Global Autism Project

A Wonderful Workshop

2011-07-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today started off being a hectic day with finalizing everything for the workshop. We managed sorting out a beautiful tent and an lcd screen for the powerpoint presentation.

At 10am parents started walking in, and because many were stuck in traffic, we waited until 11 then started the talk. Emily did great, as I knew she would! The questions were asked during the presentation which led it into many discussions during the talk. The parents got some great information and spent plenty of time after the workshop just talking to each other and sharing experiences. We provided lunch then moved on to the workshop for the teachers and professionals after... this went even better I'd say. There was plenty of information that was given out and lots of ideas for the classrooms. Emily did great with this too.

Unfortunately we had a huge thunderstorm on way towards the end of the talk, and tried to rush through in the end, but still got through everything. After the talk, the teachers and professionals got to meet with each other as well, and I had so many of them approach me to say that they loved it and really wish that we'd have more of these. They were very impressed with the work Kaizora is doing and with the Global Autism Project.

We had given out evaluations for everyone to fill out, and majority said that they definitely want more of this. Some said that just discovering Kaizora has been a huge relief for them.

Basically, things went great and everyone was happy. I will try and put effort into having more workshops at Kaizora and spreading the word more. Now that Emily has been in here and we plan on finalizing all the children's programs, I will be able to take out more time into such events. We're all really sad that Emily has to leave us, but we're all holding our breath for her to make her way back very very soon!!...

Pooja Panesar
www.kaizora.com

In-Home Services!

2011-06-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today began with a trip to a different part of Nairobi for Kaizora's first in-home session ever!!! Addressing this need has been a challenge in the past, as staffing and transportation have not made this possible. However, it is clear that there are more and more families asking for such services, so this is a gap Kaizora would love to fill. This particular case is a 4 year old kiddo from the Phillipines who just moved here with his family. Given his location relative to Kaizora, the family was unable to come daily, despite their desire for him to receive daily ABA. As a sort of pilot opportunity, Kaizora has agreed to provide in-home services 2x/week.

When taking into account the advantages, this could be a good opportunity for generalization of skills taught in the center, an opportunity to include self-help and toilet training programs, and provide the father, who cares for the boy at home during the day, with some modeling and coaching, as this is an area he felt as if he wasn't as skilled in. This session consisted primarily of observing him in the home, getting a feel for his routine, and getting him comfortable with trainers being in his environment. Things went really well, and what is clear is that the boy seems eager to learn, and the father is very receptive to feedback. I became inspired that things could work well when the boy grabbed his father's hand and led him into the kitchen towards the fridge, we prompted the father to ask the boy to say "open please", which he did, and when the father did so, the boy grabbed a bottle of coke and handed it to his father. The father said "no coke" and closed the door. The boy instantly tantrummed, throwing himself on the floor screaming and crying. The father tried to redirect the behavior by looking at the boy and saying "it's ok, come on, let's leave, it's ok, it's ok, it's ok". I asked the father "what would happen if he just walked out of the kitchen?", and the father said he had never tried it before. I said "let's try and see?". He walked out of the kitchen, and approximately 1 minute later the boy came out of the kitchen, plopped on the floor, looked around, walked to a roll of paper towels, ripped one off, wiped his own tears, threw the paper towel in the trash, and climbed on the chair and got his cup of water and had a few sips. We of course gave the father lots of praise and he seemed content. The father is apprehensive about his English skills, especially given we have talked to the family about only using one language to facilitate language acquisition. Nonetheless, the father seemed content with the day's session, and after leaving the team from Kaizora was thrilled about the prospects of subsequent sessions.

Upon returning to Kaizora, we met with a family from Zimbabwe who has a 6 year old son with Cerebral Palsy with severe physical limitations on the left side of his body. His leg has virtually no muscle structure, and his mother is taking him to South Africa in a month to receive a botox injection in his leg. There was a lot of clinical problem solving around how to increase functioning on the left side of his body, including me contacting a Doctorate-level Physical Therapist in the United States with extensive background in working with children. She offered many helpful suggestions based on the most current research in Physical Therapy with regard to complete vs. incomplete hemiplegia, motor planning abilities and spastic vs. flaccid CP. She informed us of a growing body of evidence in support of "constraint-induced therapy", which basically entails putting the unaffected side of the body into a position to essentially make it non-functional, and incorporating fun activities into tasks such as pulling a rope, pouring water back and forth between cups, riding a bike with straps to keep his foot on the pedal, stacking blocks and pushing magnets all over a wall. Hopefully as the kiddo is able to make more use out of the left side of his body, he will be able to participate in more activities with his peers, and subsequently gain more self confidence. A program will be put in place incorporating ABA tasks and programs and prompting more use out of the left side of his body. Ultimately, of course, the parents would like to see him go to a mainstream school with the rest of his peers, while still being able to receive the most out of his schooling environment. We also agreed to meet with the school teachers and his aya (aide) in order to replicate tasks like those at school in the center so the goal can continue to be mainstream placement. We were able to run many sessions with this kiddo later as a team, and what was also evident is the desire for him to compensate the best he can given restrictions on his left side. We ran Precision Teaching sessions, and prompted lots of motor imitation in the context of his preferred activities, such as peek-a-boo, high fives, raising arms above the head and cheering and manipulating objects with his hands. His left side upper body is much more functional than his left leg, and his mother indicated that when he had botox previously on his leg, his stance and walk was much better. The team is excited to see how this round of botox affects his muscles in his legs.

Overall the day was very good, and there was lots of opportunities for in situ clinical problem solving and development. We had the chance to record some sessions so we can review later and provide feedback later and review with Molly back in New York on Skype. Pooja was hard at work trying to ascertain a large selection of reinforcers for the kiddos, and pairing these reinforcers with pictures she made on cards so they can have some meaning as we implement "First, Then" boards. Way to go team!!
- Emily

Expanding Services

2011-06-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today I met with a family from Somalia who came to seek my advice on how to support their 4 year old son in school. The principal of the school feels that the child has "borderline autism" and the school may not be able to provide the support the boy needs. After probing quite a bit and getting some background information, it sounds like there are many variables that could account for some of his delays academically and with his speech. They said they had him screened for autism almost a year ago, and no diagnosis was given. The principal would like to see the family get a second opinion, and I advised the family that it couldn't hurt to either rule it out or rule it in, for their own knowledge, but they should be very careful with how they disseminate that information, as it could cause him to be viewed and judged based on his label, not on his skill repertoire and abilities: it should not matter whether he has autism, what matters is how he is functioning relative to his peers, and his success in the classroom. They asked what they could do in the meantime, and I suggested they have consistent contact with the school teacher, and the principal so she does not feel as if she is being left out, and target areas as needed and proactively as possible. The break time between terms would be an ideal time to help him in areas he may be lacking.
What was positive was that the family was not plagued and concerned with the possibility of being diagnosed with autism, but instead want to use this knowledge to provide support where it is needed. This meeting sparked an already determined interest in understanding diagnostic criteria, and how this information is then used to guide families towards resources they may need. Perhaps if there is more awareness surrounding appropriate and accurate diagnosis while taking into account cultural differences and practices, maladaptive behaviors and developmental milestones can be targeted earlier, increasing likelihood for success throughout life. Pooja and I also had the chance to take a closer look at specific clinical practices for specific clients, specifically shaping skill acquisition for a child with cerebral palsy.
We developed "First, Then" visual aides, and worked with staff on how to make access to powerful reinforcers contingent on appropriate responses. Upon speaking in depth with the trainers at Kaizora, a targeted clinical training need during this trip will be the principles of reinforcement, planned ignoring and extinction. Subsequent to this, in an effort to provide staff with more tools in order to make data based decisions, further training will be done in how to conduct preference and reinforcer assessments, and how to use this data to support skill acquisition.
This has further implications to create for Global Autism Project a structural training module and protocol for use at each site, based on the BACB's BCBA task list as well as personalized systems of instruction and inter rater reliability. Another area of need appears to be logistics in terms of being able to provide services to everyone who needs them in all areas of Nairobi. There are many families that have come for assistance, however logistics in terms of distance, transportation, etc, prevent them from being able to receive services consistently.

- Emily

Everyone's Learning!

2011-06-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today has been a great day. We're all working together really well, the atmosphere is charged with positive energy and everyone is learning :)
Emily had a great consultation with a family this morning and gave plenty of great advice as always. I started sessions with a 4 year old boy today. We came up with ideas on what to run trials for and I feel quite confident with him. We're putting a first-then chart for some of the children and I'm quite excited to see how that goes. I think it'll definitely iron out some behaviours with harry.
I then had another consultation, which brought into limelight one of the main obstacles for parents getting therapy at kaizora... Transportation and traffic logistics. So many parents can't bring their children from across town for a couple of hours of ABA therapy and take them back. I hope that kaizora can one day provide full-day services and transportation as well. There are many we still have to reach out to.
After sessions, Emily worked on the workshop and we did some brainstorming together... And I went on to make some materials for the children.
I really enjoy working with Emily... We seem to be in tune when talking to parents or brainstorming about ideas... I really appreciate all she is has come to offer to us and am eager to soak it all up!!!
Tomorrow we're going to start our first ever home-based therapy and I'm looking forward to this new chapter for Kaizora.
:)

Pooja

A Day of Clinical Developments

2011-06-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Today I had the opportunity to get into some sessions and observe fluency based precision teaching as well as some discrete trial training. It's so amazing to see the skype training we have been doing for the previous month prior to coming being put into action-- I never thought I'd see the day when I would be seeing therapists in Kenya taking data on standard celeration charts!! I also was able to see a client doing vocal imitation sessions with the use of a vocal stimulation machine, a piece of equipment I have never come across in the United States. Apparently the client's grandmother suffered a stroke which impacted her speech, and when she began seeing a Physiotherapist (Kenyan lingo for Physical Therapist), she began using the machine. When use of the machine resulted in rehabilitation of her speech, the client's mother wished for her son to use the same machine. Since using the machine, Pooja and the parent report increases in vocal production and sounds, however variables have not been systematically manipulated to determine which intervention, or combination thereof, account for the increase in speech. I suggested perhaps we do an experimental analysis of behavior and embark on an alternating treatments research design and a component analysis in order to determine which variable(s) are responsible for the increase in speech. Given the machine is more of a speech language/physical therapy intervention, it would be interesting to see if data would justify continued "rent" payment for use of the machine. Moreover, the mother has been very pleased with results as of late and attributes them in part to use of the machine, so it would be poor practice at this time to simply stop using the machine if data may indicate it has been helpful. Nevermind that the Global Autism Project never seeks to enter into a partnership and come into a country and immediately disrupt what the culture has viewed as successful if there is no data to substantiate our decisions. I'm excited to see what data will tell us!!

We also had the opportunity to meet with the mother of a 12 year old girl, and her "aya" (Swahili word for maid) to discuss targets for program development and skill acquisition. She is not in school, and has not been in school for sometime. The education system in Kenya does not seem to strictly oversee and mandate children being in school, which from what I've observed, and based on interviews with multiple families, teachers and professionals, this may not necessarily be all bad for special needs children if they are not getting the support they need by teachers who have an understanding and skillset fundamental to growth and progression. (This also happens to be a possible exciting venture for me in the future and on subsequent trips: a comparative analysis of how education and special education in Kenya compares to IDEA in the United States) Her mother pulled her out of school due to lack of progression, and has increased her sessions at Kaizora with Pooja, since that is where she has seen the most growth and development. I suggested perhaps we target some functional life skills training, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, money management, etc. The mother was thrilled, and would like to see her daughter develop some skills in these areas, especially since her aya can oversee many of these tasks.

I will be training Pooja and the Kaizora staff how to implement the Functional Independent Skills Assessment and work with Pooja to design programs to target areas of need based on lifestyle, traditions, and ways of life for her family and the culture of Kenyan people. This is a task I am REALLY excited about, given that results may be seen not just in academic domains, but in self help and activities of daily living as well. By continuously gauging and assessing not only progress based on follow-up assessments, but on parent satisfaction at home, we can ensure we are targeting skills that are proving to be most useful and beneficial. So many exciting clinical developments today!!!

- Emily

Making Progress!

2011-06-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

Another day started bright and early!

