The Cherab Foundation gratefully acknowledges permission to print the following, cited by Jennifer Hecker, a parent advocate for her apraxic son, Reed.
“The type of treatment appeared to influence whether patients improved. More patients improved, and improvement was greater in Group A, individual stimulus-response treatment than in Group B, group treatment. These results imply the way to treat AOS (Apraxia Of Speech) is to treat is aggressively by direct manipulation and not by general group discussion. This is consistent with what has been recommended (Rosenbek, 1978).
The type of treatment appeared to influence whether improvement occurred or not. Four of the five patients who did not improve received group treatment with no direct manipulation of their motor speech deficit.” Apraxia of Speech: Physiology, Acoustics, Linguistics, Management. Rosenbek et al. 1984
“The frequency of professional speech assistance is critical in the habilitation of children with developmental apraxia of speech. This disability calls for all-out attention and deserves serious instruction to the limits of the child’s attention and motivation. When normal children begin their formal education, they do not go to school twice or thrice a week for just a half-hour, even in kindergarten. Thus, I do not expect to provide special education for children with developmental apraxia of speech on a cursory basis, for it may be the most important part of the entire education.” Current Therapy of Communication Disorders, Dysarthria and Apraxia. William H. Perkins 1984
“They use the term developmental apraxia to describe a disorder that is not confined to the phonologic and motoric aspects of speech production but includes difficulty in selection and sequencing of syntactic and lexical units during utterance productions. Most clinicians agree that planning the appropriate treatment approach and methods is crucial to the efficacy of intervention. A variety of factors can facilitate the treatment of DAS. DAS is often characterized as being resistant to traditional methods of treatment. Group therapy decreases the potential of responses per session for each child and, therefore, the motor practice needed by children with apraxia and dysarthria.” Treatment of Motor Speech Disorders in Children by Edythe Strand in “Seminars of Speech and Language” Vol. 16, No. 2. May 1995
“Early stages of treatment need to be carried out on a one-to-one basis for it is only in this way that the patient can learn to develop his own particular strengths and adopt compensatory measures for weaknesses.” Disorders of Articulation, Aspects of Dysarthria and Verbal Apraxia. Margaret Edwards 1984″These children do not seem to make good progress with the usual approaches to clinical treatment of articulation problems. Carefully structured programs that combine muscle movement, speech sound production, and sometimes even work on grammar seem to get better results.” “Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia” on Healthtouch Online, ASHA website
“However, many of the theories, principles, and hierarchies described for adult apraxics are potentially helpful to the clinician designing a motor-programming remedial program for an individual child. (We stress the word individual since the program development for children with DAS must meet the individual, and often unique, needs of each child.)” Intensive services are needed for the child with DAS. Children with DAS are reported to make slow progress in the remediation of their speech problems. They seem to require a great deal of professional service, typically done on an individual basis. Therefore, clinicians working with DAS must accommodate this need and schedule as much intervention time with the child as the child and/or his/her schedule can allow. The definition of “intensive” varies from clinician to clinician and from work setting to work setting. Rosenbek (1985), when discussing therapy with adult apraxics, defines the word as meaning that the patient and the clinician should have daily sessions: Macaluso Haynes (1978), Haynes (1985), and Blakeley (1983) also advocate daily remediation sessions.” Also, “our experience has been that the overall outcome has been best for those children with DAS who were identified as possibly exhibiting DAS and received services as very young children.” Developmental Apraxia of Speech, Theory and Clinical Practice. Penelope Hall et al. 1994
“We recommend therapy as intensively and as often as possible. Five short sessions (e.g., 30 minutes) a week is better than two 90 minute sessions. Regression will occur if the therapy is discontinued for a long time (e.g., over the summer). Most of the therapy (2-3/week) must be provided individually. If group therapy is provided, it will not help unless the other children in the group have the same diagnoses and are at the same level phonologically.” Shelley Velleman, authority and published author on Apraxia, on her website (velleman.html). “Our clinic has had tremendous success with the half-hour format; these sessions are very intense, packed with therapy, and have little downtime. The earlier and more intensive the intervention, the more successful the therapy. Group therapy can be effective for articulation and some phonological processing disorders, but children with Apraxia need intensive individual therapy.” Nancy Lucker-Lazerson, MA, CCC-SLP, and Clinic Coordinator for the Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders San Diego, on the Apraxia Kids website.
“A few major principles in particular have direct relevance to the treatment of motor speech disorders. The most obvious, yet surprisingly often disregarded, is that of repetitive practice. Pairing of auditory and visual stimuli is included in most approaches and intensive, frequent, and systematic practice toward habituation of a particular movement pattern is suggested instead of teaching isolated phonemes. It is important to consider the treatment needs of each child and attempt to find creative solutions that > allow frequent individual treatment for children that will most benefit.” Childhood Motor Speech Disorders Edythe Strand
“Given the controlled conditions stipulated in the studies…, it is clear that speech dyspraxia can respond to therapy. All approaches involved an intensive pattern of therapy. Even if not seen daily by a therapist, patients carried out daily practice.” Acquired Speech Dyspraxia, Disorders of Communication: The Science of Intervention. Margaret M. Leahy 1989
“Consistent and frequent therapy sessions are recommended. The intensity and duration of each session will depend on the child. At least three sessions per week are recommended for the child to make consistent progress.” Easy Does it for Apraxia-Preschool, Materials Book. Robin Strode and Catherine Chamberlain
“In stark contrast, the children with apraxia of speech whose parents stated that three-quarters of their child’s speech could be understood following treatment required 151 individual sessions (ranging from 144-168). In other words, the children with apraxia of speech required 81% more individual treatment sessions than those with severe phonological disorders to achieve a similar function outcome.” Functional treatment outcomes for young children with motor-speech disorders by Thomas Campbell in Clinical Management of Motor Speech Disorders A.J. Caruso and E.A. Strand 1999.
(In addition to the information on this page, a great page on 1:1 therapy is at Apraxia-Kids)
1:1 Therapy Question Sent To Children’s Apraxia Network:
Advice From our nonprofit’s SLS/MA/ EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, Cheryl Bennett-Johnson
It is interesting to note that when a child is receiving Early Intervention services in the home, therapy is 1:1. It is also interesting to note that children as young as six months of age have received 1:1 services. Every apraxic child is different; with a diagnosis of severe apraxia, the child would benefit from 1:1 therapy. What data does the school SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) present indicating that the age of 5 is too young for 1:1 services?
Remember, when a request for services is not given as requested, the denying party must give a written rationale as to why. The IEP (Individualized Education Program) is an Individualized Education Program. How will the SLP (Speech and Language Pathologist) address the severe oral motor needs of the child within the group setting? What are the short and long term goals and objectives that are specific to the nature of this child’s severe apraxia? Does the SLP plan to devote x amount of minutes providing 1:1 therapy to your child within the group setting? Your child’s disability of apraxia affects his involvement and progress in the general curriculum and access to nonacademic and extracurricular activities because he cannot communicate appropriately to school personnel when needed and communicate effectively through speech and/or writing to classmates and teachers. The severity of his disability warrants 1:1 speech therapy intervention. Your child’s disability of apraxia of speech affects his ability to engage in age-relevant behaviors that typical students of the same age would be expected to be performing or would have achieved {IDEA-Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.): 34 C.F R.300.347 (a)(1)(i) Statue 20 United State Code (U.S.C.) 1414 (d)(1)(A)(i)(1).
I am requesting that the parent draft a letter to the Dr. of the Child Study Team, including the information listed above. Indicate that you are not in agreement with the type /amount/duration of the speech therapy services that will be provided to your child. State that you are seeking 1:1 therapy services for your child because… Send the letter certified receipt return requested. Send a copy to the SLP, the District Superintendent of Schools, and the Board of Education President. Severe Apraxia requires the parent to advocate for 1:1 services in the area of speech therapy
“Charlie just wants a friend. Some kids refer to him as ‘the boy that doesn’t talk’ He tried to make friends with online gaming but only felt frustrated after being mocked for how he talks. He needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone. For the past twelve years, Charlie has celebrated his birthday only with family. We spent hundreds of dollars on his parties with his special super-hero cake, Charlie waited and waited, and nobody came. It breaks my heart to see that a genuine, loving, and caring boy like Charlie would struggle to find friends.”- Pierre Chuong
Let’s let Charlie know he’s worth getting to know! You are cordially invited to celebrate Charlie’s 13th birthday party with him.
Saturday, December 10th, 1 PM – 3 PM in EST Superplay 1600 NW Courtyard Circle Port St. Lucie, FL. 34986
As an honored guest, you are invited to have a super time at SuperPlay There is no admission cost to attend the party. However, those that want to participate, there will be a limited amount of party passes for 20 dollars from Superplay which include • two hours of bowling, • shoe rental, • equipment rental, • seven dollars’ worth of game room tokens, • two slices of pizza, • unlimited drinks,
*100 percent of the 20 dollars goes to Superplay. Charlie’s father has prepurchased a limited number of party passes at 20 dollars each so if interested please RSVP here.
There will be a motorcade with the Ecto Force Ghostbusters and the St Lucie police/sheriffs department to escort Charlie to Superplay around 1 PM, when the party starts.
Ecto Force Ghostbusters is a Port St Lucie based full 501c3 charity organization. With over 30 members across the state, they are one of the largest Ghostbusters franchises in Florida. They are officially recognized and endorsed by SONY Ghost Corp, a division of Sony Pictures, and are able to represent Ghostbusters for charity work Nation wide. Ecto Force’s member come from a variety of backgrounds, including former Military, First Responders, Healthcare, and many more. Their team is committed to supporting many great causes, especially for children. A few of these include: Autism Awareness, Anti-Bullying, Children’s Hospitals, and Toys 4 Tots.
In addition to the Ecto ForceGhostbusters who will be there with their Ectomobles; Ecto-1P and Ecto 1V, the Mets mascot will be there along with Superheroes Guardian Angels, first responders, and surprises to join the super party. Celebrate Charlie’s birthday and stay as long as you want to play! Michael Rubano from Macrobano Photography will be on hand to take fun photos!You can RSVP to Charlie’s birthday party here.
Charlie loves bowling
Please donate to the Cherab Foundation! We are raising money for basic party supplies, and any money over our goal can help others in need. Your donation will make a difference in the lives of children and families affected by disability. Thank you for your support!
The Cherab Foundation is excited to announce its upcoming Friendship Circle event to help a special needs child make friends. Charlie is 12 years old, autistic, and in the 6th grade. He has no friends and feels alone in the world.
Charlie is a super sweet boy diagnosed with autism, and he will be turning 13 this December 13th. He is intelligent and attentive but struggles in communication and processing conversations. Therefore, he is known as the “boy that doesn’t talk” and has no friends.
Since being diagnosed as on the spectrum, his classroom has been in an ESE isolation class with other autistic boys.
Attending school has always been challenging for Charlie because he isn’t around other children and has no friends. Since being diagnosed as on the spectrum, Charlie’s classroom has been in an ESE self-contained isolation class with other autistic boys.
At home with his family and when they travel together, he loves discovering new places on the map and has an excellent memory of new places and things. He finds joy in pranking his mom and dad. He’s kind, considerate, and thoughtful to others and even animals. Strays that come onto our property always get something to eat! He helps with chores, shopping, and even cooking and gardening.
But what Charlie is missing is friendship. Charlie would love to have a friend.
He needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone,” said Pierre. “I’m sure other kids out there feel the same way; because they are different or learn things a certain way doesn’t mean they aren’t fun to be around.”
For the past 12 years, Charlie has celebrated his birthday only with family. “We would order his favorite superhero flavor of the year cake and spend a lot of time and money on decorations and gifts to make his birthdays special, but we didn’t have anyone to send invitations to!” Even virtually, there is no friendship. Charlie would love to play video games with other children, but that has also been painful for Charlie. The other children will mock the way he speaks and laugh at him. Due to this, Charlie no longer tries to play video games with other children despite how much he would love to.
Finally, this year, driving to his Jr. High open house, he asked me, “Can I be in a regular classroom so I can make some friends?” My heart just sank, and I knew I had to do something right there.
Reading about a Cherab Friendship Circle birthday party for William Morales gave Charlie’s parents the idea to have an event for Charlie to help him make friends. ” Please help me and parents like me create a happy world for our children to live in, where they can be safe and have fun,” Charlie’s father, Pierre, said.
As the guest of honor, Charlie, along with the Cherab Foundation and the Chuong family, welcomes the whole community to join him to celebrate all those individuals and families out there feeling the same alienation and come out and join the fun, share some cake and make a few new friends. “I want Charlie and children like him to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest with compassion for each other.
