From Avoiding Eye Contact to Hosting Tea Parties

When four-year-old Jaden entered the QSAC preschool in January 2011, he experienced major difficulties socializing, speaking, making eye contact and acknowledging his peers and teachers. Less than one year later - through persistent efforts of QSAC teachers in collaboration with Jaden’s family - Jaden has achieved remarkable progress. He will now answer who, what, and where questions as well as ask questions spontaneously. Jaden loves to host pretend tea parties for his friends. His teachers are proud of his ongoing accomplishments and will continue to help Jaden achieve great things in the future! 

A Lot Can Happen in Seven Years

Crimson enrolled at the QSAC Day School when she was nine years old. Although a capable learner, Crimson had difficulty tolerating many academic tasks or even short delays in having requests fulfilled. As a result, she exhibited a wide range of disruptive behaviors such as dropping to the floor, screaming, and crying. Highly-intensive intervention was required. Rewards were provided for every correct response to academics tasks and for very short durations of time without problem behavior. Gradually, she learned to tolerate longer and longer delays. More and more, she tolerated frustrations throughout the day that had caused intense outbursts in the past. As her behavior improved, more and more focus could be given to her social and academic skills. Now, as a 16-year-old, Crimson demonstrates that a great variety of improvements in many areas. She no longer exhibits intensely disruptive behavior. She speaks at appropriate volumes and with appropriate tones. She learns quickly and is largely independent in a wide variety of self-care and vocational tasks that are a part of the school’s transition program. She is social with her peers and instructors, shows an interest in her daily activities, and is a regular performer at our annual graduation festivities! We’re proud of the progress that Crimson has made and look forward to seeing the possibilities for her future unfold.

Working Towards Independence

Aaron has been receiving QSAC services since he was two years old. He began with QSAC’s Early Intervention class at age two and is now four years old and attending the QSAC Preschool. His teacher remembers the first day he arrived to Class 10, where he was crying because he was so scared. He didn’t talk much and needed a lot of help to eat, get dressed, and complete class activities. Through working with teachers alone and in groups, and through continual repetition and practice, he progressed substantially and has become very independent. His family was especially happy when he was toilet trained and didn’t have to wear diapers anymore. More recently he has been working hard to improve fine motor skills. Aaron will be missed by his many friends and teachers when he graduates from the preschool in August 2012. 

Kiwanis Club and QSAC Team Up for Annual Toy and Food Drive

From left to right standing: Sara Giangiobbe, Jeffrey Lambus, Jason La, Esther Williams, Cory Polshansky,
Donna Fuery, Paul Halvatzis, Nicole Dorsey, Cheyenne White
Kneeling: Elizabeth Heydweiller, Claire Laplaca, Kyndell Johnson, Ana Guncay, Andrea Sullivan  

The Kiwanis Club of Astoria & Long Island City teamed up with QSAC staff to organize our annual toy and food drive. Special thanks to everyone who coordinated and contributed!

An Appeal from Our Board President

This year, more children in New York State were diagnosed with autism than with childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. And more and more people with autism are being turned away because the demand for services is outpacing available resources.

That’s why expanding and improving our services to the autism community is the only solution.

Our young children are getting older and as the mother of a 26 year-old woman with autism, the future for adults with autism is more challenging today than ever before. Thousands of autistic children in New York are on the verge of becoming adults and we are facing the staggering challenge of figuring out how to care for them.

Please make a gift today and help QSAC enhance our services to families struggling with autism.

Over 30 years ago, QSAC was founded to fill a major void in providing education and care to the autism community in New York. Our services have grown over the years to meet the changing needs of the community and help families achieve remarkable and lasting progress with their children.

We have award-winning services and a highly trained team of experienced professionals to serve families affected by autism. And with your generous support, we are confident that we will reach our ultimate goal — enabling all people with autism to live meaningful and fulfilled lives in our society.

Best wishes to you and your family for the holidays!

Yvette Watts

President, QSAC Board of Directors

P.S. Please remember, your generous tax-deductible gift today will help QSAC to serve families most in need.

Santa Visits Courtesy of QuadCapital

Jaiden, Brandon and Isaac open gifts from Santa on December 16 at Quad Capital, a proprietary trading firm on Wall Street which spread much joy and holiday goodwill by generously donating 75 toys to children from many of QSAC’s programs.

