South Central ASD

Friday, May 11, 2012

page 4 and page 5 in the Winkler Morden Voice and:

facebook website Inspiring autistic youth to be Chamber keynote Organization rebranding business awards to also be a benefit Updated 3 days ago By Lorne Stelmach of the Morden Times The Morden Chamber of Commerce will again hand out its annual business awards this fall, but it is also rebranding the event into a charitable endeavour. The annual awards gala will honour local businesses in the areas of innovation, marketing, customer service and community influence. Nominations are now open until the end of August with the awards to be presented in the fall. Announcing details of the event recently, president James Steedsman said the chamber executive has had a desire to create some strong partnerships with community organizations and felt the awards program could be expanded on with that goal in mind. As a result, it has now been renamed the Morden Chamber Awards Gala and Benefit. “The word benefit is very important ... and that’s our connection to the community,” said Steedsman. For this first year, the chamber is partnering with south central ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) with a portion of the proceeds going to to help them build a better life for children with autism. The keynote speaker will be Christopher Duffley - a 10 year old boy “who will steal your heart with his story of courage and inspiration while facing unimaginable obstacles,” said Steedsman. Duffley is a blind and autistic singer, multi-instrumentalist and speaker. Born prematurely, he weighed only 1 lb 12 oz at birth and was rendered blind due to retinopathy of prematurity. Stephen and Christine Duffley, Christopher’s adopted parents, shared their love for music with their son at an early age. Much to their surprise, Christopher began singing before he could hold a conversation. His first instrument was piano. He also loves to experiment with a variety of instruments including trumpet, guitar and drums. Some experts have determined that Christopher has perfect pitch and has great musical potential. Steedsman said they still want the gala to be a celebration of business and their successes in the community “but we feel, as a keynote, we can send a stronger message perhaps. “We feel this has a lot more meaning plus at the same time we can raise some money for a foundation like autism.” “I fell in love with his story. I fell in love with what he’s overcome,” said chamber marketing director Pamela Hiebert. “He’s made a lot of progress through his work, and I just feel very inspired by what he can do and what he has achieved.” Hiebert said we all have many dreams for our children - from university to careers - but youth with autism face many more challenges and often don’t have the same opportunities that others take for granted. “They still have the same desire inside of them to fulfill a value on this earth while they are here.” And RBC was welcomed as the corporate sponsor for the keynote speaker. For more information, contact the chamber.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

March 13 - 7 pm, after school, then what happens??

sorry it's been so long!!!!

in the board room. Maria from Community Living Selkirk has agreed to come and give us the scoop on what may or may not happen when our children reach 18. different avenues for funding, how LONG the process takes (we need to start now!), school - did you know our kids can have funding for school up to 21 with a dx? She has lots of info to share, please rsvp if you are coming so she prepare the info packages. if you can not make it and would like some info, let me know so that i can arrange to save you one.

new time for this evening 7 pm, please do not be late, as she is coming from Selkirk.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Ellen Notbohm's son graduates as valedictorian

Ellen Notbohm, author of several books including Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew, well her son graduated as valedictorian this year. She is also a contribuating columnist for Autism Digest, and for the July-Aug issue wrote the article Ten Things I Want My High School Senior with Autism to Know.
enjoy!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Information for Manitobans with Disabilities

well after a year and a half in the works, the information facts sheets for Manitobans are out. there is a total of 18 sheets. there ia a PDF version for those with high speed and then the HTML for dial up.

let us know what you think!

A Young Child’s Assessment and Diagnosis

For Parents of a Child with a Disability

Services and Programs for Children

Education - Getting Ready

Education - Home/School Connection

Education - Assessment

Education - Programming and Planning

Education - Transitioning Through School

Education - Students Who are Blind and Visually Impaired

Education - Students Who are Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing

Transition to Adulthood

Services and Programs for Adults

Human Rights and Reasonable Accommodations

Assistive Technology

Financial Assistance

Disability Supports for First Nations People Living On-Reserve

MB launches new five-year autism strategy

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION June 29 2011

Province launches new five-year autism strategy
Applied behaviour analysis gets $600,000 in funding
By: William Burr

The provincial government has launched a five-year plan to support Manitobans of all ages that are affected by autism spectrum disorders.