Charlie and his family, SuperPlay, Duffy’s Sports Grill, The Mets, Seriangely’s Sweet Inspirations, Ecto Force Ghostbusters, and Superheroes, first responders, Michael Rubano from Macrobano Photography, along with the Cherab Foundation team, look forward to hosting you. We are, extending the invitation to like-minded, kindhearted individuals to come out for a day of fun, food, friendship, games, and of course, a bowling-themed birthday party.
Charlie was a toddler when his parents started wondering if he was different from the others and if his differences all added to something. Lack of speech. Phobia of loud noises. A strong dislike for crowds. Inability to socialize well with peers. Google searches always led Charlie’s parents to Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Charlie as a toddler
Cherab Foundation’s Friendship Circle event brings together children with and without disabilities. The goal is to provide a fun, supportive environment where children can socialize and make friends, focusing on Charlie, who is turning 13 and has never had a birthday party with friends. Charlie doesn’t get invitations to other children’s birthday parties.
Cherab Foundation’s Friendship Circle is an important event, as it helps children with special needs learn how to socialize and connect with others. It also allows other children to develop compassion for others and the importance of acceptance and understanding.
Because Charlie is entering his adolescent years, he is starting to think more about friends and socializing. This Cherab Friendship Circle event will help Charlie meet other kids, including some going through the same things he is. Charlie can talk to the children that attend, learn from them, and maybe even make lifelong friendships.
Charlie is a wonderful boy who loves to travel and explore new places. He has an excellent memory and is fantastic at ping pong. His late grandfather played with him, and he enjoyed it very much. Charlie’s favorite thing in the world is going to Legoland and going on cruises with his family to discover new destinations. He also enjoys eating pizza, reading comics, and playing video games. Charlie is excited about having his first birthday party and making new friends.
Charlie playing ping pong with his grandfather
For those unable to attend, Charlie loves receiving and opening mail but typically doesn’t get any birthday cards outside his family. We are hoping this year; he’ll get a few more. You can mail birthday cards or birthday gifts to Charlie Chuong through: Charlie’s Birthday C/o Cherab Foundation 2301 NE Savannah Rd, #1771 Jensen Beach, FL 34957
The Late Talker
What to do if Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet
By Marilyn Agin MD, Lisa Geng, and Malcolm J. Nicholl
The first book to show parents how to tell whether a child has a speech delay or a more serious speech disorder.
Every parent eagerly awaits the day his or her child will speak for the fist time. For millions of mothers and fathers, however, anticipation turns to anxiety when those initial, all-important words are a long time coming. Many worried parents are reassured that their child is “just a late talker,” but unfortunately, that is not always the case. Co-author Lisa Geng was one of those parents and she discovered that her children had serious speech disorders.
Balanced with a mother”s perspective and an acclaimed doctor”s experience, this book gives parents needed guidance on:
The warning signs of a serious speech disorder
Finding the right therapist for their child
Negotiating with school boards, teachers, and service providers
Exercises to do at home with a child.
Marilyn Agin MD is the medical director of the Early Intervention Program in New York City.
Lisa Geng is the founder and president of Cherab, a nonprofit organizations dedicated to children with speech difficulties, and co-founder of Speechville. She lives in Florida.
Malcolm J Nicholl is a former international journalist, and co-author of The LCP Solution. He lives in Del Mar, California.
We recently saw an article about a family who was asked to leave a restaurant when their child with Apraxia made a nearby patron uncomfortable with his attempts at speech.
That had us thinking… We previously created an information card to hand out while Trick-Or-Treating at Halloween. It’s obvious that parents need similar information cards doing day-to-day activities.
Save the images below to share on social media or download this free PDF that can be printed as a front and back card to share when needed:
ABC 13 – WSET news story: Family with a child that has apraxia asked to leave Outback Restaurant due to noises. Note to Outback Steakhouse, perhaps send out a memo to your staff that if a customer complains about a special needs child, offer to move that customer and explain the situation to the customer. This is far more compassionate than asking a family with a special needs child to leave which is embarrassing and stressful for a family already with so much on their plate (pardon the pun). When my son was little his only words were “mmm” and “ma” I heard rude comments like “what’s wrong with him?” and why I have pages of responses such as https://pursuitofresearch.org/2016/07/14/whats-wrong-with-him/ but was never asked to leave a restaurant. In an episode of What Would You Do? about autism the child actor who played the part of someone with autism was making noises and unlike this child with apraxia was moving around the restaurant and yet he was the actor defended by the other restaurant diners from the actor who played the part of the uncompassionate diner who wanted the special needs child to leave the restaurant. Perhaps show this to your staff? https://youtu.be/dgwYukPReKw Also if you are looking for an apraxia organization to donate to, like this article states, please consider the Cherab Foundation. We’d be happy to work together with you on this. Perhaps organize an apraxia night? https://cherabfoundation.org/
“Cherab Foundation is a very special organization. They made this a life-changing event for Chris and our family. The community came together and gave Chris the birthday of the lifetime. ” ~Mary Ramirez
“Chris’s party was over the top. So much better than I could have possibly wished for. So many wonderful people showed up and opened their hearts to us. I want to thank everyone involved, who volunteered with all my heart. And Lisa Geng, who is a Tasmanian ANGEL on wheels. You ROCK girl. Cherab Foundation is a very special organization. They made this a life-changing event for Chris and our family. The community came together and gave Chris the birthday of the lifetime. I look forward to seeing everyone again.”~Mary Ramirez
It’s not just Chris, who is diagnosed with Autism, and his family who benefitted from his wish for caring and friendship, locals and people from as far north as Daytona, and as far west as Tampa came both in support of Chris or because they too find themselves in a similar situation, alienated or bullied by folks in their communities. Cherab Foundation’s crowdFunnit was founded with the intent of bringing an awareness and an end to alienation and bullying in a proactive way,” said crowdFunnit founder Lisa Geng, a Port St. Lucie resident. “The acceptance, compassion, and friendships that happened for Chris and his family and those who have come to support or be supported have been amazing.”
Hundreds attend student’s birthday party
By Donald Rodrigue For Hometown News
ST. LUCIE WEST — In what resembled a Columbia Pictures Hollywood movie premiere Sept. 30 at Superplay USA, Oak Hammock eighth-grader Chris Ramirez arrived in a K-9 police escort leading a convey including the Ecto1 driven by the Cat5 Ghostbusters to celebrate his 14th birthday.
No, the young Port St. Lucie resident was not akin to Ritchie Rich, but rather the city’s second recipient of an over-the-top birthday celebration orchestrated by crowdFunnit, a division of the not-for-profit Cherab Foundation that hosts community birthday parties for children needing a social network boost. The first recipient was 13-year-old William Morales on Aug. 13, 2017, at the same location. Chris’ mother, Mary Ramirez, said she first heard about the two nonprofit organizations through the Morales event and said her son’s party was awesome.
“I could not have possibly asked for a better day,” she said. “We met a lot of wonderful people who opened their hearts to us.”
Ms. Ramirez reached out to the organizations after unsuccessfully trying to encourage her autistic son, who was the victim of at least six verified bullying instances last year alone and had become increasingly withdrawn. Since the pre-media coverage of the free massive birthday event that ultimately drew nearly 400 partygoers, she said things have definitely improved for her son and he’s been coming out of his shell as a result.
“The media coverage of this event has helped awareness of anti-bullying,” Ms. Ramirez added. “The community came together and gave Chris the birthday of a lifetime. It was over the top, and so much better than I could have possibly wished for. So many wonderful people showed up and opened their hearts to us.”
Invitation to the party was free and prospective guests were simply needed to RSVP via the eventbrite.com website in order to ensure the event didn’t go over maximum capacity. Once there, both Chris and his partygoers were treated to special performances by other superheroes courtesy of Treasure Coast Cosplayers, Star Wars Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, Captain Jack Sparrow, a dance troupe, the St Lucie Mets Mascot Klutch and national recording artist JessLee who recently appeared on The Voice! and sang happy birthday to Chris.
“I felt as happy as I could have possibly been,” the birthday boy said. “I arrived at the party in the Sheriff’s Department car with the K-9 officer Bo and officer Matt. I Felt like a VIP.”
Party guests enjoyed a professional DJ, face painting, a green screen dress-up photo booth, a face painting balloon artist and of course, an off-the-chain birthday cake that Ms. Geng referred to as a “Cake Wars-level” creation in the shape of a coral reef and featuring a spaceship.
“These were two of two of Chris’s favorite things,” she added. “The baker is using dry ice to make it look like the spaceship is taking off.”
Ms. Ramirez made special note of the cake and expressed her gratitude to all those who participated in making her son’s party a success.
“The cake was out of this world,” she exclaimed. “I want to thank all the volunteers and messaging for all the wonderful work they put together to make this party a success.”
Ms. Geng had also arranged a special price at the venue for those who attended Chris’ blowout and wanted to play games before or afterward, which incorporated a $5 donation to the Cherab Foundation.
“If they wanted to bowl or play games or eat food there was a charge for all three,” she explained. “This year and last year we used the party package, which included two hours of bowling and all the equipment, two slices of pizza and a drink, and a $3 arcade swipe card. We sold them for $15.”
The evening after the party, Chris said he felt like he would have a little adjustment coming down to Earth the next day at school.
“I feel I deserved the day off,” he laughed.
Ms. Geng founded the Cherab Foundation in 2000 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to children with neurological or genetic impairments that affect communication such as autism and apraxia. She started crowdFunnit in 2015 to focus on such children who become isolated due to bullying by their peers.
Ms. Geng has held nine such events since 2015 and is now planning a fundraiser Nov. 4 at the Rush Jensen Beach extreme trampoline park to bring community awareness to the Cherab Foundation.
“This is an opportunity for special needs children and their families to experience a fun day in a safe and supportive environment, supporting differences while fostering compassion and friendship,” she added.
The Cherab Foundation Goal
Volunteer based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit for children with neurological or genetic impairments that affect communication with a focus on Autism and Apraxia. With your help, we can reach our goal to host at least one party every single month across all 50 States! We are also launching a school-based program right here in South Florida, with a goal to reach every district in the country. This new program will expand upon the tools we’ve developed to encourage acceptance and compassion within their daily school environment where we feel the impact will be greatest.
CrowdFunnit, a project of the 501(c)3 Cherab Foundation, hosts HUGE Community Birthday Parties for friendless kids across the country. Featured in local and national news, we proactively fight bullying by bringing together like-minded people, raising awareness about differences and fostering acceptance and compassion. Volunteer-based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is focused on helping children with neurological and genetic communication impairments such as autism and apraxia. . Donationsare tax-deductible. Federal tax ID number is 22-3685234
“I then let them know that Scooby Doo doesn’t talk like everyone else -“but he’s lots of fun and a cool dude to hang out with right?”
Description of a “Circle of Friends“
If your child has or is being teased, the following is an effective evidence-based technique that I first learned about from an award-winning Teacher of Excellence recipient Educational Consultant, and NJ State Teacher Representative Cherab’s Vice President Cheryl Bennett Johnson SLS MA. I first used this successfully for my own children if there were any issues with bullying at school, and now use the same method on a community level with the highly effective Cherab Foundation initiative crowdFunnit throwing community birthday parties for special needs children to foster acceptance and compassion for those children that believe the world doesn’t like them, and need a little help making friends.
Children on the neurological spectrum may be ignored, or bullied by peers because of their differences, and due to this, they may behave inappropriately because they experience anxiety or even depression from being friendless.
The ‘circle of friends’ approach, sometimes known as the friendship circle, or circle of support, is a powerful tool for inclusion involving children sitting in a circle with their teacher using method-specific techniques and strategies to promote self-esteem, foster acceptance and compassion, reduce bullying and alienation while fostering positive classroom relationships. It is supported by theories of self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and voice and participation theory, some that date back to the early 1900s.
The ‘circle of friends’ approach (Forest et al, 1993: Newton and Wilson 1999; Taylor 1996, 1997) offers a structured intervention based on the belief that a person’s judgments about their behavior and that of others can be influenced by the social situation. The intervention uses small-group sessions to give one specific child positive attention to help them interpret and respond to their environment and social situations with understanding.
The theoretical underpinnings for the many and varied traditional circle time sessions and small-group approaches are far-reaching and may well cite links to a person-centred counselling approach (Mead 1934; Rogers 1961, 1970); social learning theory (Bandura 1977); the circle of friends intervention approach (Newton and Wilson 1999; Taylor 1996, 1997); emotional literacy programmes (Morris and Casey 2005; Morris and Morris 2002); behavioural approached (Cooper, Smith and Upton 1994); and the eco-systemic approach Mosley 1993, 1996, 1998).
