RHUBARB
The ISADD Newsletter
May 2018 Edition 77
Editor: Daryl Cooper
EDITORIAL
Welcome to a rather belated first edition of
Rhubarb for 2018.
In this edition, we report on things that are, or
have been, happening in ISADD around the
globe, as well as a comprehensive report on
this year’s ABAI Autism Conference. There is
also a review of a book with the interesting
title of French Children Do Not Throw Their
Food.
I hope you find this edition informative,
educational and enjoyable.
Daryl Cooper
Editor
Singapore News
Director/Program Manager Johnny Fok is to
be congratulated both personally and
professionally: personally, as the proud father
of a baby girl, and professionally for
organising a move to new, more suitable - and
cost-effective - offices.
The new office address is:
314 Tanglin Road #01-03
Phoenix Park
Singapore 247977
Indonesian News
Program Manager Dini Oktafik reports on an
“expo” style event in which YISSADI
participated recently:
At this event organised by MPATI, our
teenagers sold products they made: rainbow
cookies, chicken & mushroom pie, tiny clay
arts. It was mind-blowing seeing what they
can actually do.
A mother was also selling hand-made
education toys.
We show videos of each child making their
products, to show off that they really did
make them.
On our booth we also display COMPICs,
COMPIC books, colour code templates, and
some Rule Books & Cool Books.
The hat I was wearing in the photos was
made by our teenager, specially made for
me to wear on that day. It was very sweet of
him.
Everybody was having a fantastic time!
Maybe I was the most ☺️😊

*The Autism Peduli Indonesia (MPATI)

community was founded in Jakarta, June 24,
2004 by Gayatri Pamoedji, a mother of
autistic adolescents and a group of autism
concerns in Indonesia. MPATI is a non-profit
foundation that focuses its activities on
empowering parents, teachers and therapists
to be able to provide proper education and
guidance for children with autism. MPATI
also strives to be an information center on
autism in Indonesia.
 Isabella is always very welcome among
Lithuanian Lithuanian therapists. Her personal skills to
motivate and encourage young specialists
News leave a great impact and stimulus to look for
new ways to reach families and their children.

Jurga Alksninienė
Director in Chief
VšĮ "ISADD LIETUVA

ISADD in Lithuania is becoming busier and

busier. Client numbers are growing, and the
excellent relationship we have established
with the Education Department there has
resulted in a demand for us to provide training Perth News
seminars for teachers, in addition to other
work. Such is the demand, Isabella
O’Donovan is making a special one-week trip
at the end of May to conduct in-service
training for the Department.

Another agency there has also contracted

Jura Tender to deliver training to their staff
who will be responsible for the first-ever group
home for young persons with an ASD. Along
with her normal work with ISADD, this training
has meant a two-month stay in Lithuania for
Jura.
Local director Jurga Alksninienė, contributes
the following, subsequent to Isabella’s last
visit:
Workshop with therapists in Kaunas,
February 18th on Social Communication
Skills, ASS Employment, Different Levels of
Reinforcement.
Perth News
New Staff
Eshani Gunawardena has joined our
psychology team and will be working from the
Angove street office on Fridays.
Kelly Cavanagh has joined us as a Case
Manager. Kelly has extensive experience in
working with children with Autism and is a
valuable addition to our team.
Thanks!
INFANT SIBLINGS AT RISK:

MARTHA PALAEZ (Florida International

University)
Dr. Palaez covered many aspects of the
development of infant siblings in her
presentation:
➢ The use of Social Reinforcement in
Increasing Social Communication
➢ Increasing Vocalisations
➢ Joint attention and Social Referencing

ISADD would like to extend our thanks to Communication Challenges in Infants at-
Brian Mouchemore who donated his services risk of Autism:
to make us a huge bundle of sentence ➢ Minimum eye contact
makers. The sentence makers are part of the ➢ Frequent gaze away
COMPIC kit we have available for purchase ➢ Infrequent smiles
from the office, at cost, for clients who are ➢ High levels of fussiness
nonverbal or have communication difficulties. ➢ Limited vocalisations
Thanks to Brian, we won’t have to worry about ➢ Delayed joint attention
running out of sentence makers for a long
➢ Lack of social referencing
time. Pictured with Brian is Bronson, because
Nola thinks a photo is always better with a dog
in it.

