Conversation with a Big Star for Indiana’s first ABA center

 

In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, we will feature comments from our Little Star Center Board of Directors. This week’s Q&A is with Dr.Rose Wolflin, who has served on Little Star Center’s Board of Directors since 2007. Wolflin is a senior corporate certified paralegal for J.D. Byrider.

 What makes you most proud about serving on Little Star Center’s Board of Directors? 

The Board of Directors is comprised of interesting, insightful individuals that tremendously care about the services and needs of Little Star.  I am proud to be associated with this open-minded group and most proud of Little Star’s positive impact on the community and our ability to help the children develop and blossom.

During your time as board member, what do you think has been one of Little Star Center’s biggest success stories? 

One of Little Star Center’s biggest success stories has been the improved efficiency and array of services provided in Little Star’s Carmel center and with the expansion to Lafayette and Bloomington.  Little Star’s staffing has been a critical component to this success.  I appreciate and admire the Little Star employees’ dedication and qualifications.

What is one thing you want people to know about individuals with autism?  

One thing I want people to know is that individuals with autism are brilliant and can shine in various settings.

What do you see for the future of autism services in Indiana? Which  areas of service are in need of growth? 

 The future is bright with an increased awareness and understanding.  Educators need to continue to diligently conduct and review case studies and share their findings with policymakers.

How has being a part of LSC impacted you personally? 

 I have an increased appreciation for caregivers and a better understanding of the challenges involved with autism.  I am more aware of societal needs and opportunities.

 

Why I chose Applied Behavior Analysis Indiana

 

By Angela Vargas, M.S., BCBA

Like most other kids, I went through my list of what I wanted to be when I grew up: a lawyer (…too boring), a law and order SVU detective (…too scary), a wedding planner (…I probably wouldn’t be much good at that). This all changed when I learned that my younger cousin was diagnosed with autism. Initially, it didn’t affect me much. He lived in Colombia and my family had already moved to the United States by then. It was only a label. Then, my cousin’s family came to Wisconsin for a visit. Although he was only about 3 years old, I noticed slight differences in the way he interacted with others. “This must be the autism,” I thought.

As I got older, I heard my parents talking about the different hardships my cousin and his family faced in Colombia; limited resources and knowledge about autism being the two most prominent ones. My aunt and uncle tried to find a logical reason behind the diagnosis. Was it the Coke they gave him to drink when he was a baby? Whose side of the family did it come from? How was his birth different than that of his brother’s? All of these questions, left unanswered, only increased the familial tension. Finally, my aunt decided she would get her certificate in ABA at the University of North Texas so that she could be better informed about autism and hopefully guide my cousin’s treatment. Additionally, my cousin would make several trips to Florida to receive the needed therapy.

As it may come to no surprise, I ultimately decided that I wanted to pursue a career in the field of autism. After doing some research and talking to those in the field, I was given two recommendations: become a behavior analyst or a special education teacher. “Behavior analyst it is!” I thought, and I haven’t looked back since. Choosing to become a BCBA, while on a whim, was the best decision I have ever made. I have a profession, which I not only love, but one that constantly challenges me. Very few individuals can say that they are excited to get up and go to work every day; I am fortunate to be one of those who can. Each learner teaches me something different about life and resilience. Every milestone met, no matter how big or small, is groundbreaking. We all have a reason for pursuing a career in this field. Many of us have likely been affected by autism personally. Each and every time I work with a new learner, my cousin comes to mind. He may not have received the needed services. His family may not have been provided with the necessary support and information. He may not have had access to a service provider like LSC, something unheard of in Colombia. Luckily, I have the opportunity to be sure that his story is one never told by any of the families I work with. For this, I am eternally grateful.

Angela Vargas is a program manager at Little Star Center.

Autism articles & organizations are big stars in Indiana

When a Hoosier family receives an autism diagnosis for their child, their support system expands instantly. A large network of support, information and advocacy is available to empower families to create the best next steps in their child’s development. We are grateful to the many organizations that make it their mission to improve the lives of every individual with autism. Through their efforts, thousands of Hoosiers are living their best lives.