To increase the level of acceptance and inclusion of pupils who are currently deemed to be excluded from the peer group
To harness and further develop the skills of pupils who are already considered to be highly skilled in terms of providing friendship and support to others
To encourage staff to reflect upon their own views and practices in order to develop more inclusive approaches, resources, and policies.
To impact positively upon whole school structures and systems via encouraging a
review by the whole school community as to how these can be made more inclusive
To promote a cultured ethos of social support which encourages all staff and pupils to utilize and develop their own skills in terms of valuing and supporting others.
To encourage the continued and on-going use of ‘support teams’ in order to ensure the inclusion of all pupils in the school context
To further develop the social and emotional skills of those pupils identified as
members of the group, for example, the ability to listen, to reflect, to evaluate, to
empathize, to problem solve, to understand, identify and cope effectively with feelings (of self and others)
Success
When the teacher/facilitator effectively supports the Circle of Friends participants in delivering the intervention, positive outcomes are generally guaranteed. The target student will hopefully have gained in three key areas and be more able to:
Effectively manage his/her behavior in school
Built positive relationships with peers
Improved his/her self-concept and self-esteem
The Circle of Friends group will also clearly have benefitted in terms of developing their own pro-social skills, empathy, ability to analyze others’ behavior and increased their awareness of the value and importance of including others in positive and meaningful relationships. As adults, we should never underestimate the latter.
As Newton and Wilson (1996) explain, ‘we have underestimated the therapeutic power of acceptance and overemphasized the negative influence of the peer group. The reality is that there are enormous benefits to all of the strengths of the natural peer group can be realized to support the vulnerable individual.’
Circle of friends has been found highly effective. One case study provided a fascinating insight into how the behavior of a child, previously isolated, changed to such a degree that she became a valued and accepted member of the class. Although the wide support that circle‐time has gained has largely been in primary schools, it appears to be enjoying similar success elsewhere.
Inspired by the work of numerous educators and researchers I’ve developed my own version of the circle of friends to help children with communication impairments that I’ve used with both of my boys which helped not just reduce but virtually eliminate bullying. Through the Cherab Foundation, our CrowdFunnit initiative is taking a version of the circle of friends I used with my own boys to the community to help a student who believes they are alone in the world without friends. Both of these programs, both school and community help foster acceptance and compassion to proactively reduce and eliminate bullying and alienation. If your child needs help, please contact us
William is one example of a life that was turned around by the Cherab Foundation crowdFunnit program. From the day after his birthday party till now over a year later he has friends, his grades and confidence have gone up, and as William says, “I like me now..if that makes sense”
Traditionally How Circle of Friends Works
Once the vulnerable student who is evidently in need of peer support has been identified, the teacher/facilitator can arrange to conduct the introductory session with the whole class/form group (in the absence of the target student). The ‘key’ activity undertaken is to complete a Relationship Circles Activity. This involves students in thinking about the people in their lives, family, friends and acquaintances and writing their names in a series of concentric circles. Instructions might be as follows:
Put the name of those you are closest to in circle 1, usually your family, sometimes
described as people you live with or people you like to hug (people who love you
most).
Your very best friends in circle 2 but not quite as close as circle 1.
Your wider friends in circle 3, maybe people in groups, scouts or a team. Place those who are paid to help you in circle 4, these include people like doctors and teachers.
According to a 1998 study ‘Practical approaches to reduce the impact of bullying.’ “Adults who look after children should be aware that these children are vulnerable to the attention of bullies. Supervision of children after an episode of bullying must be sufficient to protect potential victims. Classroom-based interventions such as “circle of friends” may promote victims’ prosocial behavior.”
According to PACER’s online National Bullying Prevention Center, “One study shows that 60 percent of students with disabilities report being bullied regularly compared with 25 percent of all students.”
Bullying is a form of youth violence. Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and lower academic achievement (Center for Disease Control, 2017).
A circle of friends is when you bring together all the children in the class. This would include your child of course. The discussion would be right in front of (your child) where (your child)’s speech disorder would be talked about, as well as how frustrating it is to communicate and how painful it is to be teased about it, etc. (your child) can add to the conversation if he wants, and everyone shares and learns.
Cheryl says it works so well that then the children in the circle of friends go out of their way to protect and watch over and translate for the child with the communication problem. Don’t just stick to the school either -do this with neighborhood children too.
Example of a Small “Circle of Friends!” by Lisa Geng
So how did I address the teasing when my son Tanner was teased in kindergarten?
Since I don’t believe in getting upset with children, especially kindergarten age children, and don’t believe lectures would work for this age anyway, I scheduled a “circle of friends” which the school SLP also took part in. I went into the class and with Tanner sitting right there I opened up with a question. “If someone from the cartoon Scooby Doo was out in the hallway right now…who would you want it to be? Scooby? Velma? Shaggy?” (knowing, of course, that just about all kids would choose Scooby which of course they did)
I then let them know that Scooby doesn’t talk like everyone else -“but he’s lots of fun and a cool dude to hang out with right?” Then I read a short Winnie the Pooh book about feelings -and used quick examples they could relate to for each feeling. When I came to sad – I talked about Tanner….and how he is sad when someone laughs at the way he talks. I explained to the class about how Tanner had high fevers as a baby that put a boo boo in his brain -but that he is very smart and has been working hard at learning to talk for years now. I talked about children that are deaf or that have other impairments (and the SLP and OT had brought in some of the children in the school in wheelchairs)
By this time -all the children were surrounding Tanner and putting their hands around him hugging him. We then went around the room and each child talked about something that they had trouble doing at first -and did anyone ever laugh at them while they were learning. All the children brought up something that they had to learn -and some talked about how someone laughed at them when they fell off the bike, etc. However, when we got to the little boy that had teased Tanner he could not think of anything that he didn’t know how to do – he was the only one. The teacher said “Oh come on ____ when you were a little tiny baby you didn’t know how to skateboard now, did you? You had to learn that.” He agreed. I then talked about all the things that Tanner is really good at, and that “just like Scooby” Tanner may not talk like everyone else -but that doesn’t mean he’s not a cool dude to hang out with.
I then walked out to the hallway and got a bag of Scooby Doo party favor type toys and said: “Scooby left these for all of you guys!” The above was quick – but huge wonderful impact.
After that day -there was never teasing again -and even the one kid that had teased Tanner was now hanging out with Tanner. There was an immediate improvement in Tanner’s speech and confidence. And…by the way, he then talked to me about what had happened and (finally) told me about how this little boy laughed when he talked. Even though the teacher said it was only for one week -I’m 100% convinced that she just was not aware of it prior -it apparently was going on 2 weeks prior.
Perhaps it’s due to that experience early on that Tanner is never teased now. He knows how to handle it -it’s hard for a bully to tease someone who doesn’t get upset.
There are two chapters in The Late Talker book devoted to dealing with parent or child frustrations.”
Lisa Geng is an accomplished author, mother, founder, and president of the CHERAB Foundation. She is a patented inventor and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries. After the early diagnosis of her two young children with severe apraxia, hypotonia, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and CAPD, she dedicated her life to nonprofit work and pilot studies. Lisa is the co-author of the highly acclaimed book “The Late Talker” (St Martin’s Press 2003). She has hosted numerous conferences, including one overseen by a medical director from the NIH for her protocol using fish oils as a therapeutic intervention. Lisa currently holds four patents and patents pending on a nutritional composition. She is a co-author of a study that used her proprietary nutritional composition published in a National Institute of Health-based, peer-reviewed medical journal.
Additionally, Lisa has been serving as an AAN Immunization Panel parent advocate since 2015 and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Currently working on her second book, “The Late Talker Grows Up,” she also serves as an executive producer of “Late Talkers Silent Voices.” Lisa Geng lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.
Some useful references
Cowie, H. & Wallace, P. (2000) Peer Support in Action London: Sage Publications
Duck, S. (1991) Friends for Life Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf
Forest, M. (1992) Inclusion Papers Inclusion Press
Forest, M., & Pearpoint, J. (1992) Commonsense tools: maps and circles Inclusion Papers Inclusion Press
MacConville, R., & Rae, T. (2006) Teaching Peer Support for Caring and Cooperation Talk Time A Six Step Method London: Paul Chapman Publishing
Mackan, P., & Cormier, R. (1992) Dynamics of support circles Inclusion Papers Inclusion Press
Maines, B., & Robinson, G. (1998) All for Alex a Circle of Friends Bristol: Lucky Duck
Publishing
Mercer, N. (2000) Words and Minds London: Routledge
Newton, C., & Wilson, D. (1999) Circle of Friends Dunstable: Folens Publishers Ltd
Pearpoint, J., Forest, M., & Snow, J. (1993) The Inclusive Papers – Strategies to Make
Inclusion Work Toronto: Inclusion Press
Resnick, L. B. (1987) Education and Learning to Think Washington: National Academy
Press
Rhodes, J., & Ajmal, Y. (1995) Solution Focused Thinking in Schools London: B.T. Press
Shaw, L. (1990) Each Belongs – Integrated Education in Canada Bristol: The Centre for
Studies in Inclusive Education
Tyrrell, J. (2002) Peer Mediation London: Souvenir Press
Eileen O’Connor, The use of ‘Circle of Friends’ strategy to improve social interactions and social acceptance: a case study of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome and other associated needs, Support for Learning, 31, 2, (138-147), (2016).
Phil Reed, References, Interventions for Autism, (301-350), (2015).
Fred Volkmar, Matthew Siegel, Marc Woodbury-Smith, Bryan King, James McCracken, and Matthew State, Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 53, 2, (237), (2014).
Emily Gardiner and Grace Iarocci, Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the University Context: Peer Acceptance Predicts Intention to Volunteer, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44, 5, (1008), (2014).
Kenneth K. Poon, Sijie Soon, Meng-Ee Wong, Sarinajit Kaur, Joanne Khaw, Zijia Ng, and Chee Soon Tan, What is school like? Perspectives of Singaporean youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18, 10, (1069), (2014).
Scott Bellini, Lauren Gardner and Kimberly Markoff, Social Skill Interventions, Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Fourth Edition, (2014).
Wiley Online Library
Robert Koegel, Sunny Kim, Lynn Koegel, and Ben Schwartzman, Improving Socialization for High School Students with ASD by Using Their Preferred Interests, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 9, (2121), (2013).
Sally Lindsay and Ashley Edwards, A systematic review of disability awareness interventions for children and youth, Disability and Rehabilitation, 35, 8, (623), (2013).
Seija Kangas, Kaarina Määttä and Satu Uusiautti, Alone and in a group: ethnographic research on autistic children’s play, International Journal of Play, 1, 1, (37), (2012).
S. Anthony Thompson, A queer circle of friends, indeed! The school social as intervention or as movement, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16, 10, (985), (2012).
Julie Bennett, Colin Espie, Barbara Duncan, and Helen Minnis, A Qualitative Exploration of Children’s Understanding of Indiscriminate Friendliness, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 14, 4, (595), (2009).
Val Jones, ‘I felt like I did something good’- the impact on mainstream pupils of a peer tutoring programme for children with autism, British Journal of Special Education, 34, 1, (3), (2007).
Shunit Reiter and Taly Vitani, Inclusion of pupils with autism, Autism, 11, 4, (321),(2007).
Efrosini Kalyva and Elias Avramidis, Improving Communication Between Children with Autism and Their Peers Through the ‘Circle of Friends’: A Small‐scale Intervention Study, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18, 3, (253-261), (2005).
R. Jordan, Managing autism and Asperger’s syndrome in current educational provision, Pediatric Rehabilitation, 8, 2, (104), (2005).
Norah Frederickson, Laura Warren, and Jane Turner, “Circle of Friends”—An Exploration of Impact Over Time, Educational Psychology in Practice, 21, 3, (197), (2005).
Philip Whitaker, Fostering communication and shared play between mainstream peers and children with autism: approaches, outcomes and experiences, British Journal of Special Education, 31, 4, (215), (2004).
Rhea Paul, Promoting social communication in high functioning individuals with autistic spectrum disorders, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 1, (87), (2003).
Norah Frederickson and Jane Turner, Utilizing the Classroom Peer Group to Address Children’s Social Needs, The Journal of Special Education, 36, 4, (234), (2003).
Lori Krasny, Brenda J Williams, Sherri Provencal and Sally Ozonoff, Social skills interventions for the autism spectrum: essential ingredients and a model curriculum, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 1, (107), (2003).
Peter Bates and Julie Repper, Social inclusion ‐‐ a framework for evaluation, A Life in the Day, 5, 2, (18), (2001).
Carol Greenway, Autism and Asperger Syndrome: Strategies to promote prosocial behaviours, Educational Psychology in Practice, 16, 4, (469), (2000).