Today we have been at the centre for the whole day and managed brainstorming about the children and their programs and the direction we’d like to see things going which has been amazing. Emily has brought up some amazing points and provided lots of guidance on what direction we can take things next.

We met with Mary’s mum today who was has always been incredibly pleased with everything Melissa has accomplished to date that she never expected her to… but now even more thrilled knowing that there’s still so much more to come. In fact she was saying that she’d love to be a candidate for any research and participate in any possible way!

We also went through Max’s programs in detail, who is a fairly new student and broke down each program and the procedure we’re going to teach every single thing in. We did all this with Molly, Emily and myself over skype. It’s been really amazing as well how the 3 of us are talking even twice a day over skype and keeping updated on everything.

It’s been a really exciting day and I’m feeling more and more confident with everything we’re running here as the days are going by, and we’re only on day 3 so far yayyyy!!

- Pooja

School Visit on Day 2!

2011-06-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today we had a bright and early start and as Emily says, “we hit the floor running”!
We put up the poster which looks soooo amazing!! Then we planned on the 2 consultations with Johnny’s and Sammy’s parents/aids. We then went and visited a school for children with disabilities. School H is doing amazing things for the children with the resources they have. They are in a low SES area but still do so much, which is something I find very inspiring.

We then went to School S where some of the children who come to Kaizora also go. School S is a mainstream education school in a higher SES area. There we had a wonderful and productive consultation with Johnny’s teacher, teacher-to-be, mum, and the head teacher. We managed coming up with some great ideas and goals, and also provided various strategies they can implement in the school setting to promote social skills among others. We talked about what Johnny should be doing in his next school year and how we can use the holidays to get him at par with everything.

Back at Kaizora we then meet with Sammy’s aid and mum and talked over behaviour modification in the classroom. This also went great and mum sent a text saying “Hi, thank so much. The aid says it was really helpful. She has been on a 1 week training in 2005 & no one has ever come to school to talk to the assistants like you have today”! We will be providing data sheets to help identify the ABC in Sammy’s behaviours in school, and hopefully having such a system in place will shed light on plenty more.
The consultation after that with Johnny’s mum went fabulous as well and we identified lots of goals and went over his progress so far. She was very happy with all the information, and some of the things we plan on doing while Emily is here is weaning him off his GFCF diet!

Overall, the day has been absolutely amazing, and I’m so excited for the next 2 weeks as well… everyday is a new learning experience!
-Pooja

Karibu! (Welcome!)

2011-06-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to receive a tour of Kaizora, staff, materials and a brief overview of programs and client backgrounds. I also had the opportunity to meet some of the clients, run around and play tag, and begin to establish some rapport with parents and children. On first impression, it was so exciting to see the wonderful center that Pooja has worked so hard to create, not just in terms of aesthetic appeal, but also environmental arrangement being conducive to an array of service delivery. There are 3 classrooms with teaching tables, and each table in each room was of a different size to account for different heights of the children. Each child had their own shelf with task materials, data sheets and folders, making for easy access to materials for each session. There is a large reception area where parents and care providers are able to meet independent from the classrooms. There is also a kitchen and of course a bathroom, making access to self help and vocational skills easy and reliable. There is also a large outdoor play area with a sandbox, and a large play structure soon to come. From an immediate outsiders perspective who seeks to target clinical development and support for a series of different programs, there appears to be resources and an ideal spatial arrangement fundamental to a broad range of service delivery. It is definitely a big help that we are able to Skype with Molly daily back in New York! This is a great observation and starting point on day 1!!

- Emily

Day 2!

2011-06-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a very humbling day, as I had the opportunity to see two very different special needs schools serving very different populations and demographics. The first very small school was located in one of the lowest socioeconomic areas of Nairobi, where many students had physical and mental disabilities that were the result of malaria, HIV/AIDS, cholera and malnutrition. School fees equate to US$2/month, and children are provided with environmental arrangements based on principles of behavioral prompting and cueing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, medical assistance including HIV testing and proper nutrition. Upon speaking with one of the teachers at great length about service delivery and needs, she indicated that one of the biggest barriers was overall awareness of disabilities, and alleviating the stigma associated with having a child with a disability. Slowly as awareness increases, more mothers are coming out of the woodwork to seek assistance with their children. This has implications for targeting awareness across the country in general in order to encourage those that having a child with a disability is a reality that cannot be avoided or always hidden, but there are ways to support families and creating measurable, observable behavioral change to increase overall functioning in everyday life. On the other side of the spectrum, we visited a mainstream Pre-K and K school where school fees were approximately US$1000/4 months. In this case, awareness of disabilities were more openly embraced and provided for accordingly. Parents were able to see successes overtime with their special needs children, and were satisfied with results. Collaboration with Kaizora Center also facilitated consistent skill acquisition both at school and at home, resulting in parents acknowledging the extra behavioral support needed at times. Both parents and school staff were able to attest to the gains children had made when combining school-based learning with ABA therapy provided at Kaizora Center. At the end of the day, after familiarizing myself with two different settings serving children in Nairobi, what seems clear is that when awareness of special needs children is embraced by families and care providers, appropriate interventions and assistance is sought. And when those reach out for assistance, and are provided with ABA therapy and methodologies spanning a variety of contexts, families are extremely satisfied with overall independent levels of functioning both at home and at school, as well as functioning amongst the dynamics of the family unit. This in and of itself may indicate that demonstrating measurable, behavioral change may increase the likelihood that services can be provided to more individuals in more places. This seems like an ideal starting point and initiative for Global Autism Project and Kaizora Center.

- Emily

Emily arrived!

2011-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Emilyy got here today yayy :)
We got to show her the centre briefly and talk over lots of stuff… and then the day ended too soon! It’s really exciting though, we’re super thrilled that she’s here! Most of all, through all our conversations, it’s extremely reassuring to hear her response on various issues and know that we’re on the right path!

- Pooja

Not goodbye...See you later!

2010-12-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

Our last day at SOREM the teachers had a party for us at tea time. We ate sweets and they presented us with a pouch and book marks the students stitched and painted during vocational training. They are beautiful and we love them! We have a dance party (Bhangra, which is Punjabi dancing) and are reminded how this school empowers each and every student. If only we could post the videos! We leave here with new friends, new knowledge, and a common interest to commit our time to these special individuals. This is our personal first visit to SOREM, but it will not be our last!

Working the night shift

2010-12-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Most days we hold private consultations in the afternoon/evening for an hour and a half. Parents from around the area (and one from 4 hours away!) come and bring their children for some advice or information. It’s wonderful to meet with families outside of SOREM who are so interested in learning more about what they can do for their son/daughter. Many of the families are already doing so much for their children—by teaching them at home, taking them to different therapies, or experimenting with different teaching methods. This collaborative approach with parents exemplifies our thoughts and practices on empowering the individuals we work with. More over, each family we work with offers another opportunity for us to engage in our own critical reflection about our work and the best practices for future partnerships.

Everyday, something new!

2010-12-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

We look forward to working in the classrooms everyday. When we enter the classroom, the students stand and say “Namaste Ma’am/Sir!” Some of the students call Jayshree “Didi” (which means older sister). Some come and shake our hands and it excites us to be with them for the day. We learn everyday that this work is not about “helping” other people. This work is selfless, in that it is about building a bond with people—their lives, their kids, their families. We work together with teachers and students everyday, take ideas from one another, and brainstorm as a team. We see that they accept and love their students, and raise the expectations for them everyday. We feel the ease of the students at SOREM—it is a place where they are expected to work hard, but are treated with equality and respect. We also learn that we both struggle with autism/special needs awareness, and think about a place in society for the adults with special needs. So many commonalities exist among so many cultural differences, and across so many miles.

Look both ways...

2010-12-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

A picnic in the park!

Friday we went to the Park and had a celebratory picnic to celebrate all of the awesome experiences we’ve had together over the past two weeks; it was so much fun! The students were so impressive. To say that crossing the street here in India is a challenge would be a vast understatement – New York City streets have nothing on this place!

Basically, you stand at the side of the street – look right first (because, you know, cars are driving on the opposite side of the road here!) then look left. If there are no cars, rickshaws, horses, dogs, motorcycles, buses, scooters or bicycles coming at you full force, you make a run for it! Mostly, you hope for the best and so far, it’s worked out just fine. I mention this so that you can easily imagine what I mean when I say that 90 students (children and adults alike) all crossed the street on the way to the Park. One of the older students stepped out into the street and into the role of crossing guard and managed to stop cars, buses, bikes, dogs, scooters, and more so that all of the students and teachers could safely cross the street.

At the park, there was music, games and of course great food. It really was quite impressive to see close to 90 students with varying levels of physical and mental abilities sitting in a big circle all together playing games, singing and dancing together! We played a game similar to duck, duck, goose, ran races with the teachers and just had an amazingly fun time and delicious food. Until now our days have been filled with work, work and more work – it was nice to play!

Speaking of playing, everyone’s been asking what we do in our free time around here. Mostly, when we hear that question – we just laugh. We’ve literally been working 6 days/ week in SOREM and spending all of our free time preparing for the next day’s activities and 6-hour weekend workshops. We’ve been busy, but as savvy travelers have managed to learn our way around a bit and find some time to play. A favorite hangout has been the coffeeshops walking distance from the center where we all take turns using the one available outlet and the one computer that works with the wireless internet card. We’ve also managed to find a few good places for some after work relaxation and of course we’re all enjoying bargaining with the local street merchants for some beautiful handmade gifts for friends and family back home. We’re so thankful for Jayshree’s ever-growing Hindi vocabulary.

We’re also so incredibly thankful to all of you who have made our visit here possible and the wonderful staff and families of SOREM who have made it an absolute pleasure to visit India once again!

Connections

2010-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

After reviewing printed versions of slides of previous workshops held at SOREM and comparing the information presented to the knowledge level of the staff with whom we were interacting, we decided to take a very practical approach to the workshop, heavy on examples.

The survey results are in and we’re excited to report that everyone loved it! One of the main concerns for people that we were able to address is the concern that we all have when presented with a formidable challenge: where do I even start? Behavior modification can be a challenging task that tests every fiber of your being. Modifying your own behavior is difficult enough, modifying someone else’s--obviously a much larger task. In order to help people learn where to start we broke everything down. We presented examples in video, in situ, through case studies. Topics were checked for understanding before moving on and then reviewed again in a different way with a new case study, a new example, etc.

This visit to Chandigarh marks our third this year; this workshop was our first. Having attended and conducted workshops in the past, we knew that we needed to prime the teachers to help us present the material in order to get everyone on board for what can be a very challenging task of behavior modification; this past week was spent doing just that. In daily three hour in-classroom training sessions and 1.5 hour teacher education workshops, we’ve been able to present and review a tremendous amount of skills for the teachers’ toolboxes!

The Saturday workshop was an amazing success and the workshops have been as well. That being said – we know the proof is in the pudding and to us the ‘pudding’ is the follow-up and data. As a professional organization devoted to this work full-time, we’re fortunate to have the resources to stay in touch with our colleagues here in India and be able to answer any questions as they arise during our weekly meetings. Things change fast when teaching students and in order to stay a step or two ahead of the student, you must be able to change quickly as well.

We’re very curious about how International work happened without the internet, or even phones-- we couldn’t do this work without Skype! We had a trial Skype call to make sure that everyone is able to sign on and talk without difficulty. Casey was on the call from the U.S.! This was immediately following our call with our colleague in Kenya. That call included Casey in San Diego, Molly in India and Pooja in Kenya – connecting across three continents and three different time zones was an incredible experience!

Incredible India...

2010-11-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

When you arrive in India, there’s propaganda everywhere, partially as a result of the Commonwealth games and partially on account of the amazing amount of nationalism here. You see it everywhere: “Incredible India” and India is Incredible! From the food to the clothes to the people to the sites, everything about it is incredible, in so many ways, as you’ve already read in our earlier post.

