The Coffee Klatch Special Needs Radio

Dr Temple Grandin - Author, Advocate, One of Time Magazines Most Infuential People Of The Year - Emmy Award Winning HBO Movie "Thinking In Pictures"   An impromptu phone call between Marianne and Dr Grandin lead to an incredible interview on the airwaves.    Dr Temple Grandin has had eight appearances on the show.  Tonight we discuss a topic that we just had to bring to our listeners    "The principle emotion experienced by autistic people is fear" Temple Grandin  

SHOW PREMIERE - Getting out of the house - Easier said than done!  Are you a parent of a child with autism?  Often going out to eat, to a movie, library or a place of worship can be very stressful for autism families, tonight we talk about the importance of getting out with and without the kids.  Breaking the isolation and starting early.    You all know her and love her ..... Dianne Porter's first guest on Missing Piece Autism Awareness Show is Eileen Shaklee author of Autism With A Side Of Fries  Autism is a trip this mom didn’t plan on taking but she sure does love her tour guide. This week we talk with an amazing mom, Eileen Shaklee,  founder of the blog "Autism with a Side of Fries" which provides a fun place to share, support and have a laugh.  It does not matter what socioeconomic status, race, religion or creed you are, if you have a family member with autism you have been put on the path of a trip you didn’t plan on a path with no predictable itinerary.  Eileen's inspirational message reminds parents to laugh as they face real life battles. Her message is empowering and reminds parents that you are not alone on this journey.

Host Richard Selznick   Guests LORNA WOOLDRIDGE has a Bachelor of Education degree from Bath College of Higher Education in England, and holds a Certificate of Professional Practice from Roehampton Institute in London: "Teaching Children with Reading and Writing Difficulties/Dyslexia." Lorna is certified by the Dyslexia Training Institute, and is experienced in implementing the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching. She has also completed the DTI Dyslexia Advocacy Certification Course and the Orton-Gillingham Online Academy Basic Language Course (Based on Orton-Gillingham Principles.)  Lorna has a unique perspective on this condition as she is dyslexic herself. PHIL WOOLDRIDGE has a Masters Degree in Engineering and brings twenty five years of experience as a consultant, team leader and homeschool science teacher.  

“Joel Manzer is an autism father from Norfolk, Virginia. His son whom he calls “Short Stack” has autism. Joel Manzer serves as the Lead Editor for Autisable, a blogging community with Xanga.com that was created in May, 2009, and is dedicated to sharing real blogs from people tackling the puzzle of autism. Joel Manzer who describes himself as “just one person among the thousands sharing their stories online” is an Autism Light for his dedication as an autism father and for his vision in leading Autisable today to be a helpful resource on the voices of the diverse autism community. “When my son was diagnosed with autism, we searched online for an open source blogging community that we would show daily life with autism. By open source, I mean one where someone didn’t have to sign up to join to read information. I’ve been blogging on Xanga.com for many years, and one day I was in a discussion with the people at Xanga.com and through that was birthed Autisable.com. Our mission is rather basic, to promote discussion of autism. We don’t take a stance on a specific viewpoint or concept about it, but want to provide an environment where people can share their ideas and journey. ” Rob Gorski is a 36 year old Autism advocate, writer, hardcore techie, Google android fanatic, creator of the My Autism Help Forums and co-founder of Guardian Locate. However, more importantly, he is a single Dad to 3 amazing boys. All 3 of his boys are on the Autism Spectrum and have other serious health issues. His Autism Dad blog is to educate people and help them better understand what life can be like for families with a special needs children. He shares this story from his perspective as a single parent, in a very honest and transparent way. 

Dr. G Paul Dempsey is a pediatrician and the medical director of Quinte Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in Belleville, Ontario. His other professional experience includes: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and licensed in the Province of Ontario and the State of Maryland, Past President of the Quinte Health Care Professional Staff Association and previously Chief of Pediatrics at Quinte Health Care Past Director, Quinte Health Care. Quinte Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is a community pediatric practice that provides medical care to infants, children and adolescents. Lead by pediatrician Dr. Gerald Paul Dempsey, they strive to provide expertise in medicine, timely service and up-to-date resources to our patients and to referring physicians. While they aren’t a primary care facility, they do offer a variety of services that you won’t find anywhere else. Dr Dempsey sees patients that have been referred by physicians for medical consultation, our Special Kids, Special Care services, and Sport Medicine Clinic. As with medical consultation, his Special Kids, Special Care services for children with special needs are by hospital or physician referral only. Some of the conditions for which shared care would be an option include: cerebral palsy, congenital heart diseases, Down Syndrome and other genetic disorders, epilepsy and other problems. In Special Kids, Special Care situations, patients continue ongoing primary care with their family doctor, while he assumes responsibility for monitoring and coordinating care of medical issues which require specialized training, or additional time not available to most family physicians. Ultimately each diagnosis has a different list of needs and as such the treatment options he handles vary on a case by case basis.

