Special Needs Radio features Dr. Lynda Geller, Spectrum Services

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Ellen Victor

Tune in this evening at 6:30 to 1240 AM WGBB or on the web at www.am1240wgbb.com to hear our interview with Dr. Lynda Geller, Found of Spectrum Services. Dr. Geller founded Spectrum Services, a cooperative of independent practices and organizations specializing in Asperger Syndrome and related conditions.

Special Needs Long Island is a weekly radio program dedicated to the special needs community on Long Island. The program is co-hosted by Jeff Silverman, Director of Special Needs Planning for the Center of Wealth Preservation in Syosset, NY, and by Ellen Victor, Victor Law Firm, P.C. Jeff can be reached by email at SpecialNeedsLI@gmail.com or at (516) 682-3363. I can be reached at ellen@victorlawfirm.com or (516) 223-4800.

Special Needs Long Island Radio Show

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Ellen Victor

I’ve got a new gig!

I’m pleased to announce I am now co-hosting Special Needs Long Island, a weekly radio program dedicated to the special needs community on Long Island. My co-host is Jeffrey Silverman, Director of Special Needs Planning for the Center for Wealth Preservation in Syosset, New York.

Every Monday night, from 6:30 to 7PM, we feature guests from special needs organizations, professionals practicing in the field and individuals with special needs.

Please tune in 1240 AM WGBB or on the web at www.am1240wgbb.com (click on Listen Live)

“It’s Not as Bad as it Looks”

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Ellen Victor

Right, Judge. If it was possible to somehow put the frosting on the cake of this horrifying story about a judge caught on videotape beating his daughter, a life-long sufferer of cerebral palsy, that quote from the perpetrator did it.

According to the article, Texas Family Court Judge William Adams was secretly taped by his daughter in 2004, and after subsequent abuse, she finally decided to release the almost ten minute video of her father and mother cursing and beating her with a belt.

Many of our children with special needs use the Internet as their lifeline to the world. Then-16-year-old Hilary Adams’s crime was illegally downloading a video without paying for it. The resulting punishment, doled out by a judge who frequently saw the horrific results of child abuse in his courtroom is both incomprehensible and enraging.

Contrast the judge’s efforts to minimize the incident with his daughter’s love and generosity. “It is my wish that people stop threatening my father and start offering professional help. That is what he really needs,” she wrote.

Watching the video made me ill. I struggled with whether I should post a link to it. But abuse needs to be exposed, and the likelihood that special needs children, who often struggle with behavioral issues, will be abused is much higher than for other children. And so I’ve posted it.

Warning: if you have a weak stomach, do not watch this video.

Broadway Roars: Autism Friendly Performance at Lion King

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Ellen Victor

Broadway is becoming autism friendly! The Theater Development Fund (TDF) has started a new program known as the Autism Theater Initiative to make theater more accessible to children and adults on the autism spectrum and their families.

The Lion King has been chosen as the first ever Broadway autism-friendly play with a special performance and reduced prices for its October 2 matinee. The show sold out quickly, but we can expect if the results are good, that it will be repeated. You can sign up for information on future performances here.

According to the NY Times, some of the modifications made for this special performance include less strobe lighting and softening of the sound in some places. Many autistic persons are sensitive to light and sound.

The entire theater has been bought out for this performance. Although many Broadway productions have the ability to modify shows for hearing and sight impaired people, those modifications are made during regular performances. According to Lisa Carling, T.D.F.’s director of accessibility programs:

“We wanted to create an environment that was welcoming to children and their parents so they could come in and not be afraid of judgment from other theatergoers who might not understand why a child is doing repetitive movements, or rocking back and forth, or why a child might need to wear headphones or get up in the middle of a song and take a time out in the lobby.”

What a wonderful idea. Let’s hope that more shows follow, and that The Lion King has much success.

Desperate Parents Try Desperate Measures

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Ellen Victor

The Judge Rotenberg Center, a special needs school in Massachusetts that receives much of its funding from New York State, is back in the center of controversy again.