Licette Gus, Autism: Promoting peer understanding, Educational Psychology in Practice, 16, 4, (461), (2000).
“Bullying has left a mark on Chris’s soul. As a result, he suffers bouts of both anxiety and depression that others hate him and is afraid to leave our house. Chris who is on the autism spectrum desperately needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone” ~Mary Ramirez
Let’s let Chris know he does have friends! You are cordially invited to celebrate Chris’s 14th birthday party with him. Thanks to all the community support, crowdFunnit is hosting a special, community birthday party in Chris’s honor, to bring an end to bullying and alienation while celebrating all that is good in life; friendship, kindness, and of course, cake from Seriangely’s Sweet Inspirations!
Interview With Chris
crowdFunnit and the Ramirez family welcome families in the same situation as Chris’s family to share their stories and join us at the party. Please contact us and we can help Equally important is the presence of compassionate individuals and families of all ages to come out and join the fun, share some cake and make a few new friends.
“Kids always have friends and all, and that just makes me sad because I had like no friends, and I’m like, ‘Man, I wish one day I had a friend,’” ~Chris Ramirez
Up until 2nd grade, Chris who has been diagnosed with ASD and ADHD was outgoing, reveled in making others laugh. Then things began to change. By 4th grade, he was teased constantly by his classmates for being different. Teasing turned into bullying and physical altercations by peers, classmates invading his privacy even in the school bathroom has made Chris fearful of leaving his house. “Bullying has left a mark on Chris’s soul. There were almost half a dozen confirmed cases of bullying at school last year alone, and as a result, he suffers bouts of both anxiety and depression that others hate him. He needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone.” Mary added, “He’s built walls around him to keep other kids from hurting him. It’s those walls I want broken down.” Like all children, each year Chris wanted a birthday party with friends, but for the past seven years, he has celebrated only with family. “We spent hundreds of dollars on his birthday parties,” said Mary. “Chris waited and waited, and nobody came.” It’s been heartbreaking for Chris who desperately needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone.
Last summer he and his father attended the crowdFunnit celebration for William Morales in Port St. Lucie, FL and seeing a child that had been bullied have a party like that his hopes did a 180. Now Chris will be the guest of honor at his own crowdFunnit party and welcomes the whole community to join him, on Sept 30th, 2018 to celebrate all those individuals and families out there feeling the same alienation. Inspired by previous crowdFunnit events, Mary Ramirez reached out on behalf of her son. “I have watched Chris go through so much heartache dealing with how he is different from other children his age. He fears to leave his home when other children want to spread their wings,” she said. Chris loves gaming and computers. He also loves swimming at the beach or pool, animals (his cats) and science. He loves to watch Mythbusters on TV with his older brother. Chris and crowdFunnit are calling all kind-hearted people interested in making friends. “I want there to be a common ground where he and others like him can feel safe to be themselves, do activities and enjoy life,” Mary said. That’s exactly the foundation of the crowdFunnit community party says founder Lisa Geng. “We are dedicated to improving the lives of those who are bullied and alienated, fostering acceptance, compassion, and friendship through open-invite birthday parties, community awareness, and common kindness.” Lisa added, “ If you’re not able to RSVP your attendance, you can always donate to the organization as we begin to build our program with a committed goal to bring our birthday party initiative to every state in the U.S.”
All are invited to the festivities to celebrate Chris’s 14th birthday which will include a special live appearance by National Recording Artist JessLee who was recently Team Blake on The Voice!
“I just want Chris and children like him to enjoy life and all the wonderful things it offers. Please help me and other moms like me find a happy place for our sons and daughters to live in. We need them to know that they are not alone.” ~Mary Ramirez
Volunteer based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit for children with neurological or genetic impairments that affect communication with a focus on Autism and Apraxia. With your help, we can reach our goal to host at least one party every single month across all 50 States! We are also launching a school-based program right here in South Florida, with a goal to reach every district in the country. This new program will expand upon the tools we’ve developed to encourage acceptance and compassion within their daily school environment where we feel the impact will be greatest.
CrowdFunnit, a project of the 501(c)3 Cherab Foundation, hosts HUGE Community Birthday Parties for friendless kids across the country. Featured in local and national news, we proactively fight bullying by bringing together like-minded people, raising awareness about differences and fostering acceptance and compassion. Volunteer-based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is focused on helping children with neurological and genetic communication impairments such as autism and apraxia. . Donations are tax-deductible. Federal tax ID number is 22-3685234
“There is a long-standing myth that omega-3s cause bleeding. We have used data from 18,000 patients who were in clinical trials over the years-mostly in heart disease, and there is not one case of bleeding from omega-3s”
It has long been believed that fish oil may cause a person to bleed more easily, especially if consumed at higher doses. However, clinical trials have not found much evidence to support it. And just like the longtime myth that you have to wait 30 minutes after eating to swim, some researchers and physicians are now questioning whether the precaution is valid. Though the Cherab Foundation some parents have questioned bloody noses and increased bruising in wonder if it’s from fish oil supplementation and the advice is to take their child for a bleeding time test. There has yet to be any cases of children testing to have abnormal bleeding time (and I was a child that used to bruise and get bloody noses and unfortunately for me as could have probably have used their health benefits wasn’t on fish oils) Check with your child’s doctor, but good to be aware of the evidence.
Research quotes answer the question do fish oil cause bleeding?
Bill Harris, one of the leading authorities in omega-3 research, doesn’t think so (1).
In 2007, Harris reviewed 19 clinical studies involving 4387 surgical patients who were taking fish oil supplements in doses ranging from 1.6g EPA/DHA per day (the equivalent of taking about 4 fish oil capsules or 1.5 teaspoons of Omega Cure) to 21g EPA/DHA per day. In 16 out of 19 studies, the patients were also taking aspirin. And in three of the studies, patients were taking heparin, another common blood thinning drug. The review concluded that the risk of problematic bleeding was virtually nonexistent, even when combined with other medications known to increase the risk of bleeding (2).
Another review from 2008 reached the same conclusion. This review stated that no published studies had reported clinically significant bleeding episodes among patients treated with antiplatelet drugs and fish oil at a dose of 3g to 7g per day (2).
A more recent review, published online in March of 2017, agreed again. This review found it safe to consume omega-3 supplements, even at large doses of up to 10g of EPA/DHA per day in the short term (3). To put that dose in perspective, it would be the same as swallowing almost ¼ cup of Omega Cure, or taking 30 fish oil capsules daily. That’s significantly more omega-3 than anybody takes on a regular basis.
A study published this summer in the journal Clinical Nutrition literally titled “Fish oil LC-PUFAs do not affect blood coagulation parameters and bleeding manifestations: Analysis of 8 clinical studies with selected patient groups on omega-3-enriched medical nutrition” found no evidence to support any concern raised with regards to the application of n-3 LC-PUFAs and the potentially increased risk for the occurrence of adverse bleeding manifestations even in selected vulnerable and sensitive populations populations. (4)
Even before these studies experts have questioned the bleeding risk, including stopping fish oils prior to surgery. Those with diagnosed heart disease have no chance to stop the fish oils prior to surgery for emergency open-heart surgery, yet I’ve read there are no cases of hemorrhaging for those taking the high dosages of fish oils as per Dr. Stoll, and Dr. Richardson (quotes below)
Speaking of which my Mom went in for open heart surgery and her heart surgeon told her she did not have to stop taking her fish oils prior -and the doctor and nurses in the operating room reported that she had very little bleeding during surgery, and we were also told after she healed faster than the norm.
Fish oil is not like man-made blood thinners -it works with the body as needed.
Dr. Stoll quote answers the question do fish oil cause bleeding?
Saturday Evening Post. An interview with Dr. Stoll:
“Post: Is there a downside to supplementing with omega-3?
Dr. Stoll: There isn’t. Some people may experience GI distress if they take a large amount of a low-quality supplement. But the highest good-quality fish oil is not rancid and has little or no taste and has no side effects.
Another issue that people worry about is bleeding because EPA inhibits platelet aggregation. But we scoured the scientific literature, and there has never been a documented case of bleeding due to omega-3 fatty acids. We recently reviewed about 18,000 people who participated in clinical trials with omega-3s, largely in cardiology studies, and we couldn’t find one instance of bleeding in any of the trials.
There was no bleeding, even if used in IVs prescribed before and during cardiac surgery. I think this perception is a myth because omega-3s don’t inhibit the platelets as strongly as aspirinperhaps 60 to 70 percent as much as aspirinand unlike aspirin, the effect is reversible.
Post: When a patient is on blood thinners, such as coumadin, should they exercise caution when supplementing with omega-3? Dr. Stoll: In that situation, I usually recommend a lower dose, not exceeding one or two grams of EPA per day. At this dosage, there should be no effect on the action of coumadin. The unanswered question is, together are they providing too much anticoagulation? Nonetheless, there may be some minute risk of a negative interaction with anticoagulants, such as warfarin (coumadin), high-dose aspirin, or ibuprofen-like medications, based on animal data and anecdotal reports in humans. However, large-scale controlled clinical trials with patients receiving omega-3 fatty acid supplements with either aspirin or warfarin observed no cases of bleeding even after one year of the combined treatments.
It would be a shame if cardiac patients or their physicians avoided the use of omega-3 supplements out of fear. I am thoroughly convinced that the dramatic and lifesaving cardiac actions of omega-3s far outweigh the very small or nonexistent risk of bleeding.”
SOURCE: Saturday Evening Post, May/June 2005, by Patrick Perry.
Dr. Richardson quote answers the question do fish oil cause bleeding?
“There is a long-standing myth that omega-3s cause bleeding. We have used data from 18,000 patients who were in clinical trials over the years-mostly in heart disease, and there is not one case of bleeding from omega-3s”
Lisa Geng is an accomplished author, mother, founder, and president of the CHERAB Foundation. She is a patented inventor and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries. After the early diagnosis of her two young children with severe apraxia, hypotonia, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and CAPD, she dedicated her life to nonprofit work and pilot studies. Lisa is the co-author of the highly acclaimed book “The Late Talker” (St Martin’s Press 2003). She has hosted numerous conferences, including one overseen by a medical director from the NIH for her protocol using fish oils as a therapeutic intervention. Lisa currently holds four patents and patents pending on a nutritional composition. She is a co-author of a study that used her proprietary nutritional composition published in a National Institute of Health-based, peer-reviewed medical journal.
Additionally, Lisa has been serving as an AAN Immunization Panel parent advocate since 2015 and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Currently working on her second book, “The Late Talker Grows Up,” she also serves as an executive producer of “Late Talkers Silent Voices.” Lisa Geng lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.
ACLD Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities (former name of LDA)
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
ADD Attention Deficit Disorder
ADD-RT Attention Deficit Disorder - Residual Type, ADD that lasts into childhood
ADD/WO Attention Deficit without Hyperactivity or "Undifferentiated ADD"
ADHD Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder, a subtype of ADD
AHEAD Association on Handicapped Student Programs in Postsecondary Education
APA American Psychiatric Association
ASHA American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
AT Assistive Technology
ATD Assistive Technology Device
ATS Assistive Technology Service
BD Behavior Disordered (also referred to as EH or ED in some states)
CAP Continuum of Alternative Placements
CASE Council of Administrators of Special Education Inc.
CBM Curriculum-Based Measurements
CEC Council for Exceptional Children
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CLD Council for Learning Disabilities
CNS Central Nervous System
CSPD Comprehensive system of personnel development
DCCD/CEC Division for Children with Communication Disorders/Council for Exceptional Children
DD Development Disabilities or "Developmental Delay"
DE U.S. Department of Education
DLD/CEC Division for Learning Disabilities/Council for Exceptional Children
DSM "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" from the American
Psychiatric Assocation (APA)
ED Emotionally Disturbed (also referred to as BD or EH in some states)
EDGAR Education Department General Administrative Regulations
EEOC Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee: Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
EH Emotionally Handicapped (also referred to as BD or ED in some states)
EHA Education of the Handicapped Act of 1975, P.L. 94-142
FAPE Free appropriate public education
FERPA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
FR Federal Register
HMO Health Management Organization
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (formerly the Education
for the Handicapped Act)
IDELR Individuals With Disabilities Education Law Report
IEE Independent educational evaluation
IEP Individualized education program
IEPT Individualized education program team
IEU Intermediate educational unit
IFSP Individualized family service plan
IRA International Reading Association
LD Learning Disability
LDA Learning Disability Association of America, Inc. (formerly ACLD, Inc.)
