L.A. Asperger Syndrome Parents' Support Group Home Page

| Frequently Asked Questions | Asperger Links | Definitions | Monthly Meeting – May 14

** Look at #2 if you want to make money by participating in an experiment in Pasadena.

The Official Home Page^* of the

Los Angeles Asperger Syndrome Parents’ Support Group.

We – the Los Angeles Asperger’s Syndrome Parents’ Support Group – are a group of parents, relatives, guardians, and care-givers interested in helping our children, relatives, and others having Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), because of the way in which it affects our children and our own lives. We also talk about similar problems, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), high-functioning autism (HFA), Pervasive Development Disorder-NOS, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder, and Hyperlexia. [Despite our constant and insistent lobbying, the DSM hasn’t accepted the categories of “nerd,” “dweeb,” “wonk,” and “geek,” but we discuss them, too. :-)]

We meet monthly to discuss these issues, either for general discussions or discussions with invited experts. It’s always on the second Wednesday of each month, always from 7 to 9 p.m., always at the Julia Ann Singer center. Please join us!

Announcement: In the near future, I will be purging all old announcements from this page. Please write to me if you want to keep your announcement here.

Monthly Meeting:

This month, it’s a General Meeting!

When: Wednesday, May 14 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: the same old place. The Community Room at the Julia Ann Singer Center, 3200 Motor Ave. (Los Angeles, 90034) between National and Pico, 1/2 block North of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway underpass. For directions, click the link: there are maps there.

Speakers: You.

Mark your calendars and hire that sitter! Our next meeting after the upcoming one is on June 11. After that, our meetings will be on July 9, August 13, September 10, October 8, November 12, and (last but not least) December 10.

All parents are welcome. Drop-ins are welcome. This is not a members-only group. In fact, there is no membership list – and no fees. (We are, however, considering a secret decoder ring.)

ASPIES_LA is an on-line discussion group under the aegis of Yahoo. If you want to join, contact me at jdevine@lmu.edu. There hasn’t been any real discussion yet, but as we add new members, we hope that the discussion will take off. Please join and contribute!

Notes:

Ø Unfortunately (alack and alas!), we cannot provide childcare. Please do not bring your children and teens to the meeting (unless it’s noted otherwise in our announcements), since it may interfere with the ability of adults to talk to each other. (Adult children are of course welcome.)

Ø Teachers and mental-health professionals are also welcome. (Reporters & researchers: please click here .) Note that this group is not primarily aimed at those with Asperger’s themselves (though they are welcome to attend). For more information on this, see our FAQ sheet.

Ø The organizers of the group are Jim Devine and Fran Goldfarb. Call us for information about Asperger’s Syndrome or about our support group at 310/543-5064. [This is our home phone. Call only after 7 a.m. and before 9 p.m., please.] We have e-mail at: jdevine@lmu.edu (Jim) and beadsme@verizon.net (Fran). Please use the word “Asperger” in the subject line, so that it’s easier to separate your wheat from the chaff of spam.

Announcements:

1. Do you want to know what the major-party presidential candidates think about disabilities? See http://www.aapd.com/News/election/peac2008.php

2. Get paid for research (a psychology experiment) on Autism at Caltech in Pasadena. Earn $20-$50 an hour for your time in studies on autism. If you are someone who: (1) is at least 18 years old; (2) has a clinical diagnosis of high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome; and (3) does NOT have any serious depression or anxiety then you might eligible to participate in our studies. Experiments are ongoing and participation times are very flexible. If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact research@caltech.edu, phone: (626)395-3125.

3. The Help Group has a new After-School Social Skills Groups “Kids Like Me.” Click here to see the flyer. You must have Adobe Reader to read it. It seems good for kids with AS.

4. Addressing the challenging traits found in children with autism through the art of ballet is UCP’s East of the Sun West of the Moon Ballet Workshop. The revised flier can be seen here.

