Published on: November 30, 2016

Name: Joseph              Date: 11/21/2016        Age: 9

My birthday is September 23.

I live in Baltimore. My family has 4 members.

My school is the Shafer center.

I’ve taken a trip to the beach.

I like to play with a toy robot.

I like to watch story bots. I like to read books.

My favorite holiday is Christmas.

I like to play terraria on the Xbox.

I like to eat food.

My favorite season is fall.

My talent is going on a poke walk.

I want you to know about how many bones are in a body.

When I grow up I’ll still be a kid.

I wish that Christmas was everyday.

Freddie, Age 9

Hana, Age 6

Lucas, Age 9

Published on: November 30, 2016

Name: Freddie  Date:11/21/2016 Age: 9

My birthday is November 9.

I live in Catonsville.

My family has 5 people.

My school is the Shafer center.

I’ve taken a trip to the beach.

My favorite toy is legos. I like to watch Thomas on the television. I like to read the book. My favorite holiday is thanksgiving. I like to play trains.

I like to eat French Fries. My favorite season is Fall. My talent is sing. I want you to know the song you can only be you. When I grow up I’ll be train conductor. I wish that the Thomas trains were real.

Hana, Age 6

Joseph, Age 9

Lucas, Age 9

Published on: November 30, 2016

Name: Lucas Date: 11/21/2016 Age: 9 Years Old

My birthday is October 31 2007.

I live in Maryland.

My family has Stephanie Jason Nora and Jadyen.

My school is the shafer center.

I’ve taken a trip to amc Theatres.

My favorite toy is Woody.

I like to watch toy story 3.

I like to read spongebob goes to the doctor.

My favorite holiday is thanksgiving.

I like to play on trampelean.

I like to eat hot dogs.

My favorite seasons are winter spring summer fall and halloween.

My talent is singing.

I want you to know about a song I throw my toys around.

When I grow up I’ll be a grown up and I’ll draw what I want.

I wish that I’m good at SpongeBob square pants.

Freddie, Age 9

Hana, Age 6

Joseph, Age 9

Published on: October 30, 2016

As parents, we watch our children go through many transitions. In the early years it’s starting to talk, or going from crawling to walking. As our kids get older, there’s the independence that rears its head in surprising ways like talking back. But parents with special needs kids have unique challenges when it comes to transitions.

My son recently transitioned from middle school to high school. This is a huge transition for any child, but can feel even more monumental when having a child with autism, as we do. My husband and I began thinking about our son, Hayden’s, transition when he was in 7^th grade. Middle school is a blip – 3 years goes by so quickly. As soon as you get comfortable or at least as soon as you know the school, you begin thinking about the next step. It happens so fast.

Here are some steps that we took to try and ensure a smooth transition to high school.