However, to call the facilities and teachers at SOREM incredible seems to be an understatement – they are truly exceptional. When I was here last January, I was so impressed with everything, and this time SOREM seems to have outdone themselves once again. The Honorary Secretary (and Founder) Ms.Promila Chandra Mohan has been able to start to focus her energies on some of the educational services offered. For the past two years, she’s been extremely busy with creating a state of the art center and building up both the recreation and vocational training services offered. It’s great timing for our partnership to be gaining so much momentum! Additionally, it’s exciting to see our presence here taking hold as the country is starting to focus on learners with autism. It’s exciting to think about where this center and the country will be in five years when it comes to providing services for children with autism. We’re honored to be a part of such a huge movement.

SOREM serves over 50 individuals with varying degrees of physical and mental challenges. Recently, they’ve increased their enrollment of students with autism. Two of the classrooms contain only students with autism, and many of the other classrooms have students with autism as well. We’ll be working to train all of the teachers in evidence-based teaching methodologies. Additionally, we’re providing private consultations to families with children with autism and holding Saturday workshops to provide training to the general population.

Last Saturday was our first workshop and it went amazingly well! Brad and Jayshree worked really hard to examine the notes from workshops that had been conducted previously here at SOREM as well as build a workshop that specifically fit the teacher’s needs. The success of the workshop was measured by the level of interaction and insightful comments and suggestions! We’ll be writing a full post about the workshop tomorrow evening, once we’ve compiled the surveys and can let you know the results. Crackers exploding in the night sky and loud music being piped in…another night in India!

We're in INDIA!

2010-11-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

After hours of travel, the team finally meets up! Brad and Molly left from L.A. and flew into Delhi, and took a bus to Chandigarh to meet up with Jayshree, who came in from Ahmedabad where her family lives. After only one day of rest (that was filled with the requisite tourist visit to the local market), we headed to SOREM for the first day of observation and collaboration. The school is gorgeous with large pictures of the students covering the hallway, multiple classrooms including speech, PT, and vocational activities, a garden, a dance studio, a playground, and large basketball court. The staff are unequivocally gracious, and welcomed us into their classrooms to meet their students, young to old, who all greeted us by saying "Namaste!" We met with the Honorary Secretary and founder, Ms. Promila Chandra Mohan, to discuss details about our 3 week stay. Most of the day was spent observing the teachers and students in the classroom, and making plans. Leaving SOREM after the first day, we are all equally excited for the work we are doing here.

The food is amazing, the shopping (and bargaining) quite an experience. Jayshree speaks Gujarati (where her family is from), and has been helping the crew get around via Rickshaw with her limited Hindi. Also, we can't forget to mention our honorary team member and in-country ambassador Avikal Malik who has been a considerate and invaluable friend to the project.

.....Back at the guest house, the crackers are so loud we can barely hear each other. Apparently it's festival season--starting with Diwali in early November and moving into weddings back to back through January. The music is ongoing with singing into loudspeakers (of course). It's a party out there! In go the ear plugs.......have to get up early for a full day of work tomorrow!

Autism Society of West Africa!

2010-09-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

We've been hard at work over the past few months, working on building West Africa's first ever regional autism conference. This conference will serve as the catalyst for the creation of the Autism Society of West Africa. Delegates from Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Benin are all planning to attend. We're looking forward to an amazing conference and would love to see you there! Details will be posted on our website in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

In the meantime - save the dates!

April 8-11, 2010 in Accra Ghana!

Hope to see you there...

Pictures Autism Awareness Month events in Ghana...

2010-04-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

Artwork, done on Thursday's at AACT, being sold at the parents meeting

Concert in Osu by Joyful Way Incorporated

AACT field trip to the Legon Botanical Gardens

Thank you Milo for your sponsorship!

Auntie Serwah up at the podem during the seminar at the British Council

Excited caregivers during our community awareness walk

The awareness walk, escorted by the local police

This picture speaks for itself!

Dear readers,

April was sure busy, wow! It is amazing to think of all the events that were organized, the people who connected and the awareness that was inspired by the 2010 Autism Awareness Month in Ghana. Starting from the huge benefit concert at the National Conference Center, to the community walk and field trip, to the radio shows and press conference, all in all... it was a success.

My personal favorite was the field trip to the Legon Botanical Gardens with all of the students and caregivers. Metro Mass Transit very kindly gave AACT a bus at a discounted price for the day and so we all could ride together. The bus ride to the gardens was filled with singing, dancing, and drumming (This seems to be a theme here in Ghana. No matter what you are doing, there will always be drumming and dancing. Amazing!). Once there, we played all morning on the playground, drank cups of cold Milo thanks to a donation from Nestle, ate mounds of Jolof rice thanks to a parent donation, took a walk around the lake and then had another bus ride filled with singing. Needless to say, everyone was exhausted at the end of the day.

The second best event of this past month, I think, was the last event: the parents' meeting. Upon arrival, I was skeptical about the turn out. But as the time passed about 10 parents showed up, a few caregivers and then the administration from both AACT and Awaawaa2. The agenda for the meeting was to recap all of the Awareness events, thank those involved, and discuss the future of the students who are now starting to out grow the center. Unbelievably, a parent of one of the older boys arrived to the meeting prepared to start a parents organization. This organization will be responsible for creating an assisted living & vocational training center for young adults with autism. This one parent facilitated the meeting, took down names of dedicated parents, and even planned the date and time for the next meeting! Motivation and initiation, its about time. As Auntie Serwah herself even said, “A new facility for the older children should have been done yesterday.”

As the month of April comes to an end, sadly so does my time here in Ghana. In three weeks, I will be returning to the US. Its hard to believe. This will not be the end of my work with the Global Autism Project though, I am excited to say that I will be co-hosting the Paddle for Autism Awareness this summer with Molly! What a better way to recap my work here than to talk about it cities all over the USA.

I am thankful to have been a part of Autism Awareness Month in Ghana this year and hope that it was just as successful in all other parts of the world. Only 11 more months until Autism Awareness Month 2011... lets start planning to make it even more powerful! Together we can make a difference.

Casey

HAPPY AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH!

2010-04-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

As some of you may know, April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day! Hundreds of countries around the world held events on Friday and will continue to throughout the month to raise public awareness about autism.

The events in Ghana started a couple weeks ago with an awareness campaign at the Accra Mall. For three days, AACT administrative staff along with the members of the Chosen Vessel Choir were going to promote a benefit concert being held the following Sunday. Unfortunately, after the first day they were told to leave. I guess the marketing team at the mall had a particular sensitivity to singing.

On Sunday, March 28th, the Chosen Vessels Choir made of all University of Ghana students, put on a spectacular benefit concert. It was held at the International Convention Center and lasted 6 hours!! Performances ranged from skits, solos, preaching, singing, dancing, lots of clapping and a video documentary about AACT. In the end, there were over 1,000 in attendance, each paying 7 cedis for a ticket. After expenses are paid to the performers and staff, it has been said that AACT will receive the rest of the proceeds. Either way, it certainly raised awareness on a huge scale!!

Last week, Auntie Serwah and Nana Akua (Founder and Director of Awaawaa2 - pediatric speech therapy services), were interviewed on various radio stations. On Tuesday morning, when they were on Joy FM, we turned the radio on through the stereo speakers at AACT so everyone could all listen! I suggested that next year we should get a truck with megaphones and drive around town amplifying such radio programs so the entire community is able to hear it. Hey, everyone else in Ghana is doing it.

At the end of the week, I had a meeting with Salma the director of the West African Consultant Network. This is an company that has offered to partnership in the organization of a fundraiser scheduled for the 22nd of April. Essentially it would be a networking event for their staff and clients, while also raising funds for a local cause. I have attended an event like this in the past and it was quite successful. Hopefully we have the same results.

As far as caregiver trainings go... on Friday March 19th I did a training focusing on Howard Gardiner's Multiple Intelligences. To teach this I started with a game that was actually inspired by my mother(thanks mom!). The idea behind the game is memory retention. The caregivers first numbered their papers 1 - 30. For the first ten: they had to listen to 10 words and then write down as many of the words as they could remember. For the second ten: I wrote 10 words down on paper, they were allowed to look at the word for 20 seconds, then once the paper was covered, they were to write down as many as they could remember. Finally for the third ten: I unveiled a tray of 10 items, they were allowed to look and touch the items for 20 seconds, then once the items were covered, they were to write down as many as they could remember. The idea behind this game was to show them that some people work better with auditory memory while others excelled in visual or tactile memory. Obviously all relating back to the different approaches to lesson planning and teaching students with autism. Similar to past weeks, we also played a few team building games such as the human knot.

Overall, I felt like the training was successful. The caregivers seemed engaged. They asked questions, took notes, and requesting for more. All in all, I felt pretty good about it until, a certain administrative staff asked "Why are you even doing these trainings? You know that the caregivers just nod their heads but really do not understand you." Well... I had a hard time with this comment. It wasn't until last night that I found a quote that descibes how I felt about the situation:

"I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any of them."
-Mahatma Gandhi

In honor of children with autism around the world and as a member of the Global Autism Project, I will always try my hardest to provide sustainable education to communities affected by autism worldwide. In life there will always be mountains temporarily blocking your path. But this doesn't mean that the other side doesn't exist. Together we can help to change the lives of children with autism. Only together can we get over this mountains, supporting each others positive efforts.

Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Casey

2010-03-16T09:50:00.001-07:00

After a few weeks of attempting to conduct caregiver trainings, finally I was granted the time. As I have mentioned before, lecture style trainings have not been the most successful so the teaching style had to be adapted. First, we set up “class” outside. This not only created more physical space, it also was much cooler temperature wise and tended to decrease the probability of people falling asleep (yes, this is a valid concern, no matter how entertaining your presentation). Secondly, I have started each training with a 5 minute Brian Gym. Brain Gym is a technique that I learned through Multikids, the other school that I am working at here. It involves deep breathing and body moment (similar to yoga) to get the brain awake and stimulated.

The beginning week I asked, “What is behavior?” To be able to teach or model good behavior, it only make sense to first know what exactly this means. Thanks to the STAR Autism Program, we identified the ABCs of Behavior: the antecedent, the behavior, and the consequence. Then brainstormed examples of this three part series in our daily lives. While discussing, I wrote key points on a white board. Due to the outcomes of past trainings, I felt it was best if I let the caregivers take the initiative to copy down what was being discussed if the desire was there. I, by no means, will force an education on anyone. Although will also be the first to say that with education comes empowerment. Without my prompting, 4 out of the 12 caregivers present came prepared with notebooks and pencils. It was a step in the right direction.

The following weeks we have focused on positive behavior reinforcement, the idea of extinction, and Discrete Trial Training. As some of you know, these are not new concepts at AACT. The caregivers have been taught these ideas over and over again, with little degree of change. Partially due to cultural differences, but also coming back to the teacher. I feel that I have a bit of an advantage conducting trainings at AACT now versus back in July '09. I have spent many months working along side the caregivers and helping with the students. Compared to someone coming in new to Ghana and new to AACT, I have somewhat of a greater understanding of this environment as well as knowing the caregivers on a much more personal level. Therefore, I rely heavily on their participation in these trainings. I pose questions to them, let them role play, and together we brainstorm ideas of how to make concepts, such as positive behavior reinforcement, a regular routine at AACT. Conducted in this way, I feel and hope the information being given is more sustainable.

On top of Brain Gym and the more educational based lessons, I have started to introduce team building games. Stemming off of charades, we have done other activities that involved non-verbal communication, trust, memory and cooperative skills. It is amazing to see people who generally do not show very much emotion and many times are quite “relaxed” by Friday, becoming active, lively, and full of character. Creating an environment that is enjoyable makes learning more conducive. So last Friday we were told that the caregivers must clean the center instead of receiving training and literally one caregiver said to me, “I am disappointed. This is the only place where I can receive an education and today they have taken it away from me,” I was crushed. Yet it also meant that the trainings were having a positive impact.

World Autism Awareness Month events are also coming along well. This week AACT will start its awareness campaign at the Accra Mall. Other events have been added, such as a craft fair on April 10th. This idea came about from an artist that has been recently volunteering on Thursdays. This man not only donates his time to teaching the children once a week, he has also donated many of his beautiful pieces of art for the center to sell.

On a separate note, there was a wonderful thunderstorm last night. So for the first day in months, we did not see the sunshine. It was a nice change from sweating.

Sincerely,
Casey

(My apologies for the lack of pictures in this entry, I promise more next time.)

2010-02-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, is it really the 1st of March? For how slow some things tend to be here in Ghana, my time always goes so quickly!

Friday, the 6 of February was supposed to be the first day of caregiver training at AACT. Even after communicating via email with both Auntie Serwah and Auntie Baaba throughout the week about the training details, there was still a conflict. Upon arrival to AACT, I learned that Auntie Serwah had actually planned to throw herself a belated birthday party. This included music, food and drinks for the entire school day. While it was fun and a kind gesture, it did not create the most effective environment for teaching. Due to this circumstance, the training was rescheduled for the following weeks.

I left AACT that day feeling frustrasted. Frustrated at the lack of communication between administration and volunteers, as well as the lack of attention being given to the students. It was then that it hit me. So many volunteers have come through AACT to do caregivers trainings. So many volunteers have addressed these issues in lecture style classes. Although all of them have some level of positive outcome, the real net gain is small. How do we change this?! It is clear from the long range effect, or lack there of, that these type of teaching may not be the best way to reach everyone. Therefore we, the teachers, must change our teaching style in order to accommodate our “students.”

Instead of a lecture that following Friday we played charades. For anyone who is not familiar, this is a game where you have to act out a specific event, character, or action without using any spoken language. Then your team mates have to guess what you are trying to convey. Not knowing how this was going to turn out, I made about 20 different cards, divided the teams and crossed my fingers. After the first few warm-ups, the caregivers were into it! Not only were they cheering for their teams, they were actually acting with expression.

Once the game was over. The question was posed: “What was the purpose of playing?” Silence. So adapting my question, I asked them to how it felt when their respective teams were unable to guess what the actor was trying to portray. “It was frustrating,” “it was annoying,” “it made them mad not being able to verbally communicate a message.” Exactly.

The majority of the students at AACT have not developed verbal communication skills, nor have they learned any other form of effective communication. It is my hope that the caregivers now have a better understanding of how these children feel everyday of their lives. If nothing else though, the game has now been carried out to an unexpected level. Since that Friday, one specific caregiver has taken it upon himself to set up the game every week. After our lessons, he has run a charades game. Last week he even brought prizes for both the team who won and the team who lost!

Besides charades, there are a few new items to report. First of all, I want to say how proud I am of the caregivers and Auntie Baaba for initiating the use of PECS during their lunch time. Right before the holiday break Auntie Baaba made some pictures of pure water bags, spoons and forks. At first, I was unsure about how effective it was going to be just due to the inconsistency of their use. Although, to my amazement, the caregivers have gotten quite good with this system and the children have really responded. The majority of students will now request these items either verbally or with the pictures! Its a great step towards teaching communication that now needs to be expanded.

Auntie Baaba and Auntie Serwah also decided to change around the classrooms. Where the older students were is now where the primary class is and visa versa. This makes so much difference. It is much less distracting for the young ones and also gives them more space, with direct access to the bathrooms and kitchen.

Planning for Autism Awareness Month is also progressing! The following are the tentative dates and events planned as of last Friday, February 26th with Auntie Baaba and Auntie Serwah:

17th – 19th March - Autism Awareness Table at Accra Mall with Joyful Way Inc.

20th March - Mandatory AACT Parent's Meeting

28th March - Autism Awareness Concert at the National Theater Hosted by Joyful Way Inc.

1st April - Press Conference

2nd April- World Autism Awareness Day

9th April - AACT Community Awareness Walk

17th April - Informational Seminar at British Council

22nd April - Benefit Concert in Osu

24th April - All Parents of Children with Autism Meeting at Multikids

Its going to be a wild month of events!

As always, thank you for reading.
Casey

2010-01-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

Its been two weeks back in Ghana and things have picked up right where they left off. Before leaving from the U.S. I had the pleasure of meeting with Prof. Joel Arick, the author of STAR and FACTER autism therapy programs. After explaining my background and role in Ghana, he very kindly agreed to donate some items to the schools here. To my utter amazement, he was able to acquire the entire first and second levels of STAR, and the FACTER program with 3 training DVDs. I was blown away by his kindness as well as endlessly thankful towards STAR Autism Support for their generous donation.

As mentioned in the previous entry, my time here will now be shared. During the week, I will be doing speech therapy at Coledic (soon to be Multikids) as well as helping with the development of a program called Towards Independence. This is an hour long class everyday geared toward teenagers with autism who are in need of enhancing their life skills. So far we have done lessons on dish washing, going to restaurants, talking on the phone, times of day and telling the time, useful measurements, watering the garden, ect. No only are we teaching the students, it also gives me a chance to teach some of the other teachers here about lesson planning and essential adaptations and/or additions for students with autism in regards to curriculum. This increases the program's sustainability.

Using the STAR program guidelines and training DVDs, I'll be doing staff trainings at AACT every Friday. The first training, next Friday, will be focusing on positive behavior reinforcements, something that I feel particularly passionate about.

On top of all of this, International Autism Awareness Day, the 2nd of April, is only about 9 weeks away!!! This may sound like a long time to start preparing although not to Ghana. Over the next 2 months, I plan to really focus a lot of my spare time (haha) on networking and planning for events.

As for my re-entry back into Ghana... well according to most, I have lost all my tan and apparently ate too many Christmas cookies. Ah, it's nice to be back.

Many thanks for reading.
Casey

P.S. Good luck to the Ghanaian national soccer(football) team as they face Egypt in the African Cup of Nations Tournament finals this Sunday.

A New Year in Ghana

2010-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

I first must apologize for the lapse of time since last writing. I hope the holiday season has brought you and your loved ones an abundance of health and happiness. Since the last update, there have been changes to my role as country director for the Global Autism Project as well as many new developments at AACT.

Back in October and November, AACT had an incredible influx of new volunteers. From US study abroad students to Ghanaian community members, the center was consistently flooded with bodies. For the most part, the increased ratio of caregivers to students was beneficial, especially when focusing on the outcome of new program developments. The most influential volunteer-initiated growth was the introduction of an adapted physical education program. This not only proved to be an essential break and energy release for the students, it also gave the caregivers a chance to teach in a more alternative environment.

My personal favorite addition is swimming Friday's. After a large clean-out session of the center, we found many usefully toys and resources, one of them being an unused, blowup pool. Unfortunately though, due to the size of the pool, only the younger two classes are able to safely use it. Just as every student learns differently, not every teacher is able to thrive in the same environment. Through these added programs, we found newly excelling students and caregivers.

Throughout this fall, AACT continued the ongoing process of fund raising and increasing public awareness. Auntie Serwah and I presented to the 120 member University of Ghana choral group about autism and AACT which lead to them choosing he center as their focus for an annual fundraiser. We set up booths at two different bazaars, one more monetarily successful than the other.

As a representative for AACT, I was also given the opportunity to attend the National Inclusion Forum. This conference brought together teachers, parents, doctors, government officials, and any other professional working in the field of special education. The idea was to learn about current policies and adapt them to accommodate all people with any disability, including learning disabilities. This forum was a first of it's kind and needs to happen more frequently in order to provide these children with the education they deserve.

So what does 2010 look like for the Global Autism Project in Ghana? For the next few months, one of our main focuses will be helping to organize events for April, International Autism Awareness Month. Using previously established connections in conjunction with a newly formed parent support group, increased program development, and heightened volunteer communication we will strive to put autism in Ghana on an international radar.

Over the past 6 months, I have worked hard to really highlight the positive growth within AACT. However, this does not always come easy. Just like anything else in this world, not all of our plans or proposed programs work perfectly. In fact sometimes what works in one environment, will not work at all in another. I have learned a great deal about flexibility, not only within my own expectations but also accepting criticisms of programs, trainings, and the lack of follow-through.

On a more personal level, I was asked to become a part of Ghana's first "all-inclusive" school, COLEDIC [The Communication Learning Difficulties & Counseling Center], as a part time Speech Therapist and Autism Specialist. My presence at this school has allowed me to help AACT increase their involvement with a population of special education advocates in the local community. Originally, my position as the country director of the Global Autism Project in Ghana was going to end in the beginning of December. This has since changed. Thanks to agreements between COLEDIC and GAP, I have been asked to return in mid-January and continue in the effort to help the development of resources available to people with autism in Ghana.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading our blog over the past months and hope you will continue to follow throughout 2010!

Sincerely,
Casey

Back to School

2009-09-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

As the air cools and leaves begin to change their color in the US, the sun begins to burn brighter here in Ghana. Similar to the US, September not only begins a change in weather, it also signifies the reopening of a new school year. During the summer months, AACT had about 15 students who regularly attended the center with just about one caregiver for every child. Many of the other students traveled with their families or stayed home with other siblings on vacation. Over the past few weeks, all of these students have returned. Now a typical day at AACT has about 25 students, being taught by 12 caregivers, 3 directors, and a few volunteers. Not including the daily visitors, there are over 40 moving bodies in the center on a regular basis, at least half of whom have autism.

Due to increased attendance, it became necessary to find more effective ways to keep groups of students engaged. With support from Auntie Baaba and help from two new volunteers, we put together a more structured morning routine for the middle classroom. We choose this room to focus on first, because they typically have the most students with the least amount of caregivers. The routine involves the students identifying “who is here today” by moving pictures of themselves to the appropriate area, going through the day of the week, month, year, and then identifying the weather. So far, it seems to be working well!

There has been a lot of other excitement over the past few weeks. On September 8th, a television series called Impact Africa came to film an episode at AACT. This included footage of the students activities and interviews with Auntie Serwah and I. Last week, the Rotary Club came to present a donation to the center. There were over 25 members who came for the ceremony. It was a great opportunity for them to learn more about children with autism and the services provided at AACT.

On top of all of this, I have been continuing correspondence with a variety of others. Caroline Pongo, the creator of a local educational puppet theater, came to the center last Thursday. Her and I discussed getting the students involved with a puppet making workshop, as well as planning a performance at the center. Stacey Reynolds, an Occupational Therapy professor at Virginia Commonwealth University has agreed to include AACT on their annual service trip next May. This is especially exciting because there are currently no Occupational Therapists in Ghana. This coming Monday, I have a meeting with Nana Ocran, the Director of Education at the Ghana National Museum, to begin setting up educational programs at the museum modified for children with autism.

In regards to administrative tasks, I have been involved with developing job descriptions and creating an employee code of conduct. These will be compiled into an employee handbook and be available in the future for new employees. As volunteers come and go, we have been asking for their feedback as well, in order to continuously improve the current volunteer handbook. The point of all of this is documentation. Keeping records, putting job rules and regulations on paper, tracking the number of volunteers in a given time period, etc. It all helps to strengthen an organization’s permanence.

Last but not least, the Caregiver Challenge, a fundraiser started about a week and a half ago, has already raise 130GHc (about equal to about $90 US Dollars)! Auntie Serwah has created a bank account that is specifically for donations. The goal is to not touch this money until there is enough to build, buy, or rent an additional, desperately needed, facility.

All in all, things are progressing! And as much as I miss the beautiful fall weather, the warm sun doesn’t feel too bad. Thanks again for reading.

Until next time,
Casey

2009-09-02T03:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

It has been a great couple weeks at AACT!

Back during the first week of the service project, Brad and Lori took baseline data on functional communication opportunities. Their data was taken during snack time on 15 separate students. According to the observations and despite dedicated staff, the baseline showed minimal to no spontaneous communication. After three weeks of training, making communication aids, and modeling effective techniques, we found their spontaneous communication rose to an average of about 6 opportunities during a 5 minute period. Over the past weeks, I have taken follow-up data. In most cases, the students’ opportunities to functionally communicate had stayed consistent, while a couple others actually increased. This was great news! The caregivers are continuing to use their acquired skills and resources and the students are learning meaningful communication, slowly but surely.

Along these lines, back in July the Global Autism Project volunteers made many new PECS pictures available in each classroom. These are proving to be very useful, especially within the youngest classroom. In addition to this and after a meeting with Auntie Baaba & Auntie Serwah, we found it necessary to being creating visual schedules for each student. With the help from one student, one caregiver and Auntie Baaba, we made 14 individual schedules along with an extra sheets of various motivational pictures. Providing the caregivers use the time tables effectively and the students positively respond, a new PECS organizational system has been put into place to make it easier to create more of these in the future.

