Welcome to “On the Horizon”

Issue 121: Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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.

To keep receiving On the Horizon, please add the email address “nicolebeurkens@horizonsdrc.com” to your safe address list.

Exciting News

A Note from Nicole: Together at Last; My Degree Journey is Complete!

Idea of the Week:  Hide the Thimble

Feature Article: Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The Horizons Team Recommends: Learning as we Grow

Allergen-Free Recipe of the Week: Crepes

Upcoming Events: Horizons Family Teleseminars and Events

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying September so far.  We’ve had a very busy couple of weeks around here so we took a break from publishing this newsletter last week.  Erin has returned from Ethiopia with her 5-month-old baby girl.  Her daughter is beautiful and they are enjoying finally being together as a forever family.  Last week I successfully completed my four-year doctoral degree journey and now have a doctorate in clinical psychology.  People keep asking me what I’m going to do with all my newfound free time…and I’m sure I’ll find something to keep me busy.  In the past week I actually have watched a couple of television shows and read a magazine!

My feature article this week is a new one I wrote about some basic and essential parts of the treatment process.  It can be easy to get caught up in the specifics of treatment protocols and forget the important basics.  I hope you find the article a helpful reminder of some core components to have in place for your family.

My team and I are gearing up for a great year of activities and events.  Stay tuned for upcoming details about some exciting new products and workshops in the coming months!

Have a fantastic week!

Looking to the horizon,

Hide the Thimble

Have all of the family members gather in a room in the house such as the living room. The chosen person to go first has a sewing thimble and tells the family to hide their eyes while they hide the thimble somewhere in the living room. You can hide the thimble up high or low or in plain sight!!

When ready, tell everyone to open their eyes and the first one to find it gets to hide the thimble next!

Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders: 4 Essential Components of Treatment

By: Nicole Beurkens, M.Ed.

Whether your child has been diagnosed with autism, or another neurodevelopmental disorder, or you suspect that your child has some atypical developmental characteristics, you may feel confused and overwhelmed regarding treatment options.  There are many different approaches that can be beneficial depending on your child’s specific symptoms and needs.  It can be frustrating and challenging for parents to research all the options available, decide what to try, and then access the appropriate treatments.

Most parents want to begin addressing their child’s difficulties right away, but are not sure exactly what to do.  They would be relieved to find that there are some core principles of treatment that they can begin implementing with their children right away, regardless of the other treatments to be provided.  Even specialists in the field who apply specific behavioral, speech, or cognitive types of therapies often overlook these critical components to treatment.  Families can begin having a significant impact on a child’s behavior, learning, social skills, and communication by addressing the following four areas:

Read more …

Learning as
we Grow

You’ve Been
Asking For It – The Resource for Applying Principles of Remediation in
School Settings is Finally Here!

This long-awaited book is written for parents and
professionals who want to be more effective in their work with students
who have neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.

You will learn how to:

• Identify the core features of neurodevelopmental disorders
  that create communication, learning, and relationship challenges for your students
• Shift from a mindset of working around deficits
  (compensation) to correcting the root issues that create obstacles for your students (remediation)
• Modify your communication to promote your students’
  communication and thinking abilities
• Identify the unique strengths and obstacles of each student
  in order to determine appropriate placement and programming
• Achieve meaningful outcomes for students that allow them to
  reach their greatest potential

Crepes

Whether you have just started a special diet with your child or you have been following one for years, it can be difficult to come up with what to serve. We decided to try to make that just a bit easier by providing you with a new allergen free recipe each week. While it is impossible to meet every person’s unique food sensitivity needs, we hope you will find these recipes helpful and delicious. Please feel free to adapt the recipes to meet your needs and taste buds; we do it all the time.  Enjoy!

Are you looking for ways to expand your food options?  Try this recipe as a pancake subsitute.  It is quick and simple.  Think about all the fun ways to fill your crepe!

Crepes

Makes 4 crepes

2 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut oil and butter, melted …

Get the recipe

Please join us!

• Horizons Family Teleseminar
  (open to Horizons client families only)

  Topic: Insurance Issues – Expert Advice for Securing Financial Support for the Treatment of Autism and Other Special Needs
  Guest – Christina Peck, CPC

  September 16 from 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM

• Horizons Family Field Day
  (open to Horizons client families only) Call the office to RSVP
  September 18