New AutMont Marketplace

After getting an email from a reader who wants to sell a used assistive tech device that her son no longer needs, I've decided to offer a place for people to list used equipment that they want to sell at a reduced price.

You can find the AutMont Marketplace here.

This is kind of an experiment. Depending on how this goes, I may or may not keep the page up. If you are a buyer or seller, please be sure to be careful and use safe practices. I have not necessarily verified the integrity of the sellers. AutMont assumes no responsibility for transactions that stem from listings on this page. All I am doing is providing listings. Any action taken thereafter is solely the responsibility of the participants.

Email me at autismmontgomery[at]gmail[dot]com if you have something you would like to list in the Marketplace.

Event Summary for the Week of July 25, 2011

Check out the AutMont Calendar to see all of the activities for this week as well as those coming up!

Monday, July 25:

JSSA Support Group for Parents of Children with ASDs

Tuesday, July 26:

Webinar: What Do People With Disabilities Need to Run Their Own Self-Advocacy Groups?

Sunday, July 31:

CANCELED! Fitness Program for Children on the Autism Spectrum

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Do you know of another event? Leave details in the comments!

Home Activities to Develop Fine Motor and Balance Skills

The University of Maryland's Cognitive Motor Neuroscience Lab will offer a free parent seminar about Home Activities to Develop Fine Motor and Balance Skills on August 8 from 7-8:30 p.m.

John Morgal, Director of Occupational Therapy at the Baltimore Lab School, will teach parents home-based activities to develop fine motor coordination (including handwriting skills) and activities to promote balance.

The seminar will be held at the University of Maryland, School of Public Health Building, Room 1301, in College Park.

Supervised child activities will be provided. When RSVPing, please indicate number, ages, and names of children attending. Contact Melissa Pangelian at pangel@umd.edu.

Learn To Use Proloquo2Go on iDevices

Maryland Assistive Technology Cooperative will be holding two 3-session courses on Training for Language and Learning Using Proloquo2Go on iDevices in August.

These sessions are designed for parents and professionals who use iDevices to aid in communication with Proloquo2Go. Each course is limited to seven participants. Cost is $99 for all three sessions or $39 for one.

The first course will be taught August 1, 8, and 15 from 4:30-6 p.m. each day, with the second course will be taught August 2, 9, and 16 from 10-11:30 a.m. each day.

For each course, session 1 will cover programming basics. Session 2 is an introduction to language design, and session 3 will cover using an iDevice for learning.

Both courses will be held at the Learning Center AT:LAST (7050 Oakland Mills Road, Suite 160) in Columbia. You can register online. For more information, call Susan Garber at 410-381-2667.

Advanced ABA/VB Workshop in Leesburg

The Aurora School in Leesburg, Virginia will host a workshop presented by Board Certified Behavior Analyst Dr. Mary Barbera on August 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The workshop is about "The Verbal Approach: Advanced ABA/VB Programming for Intermediate Learners," and will cost $65 for non-members of the Arc of Loudon or for registration at the door. The workshop will be held at The Aurora School (601 Catoctin Circle, NE) in Leesburg.

Participants should have previous knowledge of basic ABA principles and VB programming. For more information on the workshop and for registration materials, please visit the Aurora School's website.

Miracle League: Baseball for Children with Disabilities

The Miracle League of Montgomery County is forming baseball teams for kids with disabilities and will be holding their opening day on August 1 at 10 a.m.

Come play on opening day and meet some Washington Nationals players!

Miracle Field is the only baseball field in Montgomery County designed for kids with special needs. It is located in the South Germantown Recreational Park off Schaeffer Road, directly across from the soccer complex.

For more information and to sign up up play or register to be a "buddy," contact Jeanne Smith at 301-509-5224 or wallyboggs@aol.com

Webinar: What Do People With Disabilities Need to Run Their Own Self-Advocacy Groups?

Autism NOW will present another webiner in their on-going webinar series titled "What Do People With Disabilities Need to Run Their Own Self-Advocacy Groups?" on July 26 from 2-3 p.m. Eastern.

During this webinar, Betty Williams, Max Barrows, and Chester Finn from Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered will give tips about running self-advocacy groups and will give examples of the benefits of running such groups.

Register online for the free webinar.

Sensory Friendly Movies: Smurfs, Spy Kids, Dolphin Tale & Puss in Boots

AMC Entertainment and the Autism Society have teamed up to provide movie showings in a sensory friendly setting for families affected by autism and other disabilities.

Upcoming screenings (all showing at 10 a.m.) include:

August 6, The Smurfs

August 27, Spy Kids 4

October 1, Dolphin Tale

November 5, Puss in Boots

The movie auditorium will have its lights brought up and the sound turned down, families can bring in their own GFCF snacks, and no previews or ads will be shown before the movies. Audience members are also welcome to get up and move or vocalize. (Unless the safety of the audience is questioned.)

Tickets cost between $4 and $6 depending on the theater. The AMC Rio Cinemas 18 in Gaithersburg (9811 Washingtonian Blvd.) is one of the theaters that participates.

LDAMC Parent Connection August 2011 Meeting

The Learning Disabilities Association of Montgomery County will hold its next Parent Connection support meeting on August 17 from 7-8:30 p.m.

The August meeting will focus on getting the school year off to a good start.

The meeting will take place at Flower Valley Elementary School (4615 Sunflower Drive) in Rockville. This meeting is being limited to 12 participants. For more information or to RSVP, call 301-933-1076 or email ldamcpc@yahoo.com.

Event Summary for the Week of July 11, 2011

Check out the AutMont Calendar to see all of the activities for this week as well as those coming up!

Monday, July 11:

JSSA Support Group for Parents of Children with ASDs

Thursday, July 14:

COPAA Webinar: Disproportionality: What Are We Doing About It?

Up for Discussion on AutMont:

NIMH recruiting participants for a paid research study identifying the characteristics of children with autistic disorder.

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Do you know of another event? Leave details in the comments!

NIMH Research Study Looking for Participants

The National Institute of Mental Health is currently recruiting participants for a research study identifying the characteristics of children with autistic disorder (not PDD or Asperger's). NIMH is recruiting children ages 7-17 who have a diagnosis of autism and average-range intellectual functioning.

Children will receive a partial neuropsychological assessment and evaluation of autism symptoms and will complete an MRI and an overnight EEG (requiring an overnight hospitalization). The results of study assessments, including the neuropsychological testing, are shared with families.

Participation in the study is free, and children are compensated for their participation (up to about $400 if they participate in all components of the study).

Interested families can contact principal investigator David Black at 301-435-6205 or AutismOutcomeStudy@mail.nih.gov.

LDAMC Parent Connection July 2011

The Learning Disabilities Association of Montgomery County will hold its next Parent Connection support meeting on July 20 from 7-8:30 p.m.

The July meeting will focus on mathematics.

The meeting will take place at Flower Valley Elementary School (4615 Sunflower Drive) in Rockville. This meeting is being limited to 12 participants. For more information or to RSVP, call 301-933-1076 or email ldamcpc@yahoo.com.