Here are a few of the Big Stars in our autism community who not only offer support to Little Star Center, but to families, schools and businesses throughout Indiana. They are a family’s first resource after receiving an autism diagnosis:

ARC of Indiana assists all individuals with disabilities, connecting them with appropriate services, programs and employment to help them lead richer lives.

Autism Society of Indiana  (ASI) is often the first contact for families who learn about their child’s autism diagnosis. ASI helps parents navigate through the many questions, paperwork and health care issues that arise with an autism diagnosis. They also work to educate the community, business leaders and educators about autism.

Autism Speaks is the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, funding research into causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism. Autism Speaks also provides funds and support locally to strengthen the lives of Hoosiers with autism.

About Special Kids (ASK) is a “Parent to Parent” organization that works throughout Indiana to answer questions and provide support, information and resources. ASK helps families and professionals understand the various systems that are encountered related to special needs.

Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA) strengthens communities by providing training, consultation and research to support individuals with autism and their families. IRCA is a great resource for families seeking to understand the various treatments for autism, local programs and research.

Answers for Autism (AAI) provides grants to Indiana programs that serve individuals with autism. The volunteer organization sponsors events throughout the year to raise money to fund these grants. The organization’s goal is to increase and broaden public knowledge and awareness about the behaviors, social issues and emotional needs of individuals on the autism spectrum so that all individuals can participate in and contribute to the community without fear or bias or loss of individuality.

 

Celebrating our amazing Ryan

By Lisa Striewe 

As a mother of a teenage boy with autism, I am often in awe of just how far we’ve come.  Ryan was diagnosed with PDD, NOS when he was 3 ½ years old. He had very little language and extreme anxiety about the world around him.  The prognosis, according to the doctors, was not good.  I went home with guilt, fear and worry of what his life would be like and how I, his mother and advocate, could help him.

Eleven short years later, we’re in the kitchen.  Ryan is making dinner.  Tonight is his night to do so.  We take turns and he’ll make dinner while I do the dishes.  Other nights our roles are reversed.  But this particular evening, while he’s making dinner, he expresses some anxiety about going into high school next year.  As I listen to him, I gather that while some anxiety is coming from the prospect of high school, the majority of it is stemming from what that means.  In his mind, he needs to prepare and be ready to be out on his own, only a few short steps after starting high school.  My mind goes back to my son, at 3 years old.  Who would have known that we’d come so far and that now the anxiety is about if he has what it takes to go to college, get a job and live on his own or …yes, it’s coming….if he will find a girlfriend, get married and have a family?

As we continue our discussion, we broke the concerns into categories and agreed that while he needed to have faith in his abilities, there were some skills that we could work on to make him feel more confident about where he’s going and skills that would get him prepared for the life that he wants.  We created short-term and long-term goals.  Short-term goals included better study skills since he knows that high school and college will require more studying and project work, money and budgeting since he wants to make sure that he has enough money to do all of the things he wants to do. He wants me to help him find a part-time job this summer because, according to him, “it will help me become more dependable to those around me”.

His long-term goals include learning to drive and developing more tolerance for social interactions in preparation for dating when he is appropriately aged to do so.

As we finished our meal, I realized that the future is waiting for Ryan.  We don’t know what it will bring, but we do know that if we listen to each other and work together, he will be closer to reaching his goals.  And I, his mother and lifetime advocate and cheerleader, will be right there celebrating every step, every goal reached and every new goal set.  After watching my son for the last 14 years, I know that he is capable of achieving everything he desires.  It may take a little longer, may take a few extra steps or a few false starts, but he will do it, because that’s who he is.

Lisa Striewe is human resource and accounting coordinator at Little Star Center.

Conversation with a Big Star for Little Star

 

In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, we will feature comments from our Little Star Center Board of Directors. This week’s Q&A is with Michele Trivedi, who has served on Little Star Center’s Board of Directors since 2006. Trivedi serves on the Health Benefits Mandate Task Force For Indiana and is active in the autism community.  

What makes you most proud about serving on Little Star Center’s Board of Directors?

