As I’ve indicated here, applied behavioral analysis works to curb tantrums  and to promote positive behaviors among kids with autism. The problem is that too many parents either don’t know what it is, don’t know how to do it, or don’t believe it will help.

Yesterday, I got a chuckle after reading a Los Angeles Times blog post which asserts that parent training boosts medication effect for autism.    The blogger describes a study, spurred on by the National Institute of Mental Health, which was designed to determine if parent training could help children who were on medication to further help in reducing negative behaviors.

To summarize the study:  Parents of medicated kids attended up to 17 sessions of 60-90 minutes which were designed to train them in using visual schedules and positive reinforcement to aid in their kids’ communication skills and promote appropriate behavior.  A behavior therapist visited the participating families at home and was available for phone consultation.  The totally predictable result of the study was that the parents trained in behavioral intervention reported improved results from when they had been relying on medication alone.

Of course, this isn’t evidence that parent training boosts the effects of medication.  It is further evidence that behavior-based therapy is effective with or without drugs.

The good news is that the authors of the study will make the parent training manual available.   A summary of the study is available in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adoloscent Psychiatry.

Straight from the pages of Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Market Guide comes our 2010 entry. A lot of people know that I conduct word-of-mouth publicity campaigns, but not as many know that my roots are in freelance editing services. Jasmin and I still offer these services – well, these days it’s mostly Jasmin offering these services. (Which is good news for you – Jasmin’s better than me anyway!) We edit in ABA and CBA markets, fiction and non; emerging lit to Pentecostal/charismatic and everything in between. If you’d like an estimate for editing your manuscript, drop Jasmin an email or leave a comment below. We’re here for your text support.

Raleigh NC. E-mail: jasminis [at] gmail [dot] com. GE/LC/B/NL/SP/WS. Edits: A/SS/F/N/NB/BP/QL/JN/PB/BS/GB/E/D. Has edited for Christian publishers and mainstream curriculum publishers. Developmental editing: $8/pg.; copy editing $6/pg. Requires 50% of fee upfront. Requested revisions are included in original fee.

We just found out that my employer is changing our Insurance Plan to another company and elected to include Autism benefits in the plan, not knowing what all is going to be covered and how much therapy we can have coverage for, this is a GIANT step and great relief going into next year. We are extremely excited that Brucie will soon be able to get the much need physical and occupational therapy he needs. With Insurance coverage of ABA, Speech, PT and OT we can now explore more bio-medical intervention and homeopathy options. I never thought this day would be here, we struggled so hard to give what we could afford to pay for Brucie’s therapies. Our new Insurance plan and coverage will be great relief of the financial burden and the “what if Brucie had every opportunity in therapy”  we have faced for almost two years. This is the best gift we have ever received!!!!

Check out my article in the November issue of the ABA GP/Solo & Small Firm Technology eReport: Setting Up a Web-based Virtual Law Office.  From the article:

Consumers are actively seeking more affordable and convenient access to legal services over the Internet. Due to the cost of traditional legal services, they are turning to cutting and pasting together sample online legal documents or purchasing cheap legal forms online without the benefit of attorney review. The economic recession has further hastened this trend. To address consumer demand, more attorneys are opening web-based virtual law offices (VLOs) or adding a VLO to an existing traditional law firm structure to deliver legal services to clients online.

There are different ways to define and structure a virtual law practice. Simply put, a virtual law practice is a professional law practice where an attorney is able to work with clients over the Internet through a secure portal from the establishment of the attorney/client relationship through to the payment of and final rendering of legal services. The technology used to create and maintain a VLO is a software as a service (SaaS) hosted system, often referred to as practicing law “in the cloud.” To set up a virtual law practice, an attorney should be aware of a number of practical and ethical considerations discussed below.

Raul Vazquez, Walmart.com’s chief executive officer says that Walmart was always offering the lowest price on books, long before the current price drop that caused the American Booksellers Association to file a complaint with the justice department.

