During a recent trip to visit family in another state, Ethan and I encountered a critical, impatient and rude waitress. Surprisingly, the restaurant is a sweet little family-owned joint that we frequent during our trips to this state. It is a family-oriented restaurant (on the nicer side – with cloth napkins) and has an amazing gluten-free menu. The wait staff in the past has been tremendous and highly accommodating (even when we’ve visited with four busy, talkative kids and twice as many adults); but this time was different. This time, Ethan was the only child in the group.
First, before diving into the dining experience, let me preface it by sharing that our flight out of Dallas had been delayed by an hour due to a fire in the control tower just before we were scheduled to pull away from the gate and depart. Without a control tower, like the rest of the planes leaving at that time, we were stuck. And not just stuck…but stuck on a full flight (every single seat filled), buckled into our seats on an airplane that was growing ever hotter (in the June Texas heat) with every passing minute. To minimize the heat, everyone was asked to pull the window shades and wait patiently…um, okay.

Pumpkin Littles is an educational and therapeutic center in North Dallas using some amazing techniques and revolutionary therapies to individualize programs for children with special needs. Every time I spend time with Michelle Beck, the founder of Pumpkin Littles, I’m encouraged and inspired by all that she and her staff are doing with the little pumpkins at the therapy center. So, recently I asked Michelle to share a little about Pumpkin Littles, their tremendous iPad Communication classes and other individualized programs to share with our AutismSpot readers! Big thanks to Pumpkin Littles (and the little pumpkins’ parents) for sharing the adorable photo of their two precious iPad Pals [to the left].

In the coming months here at AutismSpot, we’re going to be shining the spotlight on parents raising kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders. To kick off our “Spotlight” series, we’re starting with mothers featured in The Autism File Autism Mother Unite Worldwide 2011 Calendar.
AutismSpot’s CEO and Founder, Kent Potter, took a tremendous group photo of several women in Texas this past summer. That photo was chosen for January 2012, but is included in the 2011 calendar as a “sneak peek.” Always a visionary, Kent seized the opportunity to shoot each mother individually with plans to share personal stories here. It is my pleasure to share my family’s story first…
Spotlight: Leigh Attaway Wilcox
Mother to Ethan, age 8
From tending to baby dolls’ needs to babysitting neighborhood kids… working at drop-in childcare facilities throughout college to teaching early elementary students, I have always adored children and knew from an early age I wanted to be a mother. I’ve also had a fascination with pencils, pens, paper and words from the tender age of 4. While teaching as an elementary school teacher and later as a literacy specialist, I began to pursue a dream of writing and publishing books for children. When my son, Ethan, was born several years later, I took a hiatus from teaching to focus on raising Ethan, and in my “free time,” on the work of writing, editing, revising, submitting and publishing.

It’s state convention time! Each year our state’s speech-language pathology organization (TSHA: Texas Speech –Language-Hearing Association www.txsha.org) holds a three to four day convention. This year it is being held in Fort Worth, TX and Michelle Garcia Winner is one of the presenters! The convention allows speech therapists from all over to the state to come together to receive Continuing Education, to network, to present research studies, to find jobs, to buy materials, to catch up with other speech friends and professors and more.

What is Emotional Regulation? According to the SCERTS® Model (www.scerts.com), it is “the development of the ability to maintain a well-regulated emotional state to cope with everyday stress, and to be most available for learning and interacting.”
As adults, we constantly emotionally regulate ourselves all the time whether it be for calming purposes or for energy-boosting purposes, etc. Our children need our direct help to regulate themselves as well as how to learn how to regulate themselves without our help.

What are Transactional Supports?
Transactional Supports is a term that the authors of the SCERTS® Model created. Transactional supports are the supports WE provide our children to help them: understand, use verbal language, use social communication skills and more!
Some examples are:
1) Music
2) Breaking down your language
3) Routines
4) Contextual Cues
5) Visuals
What Transactional Supports help my child?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thankful
In the spirit of Thanksgiving week, we thought we’d take a step back and share a couple little moments with our kids and families that made us smile the past couple of weeks. We feel very thankful to be involved in the lives of so many amazing parents, children and other professionals.
-Being handed a handmade Thank You card from one incredibly cute 5 year old. This was then followed by the best hug I have gotten in a good while.

Important for Me, Important for You
I can’t remember a single class in high school where I had a peer with a disability. I can remember the kid with a disability that was the varsity basketball “manager”. I did not know him. I never talked to him. I never talked to him about how much he loved going to the basketball practices and how much he loved shagging balls for the team. I never asked him what it was like to sit with the team during a pep rally. I was not his friend.

Therapists are dedicated, trained professionals that are here to help your child learn, grow and progress. Therapists are NOT miracle workers. Therapists can NOT fix or cure your child in the 1 to 3 hours a week that they see your child. But what therapists can do, is give you and your child the tools and the pathway to take so that YOU can make the progress at home.