On Friday, July 21st Auntie Serwah and I presented to 31 New York University study abroad students about volunteering at AACT. It was organized by their academic director and included many other Ghanaian schools, NGOs, and businesses looking for volunteers. Personally, this was a remarkable opportunity. Just five years ago, I was that same study abroad student being first introduced to the beautiful country of Ghana.

Last week, I began to focus on fund raising ideas. With families in and out of this center every day looking for services and one serious traffic problem in Accra, there is a true need for a second facility. Keeping every day needs in mind, I anticipate raising enough money to fund an entire new center will be a long process. With that said, we decided to start fund raising ASAP. The first fundraiser, the Caregiver Challenge, will begin this Friday. The objective behind this is to have the staff compete to see who can raise the most amount of money in one month. There will be a chart displayed publicly that tracks each caregivers progress and an overall total. As incentive the person who raises the most will earn 20% of the grand total, with second and third places also receiving a portion and certificates of accomplishment.

Other planned fundraisers include professional days at the center, monthly benefit dinners, and a Walk for Autism Awareness in April. The key behind all of these is that they rely on a local population. Everything that I have been doing here is done with the idea of sustainability first. Always asking: Will the center be able to maintain the work the volunteers have been doing in the future? Will they use these resources, trainings, and fund raising ideas to continuously enhance the services provided? For now the answer is yes. According to our data, although only officially on communication opportunities, there has been a heightening of motivation to work more effectively as a center.

As for me, life in Ghana is exciting as always. Over the past two months, I have already learned more both personally and professionally than I anticipated for my entire stay here (including a tolerance for geckos in my bedroom and a serious love for plantains in any form).

Take care,
Casey

2009-08-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

It’s hard to believe it has already been 5 weeks in Ghana. Despite feeling more accustom to the routine, every day presents new challenges and unexpected obstacles (such as shoes breaking in mid step and unannounced bus route changes). On the other hand, I also am constantly blown away by Ghanaian generosity and the beauty of this country.

This past Wednesday, I had the privilege of finally meeting Auntie Serwah, the founder and director of AACT. She had left for the US right before our service trip, to accept the Heartspring Award. This is an award that recognizes innovation and creativity in special education worldwide. There are only ten recipients of this award every year. From what I have seen and heard, she deserves it. Congratulations Auntie Serwah and Akwaaba (welcome – back)! For more information about the Heartspring Award check out http://www.heartspring.org/award/.

I really focused this week on modeling positive reinforcement. Not just here in Ghana, but around the world we tend to focus on negative aspects within society. Watch the news for ten minutes and there is guaranteed to be stories about violence, corruption, dishonestly, disrespect, etc. As a global society, we need to shift our attention. Encourage people with stories of success; inspire improvement through positive innovations. This is the general philosophy behind positive reinforcement. We need to make sure the students are being encouraged to participate (not yelled at), following through when asked to complete a task (versus letting students run away) and then praising them for listening to our directions. By modeling positive reinforcement throughout the school day, the students are being given the praise they deserve while also providing naturally occurring examples for the caregivers to learn from.

When not working directly with the students, caregivers, or completing administrative tasks, I continued to help spread awareness about the centre. Through the recommendation of a German Occupational therapist, who visited the centre a couple weeks ago, I have gotten in touch with a woman named Caroline Pongo. She is the creator of Beans & Gari, an educational puppet theater performance. Our hope is to have her bring the show to the centre come September.

Every day there are new developments with the centre. With Auntie Serwah back from Heartspring, she has made a point to emphasize the importance of attitude. Baaba has just completed an Autism course and plans to train the staff in the coming weeks. Nana Akua, a speech therapist, has the next couple weeks off of work and has said that she would like to help brainstorm ways to fundraise. Never a dull moment here at AACT!

…or in Ghana for that matter! Yesterday, I was invited to attend a traditional Ghanaian funeral. This was an all day event, filled with dancing, drumming, eating delicious Banku & stew, while trying to stay cool under a large Baobab tree. I crawled into bed last night exhausted.

Thanks for reading!
Casey

2009-08-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

New interactive way to teach number identification!

Saturday August 8, '09

2009-08-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Once again, another busy week here in Ghana…

Every morning at the centre, the students sit in a circle and routinely sing good morning to each other and participate in a variety of other basic welcoming songs. It is a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn appropriate social interactions and communication. Equally as important, it is a time for the staff to be modeling and positively reinforcing this behavior. This week I was able to participate in the morning circle not only to help with these goals, but also as a way to continuously build the relationships between myself, the staff and students.

One of the goals of the Global Autism Project is to also help establish more connections for AACT. Ultimately, these are local professionals and community members, as to keep with our sustainable practices. Although sometimes due to limited resources this is not as readily available. To my knowledge the centre does not have an occupational therapist and in fact no one knows if there even are any in Ghana. So I turned to the internet, where I quickly found a couple different US universities that had conducted OT service projects in Ghana. The most overwhelming response was from Stacey Reynolds, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University Occupational Therapy Department. This past May, she came to Ghana with a team of students. They were involved with a few different service projects, but mainly all relating to OT services. This week we have started communicating about how they could most effectively help AACT, while also understanding the idea of sustainability.

Along the same line, I have been exchanging emails with one of the academic directors of the School for International Training – Ghana. 5 years ago, when I first came to Ghana, he was actually one of my directors. He works in conjunction with the University of Ghana and has shown immediate interest in our efforts to raise autism awareness.

On Monday and Tuesday afternoons, Jessi (an Ikando volunteer studying special education at Vanderbilt) and I conducted trainings on effective lesson planning. This involved basic lesson planning order of operations, as well as brainstorming with the staff on creative ways to teach these lessons. Throughout the week we not only saw the staff utilizing some of these ideas, there was one caregiver that came the next day with an entire week of lessons plans written out for her student!

Thursday, two art students from the University of Ghana came to conduct an art therapy session with all the students. Then on Friday, our good friend Louis Wonder conducted a drumming and dance workshop with all the students and staff. Every day there are new families walking into the centre, interested in services. There is actually such a need, that AACT currently has a waiting list for students.

Thanks for reading!
Casey

Saturday August 1, '09

2009-07-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Lori, Brad and Alicia all flew back to the US. It was sad to see them go, but know they accomplished an incredible amount over the course of their three weeks in Ghana.

Work started with the development and implementation of preference assessments. These will be used to determine potential reinforcers for communication opportunities and academic work. In collaboration with Baaba, we helped to create an afternoon activity schedule. This not only gives the students more structure, it also puts selected staff in leadership positions, increasing overall accountability.

Throughout the trip, Lori and Brad put together workshops for the staff. These included trainings on the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), and Functional Behavior Assessments. Along with the workshops, we all helped to make the necessary PECS pictures cards and provided consultation on their use. The BI Capture was also set up. The AACT staff was taught how to use it when evaluating problem behavior or modeling effective techniques.

Last, but certainly not least, Alicia built four specially modified workstations. The materials used were all locally acquired, in order for more of them to be created by AACT staff in the future. Needless to say, Lori, Brad and Alicia were fantastic on many levels. They will certainly be missed here in Ghana.

As for the past week...

Baaba came into work Monday morning with a mission to clean. Every day we choose one room or space to tackle. Broken, chewed, unuseful toys were thrown away. Selected toys and teaching tools, including all stuffed animals, were washed. Once inventory was taken, we were able to make every child there own set of supplies. Each pouch included a new box of crayons, colored pencils, a pen, a pencil, sharpener, and eraser. The individual classrooms were also given the appropriate toys and teaching materials according to the needs of the students.

Once again, a personal thank you to Lori, Brad and Alicia for being excellent volunteers. Can't wait to work with you again next summer in India!

Going now to enjoy some delicious grilled plantain.
Casey

Friday, July 24

2009-07-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

This is Lori again. We had a very exciting day today at the centre! In the morning Brad helped the centre with evaluating a new potential student. I went with the Casey to print out all of our training summaries as well as the graph showing the number of functional communication statements made by students during snack before we started training and after we started training. The data was very impressive! Casey will be taking data a week or so after we leave so we can measure if this change in staff behavior (increased opportunities for communication) is maintained. Considering the enthusiasm by the staff over the impact this has had on the students, I believe that this change will be maintained after we are gone.

In the afternoon, Brad and I did our third Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) workshop with the staff. The response from the staff was amazing! In all three workshops the staff had excellent questions and were really beginning to understand the functions of behavior. After one of the workshops, two staff members came up to Brad and I to tell us this was the best training they had received in five years working with kids with Autism. They told us that often times people in the community turn to them for answers about what is Autism and how can Autism be treated and they are often unsure of the answer. They said the workshops from this training trip helped them understand Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis so that they could answer the questions of people in their community. One of the staff members even told us that every day since the beginning of our visit she has gone home and shared with her family what she had learned from us that day. All of the comments from the workshops were incredibly powerful, but these in particular were very touching and meaningful to us. It is such an honor to be able to provide knowledge and information to individuals who are so dedicated to their work and hungry to learn more.

During the FBA workshops we also showed the staff how to use the BI Capture. In the morning, the staff set up the BI Capture (with a little guidance from us) and used the BI Capture to get videos of a student’s biting behavior. The supervisor at the centre will review these videos with the staff to determine the function of the behavior and be able to come up with an effective intervention plan.

Alicia finished modifying the desks today! They look absolutely amazing and are the best desks I have seen for Autism intervention. The pull-out drawer leaves space for data taking and lesson plans without placing too much onto the desktop. The beads make data collection easy which allows for faster teaching. There is even a spot on the desk where the reinforcer is placed so that staff does not forget to determine what the child will be working for before beginning teaching. The staff was very excited about these new desks and we look forward to their feedback as they begin using them.

After our day at the centre, Brad and I had a drum workshop with a local drummer. This was a truly remarkable experience! We sat in his drum workshop (where you can watch cattle passing by) and played our African drums together! Then we had a traditional ceremony where liquor is poured on the floor (and a little on the drums) as a blessing. I have to say, I have never had an experience quite like it!

Alicia and Casey went to the market and then met us for dinner at the vegan restaurant (again) where we had some delicious veggie stir fry, pasta and yam fries. I am very sad to say goodbye! I look forward to keeping in touch with the staff at the centre as many of them want to continue to learn more about Autism and ABA. I cannot express how meaningful this trip has been to me. Being able to see an Autism centre in another part of the world and collaborate with the staff there has been a great pleasure and wonderful learning experience.

As always, thanks for reading! I look forward to sharing future trips with you!

Afua (this is my Ghanian name!)

Day 17: Thursday July 23, '09

2009-07-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

Today we all worked to wrap up all the many projects started over the course of the past few weeks.

Alicia finished adding the drawers, affixed a divider to create a designated spot for a reinforcement item, and attached a wire with locally made beads as a counter for easier data collection. All together she was able to make four complete desk and chair sets, specifically modified for students with autism and their caregivers/therapists. While back in the US, she will be working on the instruction manual to send to AACT, in order for the staff to create more of these desks in the future.

Brad and Lori spent the morning making sure all of the training sessions were well documented and the appropriate certificates were available. Once the paperwork was completed, we ran over to Busy Internet to print out a hard copy for AACT's new training log binder. I spent the rest of the day continuing to help the caregivers run the students programs, as well as be a human shield for the desks that still had spots of wet paint.

In the evening, Brad and Lori had the opportunity to partake in a traditional drumming ceremony and receive their own drums made by Lewis, a local Akuma Village musician. We all then enjoyed another wonderful Ghanaian dinner.

Casey

Day 16: Wenesday July 22, '09

2009-07-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

The week seems to be flying by here in Ghana. It's hard to believe that it's already halfway over. This morning Alicia went right to work on her desks, adding the last coats of paint and beginning to add the drawers. Lori continued to organize the many PECS picture cards and Brad worked on the training logs. During all of this, I met with Baba to begin planning a professional open house and information session at the centre. The idea behind this is to not only raise awareness about autism, but also introducing them to local services available at AACT. After our meeting, I was able to speak with Dr. Marbell, the head of the Neurological Development Clinic at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, about attending this event with some of the other doctors. She was extremely receptive to this idea.
After a delicious lunch of fresh mango and pineapple, I had the opportunity to sit in on Brad and Lori's second afternoon of training. Once again, they did an excellent job presenting on Functional Behavioral Assessments and using the BI Capture. While the training was happening, the rest of the AACT staff and volunteers successfully ran the new afternoon programs for the second day.
In the evening, we headed to Osu to do some more souvenir shopping and eat dinner. As Lori and Alicia were getting beautiful Ghanaian dresses specially altered, Brad and I enjoyed some great Lebanese food.