In an interview with Bloomberg.com, Vazquez disagreed with the ABA’s claims saying, “Generally the issue is whether or not you are intending to use pricing to drive someone out of business. That’s not our intent. We’ve been the price leader in books for months before that program was announced.”

So essentially their excuse is, “No, it’s okay, because we’ve been screwing you for years!” Good one…

via Bloomberg.com

Co-chairs of the ABA eLawyering Task Force, Marc Lauritsen and Richard Granat, have submitted a draft set of minimum requirements for delivering legal services online which was published in this month’s Law Practice Today.  As a member of the Task Force, we have discussed these minimum requirements as a set of guidelines that attorneys will be able to turn to when they are interested in forming a virtual law practice .  Once approved by the ABA’s LPM, these requirements may be used by different state bars as a way to guide attorneys in their states who are forming virtual law practices.  You may check out the minimum requirements posted in the article and the Task Force welcomes comments and reactions to the document through their listserv. 

Keep in mind when reading these minimum requirements that the idea behind them is to provide guidance, but not to be too specific in ways that might stifle future innovation in the delivery of legal service.  The topics covered include website architecture, ethics issues, statement of terms and conditions, retainer agreement acceptance, online payment of legal fees, protecting client confidences, and security certification.

To just look out the window, one would think it was nice out.  Blue sky galore.  But stepping outside and feeling the cold wind (it is pretty gusty) will quickly change your mind.  I stayed indoors all morning.  Just sat downstairs listening to classical music on WCMU and reading my book.  Around 11:30, I went out for a drive.  Very nice.  Then I went over to the lagoons to have a look.  There were lots of geese.  Alot more than on my last few visits.  There are also alot of ducks.  After a quick walk around, I left and came back home and squirreled myself away back in my room to do some more reading.

My latest BIRDING magazine arrived today.  Probably read some in that tonight.  There are couple of reports on the 2009 ABA (American Birding Association) Convention and there is an article about the BLACK ROSY-FINCH (a bird I have never seen).  There are several other articles of interest.  One of these years I would like to attend an ABA convention.

I am pleased to inform Studio readers that my expanded Google Wave review can now be found in the November Issue of the ABA Journal Technology eReport. Check out my article and the many other excellent offerings from counsel across the country on the fascinating issues surrounding law and technology.

If you’re thinking about hanging a shingle you will definitely want to get your hands on Jay Foonberg’s book How to Start and Build a Law Practice. If you have not heard of Foonberg, you will. The WNEC Career services office recommended it to me last week, months after I had read both it and his sequel How to Get and Keep Good Clients. Foonberg is the Guru of starting a solo practice. The profit on the sale of these books is donated completely to the ABA. So far over $2,000,000 has gone to the ABA, ½ to the Young Lawyers Division. How to Start and Build a Law Practice is the single most stolen book out of Law School Libraries. Since I am preparing to take the bar and do not want to commit a petty crime that would jeopardize it and because I love the WNEC Law Library, I bought my copies on Amazon.

What I was not know and you should is that you can get the books for ½ price (Amazon is still cheaper, but the ABA gets no money) directly from Foonberg. Not only that. They are available in audio, great for a commuting student. I hope I saved you some money and time. They are also available 1 chapter at a time for 99 cents. The book is very comprehensive, so you may not need it all at once.

Feeling the pressure

I taught a really really big class in New Zealand.  We had 800 to 900 students each year.

We took all comers.  We had people coming back into education after a long break.  We had A+ engineering students in their final year.  We had nervous 17 year olds in their first year at uni.  We always had 33 nationalities ~ though different ones every year.  And we failed 25% ~ as a matter of policy.

Students felt the pressure.  The course wasn’t hard. It wasn’t intended to be.  You can teach intelligent university students almost anything without making it hard.

But their marks yo-yo’d around.  A few more questions right or wrong in the quarterly quiz and their class rank could change by 100.

Dealing with disappointment

Some students worked like mad. They even worked hard when they were averaging 80+.  I explained that 80+ translated into A+ and 9 points on their GPA and there was no point in working harder.  But they felt a compulsion to work more even though there was no reward.