What makes me most proud of serving on the Little Star Board of Directors is that, even when it has been difficult, the Board has always made decisions that put the interests of the children and the quality of the therapy we provide to the children first. Even when that meant financial sacrifices, asking a Board member or a staff person to resign, or declining to expand into an area that was already served by multiple providers, we have always done what is in the long term best interests of the autism community in Indiana, the children we serve and their families.  I love that about our Board!

During your time as board member, what do you think has been one of Little Star Center’s biggest success stories?

I think our biggest success is the dozens of little victories and successes our staff sees every day – they add up!

What is one thing you want people to know about individuals with autism?

People with autism want to be accepted for who they are, and want to have their talents and contributions valued.  They do not want to be categorized and constantly paid attention to for what they CANNOT do.  People with autism are successful at many things, and if we, the “typical” people would learn to look beyond what we THINK is wrong with other people, we would find many talented, amazing people to fill jobs – places in higher education, places in our community, where we need people to think differently.  We get too stuck on labeling and limiting others instead of finding possibility and promise.

What do you see for the future of autism services in Indiana? Which  areas of service are in need of growth?

Indiana needs services that focus on peoples’ abilities and not just their “dis”abilities in order to facilitate better education, treatment, and job opportunities for people with autism and other disabilities.  Families in Indiana need an objective way to assess ABA providers, their training and experience and quality.  Health and human services need to break down the walls and silos and work with the communities they serve to provide more effective and more efficient services.

How has being a part of LSC impacted you personally?

First, the treatment my child receives from LSC has changed her life and our life as a family for the better.  The functional skills she has gained, and our ability to manage challenges has been key to improving our quality of life.  We can envision our child having a job, doing things other people take as “given”.  When she was first diagnosed, all we were told were the “nevers”, and she has already gained many more skills than we ever thought she would.  And we have truly met an extended family at Little Star.  We have no family in the state, and this means a lot to us.  It has been so encouraging and rewarding to be on the Board with a group of people who care so much about Little Star and all of the families and staff at Little Star.

“An inability to express one’s self in accordance with society’s standards does not make you less, it just makes you different.”

Written by a Little Star Center employee

I grew up with my older brother.  Mom, dad, me and my brother.  We were as close as two brothers could be growing up.  My mom stayed home with us until we went to school.  Everything was very typical, I didn’t know any different.  We would play blocks, trucks, roughhousing and make believe.  It wasn’t until my brother left for kindergarten.  I remember walking with mom to the bus stop and watching my brother get on the bus for school.

I was sad at first. This was the first time I would be away from my brother ever, at all.  I learned later in life that when my brother went to school, a different side of him was shown.  My brother, who played with me like a typical kid, didn’t play with anyone in kindergarten.  In fact, my brother didn’t do much of anything.  He sat in a corner, away from all of his peers.  My brother displayed his first signs of Asperger Syndrome, extreme social anxiety in a new setting.

I didn’t know when he got home that he had such a rough time at school.  He was my brother like I always knew him, back in the safety and security of our home.  My parents were made aware of his difficulties, and he repeated kindergarten.  My brother, being the brilliant human being that he is, surely saw that he didn’t meet their social expectations year one, so made sure of it come year two.  My brother progressed into elementary school as if nothing was wrong.  He did well academically and even made a handful of friends, some of which he still has to this day.

It wasn’t until late elementary school that a teacher noticed some of my brother’s difficulties and suggested that he be tested for high-functioning autism.  In the mid 90’s my brother was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.  This was difficult for me to hear, as you could imagine, being a 10 year-old boy and hearing your brother has a**burgers?  I was quickly told the correct spelling and was told that it was a high functioning form of autism.

We went to a parent meeting one evening at our elementary school so my parents could receive some literature on my brother’s newly discovered syndrome.  My brother and I played in the gym with some of the others kids and siblings.  We quickly noticed how out of place we were.  My brother was not like these children, we could both see that.  After that night, little was said about my brother’s Asperger’s or about the fact that he had autism.  But my curiosity had been peaked.  My brother was always just a little quirky and odd to me.  It never was anything deficient about him.  In fact, I always admired his ability to block out social distractions and focus on his studies and academic pursuits.