Until next time...

Casey

Day 15: July 21, 2009

2009-07-22T04:06:00.000-07:00

Greetings and salutations,

Today was another day jam packed with work and steady progress. Alicia is nearly finished with her desk project; when finished the centre will have four retrofitted desks at their disposal. The new design of these desks will make instruction and data collection more effective and efficient.
I spent my morning working with a staff member to review, revise, and develop a number of new training and assessment documents. These documents included a PECS and PRT procedure poster for each of the classrooms, an A-B-C chart for use with functional behavior assessments, and a brand new preference assessment worksheet. This collaboration was an excellent example of how the Global Autism Project works to empower existing resources within the centre. Lori, a staff member, and I spent the afternoon conducting a workshop on functional behavior assessments. Again, it was great to work side by side with staff member who had so much knowledge and experience to share with the staff and us.
Casey spent her morning drafting an AACT volunteer questionnaire; this document will be used in the continuous refinement of volunteer roles, duties, expectations, etc. Casey’s afternoon was split across training a staff member in PECS and helping to facilitate the newly created afternoon structured play activities. While giving the staff and students something new to do, these activities aim to provide staff and students with continued opportunities to utilize PECS and PRT.
Our evening was filled with a quick trip to the National Cultural Centre (place where all the souvenirs are sold) where the girls picked up some last minute gifts: wooden spoons, a wooden boar (which was actually a rhino), and jewelry. After this, we had another delicious catered dinner courtesy of a friend of the project. We were joined by a number of volunteers that are also working with the centre.
Tomorrow we will continue to focus on finishing up our works in progress…
Thanks for reading.

Respect,

brad herron

Day 14: Monday July 20, 2009

2009-07-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hello beloved readers!

Today was a wonderful day at the centre! Alicia got a first coat of paint on ALL of the desks and chairs that she is working on modifying (they will be set up to create a more efficient way for the teachers to take data while teaching). They look amazing!

We have found another project for Alicia (like she was not busy enough!). We will hopefully be modifying another desk to become a wheeling cart that will hold the BI Capture. This way the staff can wheel the BI Capture wherever it needs to be! Alicia made a trip to the hardware store but as of now the wheels have not been found. We hope for more success in the future!
Brad, Casey and I tackled the task of getting the BI Capture up, running and in use today. I am happy to report it was a success! We were able to teach a staff member at the centre how to record videos of any problematic behaviors during his teaching session. He did a phenomenal job both getting the videos and teaching! We will use the videos taken today for the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) workshops that will happen on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon this week. During these workshops we will also teach the staff how to use the BI Capture to improve teaching and determine the function of problematic behaviors.

At snack time today I was overjoyed to see the staff members setting up language opportunities for the students (what we worked on in the workshops last week). In the preschool classroom, one teacher had all the snacks and each child needed to request the snack (either with a picture card or verbally) before receiving it. In the other two classrooms each staff member set up repeated language opportunities for the student he/she was working with. It is incredible to see the increase in spontaneous communication for these students in only a week!
We also worked together with the staff (and some students) to make more PECS picture cards. We used a list generated by the staff of all the preferred items/activities for the students using PECS and made all of the picture cards requested. The staff will be putting together communication books for each student who will be using PECS and there will also be picture cards located in different areas of the school so staff will be able to easily set up language opportunities throughout the school day.

On Thursday we will be presenting to a group of local doctors (thanks to Casey!) on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We are very excited about this opportunity to continue to increase awareness and knowledge of ASD in Ghana, especially within the medical community.
After a productive and exhilarating day at the centre, Casey, Alicia, Brad and I traveled to circle market where we did some fabric shopping on the way to our tro tro. We had an excellent meal at our local vegan restaurant and ended the day by relaxing on our patio listening to the waves.

Looking forward to another great day at the centre tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!

Lori

Day 13: Sunday, July 19, 2009

2009-07-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

The roosters went off bright and early this morning to ensure that Molly and company were awake to see her off to the airport. Taking back only one plastic tub and her “Ghana Go Home” bag, she assured that she loved us for 10,000 years and bade us farewell. Until next week in New York!

After dropping Molly off at the airport, Brad, Lori and I ventured off to the National Museum. The Museum was small albeit informative, as there is a wealth of history here in Ghana.
Our next stop was the National Theatre. Unfortunately it was closed because there are no shows currently going on, but we were still able to walk around and take photos of the famous male and female drums on display.

We ended our day in Osu with time well spent working and enjoying tasty Chinese food at Tip Top Restaurant. For some reason the stir-fry noodles and vegetables still haven’t gotten old yet.
Back to work we go tomorrow. We are all really excited for our last week in Ghana, and are looking forward to hitting the ground running…there is still plenty of training and desk making to be had!

Stay Classy!

Alicia

Day 12: Saturday July 18, 2009

2009-07-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings and salutations,

Our Saturday began as Lori, Alicia, and myself were awoken at the crack of dawn (we had spent the night in camping in the rain forest) by our park guide in Kumasi National Park. He had arrived to take us on a hike to the park’s skywalk. We reached the skywalk after a short hike up and through the park. The skywalk is a series of bridges and platforms that are suspended across the canopy of the rain forest. The walk was exhilarating, an excellent way to start the day and yes, we all made it across.

After this we began the trip back to Kaneshie Station in Accra. Once we arrived back at Akuma Village we split up, with Molly and Casey heading out to wrap up some loose ends, while the rest of recuperated by doing laundry, napping, and cleaning the bathroom (thanks Lori!).

We sent Molly off in style by having a roof top beverage at the ultra swanky Citizen Kofi in Osu. Molly, who was still recovering from a minor stomach bug, indulged herself by consuming truffle-infused mashed potatoes; according to Casey these potatoes were “incredibly amazing.” After this we headed to Mama Mia for some delicious pasta. We ended the evening early and got some much needed rest, that is until Casey and Molly inadvertently woke me while trying to detain a potentially lethal gecko. Luckily it escaped the pokes from Casey’s mosquito net pole and vanished into someone’s luggage.

Our final week is sure to be a whirlwind...

Respect,

brad herron

Day 11: Friday July 19, 2009

2009-07-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

We woke up Friday morning to an overcast coast (surprisingly, reminded me of Oregon). Lori and Brad took off for an early run, as Molly, Alicia and I assessed our stomachs. It had now been about a day since Alicia or I had really eaten anything substantial, so breakfast was sounding like a great idea to me. While enjoying the roof top view and attempting to eat a meal, it dawned on us that Lori and Brad had been gone quite a while. It seems some how, their “loop” run turned into an hour and a half lost sight-seeing adventure around Cape Coast, ending in a cab ride back to the hotel.

Alicia, Brad and Lori then went to Cape Coast Castle. This is one of the old castles used in the West African slave trade that now runs guided tours to the public. One week prior, President Obama had visited and presented a commemorative plaque to this castle. They then met Molly and I at the Coconut Beach Resort. Here we all enjoyed lunch on the ocean.

That night, the fearless three, headed out to Kakum National Park to spend the night on a tree platform in the Ghanaian rainforest. Unfortunately, Molly and I were still not feeling great and made the executive decision to spend another night in the beautiful Sammo.

When in Ghana….

Casey

Day 10: Thursday July 16, 2009

2009-07-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Our trip today to Cape Coast was a bit delayed, as Casey and I came down with a bout of food poisoning from dinner the night before. I have never had food poisoning before, and I doubt that it will ever be like it was today ever again. After some due diligence, we realized that it was from the vegetarian pizza that we shared the night before at dinner. Looks like we won’t be making that mistake again!

We left for Cape Coast in the late afternoon and traveled via the “American Ford Car.” It was quite a luxury to say the least, complete with a nice interior and air conditioning. Upon arriving in Cape Coast we checked into the Samo Guest House. Casey and I spent most of the remainder of the evening in our guest house room trying to recover, while Lori, Brad and Molly had dinner at the roof top restaurant.

Hopefully we can pick up steam again tomorrow and visit the Cape Coast Castle, among the many other local attractions here.

Stay Classy!

Alicia

Day 9: Wednesday July 15, 2009

2009-07-16T04:25:00.000-07:00

Salutations from Accra!

This is Lori. We had a truly amazing Wednesday! It was excursion day at AACT; so we all packed into a bus and traveled to the University of Lagion’s Botanical Gardens. The children were wonderful on the bus ride, although traffic was occasionally a challenge. We arrived to the botanical gardens where we were given a tour of the grounds. We enjoyed a boat ride in a small lagoon (well, Alicia enjoyed it while Brad and I paddled the boat). We also went with the children and staff at AACT to see various farm animals including goats and chickens. Some of the children enjoyed chasing the chickens.

At the botanical gardens there was an amazing playground. The children (and adults) enjoyed a fantastic seesaw that went up high and could spin around (I enjoyed trying it out!). There were other seesaws, slides, swings, and cars that the children could peddle. Everyone enjoyed playing for hours! I also witnessed several staff members creating communication opportunities during mealtime and on the playground (something we discussed in our workshops earlier this week).
Lewis, a local drummer who volunteers time at the centre, played drums for the children both at the centre before we left for the field trip and at the botanical gardens. He even played on the bus ride home. It felt like a party bus as music was played and staff and children were dancing and clapping the entire ride home.

Brad and I recently finished our first staff workshops on teaching communication using PECS and Pivotal Response Treatments (PRT). I was overwhelmed by the quality of questions and comments the staff had during this workshop. I also enjoyed one of the most interesting conversations I have ever had on perceptions of autism in various communities and the challenges of working with individuals with of autism. I found it very interesting that the challenges the staff mentioned at AACT are very similar to challenges I have faced working at various centers in the US. Some of the challenges they mentioned were raising awareness about autism within the community so that families would be able to bring their children into the community without fear of judgment. They also mentioned that training parents and making sure that intervention is consistent across home and school is often a challenge. Selected the best intervention and teaching methods for each child is another challenge they mentioned.
This trip has been an incredible learning experience for me as I have now been able to see that autism is the same in other parts of the world and that individuals who dedicate their time to improve the lives of individuals with autism often face similar challenges all over the world.
After our excursion we enjoyed some more delicious Italian food at a local restaurant called Mamma Mia. We then visited a sky lounge that overlooks the city. It looked like any place you would visit in the US. There are many times that I will be in a place such as a restaurant or a lounge here and forget where I am so much so that I am surprised when I step outside to see the large street gutters and vendors walking by. AACT is one of those places. I often forget that I am in a developing country as I feel like this centre could be anywhere in the US. They are individuals who are dedicated to research based interventions for children with autism in a place where it often perceived that the cause of autism is an evil spirit possessing the individual.

Tomorrow we will be visiting a place called Cape Coast!

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Day 8: July 14

2009-07-15T02:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Brad,

We had another busy day at the centre, working with the staff to develop and implement a preference assessment for all of the students. The preference assessment will be used to gain some insight into what motivates each student. We will then use these "motivators" as reinforces for appropriate communication and academic demands.

Lori and I also continued with the PECS and PRT trainings that we had started on Monday. The staff responded amazingly, jumping into the demonstration and showing that these skills are like many that they are already using. We are confident that the staff will be able to apply these approaches to their interactions with the students.

Alicia continues to make progress with her project by having completed all of the sanding. In addition, she started painting (with a color scheme of grey for the legs and blue for the tops) the desks.

After handing out the certificates of achievement to the local staff we headed back to our village to prepare for our personally cooked meal. Before the meal we worked up an appetite by taking a walk to Independence Square. We took in all of the sights, the memorial arch and the conference centre, which are really stunning. Back to the meal, through a mutual friend we had an amazing typical Ghanaian meal that consisted of a pasta with seasonings, jolof rice (similar to spanish rice), and a salad of cabbage, potatoes, and salad cream. This was all topped off with an amazing orange crepe dessert that I hear was incredibly delicious (there was no vegan option, so I had more jolof).