Long Island Support Group Holiday Party

The children from QSAC's Long Island Support Group had a great time at the annual Holiday Party. They participated in fun activities like baking holiday cookies and arts and crafts!

QSAC's Elves Wrap Toys for the Holidays

Our elves are working diligently to wrap gifts for more than 400 children that receive QSAC services. The gifts were purchased courtesy of the generous donations provided by The Heckscher Foundation for Children and the Kiwanis Club of Astoria/Long Island City.

Our Students Take a Field Trip to Toys'R'Us

Our day school students recently had the opportunity to take a field trip to Toys'R'Us for a behind the scenes look at how the store operates. The idea was spawned by one of our students who indicated that he wanted to work as a cashier at Toys'R'Us during a vocation assessment interview with his teacher. We wanted to give him and his classmates the opportunity to find out what was required to work there, the various job options available, and a peek at what it would be like to be part of the Toys'R'Us team. In addition, we wanted to give our students a chance to understand how to find items in one of their favorite stores, who to talk to if they need assistance, and how to make purchases. This was the first time these students had this type of experience and they loved every minute of it! 

Our students were given the opportunity to wear the Toys'R'Us vest, meet and greet the Toys'R'Us team and were given a tour of each section of the store. The students were then asked to select a toy in the store that represented them the most. Some of our students selected popular movies, action figures and electronic toys to represent themselves. The students were then provided a shopping cart filled with toys and were instructed to restock them. This was a great exercise in recall and the kids had a blast competing with each other! If assistance was needed, our students were able to ask some of the employees on the floor for assistance. They were also given an opportunity for a question and answer session with the Assistant Store Manager. The students prepared some great questions such as "What happens when a toy breaks?", "How are top toys selected?" and "What is it like working for Toys'R'Us?" Finally, the class was able to make a purchase for a game for their classroom. It was an exciting day for all of them and was the topic of conversation throughout the week!

The Toys'R'Us staff exceeded our expectations. Our students were greeted with  professionalism, patience, and grace. The activities provided throughout the tour kept our students motivated, engaged and on task - not always an easy feat for children with autism. 

We'd like to once again express our thanks to Toys'R'Us. We hope to have similar opportunities in the future!

We're Hosting Our First Twitter Q&A!

Join us on Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 2PM EST for a special Twitter Q&A session,  Understanding Autism.

To take part in the conversation, follow QSAC on Twitter @QSAC. Use hashtag #UnderstandAutism to follow along!

Topics to be discussed include:

1. What is ABA? Dispelling the myths behind it.
2. The difference between discrete trial teaching and natural environment teaching. The pros and cons for both.
3. Reinforcers vs. Preferences. What's the difference?

The Q&A will be hosted by Rocio Chavez, M.A., M.S.Ed., BCBA

Rocio Chavez is currently the Assistant Director for QSAC’s After School Programs. She holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Behavioral Applications from Queens College, and a dual master’s degree in General and Special Education, Birth-Grade 2 from Touro College. Rocio is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and provides supervision for BCBA candidates. Rocio has co-authored a chapter in the book Behavioral Detectives: A Staff Training Exercise Book in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has presented on various topics including stimulus-stimulus pairing and reinforcer assessments at The New York State Association for Behavior Analysis (NYSABA) convention and The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) convention. Rocio has conducted research on self-management training in preschoolers with autism and stimulus-stimulus pairing. Rocio has worked with children on the autism spectrum for the last seven years. She has worked with preschool and school age children, and has provided consultations in school and home based settings. Rocio is also an adjunct professor for the The Sage Colleges’ Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism graduate program.

Heckscher Foundation and, Kiwanis Club Provide Holiday Gifts

In the true spirit of giving for the holiday season, The Heckscher Foundation for Children and the Kiwanis Club of Astoria/Long Island City provided QSAC with generous contributions for the purchase of gifts for children in celebration of the holidays.  Our heartfelt thanks to the Foundation and the Kiwanis Club for helping us to spread the goodwill and provide holiday gifts to more than 400 children that receive our services.

A Letter from Our Parents

The following letter was received by our executive office last week. We wanted to share it with our readers...

Dear Mr. Maffei:

Our sons have been receiving services from QSAC for the past nine years, and have been enrolled in the day school for seven years. Needless to say, we have been happy with the services our sons have been receiving, and have been active supporters of QSAC’s mission. What is most important to us is the level of commitment that QSAC’s staff has for their students and their families. Many times throughout the years we have seen the level of dedication and caring for our sons go well above and beyond the call of duty. 