LEA Local education agency (school district)
LEP Limited English Proficient
LRA Least Restrictive Alternative
LRE Least restrictive (educational) environment
MBD Minimal Brain Dysfunction
MCO Managed Care Organizations
MOE Maintenance of Effort
MR Mental Retardation
NAPAS National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&A Organizations)
NASDSE National Association of State Directors of Special Education
NASP National Association of School Psychologists
NCLD National Center for Learning Disabilities
NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
NIH National Institutes of Health
NJCLD National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, currently composed of
representatives from AHEAD, ASHA, CLD, DCCD/CEC, DLD/CDC, IRA, LDA, NASP,
NCLD,and ODS.
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
OCR Office of Civil Rights (of U.S. Department of Education)
ODS Orton Dyslexia Society
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OSEP Office of Special Education Programs (of U.S. Department of
Education)
OSERS Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (of U.S.
Department of Education
OT Occupational Therapy
P&A Federally funded agencies who offer "Protection and Advocacy" for individuals
with disabilities.
PDD Pervasive Developmental Disorder
PT Physical Therapy
SEA State Education Agency
SECTION 504 - Refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
SED Severely Emotionally Disturbed
SERTS Special Education Resource Teachers
SLD Specific Learning Disability, used interchangeably with LD
SIT Sensory Integration Therapy
TBI Traumatic Brain Injury
USC United States Code
VR Vocational Rehabilitation
§ Section
Consumers United for Evidence-Based Healthcare (CUE) is a national coalition of health and consumer advocacy organizations committed to empowering consumers to make the best use of evidence-based healthcare (EBHC).
Posted: September 20, 2023 by lisa
One on One Therapy
A Review of Apraxia Remediation
The Cherab Foundation gratefully acknowledges permission to print the following, cited by Jennifer Hecker, a parent advocate for her apraxic son, Reed.
“The type of treatment appeared to influence whether patients improved. More patients improved, and improvement was greater in Group A, individual stimulus-response treatment than in Group B, group treatment. These results imply the way to treat AOS (Apraxia Of Speech) is to treat is aggressively by direct manipulation and not by general group discussion. This is consistent with what has been recommended (Rosenbek, 1978).
The type of treatment appeared to influence whether improvement occurred or not. Four of the five patients who did not improve received group treatment with no direct manipulation of their motor speech deficit.” Apraxia of Speech: Physiology, Acoustics, Linguistics, Management. Rosenbek et al. 1984
“The frequency of professional speech assistance is critical in the habilitation of children with developmental apraxia of speech. This disability calls for all-out attention and deserves serious instruction to the limits of the child’s attention and motivation. When normal children begin their formal education, they do not go to school twice or thrice a week for just a half-hour, even in kindergarten. Thus, I do not expect to provide special education for children with developmental apraxia of speech on a cursory basis, for it may be the most important part of the entire education.” Current Therapy of Communication Disorders, Dysarthria and Apraxia. William H. Perkins 1984
“They use the term developmental apraxia to describe a disorder that is not confined to the phonologic and motoric aspects of speech production but includes difficulty in selection and sequencing of syntactic and lexical units during utterance productions. Most clinicians agree that planning the appropriate treatment approach and methods is crucial to the efficacy of intervention. A variety of factors can facilitate the treatment of DAS. DAS is often characterized as being resistant to traditional methods of treatment. Group therapy decreases the potential of responses per session for each child and, therefore, the motor practice needed by children with apraxia and dysarthria.” Treatment of Motor Speech Disorders in Children by Edythe Strand in “Seminars of Speech and Language” Vol. 16, No. 2. May 1995
“Early stages of treatment need to be carried out on a one-to-one basis for it is only in this way that the patient can learn to develop his own particular strengths and adopt compensatory measures for weaknesses.” Disorders of Articulation, Aspects of Dysarthria and Verbal Apraxia. Margaret Edwards 1984″These children do not seem to make good progress with the usual approaches to clinical treatment of articulation problems. Carefully structured programs that combine muscle movement, speech sound production, and sometimes even work on grammar seem to get better results.” “Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia” on Healthtouch Online, ASHA website
“Children must be seen one-on-one, at least in the early stages of treatment.” Nancy Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Speech Praxis Test and expert on Apraxia, on The Kaufman Children’s Center for Speech and Language Disorders website .
“However, many of the theories, principles, and hierarchies described for adult apraxics are potentially helpful to the clinician designing a motor-programming remedial program for an individual child. (We stress the word individual since the program development for children with DAS must meet the individual, and often unique, needs of each child.)” Intensive services are needed for the child with DAS. Children with DAS are reported to make slow progress in the remediation of their speech problems. They seem to require a great deal of professional service, typically done on an individual basis. Therefore, clinicians working with DAS must accommodate this need and schedule as much intervention time with the child as the child and/or his/her schedule can allow. The definition of “intensive” varies from clinician to clinician and from work setting to work setting. Rosenbek (1985), when discussing therapy with adult apraxics, defines the word as meaning that the patient and the clinician should have daily sessions: Macaluso Haynes (1978), Haynes (1985), and Blakeley (1983) also advocate daily remediation sessions.” Also, “our experience has been that the overall outcome has been best for those children with DAS who were identified as possibly exhibiting DAS and received services as very young children.” Developmental Apraxia of Speech, Theory and Clinical Practice. Penelope Hall et al. 1994
“We recommend therapy as intensively and as often as possible. Five short sessions (e.g., 30 minutes) a week is better than two 90 minute sessions. Regression will occur if the therapy is discontinued for a long time (e.g., over the summer). Most of the therapy (2-3/week) must be provided individually. If group therapy is provided, it will not help unless the other children in the group have the same diagnoses and are at the same level phonologically.” Shelley Velleman, authority and published author on Apraxia, on her website (velleman.html). “Our clinic has had tremendous success with the half-hour format; these sessions are very intense, packed with therapy, and have little
downtime. The earlier and more intensive the intervention, the more successful the therapy. Group therapy can be effective for articulation and some phonological processing disorders, but children with Apraxia need intensive individual therapy.” Nancy Lucker-Lazerson, MA, CCC-SLP, and Clinic Coordinator for the Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders San Diego, on the Apraxia Kids website.
“A few major principles in particular have direct relevance to the treatment of motor speech disorders. The most obvious, yet surprisingly often disregarded, is that of repetitive practice. Pairing of auditory and visual stimuli is included in most approaches and intensive, frequent, and systematic practice toward habituation of a particular movement pattern is suggested instead of teaching isolated phonemes. It is important to
consider the treatment needs of each child and attempt to find creative solutions that
> allow frequent individual treatment for children that will most benefit.”
Childhood Motor Speech Disorders Edythe Strand
“Given the controlled conditions stipulated in the studies…, it is clear that speech dyspraxia can respond to therapy. All approaches involved an intensive pattern of therapy. Even if not seen daily by a therapist, patients carried out daily practice.” Acquired Speech Dyspraxia, Disorders of Communication: The Science of Intervention. Margaret M. Leahy 1989
“Consistent and frequent therapy sessions are recommended. The intensity and duration of each session will depend on the child. At least three sessions per week are recommended for the child to make consistent progress.” Easy Does it for Apraxia-Preschool, Materials Book. Robin Strode and Catherine Chamberlain
“In stark contrast, the children with apraxia of speech whose parents stated that three-quarters of their child’s speech could be understood following treatment required 151 individual sessions (ranging from 144-168). In other words, the children with apraxia of speech required 81% more individual treatment sessions than those with severe phonological disorders to achieve a similar function outcome.” Functional treatment outcomes for young children with motor-speech disorders by Thomas Campbell in Clinical Management of Motor Speech Disorders A.J. Caruso and E.A. Strand 1999.
(In addition to the information on this page, a great page on 1:1 therapy is at Apraxia-Kids)
1:1 Therapy Question Sent To Children’s Apraxia Network:
Advice From our nonprofit’s SLS/MA/ EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, Cheryl Bennett-Johnson
It is interesting to note that when a child is receiving Early Intervention services in the home, therapy is 1:1. It is also interesting to note that children as young as six months of age have received 1:1 services. Every apraxic child is different; with a diagnosis of severe apraxia, the child would benefit from 1:1 therapy. What data does the school SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) present indicating that the age of 5 is too young for 1:1 services?
Remember, when a request for services is not given as requested, the denying party must give a written rationale as to why. The IEP (Individualized Education Program) is an Individualized Education Program. How will the SLP (Speech and Language Pathologist) address the severe oral motor needs of the child within the group setting? What are the short and long term goals and objectives that are specific to the nature of this child’s severe apraxia? Does the SLP plan to devote x amount of minutes providing 1:1 therapy to your child within the group setting? Your child’s disability of apraxia affects his involvement and progress in the general curriculum and access to nonacademic and extracurricular activities because he cannot communicate appropriately to school personnel when needed and communicate effectively through speech and/or writing to classmates and teachers. The severity of his disability warrants 1:1 speech therapy intervention. Your child’s disability of apraxia of speech affects his ability to engage in age-relevant behaviors that typical students of the same age would be expected to be performing or would have achieved {IDEA-Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.): 34 C.F R.300.347 (a)(1)(i) Statue 20 United State Code (U.S.C.) 1414 (d)(1)(A)(i)(1).
I am requesting that the parent draft a letter to the Dr. of the Child Study Team, including the information listed above. Indicate that you are not in agreement with the type /amount/duration of the speech therapy services that will be provided to your child. State that you are seeking 1:1 therapy services for your child because… Send the letter certified receipt return requested. Send a copy to the SLP, the District Superintendent of Schools, and the Board of Education President. Severe Apraxia requires the parent to advocate for 1:1 services in the area of speech therapy
Posted: November 28, 2022 by lisa
Charlie Chuong’s 13th Birthday Party Invitation
Let’s let Charlie know he’s worth getting to know! You are cordially invited to celebrate Charlie’s 13th birthday party with him.
Saturday, December 10th, 1 PM – 3 PM in EST
Superplay 1600 NW Courtyard Circle Port St. Lucie, FL. 34986
As an honored guest, you are invited to have a super time at SuperPlay There is no admission cost to attend the party. However, those that want to participate, there will be a limited amount of party passes for 20 dollars from Superplay which include
• two hours of bowling,
• shoe rental,
• equipment rental,
• seven dollars’ worth of game room tokens,
• two slices of pizza,
• unlimited drinks,
*100 percent of the 20 dollars goes to Superplay. Charlie’s father has prepurchased a limited number of party passes at 20 dollars each so if interested please RSVP here.
and, of course, a delicious custom birthday cake donated from Seriangely’s Sweet Inspirations by cake creator Maria Lopez Ruiz.
There will be a motorcade with the Ecto Force Ghostbusters and the St Lucie police/sheriffs department to escort Charlie to Superplay around 1 PM, when the party starts.
You can find more information about Ecto Force and their incredible team at: http://ECTOFORCE.org
As well as see all their upcoming events and appearances at: https://www.facebook.com/ECTOFORCEFL
For inquiries or more information, contact: [email protected]
In addition to the Ecto Force Ghostbusters who will be there with their Ectomobles; Ecto-1P and Ecto 1V, the Mets mascot will be there along with Superheroes Guardian Angels, first responders, and surprises to join the super party. Celebrate Charlie’s birthday and stay as long as you want to play! Michael Rubano from Macrobano Photography will be on hand to take fun photos! You can RSVP to Charlie’s birthday party here.
Please donate to the Cherab Foundation! We are raising money for basic party supplies, and any money over our goal can help others in need. Your donation will make a difference in the lives of children and families affected by disability. Thank you for your support!
The Cherab Foundation is excited to announce its upcoming Friendship Circle event to help a special needs child make friends. Charlie is 12 years old, autistic, and in the 6th grade. He has no friends and feels alone in the world.
Charlie is a super sweet boy diagnosed with autism, and he will be turning 13 this December 13th. He is intelligent and attentive but struggles in communication and processing conversations. Therefore, he is known as the “boy that doesn’t talk” and has no friends.
Since being diagnosed as on the spectrum, his classroom has been in an ESE isolation class with other autistic boys.
Attending school has always been challenging for Charlie because he isn’t around other children and has no friends. Since being diagnosed as on the spectrum, Charlie’s classroom has been in an ESE self-contained isolation class with other autistic boys.
At home with his family and when they travel together, he loves discovering new places on the map and has an excellent memory of new places and things. He finds joy in pranking his mom and dad. He’s kind, considerate, and thoughtful to others and even animals. Strays that come onto our property always get something to eat! He helps with chores, shopping, and even cooking and gardening.
But what Charlie is missing is friendship. Charlie would love to have a friend.
He needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone,” said Pierre. “I’m sure other kids out there feel the same way; because they are different or learn things a certain way doesn’t mean they aren’t fun to be around.”