I was curious and, as it turned out, I would spend the rest of my time in school taking every psychology class I could get my hands on. I studied psychology in college as well as counseling and philosophy.  I wanted to help others and change the world.

After college, life sent me to residential care for children with autism.  I finally felt as though I had answered my calling.  I was working with a population I had been around my whole life.  Little did I realize that my brother was very similar to the kids in that gymnasium all those years ago.  Just a little quirky and different when it came to communicating with others.  But just as brilliant and loving as my brother.  I love my brother and this lesson that he taught me so early in life:  An inability to express one’s self in accordance with society’s standards does not make you less, it just makes you different.  It has been my pleasure working with children with autism and helping the world see their brilliance and love, even if it’s not what they’re expecting to see.  And I have my brother to thank for that.

This post was written by an employee at Little Star Center who has requested to remain anonymous.

Celebrating our beautiful son, Anthony

By Joanne Kehoe

I have four children. Anthony, my oldest, has autism.

When Anthony was a baby, I used to think about milestones and when he would reach them.  He sat up really early. He started rolling over and crawling early and got right up and started walking and running right on time.  His teeth came in when they were supposed to, much to my chagrin as a nursing mother.  He ate food from a spoon at six months.

I don’t know when I thought it strange that he wasn’t talking. I mean, he DID talk — a little.  He could count pretty high with me signing the numbers. He could say colors that I would sign. I have a video of him saying, “E, I, E, I … ho,” while playing with a tractor that played the Old McDonald song.

At 18 months, I took him to the pediatrician for his well-child checkup and explained that he wasn’t talking and that other kids in playgroups who were his age were flying by him. The doctor said to me, “Look how smart he is. Keep reading to him and keep talking to him.” So, I did.  I read a LOT. I talked to him a LOT.  I remember walking with Anthony around the block by our house after it snowed, and I thought to myself that if I fell and bonked my head, I would be in trouble because Anthony isn’t going to call for help.  He never called, “Mommy!” from his room. That was one thing I thought was strange.

Finally, we started Anthony in First Steps, the early intervention program. Three therapists came one morning to evaluate him. That was the first time I looked at Anthony as a stranger might see him and it didn’t look good!  They said he should have developmental, occupational and speech therapy.  They were throwing the book at him.  At the end of his involvement with First Steps, and before he moved on to therapy at the public school, he was diagnosed with autism.  By then, we knew it was coming, but it still sort of stung when the psychiatrist asked, “Has anyone ever mentioned autism to you?”

That was almost six years ago, and we have undergone a lot of attitude adjustments since then.  Anthony has had to get used to three little sisters, one louder than the next!  We have had to adjust our attitudes and our expectations. We still celebrate milestones with Anthony – so many I couldn’t even begin to count. They are just different than the milestones that I thought we’d be celebrating, and, Lord knows, they are sometimes later than I thought they’d be reached!  But he is so smart, and so wonderful, and we all love him so much – and I don’t mean just his family, but all his therapists and everyone who comes in contact with him. And those milestones mean just as much and probably more than the milestones that I thought he’d reach all those years ago when I was narrating my life and waiting for that first word.

Joanne Kehoe is a mom of four, including Anthony, a learner at Little Star.

 

Stars event postponed due to threat of rain

Due to the threat of rain this morning (Monday, April 7), Little Star Center has moved its autism awareness month event to Wednesday, April 9 instead of this morning.

On Wednesday, April 9 Little Star learners and professionals will be placing signs that demonstrate the impact of autism at Little Star Center facilities in Carmel and Lafayette.

  • Carmel Stars Placement by Learners                April 9 at 10:30 a.m.
  • Lafayette Stars Placement by Learners            April 9 at 2:30 p.m.
In March, the Centers for Disease Control announced updated autism prevalence rates. According to the CDC report, the prevalence rate for autism is now 1 in 68, which is an increase of over 30% from the 2008 CDC report of 1 in 88. A total of 68 stars will be placed: one yellow star for each child diagnosed with 67 surrounding blue stars for each unaffected child. 

