Welcome to “On the
Horizon”
Issue 68: Ensuring Success through Guided Participation
On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.
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Tools for Remediation
 A Note from Nicole: The Joy of Watching my CORE Approach Families
Idea of the Week: Wash the Car
Feature Article: Ensuring Success through Guided Participation
The Horizons Team Recommends: Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition; Do Something Daily Calendar
Upcoming Events: CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar; Sibshop
 
Hi Everyone!
I had a wonderful day of appointments today with some long-time clients and their families. Experiencing the joy that comes from continually watching children and their families grow together in significant ways is one of highlights of my job! I’ve been doing RDI long enough now to see children grow into adolescents and young adults. Watching their developmental progression and having the opportunity to journey along with them is such a blessing.
We’re down to the deadline for our Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition Workshop. Registrations must be made by the end of this week in order to attend the event July 29-31. We’ve been working on all of the great content that will be covered, and can’t wait to spend the three days with those of you who are registered. If you want to get in on the event before the deadline, click here for the details.
This week’s feature article highlights the important concept of guided participation. In it, Michelle shares some of the reasons a guided participation relationship with children is important, and how autism alters the typical way this relationship develops.
Have a fabulous week!
Looking to the horizon,
Wash the Car
Get out the hose, buckets, and sponge and wash the car by hand. Spray down the car and then it’s time to scrub away the dirt and bugs. Don’t forget to rinse and dry. If you have extra time you may want to do some detail work like washing the windows inside and out and maybe even vacuuming the inside. What a great activity to do together!
 
Ensuring Success through Guided Participation
By: Michelle VanderHeide, BSW
A little girl, about 1 year old, is standing next to a coffee table when she decides that she wants to step off and make an attempt at walking. She immediately falls to the ground. One of two things can happen at that point. A parent or caregiver can see this attempt, and step in to encourage the child to keep trying; or they can allow the child to try and figure out how to walk on her own. Imagine how much longer it would take this infant to learn to walk without the support of a loved one to encourage her along!
One of the primary concepts in the remediation of autism is that of guided participation. In the example above, two critical people needed to be involved in order to ensure success: the parent guide and the child participant. This child was therefore involved in a guided participation activity. Think about your own life for a minute. What skills, talents, and discoveries did you develop through a guided participation relationship? When you think about some of the more challenging things you have achieved, a parent, coach, or teacher often guided you. As a result you were more successful than if you had tried to figure it out on your own.
Extreme
Makeover: Autism Education Edition Workshop
July 29-31, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI
Put together the soaring increase in students diagnosed with autism and related impairments, a group of dedicated educators seeking solutions to the challenges they face daily, a team of been-in-the-trenches experts, three days of amazing content and hands-on experience, and what do you get?
An amazing 3-day workshop that will transform
how you understand and educate students with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Click here for more information!
Do Something
Daily Calendar
Do you dread hearing your child complain, “I’m bored”?
Struggle to
think of something fun you can do together?
Have trouble squeezing one-on-one time with her into your
day?
That’s why we
created the Do Something Daily Calendar.
The Calendar offers a daily dose of inspiration and ideas
for spending time together–whether you have 60 seconds or 60
minutes.
$19.95 (Per
Calendar) Calendars are assembled by clients in our
EmployAbilities program. $1.00 from every
calendar will be donated to FARR.
For more information, click here.
Please join us!
- CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar:
Nutrition and Supplements with Erin Roon as our Guest Speaker (Horizons
Families Only)
Thursday, July 16, 2009, 11:00AM to 12:00PM
EST
- Extreme Makeover: Autism
Education Edition
July 29-31, 2009
- CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar:
Q&A with Michelle & Courtney (Horizons
Families Only)
Monday, August 3, 2009, 1:30PM to 2:30PM
EST
- Sibshop
– Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday, August 15, 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
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