Tomorrow we are heading out on an excursion to the botanical gardens. Lewis, the official drummer of the Global Autism Project will be joining us to provide a drumming workshop for the students. This is going to be great!

Respect,

brad "kofi" herron

Day 7: Monday July 13, 2009

2009-07-13T10:16:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Ghana. This is Casey, the new country director for the Global Autism Project. I am thrilled to have come back to Ghana after studying here five years ago. Today, I went to the center for the first time. It was immediately clear, that this place was special. The many staff and volunteers all arrived with smiles and ready to help make a difference in these kids lives.

As Molly introduced me to everyone, Brad and Lori got right to work. Over the past week, they have been organizing training sessions for the staff of AACT. Today they presented the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), as well as facilitated an amazing discussions on the topic of autism.

Later in the morning, Molly and I got the privilege of meeting with Nana Akua Owusu. She is the speech and language pathologist for the center, who also runs a private practice and an NGO. It was exciting to start brainstorming with her about our work together in these coming months.

While all this was happening, Alicia was hard at work designing and building the draws for the center's desks! With this said, it was an incredibly productive day for all of us here. And what a better way to end the day than fresh pineapple and a bag of vanilla fanice (best ice cream in the world).

Casey

Day 6: Sunday, July, 12, 2009

2009-07-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Market and the Football Stadium - Today we started our day with a slow breakfast overlooking the ocean at the Akuma Village. The banana pancakes were especially good today, along with the fresh squeezed pineapple juice.

After breakfast we headed over to the National Cultural Centre, where the haggling began! Molly, Lori, Casey, Brad and I were able to find many local crafts and gifts for our friends back at home. Lori won the best bargain award today, with the acquisition of her solid wood elephant stool for 25 Cedis, instead of the initially suggested price of 50 Cedis. We attended a football match with local teams Mirren versus Chelsea. The crowd wasn't completely what I I was hoping for because the stadium was a bit empty, but it was still a good game nonetheless.

Dinner commenced with the five of us luckily being able to fit into one taxi whilst en route to Champs for Mexican food.

Stay Classy!

Alicia

Day 5: Saturday, July 11

2009-07-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Obama-mania capital of the world today! Everyone is thrilled to death with Obama’s choice to visit Ghana for his first visit to Africa as U.S. President! We decided to head to the beach last night to mostly avoid the mass hysteria and absolute pandemonium that was expected to ensue as Air Force One hit the ground. Literally, every single Ghanaian we spoke with had planned to head to the airport to greet President Obama and his family.

We got to watch his helicopters fly overhead from the beach during our African dancing lesson. We danced for him, and I am confident that he enjoyed it! His message to Africa was simple yet inspiring and reflected the values of the Global Autism Project. Obama, like the Global Autism Project feel that there is a great amount of potential and promise in Africa. We particularly enjoyed hearing him say, "But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by — it's whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change." in his speech to Ghanaians today.

The Global Autism Project is committed to being not an AID organization, providing a simplistic short term solution, but in building the capacity for transformational change for the lives of children with autism, not only in Ghana and Africa, but all over the world as well. It was refreshing and inspiring to hear these ideals that guide our work from arguably the single most popular man in the World today.

In other news, today CASEY ARRIVED via Cairo!! Not many people can get off a plane still smiling having just ridden through the desert on camels that morning, and having slept through the night for the last time about four nights ago, but the new Country Director of the Global Autism Project did indeed! She was greeted at the airport by our amazing team of volunteers and we're hoping that her four months in Ghana five years ago will make up for the fact that she's joining us all a week later. So far, it seems that it has. We're delighted to have her here and can't wait to introduce her to all of the staff and children of the centre on Monday!

Signing off,

Molly Ola

Day 4: Friday, July 10th

2009-07-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Friday July 10, 2009
Happy Friday from Africa!

This is Lori again. We had an amazing day at the Centre. Alicia returned to the hardware store (she just cannot get enough of that place!). Her construction continues to amaze the rest of us. She is a talented engineer and carpenter.

Molly and I brainstormed with the wonderful administrators at the Centre to create a new daily schedule that would maximize learning time. A new afternoon schedule was developed where, rather than free play, different structured activities (3 to be exact) would be available to students to participate in. By adding structure and choices, this will increase student’s engagement in appropriate activities (and also create more communication opportunities). Staff members would be assigned to a specific activity for the day. These activities would change daily.

Brad and I worked with the staff on creating language opportunities during motivating activities (such as snack). Some of the students are using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to communicate, while others are using verbalizations to communicate. For students using vocals we are teaching the staff to use Pivotal Response Treatments (PRT) to work on social communication. The staff’s previous training in PECS was apparent by their strong teaching skills.

Brad and I also outlined our staff trainings for the visit. We will provide teaching sessions that will include demonstrations of skills with students and practice by staff members. These trainings will focus on PECS, PRT, functional behavior assessments (FBA), functional communication training (FCT), and addressing problem behavior.

Molly worked closely with Baaba, the phenomenal Administrator of AACT to begin to create a volunteer training orientation program. AACT is very fortunate to receive volunteers interested in joining them from all over the world through various organizations. Baaba said she was looking forward to implementing a strong and organized volunteer orientation program, complete with social outings for volunteers and AACT staff to get to know each other!

After our visit at AACT, we took an adventure to Kokrobite Beach (about 30 minutes west of Accra). There we made a vegan dinner from local vegetables with the assistance of friends from the area. In the evening, we were the guests of honor at a bonfire on the beach with African drumming and dancing. Molly, Brad and I participated in the festivities while Alicia was our photographer of the amazingly beautiful event. It was a truly remarkable experience!
Thanks for reading!
Lori

Day three: Thursday, July 9th

2009-07-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hello from Accra!

This is Lori. I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Phoenix, AZ who is working with Brad to provide training on Applied Behavior Analysis at AACT. Today, we learned all the names of the students and staff. During this time we learned that in Ghana, your name is based on what day of the week you were born. If you are born on Friday and you are male your name is Kofi. Saturday is Kwame, Sunday is Kwesi, and so on. The staff is extremely friendly and was very helpful providing prompts and praise as needed as we acquired this new skill of local naming procedures.

From our observations, the staff is doing an amazing job using the data sheets and skills taught during previous trainings. The staff at the AACT is very talented and dedicated to their work.

We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to work with such wonderful people.
Our specific focus at AACT for the next few weeks is to teach the staff how to increase the spontaneous use of functional communication of the children. Today we began taking baseline data (looking at the student’s current levels of performance) on spontaneous functional communication. Throughout our training, we will continue to measure this behavior to determine how successful our training was at teaching the staff how to increase this behavior for their students.

Today the children made beautiful splatter paints (inspired by Jackson Pollack). This activity was led by a local artist who volunteers his time at the Centre. He has great talent and a wonderful passion for working with children with autism.

Alicia has begun design and construction to modify the existing furniture which will allow the staff to teach the children more efficiently while recording data. Looking for the tools proved to be quite an adventure!

In the evening, Brad, Molly, Alicia, other volunteers for AACT and I went on an adventure in search of an infamous Ethiopian restaurant. Unfortunately the restaurant was not found, however, we were able to meet some of Obama’s Secret Service Agents a local Italian restaurant.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Day Two: Wednesday, July 8

2009-07-12T13:26:00.001-07:00

Alicia here. I am a Structural Engineer here from Brooklyn, NY to assist the centre in modifying their existing desks to match the functions of EOTO- the teaching platform designed by Jennifer Iino and the Global Autism Project to support the teaching of children with autism. We have brougt the original prototype all the way from NYC and I am excited to see how I can use it to inform the design of the modifications here.

After much suspense and anticipation, we were finally able to pickup Lori at the airport in Accra. Kofi, our driver was even excited to see Lori, as he greeted her with a big hug! We all piled into his tiny taxi cab, and noticed that although the car was on, there was no key in the ignition. It turns out that keys are not a necessity for starting most cars here, with hot wiring the preferred way to go.

After picking up Lori and getting all settled in, we made it to the Centre for a late morning start. Lori and Brad observed the children while Molly and I headed out to the local hardware store. We were fortunate to find a few hardware stores along a stretch of New Town Road where we purchased assorted hardware for the desks (nails, screws, hinges, etc.).

After asking around, we were able to track down a local wood store. Molly put her bargaining skills to work and we purchased 1x1 and 1x3 timber from Mohammed for 6 Cedis (about $4.00). He then took us to the nearby woodshop, where they planed and cut down the wood into smaller pieces. The shop was pretty impressive to say the least, complete with industrial sized band saws, table saws, planes, etc. Luckily one of the staff members at the Centre offered to lend us their tools, so we can actually begin construction tomorrow.

After leaving the Centre we all piled into a Tro-Tro headed to the Circle where we then played a game of frogger trying to cross the road in between tro-tro’s. We all made it safely across with the exception of Lori, who was lightly hit by one backing up. Into the massive puddle she went! Dinner was spent at Frankie’s, with plenty of hummus and baba ghanouche to go around. For dessert we headed to the new gelato place in Osu.

Stay Classy!
Alicia

Ghana Day One: July 7, 2009...

2009-07-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings all, Brad here.

I am an ABA therapist from Phoenix, AZ and I have come to Ghana to lend my support to the Global Autism Project and the Autism, Awareness, Care, Training Centre(AACT).

Akwaaba, or greetings in Twi, is what we (Molly, Alicia, not Lori as she was trapped in NY) heard as we pulled into AACT. The staff and students were very gracious in welcoming us to the center. After a tour of the center and introductions to the staff we headed across the street to pick up some rice and satchets of water from the local vendors. We spent the remainder of our time at the center chatting with the staff and getting to know the students.

We headed out from the center, via tro tro (picture a volkswagen van with a few more seats) and made our way to Osu, a part of Accra where many Obruni's (white people) hang out, eat, and shop. Here we picked up some great souvenir's like jewelry and shirts. This inlcuded a shirt with the message "Obama in Ghana" "Africa Unite". I think I know this Obama guy..? According to the signs and billboards posted everywhere he is coming to visit Ghana; this could be exciting.

After shopping we stopped by Mama Mia's Pizzeria and I had some excellent vegetarian cheeseless pizza. We made our home to the Rising Phoenix, our new home for the next three weeks. This place has a fantastic view of the ocean and some really cute kittens that we named using various forms of Obama.

Tomorrow promises to be another exciting day of getting to know the staff and kids, as well as more bartering with cabbies and shop keepers...

Respect,

brad herron

See you in CHICAGO!

2008-09-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Chicago!

We're packing up and getting ready to see you at the Lincoln Park Boat Club once again! We've got a few kids signed up, including one we met a few years ago whose mom just sent us an email:

"I am also happy to report that my son J--who paddled for the first time with you-- now paddles around in his own kayak independently! It's so great that you gave him such a warm, reinforcing experience. As a result, he is not afraid of trying new things and actually we just got back from a trip to Egypt and Europe--everything went smoothly--not bad for a kid on the autism spectrum! I'm attaching a picture."

These sorts of emails make us realize what an impact this event can have not only globally but on kids here in the US as well. It's a great day and EVERYONE's INVITED TO PADDLE WITH US!! Although the event is open to children with autism--anyone can join us!

Grown-ups are also invited to share a drink with us on Thursday night at the kick-off event. All of the details for both events can be found at: www.globalautismproject.org/paddle.

Looks like the weather is expected to cooperate with us and it's going to be a great weekend! We can NOT wait to see you there!

Also- if any autism professionals or others are interested in meeting with our organization on Friday, we have a few more spaces open, and we'd love to talk with you!

A BIG thank you and congratulations to Liz Wissner who has been working hard to make this event happen in Chicago since 2005! Come on down to our Thursday night kickoff event and check out some of the amazing prizes she's managed to get her hands on for the raffle!

See you soon! Email me with any questions at molly@globalautismproject.org.

They are SO stellar!

2008-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today it was a back to work at the Centre...We got an early start trying to set up the BI Capture and preparing for the second training on the Picture Exchange Communication System...The support team has been incredible..AACT and the Global Autism Project are really working together to get this BI Capture software up and running. The staff did very well with what they have done so far, so we took the next step by showing them how to take data on this system. Everyone was enthusiastic about a way to track progress and was eager to practice data collection. The participation was wonderful...More of the staff were able to practice and they were all excited to see the system in action. After a quick review of discrete trials it was back to the classroom for some assistance with behavior management. This incredibly dedicated staff are always ready to help these children and we can see how our support has been helpful to them. What an honor to work with these amazing people. Medasi pa, AACT! ("Thank you very much" in Twi).