1. Talk to other parents who have transitioned – This was very helpful. We talked to a handful of parents and asked them about what schools they looked at, what they liked and didn’t like about the schools and what they were looking for. Every child on the autism spectrum is different and it was helpful to learn from other parents what mattered to them and why.
2. Find out what options you have within your school district – We started looking at the school for Hayden in 7^th grade and it seemed that as we get further and further along in the school system, the fewer and fewer options we have. It was surprising. The schools we saw in 7^th grade, we made sure to go back and see in 8^th Schools change – administrators come and go, as do teachers. It’s important to get the feel of the school and see if that fits for your family.
3. Discuss where you see your child as an adult – Thinking about what our kids will be like or doing as adults is scary and hard. We fear adulthood for them; it’s such an unknown. But this is the time to talk about it. My husband and I had some very direct conversations about what each of us thought we wanted for Hayden as an adult. Does he need a diploma? Did we see him working? If we did what kind of work? We had to start imagining what his life was going to be like. You need that picture in your mind because you want high school to help you get there. There needs to be a purpose to high school and not just going to school. This was the most critical part of our process. Thinking about the transition into high school was more about what we wanted for Hayden’s life. These discussions with your spouse or partner are not easy to have. You have to have a lot of patience and even if your visions don’t match up initially, remember to listen with an open mind.
4. Think about the length of high school – That may seem a bit strange to say because we typically think of high school as 4 years. But it doesn’t have to be. Our kids can stay in the school system until 21. As we thought of high school for Hayden, we knew at least for his 9^th grade year we wanted him to have a lighter work load. It’s a big transition and he doesn’t love school so instead of taking 8 courses which is a lot, we decided that he would take 5 core courses plus a study skills class. He loves his schedule. It’s much easier for him to manage and he can get all his work done during the day so that he doesn’t have homework. If this makes his high school experience 5 years, that’s fine with us. Most parents of young adults that we’ve spoken with all have the same advice. Stay in the school system until 21. We are following that advice. Hayden may not be in high school until he’s 21 but we are going to make sure that he gets everything he can out of school that will help set him up for his adult future.
5. Assess your child’s strengths and needs and think outside the box for high school programming – Thinking about where to send Hayden to high school was very overwhelming to us. So we stopped thinking about it as high school and started thinking about it as a platform to help transition Hayden into his real next transition which was adulthood. Thinking about it that way, really helped us determine what we wanted Hayden to learn and have exposure to in high school. School has never been easy for Hayden – learning the all the content, dealing with all the people, and having so many demands being placed on him constantly. It’s just really hard. So we thought about all of this as we planned his course load and types of classes. Most high schools have a combination of self contained and inclusion classes so we used this to our advantage when choosing his courses. Hayden is fully included for Art and Math. He really enjoys art and his favorite subject is math because it comes easily to him. We knew those would be larger classes but also thought those were the best classes for him to be able to interact with his peers. For English, we choose a self contained class because comprehension is much harder for Hayden and having a smaller class that has a special educator would make that easier for him. We went a totally new direction for his History and Science classes. He is taking those online. Our school system has an office for e-learning and we believed that that mode of learning would appeal to Hayden. He’s great with a computer and can work more at his pace. We also thought that if he enjoyed that learning style then the options for college could open up to him. We didn’t know that was an option but we asked. Don’t be afraid to ask for something. The worst thing that can happen is that someone says no. But if they say yes, the world opens up a little bit more for our kids. It’s totally worth it.

Hayden started high school in August and he was so excited. He really has been enjoying high school. He likes that his classes are more tailored to his learning style. He likes taking the online classes which he does in his school so he still has opportunities for social interactions. He’s much more relaxed with decreased anxiety and this has opened up his ability to engage with his classmates.

If you ask Hayden about his transition he says, “High school is way better than middle school. It’s so much better!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

By Helen Shafer, President and Founder

For more information on The Shafer Center please call 410-517-1113

Published on: September 29, 2016

IEP meetings….some parents love them, some parents dread them.  But after 10 years of participating in these meetings, the most common feedback I have heard from parents is that these meetings are overwhelming.  The amount of information to go through, the number of professionals contributing to the meeting, and the decisions to be made about your child’s goals and needs can certainly be a lot to process.  Even when the news is good and the team is efficient, an IEP meeting can still feel like a complex and even confusing procedure to participate in.  To help you feel more prepared for these meetings, we have put together tips, suggestions, and general answers to some of the most frequently asked questions parents have had in regards to IEPs.

What is an IEP anyway?

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP), better known as an IEP, is a very important component to the programming in place for a child enrolled in Special Education.  It is a required document designed to address each child’s unique learning needs and specific individualized goals.   Every IEP includes these sections and these participants:

• demographic and personal information
  • Ex: age, grade level, address, school info, etc.
• present levels of student performance
  • How is your child doing in school? What progress has he or she made on the current IEP goals?  What are you child’s strengths and needs?
• testing accommodations
  • These are the tools and strategies your child is permitted to access during formal testing such as the PARCC.
  • Ex: verbatim reader, scribe, calculator, etc.
• supplementary aides and services
  • Items, tools, strategies, and guidelines to ensure your child’s success
• goals and objectives
  • The targets chosen for your child to learn and master over the course of the upcoming IEP year.
• related services
  • The number and duration of related services such as occupational therapy, speech, etc.
• eligibility for extended school year
  • This page determines whether or not your child will receive funding and enrollment into and academic program in summer months outside of the regular school year.
  • This is not applicable to TSC students since our school year is 12 months long.
• specific school placement
  • also referred to as “Least Restrictive Environment” or “LRE”
  • this is justification for the school placement for your child.
• Attendees to IEP meetings include You, (i.e., the parent/guardian,) the professionals who work with your child, and the county liaison.

How do I know when my child’s IEP will be scheduled?

Every student’s IEP must be reviewed at least once a year.  These yearly meetings are called Annual Reviews.  So, if your child had an Annual Review in March of last year, he or she will have another Annual Review in March again this year.  You can always contact your child’s teacher to ask when the next IEP meeting is scheduled.

When you are getting closer to your IEP meeting date, your county liaison or the IEP Chair at your school will send you a formal invitation to the IEP meeting.  This must be given to you at least 5 business before the meeting is scheduled, but most counties try to send them out even earlier to help parents plan and prepare.

Other IEP meetings, such as tri-annual evaluations and periodic reviews, may occur in addition to your child’s Annual Review for the year.  Tri-annual meetings occur every three years, when a student’s IEP team decides whether or not new formal assessments should be conducted.  The most common assessments requested during a Tri-annual include a Psychological assessment to reevaluate a child’s educational diagnosis, an educational assessment to measure a student’s level of performance compared to a norm or as related to a specific criterion, and assessments for speech-language or occupational therapy to ensure all goals and objectives in those domains are properly aligned to the student’s needs.  Please note that parents can also request formal testing at any time, and you do not have to wait for your child’s Tri-annual meeting to have that discussion with the team.

Periodic Reviews can be thought of as check-in meetings.  They can be requested by any member on the IEP team, including the parent, and at anytime throughout the year.  The focus of these periodic reviews are sometimes (1) general reviews of the progress the student has made thus far on an entire IEP, (usually to determine whether or not the IEP is effective and appropriate after giving the team a chance to work with it,) and other times they are called (2) to address one or a select few specific components of an IEP – related services, one or two specific goals, etc. – that a team member would like to change immediately.

What if I can’t make it to the scheduled meeting?

Fear not!  You can request a different date and time, or you can ask to phone into the meeting.

I’m nervous that the new IEP won’t include something very important to me.  Is there anything I can do?

Absolutely!  Your child’s IEP Team will be summarizing data, conducting baselines, and writing your child’s new IEP in the weeks leading up to the meeting.  That is a great time for you to touch base with suggestions, preferences, and priorities.  You don’t have to wait for the meeting to express your opinion and share your input.

What should I do with all the paperwork that was sent home before the meeting?

Set aside some time to review the paperwork before the meeting.  It can be a lot of information to go through, but reviewing it in advance will help you feel better prepared for the meeting.  Take notes on things you might want to change or add, questions you have, and areas you would like to have more information on.  If you have the time, send your feedback to your child’s IEP team in advance.  Any revisions that can be completed before the meeting will help to keep the meeting concise and straight forward.

What should I bring to the IEP meeting?

Bring the documents that were sent home, along with any notes and questions you have from your review of the paperwork.  It is also helpful to make a list of important information you have observed over the course of the past year regarding your child at home.  This can include strengths and needs, accomplishments, social situations, likes and dislikes, and hobbies and activities.

Also, every IEP includes a section specifically for parent input.  Some parents find it helpful to type out this information in advance to ensure their piece is thoroughly documented.  Your input can include, (but is not limited to,) thoughts on the placement, reflections on the past year, specific suggestions, priorities for next steps, and present levels of performance at home.

As the parent or guardian, you can also bring guests to the meeting.  Guests are often present for support, for advocacy, or to provide information on your child.

What if I have more questions about IEPs?

You can always contact members of your child’s IEP team to learn more about IEPs or to discuss your child’s IEP specifically.

By Layne Wells, Director of Education

For more information on The Shafer Center or to RSVP for the Parent Power Series on October 6, 2016 please call 410-517-1113

Published on: August 30, 2016

Have you ever done anything for the first time and felt proud? I have and I felt like a super hero. Feeling like a super hero is awesome! I feel great when I try new things. I’ve tried lots of new things and succeeded.