The Center is the only school in the nation that uses aversive therapy such as skin shocks as behavioral modification on its students. Many of the students at the Center are New York residents, with New York courts approving the skin shock therapy.

The Canton Patch is doing a series of articles on the controversy, reporting both on the boycott of radio ads by the Center led by a Long Island parent and also reporting on the parents and supporters of the Center and the controversial treatments.

According to the Associated Press and Boston.com, public hearings are being held this week in the Massachusetts legislature to ban the practice for those students that do not have court approval. The Center’s attorney, Michael Flammia, is calling that discrimination.

What do you think? Is skin shock therapy barbaric, or is it a necessary measure to help out of control students?

The R Word: Tracy Morgan: Oops!…I Did it Again

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Ellen Victor

In the latest incident of a celebrity using the “R” word, Tracy Morgan, fresh from his apologies over making anti-gay remarks, made “jokes” about “young retarded males” during a recent comedy appearance. It was reminiscent of Jenifer Aniston’s description of herself as “retarded” on the David Letterman show.

The New York Times reported Morgan’s gaffe without condemning it, in a story titled “Comedian, Chastened, Gets Back to Laughs.”

Really, New York Times? Laughs? The disabled community does not find Tracy Morgan any funnier than the gay community did.

NY to Require Insurance Companies to Pay for Autism Treatments

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Ellen Victor

Via a press release issued by Chairman of the Senate Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee Senator Roy McDonald:

The New York State Senate today approved legislation to enable individuals with autism spectrum disorders to receive insurance coverage for screening, diagnosis and treatment. The bill (S.4005A), sponsored by Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R, Merrick), would save tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses spent by families caring for individuals with autism and address insurance companies’ refusal to cover costs for autism treatments and therapies.

Autism Spectrum Disorders affect individuals of all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 110 children, including 1 in 70 boys, are currently affected with autism.

The legislation requires insurance companies to provide coverage for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, including behavioral health treatments, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Insurance companies would be prohibited from terminating coverage or refusing to renew, adjust, amend, issue, or execute a policy solely because the individual has been diagnosed with or received treatment for autism spectrum disorders.

Understanding Autism: It’s Not Monkey Business

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Ellen Victor

Teco, a young bonobo chimpanzee, is exhibiting signs of autistic behavior, according to BoingBoing. His famous father, Kanzi, uses symbols to communicate with humans. Both chimps can be found at The Great Ape Trust, a nonprofit foundation whose tag line is “Insights through Collaborations with Apes.”

Researchers immediately noticed that Teco was not acting like normal baby chimps. He did not bond with his mother, did not make eye contact and he became agitated when his surroundings weren’t exactly as he wanted them to be. Sound familiar? Furthermore, Teco is showing some repetitive movement, another very human sign of autism syndrome.

Here are a few more questions, answered by Teco’s caretakers: Q &A.

Teco

Play Ball! Special Needs Kids on Long Island

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Ellen Victor

A brand new baseball little league has been form on Long Island, welcoming disabled children. The Little League of the Islips’ Challengers team is comprised of two teams, the Hurricanes and the Cyclones.

As CBS News commented, “the Field of Dreams belongs to everyone.”

The Challengers are the brainchild of Kelly Pipitone and Frank Fritz. Kelly’s son Jake plays on the team.

There are some special rules too– According to Newsday, each player will be accompanied by a volunteer who will stay by his or her side during the game. One other special rule? Everyone wins.

And truly, with dedicated parents and coaches, everyone on Long Island does win.

Early Screening Tool Could Detect Autism by Age 1

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Ellen Victor

A new approach to screening for some autism spectrum disorders may be able to detect autism by the age of 1, a great advance. Earlier detection and treatment can lead to better outcomes, as parents and teachers of children with autism know.

The Journal of Pediatrics has prepared a checklist to be used at baby’s one year checkup. The checklist can be found here.

According to the PBS Newshour, this test can be quickly filled out in the waiting room of the pediatrician’s office and is reliable more than half the time.

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