5. Dental Care Access for Children with Disabilities

6. A study of Asian American and Anglo American parental involvement and their beliefs about disability.

7. Autism and Anxiety Treatment Study

8. Ventura Asperger’s County Group.

9. Relationship Development Intervention.

10. Santa Clarita Group.

11. Other Announcements.

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Dental Care Access for Children with Disabilities

January 8, 2007

DREDF Seeks Information About Dental Care Access for Children with Disabilities

The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF) is conducting an investigation into the availability of basic dental care services for people with disabilities. In particular, we are interested in learning from families with children with developmental disabilities as to success or failure in obtaining prophylactic and routine dental care, such as teeth cleaning and cavity filling procedures. Contact is invited as to any type of disability and any insurance or payment arrangement, but we are especially seeking input from:

Ø California families including children with developmental disabilities (potentially including, but not limited to, cognitive disabilities, mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy)

Ø California families eligible for Denti-Cal

Ø We request information including:

Ø your name and contact information [including city and state]

Ø age of the person seeking dental services

Ø disability of the person seeking dental services

Ø does the dentist need to do anything differently to accommodate the person seeking dental services?

Ø [tell us about adjustments or other considerations relevant to ensure access, e.g., seating needs, sensory sensitivities, etc.]

Ø type of dental insurance, if any, you have

Ø name, city and state of any dental professional(s) involved

Ø date(s) of your experience(s)

Ø description of your experience(s), including positive or negative experiences

Ø any other information you believe is important

If you are interested in sharing your experiences with us, please contact us by telephone, fax or e-mail as follows:

Attn: Dental Care Access

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF)

2212 Sixth Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

Tel: 510/644-2555 (V/TDD)

Fax: 510/841-8645

E-mail: hmin@dredf.org

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a study of Asian American and Anglo American parental involvement and their beliefs about disability.

From: Jamie Cho [mailto:jamie118@berkeley.edu]

Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 7:39 PM

To: mail@advocatesforspecialkids.org

Subject: research study

To whom it may concern:

My name is Jamie Cho and I am currently a doctoral candidate in the joint doctoral program in special education at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University. I am recruiting participants for my dissertation study, which will look at Asian American and Anglo American parental involvement and their beliefs about disability. I am looking for mothers of preschoolers with autism, who are either 2nd generation Chinese, Japanese, Korean American (i.e. born in the U.S. with immigrant parents or immigrated before age 14) or Anglo American. I am recruiting participants nationwide and was wondering if it would be a possibility to recruit through ASK. I have a flyer and information sheet that can be distributed to parents. Participants will have to complete a survey and an optional interview. If it would be a possibility to recruit through your organization, I can provide you with more information. I look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jamie Cho

Ph.D. Candidate

Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education

UC Berkeley & San Francisco State University

jamie118@berkeley.edu <mailto:jamie118@berkeley.edu>

Autism and Anxiety Treatment Study.

We are currently working on a research study here at UCLA being conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Wood and Amy Drahota which aims to provide treatment for children with Autism and anxiety. Right now we are looking for children from the ages of 7-11 in the Los Angeles area to participate. For those who qualify, we’ll provide sixteen weeks of free cognitive behavioral therapy that is aimed to reduce worrying and shyness and also to improve the child’s social interactions and overall educational experience.

If you are interested in receiving more information on this study or would like to be sent flyers which may be passed along to parents of children that might benefit from the study please contact our Project Coordinator, Amy Drahota, by phone at (310) 882-0537, or by e-mail at adrahota@ucla.edu.

You may also view or print the study’s flyer from the attached form or at:

http://www.autism.ucla.edu/files/cbt.pdf

Thank you,

Laura Hiruma

BIACA Study, research assistant

University of California, Los Angeles

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Ventura County Group: A new group for teens and young adults with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism – the Asperger Support for Adolescents Plus – has been created in Ventura County. Contact Troy or Irene at vcasap@roadrunner.com for more information.