“Matters of the Mind” The mind is powerful. It can help us achieve greatness or hinder us from meeting our goals. Matters of the Mind will explore topics related to the psychology of the human condition and the obstacles we face throughout development. Topics will range from lifespan development and psychologically-informed discussions of understanding the world around us to mental illness and evidence-based treatment approaches. Our host, Marla W. Deibler, Psy.D., MSCP is a clinical psychologist and nationally-recognized expert in anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive and related disorders, including OCD, trichotillomania, excoriation (skin picking) disorder, and hoarding disorder.Dr. Deibler is the Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia, an outpatient facility with locations in Cherry Hill and Princeton, NJ, specialized in providing evaluation and evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral therapies for these and other difficulties. Dr. Deibler hold a doctorate in clinical psychology and a post-doctoral master of science in clinical psychopharmacology and us a licensed psychologist in the state of NJ. Dr. Deibler has appeared on the Dr. Oz Show, A&E’s “Hoarders”, TLC’s “Hoarding: Buried Alive”, CBS News, ABC News, FOX News, It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle (CN8, Retirement TV), and CBS’s “Swift Justice with Nancy Grace”. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Life Ed with Maria Shriver, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Huffington Post, and Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.

MISSING PIECE AWARENESS – Building relationships for businesses and autism families To simply be aware of autism is not enough. Autism Awareness for us is providing the knowledge of autism and how families and members of the community are impacted. This understanding is implicit in our definition of autism awareness so that all members of a community can be empowered to create effective change. Awareness cannot be a static state. It is through active awareness, empowering people provided with an understanding the means to create change that acceptance can occur. This show will focus on the out of the box thinking and actions being taken by businesses, autistic individuals and families with autism to work together to create fully inclusive and accepting community environments. Missing Piece Awareness trains, certifies, supports and promotes mainstream businesses. We train the staff to provide autism-accepting customer service in welcoming environments, while guiding the management team in implementing seemingly-simple accommodations-but are ones that parents and families living with autism embrace and truly value. We individualize each and every training, proposed accommodation and recommendation to address each company’s goals, industry, demographic and needs. We are the only company in the country doing this- so it’s an exciting time for us, while we educate the public about what we do and gain an army of supporters who believe in our mission. It is a true learning curve for most potential clients and business owners as we create a new standard for businesses.

Michael Buckholtz is the founder of Aid for Autistic Children Foundation, Inc.™, diagnosed with high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome and OCD, he is a songwriter, performer, multi-platinum record producer (worked for M.C. Hammer) and owner of B-Street Music Publishing™ for 21 years. Before the music, Michael spent time serving his country in the United States Navy as a noncommissioned Personnel Petty Officer caring for personnel issues including enlisted pay, a top secret government clearance handling military cryptological information and reconnaissance mission coding. Since 2007, Michael dedicated full time to finding a solution to the financial disparity families and individuals coping with autism face. Twenty-five years music industry expertise and multiple levels of production experience. Composer, sound engineer (in-studio and live), songwriter, including network television projects, film scoring or sound track composing and responsible for multiple millions of dollars in record sales/royalty profits. His specialties: Artist development, entertainment business consultation, music publishing, entertainment law, live performance and advanced digital audio technology.  

Fred Tchang, ATP Director www.assistivetechnologycenter.org     In addition to being the director, Fred is also a hands-on Assistive Technology Specialist. He and his staff help consumers with all types of disabilities understand, experience, and implement assistive technology in their everyday lives. Fred and his staff work with employers and school districts to help make classrooms, curricula and work sites accessible. His formal training is in product design and rehabilitation engineering technology. With a great interest in coalitions, he has kept active with such groups as RESNA (the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America), NJ CART (New Jersey Coalition for the Advancement of Rehabilitation Technology), and NJ CIE (New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education). Currently, Fred serves on New Jersey's State Special Education Advisory Council (NJSSEAC), and RESNA’s Professional Standards Board, which provides oversight of the Assistive Technology Professional, or ATP credential.

