• Autism Light

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Sunday, 29 April 2012

  • Kathy Medina

    Autism Light #190 is Kathy Medina.


    Kathy Medina is from Clovis, California. She and her husband Glenn have three children, including a son with autism named Zack. Kathy was a Life Insurance Agent for 15 years with American United Life, and left that position in order to be able to home school her son Zack. She is the author of the book Finding God in Autism and has developed a fantastic website that compliments the book and offers around the clock spiritual encouragement to families living with autism. Kathy Medina is an Autism Light because of the lives that she has touched with spiritual encouragement in the face of autism through her writing and website.

    Author: Kathy Medina is the author of the book Finding God in Autism. The book includes Biblical resources to help parents raise their child with autism that the author gathered in her study and in conversations with clergy. You can find an outline of the book on the front page of the website www.findinggodinautism.com.

    You can purchase the book at her website for $9.99 plus shipping.  Group discounts are available. Kathy mentions on her website that 50% of the people who purchase the book later purchase an extra copy for a friend.

    Prayer Book: Kathy Medina also has a 63 page E-Book available called Livin on a Prayer. For information on its content and ordering it visit her website.

    Education: Kathy Medina is a graduate of Fresno Pacific Bible College (now Fresno Pacific University).

    Website: Kathy Medina's website www.findinggodinautism.com has rich resources focused on themes of her book. It has diverse spiritual resources that will encourage families with autism or any special needs with faith-based questions.

    Home Schooling: Kathy Medina is devoted to assuring her son Zack has a good education. She started out by using curriculum from the Lovaas Institute. She has used  RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) curriculum since 2005 and is very pleased with the results for her son. For those considering home schooling, Kathy Medina advises people to consider if it meets their unique situation. Kathy says, "Home schooling has worked well for us. I can't recommend it to everyone. It is a great sacrifice."
    Kathy and her son Zack
    Diverse Treatments: Kathy Medina has tried several treatments in the past with her son, including the gluten free/casein free diet, specific carbohydrate diet, occupational therapy, speech therapy, supplements, IV Secretin, ABA, SonRise, hyperbaric oxygen chamber,  cranio-sacral therapy, AIT, Sensory Learning Institute, saunas, clay baths, and chelation. Kathy Medina told Autism Light, "We are still on the road to recovering Zack using the Body Ecology Diet, vital sounds listening therapy, the MMS protocol, supplements, horse therapy and RDI."


    Church Life: Zack Medina attends Sunday School and the class at their church uses a curriculum from the organization Joni and Friends. Joni and Friends will help any church set up special classes for special needs students. 

    Encouragement:  Kathy Medina offered this friendly advice to parents of children with autism.
    I talk to many parents who are overwhelmed and discouraged by what they think is the future. I have found it to be much more productive to not look to far into the future but to focus on the present. I focus on what my child can do. I am grateful what he has overcome. I have found that if you do not control your thoughts your fears will be magnified.
    Kathy Medina believes that parents need support in dealing with autism and that they can find that on a spiritual level.
    I see many parents exhausting themselves trying to help their children. None of us were designed to go this road alone. Each of us can get God's favor. But to get God's favor, we must do our part and seek a relationship with Him.We need to ask our Almighty God for wisdom, direction and strength. If we seek God we will gain character, endurance, patience, wisdom and know unconditional love. We will become the people that God wants us to become. 
    Special thanks to Kathy Medina for being an Autism Light and helping people with faith questions related to autism. For more information on Kathy Medina visit her biography on her website.

    Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.


    Photos: The photos in this post were used with permission of Kathy Medina.


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Friday, 27 April 2012

  • Stanley Greenspan

    Autism Light #189 is Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan.



    Two years ago today the autism community lost a hero who made a tremendous contribution in the treatment of autism. Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan was the influential child psychiatrist responsible for the development of the autism treatment known as Floortime. Dr. Stanley Greenspan is being named an Autism Light posthumously for his work with opening up a new world to countless numbers of children with autism and for bringing Floortime to the repertoire of autism treatments. His name is also being added to the Autism Light Memorial Roll.

    Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan was born on June 1, 1941 and passed away on April 27, 2010 from complications of a stroke. At the time of his death at age 68, he was a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at George Washington University medical school, a practicing child psychiatrist, prolific author, and popular conference speaker. He had spent over 40 years of his life working with and for the compassionate treatment of children with autism. The New York Times at his death said that he, "invented an influential approach to teaching children with autism and other developmental problems by folding his lanky six-foot frame onto the floor and following their lead in vigorous play (Source)."

    Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan was a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Medical School. Dr. Greenspan also had an important role in child development as the founding President of the Zero to Three Foundation.  Even with his vast higher education accomplishments, Dr. Stanley Greenspan had an ability to explain concepts in a simple way for others to understand and implement in their own part of the autism treatment world. The Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) features the following quote from Dr. Greenspan on the first page of their website.