The use of Synchronised Reinforcement in

Increasing Social Communication:
Dr Palaez’s research leads us to the
assumption that the use of this intervention
strategy by caregivers will increase infant eye
contact and improve behaviour.
• Parent provides social reinforcement
(smile, motherese/vocalisation, and/or
touch) only when the infant is making
eye-contact with the caregiver

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 12TH

ANNUAL AUTISM CONFERENCE
(Association for Behaviour Analysis
International)

Isabella O’Donovan
 • If the infant looks away, the caregiver
immediately stops providing
reinforcement
Increasing Infant Vocalisations
Dr Palaez’s research compared the use of
‘motherese’ (infant-directed ‘baby talk’) vs
vocal imitation (echoing the infant’s speech
sounds)
➢ contingent delivery of both motherese
speech and vocal imitation were
effective in increasing the rate of infant
vocalisations
➢ non-contingent delivery of both
motherese speech and vocal imitation
did not demonstrate such positive
results
➢ contingent vocal imitation was even
more effective than contingent
motherese speech
Joint attention and Social Referencing
Joint Attention is the ability to use eye contact
and gestures to both initiate and respond to
bids of sharing experiences and is a
foundational skill in establishing early pre-
verbal and communication skills. Dr. Palaez’s
research tells us that caregiver lead joint
attention training will result in:
➢ Increased joint attention responses
and joint attention bids (point, show,
engage)
➢ Joint attention was followed up with
Social Referencing training
Intervention guidelines:
➢ Must be delivered by the primary
caregivers, and in the infant’s natural
environment following systematic
training by an intervention professional
➢ Social reinforcement and vocal
imitation must be contingent on the
infant’s behaviour in order to illicit
positive results
CAREGIVER TRAINING
Over half the presentations had a strong
emphasis on caregiver training but three
stood out form the crowd: Martha Palaez
(outlined above), Patricia Kurtz, and Nirbhay
Singh.
TRAINING CAREGIVERS IN
INTERVENTION FOR SEVERE PROBLEM
BEHAVIOURS: Patricia Kurtz (Kennedy
Krieger Institute)
❖ Problem behaviour may serve a variety
of functions for a parent and only one
for a professional interventionist -
therefore it is imperative it is provided
with specific training in managing such
behaviour in an effective manner.
❖ Training in specific behaviour
management techniques alone is not
enough
 ❖ Additional skills training is needed to
further improve intervention outcomes:
o Parent Child Interaction
Therapy or similar
o Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy
MINDFULNESS-BASED TRAINING FOR
CAREGIVERS: Nirbhay Singh (Augusta
University)
A variety of studies demonstrated the
following benefits for caregivers:
Mothers’ mindful parenting decreases
their children’s aggression,
noncompliance, and self‐injury;
increases mothers’ satisfaction with
their parenting skills and interactions
with their children (Singh et al, 2006)
Mindfulness training group showed
significant reductions in stress and
anxiety; increased mindfulness, self‐
compassion, and personal growth at
program completion and at two‐month
follow‐up in contrast to waiting‐list
controls (Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser,
2012)
Mindfulness group demonstrated
significant improvement in parental
stress and global health (Ferraioli &
Harris, 2013)
Spillover effects on children of parents
in the MBSR program:
• decreased behaviour problems
• Increased self‐control due to
changes in parental attachment
and disciplinary practices
• Improvements in empathy and
engagement
• Improvements in
communication, responsibility
and cooperation at school
• (Neece (2014); Lewallen &
Neece (2015); Roberts & Neece
(2015)
JOB RELATED SOCIAL
AND PROBLEM SOLVING
SKILLS:
Dorothea Lerman
Dr. Lerman’s research has focused on skills
related to job retention. Participants in the
study were trained to engage in the following
behaviours:
Social/Communication Behaviours:
▪ Confirming statements
▪ Request help – materials
▪ Request help – task
▪ Request help – completion
▪ Response to corrective feedback
Problem Solving Behaviours:
▪ Response to supervisor unavailable
▪ Response to task interruption
▪ Search for necessary materials or
equipment
These behaviours were taught using:
▪ Behaviour Skills Training
▪ Text prompts (cue cards) example on
next page:
 Can you show me how? Goodreads reviews:
Could you demonstrate it?
I need a model. This book may have been written for families
How do I do it? with children that are autistic, but it should be
• Problem Solving Flowcharts read by parents, grandparents, teachers and
o Identify problems leaders who work with children and teens, if
o Follow flowcharts to identify for no other reason than to read the chapter
solutions on video gaming and electronics. Authors
Temple Grandin, perhaps the most famous
▪ Laminated
autistic person around, and Debra Moore, a
checklists/binder
psychologist, share facts and information
▪ Electronic checklists regarding the addiction that has trapped many
(iPod, Smartphone) children and teens today. I HIGHLY
recommend this book to anyone preparing a
child for the responsibilities of growing up!

