ACN Connections Newsletter 

MARCH, 2010 - DOWNLOAD PDF

From The Director —
By Executive Director Jessica H. Franco, PhD. The autism community received quite a shock on December 10 when one of San Antonio’s most prominent autism centers, Treehouse pediatrics announced its immediate closing. As devastating as this news was, we knew we had to act quickly to help the children left without a place for therapy and education. Exactly one week later, ACN hosted a forum for parents of children displaced by this closing. ACN staff joined forces with over 30 different San Antonio service providers, including therapy clinics and public schools, to provide parents with options for continuing services for their child. This forum provided not only a means for parents to find help in a time of great need, but also an opportunity for San Antonio autism agencies to team up in support of the children in our community. And, that’s what it’s all about. ACN was created to lead a collaborative effort to provide services and fill the gaps in services when needed. We were honored to facilitate this parent meeting. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible! I know we will connect again soon under better circumstances…

Pilot Day Program Fills a Gap —
By Rheatha Miller, Day Program Director Autism Community Network has launched a pilot program to provide classroom-based services to children that were previously attending Treehouse Pediatrics which closed in December. The program has been a successful transition for the students and staff due to donations that were provided by two private donors and The USAA Foundation. One For Autism is also helping out by providing their former location and TEA certification. The children receive both group and one-on-one instruction throughout the school day which fosters growth in communication and socialization. By providing each child an individualized educational program using the science of Applied Behavior Analysis we are able to encourage long term growth in these areas. “It is truly a blessing to see the changes we make in the lives of our students,” says Julie Ortiz, teacher. ACN has committed to providing a program for the children through the remainder of the school year and is currently working on long-term plans to continue providing services to the children. With the support of the community, ACN’s commitment to the families continues as we develop a long term plan for the future.

Welcome Dr. Pat Holden —
by Sandy Jessen, Parent Liaison. Psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Holden Joins our Team Autism Community Network would like to welcome Dr. Patrick Holden as the newest member of our diagnostic team. With another physician on staff, we are able to extend our diagnostic services to three days a week and help decrease the waiting time for families whose children need a developmental evaluation. Dr. Holden is a Psychiatrist on the faculty of UTHSC (The University of Texas Health Science Center), is now on our Thursday diagnostic team. Dr. Holden met his wife Sarah at UT Austin 40 years ago. He completed his residency at the University of Michigan in pediatrics then completed a residency in General Psychiatry and a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UTHSC. In a recent interview Dr. Holden explained that he had chosen the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry because it was a marriage between his favorite things - psychiatry and pediatrics. Dr. Holden commented that he likes working with kids because he considers himself, “A kid at heart.” Dr. Holden’s interest in autism began in the early 90’s working at the Center of Healthcare Services in the Developmental Disabilities Clinic. Dr. Holden was struck by the lack of services and knowledge about autistic disorders. Through the years, working in the field, Dr. Holden has gained quite a bit of insight into children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One of the things he sees as significant in treating children with ASD is being sensitive to their needs and creating an environment which responds to those needs. Because Children with ASD need structure and are sensitive to transition Holden feels that rather than the child having to adapt, it is essential that schools and treatment facilities create environments that adapt to a child’s needs while increasing the child’s skills. Although a psychiatrist’s role is often prescribing medications for childhood disorders, Dr. Holden often tells his medical residents, “Telling a patient she doesn’t need medication is sometimes as important as prescribing medication”. Certainly, sometimes medication is necessary, but Holden recognizes that meds are not everything. Part of his job, Holden says, is directing patients to the therapy that best addresses the needs of a child with ASD. Holden grew up in the tri-cultural community of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of a Mexican-American mother. His father, although not Latino, spoke fluent Spanish as well. Currently, he resides in San Antonio with his wife who is a seminary student. His son Carl, 35, (a physician in NYC) his two daughters Rachel, 32 (studying to be a social worker) and Kathleen, 28 (teacher and new mother) reside in Texas. Dr. Holden gave up one of his passions, flying airplanes several years back. Currently, in his free time Dr. Holden loves to go fishing and is thinking about traveling abroad in the future.