Others could see no reward for themselves.  They beavered away and got mediocre or even ‘failing’ grades.

They came to me in anger or distress.

“I work so hard”, they wailed.

My friendly but brief reply was “Don’t!  Be logical. If working hard doesn’t bring results, don’t. Go out and have a good time.  Be logical!”

Many did. Most did.  They could see no other way forward.

Playfulness often brings better results

They would visit me the next quarter with a big smile on their faces.  “It worked,” they’d beam.  “It worked!”  “I partied all term and my marks shot up!”

Of course, there could be many reasons why their marks shot up. No matter!  What they had learned was an invaluable life lesson.

• We don’t control everything, particularly in a competitive system where our results depend as much on what we  do and on what other people do.
• Rewards are not linearly dependent on effort.  Working harder does not necessarily bring a reward.
• People don’t reward us because we want to be rewarded.  “The world does not owe us a living.”

Business does not reward you for working hard

So they learned the first lessons of business. And I hope they will be better managers for it.

• Do the basics, do them professionally, do them at the right time, and STOP.
• Do what the customers want, not what you want.
• Go out and play. Other people will like you for it. You will like yourself for it. Business may even boom!

The simple lesson is that if hard work doesn’t work, try something else!

Smile.  Take a deep breath and just do something differently.  Mix it up!

And stop being such a control freak!

There!  Gave myself away.

Ah, well, if you must, then turn it into an AB experiment.

• Record your results now.

• Every day, write a short journal of how the day went.

• • Ask yourself what went wrong and how you could do better.  Then ask yourself why did you do so well.
  • Jot down the misunderstandings and confusions that you were able to explore to the benefit of you and the other person.
  • Ask yourself what questions you pursued with no guarantee of an answer.
  • Ask who you treated kindly, as if their lives were going to end at midnight.

• After a month, ask how you life is going!  Will you carry this on for another month?

Or will you do an ABA experiment and go back to the way things were?

For the poets among us: this short poem gives the same message lyrically.

The updated materials for the ABA Jim Keane Award for Excellence in ELawyering have been posted on the ABA website for the 2010 Techshow and on the ELawyering Task Force website.  Requirements to be considered for the award are listed as well as an online nomination form.   Please also read my previous post about the award.

I am not a news fan of CNBC, but I like to watch the Suze Orman show from time to time. I do like how she tries to educate the public on how to save and spend your money more wisely. I even get a big kick out of the ” What Do You Want to Buy?” segment. I am always able to predict what Suze is going to say during this segment- just by reviewing the person’s finances, can tell by Suze’s line of questions and body language in response to info provided. I even say, ” DENIED” before she even says it.

So last night after watching the Suze Orman show a new show came on entitled, ” Til Debt Do Us Part”. I thought this should be interesting. I actually liked it.

Show synopsis. ” …many couples are in desperate need of help tackling their financial issues. In Til Debt Do Us Part, renowned financial author and columnist, Gail Vaz-Oxlade takes a tough-love approach to getting couples in financial crisis to face reality. With the sensitivity of a therapist and the toughness of a CFO, Gail asks hard questions and pushes couples to face each other and reality. Some couples are on the verge of bankruptcy – others are just getting by, but headed for disaster – either way, they all learn how to work their way out of debt and get the skills they need to plan for their financial future. ” http://www.cnbc.com/id/33421145

Gail basically becomes an In Home  financial coach for couples who are in financial trouble. She clearly breaks down their finances – incoming and outgoing. ( Assessment ) Gail takes away their credit cards then structures out a budget of what they can spend money on. ( Interventions ) Next, she engages them in tasks in order to learn about debt, spending and saving money. ( Engaging in Experiential Learning Behaviors ) If the couple does everything to Gail’s satisfaction ( Measurement of behavior changes ) then they can receive a check for up to $5,000 ( Reward/Consequence )

Is this a worthwhile show to watch ? Yes and it may teach people to change their money behaviors. It would be interesting to see how and if the behavior changes with money have remained in place for the long term.