RDI: In February of 2005 we had a Guest Speaker, Linda Andron-Ostrow, L.C.S.W. of FACT: Focus on All-Child Therapy talking about “The ABC’s of RDI™ (Relationship Development Intervention).” A lot about RDI can be found at http://www.connectionscenter.com/default.asp. The goal of the RDI Program is for each person on the autism spectrum (whether they are considered “low” functioning or “high” functioning) to be excited about expanding their world, rather than to be afraid of it. RDI focuses on what motivates people on the autistic spectrum to develop relationships. The RDI Program is a parent-based, clinical treatment program designed to address the core deficits of autism which impact social communication, relationship building, motivation, critical thinking, abstract language comprehension, problem-solving and executive functioning. Often called the “missing link” in treating persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders, RDI is a powerful step-by-step, growth model based on typical development and the most current research by world experts in autism. [This text is borrowed from http://www.autismnsw.com.au/rdi.asp.] Copies of the slides for this talk can be downloaded by clicking here.

Santa Clarita Group. ASA-LA Santa Clarita Autism/Asperger’s Network (SCAAN)

A non-profit organization that offers support group meetings, monthly newsletter, social and educational events.

We are affiliated with the Autism Society of America’s Los Angeles chapter.

Support group meets at 9:00am on the third Wednesday of each month (except December) at North Los Angeles County Regional Center’s Santa Clarita Valley conference room, 28470 W. Avenue Stanford, Suite 100, Santa Clarita.

Evening meetings are also held; call for details.

Contact: Victoria Berrey at 661-297-8381 or vberrey@comcast.net

In the future, I will try to add the all web-sites of our speakers to the links page.

Other Announcements:

The “Spectrum Program” at New Roads School in Santa Monica may be right for your child with Asperger’s. Click here for more information.

Fran wrote a book for our son Guthrie on how to fly on an airplane by himself. It may be a useful template for others. Click here if you have Adobe Reader. If you can read Microsoft Publisher files, click here.

ARTICLES:

Janet Hobbs suggested this article by Kathie Snow of “revolutionary common sense” on IEPs as being of interest.

An article on social skills by Dan Coulter. For more of his articles, see his web-site at http://home.att.net/~coultervideo/articles.htm.

An interesting article on AS, by Michael McCroskery, complete with links:

Asperger’s Syndrome: A Developmental Puzzle (click here ).

Also, here’s a short discussion of Michael’s symptoms. More articles are welcome! (Michael McCroskery is an adult with AS. He currently is working as an online advocator in trying to promote the awareness of Asperger’s. Michael can be reached at MrPolisci@aol.com .)

Useful Material by Fran Goldfarb (beadsme@verizon.net):

A Letter to a camp counselor or teacher about a child with Asperger’s. This one’s a classic!

Articles by Fran (beadsme@verizon.net) from the Village Glen Voice:

A book report on Medications.

On the California Department of Education .

On the Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled.

On IEPs (Individualized Education Plans).

An article by Jim Devine (your humble web-master), the “Asperger Chronicles.” A revised (and shorter!) version of this essay has appeared in the book Our Journey Through Asperger’s Syndrome and High Functioning Autism: A Roadmap, edited by Linda Andron (Jessica Kingsley Publ.)

Crucial Disclaimers: We are friends of the Jay Nolan Community Services, the national and Los Angeles Autism Society, MAAP (More advanced individuals with Autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and Pervasive developmental disorder), and OASIS (On-Line Asperger’s Syndrome Information & Support). But they are in no way responsible for anything we do. Nor are we responsible for them!

This web-page and its sub-pages are designed for educational purposes only. The contents of this web-site are not medical, legal, technical or therapeutic advice and must not be construed as such. The information contained herein is not intended to substitute for informed professional diagnosis, advice or therapy. Visitors should not use this information to diagnose or treat Asperger’s Syndrome or related disorders without also consulting a qualified medical, psychological, or educational professional.

Please e-mail me at jdevine@lmu.edu if you have any questions or comments -- or if you want to be put on our e-mailing list. (Note: this mailing list only makes announcements about our meetings, so that out-of-town folks won’t be interested. It’s not a discussion group list-server.) If you want to add something to our web pages, please send them to me.

Don’t be fooled by any cheap imitations!

This page revised by Jim Devine, on 11 April 2008. It was deliberately kept simple (no Java, etc.) so that anyone’s browser can read it – and also because your humble web-master lacks the skills to add bells and whistles.