Trellis ABA

Trellis provides ABA therapy to help children with autism.

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7 Tips for Snow Day Fun

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While no one can argue with the fun of traditional activities such as building snowmen or snow angels; keeping your kiddo occupied throughout an entire snow day while confined to your house might require a few more tricks up your sleeve.

Consider the unique opportunities the snow can provide for you and your kiddo to explore different language concepts, social skills, academic tasks, and leisure activities. Think about bringing what winter has to offer indoors where it is warm for a unique way to learn and play together.

Just to get you started, grab a few safe bowls (think plastic Tupperware), some pots, a muffin tin, and a few spoons of different sizes. Fill one bowl with cold water, and another with hot water. Throw a big beach towel out on the floor and grab up some of that white, powdery stuff!

  1. Let your child explore, figure out what he likes about the activity, and add to what he finds fun. If he is watching you and waiting for what you are going to do next, you’ve got it right!
  2. In the beginning, don’t demand, just show him some fun ideas you might have of how to play with the snow and “kitchen junk” and talk about what is happening, “Wow you smashed the snow!” “Did you see it melt in the hot water?” “You got more snow!” “Stir, stir, stir, good job stirring!”
  3. Language Concepts: Once you’ve gotten the activity going, use the snow to start talking about fun, related language concepts like hot/cold, wet/dry, melting/frozen.
  4. Social Skills: Take turns with the spoons, stirring, and playing. Encourage and model commenting about the activity and what you or your child enjoy. “Watch it melt!”, “Wow that is cold!”, “I like playing in the snow!”.
  5. Academic Tasks: Discuss weather, precipitation, seasons, and states of matter (solid, liquid, gas). Use your muffin tin and practice counting as you fill each cup.
  6. Leisure Skills: Feel free to step away from the activity and let your child dig in on his own. Sustaining a play activity and incorporating newly learned play skills modeled by an adult plays a crucial role in learning.
  7. Be sure to set boundaries about where the snow must stay. We suggest prompting all snow activity back to the area of the beach towel.

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy this new experience!

Autism 2015: 365 days to make progress

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Autism is in the news, social media, and even old fashioned print more than ever. The increasing awareness is great. The influx of research and funding options is even better! The heartwarming stories are nice, the success stories are inspiring. Still, misinformation and slanted headlines annoyingly abound. Such is this strange, complicated, passionate and ultimately very special autism community. We’re glad to be a part of it, and will do our best to honor and respect the many contributing voices. As a community we are making progress in many ways and continue to have optimism that together and individually we can make great strides. But we have no doubt, the most important person to each and every parent, day-in and day-out is your child with autism.

So what will this year’s 365 days mean for you? We suggest this simple but powerful idea: Progress. When your past the notion that there may be a quick fix and come to terms that the pursuit of cure won’t help you with today’s challenges, progress is the name of the game. Forget quantum leaps, each milestone met will offer its own reward. Know there will be set backs and rough patches, and keep moving forward.

BE PRESENT: There are lots of amazing therapists, doctors and teachers in the world. These are brilliant folks that have advice about child development and parenting. But you are the one that is with your child every day and for real progress to take place, you gotta be in the game. And don’t forget to take time to just BE with your child, to appreciate all the beautiful, unique ways he expresses himself and what he enjoys.

BE CONSISTENT: What is the 12 step motto…”the more you work it, the more it works”? Working consistently with your child’s team to implement strategies and teach him…even when it is hard or inconvenient, propels the process.

BE A FRIEND/SPOUSE/PERSON: You can’t focus on autism 24 hours a day. You just can’t. Make time for yourself, your friends and your family. When you do, life just makes more sense, has more balance and you will likely have more stamina for the work ahead.

BE GRATEFUL: Count those blessings, celebrate the wins and enjoy every single bit of progress. This is the real juice of life that makes it all worth it. No one else will feel the joy quite the way you will. It’s awesome.

Of course we will keep reading the headlines, keeping up to date is valuable and research is exciting. In 2015 we will continue to be moved, enlightened and sometimes annoyed by it all. Stick to the plan that works for you and your family and know that come December 31, 2015 you will be able to look at another year passed and call it good.

The Power of Siblings

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One of the Merriam-Webster definitions of siblings is “one of two or more things related by a common tie or characteristic.”

But what if one of those siblings is a child with autism?

