Presentation from MiAEYC, 2011 on Autism

1. VOICES FROM THE FIELD
USING DAP TO FIND NEW
INTERVENTIONS FOR ASD
Amber Fante
Baker College of ClintonTownship

2. Amber Fante
 ECE Department Chair at Baker College of
ClintonTownship
 Contact me
 Facebook me (put Autism recovery in message
line)
 Links to video presentation
 Presentation Copies
 E-mail me at amber.fante@baker.edu (Subject
Line:Autism Recovery)

3. Meet the Fantes

4. Emotional Journey of Finding
Zeke
1)Gain insights into the emotional journey of
being an autistic recovery family.
2)Share resources from established
organizations.
3)Share my unique approaches for recovery.

5. TACA Video – Hope After
Diagnosis
http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/autism-hope-after-
diagnosis/

6. Zeke’s Timeline
 Joyous Birth (Jan, 2004)
 18 month shots (2005)
 Mike’s Approach
 Amber’s Response
 2 year old ASQ test (March 2006)
 2 year. 9 months ISD evaluation (August. 2006)
 MIPPS (Macomb Infant Pre-School) program
(Sept 06-Jan 05
 ECDD (Early Childhood Developmental Delay)
program (Jan 06)

7. Not Ready to Try
 Welcome
Weds.
 Watching
August–Oct.
2007
 Welcoming
Eden – Nov
2007
 Finding Doctor
 BloodWork for
Zeke

8. A New Baby & Numbness

9. Friday, March 21st, 2008
Spring Break
 “What did we do today?”
 Mike’s Ultimatum

10. Saturday, March 22th My Son’s
Reflection
 Stimming
 Obsessive Play
 No Eye Contact
 A Runner
 Massive Sensory Issues
 Demanded Routine
 Echolalia – 95% of his speech
 Little Social Referencing
 Soulless existence

11. Sunday, March 23th Grief Cycle
 Sadness and Sorrow Arrive at 22119 Shady
Lane
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to
go from here?“
"That depends a good deal on where you want
to get to."
-Lewis Carrol

12. Defining Autism
 Autism definition : A lifelong developmental
disability that affects the way a person
communicates and relates to other people. It's
also known as autistic spectrum disorder, or ASD.
People with autism have difficulties with
everyday social interactions. Autism is often
described as a 'spectrum disorder' because the
condition affects people in many different ways
and to varying degrees.

13. Autism Recovery
 Jenny McCarthy on autism recovery:
“There's like two controversies with autism. It's
how they got there and the possibility of
recovery. Recovery, the real thing, it's not a
cure, a really great analogy I give is autism is
like getting hit by a bus.You can't be cured but
you can recover all those lost things that you
once had.”
Interview: Jenny McCarthy 'On the Record' on Her Autism Crusade
Retrieved from: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364496,00.html
October 18, 2010

14. Amber Jumps off the Cliff

15. Advise for Professionals
 Respect the right to grieve
 If parents aren’t ready to “deal with it” KEEP
TRYING!
 Offer support by helping them connect to
other families: Speech and language delay
groups,Autism Groups, Judson Center,
Parent Mentor Groups, local groups
 Offer support options (Recovery and NON-
Recovery)

16. Monday, March 30th “Recovery”?
 Attempting “recovery”
is an emotional
journey.
 Are their recovery
“failures”?

17. Advise for Professionals
Helping Parents who are considering a Recovery
 Remember the outcome is always HOPEFUL!
 Recovery requires a STRONGTEAM
COMMITMENT!
 Read MotherWarriors
 Look at the Reviews on Amazon for Autism
Recovery Books
 Check out Generation RescueWebsite
 WatchTACA video; Autism Hope After Diagnosis

18. Tuesday, April 1st Dr. Susan
Syed and I Go Back to 1800’s
Bio-Medical Begins
Nothing to Lose
Food heals the body
 45% of kids eat no fruit
 20% eat one serving of veggies or less
 Of this only 8% eat green veggies
 Fitness: 90% Rule
 Top 5 sources of calories are; whole and chocolate milk,
pizza, soft drinks, low-fat milk and cold cereal.
The analysis of NHANES III data was conducted by Block Dietary Data Systems of Berkeley, Calif., and was
sponsored by Dole Food Company, Inc. NHANES III was a study conducted by the National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1988-1994.The study
included 2400 5 to 10 year-olds. Facts cited above also come from previously published data from the USDA’s
ContinuingSurvey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII), 1989-1991 and 1994-1996.

19. Intervention #1: Bio-Medical
Detox
 Part 1: Dietary Intervention
 3 Food (Oatmeal Cookies,Waffles, Ramen
noodles)
 Amber’s Culinary Skills
 An organic lifestyle
 NO CHEATING EVER!!!!!
 Cost, Preparation, Resistance

20. Bio-Medical Interventions
 Why does this work?
 Try The Specific Carbohydrate Diet
 Theory: EnvironmentalToxins and Canaries in
the Coal Mine
 Non-expert status
 Natural homeopathic approach vs. intensive
approaches

21. Advise for Professionals
Finding a Doctor: Keep this in mind
 Expense
 Open minded humility
 Willingness to try new things
 Remember when nicotine didn’t cause
cancer?
 Longitutidal data doesn’t exsist for most
environmental pollutins.

22. Supplements and Sneaky Chef
Fruit andVeggie Supplement (Veggie Brownies)
Acidophilus (Soy IceTreat)
Fish Oil (Fishy Pancakes)
B-12 Shot

23. Advise for Professionals
 It’s mostly FOOD andVITAMINS!
 Be Sensitive
 Parents feel – sad, angry, guilty, and
protective
 Buy a snack (Trader Joe Snicker Doodle's)
 Share a recipe
 Provide connections to Celiac groups or GFCF
groups

24. Your Turn
 What impact do you think diet has on
learning and behavior?
 What modern challenges do we face in
preparing healthy meals for our families?