Have you ever found a book that was exactly

what you needed? The Loving Push was that
book for me!

I wish I could give this book to everyone who

has a child on the autism spectrum (or any
other non-NT flavors). If you worry about
what's going to happen when these kids grow
up; how they will ever be able to get a job and
support themselves, become independent
and move out; how you can get them off the
computer and out of their bedrooms; how you
can empower them to interact with people in
socially appropriate and meaningful ways,
PLEASE get a copy of this book. My only
regret is that I did
not have it several
years ago when
my kid on the
spectrum was at
On a similar note, I came across this great
home.
book by Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Debra
Moore: The Loving Push: How Parents and
Professionals can help spectrum kids be more
successful adults
Introducing Mindfullness Parenting BOOK REVIEW
Course at ISADD
By Simone Lombardo

For the first time, ISADD WA has introduced

a Mindful Parenting course. Unlike other
therapies that focus on the children and their
difficulties and behaviours, the Mindful
Parenting course aims to support parents with
their experience of parenting a child with
autism. The Mindful Parenting course aims to
reduce parental stress, improve family
functioning, increase parents’ self-
compassion, coping abilities and abilities to
respond to their children.

Mindfulness in a nutshell is about being “FRENCH CHILDREN DO NOT THROW

present in the moment, focusing on reality and THEIR FOOD”
accepting it by Pamela Druckerman
for what it is. Black Swan 2013
The Mindful
Parenting A good title, and it caught my eye in the airport
course – so I bought it and found it really relevant. It
teaches a is written by an American journalist Pamela
variety of Druckerman, who married an Englishman and
mindfulness ended up living in Paris. Here she soon found
practices basic cultural differences – starting with the
that can be behaviours of babies. For a start, French
applied babies all seemed to sleep through the night
directly to by 3 months of age or close to it. When her
parenting own daughter continued needing night feeds,
and everyday life. The group sessions allow as did the children of her American friends
she used her investigative journalism to solve
parents an opportunity to practice, reflect, and
the mystery.
discuss their experience of mindfulness and
parenting in a supportive, group environment
French mothers do not pick a baby up and
with other parents who may have similar
feed it the moment it wakes or stirs. They do
experiences.
not let babies cry inconsolably, but they do not
disturb babies who may wake after a REM
We believe that providing support for parents
sleep cycle to wriggle, yawn, stretch, or
through Mindfulness training will impact not
whinge a little and then fall asleep again. If the
only the parents but their children and family
parent pauses and observes the baby, but
as a whole. We look forward to the first
does not pick it up, the baby has a chance to
Mindful Parenting group’s impression of the learn to “self-soothe” and so join the two
course. natural sleep cycles, thus getting more rest
and getting more ready for a bigger feed once
awake. A few babies do not manage this on
their own so controlled crying is used.
Certainly more solid sleep also means
happier family atmosphere. The author visits
a French sleep paediatrician, Helene de
Leersnyder, who explains the science behind
the ‘pause’ which, if applied consistently, will
teach babies to sleep.
French philosophy on child rearing may have
started with Rouseau but has been greatly
influenced in the 1960s to 1980s by Francoise
Dalto, psychoanalyst/paediatrician, who
became very popular with books, TV shows,
and then DVDs teaching that babies were
rational and aware of language from the start
and this needs to be respected. “She talks to
children like they were human beings” was
one comment. This has resulted in different