The Stars are being placed in conjunction with the Big Stars for Little Star program in recognition of April’s national autism awareness month.

Conversation with a Big Star for Little Star

 

In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, we will feature comments from the Little Star Center Board of Directors. This week’s Q&A is with board member Bill Brunner. Brunner was appointed to the Little Star Center Board of Directors in 2009. He is the former Chief Financial Officer for J.D. Byrider. In 2013, he was named a CFO of the Year by the Indianapolis Business Journal.

What makes you most proud about serving on Little Star Center’s Board of Directors?

The work we do to serve our children with no distractions from our mission of serving the most children we can with uncompromised quality treatment.

During your time as board member, what do you think has been one of Little Star Center’s biggest success stories?

The biggest success story occurs frequently when we share the success of the children.  This can take the form of a child learning a skill that he/she previously could not perform up to transitioning to traditional education programs.

From a more grown up perspective, I take pride in management and the board’s reaction to a challenge that presented itself which likely could have impacted the quality of Little Star’s programs; the mission prevailed.  Like in many organizations revenue and profit can become a cancer on the organization’s mission.  Yes, the board does have the responsibility to assure the organization’s survival, but parents can be assured that the quality of service to their children will not be compromised.

What is one thing you want people to know about individuals with autism?

Having autism is not a shortcoming or a bad defect; it is a neurological condition. As individuals they have many beautiful traits that often are expressed in a level of love that those of us that are “normal” cannot understand or express.

What do you see for the future of autism services in Indiana? Which areas of service are in need of growth?

I wish I could be optimistic on this topic, but I see the environment surrounding the ability to serve children will continue to be challenging for the foreseeable future.  The challenges will come from the ability to pay for services as well as groups trying to profit from this population.

The outlook from a clinical perspective, however, is bright.  I am encouraged by the increasing amount of research in treatment methods and tools for aiding in treatment.  In particular, tools like electronic tablets (i-pads) offer the chance to improve communication for individuals with autism.

How has being a part of LSC impacted you personally?

This is simple; having the opportunity to serve the autistic community reminds me that serving our fellow persons and particularly our children is imperative to fulfilling our social responsibilities.

 

Wyatt and I are in this wonderful world together

 

By Brett Eastwick

Someone once said never underestimate what a parent is willing to do for his child. Parents of children with autism know this maxim all too well. It is not easy being a parent, even with unlimited resources, family members, and a supportive spouse. But bring into the fold a diagnosis of autism, and suddenly you feel as if the world has swallowed you up.

And any parent who has gone through this five years ago, 10 years, 20 years ago, it was even more difficult. Today, the level of awareness is high. It seems as if everybody knows someone that is on the spectrum. That has not always been the case, nor has it always been that people accept our children for who they are. We all have experienced “the look.” The look of confusion as to why our child is making odd sounds, why they are flapping their hands, why a sudden noise sends them into hysterics. We are at fault. They just need to behave. They need more discipline. We are coddling them. I have heard all of this before, as I am sure you have. It makes you want to cry. It makes you want to lash out. It makes you want to hide away from the world.

I have lived in the world of autism for 10 years. My son, Wyatt, brought me into it. He is why I left my previous career as a veterinary assistant and became an ABA therapist. He could not speak. Learning was aversive and almost impossible for him. He could not communicate with us. I refused to let him stay trapped in his own world by himself.

The methods of verbal behavior analysis did not take him out of that world, so much as it allowed me to enter into it with him. Wyatt has hundreds of signs, and knows how to compel those around him to engage him that way. After six years of continued therapy, he has learned so much. But this is where the rest of the world still lags behind. It is not over. He will not be “cured”, especially since he is not sick. He has autism. He will always have autism. I will always be a parent of a child with autism. I do not think about the magic day Wyatt will be like typically developing children, when I no longer work with children of autism. Wyatt and I are in this wonderful world together. We all are in this community of parents with autism. And I would not have it any other way.

Brett Eastwick is a therapist at Little Star Center. His son, Wyatt, has autism.