Homage to a Day School —
by Sandy Jessen, Parent Liaison. As parent liaison at Autism Community Network, at the last minute I am delegated as a babysitter while parents attend an emergency parent meeting for displaced Treehouse School and clinic families. There are two Treehouse teachers and myself in the room. A crying baby sets off the rest of the children into a frantic state. The room is loud, one boy is hitting and pushing the others so that one of the two teachers must watch him only. For another girl who has been kicking the door with her boots on, the only thing to console her and keep her calm is by sitting on a large exercise ball and bouncing. I run to protect a 6-year- old boy who has climbed to the top of the toy closet and is in a precarious position. Later, after I calm down the screaming baby, I am asked to do a one-on-one, with the climber. I use lots of swinging and squeezing to calm him down. It works. Many thoughts come to my mind. Certainly, being in a crowded room full of crying, screaming children is about the worst case scenario for autistic children. Yet, this is an emergency. As the mother of an autistic boy who graduated from Treehouse, I know what these parents are feeling - they need this meeting! Most people don't understand a parent's sleep deprivation caused by a child with erratic sleep patterns who could wander off into the night. Or, what it is like to have a child with sensory demands so great that he flails, kicks, bites and head-butts, seeking the sensory information he needs. And then there is the child whose tantrums in public are so severe that most social activity is limited to the home - unless you live it, it is difficult to understand. After being in a small room filled with children for almost three hours with these teachers, I realize the amount of skill it requires. Aside from love and patience, addressing their needs requires knowledge of behavior strategies, sensory integration, assisted communication and, in some cases, self-defense strategies for avoiding kicks, bites and dodging thrown objects. A tall order! No wonder that during a recession there is still a high demand for Special Education teachers. As his therapist at Treehouse long ago predicted, my son made it to the public school system. I was a happy mother at his Treehouse graduation, watching my son, Kip, accept a diploma at Brackenridge Park. Integration with other children in a typical setting was a goal for Kip. Today, Kip, who is mildly autistic, is doing well academically in school and has loving teachers. Although he hasn't made a friend yet, he is liked and accepted by his classmates. As he is not interested in socializing, he loves to sneak off and read a book whenever he can. However, the large classroom size and noise level in public schools are often overwhelming for my son. Occasionally he breaks down, the cafeteria is too loud and he covers his ears between bites of food. The physical act of writing is difficult and frustrating for him. I am happy that my son made it to public school, but if I had one Christmas wish this year it would be for a setting that accommodated his needs more and helped to nurture social-emotional growth and the confidence that he will need to function successfully in the world. I recall the wonderful feeling I used to have when I dropped Kip off at Treehouse. I felt that he was in the right setting to address these needs. On the East Coast, in New York and New Jersey, the state will cover the 30 to 80 thousand dollar a year tuition for schools like Treehouse, recognizing that the great needs many autistic children have cannot be accommodated in the public school system. Since graduating from Treehouse, Kip has asked many times to go back and visit. Nostalgia is a rare characteristic in an autistic child. I too, am nostalgic about the school, as I knew it was the right place for him at the time. Thus my heart was more than touched when several anonymous donors and USAA immediately offered funding for the school to run until May. For one thing, it gives me great pride in the community of San Antonio pulling together. Secondly, I was touched by the other therapy providers in town who came to our community forum to help these families find services for speech, occupational, and behavior therapy. Speaking as the mother of an autistic child, if any of those anonymous donors are reading this, the most heart-felt thanks from me, and, I am sure, from other parents. There is time now to take breath and try to envision the Phoenix that will arise from these ashes.

National Workshop A Big Success —
Sundberg Workshop Autism Community Network hosted nationally acclaimed speaker, Dr. Mark Sundberg, BCBA to present a three day national conference past January. One hundred and fifty people came from around the country to learn how to assess language acquisition and barriers that prevent children from learning using the Verbal Behavior-Milestone Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP). Among the guests were behavior therapists, speech therapists, students, parents and teachers. Many school districts sent teachers, autism specialists and special education administrators to the workshop. Among them were San Antonio Independent School District, Alamo Heights ISD, Northeast ISD, Northside ISD, Schulenberg ISD, Bastrop ISD, Frisco ISD, La Vernia ISD, La Grange ISD, Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, and the Military Co-op (who represented schools at our local military bases). The Laredo and Eagle Pass school districts, both locations with a paucity of autism resources, sent school representatives working hard to bring needed-services to their communities. One of the important things covered during the workshop for educators was how to develop IEP goals based on the assessment. Therapists attended the workshop for different reasons. Among the behavior therapists were a man and wife, BCBA – BCaBA team who run a therapy clinic in Florida. They said they were enjoying San Antonio’s riverwalk restaurants at night while they refined their knowledge of the VB-MAPP by day. A psychiatrist and autism diagnostician from Mississippi talked about how she might integrate the assessment into her practice. The information covered in the workshop offered many assessment tools and strategies to people from a wide variety of disciplines. One mother received her tuition paid by a local school district as part of the parent training of her ARD. She copiously took notes and was there to find out all she could to help her two daughters with autism. She was glad to be a part of this cutting-edge workshop. Another mother, Bertha Taylor, whose son was diagnosed at Autism Community Network, volunteered at ACN to receive a scholarship for tuition. She too, was eager to learn about the VB-MAPP as she had already taken it upon herself to start the barriers assessment and work through its protocol with her own son. Autism Community Network hopes to continue to host nationally acclaimed speakers in the future as part of the “Network” piece of our organization. It was a pleasure to host Dr. Sundberg , and put an expert on autism on our “map” here in San Antonio. Autism Community Network would like to acknowledge the El Tropicano Riverwalk hotel who graciously made the in-kind donation of Dr. Sundberg’s hotel suite for the event. When we asked Dr. Sundberg if he liked the suite he said that he could not wait to show his “Texas Style” veranda to his wife who was due to fly into town that evening.