Are Suze Orman and Gail Vaz-Oxlade doing behavior interventions? Yes, they are trying to change and improve money management behaviors. So many individuals are in need of this.

Therefore, ABA can be applicable to managing money too.

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Introducing the first of hopefully many guest posts by TSY’s good friend and resident menswear savant– Mr. Eli M. Getson. Eli and I worked together years ago at Polo Ralph lauren– I always appreciated his quick smile, incredible humor, and fun-loving style.  Mr. Getson has long been threatening to contribute to TSY with his own nostalgic ramblings & rants on sports, music & menswear– and now he’s finally making good on his word.

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Tao can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way.  It is basically indefinable–  referring to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living.  The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe.  It has to be experienced in order to be truly understood.

For me, no other athlete better embodies this “flow” — using the natural passive power in the universe that flows through all of us and turning it into kinetic energy — than Julius “Dr. J” Erving. I will never forget watching him back in the day– high socks, short shorts, Converse high tops, his luxurious Afro blowing slightly back as he elevated, and the red, white, & blue ball of the ABA held in his massive hand so it looked like a grapefruit as he prepared to ascend to the hoop to wreak utter devastation on the opposition, and leave the earthbound mortals unable to do anything except gape in awe.

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If you weren't following pro hoops at the time, you simply can't imagine the excitement generated when Dr. J, the ABA legend, moved from the New York Nets to the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers before the 1976-77 season. Remember that games were rarely televised back then, so most of America had only heard tales of the graceful 6-7 forward with the big hands and the gravity-defying artistry. When folks first saw Dr. J, their eyes popped: It seemed as if he could temporarily suspend himself in air while coasting from one side of the basket to the other. And thus was born the concept of "hang time." --SI Vault, image by JD Hanlon

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For me, the Doctor is and will always remain the most stylish of athletes.  The rare cat who made it look easy, even though it isn’t; a creative soul who showed you could showcase your individual gifts and still be part of a team; and the embodiment of that often abused word — FLAVOR.   While I respect the fact that a lot of those who came after — MJ, Dominique, Kobe, LeBron, Vince Carter etc. — can perhaps elevate higher and dunk harder– none possess the flow and graceful moves of the Doc.  It is this, and this alone, that made Julius seem that he had tapped into the life force of the universe– hence his Tao.

Also, unlike a lot of his followers in the sport– Dr. J was not demonstrative after obliterating an opponent with a devastating dunk.  Many years ago I was in the old Philadelphia Spectrum watching the Sixers play an otherwise meaningless February game against the Atlanta Hawks.  The Hawks had a fine power forward named Dan Roundfield who somehow was locked-up with Julius on the baseline.  Julius took two dribbles, one huge step, and then elevated.  Roundfield backed off and leaped in the air to meet him and attempt to cut off Dr. J’s approach to the hoop– however he did not have Erving’s gift of flight and Julius just kept flying higher and proceed to reverse dunk, with two hands, on Roundfield. This was a facial of legendary proportions, and one that would have elicited much screaming, jumping, and chest-bumping today.  Doc just nonchalantly ran up the court as if nothing had happened, even if we all knew that something epic had just taken place.  Once again, Tao in practice– totally feeling the freedom and power, yet not having to go crazy about it, being totally in the moment.

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Classic 70’s style– Julius Erving with first wife, Turquoise, in happier days– love her chic head scarf. via Larry Berman

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In today’s world where information is available 24/7, and you can see the latest highlight on 50 different channels at 50 different angles, it’s refreshing for me to remember that for a large part of his career Julius performed in the shadows of the ABA– before the  NBA merger and pre cable.  His exploits are almost comparable to gunslingers like Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday, many knew of them but few had seen them with their own eyes.   The legendary exploits of the Doctor only grew in magnitude and mythology  as I got older, and they got more distant in time.

– Eli M. Getson

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Pubblichiamo qui la testimonianza di una madre “non ortodossa”. La testimonianza è importante e forte. Condivido in pieno l’indice puntato sulle responsabilità molto gravi e imperdonabili della “scienza ufficiale”. (G.P.)

