C.A.N. Wexford - Supporting people and their families.
You have just been told that your child has or may have Autism. If feels like your whole world has come to an end, all the dreams and hopes you have for your child seem shattered. This is exactly how many parents feel and is a natural reaction to such devestating news.
But you are not alone.
Autism
Autism is a disability that affects a child's development in the areas of social interaction and communication. Children with Autism may show no interest in peek-a-boo or other interactive games. They may not communicate; instead they may "hand-lead" to the desired object. Many have poor eye contact.
Characteristics also include repetitive behaviours and resistance to tiny changes in familiar surroundings.
Sensory Issues: A child may have difficulty with clothing, noise and new situations. Some children have gastro-intestinal problems such as diarrhoea, constipation and food sensitivities.
The first signs of Autism, usually appear as developmental delays before the age of three. Autism is a "catch-all" word that is applied to a group of symptoms, some of which are mentioned above. These occur in varying degrees depending on the individual child.
Research has shown that early intervention plays a huge part in your children's progress. An appropriate education plan should be established immediately and should include - speech therapy, occupational therapy and behavioural intervention. Some parents have reported success with dietary and biomedical interventions.
If you are concerned about your child, contact your GP or Public Health Nurse and seek assessment for your child.
WEXFORD CBS secondary school pupils will no longer have to endure drafty, dilapidated conditions in a prefab, after contracts were signed with Wellingtonbridge-based construction company J&J Bennett for new accommodation at the school recently.
Funding has been freed up for one main stream classroom, a technical graphics room and a career guidance office at the Thomas St. school, which has been run in various shapes and forms by the Christian Brothers for over one hundred years.
Principal Michael McMahon told the Wexford Echo: “We had such problems capacity wise, I applied for two temporary classrooms last summer. It will get us out of a hovel as we had a very dilapidated pre-fab.”
Mr. McMahon said a major redevelopment of the school is also planned, with Wexford CBS at the top of the list locally for major works to be carried out.
The development, (agreed with the Department of Education in 2007), was to increase the capacity of the school to 550, but Mr. McMahon said there will be over that number of students in the school come September.
Presently there is a long waiting list for places in the school, including autistic school places and there is not a seat free.
Also some of the classes have upwards of 30 pupils.
It was initially proposed by the Department of Education to but temporary accommodation, but the school board said they would prefer to use the money to go towards permanent classrooms, which will stand the test of time, while replacing the old pre-fab.
Mr. McMahon said the pre-fab is in very poor shape and could become a health and safety concern in the near future.
Work begins on the classrooms and office this week, meaning Wexford CBS will be able to cater for its growing numbers.
He said the decision to build permanent classrooms (which will cost €300,000), was based on the fact it is cheaper to build now so it offers value for money. School funding will pay some of the cost of the new rooms. “It will also bring employment to the area.”
He said renting pre-fabs is no longer an option “after all the hoo-ha about pre-fabs last year”.
“You have to either buy them or not. What we are building is a stopgap. We hope to build a new gym and be able to provide substantial accommodation in the proposed new building.
Currently our gym space is used by 800 pupils between the secondary and the primary schools. We are running to stand still with the new classrooms and office,” he said.
Mr. McMahon met with Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe last year and was told a new dedicated Autistic Spectrum Disorder unit for 12 children is planned for Wexford CBS, as part of its redevelopment.
Currently the school has six students with autism and has not been able to cater for anymore, despite requests from parents to do so.
*Published in Wexford Echo, Wednesday 04 February, 2010
Above is a link to the news piece that was filmed with Lisa Domican and her daughter Grace, whom together with a software developer Stephen Troughton-Smith, have been developing and breathing life into this application which will make a dramatic improvement in the lives of children with autism.
THE IPHONE is set to become a communication tool for children with autism, with the testing of a new application for the device.
The application is designed to be used in a similar way to the Picture Exchange Communication System (Pecs), which allows children to build sentences using a book of laminated pictures attached to a board by Velcro.
The application, which is being developed under the working title Grace, is the brainchild of Lisa Domican, a parent of two children with autism. She was inspired by O2’s marketing campaign for the iPhone. Before the launch of the device in 2008, the mobile operator ran advertisements on buses in Dublin. Ms Domican noticed the advertisements and realised the phone’s potential as an alternative to the Pecs books used by her 10-year-old daughter, Grace.