Service Roundup from ACN Therapists —
In The Works: Short Courses, Intensives and Support Groups Following the diagnosis of a child, families are often left with a feeling of despair and questions about what comes next. To help with both the healing process and as a way of showing them how to help their child, we offer therapy specific short courses. These six week intensive sessions focus on specific areas of deficit most commonly seen in children with autism. Parents are encouraged to participate in all sessions and are given functional home and community-based activities that are discussed in detail the following week. Our short courses address joint attention, communication, sensory processing difficulties and behavior challenges. When applicable, we provide co-treatments to enhance progress. Our therapists work closely with the family to ensure that carryover occurs in the home. In addition to the short courses, we have been fortunate to receive funding that allows us to further meet the needs of our families by providing several new programs. In a collaborative effort, our Occupational Therapist and Speech-Language Pathologist will be offering an 8 week feeding program entitled, “Sensory Motor-Based Feeding Program for Children with Autism and Related Disorders”. The feeding program will focus on motor and sensory skills, visual supports, and food interaction theories. We will also be able to offer, "More Than Words", a Hanen relationship-based approach that gives parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related social communication difficulties, practical tools to help their child communicate. Occupational Therapist, Adrienne Gaither, will be presenting a workshop on Integrated Play Groups (IPG). IPG is a model of peer play for children with autism spectrum disorders. It was developed by Pamela Wolfberg, Ph.D. The IPG model is used to encourage social interaction between "novice" players (children with autism spectrum disorders) and "expert" players (typically developing peers). An adult play guide facilitates communication, symbolic and imaginary play, and shared enjoyment between the novice and expert players through a variety of play experiences. This Summer Autism Community Network will be offering a unique workshop that will provide a weeklong training in evidence-based treatment of ASD for professionals working with children with ASD in classrooms, homes, or clinical settings. The five days will cover topics such as analyzing problem behaviors, increasing verbal behavior, teaching communication and social skills, and meeting children’s sensory needs. The workshop will be led by instructors who are certified professionals with at least 10 years of experience who promote a transdisciplinary approach to intervention. The intensive will be held at ACN campus and is limited to 12 participants (we will hold second week if needed). The cost for the workshop is $500 per participant. An additional requirement is that participants attend all 5 days. Our LPC-I, Brooke Lamartina will be leading an ongoing group for siblings of children diagnosed with autism. Siblings will be the focus of attention as they share and play with other children living with a brother or sister with ASD. For information about dates and registration go to our website: www.autismcommunitynetwork-sa.org or call Brooke 435-1000 ext. 6

