of special interest to parents

Angel Magnussen is a Port Alberni high school student who has a very special partner, her dog Jelly Bean. She and Jelly Bean have been together for two years. Jelly Bean is a Service Dog who was trained at Helping Paws in Creston. Before Jelly Bean came to stay with Angel and her family, she and Jelly Bean spent time learning how to work together.

Jelly Bean accompanies Angel to school everyday, to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs hockey games (Angel is an avid fan and supporter), shopping at Walmart, and to the grocery store. Jelly Bean also visited Disneyland with Angel and her family.
To learn more about Angel’s and Jelly Bean’s adventures, visit her website at www.members.shaw/ca/awesomeangel.

This short vignette about the interests and experiences of 3 boys with ASD was created to present at District Partner Day 2010. Watch for the upcoming indepth eLesson about these boys.

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In this truly sensitive autobiography, Dr. Shore invites us to join him as he revisits his life with autism which began at 18 months when he lost speech and exhibited the behaviours that led to his diagnosis. Dr Shore recounts the challenges he had to overcome in primary, middle and high school, college, university and the careers he explored. He provides crucial information for parents and educators about the inherent social and learning subtleties which can create chaos and confusion for the individual with ASD. Furthermore, he offers helpful insights, practical suggestions, and pro-active strategies to insure that all individuals with ASD are afforded opportunities to live meaningful, inclusive lives.

Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Angel Magnussen is a remarkable young woman who has found an appealing way to fundraise in order to help others. She recently produced Celebrity Charity Cookbook with a few of her friends to benefit Variety Kids and the sick kids who visit West Coast General, Nanaimo General and Victoria General Hospitals.

She said in an interview that she got the idea as she was cooking dinner one night. She asked some of her favourite people, including Paul Brandt, Brendan Morrison, Bobs and Lolo, Rick Hansen, Ethan Moreau and Fred Penner. She said that she chose Variety and the hospitals because she wanted to help sick kids get better soon. Her favourite recipe is Brendan Morrison’s blueberry pancakes which she describes as incredible and nutritious.

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Rudy Simone is an Asperger Syndrome Consultant and what she terms an “Aspergirl”. Rudy’s book addresses the critical need for improved diagnosis of this syndrome in girls as the majority of information and understanding of AS relates primarily to boys. Rudy covers a wide variety of topics that impact the lives of young women with AS, who, without a proper diagnosis, remain confused and overwhelmed by the world with which they have to contend. Rudy includes personal anecdotes from thirty-five other women with AS in her frank discussions about such topics as the need for personal awareness, good hygiene, healthy living, a good education, personal safety, medications, and relationships.

Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome

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The author invites us to share his experiences as his son’s perspective of the world is revealed to him. Although Daniel recognizes that Alex has challenges with communication and social demands, as well as sensory processing, the struggles that Daniel experiences in trying to grasp the reality of Alex’s world are profound. We see Daniel ping pong from intense pride in Alex’s achievements to complete bafflement and frustration at Alex’s inability to communicate basic wants and needs. Daniel also clearly describes the anguish he and his wife face as they advocate for Alex’s integration with typical peers. The book is honest, humorous, and poignant.

Different Kind Of Boy, A

In the third and final part of this series on Pervasive Developmental Disorder, POPARD Consultant Zuhra Teja discusses the complex process of diagnosis with Dr. Vikram Dua, child and adolescent psychiatrist, BC Children's Hospital.

This is the second part of a 3 part series on Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

This story, written by a mother of an 8 year old girl with Autism, recounts how the use of video modeling supported her daughter with social interactions. Not only were the outcomes of the video modeling strategy positive for her daughter, they were also positive for her peers.

We decided to try video modeling for our 8 year old daughter "S" who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is a very sociable child, but being fairly non-verbal she doesn’t know how to engage her friends. When a friend (or anyone) said "hi" to her, we would always have to prompt her to say "hi" back. Our first video would therefore be getting S to respond when someone says hi to her. We filmed a video with the following dialogue: