Posts tagged Autism

Our second meeting was last Thursday (the 3rd) and it was really great. Had a good turn out and talked about a lot of things. I’ll try and break down what we went over, and also what we’re hoping for in 2010. Our next meeting isn’t until January 21st (the third Thursday of the month), so we’ll have a good break to get the website really stocked with information, and a great plan for the new year.

New Meeting Location

We will be having our meetings in a new and hopefully permanent location. It will be at the Old Hospital on 400 E and 600 S, the original Dixie Regional Medical Center. There is a conference room on the lower level we have reserved, I will post a map of how to get there, I need to go see it for myself. This will allow us to have a central location in the middle of town, and we can have food/drink there also. We still plan on having the meetings there from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, but we can stay later to talk or finish things.

Click here to see where the meeting is on Google maps!

Activities and Social Events for Parents and Kids

We are working on having some activities and events going soon, hopefully 2-3 times a month. It could be anything from a Sensory Friendly movie night, renting out Jumpin Jacks just for Autistic/Sensory/PDD-NOS kids, to just having a set time at a park where parents can get together and let their kids interact and socialize. Plus, there is also a huge benefit for like-minded parents being together with all their kids, so that each parent knows that there’s a mutual “understanding” of how difficult and different our kids can be. Sometimes, just having other parents (and kids) around who understand can make all the difference in our kids and parents comfort levels!

Some of the ideas we have had so far:

• Sensory Friendly movie nights at Weststates Theaters. We are still planning this out, but we hope to have the theater create a monthly movie time when Autistic, Sensory, and special needs kids can have a movie showing to themselves. This means leaving the lights dim, turning the sound volume down, and not having other people there who would be disturbed by the kids. The Autism Society of America has already started this program for “Sensory Friendly Films” elsewhere, so we hope to start it here in Southern Utah and St. George.
• Jumpin Jacks bounce house. If you haven’t seen it, Jumpin Jacks is a huge warehouse that is full of the inflated bounce houses and slides and climbing toys. This can be a great place for Autistic and Sensory kids to play, but often it is too loud and there are too many other kids there, often making our kids scared or too overstimulated to have fun. We want to see if there is a time when Jumpin Jacks could be available for Southern Utah Autism to bring our kids in alone and have it to themselves for a while with no music playing and no other kids. I will be working on talking to both the movie theaters and Jumpin Jacks and see what we can do to make this work!
• Swim Days. Pools can be very loud and busy, so the plan is the same here; to see if places like Sand Hollow Aquatic Center can have a time where we could come and have an hour or 2 of time each month to let the kids swim and use the toys and slides without the noise and other kids around.
• Park meetups. This is a simple one, just to meet at various fun parks around time at times when they are not busy, and let our kids play together. This also lets parents meet up and not have to worry about other parents being offended or “weirded out” by Autistic kids, and lets the parents socialize and talk in a comfortable environment.
• Parent connections for people who maybe live near eachother, for playdates and socializing for the kids. This would be at the parents discretion, but if there’s people you’d like to meet and have your kids get together, we’d like to facilitate some networking between all the parents. Often, it’s easier to have another similar child over to play, since you know what to expect and the gap between kids developmental levels might be smaller.

These are just some of the ideas we’re working on right now. We are always open to new ideas and activities, so don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know of you think of something.

Book Lists and Recommended Reading

We also are working on compiling a new section for the website, a Book List and Recommended Reading page. There are alot of books out there on Autism, Asperger’s, Sensory Processing Disorder, Developmental Delays, and a whole range of topics in between.

While I’d love to be able to read and review them all, I am a pretty slow reader. So if you have any books that you have read, please contact us and let us know! Even if you just want to write 1 or 2 sentences on what you thought, that would help other people get a good idea of what books were helpful and which ones were not. I will start listing books even without reviews, but if you’ve read something, let us know!

Quick Survey for our Group

Allyson has put together a quick survey to help guide the groups goals and topics that parents feel are important. If you can, please take a minute to fill out the survey and let us know what you need and want out of all this. It’s very short, and would be a huge help to us! Click here to go to the survey page.

Planning for 2010

Christmas is coming up, so most people will be busy with something. Starting next year, I hope to really start reaching out to the community and parents and having some real progress made for Autism Advocacy and the Autistic Cause in Southern Utah. We are all very exciting to put these plans in motion and gain some momentum into next year. St. George and all of Southern Utah desperately needs a network of parents and people who are focused on Autism, so we plan to facilitate that in the best way we can. Always feel free to make suggestions for the website and contact us about any information, ideas, or wants you may have.

I won’t stop blogging here between meetings, so check back often. I will post any updates, news, articles, or activities that come up. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you soon!