One Mother's Story —

by Lindsay Brink, parent of ACN patient. 
In February of 2009 I sat at my doctor’s office feeling completely disassociated from my youngest son. He seemed “naughty” and no matter what I did his behavior remained the same. I have another son who is 3 years older and I felt that I had “done things right” so to speak with him. I was at a complete loss as to why my youngest son would not conform to my disciplinary tactics. I explained to my doctor the “weird” things I had seen my son do and asked many questions, the end result? She suggested I get him tested for Autism. I was not shocked because when he was 6 months old I suspected something wasn’t right with him and like so many other parents in my position I was told it was too early to tell and that he would most likely “grow out” of his issues. Now here I sat in a doctor’s office with a two and a half year old child who was fighting internally within himself, had very little communication skills and CLEARLY needed help. It is the most frustrating feeling as a parent to watch your child struggle in such a manner and yet you feel ultimately helpless yourself. My doctor suggested various places to seek help and then informed me she would refer me to an organization that would test my son for Autism. I immediately was able to get him enrolled into speech therapy services but they were unable to treat him as they would treat an Autistic child because they were not qualified to give him a diagnosis, I had to leave my job because my son would have melt downs at his preschool and the teachers could not handle his tantrums. There are services offered throughout our city to help people who have special needs children financially, however there is one important factor- you need an OFFICIAL diagnosis to qualify for any of the services. There was one more catch- we were without insurance at the time all of this was unfolding before our eyes. Shortly after the referral a doctor contacted me, her first question was, “What kind of insurance do you carry?” And I shuddered as I responded with, “That is something we are working on.” She did not seem surprised and began to explain to me the wait time for getting a child in from the time they are referred until the time they can be seen. It ranged from 6-9 months. The need for people qualified to diagnose Autism is unreal. At that point she informed me there was a semi-new organization who worked with Medicaid and/or on a sliding scale fee based on your income. I was so relieved. I felt as though there was light at the end of my tunnel and that was only the beginning. There was still a bit of a wait, but we were able to get into the Autism Community Network (ACN) by August of 2009. Not only did an entire team spend a half day doing tests, they then allowed a week for us to “soak up” the information that the day had provided. The facility was more than accommodating, I was able to watch through 2-way glass- all kinds of different people worked with my son and interviewed me. The whole process took no more than 4 hours. I was more than impressed. One week later I met with a smaller team and went through all the test results, I had a week to think of any questions I wanted to ask. They provided me with more than enough information from toys that would be optimal for my son to services provided throughout the city. They even focused on my older son telling me how there was a sibling support group for children who have special needs siblings. Overall, I felt they were genuinely concerned with our family’s needs. We were more than just a name and a number. They explained that getting therapy would take a long while and waiting lists were extreme. They also explained that my son needed a therapy called ABA therapy and most insurance companies do not cover it. To help bridge this gap they informed me that my son would be able to get a 12 week course in therapy that the ACN would offer! INCLUDING 6 weeks of the therapy that most insurance companies will not cover! Before working with the ACN I felt lost, and scared and mostly blind, after meeting with them it was as though my sight was restored and I could see that light at the end of the tunnel. Currently my son is still undergoing his 12 weeks of therapy and I feel as though when I had no one who understood my position in the world I was sent these wonderful people. There is no way I could only nominate a single person because the entire staff has been so supportive and helpful. They did not only make a difference in my life though, the ACN commits itself to all of San Antonio’s Autistic children when there are so few organizations that are able to do what they do. They hold your hand and tell you how it will be possible for you to live and cope with a disorder that still little is known about. We don’t know what causes Autism, there is no cure for it but thanks to the Autism Community Network there is HELP for it. Because of the CAN, hundreds of children
and families will receive therapy and help in a faster manner, if that doesn’t deserve an award for making a difference, I don’t know what does.

 

Behavioral Innovations Comes to San Antonio
by Sandy Jessen, Parent Liaison. Behavior Innovations, a Dallas-based autism clinic opened its doors in San Antonio this February. Behavior Innovations (BI) was founded by Billy Edwards, his wife, Carla, and their colleague Lori Russo (all BCBAs) in 2000. Monarch Behavioral Therapy acquired BI in 2008. This buyout allowed BI to expand services and to access a better system for billing insurance companies for ABA therapy. Behavioral Innovations accepts Cigna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, United Behavioral Health and Aetna with in-network coverage. According to Jim Ayers, marketing director, “The insurance coverage on policies is all over the board. It would be impossible and misleading to quote a common percentage. However, fully-insured plans may not limit the number of visits and generally provide better coverage than self-insured plans because those plans are required to contain coverage under House Bill 1919 (and House Bill 451 amends the age range from time of diagnosis to the time the Child turns 10 years of age).” According to Ayers, in the best case scenario a family can leave a child at the clinic from 9 to 4 for ABA therapy and be responsible for only one co-payment. In these cases, the monthly copay is very affordable for families. This is great news for families who have not been able to receive coverage for ABA services in the past. The center will also accept Tricare/Humana insurance for military families and will be able to provide services for families who are participating in either the ECHO program or Demonstration Project. According Edwards, Behavioral Innovations will not be set up as a “day school” but rather a clinic offering intensive one on one and small group therapy. The goal, according to Edwards, is to give the highest quality ABA therapy at an early age with the intention of facilitating entry into a least restrictive setting. The center serves children up to age twelve and provides a variety of choices for children. Children may attend on a part–time or full-time basis. Future plans may include the popular S.A.I.L. (Social Achievement Impacting Life) which is a social skills program designed for children with ASD.

 

 

Past Editions: 

• November 2009 Newsletter Download PDF ACN Part of Texas Autism Summit's "Act Early" Initiative. 
During any given legislative session, the Texas Legislature considers several bills that could affect the lives of individuals with autism and those who care for them. For example, Texas recently passed a bill that requires medical coverage for behavioral therapy for young children with autism. Texas is also in the process of developing a state-funded autism information center. These major successes are due largely to the hard work of the Texas Council on Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. This council was developed to advise and make recommendations to the state legislature to ensure that the needs of individuals with autism and their families are addressed. The council is composed of family members of persons with autism and representatives from various state agencies involved with autism services. Several committees were formed to support the Council in developing the recommendations that will impact the state. Autism Community Network was invited to be a part of the “Texas Autism Summit’s Act Early Committee”(see pdf for whole story, and the entire newsletter).