I went to Camp Navigate and really enjoyed it. We took two field trips to the harbor and visited two museums. They were called The American Visionary Art Museum, and Ripley’s Believe it or Not! I thought the exhibits were outstanding and beautiful. I really enjoyed the 4D theater in Ripley’s. There were chairs that moved and we watched a movie based on penguins. I also liked the mirror maze at the museum. The American Visionary Art Museum, however, was four blocks away from Ripley’s. The museum had cool exhibits, like a king’s mouth that you could crawl through.  There were also cool buttons that you could push.

There were some parts of Camp Navigate that I didn’t like. On Thursday, Friday, and Monday, I couldn’t sleep well because I was having “Ticks” thoughts in my head. This made me tired. A lot of teenagers go through this phase so at least that’s something that I knew then. And I tried to rest, still. The jobs were also a little challenging, like putting envelopes in people’s mailboxes. We went mini-golfing and it was a little difficult in the 2^nd round because it was very hot outside. Even though Camp Navigate was tough then, I still enjoyed it and had fun.

My favorite part about Camp Navigate was eating out. I went to Wendy’s, Red Robin, The Greene Turtle, and Burger King. I ate either chicken tenders or fries at every four restaurants. They were delicious foods, and I’m sure of it! And I’m sure a lot of other classmates at Lab would recommend going to these restaurants.

On the last day of Camp Navigate, I went go-karting with Malikaa in the first track. Then, I went alone on the second track. It was the first time that I went go-karting. I succeeded at driving the car myself. I was out of my comfort zone when I tried go-karting for the first time.

I challenge you to do something new. It could be anything you want.

-James

For more information on The Shafer Center contact 410-517-1113

Published on: July 29, 2016

We all know that the beginning of a new school year gives some kids the jitters, but many parents admit that they get anxiety around this time of year too.  Will my child be successful?  Will my child make friends?  Will they get a good teacher?   And, as many parents I know would attest to, these first-day-of-school jitters can become even more intense when experiencing it with your child with autism.  With this in mind, here are a  few strategies and ideas to help you and your child prepare for the first day of school.

• Explain upcoming changes in ways your child can understand. How do you best communicate to your child?  Sometimes more complex topics are best addressed through a story, a video, or with puppets.  Perhaps writing the important details down on paper, marking dates on a calendar, or drawing pictures will help your child better comprehend what to expect.  Whatever option you choose, use that familiar or preferred format to present the  who, what, where, when, and why to your child.
• Help your child become familiar with new settings and people. If possible, have your child visit the new setting in advance and meet any teachers and peers that will be part of the classroom.  When it is not possible to physically visit, collect pictures for your child to see.  Include pictures of all important people, (e.g., teacher, principal, peers, etc.,) and locations, (e.g. classroom, bathroom, locker, etc.)
• Learn and practice new routines. A few weeks before the school year starts, begin practicing the morning routine with your child.  Help him or her wake up at the right time, get dressed, and eat breakfast.  Aim to have everything in place necessary to leave the house on time.  Building these routines early will help your child understand what to expect during his or her mornings, and will help to build fluency with these tasks.  It will also give you an opportunity to identify solutions to any obstacles that may come up in the process.  Because mornings are often rushed and busy, practice preparing as much as possible the night before.  This includes packing lunches, laying out an outfit, having any daily medicines dosed out and ready to go, and leaving the backpack packed and by the door.  A word of caution – make sure you introduce these practice sessions in a manner that does not confuse your child.  For some children, an explanation about on what day school will actually begin and why practice is important are sufficient explanations to ensure understanding of the situation.  For children who may have a hard time differentiating between practice and the “real deal”, embed their school routines into their summer routines.  That is, create a routine that you can rehearse without erroneously signaling to your child that it’s time to go to school.  If your child associates his lunch box or her backpack with a school day, for example, pack the lunch into a different “picnic bag” or pack up their belongings in a “swim tote”.  Those details can help signal to your child that although the morning routine is changing he or she can still expect summertime activities to occur following completion of the routine.
• Create consistency between previous settings, home, and school. Certain rules, routines, and materials can be used across environments to create a sense of consistency for your child.  Communicate with all those who work with your kid to identify things that can be carried over to a variety of settings.  Perhaps a token economy or visual schedule will help your child make connections from one environment to the next.  It may also be helpful to use the same kind of language as your child’s teachers when giving certain instructions, or to utilize the same prompts or visual cues.
• Begin early! The more time you and your child have to prepare the better.  Be careful not to underestimate the time it may take to learn new routines, to accept and adapt changes, and to acclimate to new people and a new setting.
• Associate the first day of school with reinforcement. Find a way to reinforce your child for participating in his or her first school day.  One option would be to give access to a particular preferred item only during the school.  Your child may feel more excited about school if he or she got special access to a favorite toy for periods of time during the day.  You could also present your child with a celebratory reward after he or she completes the first day of school.  Taking a moment to let your child know you are proud of him or her will help to build feelings of confidence and success.
• Parents – prepare yourselves! Preparing yourself for a new school year is also an important step in this process.  Touch base with your child’s teacher and express your expectations and goals for the year.  Become familiar with school policies and school contacts.  Get to know other parents in the school and introduce yourself to the school community.  Feeling comfortable in your child’s school and becoming familiar with the professionals who will work with your child may help to give you peace of mind and a better understanding of your child’s daily experiences.