    All children have within them the potential to be great kids.
    It's our job to create a great world where this potential can flourish.
    Dr. Stanley Greenspan, 2007

    Floortime: Dr. Stanley Greenspan's greatest legacy is creating the autism treatment technique known as Floortime. The technique is also used to help people with other special needs beside autism. The Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) describes Floortime this way: "Floortime is both a specific technique, in which for twenty or more minutes at a time a caregiver gets down on the floor to interact with the child, and a general philosophy that characterizes all daily interactions with the child (Source)."  The following is a video of Dr. Stanley Greenspan explaining D.I.R./Floortime for the movie Autistic-Like: Graham's Story.


    Author: Dr. Stanley Greenspan was the author or co-author of over 30 books written over a period of 35 years.
    Dr. Greenspan also co-authored the book Respecting Autism with Dr. Gil Tippy, which was published posthumously in 2011. More information about Greenspan's book Respecting Autism is featured in the post on this blog when Dr. Gil Tippy was named Autism Light #124. Dr. Gil Tippy said this about Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan in an email to Autism Light.
    Stanley Greenspan was a genius of understanding and kindness. In a world where it began to be the norm to ignore, punish and assume that children on the Autism Spectrum could only learn through rote reinforcement, Stanley stood up and said, "No, there is another way." He took people to task for assuming that behaviors were to be extinguished, not understood as communication, and he wanted people to understand that what people with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder had to think and say was at least as valuable and interesting as anything their teachers and clinicians thought or said. His respectful approach never closed the window of hope, and he always assumed that a great, respectful, developmentally appropriate treatment program could help every person at any age.
    The following video from the Rebecca School YouTube Channel is Dr. Stanley Greenspan giving a brief introduction to D.I.R./Floortime.


    Coach Mike Frandsen was named Autism Light #148 and he wrote a very informative article about the legacy of Dr. Stanley Greenspan for the DC Examiner. In it Mike Frandsen said,
    I’m not sure who the other three people would be, but if there were a Mount Rushmore of autism therapy, Greenspan would be on it. In sports, one of the criteria for Hall of Fame eligibility is whether a player had such a profound impact on the game that he changed the way the sport was played. If there were an Autism Hall of Fame, Greenspan would make it in on the first ballot (Source).
    Dr. Stanley Greenspan's work continues to be carried on every day around the world by a multitude of practitioners and parents who use D.I.R./Floortime to help children with autism. Dr. Greenspans's family continues to build upon his work as well. His son Jake Greenspan is the Director of The Floortime Center in Betheseda, Maryland and his widow Nancy Thorndike Greenspan, who co-authored several books with him, continues to offer Dr. Greenspan's online Floortime training course on  The Greenspan Floortime Approach website.

    You can learn more about Dr. Stanley Greenspan's life and qualifications on these pages.
    Special thanks to Dr. Stanley Greenspan for his work that brought D.I.R./Floortime to the autism community. To one who built his legacy on sitting down on the floor with little children who had autism, we stand up and cheer him as an Autism Light that shines every brightly beyond his years on this earth. 

    Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.


    Photo: The photos in this post are used with permission of Dr. Stanley Greenspan's family.


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Wednesday, 25 April 2012

  • Gwen Rhodes

    Autism Light #188 is Gwen Rhodes.




    Gwen Rhodes is the principal at the Gonic School in Rochester, New Hampshire.  On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, a 10 year old student of hers named Andrew Brown had wandered away from the school into the nearby Cocheco River. Andrew Brown also has autism. Gwen Rhodes jumped into the icy Cocheco River to save Andrew Brown. Gwen Rhodes is an Autism Light for having the quick thinking to save a student with autism in an icy river, even though it meant putting herself at risk.

    Gwen Rhodes was reluctant to be labeled a hero.  She said, "This is just something that was a circumstance and you did what you needed to do when the circumstance happened, but what we do every day is what makes people that work in schools heroes (Source)."

    Gwen Rhodes may not want to be labled a hero but she is one to Andrew's father Chris Brown, who said, "She’s a hero to me and I’ve always said she’s like a second mom (Source)."

    The following is a news story from the event done by WBZ-TV in Boston.




    For more information on this heroic story view these online articles.
    Special thanks to Gwen Rhodes for being an Autism Light for a student that had wandered into harms way. Thankfully we won't know what may have happened if Gwen Rhodes hadn't dived into the icy river after Andrew Brown. As the first school principal to be an Autism Light, Gwen Rhodes is representative of administrators who are diligent in their task of protecting children, especially those with autism and special needs.

    Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

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    Monday, 23 April 2012

    • Ban Ki-Moon

      Autism Light #187 is Ban Ki-Moon. 




      Ban Ki-Moon was born on June 13, 1944 and is from South Korea. Ban Ki-Moon has served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations since 2007. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is an Autism Light because of his efforts to use his position to lead the United Nations to further awareness of autism around the world through it's member countries.

      April 2 was adopted by the United Nations as World Autism Day in 2007.  On April 2, 2012, Ban Ki-Moon gave this year's message as Secretary-General. The complete message is at this link. In the message Ban Ki-Moon said,
      The annual observance of World Autism Awareness Day is meant to spur such action and draw attention to the unacceptable discrimination, abuse and isolation experienced by people with autism and their loved ones.  As highlighted by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, people with autism are equal citizens who should enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms (Source). 
      The following is a video of a speech Ban Ki-Moon gave in 2010 for Autism Awareness month. In his speech he talks about working with Autism Speaks.