For the past 12 years, Charlie has celebrated his birthday only with family. “We would order his favorite superhero flavor of the year cake and spend a lot of time and money on decorations and gifts to make his birthdays special, but we didn’t have anyone to send invitations to!” Even virtually, there is no friendship. Charlie would love to play video games with other children, but that has also been painful for Charlie. The other children will mock the way he speaks and laugh at him. Due to this, Charlie no longer tries to play video games with other children despite how much he would love to.
Finally, this year, driving to his Jr. High open house, he asked me, “Can I be in a regular classroom so I can make some friends?” My heart just sank, and I knew I had to do something right there.
Reading about a Cherab Friendship Circle birthday party for William Morales gave Charlie’s parents the idea to have an event for Charlie to help him make friends. ” Please help me and parents like me create a happy world for our children to live in, where they can be safe and have fun,” Charlie’s father, Pierre, said.
As the guest of honor, Charlie, along with the Cherab Foundation and the Chuong family, welcomes the whole community to join him to celebrate all those individuals and families out there feeling the same alienation and come out and join the fun, share some cake and make a few new friends. “I want Charlie and children like him to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest with compassion for each other.
Charlie and his family, SuperPlay, Duffy’s Sports Grill, The Mets, Seriangely’s Sweet Inspirations, Ecto Force Ghostbusters, and Superheroes, first responders, Michael Rubano from Macrobano Photography, along with the Cherab Foundation team, look forward to hosting you. We are, extending the invitation to like-minded, kindhearted individuals to come out for a day of fun, food, friendship, games, and of course, a bowling-themed birthday party.
Charlie was a toddler when his parents started wondering if he was different from the others and if his differences all added to something. Lack of speech. Phobia of loud noises. A strong dislike for crowds. Inability to socialize well with peers. Google searches always led Charlie’s parents to Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Cherab Foundation’s Friendship Circle event brings together children with and without disabilities. The goal is to provide a fun, supportive environment where children can socialize and make friends, focusing on Charlie, who is turning 13 and has never had a birthday party with friends. Charlie doesn’t get invitations to other children’s birthday parties.
Cherab Foundation’s Friendship Circle is an important event, as it helps children with special needs learn how to socialize and connect with others. It also allows other children to develop compassion for others and the importance of acceptance and understanding.
Because Charlie is entering his adolescent years, he is starting to think more about friends and socializing. This Cherab Friendship Circle event will help Charlie meet other kids, including some going through the same things he is. Charlie can talk to the children that attend, learn from them, and maybe even make lifelong friendships.
Charlie is a wonderful boy who loves to travel and explore new places. He has an excellent memory and is fantastic at ping pong. His late grandfather played with him, and he enjoyed it very much. Charlie’s favorite thing in the world is going to Legoland and going on cruises with his family to discover new destinations. He also enjoys eating pizza, reading comics, and playing video games. Charlie is excited about having his first birthday party and making new friends.
For those unable to attend, Charlie loves receiving and opening mail but typically doesn’t get any birthday cards outside his family. We are hoping this year; he’ll get a few more. You can mail birthday cards or birthday gifts to Charlie Chuong through:
Charlie’s Birthday
C/o Cherab Foundation
2301 NE Savannah Rd, #1771
Jensen Beach, FL 34957
For more information on the Friendship Circle event, please visit Cherab’s Friendship Circle
Posted: February 10, 2020 by lisa
USDA
Posted: November 18, 2019 by lisa
The Late Talker Book
The Late Talker
What to do if Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet
By Marilyn Agin MD, Lisa Geng, and Malcolm J. Nicholl
The first book to show parents how to tell whether a child has a speech delay or a more serious speech disorder.
Every parent eagerly awaits the day his or her child will speak for the fist time. For millions of mothers and fathers, however, anticipation turns to anxiety when those initial, all-important words are a long time coming. Many worried parents are reassured that their child is “just a late talker,” but unfortunately, that is not always the case. Co-author Lisa Geng was one of those parents and she discovered that her children had serious speech disorders.
Balanced with a mother”s perspective and an acclaimed doctor”s experience, this book gives parents needed guidance on:
The warning signs of a serious speech disorder
Finding the right therapist for their child
Negotiating with school boards, teachers, and service providers
Exercises to do at home with a child.
Marilyn Agin MD is the medical director of the Early Intervention Program in New York City.
Lisa Geng is the founder and president of Cherab, a nonprofit organizations dedicated to children with speech difficulties, and co-founder of Speechville. She lives in Florida.
Malcolm J Nicholl is a former international journalist, and co-author of The LCP Solution. He lives in Del Mar, California.
Purchase now from Amazon:
The Late Talker: What to Do If Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet
Kindle Edition: The Late Talker: What to Do If Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet
Posted: August 8, 2019 by lisa
I’m learning to speak, please don’t mind me while I eat
We recently saw an article about a family who was asked to leave a restaurant when their child with Apraxia made a nearby patron uncomfortable with his attempts at speech.
That had us thinking… We previously created an information card to hand out while Trick-Or-Treating at Halloween. It’s obvious that parents need similar information cards doing day-to-day activities.
Save the images below to share on social media or download this free PDF that can be printed as a front and back card to share when needed:
ABC 13 – WSET news story: Family with a child that has apraxia asked to leave Outback Restaurant due to noises. Note to Outback Steakhouse, perhaps send out a memo to your staff that if a customer complains about a special needs child, offer to move that customer and explain the situation to the customer. This is far more compassionate than asking a family with a special needs child to leave which is embarrassing and stressful for a family already with so much on their plate (pardon the pun). When my son was little his only words were “mmm” and “ma” I heard rude comments like “what’s wrong with him?” and why I have pages of responses such as https://pursuitofresearch.org/2016/07/14/whats-wrong-with-him/ but was never asked to leave a restaurant. In an episode of What Would You Do? about autism the child actor who played the part of someone with autism was making noises and unlike this child with apraxia was moving around the restaurant and yet he was the actor defended by the other restaurant diners from the actor who played the part of the uncompassionate diner who wanted the special needs child to leave the restaurant. Perhaps show this to your staff? https://youtu.be/dgwYukPReKw Also if you are looking for an apraxia organization to donate to, like this article states, please consider the Cherab Foundation. We’d be happy to work together with you on this. Perhaps organize an apraxia night? https://cherabfoundation.org/
Posted: October 16, 2018 by lisa
Hundreds Attend Chris Ramirez’s Cherab Foundation Anti-Bullying Birthday Party
It’s not just Chris, who is diagnosed with Autism, and his family who benefitted from his wish for caring and friendship, locals and people from as far north as Daytona, and as far west as Tampa came both in support of Chris or because they too find themselves in a similar situation, alienated or bullied by folks in their communities. Cherab Foundation’s crowdFunnit was founded with the intent of bringing an awareness and an end to alienation and bullying in a proactive way,” said crowdFunnit founder Lisa Geng, a Port St. Lucie resident. “The acceptance, compassion, and friendships that happened for Chris and his family and those who have come to support or be supported have been amazing.”
Hundreds attend student’s birthday party
By Donald Rodrigue For Hometown News
ST. LUCIE WEST — In what resembled a Columbia Pictures Hollywood movie premiere Sept. 30 at Superplay USA, Oak Hammock eighth-grader Chris Ramirez arrived in a K-9 police escort leading a convey including the Ecto1 driven by the Cat5 Ghostbusters to celebrate his 14th birthday.
No, the young Port St. Lucie resident was not akin to Ritchie Rich, but rather the city’s second recipient of an over-the-top birthday celebration orchestrated by crowdFunnit, a division of the not-for-profit Cherab Foundation that hosts community birthday parties for children needing a social network boost. The first recipient was 13-year-old William Morales on Aug. 13, 2017, at the same location. Chris’ mother, Mary Ramirez, said she first heard about the two nonprofit organizations through the Morales event and said her son’s party was awesome.
“I could not have possibly asked for a better day,” she said. “We met a lot of wonderful people who opened their hearts to us.”
Ms. Ramirez reached out to the organizations after unsuccessfully trying to encourage her autistic son, who was the victim of at least six verified bullying instances last year alone and had become increasingly withdrawn. Since the pre-media coverage of the free massive birthday event that ultimately drew nearly 400 partygoers, she said things have definitely improved for her son and he’s been coming out of his shell as a result.
“The media coverage of this event has helped awareness of anti-bullying,” Ms. Ramirez added. “The community came together and gave Chris the birthday of a lifetime. It was over the top, and so much better than I could have possibly wished for. So many wonderful people showed up and opened their hearts to us.”
Invitation to the party was free and prospective guests were simply needed to RSVP via the eventbrite.com website in order to ensure the event didn’t go over maximum capacity. Once there, both Chris and his partygoers were treated to special performances by other superheroes courtesy of Treasure Coast Cosplayers, Star Wars Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, Captain Jack Sparrow, a dance troupe, the St Lucie Mets Mascot Klutch and national recording artist JessLee who recently appeared on The Voice! and sang happy birthday to Chris.
“I felt as happy as I could have possibly been,” the birthday boy said. “I arrived at the party in the Sheriff’s Department car with the K-9 officer Bo and officer Matt. I Felt like a VIP.”
Party guests enjoyed a professional DJ, face painting, a green screen dress-up photo booth, a face painting balloon artist and of course, an off-the-chain birthday cake that Ms. Geng referred to as a “Cake Wars-level” creation in the shape of a coral reef and featuring a spaceship.
“These were two of two of Chris’s favorite things,” she added. “The baker is using dry ice to make it look like the spaceship is taking off.”
Ms. Ramirez made special note of the cake and expressed her gratitude to all those who participated in making her son’s party a success.
“The cake was out of this world,” she exclaimed. “I want to thank all the volunteers and messaging for all the wonderful work they put together to make this party a success.”
Ms. Geng had also arranged a special price at the venue for those who attended Chris’ blowout and wanted to play games before or afterward, which incorporated a $5 donation to the Cherab Foundation.
“If they wanted to bowl or play games or eat food there was a charge for all three,” she explained. “This year and last year we used the party package, which included two hours of bowling and all the equipment, two slices of pizza and a drink, and a $3 arcade swipe card. We sold them for $15.”
The evening after the party, Chris said he felt like he would have a little adjustment coming down to Earth the next day at school.
“I feel I deserved the day off,” he laughed.
Ms. Geng founded the Cherab Foundation in 2000 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to children with neurological or genetic impairments that affect communication such as autism and apraxia. She started crowdFunnit in 2015 to focus on such children who become isolated due to bullying by their peers.
Ms. Geng has held nine such events since 2015 and is now planning a fundraiser Nov. 4 at the Rush Jensen Beach extreme trampoline park to bring community awareness to the Cherab Foundation.
“This is an opportunity for special needs children and their families to experience a fun day in a safe and supportive environment, supporting differences while fostering compassion and friendship,” she added.
The Cherab Foundation Goal
Volunteer based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit for children with neurological or genetic impairments that affect communication with a focus on Autism and Apraxia. With your help, we can reach our goal to host at least one party every single month across all 50 States! We are also launching a school-based program right here in South Florida, with a goal to reach every district in the country. This new program will expand upon the tools we’ve developed to encourage acceptance and compassion within their daily school environment where we feel the impact will be greatest.
CrowdFunnit, a project of the 501(c)3 Cherab Foundation, hosts HUGE Community Birthday Parties for friendless kids across the country. Featured in local and national news, we proactively fight bullying by bringing together like-minded people, raising awareness about differences and fostering acceptance and compassion. Volunteer-based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is focused on helping children with neurological and genetic communication impairments such as autism and apraxia. . Donationsare tax-deductible. Federal tax ID number is 22-3685234
Posted: September 9, 2018 by lisa
Circle Of Friends
If your child has or is being teased, the following is an effective evidence-based technique that I first learned about from an award-winning Teacher of Excellence recipient Educational Consultant, and NJ State Teacher Representative Cherab’s Vice President Cheryl Bennett Johnson SLS MA. I first used this successfully for my own children if there were any issues with bullying at school, and now use the same method on a community level with the highly effective Cherab Foundation initiative crowdFunnit throwing community birthday parties for special needs children to foster acceptance and compassion for those children that believe the world doesn’t like them, and need a little help making friends.
Children on the neurological spectrum may be ignored, or bullied by peers because of their differences, and due to this, they may behave inappropriately because they experience anxiety or even depression from being friendless.
The ‘circle of friends’ approach, sometimes known as the friendship circle, or circle of support, is a powerful tool for inclusion involving children sitting in a circle with their teacher using method-specific techniques and strategies to promote self-esteem, foster acceptance and compassion, reduce bullying and alienation while fostering positive classroom relationships. It is supported by theories of self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and voice and participation theory, some that date back to the early 1900s.
