Date and Time: Tuesday, June 4th, 2013 from 6:00pm- 7:30pm

Location: Partners In Excellence- 901 Caledonia Street, La Crosse, WI (Upstairs)

Come enjoy a grilled meal with clinical psychologist Dr. Charles Moore, an expert in family relations, with additional expertise in horseracing and fine bourbon. In a brief presentation, followed by a question and answer discussion, Dr. Moore will talk with you about how parenting partners can successfully work together to raise a child with special needs. He will discuss such issues as how to develop a good working relationship, how partners can better communicate (particularly when they are stressed), and how to develop skills that will decrease stress and give hope.

A pair of FREE Loggers Baseball tickets for every participant! Donated by Dan Kapanke, owner of the La Crosse Loggers Baseball Team.

You must pre-register to receive tickets. To register click here.

Questions? Contact Lynn at 608.785.4100 ext. 4 or email lwing@partnerwi.com

The new bill, expected to be signed into law next week by Governor Dayton, will require all state mandated insurance policies for companies employing 50 or more individuals to  cover medically prescribed treatment for children with an ASD diagnosis. Every child in the state of Minnesota now has access to coverage without dollar caps from either private or public insurance. There will continue to be a push for expanding the number of private policies offering this coverage trough a variety of advocacy efforts.

There are so many people to thank for the passage of this important bill: Thank you Governor Dayton, our key legislators in this bill- Rep. Norton, Rep. Liebling, Rep. Huntley, Senator Eaton, Senator Hayden and Senator Lourey, parents, staff, community advocates, the Autism Treatment Association of Minnesota, Autism Deserves Insurance, and Autism Speaks. Together we have made this legislation possible. 

Several of our kids made thanks cards for this momentous occasion to give to their legislators saying thank you for beliving in me!

Negotiations between the House and Senate HHS Conferees to settle their differences continue to go on in private, as is typical at this stage of a session.   The autism ABA insurance mandate language, the Governor’s early intervention benefit and the cost of these two new programs, are all very much in the mix.  Additional funds are always spread around at the very last minute. We need to be present to win!

Thursday afternoon and evening are the critical times to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the autism community’s support for the SF 314/HF 181 mandate language. The “Red Shirts” will gather again for an update and lobbying instructions at 4:00 PM in the Capitol Cafeteria. We will operate from then until at least 5:00 PM. We may be able to move to another base camp after 5:00 PM. If you come later in the evening, we will leave a posting, and perhaps a guide, at the top of the stairs leading down to the Cafe to tell you where we have moved. The default location will always be Room 123.

While it is likely, but not certain, that the HHS Conference Committee will meet sometime tomorrow  afternoon or night, a strong and visible autism community showing will greatly strengthen our proponent’s hand in the private negotiations and results that would be announced by Friday night.

Be There. Be Red. Be Positive. Be Persistent. Be Patient (with the legislative process.)

For more information about the autism legislative bills, please visit the Autism Deserves Insurance website or Facebook page.

Does your child occasionally struggle with emotional control? You’ll want to attend this AuSM (Autism Society of Minnesota) workshop, called, “The Zones of Regulation.”  The focus of the workshop is self-regulation and the difficulties that people face who have trouble controlling their emotions and thinking through everyday situations. The lessons and learning activities throughout the workshop, which have been designed by Leah Kuypers, M. A. Ed., OTR/L, provide practical ideas that can be easily incorporated into the home or classroom. Some of the important learning objectives are:

1. Identify sensory processing systems, integration and its impact on modulation
2. Demonstrate strategies to adjust one’s level of alertness/emotions to match the environment’s demands
3. Understand ways to integrate The Zones into practice and generalize skills across settings

The workshop will be held on May 30^th, 2013 from 8:30am – 4:30pm at TIES in St. Paul. If you’re interested in learning more, you can click here to go to the AuSM website.

Twins baseball, Autism Awareness and Father’s Day, all rolled into one! A special Autism Awareness Day event with the Twins will be on Father’s Day, June 16^th, 2013. This unique event is the result of a partnership between Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins, AuSM and other autism awareness groups in the region, and will feature discounted tickets to the Father’s Day game against the Detroit Tigers. This is a great opportunity to spend a day with your family, for your children to make new friends and for you to build relationships with other families in the Twin Cities community. A portion of each ticket purchased will support autism awareness and the Autism Society of Minnesota.

As an added bonus, anyone who purchases a ticket as part of this autism promotion will be invite to participate in a special pre-game parade to raise awareness of autism in Twin’s Territory. If you’d like to learn more about this event, as well as other upcoming Twins events involving the autism community, click here to go to the AuSM website.

Presented by: Stephanie Belseth, MAN, RN, CPNP

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 14th from 5:30pm-8:00pm

• 5:30pm-6:30pm is our social hour- food and wine will be served
• 630pm-8:00pm is when we will have our presentation

Location: Partners In Excellence, 14301 Ewing Ave, Burnsville, MN

Stephanie Belseth of Newbridge Clinic in Linden Hills, Minneapolis will talk about detoxification impairments commonly seen in children on the spectrum and the everyday toxins that are harmful to children with autism and related disorders, who typically have slower ability to metabolize and excrete toxins and chemicals. She will discuss how exposure to chemicals and toxins can contribute to neurodevelopmental conditions and other chronic health issues, as well as cover what you can do about it, including information about preventing/reducing exposure to toxins in the environment, in cleaning/personal hygiene products, in food, water, via dental care, and more. She will also discuss research demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of certain detoxification protocols, as well as strategies for active detoxification, including vegetable juicing, herbal/botanical options, Modified Citrus Pectin-based products DMSA and more. This presentation will prove invaluable to everyone in attendance, and should be of particular interest to parents of children with autism and related conditions! Come learn about the delicate balance between toxins, detoxification, and ultimately reducing exposure to these dangerous chemicals for your child/children and your family! 

