National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) Workshop on Autism

The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) will be holding a workshop entitled "It Has to be Said" with Dr John McEachin a Clinical Psychologist who works with children with autism.

Workshop Details

Date : 16 December 2007 (Sunday)

Time : 8.30am to 4.30pm

Venue : Singgahsana Hotel, Persiaran Barat, Selangor

Contact : NASOM - Tel 603 7710 4098 / secretariat@nasom.com.my

Download the Flyer - here

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN

• The latest research about autism and recovery.


• What is recovery and how it is commonly defined.


• About the predictors of outcome for young children with autism


• The multitude of ways ABA can help children with autism learn very advanced skills, not just beginning programmes. Stress management, creative thinking, conversational
  skills and advanced social skills will be discussed.


• The many different teaching techniques, that can be used that are ABA based.


• Hints and tips for integrating children with autism into mainstream schools.


• How to develop a successful integration plan for shadow support.


• How to make the best use of social settings to teach social skills.
  

ABOUT THE SPEAKER


John McEachin is a licensed psychologist who has been providing behavioural intervention to children with autism as well as adolescents and adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities for more than 30 years.

He received his graduate training under Professor Ivar lovaas at UCLA on the Young Autism Project. His research has included the long term follow up study of young autistic children who received intensive behavioural treatment

Dr. McEachin has lectured throughout the world and consulted to numerous families and agencies, assisting in the development of treatment programmes and providing
training to parents , group home staff, and classroom personnel.

In 1994 he joined with Ron Leaf in forming Autism Partnership which he co directs.
They also are the co-authors of a book A WORK IN PROGRESS, one of the most recommended books on behavioural intervention.


Download the Flyer - here


The National Autism Society of Malaysia

35A Jalan SS 21/37
Damansara Uptown
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

Phone : 603 7710 4098
Fax : 603 7710 4149
Email : secretariat@nasom.com.my
www.teleautism.net


[tags : disability NASOM autism children pediatric neurology national autism society of malaysia john mceachin]

United Voice : Train Them, Don’t be Overprotective

Let go. Despite its implied simplicity, this is perhaps the most difficult thing for a parent whose child is intellectually impaired.

“Don’t be too overprotective or your child will have no future,” said Juan Fang, a homemaker.

Fang’s 28-year-old daughter Felicia is intellectually impaired, and “letting go” was what Fang had done over the years to teach Felicia independence and maturity.

The family had uprooted from Kuala Terengganu to the capital a few years after learning of Felicia’s condition so that she could have a better future.

“For Felicia to learn better and catch up in school, I made flash cards to help her. I didn’t give up,” said the soft-spoken Fang.

Today, Felicia is an office assistant at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Petaling Jaya. She has worked there for the last six years.

“She’s more confident and independent since she started working and interacting with people. Over the years, I had to let go bit by bit, or the family’s sacrifices and move to KL would be in vain,” said Fang.

Selangor Social Welfare Department statistics reveal that the registered number of those with intellectual impairment or learning disability in the state from 1998 till today stands at 13,924.

According to officer Eny Edayu Mat Ali, the actual figure is higher.

“The increase in the number of intellectually impaired from 2005 to 2006 alone, is significant – about 58%,” she said.

While the department has no records on the intellectually impaired who are currently employed, it admits they face a greater, if not the same challenges in getting job placements, no thanks to society’s prejudices.

“It’s even more difficult now than before,” said St Paul’s Day Training Centre (centre for people with intellectual disabilities) co-ordinator A. Annamaney.

Eny agrees, adding that the physically disabled have a better chance at employment than the intellectually impaired.

“Malaysian society holds very distorted views on disability. People are more
willing to employ the physically disabled as their limitation is physical,
whereas the intellectually impaired are just dismissed as cacat or
retarded.”

This has caused even high-functioning slow learners – who are capable of basic clerical, administrative and computer work, as well as despatching and packaging in an ‘open’ (real world) environment – to be mislabelled as unproductive.

“Given early intervention, those with learning disabilities can communicate,
think for themselves, and know how to be responsible in life and the workplace,”
said Eny.

Realistically speaking, seamless integration between regular society and the intellectually impaired community still appears a far-off goal.

“Japan was exposed to intellectual impairment at the same time as Malaysia, but Japan is far ahead of us today,” said United Voice co-ordinator Yeo Swee Lan.

United Voice is a self-advocacy society of persons with learning disabilities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

United Voice's Website - http://www.unitedvoice.com.my/

Download United Voice's Jan's Newsletter - here


Source

[tags : disability epilepsy autism children pediatric neurology]