The relationship between children with autism and typically developing siblings is a varied, interesting and special one – much like all sibling relationships. And while that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges or issues that might arise –sibling relationships can be one of the most valuable interventions.

Most children naturally develop – learning language and behavior from those around them. Unfortunately, the imitation skills for children with autism are often not there. They need interaction to accomplish these milestones. Having a sibling who already has these skills is one of the biggest and best teaching opportunities.

Playing, talking, mimicking siblings – older or younger – can help children with autism develop language and behavior that will help them in school and in life.
In fact, peer modeling and peer interaction is one way Trellis helps children learn and build the skills they need for success through its school and various therapeutic programs. Children with autism that have typical siblings often can build this into their everyday lives.

Children without autism can sometimes act as parents, as nurturers and as teachers. This unique bond is one of the reasons Trellis invites typically developing siblings into school and programs for “play dates.” It helps foster the relationship and can benefit both children.

There is no doubt that having a child with autism can put extreme demands on a family. And every family and every sibling relationship is different. While there are many scenarios that can play out between children with special needs and their typically developing siblings, we think the first step to ensuring your children can make the most of this special bond is ensuring siblings understand why his/her sibling might act differently. This obviously depends on the age of the child, but chances are most children already sense something is different and love and accept their sibling regardless.

Trellis also encourages including siblings in family meetings and other discussions. Not only does this help ensure no child feels left out, but you might gain some insights from the unique perspective of your children.

There are many aspects of the sibling relationship to explore beyond this. In addition to your Trellis staff, some resources to foster interaction between your children include:
• Pathfinders for Autism Sibshops
• Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Sibshops

Alphabet Soup: Understanding ABA & AVB

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Chances are you’ve heard the terms Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB) more times than you can count. So what do they really mean? And are they the miracle intervention for your child?

ABA, in the most complex terms is “the application of the principles of learning and motivation from Behavior Analysis, and the procedures and technology derived from those principles, to the solution of problems of social significance.”

In the simplest terms?  It’s using learning to change behavior. And AVB?  Basically the same thing except it’s all about language.

At Trellis, we use the principals of ABA and an AVB methodology to lay the foundation for success in school and life. We integrate ABA principles into all the work we do at Trellis and we primarily focus on using AVB in our Trellis School and Love2Learn programs.

How we use the principals of ABA

The goal of most families is to have children develop the basic communication, social and life skills they need to be successful. That’s what we focus on. Using ABA, we’re able to help teach new behaviors by breaking skills down into small, understandable steps that are taught separately. Once each step is learned separately they are strung together into a targeted behavior or task. For example, a child working on building a pre-requisite skill of sitting at a table might start with short intervals, gradually increasing the time and the seatmates. The goal isn’t just to have the child sit at a table during a group session, but to be an engaged participating member at the end.

How we use AVB

Using words, having conversations, reading and writing. We know that’s what you want for your child. AVB is a natural next step as children and students at Trellis slowly begin to trust staff and beginning developing activities. As activities are established, instructors are providing learners with all the language needed to talk about the items, what the items do, the parts of the items, etc. This is what facilitates communication. Motivation is key in this process. When a learner is motivated by an item or something fun that an instructor can do with the item, they will be motivated to “demand” or request that item or activity again. Multiple opportunities for the learner to communicate those “wants” are contrived throughout an activity, evoking the learner’s communication and repeated opportunities to practice that communication.

At Trellis, we emphasize the AVB methodology because aside from the scientific evidence, we believe that communication is the foundation for learning, and by rigorously focusing on communication we can better support a child functioning in school and the community.

AVB gives children the language they need to engage in social situations within the school and community. They are able to participate in those situations because of their increased ability to communicate their wants and needs. Also, for some, an increase in communication can contribute to reductions in interfering or challenging behavior.  Trellis understands that children need various ways to communicate too, that’s why we teach using a variety of modalities, such as vocal communication, sign language, through the use of pictures, or using an augmentative communication system (e.g., software on an iPad or another voice output device).

These are very simple explanations of what ABA and AVB are and how we try to integrate the principles into our work at Trellis. We invite you to read more on our website or contact us to find out more about how and why we use these interventions to create fun, motivating and individualized programs for each of our learners.

What is the NET? And Why Is It Important?

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NET is code name for Natural Environment Teaching.

Research has shown that children with Autism learn better in a natural learning environment because they are not typically motivated to learn new things.