Partners Resource Night is a free training opportunity for parents, caregivers, professionals, and others. This event is designed to provide participants with the tools necessary to manage situations they encounter with children. This is an interactive and informative opportunity to learn more about autism spectrum disorder and its impact on children and their families.

Prior to the presentation, we host a social hour from 5:30pm- 6:30pm. Parents, family members, professionals, and Partners’ staff are encouraged to mingle and meet others who have a connection to autism. One of the great benefits to attending Partners Resource Night is sharing experiences among families and caregivers.

Partners Resource Night is an exciting, supportive, relative, and educational experience for all who attend. These evenings will be informal and enjoyable and we encourage everyone to participate. Childcare is not provided for these events. If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to email us at resourcenight@partnersmn.com.

RSVP in person (front desk at all locations), by phone (952-746-5350) or online at http://everydaytoxins.eventbrite.com

• The Big Event Company who helped us with the Bounce House
• The Viterbo University Theater Department and their talented make-up artists for their creative face painting
• The Salon Professional Academy for their generous support of supplies and talented ladies for the crazy hairdo’s
• Pure Escape Wellness and Salon for the fun fingernail painting
• Stella & Dot for their Autism Awareness Collection
• Life In Harmony Music Therapy, LLC for the terrific interactive music programs
• Sandy Murray for delighting children and adults with her magic
• The River Valley Newpaper Group, Wisconsin Public Radio (WLSU), Mike Hayes of 1410 WIZM Radio, WKBT Channel 8, and WXOW Channel 19 for helping us spread awareness- not only about our open house, but more significantly, about the therapies, resources, and supports in our community for children on the spectrum and their families.

• Sensory Activities: There are many indoor games that are sensory in nature, and as we know, focusing on the senses is very important when interacting with children with autism and improving basic language and learning skills. Try games such as I Spy or Touch and Tell, which help to make them aware of their environment and stimulate multiple senses.
• Art Work: As most children with autism are very artistically inclined, art activities are a great way to facilitate creativity and expressiveness. More importantly, the colors promote crucial sensory development. Whether it’s working with crayons, colored pencils, paint or any other art supplies, art-based activities are wonderful sensory learning tools.
• Craft Work: Though they may seem similar to ark work, crafts can be beneficial in other ways, such as building patience and working on fine motor skills. Making collages and colorful tissue-paper creations, and even working with clay to create models and representations of objects are just a few ideas for this type of activity.
• Reading and Story Telling: Any type of interaction is immensely valuable for a child with autism, and reading stories and poems is a great way to do just that. You can read to them, have them repeat what you’ve read and even have them read aloud from the stories or poems on their own.
• Songs and Music: Children with autism generally respond positively to the sound of music, and they respond equally well to the opportunity to play instruments or sing songs, themselves. Singing and playing simple, upbeat songs with your child can get them interacting with you and keep both of you entertained.

 In addition to these interactive activities, there are also some excellent smartphone and tablet applications available, which you can find on our Pinterest Board titled, “Super Apps!!” Additionally, you can see our parent resources here.

The goal of this month is to educate the public and build awareness around autism spectrum disorders, and the difficulties and challenges that children with autism face. The official imagery has since come to be a puzzle piece. The idea behind the puzzle pieces is to represent the complexity of autism spectrum disorders, and also, as every puzzle piece is different in some way, they represent the diversity of every individual affected by autism. Lastly, the bright colors of the ribbon signify hope – hope that through increased awareness, early intervention and appropriate treatments, all people with autism will be able to lead happier, fuller, more complete lives and improve their daily living skills. In addition to the puzzle piece, the official color for National Autism Awareness Month is a bright royal blue.

Here at Partners In Excellence, our goals are directly aligned with those of National Autism Awareness Month, which is why we will be actively participating throughout the month of April. Every Tuesday of each week will be known as “Terrific Tuesday” in which our children and staff dress accordingly to fun themes like Mismatch Day and Wacky Hair Day.  On Sunday, April 7^th we will be taking part in Highlight It Up Blue at Tera Photography in Burnsville, MN. There will be bright blue hair extensions being put in by volunteer professional hair stylists, some great pictures will be taken, and you’ll be given some information that can help you spread the word about autism. If you’re interested in learning more, you can head to the Highlight It Up Blue For Autism Awareness Facebook page, and if you’re interested in attending, you can join the Facebook event here. During the month of April Partners In Excellence will be having two open houses! On Sunday, April 14^th we will be having a super hero themed open house in La Crosse, Wisconsin at its NEW location, get more details here. On Sunday, April 27^th our North Saint Paul site will be having an open house with lots of fun for the whole family, you can learn more about it here.

Lastly, if you’re a Minnesota Wild fan there is another great way for parents and children to get involved in the Twin Cities during National Autism Awareness Month. The Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) has teamed up with the Wild for a fundraising opportunity by discounting tickets to Wild games throughout April, with a portion of every ticket purchase going directly to AuSM. You can click here to view the schedule for the discounted home games and to learn more about the partnership.

Be sure to visit our Facebook page throughout April to keep up on all of the Autism Awareness happenings at Partners, and ask us about why our therapists are so excited about puzzles. We hope you’ll get involved with National Autism Awareness Month, and that you’ll join us on Sunday, April 7^th for Highlight It Up Blue!