25. Ezekiel Responds
 Hi, mom!
 2 weeks improvement
 Increased eye contact
 Echolalia decreases
 More social referencing

26. Bio-Medical:
 Part 2: Homeopathic Detox Process
 Process to remove the toxins from the body
 Similar to a colon cleanse
 Digestion Problems
 Regression and Healing

27. Summer-Time Blues
 Detox begins in June
 4th of July Agony
 August Blue BirdWishes
 24 hours one word, “Pancakes”
 An evening to remember, “Stay with Me.”
 Managing my depression
 “He’s been stung by bees”

28. Bio-Medical Detox Timeline
 April 1st 2008 – Gluten Free
 June 1st 2008 –Yeast, Dairy Free,
Supplements
 June 15th, 2008 – Detox Begins
 2 weeks on 1 week off
 1 year of Detox
 Summer 2009 – 1 maintenance round detox
 Now – Entire family gluten free

29. Behavioral Interventions
meets DAP
Amber’s Do-itYourself Interventions
Based on my knowledge as a professional
Commitment to healing my child
Uniquely designed for Zeke
 Screen time Detox
 Isolation Detox
 Facing Fear (Vygotsky – Scaffolding)
 Willing to AcceptChange(Piaget – Stages of
Development)

30. Play, The “endangered” species of
early childhood
“We don't quit playing because we grow old, we
grow old because we quit playing.”
George Bernard Shaw

31. The Predators of Play
“Play now appears to be a minor activity in
most kindergarten classrooms.”
Edward Miller, Director of Alliance for
Childhood

32. Unique Approach #2: Screen time
Detox
 Echolalia: Good vs. Bad
 Mike’s approach vs. Amber’s approach
 Relationship Development Intervention: RDI
Program and Education pg. 17-21
 Temple Grandin on stimming
 Echolalia provides an auditory map of the
brain.

33. Static vs. Dynamic

34. The Dangers of the Screen
 Levels of Static in Screentime
 Elijah’s Greatest Gift
 FanteTEAM Commitment

35. Screen time Detox Timeline
 May 2008 –PURGE!
 July 2008- Speech In-Take
 -24
 January 2009 – +18
 August 2009 -Released from speech
 May 2009– Adding Sports
 Christmas 2009 –Wii Sports
 Present Day – No Screen duringWeek 1 hr/day
weekend.

36. Neurons and Dendrites

37. Creating a Neural Pathway

40. Screen Time Detox Article
 Neurons and Memory

41. Your Turn:
 Does the science make sense?
 How will caregivers, teachers, parents
respond?
 Does it have the same impact on all kids?

42. Advise for Professionals
 Limit use of “static” inputs and rewards in
therapy
 Replace repetive routines with dynamic
interaction
 Educate parents about the dangers of screen
time

43. Unique Approach #3: Isolation
Detox
 Facing Fear
 Social responses are
inappropriate.
 May 2008 -The Jungle
Playscape: Zeke and
Amber’s Greatest Fear.

44. Advise for Professionals
 A will of steel and the velvet touch
 Be sure you are “reading” the right emotion in the
child.
 Research HALO and Rapid Prompting Method
 Soma Mukhopadhyay andTito
 Tito has written 2 books about autism
 New book: Understanding Autism through Rapid
Prompting Method

45. Halo and Non-Verbal Children
and Self Regulations
 http://www.amotherscourage.org/
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1OAqtA
R_-E
 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=732
2238338056531303#
 What self-regulation strategies do you notice
this mom use with her non-verbal son as he
learns his science lesson?

46. Templeton Grandin
 Note all of the pieces of adviceTemple makes
to parents:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6jkDiJF
AQ&feature=related

47. Permissive Parenting and
Autism
 Why do you think some parents struggle with
having different expectations for autistic
kids?

48. Become a Dragonfly
Master of Change & Piaget
The more the schemata are differentiated, the
smaller the gap between the new and the
familiar becomes, so that novelty, instead of
constituting an annoyance avoided by the
subject, becomes a problem and invites
searching.
Jean Piaget

49. Still More to Learn
 Providing Social Practice
 Friendship at least once a week
 Increased Modeling
 The Next Level- Hitting theWall
 Got rid of soy
 Summer time detox
 Body’s response to gluten

50. Meet Zeke
 Fully recovered
 Loves sports, cub scouts, learning Chinese, his
siblings, plays baseball, basket ball, play dates w/
friends.
 Hates bullies.
 Extremely social
 Talks about his emotions freely
 Very loving
 Wants to be a bus driver, doctor, and a priest
when he grows up.
 A FULL CHRISTMAS LIST!

51. Amber’s Journey
 Our work as God’s servant’s gets validated -or not – in the
details. People are watching us we stay in our post, alertly
unswervingly, in hard times, tough times, bad times; when
we are beaten up, jailed mobbed; working hard; working late;
working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady
hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re
telling the truth, and when God is showing his power; when
we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised
and when we’re blamed; slandered and honored; true to our
word though distrusted; ignored by the world though
recognized by God; terrifically alive though rumored to be
dead; beaten within an inch of our loves, but refusing to die;
immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on
handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
 2 Corinthian 6 –The Message

52. Meet Amber
 Natural healing for our
whole family
 Decreased the static
 Faced my fears
 I am the Dragonfly
 I cook
 I run
 I write

53. The Dragonfly becomes a
Butterfly