      UN Autism Stamps: On April 2, 2012 the United Nations released six autism awareness postage stamps and two special envelopes designed by artists with autism. The artists were recognized in a April 2 ceremony led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (Source). A press release on the stamps shares the inspiring autism stories of all the artists who designed the stamps.

      Other Information: Additional online articles about Secretary-General Ki-Moon's advocacy for autism can be found here.
      You can read more about UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on his Wikipedia page.

      Special thanks to Ban Ki-Moon for leading the United Nations to take such a clear stand on the need to end discrimination against people with autism. These efforts are raising autism awareness in the international communities that follow the leadership of the United Nations. Ban Ki-Moon becomes the first Autism Light from South Korea.

      Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.


      Photo: The photo in this post is in Creative Commons of Wikipedia. It is attributed to Gobierno de Chile.

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    Saturday, 21 April 2012

    • Charles Colson

      Autism Light #186 is Charles Colson.




      Charles "Chuck" Colson was born on October 16, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts. He died on April 21, 2012 from complications of a brain hemorrhage. Some people have heard of him as a Special Counsel from 1969-1973 for U.S. President Richard Nixon. Others were introduced to Colson for his role the last 36 years as a leader and prolific author in evangelical Christianity, and founder of the organization Prison Fellowship. But not everyone may know that Charles Colson, the towering figure that he was, was brought to his knees in order to communicate with his now 20 year old grandson Max who has autism. It was with vigor and enthusiasm that Charles Colson approached being a grandparent of a child with autism for the last years of his life, and he has helped the autism community by talking publicly about how his faith was impacted by having a grandson with autism, especially as he witnessed the love demonstrated by his daughter Emily, as she raised Max as a single parent. Charles Colson is being named an Autism Light for the contributions he has made to autism awareness as a grandfather and as a leader in the faith-based community. Charles Colson was placed on the Autism Light Memorial Roll and this post updated, as he passed away the same day he was named an Autism Light.

      Christianity: Charles Colson converted to Christianity in 1973. He served his prison sentence for his role in Watergate, and out of that experience he founded the organization Prison Fellowship in 1976. Prison Fellowship is the world's largest organization for prisoners in over 100 countries. Much of his writings are available for reading at the Colson Center website.

      Awards: Charles Colson has received numerous awards. Two awards Colson received were the Others Award from The Salvation Army in 1990 and the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George W. Bush in 2008.

      Author: Chuck Colson is a prolific author or co-author of over a dozen books about his life, faith and views of society from 1976 to 2011. His first book Born Again was published in 1976 and his most recent The Sky is Not Falling was published in 2011. The book Dancing with Max that he co-wrote with his daughter Emily is of a personal nature like Born Again. You can read more about Charles Colson's books and awards at his Wikipedia page.

      Biographer Jonathan Aitken in his book Charles Colson: A Life Redeemed said about Colson:
      With infinite patience and constant attention he has built a close and good relationship with his autistic grandson, Max. This private achievement has required more effort and more love than many of Colson's public achivements (Source). 
      Jonathan Aitken also concludes that, "Colson communicates well with all his grandchildren, even though he is in some ways closest to Max as both a father figure and a grandfather (Source)."

      Dancing With Max: Charles Colson wrote the introduction and epilogue to his daughter Emily Colson's book called Dancing with Max that was published in August, 2010.  Emily Colson raised Max as a single parent, making Charles Colson a father figure as well as grandfather to Max. One of the highlights of Charles Colson's family and ministerial life includes being given the opportunity to baptize his Grandson Max, who made a profession of the Christian faith. The following is Colson's weekly segment called 2 Minute Warning from September, 2010 where he discusses the book Dancing with Max. 


      Although Charles Colson is a leader in the Christian world who has wrote dozens of books and spoke to millions of people around the world about his faith, he said that he continues to learn new things about God by witnessing the unselfish love demonstrated in his daughter Emily toward her child with autism. Here are two favorite quotes from Charles Colson directed toward parents of children with special needs.
      • "Watching Emily, and other parents of children with special needs, has taught me what it means to love in the biblical sense of the word agape (Source)." 
      • "Being the parent of an autistic child, or any child with special needs, requires a level of commitment and dedication that is impossible to understand unless you've been there (Source)." 
      Here are some additional online information on Charles Colson's discussion of autism.

      Social Media: You can interact with Charles Colson, his family, and work on his Facebook page.

      Funeral: For updates on services for Charles Colson's check the Official Updates from Prison Fellowship.

      Special thanks to Charles Colson for caring about autism and being a wonderful grandfather to Max. Your efforts are an example to the multitude of grandparents of people with autism, especially those that share your Christian faith.

      Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.


      Photos: The photos in this post were used with permission of the administrator of the official Charles Colson Facebook page. 

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