Autism workshop shares useful tools

Belle Plaine, MN--On October 10, 2009, the Autism workshop "God's People are Differently Abled" was held in Grafton, Wisconsin. This workshop was sponsored by The Lutheran Home Association's (TLHA) Jesus Cares Ministries. This workshop included several informative presentations. Below are some presentation highlights.

Alison Wolf is a mother of three; two of her sons are on the Autism Spectrum. She presented fundamental information about autism in a personal way, effectively reaching the audience. Alison demonstrated that God's people are differently abled, and we are for the better because of their unique contributions.

Jessica Schumacher, a speech-language pathologist, spoke on functional communication. She discussed the best way for children to learn language, relationship skills and knowledge for everyday life. She emphasized that the individuals who know the child best, usually the parents, are key to teaching these everyday skills. Jessica explains, "If we go to piano lessons one time a week, but don't practice during the week, we won't learn. The same is true for functional communication. The gains come from practice between visits with a professional, not from visits themselves."

Jessica also gave many positive suggestions for engaging a person with autism into a shared world with others.

Meghan Watry, an occupational therapist, held her audience's attention with many activities that demonstrated how we rely on various stimuli to stay alert and attend to what we are doing. She states, "We all use sensory intgration to organize and interact with our world." She described sensory dysfunction, which is often seen in people with autism, and activities to deal with sensory dysfunction.

As part of her presentation, Meghan had the workshop participants engaged in many sensory activities. Here, they felt the pressure of pressing against a wall.

TLHA is excited to help congregations, families, caregivers, teachers and others reach out to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For more information about TLHA's outreach Gospel ministry, Jesus Cares Ministries, or future autism workshops, please call 1-888-600-TLHA (8542) or e-mail info@tlha.org.