“You are constantly having to replace loose cards and make new ones,” said Ms Domican. “With the iPhone, the screen looks like a Pecs book. It’s ok to have a four-year-old walking around with a Pecs book; it’s not ok for a 10 or 12-year-old.
They’re very personal to the kids; it’s their voice. The [Pecs books] really stand out, whereas the iPhone is discreet and always there.”
The idea is backed by O2 Ireland, which supplied the devices for the development and testing of the application. The mobile network is already involved with Irish Autism Action and it was through this link that Ms Domican got backing from O2.
Ms Domican linked up with Steven Troughton-Smith, a software developer for the iPhone who has created a number of bestselling applications.
Mr Troughton-Smith, a student at Dublin City University, took the description of what Ms Domican wanted and turned it into a working version of Grace.
He developed the application to look exactly like a Pecs book. So instead of carrying around a Pecs book, older children can use the iPhone to choose from a range of pictures and place them on a virtual strip of Velcro.
Ms Domican’s daughter Grace has become so comfortable with the technology that she adds her own photos to the application’s library using the iPhone’s camera.
The application is undergoing trials on five devices in three schools to see if other children, parents and tutors can use it easily. Once testing has been completed, it will be submitted to the iPhone App Store.
It is hoped that the application will be released at the end of February and I will update the blog and keep members informed when a definite date has been decided. Will try to arrange for Ms Domican to demonstrate the device to the parents and group at a later date.
What is Occupational Therapy (O.T.)? Occupational Therapy aims to maximize a child’s participation in home, school, play and leisure activities i.e. activities of daily living. Occupational Therapy is important when a child’s ability to participate in/ or perform these tasks is affected or compromised by illness, disease, disability or disorder.
How Occupational Therapy Helps the Autistic Child
Children are assessed in terms of age-appropriate life tasks. Occupational Therapy addresses areas that interfere with the child's ability to function in such life tasks. An occupational therapist would assess the child’s fine motor skills, coordination and self-help skills. (eating with utensils, dressing etc) The occupational therapist would also look at how the child responds to and uses what he sees, hears, feels, tastes and smells. The occupational therapist would identify the child’s impairments and provide intervention services to develop skills in these identified areas.
Occupational Therapy benefits a child with autism by attempting to improve the quality of life for the individual through successful and meaningful experiences. This may be accomplished through the maintenance, improvement, or introduction of skills necessary for the child to participate as independently as possible in meaningful life activities.
These are some of the skills occupational therapy may foster:
daily living skills, such as toilet training, dressing, brushing teeth, and other grooming skills
fine motor skills required for holding objects while handwriting or cutting with scissors
gross motor skills used for walking or riding a bike
sitting, posture, or perceptual skills, such as telling the differences between colors, shapes, and sizes
visual skills for reading and writing
play, coping, self-help, problem solving, communication, and social skills
By working on these skills during occupational therapy, a child with autism may also do the following:
develop peer and adult relationships
learn how to focus on tasks
learn how to delay gratification
express feelings in more appropriate ways
engage in play with peers
learn how to self-regulate
And this from Andrea Roche, ASD Unit Teacher Scoil Mhuire Coolcotts Wexford.
The Benefits of Occupational Therapy for children with Autism.
In Scoil Mhuire Wexford we are lucky enough to have a purpose built, fully equipped occupational therapy room. We are also fortunate enough to have a group of dedicated parents from the Cottage Autism Network who have raised enough funds to employ an occupational therapist who works with children in our school and in St Senans, Enniscorthy and members of C.A.N county wide. This has provided us with a consistent occupational therapy service.
Each child has individual sensory and motor needs and so has an individual programme to meet these needs. The sensory levels of the children can change from day to day and moment to moment and because our staff are familiar with the recommendations and equipment, they can immediately react to calm a child who is over stimulated or vice versa. The recommendations are carried out not only during occupational therapy sessions but throughout the day when needed. Weighted jackets, weight bearing exercises, fidget toys, structured movement breaks along with consistent behavioural plans and vigilant staff have helped to reduce significantly inappropriate behaviour. These strategies have been a huge benefit to the children in aiding concentration, listening skills and participation in group work. We have also seen improvements in fine motor co-ordination, which is an area of great difficulty for our children. The use of slant boards, weights, pencil grips and specific fine motor exercise have aided this.
There is no doubt that occupational therapy is of huge benefit to children with sensory processing problems. We have found when it is used in conjunction with consistent behavioural plans by staff who are aware of the difficulties facing children with autism, the benefits are even greater.
