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Having Pets May Help People with Autism, Alzheimer’s
Healing Thresholds
Pets may provide increased social interaction and physical activity for children with autism. Alan M. Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University’s School of Veterinary Medicine explains that pets can provide companionship, promote speech, and stimulate a person’s sense of touch.
In the case of children with autism, animals can be used as protection, for example, a service dog can help watch a child so he doesn’t wander into the street.
Pets have been found to be good for people with Alzheimer’s and for stroke recovery as well as children with autism.
Posted on July 30, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Autism, Caregiving | Tags: animals
Living with Alzheimer’s While Raising Autism
Healing… Through the Eyes of Autism
A medical diagnosis, of any kind, can be life-altering. A life that once offered some measure of stability would now be forever changed.
In 2005, our family received two blows to our way of living. That April, my son was diagnosed with autism, and a few months later, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
via Living with Alzheimer’s While Raising Autism « Healing… Through the Eyes of Autism..
Posted on July 29, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Autism, Caregiving | Tags: family caregiving
Caregivers, too, need time away
USA TODAY
When an elderly relative being cared for at home can’t go on vacation, what’s a caregiver to do?
Hire a home health aide 24/7, but that’s too pricey for many. And other family members may not be able to step in.
Enter assisted-living communities that offer short-term “respite stays,” which allow caregivers to vacation or give them a break. With seniors’ retirement portfolios at lows, there’s more room at some communities, and more are accepting short-timers.
via Caregivers, too, need time away – USATODAY.com.
Posted on July 29, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: family caregiving
Devices to find missing people fast
Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.)
HAVERHILL, MA — For years, local police have used LoJack to recover stolen vehicles. They will now use its technology to find missing people.
It could be a child with autism who slipped out the back door at a moment when his or her parents were distracted. It could be an elderly person with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease who wandered off. These are the people and the situations where police said time is of the essence and now they have the electronic equipment needed to speed up a search.
The city’s Police Department is one of the more than 1,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States, Canada and Australia participating in Project Lifesaver. Police departments taking part in the program include North Andover and Salem, N.H., according to Haverhill police spokesman Sgt. Robert Pistone.
Clients whose families enroll them in the program will wear a small battery-powered LoJack SafetyNet bracelet emitting a radio signal that police can track.
via Devices to find missing people fast – EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA.
Posted on July 29, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Autism, Wandering |
Easter Seals’ Friends Who Care Disability Awareness Curriculum
Easter Seals
FRIENDS WHO CARE® is designed to help children better understand what it means and how it feels to be a young person with a disability. This educational program gives students the opportunity to learn what is involved when someone has a disability and how they adapt to live life, go to school, or work as independently as possible.
The goals of the program are simple: to encourage typically developing children to accept their peers with disabilities as people first and also to find ways to include everyone in school and after-school activities.
via Easter Seals : Friends Who Care.
Posted on July 28, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Autism, Down Syndrome | Tags: school
iPods help boost functioning of autistic teens
Examiner.com
Lest you think we’re all gloom and attitude here in Gadgetland, we point you to a heartwarming story about how a Minneapolis clinic is using iPods to help autistic kids function better.
The program focuses on Asperger’s syndrome, a relative of autism marked by difficulty with social interaction, thought to be the result of missing internal signals that normally guide us through the basics of being sociable.
That’s where the iPods come in. Load one up with short videos that cover aspects of how to have a conversation, approach other people and more, and you have a reliable, always-there substitute for those inner signals.
via iPods help boost functioning of autistic teens.
Posted on July 28, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: adults with autism
Bethel agency’s Growing Possibilities provides jobs for autistic adults
News Times (Conn.)
A grass-roots effort is giving new hope to adults with autism who are looking for career opportunities.
“In the next couple of years there will be a wave of kids on the autistic spectrum who will be getting out of school and looking for employment,” said Joan Volpe, the vice president of Connecticut services for the Bethel-based Ability Beyond Disability. “And we don’t have enough programs in place designed to help them be successful.”
That’s why Volpe and others who are equally concerned created Growing Possibilities, a not-for-profit business enterprise that provides employment and vocational training for those with autism, as well as other disabilities, through growing and selling roses.
via Bethel agency’s Growing Possibilities provides jobs for autistic adults – NewsTimes.com.
Posted on July 27, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Autism, Caregiving | Tags: adults with autism
Top 5 Things to Consider When Teaching a Child With Autism to Swim
autismparentplan.com
It is summer time and that automatically means many, many hours at the pool.
If your kids are anything like mine, we could live in the pool and they would not even bat an eye. They love to swim. From the very start, swim safety has been a priority in our family. As with any child, being safe in the water is important. Each year, there are hundreds of children who have died from drowning because their parents did not take the necessary precautions.
So, when considering a summer at the pool, what types of considerations need to be made for a child with autism?
Posted on July 24, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: safety
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
YouTube
YouTube – What is Alzheimer’s Disease?.
Posted on July 24, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's | Tags: video
Signs someone needs help at home
Toledo Free Press
It was the middle of the night when she got the call from the police department. They were calling because they found her dad walking along the country road confused, trying to find his way home. What he was doing out in the middle of the night, she may never know, but this was the point when she knew he needed help on a daily basis.
via Signs someone needs help at home | Toledo Newspaper.
Posted on July 24, 2009 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia, Wandering |