Little Star Center supported several autism organizations as a table sponsor for the 2012 Raise Your Glass to Autism Awareness. Raise Your Glass to Autism Awareness is a wine and food tasting event with art auction, organized by Answers for Autism, the Autism Society of Indiana and Talk About Curing Autism to help raise both awareness and funds for autism in Indiana.
Join us as we help raise funds for the Autism Society of Indiana (ASI) at Lifetime Fitness, 8705 Castle Creek Pkwy., Indianapolis, IN this Saturday, December 8 from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Little Star Board Member Michele Trivedi founded this fundraiser several years ago and says, “My dear friend, Sharon, is a fabulous instructor! If you love riding, or know someone who does, please join us or pass the word along. Thanks so much and we hope to see you there!”
For a minimum donation of $50, participants receive a t-shirt, refreshments, and spinning sessions conducted by professional instructors. For more information, call Sharon Krauter at 317.445.5492 or email at [email protected]. Donations may be made online at www.inautism.org or mailed to ASI, 13295 Illinois Street #213, Carmel, IN 46032.
Little Star Center is pleased to announce it was named one of the recipients for the Cause for Elegance art show fundraiser. The event — presented by Studio OTB at Outside the Box — features works of art created by Studio OTB artists based on the recipient’s purpose. Little Star’s mission served as the inspiration for the painting shown here, “Illuminate Hope,” which was created by participants in the Wednesday Art Class.
Lauren Church, studio coordinator, said, “All the artwork created in the studio is a collaborative effort. This particular piece was created by our Studio OTB artists that attend the Wednesday evening art class along with their studio instructors.
“We are so honored that Little Star allowed us to work with them. All the pieces for our annual show turned out beautifully and we had a wonderful turnout, selling most of the paintings. If you are interested in seeing the remaining available pieces, check us out on Facebook.”
Outside the Box provides custom-created services for individuals with developmental disabilities who may not fit into other models of services. Its mission is to empower people with disabilities to be the leaders in their lives and create meaningful days by providing collaborative art experiences for people of all ability levels to connect with the community through creative endeavors.
Studio OTB is the Therapeutic Art Program at Outside the Box. It has its own name, space, and gallery, to create, sell, and teach classes to Outside the Box attendees and to Indianapolis community members. Its art services are open to any and all ability levels of artists interested in learning more about art or for those just wanting to get messy! For more information on Outside the Box, click here.
Little Star-Lafayette learners visited Fire Station 5 in Lafayette, Indiana recently. A fireman donned protective clothing, oxygen tank and mask for the children so they would become more familiar with the appearance and they climbed the fire truck. Outings like these give our learners the opportunity to practice generalizing skills they learn in the center to other social environments.
Future Horizons is sponsoring an Autism/Asperger’s Conference in Indianapolis on Friday, January 18 (venue TBA), featuring Dr. Temple Grandin, the noted scientist who has autism; Eustacia Cutler, the mother of Temple Grandin who shares her views of autism through her personal experiences raising Dr. Grandin; and Dr. Jim Ball, a highly experienced, Board Certified Behavior Analyst and president/CEO of JB Autism Consulting who discusses behavioral intervention for young learners.
Folks interested in attending can save 10 percent off of the regular conference prices by using coupon code TGCONF when registering (can’t be combined with any other discounts or offers). For more information about the conference and/or to register, please visit Future Horizon’s website at http://www.fhautism.com/.
The December 3, 2012 issue of People magazine features a Heroes Among Us article which includes Wendy Ross, a pediatrician in Philadelphia. Ross developed an air-travel program at Philadelphia International Airport with clinicians and airlines that allows children with autism the opportunity to practice everything related to air travel including check-in, security screening, and boarding a flight so as to reduce challenging behaviors. Parents are finding the program a huge help in making air travel a smoother experience. According to the article, United Airlines starts rolling out the program this month nationally through Ross’s Autism Inclusion Resources (AIR), the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children with autism prepare for air travel.
Little Star Research and Training Director, Tim Courtney said, “Research indicates that children with autism are often very anxious, much more so then their same-aged peers. Treatments to help children with autism overcome their anxieties are gaining widespread acceptance due to their effectiveness. We’ve had great success at Little Star addressing anxieties related to the dentist, loud and obnoxious hand dryers, and haircuts. The article does not include particular information about the intervention being used to address fear of flying or other issues related to travel e.g. waiting in line, loud noisy environments, etc., but I would bet it is very similar to the desensitization approach we have implemented.”
Learners visited Snapperz Family Fun & Sports, finding the soft indoor playground the number one attraction. Outings like these give our learners the opportunity to practice generalizing skills they learn in the center to other social environments.
Little Star Center conducted its annual food drive at the Carmel and Lafayette centers to help local food pantries stock up for the Thanksgiving holiday ( the New Life Fellowship Church in Carmel and Elmwood Church of Christ and Food Finders in Lafayette).
As an incentive for staff participation in Carmel, a contest was held between the Little Star and Middle Star centers, with the prize being a pizza party for the winning center’s staff. Apparently, the promise of a pizza party was a tantalizing offer and the food totals at both centers were so close that both centers will receive the pizza party!
We appreciate and thank you all for your efforts to help those less fortunate enjoy a Thanksgiving holiday with plenty to eat.
Learners in Little Star’s Early Learner program created Thanksgiving pictures for their parents. The making of these outstanding works of art was a fun process. It began with painting brown paint on the bottom of their feet, a process that tickled the toes! It then took a steady hand guiding the foot to the paper.
Then, cleaning the foot, which caused more tickles!
Next, we put on a bib so we didn’t get paint on our clothing. We added prints of painted hands, eyes, nose and wattle and a Thanksgiving message.
The completed artwork is masterful!
Little Star – Lafayette learners enjoyed a trip to Arnie’s Pizza for lunch and were invited into the kitchen to observe and “help” with the making of their pizzas.
“Going on different community outings helps ensure that the learners are given an opportunity to experience going to a public place such as a restaurant and waiting for food,” said Maggie Moore, BCBA, assistant clinical director.
“It was nice to see how well all of the learners behaved at Arnie’s and willingly sampled new foods. We’ve tried out activities in the community that the learners have not experienced before. This has helped open up new experiences for the whole family to enjoy.”