The ‘circle of friends’ approach (Forest et al, 1993: Newton and Wilson 1999; Taylor 1996, 1997) offers a structured intervention based on the belief that a person’s judgments about their behavior and that of others can be influenced by the social situation. The intervention uses small-group sessions to give one specific child positive attention to help them interpret and respond to their environment and social situations with understanding.
The theoretical underpinnings for the many and varied traditional circle time sessions and small-group approaches are far-reaching and may well cite links to a person-centred counselling approach (Mead 1934; Rogers 1961, 1970); social learning theory (Bandura 1977); the circle of friends intervention approach (Newton and Wilson 1999; Taylor 1996, 1997); emotional literacy programmes (Morris and Casey 2005; Morris and Morris 2002); behavioural approached (Cooper, Smith and Upton 1994); and the eco-systemic approach Mosley 1993, 1996, 1998).
The circle of friends remains in the literature today even though many parents still don’t know about it, or how successful it is to help reduce and eliminate bullying. In the UK in 1998, Jennifer Mosley published the book ‘Quality Circle Time in the Primary Classroom: Your Essential Guide to Enhancing Self-esteem, Self-discipline and Positive Relationships’ and developed the whole school approach to the use of circle time (another name used for circle of friendship)
The main aims of circle of friends are:
review by the whole school community as to how these can be made more inclusive
members of the group, for example, the ability to listen, to reflect, to evaluate, to
empathize, to problem solve, to understand, identify and cope effectively with feelings (of self and others)
Success
When the teacher/facilitator effectively supports the Circle of Friends participants in delivering the intervention, positive outcomes are generally guaranteed. The target student will hopefully have gained in three key areas and be more able to:
The Circle of Friends group will also clearly have benefitted in terms of developing their own pro-social skills, empathy, ability to analyze others’ behavior and increased their awareness of the value and importance of including others in positive and meaningful relationships. As adults, we should never underestimate the latter.
As Newton and Wilson (1996) explain, ‘we have underestimated the therapeutic power of acceptance and overemphasized the negative influence of the peer group. The reality is that there are enormous benefits to all of the strengths of the natural peer group can be realized to support the vulnerable individual.’
Circle of friends has been found highly effective. One case study provided a fascinating insight into how the behavior of a child, previously isolated, changed to such a degree that she became a valued and accepted member of the class. Although the wide support that circle‐time has gained has largely been in primary schools, it appears to be enjoying similar success elsewhere.
Inspired by the work of numerous educators and researchers I’ve developed my own version of the circle of friends to help children with communication impairments that I’ve used with both of my boys which helped not just reduce but virtually eliminate bullying. Through the Cherab Foundation, our CrowdFunnit initiative is taking a version of the circle of friends I used with my own boys to the community to help a student who believes they are alone in the world without friends. Both of these programs, both school and community help foster acceptance and compassion to proactively reduce and eliminate bullying and alienation. If your child needs help, please contact us
William is one example of a life that was turned around by the Cherab Foundation crowdFunnit program. From the day after his birthday party till now over a year later he has friends, his grades and confidence have gone up, and as William says, “I like me now..if that makes sense”
Circle of friends to reduce bullying
Some children can be identified as being predisposed to become a victim of bullying. Typical features include:
Traditionally How Circle of Friends Works
Once the vulnerable student who is evidently in need of peer support has been identified, the teacher/facilitator can arrange to conduct the introductory session with the whole class/form group (in the absence of the target student). The ‘key’ activity undertaken is to complete a Relationship Circles Activity. This involves students in thinking about the people in their lives, family, friends and acquaintances and writing their names in a series of concentric circles. Instructions might be as follows:
described as people you live with or people you like to hug (people who love you
most).
According to a 1998 study ‘Practical approaches to reduce the impact of bullying.’ “Adults who look after children should be aware that these children are vulnerable to the attention of bullies. Supervision of children after an episode of bullying must be sufficient to protect potential victims. Classroom-based interventions such as “circle of friends” may promote victims’ prosocial behavior.”
According to PACER’s online National Bullying Prevention Center, “One study shows that 60 percent of students with disabilities report being bullied regularly compared with 25 percent of all students.”
Bullying is a form of youth violence. Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and lower academic achievement (Center for Disease Control, 2017).
A circle of friends is when you bring together all the children in the class. This would include your child of course. The discussion would be right in front of (your child) where (your child)’s speech disorder would be talked about, as well as how frustrating it is to communicate and how painful it is to be teased about it, etc. (your child) can add to the conversation if he wants, and everyone shares and learns.
Cheryl says it works so well that then the children in the circle of friends go out of their way to protect and watch over and translate for the child with the communication problem. Don’t just stick to the school either -do this with neighborhood children too.
Example of a Small “Circle of Friends!” by Lisa Geng
So how did I address the teasing when my son Tanner was teased in kindergarten?
Since I don’t believe in getting upset with children, especially kindergarten age children, and don’t believe lectures would work for this age anyway, I scheduled a “circle of friends” which the school SLP also took part in. I went into the class and with Tanner sitting right there I opened up with a question. “If someone from the cartoon Scooby Doo was out in the hallway right now…who would you want it to be? Scooby? Velma? Shaggy?” (knowing, of course, that just about all kids would choose Scooby which of course they did)
I then let them know that Scooby doesn’t talk like everyone else -“but he’s lots of fun and a cool dude to hang out with right?” Then I read a short Winnie the Pooh book about feelings -and used quick examples they could relate to for each feeling. When I came to sad – I talked about Tanner….and how he is sad when someone laughs at the way he talks. I explained to the class about how Tanner had high fevers as a baby that put a boo boo in his brain -but that he is very smart and has been working hard at learning to talk for years now. I talked about children that are deaf or that have other impairments (and the SLP and OT had brought in some of the children in the school in wheelchairs)
By this time -all the children were surrounding Tanner and putting their hands around him hugging him. We then went around the room and each child talked about something that they had trouble doing at first -and did anyone ever laugh at them while they were learning. All the children brought up something that they had to learn -and some talked about how someone laughed at them when they fell off the bike, etc. However, when we got to the little boy that had teased Tanner he could not think of anything that he didn’t know how to do – he was the only one. The teacher said “Oh come on ____ when you were a little tiny baby you didn’t know how to skateboard now, did you? You had to learn that.” He agreed. I then talked about all the things that Tanner is really good at, and that “just like Scooby” Tanner may not talk like everyone else -but that doesn’t mean he’s not a cool dude to hang out with.
I then walked out to the hallway and got a bag of Scooby Doo party favor type toys and said: “Scooby left these for all of you guys!” The above was quick – but huge wonderful impact.
After that day -there was never teasing again -and even the one kid that had teased Tanner was now hanging out with Tanner. There was an immediate improvement in Tanner’s speech and confidence. And…by the way, he then talked to me about what had happened and (finally) told me about how this little boy laughed when he talked. Even though the teacher said it was only for one week -I’m 100% convinced that she just was not aware of it prior -it apparently was going on 2 weeks prior.
Perhaps it’s due to that experience early on that Tanner is never teased now. He knows how to handle it -it’s hard for a bully to tease someone who doesn’t get upset.
There are two chapters in The Late Talker book devoted to dealing with parent or child frustrations.”
More Tips On How To Prevent Or Deal With Bullying For A Speech Impaired Child
Cherab Foundation crowdFunnit Program
LISA GENG
Additionally, Lisa has been serving as an AAN Immunization Panel parent advocate since 2015 and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Currently working on her second book, “The Late Talker Grows Up,” she also serves as an executive producer of “Late Talkers Silent Voices.” Lisa Geng lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.
Some useful references
Publishing
Inclusion Work Toronto: Inclusion Press
Press
Studies in Inclusive Education
Wiley Online Library
Seija Kangas, Kaarina Määttä and Satu Uusiautti, Alone and in a group: ethnographic research on autistic children’s play, International Journal of Play, 1, 1, (37), (2012).
Julie Bennett, Colin Espie, Barbara Duncan, and Helen Minnis, A Qualitative Exploration of Children’s Understanding of Indiscriminate Friendliness, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 14, 4, (595), (2009).
Efrosini Kalyva and Elias Avramidis, Improving Communication Between Children with Autism and Their Peers Through the ‘Circle of Friends’: A Small‐scale Intervention Study, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18, 3, (253-261), (2005).
Licette Gus, Autism: Promoting peer understanding, Educational Psychology in Practice, 16, 4, (461), (2000).
Posted: August 30, 2018 by CrowdFunnit
Chris Ramirez’s 14th Birthday Invitation
“Bullying has left a mark on Chris’s soul. As a result, he suffers bouts of both anxiety and depression that others hate him and is afraid to leave our house. Chris who is on the autism spectrum desperately needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone” ~Mary Ramirez
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Hundreds Attended the Cherab Foundation Event For Chris
Quick Links
Party Details |
Chris’s Story | Send Chris A Card
Party Details
Let’s let Chris know he does have friends! You are cordially invited to celebrate Chris’s 14th birthday party with him. Thanks to all the community support, crowdFunnit is hosting a special, community birthday party in Chris’s honor, to bring an end to bullying and alienation while celebrating all that is good in life; friendship, kindness, and of course, cake from Seriangely’s Sweet Inspirations!
Interview With Chris
crowdFunnit and the Ramirez family welcome families in the same situation as Chris’s family to share their stories and join us at the party. Please contact us and we can help Equally important is the presence of compassionate individuals and families of all ages to come out and join the fun, share some cake and make a few new friends.
All are invited to the festivities to celebrate Chris’s 14th birthday which will include a special live appearance by National Recording Artist JessLee who was recently Team Blake on The Voice! In addition, we will have appearances from Superheroes, Ghostbusters, a dance troupe, dance along ZUMBA! demo class with instructors from the Treasure Coast, St. Lucie Sherrif’s K9 Unit, St Lucie County Fire District, Klutch the St Lucie Mets Mascot, along with bowling, games, a professional DJ, face painting, green screen dress-up photo booth, a face painting balloon artist, Guardian Angels, and of course, birthday cake, and so much more which take place:
Sunday, September 30, 2018, 1 PM – 3 PM in EST
Superplay USA 1600 NW Courtyard Circle Port St. Lucie, FL. 34986
RSVP here for your free ticket to help us plan accordingly (general admission is free)
Send Chris a birthday card through our partner CardFool
Live Updates about Chris’s crowdFunnit party
Updated Press Release
Chris’s Birthday Party Flyer
Donate to the Cherab Foundation as we begin to build our program with a committed goal to bring our birthday party initiative to every state in the U.S.
There is no admission cost to attend the party, however, we are looking to raise $500 towards basic party supplies and gifts for Chris. Any money over our goal can help others in need of support through the 501(c)3 Cherab Foundation which is the organization behind CrowdFunnit. Cherab Foundation provides evidence-based and integrative approaches to help children with therapy, nutrition, socialization/anti-bullying, and awareness. Every dollar helps. Thank you in advance!
Please contribute here
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Chris’s Story
“Kids always have friends and all, and that just makes me sad because I had like no friends, and I’m like, ‘Man, I wish one day I had a friend,’” ~Chris Ramirez
Up until 2nd grade, Chris who has been diagnosed with ASD and ADHD was outgoing, reveled in making others laugh. Then things began to change. By 4th grade, he was teased constantly by his classmates for being different. Teasing turned into bullying and physical altercations by peers, classmates invading his privacy even in the school bathroom has made Chris fearful of leaving his house. “Bullying has left a mark on Chris’s soul. There were almost half a dozen confirmed cases of bullying at school last year alone, and as a result, he suffers bouts of both anxiety and depression that others hate him. He needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone.” Mary added, “He’s built walls around him to keep other kids from hurting him. It’s those walls I want broken down.” Like all children, each year Chris wanted a birthday party with friends, but for the past seven years, he has celebrated only with family. “We spent hundreds of dollars on his birthday parties,” said Mary. “Chris waited and waited, and nobody came.” It’s been heartbreaking for Chris who desperately needs to know that he is worthy of having friends and that he is not alone.
Last summer he and his father attended the crowdFunnit celebration for William Morales in Port St. Lucie, FL and seeing a child that had been bullied have a party like that his hopes did a 180. Now Chris will be the guest of honor at his own crowdFunnit party and welcomes the whole community to join him, on Sept 30th, 2018 to celebrate all those individuals and families out there feeling the same alienation. Inspired by previous crowdFunnit events, Mary Ramirez reached out on behalf of her son. “I have watched Chris go through so much heartache dealing with how he is different from other children his age. He fears to leave his home when other children want to spread their wings,” she said. Chris loves gaming and computers. He also loves swimming at the beach or pool, animals (his cats) and science. He loves to watch Mythbusters on TV with his older brother. Chris and crowdFunnit are calling all kind-hearted people interested in making friends. “I want there to be a common ground where he and others like him can feel safe to be themselves, do activities and enjoy life,” Mary said. That’s exactly the foundation of the crowdFunnit community party says founder Lisa Geng. “We are dedicated to improving the lives of those who are bullied and alienated, fostering acceptance, compassion, and friendship through open-invite birthday parties, community awareness, and common kindness.” Lisa added, “ If you’re not able to RSVP your attendance, you can always donate to the organization as we begin to build our program with a committed goal to bring our birthday party initiative to every state in the U.S.”