Salve, scusate se non scrivo troppo bene e se non interverrò a eventuali commenti a queste righe, ma internet ruba minuti preziosi che una mamma come me non può permettersi di perdere.
Ho scoperto da poco questo sito, non ho letto tutto e forse la mia considerazione è troppo affrettata, ma mi sembra che voi ce l’abbiate troppo con certi personaggi (che – dopotutto – i genitori che ci credono e che se lo possono permettere, scelgono liberamente, sotto la propria responsabilità) e troppo poco con gli altri, quelli istituzionali, che invece hanno precise responsabilità sociali e che rappresentano la tappa obbligata di chi non ha tanti soldi.
Non parlo solo di lunghe liste d’attesa e di terapie insufficienti; parlo di ignoranza, ignoranza pura (da capre) e di negligenza.
Noi la diagnosi l’abbiamo avuta tardi, dopo che mio figlio era “seguito” da un anno e mezzo in un distretto ASL per ritardo di linguaggio (mi ero presentata “spontaneamente” al dipartimento materno-infantile, fiduciosa nel servizio pubblico, senza esserci stata inviata da pediatra o asilo nido). Per scrupolo, dopo tanti mesi che lo “sblocco” non arrivava, avevo consultato il primario NPI di un noto ospedale, in libera professione ovviamente, perché i soldi non piacciono solo a Verzella e Montinari.
Dopo venti minuti di osservazione e parcella esosa, questo luminare mi aveva detto che mio figlio no, non era autistico…  anche perché lo sanno tutti che gli autistici non sono affettuosi con i genitori!
Poi una nota neurologa di un altro ospedale, dopo un estenuante day hospital di tanti giorni e tanti begli esamini rimborsati dal SSN, mi aveva detto che mio figlio (pur non essendo epilettico) doveva assolutamente iniziare una terapia con un antiepilettico (utilizzato da molti adulti come antidepressivo) perché certamente con quello avrebbe iniziato a parlare, e avrebbe finalmente smesso di essere un cattivo esempio per il fratellino.
Il povero piccolo – infatti – prima o poi sarebbe stato danneggiato dall’iperattività dello sventurato fratello maggiore che però – badate bene! – non era autistico (“smettiamola di vedere l’autismo dappertutto!!!!”).

Alla fine, la diagnosi maledetta me la sono fatta da sola, in pochi minuti, su Emergenzautismo (riconosci tuo figlio). Però il DAN mi faceva paura, mi sembrava una setta, e da brava non mi sono fatta abbindolare, anzi mi sono rifatta convincere da chi ci seguiva che mio figlio non era autistico. Già, perchè internet è pericoloso, fuorviante, e bisogna evitare le autodiagnosi (ma accidenti, che sfiga, ci avevo azzeccato!); inoltre ci sono in giro dei soggetti che cercano dei falsi autistici, per poter poi dire di averli guariti.
Dunque sono passati altri mesi, niente farmaco antiepilettico (per fortuna!) ma quelle 2-3 sedutine alla settimana di logopedia e psicomotricità proprio non mi convincevano (ma del resto non si poteva stressare troppo quel povero bimbo, che già andava a scuola!!!).

Non riuscivo a togliermi i DAN e l’ ATEC dalla testa e così sono tornata dal luminare a chiedere spiegazioni (lui invece mi ha chiesto altri 150 euro).
“Se proprio vuole, signora, per sua tranquillità, si possono fare i test”.
Uno giovane sguattero psicologo, collaboratore a contratto, si è messo all’opera per 3-4 mattine. Il responso è stato evidente.
“Mi spiace, fatevi aiutare da qualcuno per superare il trauma”.
Abbiamo saputo che ci sono anche associazioni di genitori, quelle serie (non quegli invasati su internet!) che per 25 euro ti fanno una tesserina per avere uno sconticino sull’ippoterapia.

