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ANYONE INTEREST IN PURCHASING LUNCH MAY CONTACT 830-4805. THERE WILL BE LIMITED LUNCH AT AVAILABLE ON THAT DAY SO CALL AHEAD.
Parent Support Group meeting
Our Parent Support Group
meets THIS Saturday, Oct. 29 at 4 pm
at the Kingston YMCA in the Music Room.
Sharing interesting news
If you haven’t seen the 60 min story on iPad’s impact on children with autism we thought we would share it with you now. It is very interesting and inspiring. Click here.
Click the link here if you would rather read the story.
Also see a link to a site on which a great collections the apps for autism have been tallied by a parent of a child with autism. click here
Congratulations
Prime Minister Andrew Holness
Then Minister of Education Andrew Holness at this year’s
Balloon Release for World Autism Awareness Day
More facilities, parental support needed for special-needs kids
BY LUKE DOUGLAS Career & Education senior reporter editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 09, 2011
DESPITE the lack of facilities and staff to adequately address the needs of children with learning difficulties in most schools, parents must make the effort to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for them.
So says developmental pediatrician Dr Andrea Garbutt. She noted that while all children should be adequately prepared to attend school, more time and attention should be spent preparing a child with special needs, such as those with autism spectrum disorder, than that of a typically developing child.
You have to address the health and physical development of children, whether they have special needs or not; their emotional well-being and social competence, in terms of their approaches to learning, their communication skills, and cognitive skills and general knowledge,” she told Career & Education.
“For special-needs children, such as those with autism spectrum disorder, it’s the same criteria they are required to fulfil to be ready for school. It just means it may require more effort, frequency and attention to get them ready on the part of the parents and community,” she added.
The doctor explained that the development of a typical child is taken for granted in that they are ready for school by age four. But the special-needs child may have a range of physical problems, including dental, which may cause the child discomfort, so parents must be on the lookout for these signs.
“From very early, aware parents of children with special needs are cognisant of the fact that they need to do a little extra. It could be getting them to walk, practising to hold a pencil (or) potty training them a little longer. But being aware doesn’t always mean that the parent can do what is in the child’s best interest because they may have to balance home with work,” Garbutt noted.
Bearing in mind the financial constraints of the Government, she did not comment on whether more should be spent on facilities for special-needs children.
But Kathy Chang, co-founder of the Jamaica Autism Support Association, noted that private schools have better facilities for special-needs children, and these are concentrated mostly in Kingston and Montego Bay.
Garbutt conceded that public schools with their large class sizes were unsuitable for special-needs children.
“Special-needs children need more one-to-one action and more supervision than a typically developing child. So the ratio of 35 children to one child is not the right setting for a special-needs child,” she said, noting that children with severe difficulties may even need a ratio of one teacher to one child.
“When you look at it that way, you realise you will also need auxiliary services, such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech, and language therapy to accommodate them,” Garbutt added.
But for parents who cannot afford private school, the physician encourages:
* early diagnosis of their child’s condition from as young as 18 months;
* continuous research about the condition on the Internet; and
* a close relationship with the child’s doctor and teachers.
Garbutt recommends, too, that parents utilise the health and development passport issued to newborns since September 2010 to monitor the child’s developmental milestones.
“Know what your child should be doing; go online and look it up. Compare with other children of the same age and compare with your other children. After a few weeks of school, go in and ask your teacher how your child is doing,” she said.
Autistic kids get benefit of free dental clinic
Luke Douglas
Sunday, October 09, 2011
WHEN it comes to dental care, dentists can’t expect children, especially those with intellectual disabilities, to just sit, open their mouths and receive treatment without problems.
For children on the autism spectrum, dental care is especially difficult.
Most children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have problems with communication and have a hard time keeping still.Others have behavioural challenges like biting, screaming, becoming easily frustrated as well as numerous sensory issues.
To address these challenges being faced by children with ASD and their families, the Jamaica Autism Support Association (JASA) recently teamed up with the School of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Technology and a number of sponsors to stage two free dental clinics for children 13 years old and under who are on the autism spectrum.
JASA co-founder Kathy Chang said approximately 40 children were treated at the clinics, held on August 18 and 25 at the St Andrew facility.
She noted that many of the children had never been to the dentist because of the financial challenges faced by their parents as well as their sensory issues, which make dental visits difficult for them.
“It is not their fault,” Chang explained. “These children require a special
approach and lots of patience. This is why JASA is extremely grateful that the School of Oral Health Sciences was willing to work with our children.”
In preparation for these dental clinics, JASA had arranged for the dentists and nurses working with the autistic children to be properly sensitised and better prepared. JASA also created a social story — a basic short story with pictures to help the children with ASD interpret challenging social situations — to prepare them for what to expect.
Paediatrician Dr Andrea Garbutt explained how difficult it is for children with ASD to care for their teeth.
“They don’t like the sensation of the mouth; you are also entering into their personal space and the direct eye-to-eye contact; and (there is) someone touching them. They find that intimidating, even if that person is their mother or father,” she said.
As such, Garbutt said the process involved the screening of the children so that their first experience with the dentist would be as positive as possible.
“The kids who were more affected in terms of their social, cognitive and communicative skills would have more difficulty sitting though the visit,” she
noted.
The doctor urged parents to provide positive reinforcement in helping their children to brush their teeth.
Chang expressed special thanks to sponsors Colgate Palmolive Ltd, MJD Pharmaceutical and George Azan and Sons for their contributions of toothpaste/toothbrush packages, Crayola GUM, spinbrushes, toys and treats to the clinic. Photography for the social story was contributed by Wendy-Anne Khouri Chinn.
For more information, contact www.jamaicaautism.org or e-mail jasa.jm2k9@gmail.com.
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