After the morning of work at the Centre, we were inteviewed for our new video describing our work with the project. This video is a great tool to raise awareness of childen with autism in other parts of the world. Look for it on our website in the coming months!

And now it's another evening at good ol' Busy Internet creating materials, and, of course, blogging.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last full day at the Centre. It should be a full one, starting off with data share with Mr. Mawusi in the morning and finishing up who knows when!

Working for the weekend

2008-06-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

The only thing we took time off from this weekend was the internet cafe! Saturday morning started with Board meeting...and Saturday evening ended with it! It was so great to have a face-to-face meeting with our whole team! We discussed the exciting upcoming opportunities for this organization...Molly often says that she started this project simply because it had to be started and we are so grateful for the support and passion for our cause!

On Sunday, we went to church with Auntie Serwah. Somehow, they convinced Ann to sing! Auntie Serwah was very pleased and Ann and Molly enjoyed the opportunity to meet everyone. The rest of the day was spent in meetings (no day of rest for us!). It was really affirming to hear from others doing similar work to build local capacity in human service work. We feel strongly that building local capacity is the key to the long term success of autism treatment, and we felt we were in good company with some of the wonderful work going on in Ghana. Their support of our work really made us feel that we're on the right track.

Stellar students!

2008-06-13T14:14:00.001-07:00

Today was another hectic day in Ghana...we are really making the most of our brief visit. We got an early start at the Centre. After working long into the night on our presentation, we got an early start at the Centre. Thankfully, Molly and Mawusi noticed that the rain was coming and moved the presentation indoors so Ann didn't get drenched! Before the presentation, Molly was able to speak to an aunt who had come to inquire about services for her nephew, who is 13 years old and without services. This woman had the same questions that many family members have in the states. What is the cause? Will he make progress? It was a powerful reminder that, even across the ocean, our concerns are more alike than they are different.

The presentation on PECS (the Picture Exchange Communication System) went beautifully. Ann gave examples of how to teach a child to use pictures to communicate. Mawusi was helping by playing the role of both teacher and child in the demonstrations. The staff was eager to see the system used with one of the children, and we were all delighted when she was able to exchange the pictures to request so quickly. The entire room burst into applause (including the trainers!). Some staff members tried the system and when the child's aunt picked her up at the end of the day, she was excited to try it at home too!

We also reviewed with Mawusi some of the data that had been taken on the children's programs. It was amazing to see their enthusiasm for this new system. We are all getting excited about the possibility of going to the Association of Behavior Analysis conference in Norway in 2009. Ann and Molly would be particularly happy to see Mawusi there -- he speaks Norwegian! How will we manage without him?

We headed down to the Cultural Arts Centre to look for gifts for our supporters in New York and then at dinner met an American couple who had also started a nonprofit working in rural areas. Even she said, "I didn't know there was autism in Ghana". It's good to know that we can make an impact raising awareness of the need for services in Ghana both here in Ghana and abroad

Well, for tonight it's back to the house for another meeting with Nic and maybe a full night's sleep...but knowing us, maybe not!

Please, where can I find Press-Ted?

2008-06-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, that meeting with Nic went into the wee hours, but we’ve established an excellent schedule to be sure we accomplish plenty as they say here in Ghana. This morning, we were in the centre bright and early ready to get BI Capture software set up and running and hold our business meeting with Auntie Serwah, the Director of AACT.
Nic and Mawusi got started right away with the installation of the BI Capture software, and though we still need to work out some kinks of installation, we expect to have the software up and running by tomorrow so that we can do a few test runs of the upload and comment process before we head back!
Ann and Molly continued observation of the staff and teaching, and Mawusi and Ann began setting up staff training data sheets. It’s so great to see the children and staff again- we are making new friends and reuniting with old ones. In our meeting with Auntie Serwah we got to hear the details of some of the awareness raising that AACT has been doing throughout Ghana. We were reminded of the realities of working within a culture where autism still carries an overwhelming stigma. Although AACT has made tremendous progress in raising awareness of children with autism in Ghana, the cultural beliefs surrounding autism create a large and complex challenge.
One of the difficulties of this stigma is manifested in parents’ hesitance to sign photo releases that would allow their child’s picture to be publicly displayed in any way. This would of course raise visibility and awareness of the condition here in Ghana. Even after signing photo releases, many parents can sometimes have second thoughts when presented with the realities of having their child’s photo used publicly.
Then, we were off to prepare materials for a presentation on PECS-the Picture Exchange Communication System. This system will allow the children to communicate using pictures and give a mode of communication to children who currently have none. These children often rely on inappropriate and even dangerous behaviors to get their needs met. It is these behaviors that cause some children to be ostracized from their communities and sometimes even their families.
After a long search for Velcro (including the discovery that it is called “press-ted” in Ghana) we managed to find time to mail a few postcards. Ann is now about to start writing out the flipcharts for tomorrow’s presentation while Molly prepares the participation certificates and checks Global Autism Project mail from Busy Internet, whilst posting this blog!

Day 1: We have arrived!

2008-06-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

After a stressful trip to the airport (Molly almost missed the flight because of a fire in the middle of the road!) and a nerve-wracking flight (that turbulence really meant business!), we have finally arrived in Ghana! After our arrival, we took a cab right down to the center. It was wonderful to see them and the great work they were doing! They have really enjoyed using data collection systems and tracking children's progress.

Baaba had Ann get started right away observing a new child. Ann was still wearing her traveling clothes, but with a quick apology for her appearance, she jumped right in! Molly explained the importance of functional analysis as well as baseline data so that we can track progress. We also filmed some trials to use for staff training.

One of the main goals of this trip is to set up the software and equipment that has been generously donated by Caring Technologies/TalkAutism. True to form (of literally hitting the ground running) we started to get that set up today as well. Mr. Mawusi, the Educational Director, had lots of great suggestions of ways to make the most of this equipment. Molly and Ann also met with Auntie Serwah who is thrilled to get started on the new software and increase our communication from across the ocean. There was lots of excitement generated over the BI (Behavior Imaging) Capture software and ways it will help us communicate from the U.S. During the staff meeting, there was even applause!

After a lunch with the familiar sounds of dogs and roosters, we met with the staff to find out what had been working since January and what may need to change or improve. They have so many dreams for the Centre...it was wonderful to get their feedback.. They all said that data collection was what they liked most. Their concerns included getting more space, including a workshop for older children, increasing parental involvement, and the possibility of coming to the U.S. for more intensive training. Tomorrow we will be back at work installing and setting up the software. We will also begin gathering materials for the Picture Exchange Communication System, an augmentative communication system. For now, it's off to a meeting with our Country Director, Nic. And maybe even a good night's sleep!

Day #7- Tuesday

2008-01-07T15:42:00.001-08:00

Day 6- abcdefghijlmnopalopalogualogo!

2008-01-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

We all woke up for a trip to the Cultural Art Center, a huge market. There are what feels like hundreds of small stands, with vendors ready and willing to approach, using tactics as sneaky as "Oh! My friend! I have forgotten your name!" Reminding them that they never knew your name (jokingly) doesn't bother them in the least. The relief of so many stands is that there are inevitably repetitions, making the necessary, encouraged haggling easier - comparison shopping made very, very real. We found some souvenirs and gifts, including sculptures of animals made from melted down old cedi coins and recycled car parts (my favorite).

Out back, Molly lead us to her friend Louis Wonder ("Won-da"), a professional drummer and drummaker. He took us into the back room of his shop to welcome us, then gathered some friends - including Shine, who later revealed himself to the be the first flutist of the Pan-African Orchestra - for a concert. Shine taught me all the drum names: I recognized the djembe (which pleased him almost as much as my familiarity with the Orchestra), and he introduced me to the dom-dom and the bass, gome. Louis got Molly to go get libations as an offering to the spirits afterwards - the Rastafarians give thanks to their predecessors for passing down the music. Molly arranged for us to return at sunset for drumming lessons on the beach.

Louis proved himself to be exactly the teacher most American pre-schools are looking for. He taught us basic Palogo rhythms, broke them down into small segments, and sprinkled his lessons with exclamations like "WOW!" "Nice one!" and "Clap for yourself!", which Molly says is a typical Ghanaian expression. By the end, he had us playing supporting rhythms - accompanied by one of his students on cowbell - and singing a song children learn as a mnemonic. It would be difficult to transcribe, but I did write it down in the notebook I've been carrying - when we left the market in the morning Louis asked us all to bring a pen and paper, to help us remember and bring his lessons home with us. He offered to arrange a bonfire on the beach on our last night, and, beyond, assured us "family prices" on any instruments we decide to buy.

Day 5- Our day of Rest!

2008-01-07T15:40:00.001-08:00

church in morning
rest in afternoon
party with drs. in evening

Day 4- Up to our elbows in PAINT!

2008-01-07T15:39:00.001-08:00

Day 3- Chez Afrique with Auntie Serwah

2008-01-07T15:38:00.001-08:00

It was a big day of cleaning for the centre. Lots of toys and other teaching materials needed to be washed and organized, so our volunteers got right into the thick of it! The harmattan brings thick dust into the centre and I'm so glad we were there to help restore it to beauty. Auntie Serwah, Mr. Mawusi and I discussed the teaching at the centre and all the great things that are going on. I am so excited about their dedication and enthusiasm, and meeting the staff and more of the children. One of the children enjoyed playing with a ball today and was happy to have a new playmate (lucky me!).

Day 2 - At the Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre

2008-01-07T15:37:00.001-08:00

AKWAABA!

2008-01-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

AKWAABA!

You are Welcome! This familiar Ghanaian greeting was recited over and over again to our volunteers as they wandered the streets of Accra and began to take in the sights and sounds of Ghana!

From Jess:
Vlad & I got off our near-empty Delta flight; in Accra you disembark outside, and there is indeed a huge 'AKWAABA' sign painted on the outside of the airport. Inside there were many banners advertising the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, a football tournament we will all, tragically, miss due to school. The visa people were the kindest I've ever come across - my guy asked what my name means, assured me it had to mean something, and, appalled by a mere 2-week stay, promised to throw in an extra 2 to allow me a full 4. We were destined to be friends, he explained, given our sharing a birthday.

That set the tone for the local population. Outside on the tarmac, attendants repeatedly checked in, making sure that we were okay, offering us their cell phones. Though we weren't worried, we eventually caved, resulting in 2 calls to Auntie Serwah (who was unflaggingly polite and receptive, notably so for such an erroneous mishap).

After settling in at our respective abodes (the Project's apartment and the Obroni House), we went over to the Center, where we were greeted by Mr. Mousey, the educational coordinator. Auntie Serwah ("Mrs. Q", to Mousey) arrived soon after. They seemed delighted to see us. High fives are common, as are thumbs up - though you must be careful here to stick your thumb straight up as a tilted thumb in that position is profane. Auntie Serwah explained that most of the children are still on holiday, but introduced us to Kofi and Jeffrey, the two children present. Kofi recognized Molly and pulled her in to take her to a classroom and get to work.
Soon after getting our bearings and hanging at the Center, we went to get dinner. On the way we met Steven, the guard, a 90-something year-old man who sits outside on the stoop watching over things. Unfailing, he smiles, nods, reaches for a handshake and announces, "You are welcome". We learned it's important here to always greet elders, with a "Good [whatever time of day]". Steven taught us the How are you/I'm fine exchange in Ga, one of the local dialects, and was glad to see that I could answer his French in kind.

Molly and Nic took us to Hi-Tech Fast Food, a local spot that specializes in fried chicken and rice. I opted for choli, the spicy sauce (Auntie Serwah had earlier congratulated my eagerness to eat anything and everything), and was glad I did. Hi-Tech is wonderful, with blue light bulbs and a disproportionate amount of space dedicated to speakers (which play a bit of highlife and a LOT of Akon). It is NOT, egregiously, in any of the guidebooks previous volunteers and other guests have left at the house.