Sono seguite altre conferme della diagnosi: eh sì, quelli di prima si erano sbagliati, o forse era troppo presto per dirlo, o forse non volevano dirlo perché tanto è uguale, tanto non si può uscirne, tanto dobbiamo continuare a fare quello che stiamo facendo.
E assolutamente niente ABA (tantomeno a scuola) perchè è un metodo troppo duro, che va bene per le scimmie, che fa diventare dei soldatini, che impedisce la spontaneità, che serve per i casi gravi e non c’entra con mio figlio.
Ultima cosa: “mi raccomando, lasciare stare gli apprendisti stregoni, perchè solo noi possiamo trattare l’autismo”.

DONATELLA

A hot topic discussed in the legal blogs and the law journals is the ABA’s lobbying of the President and Congress to either modify current regulations or pass legislation which would allow law students and recent graduates to convert their private student loans to government loans.[1] Once converted, the graduates would be able to defer their loans for up to three years while unemployed.[2] According to the National Law Journal, Carolyn Lamm, the President of the ABA said, “This is really intended to give them some breathing room.”[3]

Debt is a huge burden for recent graduates.  According to the Financial Aid Office, the approximate cost per year of a full time Brooklyn Law student, who lives on his/her own, is $64,356.[4] That means a typical student may graduate with close to $200,000 in debt.  This large amount of debt and concern of defaulting on their loans is an added pressure to the already anxious graduates who are trying to find employment in a declining marketplace.[5]

The ABA’s push for loan assistance is one of several projects conceived by the Commission on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs.[6] The Commission is analyzing how lawyers and the profession can repossession themselves to better withstand the financial downturn and is designing practical solutions based on this analysis which can be implemented quickly.[7]

[2] Sloan, supra.

[3] Id.

[4] Brooklyn Law School Office of Financial Aid, How to Finance Your Legal Education 5 (2009).

[5] Sloan, supra.

[6] American Bar Association Office of the President, Presidential Commissions, http://www.abanet.org/op/lamm/presidentialcommissions.shtml (last visited Nov. 13, 2009).

[7] Id.

A 750-gramme white truffle from northern Italy sold for 100,000 euros($150,000) during an auction at the end of the 79th White Truffle Festival of Alba.

The Piedmont region, where Alba is located, is considered to have the best ‘tartufo bianco’ (white truffles) in the world.

http://www.luxuo.com/page/2

Pubblichiamo la notizia di un Master molto importante e molto ben organizzato dell’Istituto Beck. Il master si svolge a Caserta e a Roma e costa un botto (2730 euro più iva, da pagare a rate di 300 euro ciascuna). Ciò nonostante, trattandosi di un master di altissimo livello (a partire dai direttori scientifici e didattici: Flavia Caretto e Roberto Militerni) e svolgendosi in un’area particolarmente depressa e particolarmente dominata dagli Ultrapsicodinamici (mi riferisco soprattutto a Caserta, città dove sono nato 40 anni fa e dalla quale sono scappato senza rimpianti), ritengo che sia un’iniziativa meritoria e da pubblicizzare. (G.P.)

Da diversi anni oramai l’offerta formativa sull’Autismo è ampia e le informazioni sono alla portata di tutti. Questo migliora la “cultura dell’Autismo” per certi versi, ma per altri porta con sé anche alcuni problemi. Il primo, è che diventa molto difficile separare il grano dal loglio, se mai questo si può fare in un campo ancora così controverso, in cui comunque evidenze e buone prassi indicano che non ci troviamo “all’anno zero”. Il secondo problema è costituito dalla scarsità di formazione pratica, in associazione a quella teorica: pensare di lavorare con persone con Autismo senza averle mai viste e senza aver mai visto ambienti, materiali ed attività dedicati a loro ed alle loro famiglie, è un po’ come voler imparare a giocare a tennis leggendo le regole da un libro, o ascoltando una conferenza… solo che l’Autismo è molto, molto più complesso del tennis!

A partire dalle esigenze presentate da alcuni allievi dei corsi di specializzazione, e in accordo con l’associazione dei genitori Angsa Lazio Onlus e con il Gruppo Asperger Onlus, l’Istituto A.T. Beck ha cercato di organizzare un’attività di formazione interamente dedicata all’Autismo che rispettasse le buone passi nazionali ed internazionali ed offrisse un aggancio diretto alla attività pratica ed alla supervisione.