There has been one specific incident we recently encountered that warrants recognition. This past Friday, our son suffered his first grand mal seizure. We consider it quite fortunate that this incident took place at the Day School. When his seizure occurred, the staff displayed a level of experience and professionalism that assured his safety, and were well prepared to address the risk. In particular, Mariann Lai and Cecily Ford watched over [him] throughout his ordeal. Cecily rode in the ambulance with him, not only to provide support but to make sure that he had a “familiar face” and was comfortable during his trip to the hospital. Both she and Marianne stayed with him throughout at the ER. At one point we told them that they could leave, but they refused. Good call, because not only did [our son] need them, but so did we. It really touched our hearts to see that Mariann and Cecily are not simply “teachers at the school”, but rather fine human beings who conveyed compassion for [him] in his time of need, which was certainly something the doctors at the hospital were not capable of doing. No anti-seizure drug could do for him what they did. At one point in the ER it was mentioned to them “You’re not in this for the money”, and the warm smile we received in return told the whole story. As we all know this is a period of tough economic times and there is a struggle for resources, it is comforting to know that there are kind people in your organization such as Mariann and Cecily to show the level of caring for our children that comes from the heart. That is something than no one will ever be able to put a dollar sign on. 

Kind regards,
[Names withheld upon request]

Social Scipting: What Is It?

Children with autism have global social deficits- including social language and social awareness. While this is an area of upmost importance for any child, particularly a child with autism, it is especially hard to teach appropriate social skills. First, who says what social skills are appropriate to teach? What may be appropriate for one child, may not be appropriate for another.

As a teacher of children with autism, I often struggle with implementing the appropriate curriculum that will be able to reach my students on an individual basis, but on a group and social basis as well. Scripting is one of the ways to begin to teach some social awareness (based on a child's functioning level) and social conversation.

When you think of the word "script", you think about someone performing in a play, movie, etc, someone that needs to know their lines. This social scripting works in the same way. Social scripting is used to teach children with autism to have a simple social conversation. How do we go about creating a program or curriculum to initiate conversation?

We first need to consider if audio or written scripting would be appropriate (or a combination). Audio scripting would be appropriate for a student who is verbal, but is unable to read, but can imitate phrases and sentences clearly. The most common form of audio scripting is using a Languagemaster by sliding a card through the machine, listening to the phrase, and repeating it. Or even eaasier, you could even now record the phrases on an IPAD and play each one. Wirtten scripting would be appropriate for a student with some reading skills.

So, what do we put in this script? Scripting typically starts off with simple social conversation such as "Hi, how are you? I'm fine and you?" and can lead to initiation of more conversation and game play. The scripting should be based on each individual student and what would be socially appropriate for them.

Of course, you may question this "Great, they can read or listen and repeat a scripted conversation, but won't they become too dependent on it?" Yes, that is very true, and that is why fading the script needs to be implemented as soon as the script is mastered. Fading the script consists of fading away the last few words of a sentence at a time. For example, "Hi, how are you?" would become "Hi, how are ___?" until the conversation is independent.

While this is a brief synopsis of scripting, it can lead to unscripted conversation and some more social awareness. So the next time that you find yourself wanting to implement some social skills curriculum, consider social scripting.

Maffei Chosen to Serve on State-Wide Communications Committee

Gary Maffei, QSAC Executive Director

The New York State Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) has chosen Gary A. Maffei, QSAC Executive Director as one of 8 downstate representatives to sit on a State-wide Select Communications Committee.

The Committee will be charged with improving and opening up the lines of communication and cooperation between agencies that serve persons within the disabilities community and OPWDD. Twenty individuals were selected State-wide.

Maffei has served on similar Committees over the years, he is currently the Chair of the IAC Public Relations Committee and on the Board of the Global Autism Project. He has become known as a resource that public officials and state and city based agencies call on. 

Gary stated that “this is a great opportunity for QSAC to communicate the complex needs the autism population has. Many of the families we serve today are concerned about the future, the future of their children and what is in store on the horizon. QSAC is contacted daily by families looking for services for their sons and daughters. It is my hope that my participation on this Committee will help give a voice to those families, allowing me to further their concerns and those of the agency I so proudly represent.” 