The new strategy, called Thrive, will eventually include 40 initiatives, everything from a technology centre to make the latest tools accessible to parents, to a post-secondary scholarship for high school graduates with autism.

Family Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh and Education Minister Nancy Allan announced funding for the first four initiatives Tuesday: about $1 million annually.

Just under $600,000 will go to applied behaviour analysis (ABA) for young children, a treatment that teaches them social, motor, and reasoning skills; $250,000 will go to outreach services in rural and northern Manitoba; $160,000 will finance consultations with experts for children who graduate from ABA treatment; and $8,000 will create a program where parents of children with autism can meet and share knowledge.

Difficulty accessing ABA is a big issue for parents at the moment because there is a long wait-list.

Letisha Recksiedler, whose five-year-old son has autism, waited six months to get him into ABA. During those six months, her son had several "temper tantrums" every day, she said. After he started ABA, the tantrums decreased to one per day, she said.

"Our lives have become less stressful now that we're in the program," Recksiedler said.

The province hopes the Thrive program will eliminate wait-lists for ABA by September.

But some of those who work with people with autism said this announcement neglects what they call the biggest hole in funding -- support services for adults with autism.

Bev Larmour, a past president of Asperger Manitoba Inc. (Asperger syndrome is on the autism spectrum), said the announcement focuses on kids.

"What about the adults who, when they graduate from high school, it's like they fall off the cliff in terms of services?" she said.

Damon Schuler, an Asperger Manitoba Inc. board member and an adult with autism who is attending college, said he doesn't get much support for his studies. "All it is is a different area to write my exam," he said.

Anne Kresta, current president of Asperger Manitoba, said as long as Thrive follows through with its long-term plan, she will be happy.

"The announcement today was very centred upon the ABA portion but we're looking more across the lifespan and we're really pleased to see that the lifespan issues are going to be addressed," she said.

Mackintosh said future Thrive initiatives will help people with autism of all ages.

"Until now, we started and ended with children," he said.

In a press release following the province's announcement, the Progressive Conservative party shrugged off Thrive and the funding for ABA as a pre-election tactic.

"The NDP government has underfunded this critical and proven form of therapy for children with autism until the eve of an election, when they finally decide to offer families an opportunity to continue therapy," said family services critic Bonnie Mitchelson.

william.burr@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 29, 2011 B3

Monday, June 27, 2011

Temple Grandin in Brandon MB

Westman Autism Parent Support Group
and
Westman School Clinician’s Association present:
Dr. Temple Grandin

Date: Thursday, May 24, 2012
Time: 9:00am - 3:30pm

About:

Dr. Temple Grandin has served as inspiration and role model to hundreds of thousands of families and persons with autism. Temple eloquently and candidly describes the challenges she has faced and offers no-nonsense ideas on how others dealing with autism can meet these obstacles and improve the quality of their lives. Backed by her personal experience and evidence-based research, Temple shares her valuable insights on a wide variety of topics, and offers useful do’s and don’ts.

All Tickets: $75.00
Prices include taxes and service charge.

Tickets available at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium Box Office, or by calling 728-9510

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

last night & CDS

thank you for the turn out last night with the newly renamed Childrens disABILITY Services.

remember if you have more questions or concerns, do not hesitate in contacting your CdS worker.

see you in the fall

Monday, May 16, 2011

CSS and your family

it is official.

Anne Kresta, our April Guest speaker, after hearing our concerns with regards to our CSS workers in the Morden Winkler area- she went and contacted one of her friends, made some calls and now Jan Wooley and Micheline Durand, will join us at our June 7th meeting at the BTHC at a special time of 7pm. We know everyone has concerns, questions and problems - this is your oppurtunity to join us in a conversation with the powers that be, and hopefully get us some answers.

Do Not Miss this oppurtunity.....we need to bring our concerns to light and let them know we are not happy and that our frustration levels are getting to an all time high.

this is your chance to have your voice heard. 7 sharp.

Friday, April 29, 2011

2nd Annual Fun Fair And Stick Horse Rodeo Saturday

is tomorrow!!!!

go to Pembina Valley online to read the article!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

South Central ASD Stick Rodeo & Sponsors

April 30, 2011
1 to 4 pm
$5.00/person or $25.00/family
snacks available for purchase
Silent Auction, petting zoo, crafts, games and of course, the Stick Rodeo!
Keen Ridge Equine Center, Darlingford