Emotions DVD

A new DVD Series, called The Transporters, was discussed in the Associated Press today. The idea behind these movies is to introduce emotions to children with Autism by way of  ‘vehicles’. Many children with Autism tend to enjoy objects with predictable moving parts, such as trains and trolleys. These objects have faces on the front that are quite pronounced with the intent to draw attention to the emotion of the vehicle.

According to the article, the DVD’s benefits have been demonstrated in the research. The authors site one study of 20 children who watched the videos for 15 minutes per day for a month became proficient in identifying emotions. In general theory, my guess is that these videos would be helpful. Interested readers would have to look past the antiquated terminology like ‘normal’ and ‘autistic’ used in the article. However, using technology, and what the researchers call “autism friendly formats” to teach difficult skills, sounds like a reasonable idea. Further, the authors state again how ‘teachable’ social skills are. I wholeheartedly agree with their claims in that regard. The videos were developed Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University. The full article can be found at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090115/ap_en_mo/eu_med_autism_video. The company website is a nice resource: http://www.thetransporters.com/.

Autism Society Wine Tasting

Originally uploaded by marcywillard

The article is about the important difference between play skills and social skills. The primary difference being that play is child led. Rather than a teacher proctoring certain rehearsed skills, Play Coaches simply facilitate communication and help the children understand the dynamics of play. There is certainly a degree of structure to these facilitated play groups but the goal is for the children to become independent ‘players’ and ‘playgroup leaders’ themselves.

Originally uploaded by marcywillard

It is my pleasure to introduce Ryan Judd and his new venture: Boulder Valley Music Therapy. He is a Board Certified Music Therapist with a Masters in Music Therapy and a Bachelors in Psychology. He has worked with Autism and PDD for the past 9 years. His new music therapy groups start Friday June 6th at Pearl Street Studio in Boulder. For more information, contact Ryan personally at 720-317-1132. Ryan Judd and Marcy Willard may also find the opportunity to collaborate for playgroups and events. Feel free to email Marcy or call Ryan with questions.

Fritz on Today Show

Originally uploaded by marcywillard

Here is a picture of the reason, so many people I know, myself included, have become autism advocates. This gorgeous child, known as ‘Fritzy’ to all of us, was featured on the Today Show yesterday as skiing star in the Eldora Special Recreation program. Go Fritzy! Watch clip here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24125499#24125499

Eldora has a fabulous non-profit ski program (ESRP) for children and adults with disabilities. Al Roker is traveling the country, finding worthy charities. They brought a truckload of supplies to support this wonderful ski program on the Today Show yesterday. Watch clip here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24125499#24125499

Originally uploaded by marcywillard

Many of us saw this amazing story on 60 minutes when it was originally released. If I remember correctly, the reporters at 60 minutes have been following Derek’s story for some time. They call Derek a ‘musical savant’, a term that I would guess will be eradicated one day. Derek has exceptional music abilities. It is important the viewers and readers of this page understand that people with Autism do not generally have these exeptional tallents, although many are highly intelligent. Perhaps the most interesting part of this story is that I have often heard of the link between mathematics and music, especially in a brain with Autism. It seems, although, we would need a great deal of evidence to support this, that as certain parts of the brain become developed and stregthened, other parts of the Autistic brain lie somewhat dormant. Brain scans tend to show less activity in the parts of the brain that control every day organizational and life management tasks, the executive functions. Still, a brain like Derek’s remains a mystery for the most part to scientists. We can only hope, as autism advocates, that the puzzle pieces are starting to come together as scientists become more and more dilligent in finding these elusive answers.

here is the link: http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/158/derek

60 minutes Derek

Originally uploaded by marcywillard

Derek Paravacini is obviously an especially gifted musician. One amazing part of this story was when Leslie Stahl played 10 notes at the same time. Derek could play all ten, at the same time, without looking. When they asked Derek how many notes he played, he guessed ’2′. The story reports that Derek’s intillectual capasities are that of a 3-year-old but his musical ability is that of about one in 10 million people.

Here is the link:

http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/158/derek

Originally uploaded by marcywillard

There was an awesome story on ABC News.com and Good Morning America today about pet therapy. These dogs, called ‘Canine Companions’ are trained to help children with Autism. The parents in the story report marked improvement in social interactions and a general desire to communicate with people after the adoption of this Canine Companion. You can see the story online at: