Ever have one of those moments when something you been wondering about suddenly makes sense. I had this last night. Everything suddenly came into focus. My almost 3 year old Hannah, loves to be in a small spaces. When she sleeps she curls up as small as she can, with legs tucked right under her. She's usually in a corner of her crib as well. She loves it when we build her a tent, especially under the dining table. Where ever she can fit , in a shelf, under a desk, or behind a chair against the wall, she's going to try and fit there. This should really come as no surprise to me. When I was pregnant with her she was always hiding. Whenever I needed an ultra sound , and that was weekly in the end, she would be where it was hard to find her. Usually curled up in a ball with her back towards us. Fun times trying to locate her. Whatever makes her feel safe and comfortable works for me. With an over abundance of stimulation and a bombardment of noise in our world, its great for her to have a refuged where we can read stories or just curl up and be together. Small spaces... build or create one for your kids today. Fun memories are on the horizon. FYI>>>> Autistic children can so easily become over stimulated and out of sorts when their world feels out of control. A safe space can help calm them down and give them a new sense of control over the emotions and feeling they are experiencing. As Hannah finds refuge and comfort in her small spaces I feel more confident in my ability to help her calm down and feel loved and safe. |
0 Comments
A little over a week ago I finished this book reluctantly. As my reading was coming to an end, I wanted the story to continue and keep filling my life with the wonderful inspiration that it gave me each time I read the words that Kristine Barnett shares with her readers. A beautiful writer, I felt part of this family. The strength and love that this couple has, for not only their own children but for others as well. It gives me such hope. Hope for the wonderful people that still exist in this world. People that want to help but ask for nothing in return. A must read. Kristine. If this somehow miraculously finds you, know that you are remarkable and I feel very blest to have shared in this small part of your families journey. From one autistic child's mom to another... Peace and Love Lynn
Well it foamed up like no bodies business and she had a great time.
In fact getting her out of the tub that first night was a challenge and she cried as the bubbles went down the drain. Fast forward a few weeks and she looks forward to playing with the bubbles and we of course to her getting clean. Its a win ,win situation for us all. This site talks about speech and bubbles, good info..... http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=38 Bubbles to improve language development? Posted by Heidi | Filed under Early Language Development My sister was visiting the other day and asked me for some suggestions on how to encourage her son to speak more. I suggested trying bubbles. Bubbles are one of my favorite therapy tools because they can be used in so many different ways to both assess language skills and promote language development. In a study done by Lancaster University, they found that, Youngsters who can lick their lips, blow bubbles and pretend that a building block is a car are most likely to find learning language easy. So here are my top ten ways to use bubbles to promote language development. Top 10 ways to use bubbles for language development: 1. Use bubbles to promote eye contact. Engage your child in a fun bubble blowing activity. Watch for the anticipation of more bubbles. Wait for eye contact before you blow more bubbles. 2. Use bubbles to stimulate your child to make a request. This may be as simple as blowing the bubbles, screwing the lid on tight, and giving them back to your child. Wait to see what they do. If after trying to open the bubbles themselves unsuccessfully, they hand them back to you for help, they have just made a request. 3. Use bubbles to teach a sign. When your child hands the bubbles back to you to open you can use this opportunity to teach the sign for open. Or while blowing bubbles for your child you might pause to see if he asks for more. If not, teach the sign for more. You may also teach the signs for again, want, please, and all done. 4. Use bubbles to teach a sound. When your child requests for more bubbles with a sign or gesture try modeling the sound /m/ for more, /b/ for bubbles, or /p/ for pop (pop bubbles). 5. Use bubbles to teach a word. Use bubble blowing to teach the words, bubbles, more, again, want, pop, all done, fun, please, and whatever else you can work into the activity. 6. Use bubbles to teach turn taking. Bubbles are a fun way to teach my turn, your turn. Basic turn taking routines teach kids the skills for conversational turn taking. You may also teach the signs for my turn, your turn during this activity. 7. Use bubbles to teach lip rounding for the sounds /w/, oo, and /o/. When your child blows bubbles through a wand watch the shape of their lips. If they are round, great! If they are more on the flat side try squeezing their cheeks forward to get their lips in the right position. If this doesn’t work try having them wrap their lips around a wide straw (McDonald’s straws work great) that has been cut to about 2″ in length, then with their lips around the straw have them blow the bubbles through the wand. The straw positions their lips into the correct posture for blowing. 8. Use bubbles to position and strengthen the tongue correctly for the /k/, /g/, and ng sounds. Blowing exercises such as blowing bubbles position and strengthen the tongue for sounds produced in the back of the mouth. 9. Use bubbles to strengthen abdominal muscles for sustained speech. Strong abdominal muscles can help increase sentence length. Work with your child to blow consistently longer streams of bubbles each time you practice. 10. Use bubbles because they are fun and kids love them!!! I read some reviews for the “Bubble Tumbler” (spill-proof bubbles!) and parents seem to love them. If your into less of a sticky mess, and I think most of us are, try them out. I’m going to! Articles that cite the Lancaster University’s Study: “Kids Who Blow Bubbles Find Language is Child’s Play” (sciencedaily.com) “Toddlers Who Blow Bubbles Learn To Speak Earlier” (medicalnewstoday.com) - See more at: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=38#sthash.Km8Rq8fZ.dpuf When I received this email from the Autism Health Insurance Project I was so excited and thankful for everyone that has put so much time and effort to fight for this. (I wrote letters and expressed my concern as I fought for my own daughters ABA treatment.) As the need arises for more and more children to be treated ,we need to also remember that many families are on very tight incomes and then qualify for medi-cal. As long as medi-cal did not cover ABA therapy many Californian children were left with no help at all. Starting September 15th all that will change. Of course there are always things to iron out and policies to still create or implement but this State is certainly heading in the right direction... Below is the good news... ABA is finally available for children with ASDs on Medi-Cal! Beginning September 15, 2014 low-income families on Medi-Cal may call their health plan and their child's primary care physician and request an assessment for ABA therapy. "This is a huge and long awaited good news," said Karen Fessel, executive director of the Autism Health Insurance Project. "This opens the door to critical treatment for thousands of low-income children in California with autism, who have not had access to ABA therapy." In order to be eligible, children will need to have a diagnostic assessment of autism spectrum disorder, and a prescription for ABA therapy from either a psychologist or treating physician. The prescribing professional will need to explain why ABA therapy is medically necessary for a child. BACKGROUND In early July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance stating that state Medicaid programs must cover a full range of autism services, including ABA therapy, under the "early and periodic screening, diagnostic and treatment services," (EPSDT) program. At a subsequent meeting at the state capitol in Sacramento on September 4, 2014, high-level executives at the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) explained that Medi-Cal managed care plans would be informed by September 15, 2014 about how to make ABA therapy available for their members. By September 30, 2014, the DHCS intends to file a state plan amendment which will allow them to make additional changes to how the ABA benefit is delivered. "We are very pleased with how quickly California is moving to implement the federal guidance, and deliver this long awaited treatment to familes in need," said Fessel. REIMBURSEMENT Because the federal guidance was issued on July 7, 2014, eligible Medi-Cal children whose families who have been paying for ABA out-of-pocket (to a licensed, provider) between July 1 andSept. 15, 2014 will be eligible for reimbursement. DIFFICULTIES Calfornia's Department of Health Care Services has been proactive in requesting feedback and suggestions from families, advocacy groups, ABA providers and other relevant parties about how to best implement this new ABA benefit. At the September 4, 2014 stakeholders meeting at the state capitol, several critical issues were raised by attendees. Rate: Several ABA providers raised concerns about the Medi-Cal reimbursement rate, arguing that it had to be sufficient to fund high-quality treatment. Continuity of Care: Families already receiving ABA therapy for their child through the Regional Centers expressed concerns about having to change providers, given long-standing, and established relationships. Eligibility Criteria: AHIP's Karen Fessel expressed concern with the DHCS's draft eligibility criteria which suggested that services could be discontinued if progress plateaued. Fessel argued that Federal EPSDT criteria state that treatment to prevent the "worsening of a condition" is required under the EPSDT, which is a higher standard than medical necessity. BCBAs: Board Certified Behavior Analysts, the primary providers of ABA therapy, raised the issue of Medi-Cal's approving ABA only from licensed providers, such as psychologist and Marriage & Family Therapists. While BCBA's are specifically trained to provide ABA, their certification comes from a national organization as opposed to from the state, and may not be recognized by the federal government until the state plan amendment (SPA) has been approved. Therefore, we advise those who seek coverage before the SPA is approved to do so through those that have state licensed providers available and who have been approved by their Managed Care Plans. The DHCS agreed to take each of these concerns into consideration as it drafts its final plans for administering the ABA benefit. Anyone interested in submitting questions, comments or concerns may email the DHCS at [email protected] . Additional stakeholder meetings will be held on Thursday, October 16, 2014, Tuesday, November 18, 2014, Friday, December 19, 2014 and Thursday, January 22, 2015 from 3-5 PM at 1500 Capital Ave, in Sacramento. Additional information may be found at the DHCS website. |
Author: Lynn
A Mom, Personal Chef and one of Hannah's biggest supporters. Finding ways to over come obstacles and the challenges ahead. Archives
February 2019
Categories
All
|