VISUAL LEAP: A Step-by-Step Guide to Visual Learning for Teachers and Students Jesse Berg delivers a go-to method for teachers, students, and parents who want to make learning easier and more joyful in a way that matches how people really learn. Strategies like Summary Man, Reverse Mind Map, and Constructed Response Magic are intuitive and practical. Berg’s light hearted yet substantive BOWL and LADLE process of visually developing ideas is firmly rooted in cognitive learning theory yet it makes learning feel more like solving puzzles than toiling over topic sentences His visual step-by-step methods show learners how to think critically and organize ideas for virtually any academic task. Effective across grade levels and subject areas and for a wide variety of instructional objectives, these visual strategies improve reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary acquisition, note taking, and more. The Visual Leap method simplifies teaching of the skills needed for the Common Core State Standards and gives teachers explicit ways to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all THE PROBLEM: 75% of people learn visually, but NEVER LEARNED how to use this intellectual asset to accomplish work or to learn. Therefore, many of us DO NOT work or learn as productively as possible. THE SOLUTION: The Visual Leap will train, model and support your faculty in teaching with strategies that match how your students naturally think. We will work closely with you to design and implement a research-based solution that meets your learning goals. Results will be profound.

A wearable touch technology vest that provides deep touch pressure to wearers - T.Jacket simulates the feeling of a hug with laterally applied air pressure to calm, comfort and soothe the nerves of anyone who is stressed or anxious. Experience different pressure levels when you wear T.Jacket by directly controlling it from your app, or by choosing from the automated pressure programs one that suit your needs. Developed in collaboration with senior occupational therapists, university researchers, clinical psychologists and educators, T.Jacket can help people with sensory modulation difficulties who are sensory seeking and/or sensory over responsive   Deep touch pressure can help improve the quality of life for people who face constant stress and anxiety. It improves the wearer’s attention and focus by helping to calm the wearer and regulate arousal levels.  Deep touch pressure can help children and adults with sensory modulation issues, which are commonly faced by individuals with conditions such as SPD, Autism, ADHD, Alzheimers, Dementia.  The ability to keep track is amazing!  We've got the entire system working for you. Built in sensors measure and automatically record user activity levels (seated, walking, jumping, running). T.Jacket app automatically stores and uploads this information onto our cloud system. It's now ready to be accessed and analysed whenever! 

Dr Grandin is seeing a trend in parenting young adults with autism, the parents inability to let go and allow the young adult or child to develop life skills.  She joins us today to discuss this issue and will be taking your calls.    Dr. Temple Grandin is one of the world's most accomplished and well known adults with autism. She has a PhD in animal science from the University of Illinois and is a professor at Colorado State University. She is the author of six books, including the national bestsellers Thinking in Pictures and Animals in Translation. Dr. Grandin is a past member of the board of directors of the Autism Society of America. She lectures to parents and teachers throughout the U.S. on her experiences with autism, and her work has been covered in the New York Times, People, National Public Radio, and 20/20. Most recently she was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of the year. The HBO movie based on her life, starring Claire Danes, received seven Emmy Awards.

Debra Isaacs Schafer the founder and CEO of Education Navigation, LLC, a company that provides special education coaching and advocacy services to companies as an employee benefit for working parents.  She is also a Special Education Advisor in private practice who has partnered with parents nationwide for over 15 years, focusing on assisting parents of children from K to college transition with autism spectrum disorders, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities and mental health issues.  Debra is a speaker, writer, and parent and has been recognized by national autism and human resources organizations.  She has also trained several thousand parents on topics ranging from IEPs to parent advocacy strategies to transition planning and college preparation.

Host Dr. Richard Selznick author of School Struggles, Dyslexia Screening and The Shut Down Learner Guest: Jessica Zawrotny, OTJessica Zawrotny is the Lead Occupational Therapist at Sensational Kids in Marlton, NJ. Jessica is very passionate about new research related to the field and she constantly stays up to date with information relevant to the patient population she is working with. Jessica is very much a kid at heart, and her clinical and professional experiences as well as her knowledge of child development, applied behavior analysis, sensory integration, therapeutic listening and SOS feeding have made her the strong therapist that she is today.

A film that will make you smile, cry and most importantly, think.  Brilliant documentary about autism and the emotion of love.  Guests Matt Fuller/Director Carolina Groppa/Producer Autism in Love is a feature length documentary that explores the lives of four autistic adults as they pursue and manage romantic relationships. The manifestations of autism affect everyone a little differently. What is seldom found are stories about what happens once these kids grow up; what happens after the sleepless nights, years of therapies, special schooling and exhaustive treatments? What happens when children with autism become adults with autism and want to have lives of their own? Unfortunately, when it comes to romantic relationships, people with autism have a distinct disadvantage. Being plagued by this developmental disorder jeopardizes the core characteristics of a relationship - communication and social interaction. Ostensibly it seems that some may never truly experience romantic love, or at least love by a typical definition. However, we know this to be false. We have innumerable instances of people with autism falling in love and having meaningful romantic relationships. AUTISM IN LOVE has captured those yet unexplored experiences. We've harnessed the power of cinema to reveal the truths of this otherwise marginalized community, and we're presenting a personal and critical perspective on the most important aspect of the human condition... love.