At Trellis the NET is set up in areas mimicking typical playrooms and in thematic centers (e.g., Housekeeping/Dress up, Vehicles and Blocks, Art Room, Sensory Room, Gross Motor Room, Library, Game Room, etc.).  Throughout the NET, toys are strategically placed in bins and/or on shelves, out of the learners’ reach to facilitate opportunities for communication.  When children are motivated to get something, they will attempt to communicate their desire for that item.  At that time, appropriate language is taught so the learners are more readily and easily able to communicate what they want the next time they want that item.

In the Trellis School, young learners at Trellis spend up to 90% of their day in the NET

Trellis Hosts LAMP Training at Trellis Learning Center

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Members of the autism community and staff of Trellis participated in LAMP training at the new Trellis Learning Center.

The Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) is a therapeutic approach that teaches nonverbal or limited verbal learners a way to communicate – through a very specific methodology using a speech generating device. It is an approach that is well known and loved by Trellis therapists, instructors and families.

LAMP gives individuals who are nonverbal or have limited verbal abilities a method of independently and spontaneously communicate.

Trellis collaborated with The Center for AAC and Autism and the Prentke Romich Company on the program.

Twelve Trellis staff members and more than 50 people from the Baltimore community attended the training at the Trellis Learning Center in Sparks, Maryland.

Learn more about LAMP from the Center for AAC and Autism.

Another Study Supports ABA & Early Intervention

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A new literature review from Vanderbilt finds more evidence backing behavioral intervention for kids with autism.

In research supported federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, researchers at Vanderbilt University reviewed 65 research studies on behavior interventions. They concluded that intensive early intervention  based on the principles of applied behavior analysis “can significantly affect the development of some children with ASD.”

h Read the Report

Maryland Passes Autism Insurance Reform

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Maryland Families Get Insurance Coverage for Autism

Through the tremendous work of organizations such as Pathfinders for Autism and Autism Speaks many more families in Maryland now have access to insurance coverage for autism as a result of legislation and regulation recently enacted.

The new requirements apply to individual, fully funded small and large group plans, the state employee health plan and coverage purchased through Maryland’s health insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act. The coverage includes a minimum of 25 hours weekly of ABA up to age six, and then 10 hours weekly through age 18.

Have questions? Trellis can help you navigate the insurance maze.

j Contact Us.

What is the VB-MAPP?

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Put simply, the VB-MAPP is a tool that we use at Trellis to assess and develop learning plans for young learners with autism.

Based on the work of renowned behaviorist B.F. Skinner, the VB-MAPP or Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program is a criterion-referenced assessment tool, curriculum guide, and skill tracking system that is designed for children with autism, and other individuals who demonstrate language delays. There are three core components to the VB-MAPP:

  1. The Milestones Assessment includes 170 measurable learning and language milestones which are designed to assess a learners existing verbal and related skills. We use this tool to help us design a individualized intervention strategy for our learners.
  2. The Barriers Assessments helps identify the specific challenges a learner is having with learning and language acquisitions.
  3. The Transition Assessment helps assess whether a learner is ready to move to a less restrictive learning environment. We use it to understand how our learners are progressing toward their goals.
  4. The Task Analysis and Skills Tracking forms the basis for daily skill building. There are over 900 skills in this tool.

Collectively, these four components of the VB-MAPP represent over 30 years of research, clinical work, field-testing, and revisions (Partington & Sundberg, 1998; Sundberg, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1990; Sundberg & Michael, 2001; Sundberg & Partington, 1998; Sundberg, Ray, Braam, Stafford, Rueber, & Braam, 1979).

At Trellis, we often use the VB-MAPP to determine where a young learner is functioning in comparison to neurotypical children at the same chronological age.  Skills and goals are then chosen based on that assessment and implemented throughout each session.  In the Trellis School, additional goals from the child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards are selected and taught.  Data on all skills, goals/ and ehaviors are tracked on the students’ weekly data sheets.

Trellis Hosts Annual Autism Awareness Fundraiser

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Over 350 people attended Trellis’s annual fundraiser in support of Pathfinders for Autism.

The event was a tremendous success raising over $10,000 for Maryland’s leading autism advocacy group. The highlight of the event was the keynote speech from Towson Univeristy Men’s Basketball Coach, Pat Skerry. Coach Skerry, who is a member of the Trellis community, has been a tremendous advocate for raising awareness about autism across the country.

You can learn more about Pat’s efforts in this Washington Post article.