California’s Regional Center System: Tips and Tricks
What is a regional center? In California, there are 21 regional centers. Regional center clients include people on the autism spectrum as well as people with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, epilepsy, and all other cases involving developmental delays. Recently, my child’s regional center reported that approximately 90% of incoming cases are autism-related.
Educating Yourself (Yet Again)
I attended a recent conference one week and then the next week I walked into a classroom for yet another class. I was reminded of why I feel educating myself is so important. Once my child began services for developmental delays, and ultimately autism, it didn’t occur to me at the time that my autism education was going to be ongoing. Early on, I simply didn’t realize that my education was never going to stop.
Stressing the Consonants
One of the “heroes” of autism, and one of my personal heroes, is Temple Grandin. If you know anyone on the autism spectrum and have a desire to learn more about what makes a person on the autism spectrum tick, read about Temple Grandin. (There’s even a movie of the same name.)
The Importance of Data Collection
Why collect data? What does data collection have to do with your child’s behavior(s)? In my last blog, I explained the term, S.E.A.T. SEAT is a tool to help us understand and root out the cause of a child’s unexpected and usually “bad” behavior. Was it a sensory issue, an escape issue, an attention issue, or a tangible issue that led up to a behavior?
Use S.E.A.T. as a Tool to Understand Your Child With Special Needs
What does S.E.A.T. stand for and why can it help you evaluate your child’s behaviors? S.E.A.T. stands for Sensory, Escape, Attention, and Tangible. SEAT is a tool used to help understand your child’s behavior by attempting to break down undesirable behaviors.