All are invited to the festivities to celebrate Chris’s 14th birthday which will include a special live appearance by National Recording Artist JessLee who was recently Team Blake on The Voice!
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“I just want Chris and children like him to enjoy life and all the wonderful things it offers. Please help me and other moms like me find a happy place for our sons and daughters to live in. We need them to know that they are not alone.” ~Mary Ramirez
Send Chris A Card
Send Chris A Birthday Card! For those unable to attend – we have firsthand knowledge that Chris loves receiving mail! Past years he’s received just a few cards from family. This year help us show Chris he’s loved by so many by upping that number to a few hundred. The Cherab Foundation has partnered with CardFool so people can easily send him a birthday card. It’s a real snail mail card that you can personalize and CardFool will send right to Chris’s mailbox. Chris gets the card, our parent organization, The Cherab Foundation, gets a few bucks and you get a star for simply being so cool.. Cardfool’s donation of the net proceeds of your purchase back to the Cherab Foundation will, in turn, allow us to help even more children. We really hope you can help Chris feel like a million bucks as he welcomes his 14th birthday.
If your child is being bullied or alienated, please contact us for help. We also appreciate any donations to help more children. We are a grassroots 100 percent volunteer-based 501(c)3 Thank you so much and keep updated by our Facebook page or here at the Cherab Foundation. Go to top ^
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Refer a Child
If you know a child or teen that is bullied or alienated please let us know so we can help. Refer a child here.
The Cherab Foundation Goal
Volunteer based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit for children with neurological or genetic impairments that affect communication with a focus on Autism and Apraxia. With your help, we can reach our goal to host at least one party every single month across all 50 States! We are also launching a school-based program right here in South Florida, with a goal to reach every district in the country. This new program will expand upon the tools we’ve developed to encourage acceptance and compassion within their daily school environment where we feel the impact will be greatest.
CrowdFunnit, a project of the 501(c)3 Cherab Foundation, hosts HUGE Community Birthday Parties for friendless kids across the country. Featured in local and national news, we proactively fight bullying by bringing together like-minded people, raising awareness about differences and fostering acceptance and compassion. Volunteer-based since 2000, the Cherab Foundation is focused on helping children with neurological and genetic communication impairments such as autism and apraxia. . Donations are tax-deductible. Federal tax ID number is 22-3685234
Posted: August 10, 2018 by lisa
Fish oil and Bleeding Risk
It has long been believed that fish oil may cause a person to bleed more easily, especially if consumed at higher doses. However, clinical trials have not found much evidence to support it. And just like the longtime myth that you have to wait 30 minutes after eating to swim, some researchers and physicians are now questioning whether the precaution is valid. Though the Cherab Foundation some parents have questioned bloody noses and increased bruising in wonder if it’s from fish oil supplementation and the advice is to take their child for a bleeding time test. There has yet to be any cases of children testing to have abnormal bleeding time (and I was a child that used to bruise and get bloody noses and unfortunately for me as could have probably have used their health benefits wasn’t on fish oils) Check with your child’s doctor, but good to be aware of the evidence.
Research quotes answer the question do fish oil cause bleeding?
Bill Harris, one of the leading authorities in omega-3 research, doesn’t think so (1).
In 2007, Harris reviewed 19 clinical studies involving 4387 surgical patients who were taking fish oil supplements in doses ranging from 1.6g EPA/DHA per day (the equivalent of taking about 4 fish oil capsules or 1.5 teaspoons of Omega Cure) to 21g EPA/DHA per day. In 16 out of 19 studies, the patients were also taking aspirin. And in three of the studies, patients were taking heparin, another common blood thinning drug. The review concluded that the risk of problematic bleeding was virtually nonexistent, even when combined with other medications known to increase the risk of bleeding (2).
Another review from 2008 reached the same conclusion. This review stated that no published studies had reported clinically significant bleeding episodes among patients treated with antiplatelet drugs and fish oil at a dose of 3g to 7g per day (2).
A more recent review, published online in March of 2017, agreed again. This review found it safe to consume omega-3 supplements, even at large doses of up to 10g of EPA/DHA per day in the short term (3). To put that dose in perspective, it would be the same as swallowing almost ¼ cup of Omega Cure, or taking 30 fish oil capsules daily. That’s significantly more omega-3 than anybody takes on a regular basis.
A study published this summer in the journal Clinical Nutrition literally titled “Fish oil LC-PUFAs do not affect blood coagulation parameters and bleeding manifestations: Analysis of 8 clinical studies with selected patient groups on omega-3-enriched medical nutrition” found no evidence to support any concern raised with regards to the application of n-3 LC-PUFAs and the potentially increased risk for the occurrence of adverse bleeding manifestations even in selected vulnerable and sensitive populations populations. (4)
Even before these studies experts have questioned the bleeding risk, including stopping fish oils prior to surgery. Those with diagnosed heart disease have no chance to stop the fish oils prior to surgery for emergency open-heart surgery, yet I’ve read there are no cases of hemorrhaging for those taking the high dosages of fish oils as per Dr. Stoll, and Dr. Richardson (quotes below)
Speaking of which my Mom went in for open heart surgery and her heart surgeon told her she did not have to stop taking her fish oils prior -and the doctor and nurses in the operating room reported that she had very little bleeding during surgery, and we were also told after she healed faster than the norm.
Fish oil is not like man-made blood thinners -it works with the body as needed.
Dr. Stoll quote answers the question do fish oil cause bleeding?
Saturday Evening Post. An interview with Dr. Stoll:
“Post: Is there a downside to supplementing with omega-3?
Dr. Stoll: There isn’t. Some people may experience GI distress if they take a large amount of a low-quality supplement. But the highest good-quality fish oil is not rancid and has little or no taste and has no side effects.
Another issue that people worry about is bleeding because EPA inhibits platelet aggregation. But we scoured the scientific literature, and there has never been a documented case of bleeding due to omega-3 fatty acids. We recently reviewed about 18,000 people who participated in clinical trials with omega-3s, largely in cardiology studies, and we couldn’t find one instance of bleeding in any of the trials.
There was no bleeding, even if used in IVs prescribed before and during cardiac surgery. I think this perception is a myth because omega-3s don’t inhibit the platelets as strongly as aspirinperhaps 60 to 70 percent as much as aspirinand unlike aspirin, the effect is reversible.
Post: When a patient is on blood thinners, such as coumadin, should they exercise caution when supplementing with omega-3? Dr. Stoll: In that situation, I usually recommend a lower dose, not exceeding one or two grams of EPA per day. At this dosage, there should be no effect on the action of coumadin. The unanswered question is, together are they providing too much anticoagulation? Nonetheless, there may be some minute risk of a negative interaction with anticoagulants, such as warfarin (coumadin), high-dose aspirin, or ibuprofen-like medications, based on animal data and anecdotal reports in humans. However, large-scale controlled clinical trials with patients receiving omega-3 fatty acid supplements with either aspirin or warfarin observed no cases of bleeding even after one year of the combined treatments.
It would be a shame if cardiac patients or their physicians avoided the use of omega-3 supplements out of fear. I am thoroughly convinced that the dramatic and lifesaving cardiac actions of omega-3s far outweigh the very small or nonexistent risk of bleeding.”
SOURCE: Saturday Evening Post, May/June 2005, by Patrick Perry.
Dr. Richardson quote answers the question do fish oil cause bleeding?
“There is a long-standing myth that omega-3s cause bleeding. We have used data from 18,000 patients who were in clinical trials over the years-mostly in heart disease, and there is not one case of bleeding from omega-3s”
Resources
1. Harris, W.S. Expert opinion: Omega-3 fatty acids and bleeding—Cause for concern? Report of the National Lipid Association’s Safety Task Force: The Nonstatins. 99.6A (2007): 44C-6C. March 19, 2007.
2. Braun, L. Fish oils and bleeding: ‘Is there a clinically significant risk? BioCeuticals. August 19, 2013.
3. Jeansen,S., Witkamp, R.F., Garthoff, J.A., van Helvoort, A., Calder, P.C. Fish oil LC-PUFAs do not affect blood coagulation parameters and bleeding manifestations: Analysis of 8 clinical studies with selected patient groups on omega-3-enriched medical nutrition. Clinical Nutrition (2017). pii: S0261-5614(17)30118-8.
4. Jeansen, S. Et al. Fish oil LC-PUFAs do not affect blood coagulation parameters and bleeding manifestations: Analysis of 8 clinical studies with selected patient groups on omega-3-enriched medical nutrition Clinical Nutrition (2018), Volume 37, Issue 3 Pages 948-957
Author and President of The Cherab Foundation
Additionally, Lisa has been serving as an AAN Immunization Panel parent advocate since 2015 and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Currently working on her second book, “The Late Talker Grows Up,” she also serves as an executive producer of “Late Talkers Silent Voices.” Lisa Geng lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.
Posted: August 9, 2018 by lisa
The ABCs of Government, Special Education, and Advocacy
The following is a list of acronyms:
ACLD Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities (former name of LDA) ADA Americans with Disabilities Act ADD Attention Deficit Disorder ADD-RT Attention Deficit Disorder - Residual Type, ADD that lasts into childhood ADD/WO Attention Deficit without Hyperactivity or "Undifferentiated ADD" ADHD Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder, a subtype of ADD AHEAD Association on Handicapped Student Programs in Postsecondary Education APA American Psychiatric Association ASHA American Speech-Language-Hearing Association AT Assistive Technology ATD Assistive Technology Device ATS Assistive Technology Service BD Behavior Disordered (also referred to as EH or ED in some states) CAP Continuum of Alternative Placements CASE Council of Administrators of Special Education Inc. CBM Curriculum-Based Measurements CEC Council for Exceptional Children CFR Code of Federal Regulations CLD Council for Learning Disabilities CNS Central Nervous System CSPD Comprehensive system of personnel development DCCD/CEC Division for Children with Communication Disorders/Council for Exceptional Children DD Development Disabilities or "Developmental Delay" DE U.S. Department of Education DLD/CEC Division for Learning Disabilities/Council for Exceptional Children DSM "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" from the American Psychiatric Assocation (APA) ED Emotionally Disturbed (also referred to as BD or EH in some states) EDGAR Education Department General Administrative Regulations EEOC Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EH Emotionally Handicapped (also referred to as BD or ED in some states) EHA Education of the Handicapped Act of 1975, P.L. 94-142 FAPE Free appropriate public education FERPA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FR Federal Register HMO Health Management Organization IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (formerly the Education for the Handicapped Act) IDELR Individuals With Disabilities Education Law Report IEE Independent educational evaluation IEP Individualized education program IEPT Individualized education program team IEU Intermediate educational unit IFSP Individualized family service plan IRA International Reading Association LD Learning Disability LDA Learning Disability Association of America, Inc. (formerly ACLD, Inc.) LEA Local education agency (school district) LEP Limited English Proficient LRA Least Restrictive Alternative LRE Least restrictive (educational) environment MBD Minimal Brain Dysfunction MCO Managed Care Organizations MOE Maintenance of Effort MR Mental Retardation NAPAS National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&A Organizations) NASDSE National Association of State Directors of Special Education NASP National Association of School Psychologists NCLD National Center for Learning Disabilities NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development NIH National Institutes of Health NJCLD National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, currently composed of representatives from AHEAD, ASHA, CLD, DCCD/CEC, DLD/CDC, IRA, LDA, NASP, NCLD,and ODS. NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking OCR Office of Civil Rights (of U.S. Department of Education) ODS Orton Dyslexia Society OMB Office of Management and Budget OSEP Office of Special Education Programs (of U.S. Department of Education) OSERS Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (of U.S. Department of Education OT Occupational Therapy P&A Federally funded agencies who offer "Protection and Advocacy" for individuals with disabilities. PDD Pervasive Developmental Disorder PT Physical Therapy SEA State Education Agency SECTION 504 - Refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. SED Severely Emotionally Disturbed SERTS Special Education Resource Teachers SLD Specific Learning Disability, used interchangeably with LD SIT Sensory Integration Therapy TBI Traumatic Brain Injury USC United States Code VR Vocational Rehabilitation § Section