Dal 2001 l’Istituto A.T. Beck si occupa di psicodiagnosi, psicologia del lavoro, clinica, ricerca e formazione di psicoterapeuti ad indirizzo cognitivo- comportamentale. In conformità con l’omonimo istituto americano di Philadelphia, l’Associazione scientifico – professionale “Istituto A. T. Beck” di Roma annovera tra le sue motivazioni fondanti quella di offrire il proprio contributo nel settore della salute mentale con un fine di utilità pubblica.

L’istituto propone, con la direzione scientifica e didattica della Prof.ssa Flavia Caretto e del Prof. Roberto MIliterni, un percorso di specializzazione rivolto a chi lavora o intende impegnarsi nell’ambito dei Disturbi dello Spettro Autistico. Il Master sull’Autismo, che si svolge fra Roma e Caserta, è rivolto ai Laureati in Medicina, Psicologia, Scienze dell’Educazione, Terapia della Neuro e Psicomotricità, Terapia del Linguaggio, Laureati con Specializzazione in Sostegno che intendano acquisire strumenti operativi per l’intervento cognitivo e comportamentale per i Disturbi dello Spettro Autistico. Il Master è centrato sull’intervento psicoeducativo, e fra i docenti annovera alcuni fra gli esperti che più hanno inciso sui cambiamenti culturali in questo campo negli ultimi anni a livello nazionale ed internazionale. Nella frequenza del Master sono previsti due stage pratici, uno sulla valutazione ed uno sul trattamento, che possono essere svolti in diverse sedi in Italia.

Per tutte le informazioni relative al Master http://www.istitutobeck.it/Autismo/Home.asp

Since finishing all of my ABA training around the end of September, I’ve been working with a kid in Havelock near Cherry Point Marine Base… I wasn’t the actual tutor, but I had trained with the girl who had been assigned to him, and to make it so I wasn’t sitting around twiddling my thumbs while they got the paperwork together for my kid, I was assigned to be a “data collector”, basically so I could still be working and getting on-the-job experience and all of my training wouldn’t go to waste.

It was so amazing to see the progress *Brian made in a little over a month. He learned so many things, and some of the little things we were teaching him began to leak over into his everyday life (which is the goal, of course), but I just wasn’t expecting to see it happen so soon, and so easily. Things like asking for things instead of just grabbing them, and learning to tolerate unexpected change much better, down to more basic things like turn-taking when playing a board game.

When I started on my Bachelor’s in Social Science last July, I was just going for a general degree so I could be a teacher, and I was hoping to become a high school art teacher, since with all of my art credits, I am able to have a “concentration in Art” on my Bachelor’s.  It wasn’t that I didn’t *want* to work with younger kids, I’d just never given it any thought. Growing up I was never really a babysitter and never really interacted with kids enough to think that it was what I would want to do. Even when I thought about being an art teacher, I wanted to teach high school kids, because they would (maybe) be more serious about art, and I could help foster the ones who might have wanted to make art a career or go to art school.

I’ll be finishing up my degree in July of 2010, and I can’t decide if I want to add a minor in Child Development. It would only be 6 classes… so, 30 weeks since each class is only 5 weeks. I think having the knowledge would be extremely useful and probably helpful in future jobs, I just don’t want to hold up my Bachelor’s. So, I need to call my advisor and ask some questions. I wish I could already be “granted” my Bachelor’s, so to speak, while working on my minor. I’ll find out.

The other option is instead of the minor in Child Development, I could simply go out to Craven Community College and get my credentials in whatever age group I’d like to work with. These decisions are so difficult to make on my own. I wish I had someone to talk to. Maybe I can go out to Craven CC and talk to someone out there as well.

I really need to weigh my options.

And the whole point of this entry was to say I am no longer “merely” a data collector, and tomorrow I get to meet the child that I will be tutoring. I’m excited & nervous! Wish me luck.

*names changed.