Never Beyond Reproach [Guest Blog]

I type a lot about how I hope people will see people with autism, people like me. I ask, I beg that people reconsider appearances... whether it is the appearance that I am rude or demanding, or the appearance that I am disrespectful, or the appearance that I don't consider others' feelings... please, I say, please look past what it looks like and try to find out what it is!

Lest you wonder, the above descriptors are very commonly assigned to people with autism. Now, read carefully: In no way am I saying, "But I can't; I'm autistic!" No, no. I'm saying... look, certain things are harder for me and I take a little (er, a lot?) more time to learn them because it is in my nature that these things are difficult for me. Things like manners, social skills, and so on. Autism is an invisible disability, right? This means that, frequently, people say, "Oh, I know, you're autistic," and then still expect me to act just like everyone else. Or, when I was younger, "But you're so smart, I think you can figure it out!" Meanwhile, I had no idea what to do!

I wanted to tell you a short story from last week so that you can understand that I never mean to say that I am above reproach. Not for a second. I make the same mistakes I'm asking people not to do!

We were out to eat, staff and I, and in line in front of me was a little boy, maybe eight years old. He was jumping, hitting, whining, screaming, and otherwise acting out. He ordered food and rejected it twice. They got to the end of the line, and the boy changed his order again! His mom appeared unaffected by this. Me, well, it was 3 PM and I hadn't had lunch yet, and I just wanted my food, which was right there. But, I had to wait for this picky pants boy and his mom to pay for their food before I could pay for mine.

And then it hit me.

QSAC on ABC's Long Island Viewpoint

On December 4, 2011,  QSAC was featured in a segment ABC's Long Island Viewpoint. Ken Rosato interviewed celebrity spokesperson Martha Wash, Deputy Executive Director, Lisa Veglia, and Director of Communications and Technology, Joe Moran. Take a look at the video and feel free to post your thoughts in the comments!

Autism Insurance NY: What Will This Mean?

Photo by Patja

Recent autism news sites have announced what parents and educators throughout New York State have waited for: Governor Cuomo has finally signed A.8512 into law. So, what does this mean for students with autism and their families?

New York State became the 29th state to enact insurance reform. A.8512 is to date the most comprehensive autism insurance reform passed in the nation. As of November 1, 2012, families of children with autism, who also hold state regulated health plans, will begin to receive medically necessary coverage for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (Autism Speaks, 2011). Well, what is then covered?

Autism Speaks (2011) released a statement describing the services which will be included under A.8515. They are as follows:

• behavioral health treatment (such as applied behavior analysis)
• pharmacy care (if the policy covers other prescription drugs)
• psychiatric care
• psychological care
• therapeutic care, including non-restorative therapy (if the policy covers therapeutic care for other conditions) provided by licensed or certified speech therapists, occupational
• therapists, social workers, or physical therapists
• augmentative communication devices
• any other medical care provided by a licensed health care provider

This bill includes coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis, provided or supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The cap currently extends to $45,000 of allotted coverage per year, and holds no age limitations. The aim of A.8512 is to provide services outside of an educational setting, which are prescribed through a child’s physician or psychologist. For parents, this means they can begin to receive extra support in both home and community settings. Additionally, this bill does not affect any school related services already being provided through a student’s IFSP and IEP. 

For more information, visit www.autismspeaks.com

We Have Our Winner!

The grand finale of Got Talent 2: A Competition to Benefit Autism took place November 29 at 7 PM at the Midtown Theater. Twelve finalists competed for the grand prize, but in the end it was Katie Shults who walked away as the winner while Nicole Javanna Johnson and Teresa Hui took the second and third place titles. The Burrows Brothers were the top fundraisers of the entire competition, consisting of a quarterfinal round, an online semifinal round, and the grand finale.

The panel of celebrity judges at the finale included lovable ‘Queen of Mean’,  Lisa Lampanelli, Acclaimed TV, Broadway and cabaret performer, Eileen Fulton, and Henry Ravelo of Six Degrees Mgmt & PR. The evening was hosted by musical comedy sensation The Parodivas.

Martha Wash, an original member of the disco group The Weather Girls performed the Grammy-nominated hit "It's Raining Men" along with her new single "I've Got You."

Special thanks to all of the contestants who donated their time and talent and to our incredible audience for supporting us!

Photos courtesy of Mallardshots Photography