child management strategies in France. At the
same time, Dr Spock in the USA was
prescribing the best way to manage infants to
the last detail to ensure they are as healthy as
they can be and their physical needs are all
met while their growing self-esteem and
sense of security is not crushed. But he also
coined the phrase the “terrible twos” and
provided English-speaking parents with a
different set of expectations.
In France, if babies are rational it was
assumed they can be taught – even how to
eat in a restaurant. Any unusual reaction by
the baby needs to be understood as it is
rational communication (I smell functional
analysis here). “Human beings speak to other
human beings – some are big some are small
but they all communicate”. Communication
includes letting children know the rules and
boundaries which govern us all. If this is done
with consistency and firmness teaching of
compliance to the level of the child’s ability
can be achieved without the need for
disrespectful nagging or a show of anger.
Food culture also differed. Where the English-
speaking world starts babies on starchy
solids, the French start on vegetables and fruit
and the expectation that children will eat the
same food as their parents as soon as they
are able to swallow it. The old British routine
of jam sandwiches in the nursery while
parents have multi-course dinner at 8 o’clock
downstairs may be gone, but just how many
children currently end up living on vegemite
sandwiches after refusing other options. In
France eating is a social ritual in which all
participate. This involves sitting at a table,
socialising and relaxing, and this is taught to
children early as they join in with adults. There
is no snacking or ‘grazing’ leaving more room
for a good appetite. As for the rejection of
vegetables, so common here, it just does not
exist in France. There is also no forcing to
eat as long as the children have tasted the
food, and there is no alternative on offer. At
the same time vegetables are prepared in a
variety of ways to enhance taste.
I was amazed to read that in the government
run creches for toddlers, food is taken
seriously and planned by nutritionists and
chefs for months ahead. The children get a
four course lunch which any restaurant could
be proud of. Emphasis in menu planning was
on variety with similar dishes not presented in
the following week. Variety in visual and
texture presentation was also considered, as
well as taste.
Let me quote the menu for one Friday: “a
salad of shredded red cabbage and fromage
blanc. Then there is white fish (hake) with dill
sauce with orange potatoes a l’anglaise. The
cheese course is a soft cheese similar to brie,
and desert is a baked organic apple. Each
dish is cut up or pureed according to the age
of the kid.” I will not elaborate on what was
planned for the special Christmas meal but it
was mouth-watering. No wonder French
restaurants do not have children’s menus!
So what happened in the English speaking Parent support group:
world? We set up expectations for children to
have problems, and then we worry when they
meet our expectations, be it terrible two’s
‘yucky’ vegetables or not doing chores and
homework. The French instead expect the
children to comply if taught, but take much
more time in the teaching. Even quite subtle
differences in the books we read, the advice
we are given, our social role models and the
observations we make all combine to a culture
of expectations we form and that shapes our A welcoming and stress free environment for
parenting behaviours. mothers of special needs children who want
to meet new people in similar positions and to
All the above just makes common sense and share experiences at a grassroots level.
reflects good behavioural strategies. It would
make parenting much easier, even in bringing Contact Angelina for more information:
up a child with ASD. ange24588@icloud.com

Jura Tender http://web.facebook.com/groups/1413576399

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