When all is said and done, the first day of school can be as exciting as it is nerve-racking.  Here, at The Shafer Center, I always enjoy watching new friendships develop, new discoveries being made, and new lessons being learned.  I hope you are as excited as I am for the beginning of another great year.

For more information on The Shafer Center contact 410-517-1113

Published on: June 28, 2016

This year The Shafer Center is proud to announce the introduction of a new program to be offered to our families, Group Action Planning or GAP Groups. The purpose of the GAP Group is to bring together a cohesive group environment to support not only the individual but also the family. GAP Groups encourage group creativity and brainstorming opportunities to benefit our family member’s quality of life and independence.

Parents can easily become overwhelmed by the idea that they have to plan, initiate, and implement numerous supports and activities alone. By forming GAP groups, a diversity of members from across all environments can join in sharing the responsibility while creating a strong sense of support that includes everyone’s needs. Specifically, GAP groups have four fundamental characteristics: create content for social connectedness and independent caring, engage in dynamic and creative problem solving, foster the self-determination of the individual with a disability, and adhere to the family-centered principles of support. By focusing on these characteristics a GAP group is able to facilitate an interconnected plan that encompasses multiple aspects of an individual’s life, beyond immediate hurdles such as academic or behavioral.

When a GAP group meets, each member is inviting support from the rest of the team; creating connections, envisioning great expectations, problem solving, and celebrating success all bring members together to form a stable net of support. These components allow for the common interest of each participant to lead the group, ensuring the family-centered approach.

GAP groups are effective for family members of all ages. For younger children the GAP process can be as simple as focusing on expanding the family support net or as complex as preparing to transition into school. For our older family members the GAP group approach can be helpful in a multitude of life situations, for example transitioning out of school and into adulthood or for a family member that may have already made the transition into adulthood, a GAP group could be helpful in building a career and independence. The transition into adulthood can be scary, but with help of a GAP Group you can build a safety net to support a successful transition. The goals set in a GAP meeting may start small but as the process continues, it develops and grows along with the family member, adhering to the needs specific to them at that point in their life.

Aspects such as inviting support, solving problems and celebrating success are just a few of the characteristics of Group Action Planning that make this such a unique and successful approach. By inviting support you are selecting those you wish to be involved in your families GAP process, giving you control of whose involved in your family member’s process. Inviting support also allows for the group to be ever changing and evolving as the process evolves and specific goals change. Using the group approach, solving problems becomes a brainstorming of possibilities and creativity and with the changing of group members comes new and fresh ideas! And finally, the component that really makes the GAP Group process unique is celebrating success. The Gap Group meetings are supposed to be an uplifting meeting where group members can celebrate the successes of each others accomplishments, as everyone contributes to the group. The GAP process is intended to be one of support, celebration and success; utilizing the group approach develops the feeling of unity and helps to build the support net for an individual to lead a successful and independent lifestyle.

By Caroline Levy and Michelle Fox

Turnbull, A. P., & Turbiville V., & Schaffer R., & Schaffer, V. (1996). Getting a Shot at Life through Group Action Planning. Zero to three, June/July.

For more information please contact The Shafer Center at 410-517-1113 or [email protected]