experience for me. The center itself is like my child. The staff are so outstanding; I love them so much it is often like they (and the clients as well) are my children.

The only way to sum up my relationship with Hope Center for Autism is as the ministry of Glenn and me. After my children and grandchildren, it is my greatest passion. I cannot (and pray I never have to) see my life without it.

I have been asked many times, “do you have a family member with autism? Is that why you do it?” I have no family-related story regarding why I do it; it was a God thing. My career history has always revolved around children. I have done childcare, coached pee-wee basketball, worked with head start, and was a daycare director. I had never heard about autism when I was asked to attend a workshop and had no idea the impact it would have on my life.

A family in Springtown had a team from Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) flown in to teach people how to work with their child. Over the months that followed, I learned to do Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which was also something about which I had never heard. With my background in early childhood development, I was suspicious about this blunt format of teaching. After about two months my suspicion dissipated when, even before I did, the sweet little boy, Spencer, understood what we were doing; ABA was effective for him. He was learning, changing, and progressing, and I was hooked.

            Spencer was a handful, but he was also different from most children in other ways. He had an underlying sweet spirit I had never seen before and his trust and love were so strong. He was very smart. For example, he could read before he could speak. 

He now plays tennis and golf, was voted most popular in his freshman class and is looking forward to learning to drive, which I’m sure he will do, someday. I anticipate seeing him working with dogs or on a golf course (in fact, we are looking for someone interested in helping him learn one of these trades).

He is still a huge part of my life and one of the most influential people in it. If it would not have confused him, Hope Center for Autism would have been named after him. Well, it would have carried his name; it was named after him. He is a tower of hope for me and other families living with autism. I thank him for being how he is, who he is, and who he will become.

To you, my sweet Spencer, I pray God blesses everything you do. You are changing the face of autism and you do not even know it. You are my hero and give me strength to do more and be better.

Happy Birthday, Spencer. I knew you when…

Something exciting happened this week that I wanted to share with you guys.  Take a look at this summary that Michael Finn recapped for us. 

August Dish Out Provides Hope for Families

Hope Center for Autism was fortunate enough to be included as one of three presenters at Sunday night’s Fort Worth Dish Out This Dish Out focused on mental health initiatives taking place in Fort Worth. The three organizations presenting were:

Grace After Fire, helping women veterans, the Alzheimer's Association who spoke about the need for adult respite, and Hope Center for Autism enabling children on the autism spectrum and their families to live more fully functional lives.

            The presenters were very poised and all represented their cause with a sincere passion, but none as emotional as the Hope Center for Autism’s Susan Wood. Having prepared and rehearsed a presentation, she realized on her way to the event that the people to whom she would be speaking may not know anything about autism. The extemporaneous speech that resulted was as emotional as it was educational and motivating. Packed with statistical evidence, unbearable odds, and real stories of perseverance, triumph, and breakthroughs, her presentation had the attendees in sympathetic tears.

            When the winner was announced, it was no surprise it was Hope Center for Autism. Congratulations to the families in need who will benefit so greatly from this gesture of compassion, and thank you to those at the Dish Out who made it happen.

Love Requires Trust

I am in my early fifties. My husband, Glenn, and I have two wonderful daughters, the two men who love and support them, and five of the best grandchildren God ever placed on earth. We are blessed with a great family whom we love very much.

But our blessings reach past our own family to all involved with HC4A. Nothing compares to the joy I find there. I have been told I am a bragger because I say I am blessed, that I love my job, and that I cheat the system because it is unfair that most people hate going to work while I love it. But I don't see it as bragging, I see it as stating fact. I go to work and witness the permanent changing of lives; Lives of the staff and of the clients, but mostly of myself.

The world of autism has taught me so much over the years. Most of you may already know this but for those of you who don't, let me tell you now - being loved by a person with autism is like no other love. Yes, they love. They love deeply and uniquely. Like a herd of charging elephants, there is no holding back, and nothing half-way about it. They love with all they are. It is the most wonderful, deep, to-your-core love, and words just fall short.
A person with autism needs to have a large degree of trust to let you know them. Often, they behave as if they cannot trust anyone: Unsure and guarded. A person with autism often finds words misleading, hard to understand, and flat-out confusing. At HC4A we combat this confusion by targeting compliance as one of our first goals. What compliance means, simply, is to follow direction. If I say, "come here", I truly expect the child to walk to me. If the child does not, I get up and help them walk to me. This helps them understand that words have value and meaning. Eliminating their confusion from uncertainty by building consistency between verbal and physical behavior helps them gain comfort in the relationship and eliminate fear because they understand that when a person says something, it has meaning. This helps them trust.

In most relationships, trust leads to love. They are also people who want to have others in their life they can trust and love. Don't we all?

And again I'll say, the world of autism has taught me so much over the years - I now eat gluten-free, I enjoy stimming from time to time, but most of all it has taught me to love and be loved on a different level than most people will ever know.

Honky Tonkin' for Hope

Last Sunday was a first for the Hope Center for Autism.  Honky Tonkin' for Hope event was held at Filthy McNasty's Saloon in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.  23 amazing musicians came out and did and acoustic style song swap to benefit the Hope Center for Autism.  It was a great success and they helped raise over $5,000.00 to go towards the Hope Center's scholarship fund.  Almost 300 people were in attendance and we blew the doors off Filthy McNasty's!  Check out great music from those who helped make this night a success!  Ernest Garza, Dempsey Pullen, Clark Bandy, Lonnie Dee, Taylor Adkinson, Ricky Tiwater, Wade Reeves, Derek Larson, Michael Padgett, Chris Canterbury, Aubrey Lynn England, Elisabeth Taylor, TC Fambro, Clint Levi, Heather Roberts, Jimmy Jones, Sonny Burgess, Steve Ramsey, Austin Allsup, Jimmy Sliger, Matt Wayne, Ryan Turner and Andrew Carman.  All of the artists who performed signed an acoustic guitar that was raffled off at the end of the night.  The winner of the guitar was Lee Cothorn.  Congratulations Lee!