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Bloomington Sun-Current – Thursday, May 19, 2011 – www.minnlocal.com
In the Community, With the Community, For the Community
Do the words “math homework” strike fear in your child... or you?
Autism Matters brings unique approach to therapy by Mindy Mateuszczyk
We can change that fear into better grades and higher self-confidence, and eliminate the frustration, tears, and fights over math homework.
Better grades are just the beginning. Discover how a better understanding of math can change your child’s attitude... and with understanding comes passion! Before you know it, your child could be crazy about math.
ession Summer S W! O enrolling N
Student: Hobbies: Aspiration: Math before: Math now:
Jazmin M. Swimming, photography Fashion photographer Throw me a life vest! Dive right in!
“Mathnasium teaches me the strategy of math and has helped me advance beyond my grade level!”
Call or visit to learn how convenient and affordable your child’s soaring self-confidence can be!
www.mathnasium.com 9724 Scheiber Terrace
3810 W. Old Shakopee Rd.
17581 Glasgow Ave
Champlin Park
Bloomington
Lakeville
763.269.6969
952.886.4382
952.891.1100
16378 Wagner Way
4875 Hwy. 101
3505 Vicksburg Lane North
Eden Prairie
Minnetonka
Plymouth
952.232.0938
952.500.9139
763.567.8143
Like any typical mom, Julia Sawyer, of Eden Prairie, spent the first year of her son’s life enamored by him, delighting in each new milestone. Then as he headed into his second year, she began to notice changes, setbacks. By 2.5 years of age, Sawyer’s son was diagnosed with autism. “He was considered pretty severe,” she said. “He couldn’t talk, didn’t make any types of babbling and just did a lot of hand flapping.” He also struggled with following directions. That’s when Sawyer met Tara Bertone. Sawyer said that was the beginning of the journey to where they are now today, with her son participating in the mainstream curriculum for seventh grade, participating in track and generally, a very smart 13-year-old. THERAPIES Bertone began working with autistic children in 1996 as a behavior therapist. She later earned her master’s degree in speech and language pathology. “I noticed kids either get a behavioral program or parents take their kids to speech, but the therapies were separate,” said Bertone. Throughout her education and experience, Bertone witnessed firsthand the benefits of applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy as well as verbal behavior therapy but was disappointed by the lack of collaboration with speech-language pathologists. According to Bertone, although ABA professionals are proficient in teaching new skills, rarely did a speech-language pathologist play a significant role in the development of curriculum and program management, which are primarily language and communication-based. Her passion for helping kids drove her to create Autism Matters, a center that strives to address the disconnect between these two disciplines. “We did some research and found there were very few services in the area,” she said. “That was the catalyst to opening a center in Rogers.” Services include speech-language assessments, speech-language therapy, oral-motor therapy using TalkTools, VB/ABA intensive intervention, occupa-
tional therapy, academic tutoring, self-help skills training and parent training and resources. Sawyer’s son received therapies from the Minnetonka location, where Sawyer found having multiple services under one roof beneficial. Many autistic children are recommended to participate in 20 to 40 hours of intensive therapy that can be demanding on parents and families if services are located far away and scattered throughout the area. Another benefit for Sawyer was having her son’s therapists all on the same page and not having to go through the emotional and mental rigors of playing messenger between them. “If you’re taking your child to five different places, it becomes your job to ensure therapist A knows what therapist B is doing,” Sawyer said. “Here, they all meet with you as a team.” “The consistency piece is critical,” Sawyer said. “If everyone was throwing different stuff at him he wouldn’t have made the same level of progress. At Autism Matters, all the therapists use the same techniques and same philosophy.” Many times in other therapy plans treatment is set up so the focus is first on the behaviors. But Sawyer said she’s found Autism Matters to be unique in that Bertone approaches therapy from a mindset of improving the child’s communication and language skills first. NO CHILD ALIKE Autism Spectrum Disorders present themselves in such different ways from child to child. Sawyer said no two children with it necessarily look alike. There is also conflicting information on what causes it and what can be done for children to make progress. Because of this, Sawyer said the emotional toll is especially great. “With autism, you often already feel isolated by the time you receive your child’s diagnosis. You have probably withdrawn from doing some of the typical things parents do like play dates or outings because of issues with your child,” she said. She works to get the message to other parents going through this same journey that there is hope. “I was basically given no hope back then. I was told my child would never talk, and now he does,” she said. CMYK