Brevard Center Artist: Daniel Eakin

By Janet Hrezo, Brevard Center

Daniel Eakin, a third year student at the Brevard Center, is a poet, writer, playwright and actor. His poetry was featured at Brevard Community College’s 2008 Disability Awareness Day and he is currently directing his short play, “The Interview”, which will be performed by the Brevard Center’s Drama Club. Recently, he has also started working in computer graphics and photography. Here are some of his latest pictures….

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Student Senate Elections at the Brevard Center

By Sharona Sommer, Brevard Center Student Senate Advisor

The Brevard Center recently held their Student Senate elections. Senators are regarded as role models for the students and are given the honor of representing their peers at the Brevard Center. The Student Senate also organizes social functions and partakes in all of our Community Service events throughout the year. Past social events have included a Halloween party, chili cook-offs and movie nights. We are excited to see what the Student Senate will be planning this year.

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Using Video Self-Modeling to Improve Critical Social Skills

By Janet Becker, Brevard Center Social Thinking Instructor

This semester at the Brevard Center, thanks to the very supportive CIP staff and several professors at the Florida Institute of Technology, I am incorporating my thesis work into the social mentoring curriculum. Based on the research of Dr. Scott Bellini, Dr. Charlop-Christy and several others in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, I am using video self-modeling to help our students improve several critical social skills.

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Shift Can Happen

By Ryan Therriault, Brevard Center Academic Coordinator

When students begin an academic track at the Brevard Center they take on a lot of responsibility. Assuming they are ready, they work hard to juggle college classes, CIP classes and appointments, in addition to new surroundings and routines. They essentially begin a new life, which can be overwhelming. However, with the students’ hard work and determination, in combination with dedicated staff, shift can happen.

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Review: The Integrated Self-Advocacy ISA™

Self-advocacy plays a vital role in nearly every aspect of life for individuals on the spectrum, in school, at home, in the community, and at work. The more self-awareness they possess, the more active players they can be in advocating for their own comfort, happiness, and well-being—whether this involves approaching a teacher, if they are having trouble keeping up with the lectures because they just can’t write fast enough or being able to express to people that they don’t always “get” the person’s jokes because he or she takes them literally.

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Berkeley Students Participate in Shoreline Cleanup

View all photos here

Career Department Tip: Cold Calling

By Lucy Allarie-Gosselin, Berkshire Center C-STEP Career Coordinator

Helping prepare students for internships is a process. One of the things we try to do is prepare our students to do cold calling when seeking out an internship that would best suit their needs. We ask a student to research the company they will be calling and find out pertinent information that would help them once they dial that number and make the call. One must sound knowledgeable about the company they are seeking to intern at.

The following is a sample Cold Call that a student might use:

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Balancing Work and Play

By Marc Larrivee, Berkshire Center Academic Tutor and National IT Administrator

The world of 1945 hangs in balance. In a bid for world dominion, Stalin has ordered his armies across a weak Europe after Hitler has been eliminated through Einsteinian time travel technology. As the Allies grow ever weaker, Soviet generals use their own time travel to pre-emptively eliminate nuclear technology as a threat. With victory almost in their grasp, Japan rises to challenge their war. As commander, “do you have what it takes to command?” (from the Command and Conquer web site)

It’s a Tuesday evening, and the studies are done. Charlie has finished his college classes, and made his advising and tutoring appointments. He has cooked chicken parmesan for his room mates, and listened to music at his friend’s apartment. The reading and homework is ready for tomorrow. Now it’s time to play.

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Intensive Program Helps Prepare Asperger’s, Autistic Students for College

By Linda Shrieves, Orlando Sentinel
September 12, 2009
Original article appears here

Most parents dream of sending their kids off to college someday. But for parents of children with autism, even high-achieving kids with Asperger’s syndrome, college often seems like the impossible dream.

Dave and Kim Kennedy thought they would have to support their son, Chris, for the rest of his life. Diagnosed with a form of autism in high school, Chris fought bouts of depression. Though academically he was a high achiever, he didn’t like to talk to others, preferring to hide in books rather than socialize.

Now 25, Chris is finishing his undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Central Florida and is headed for graduate school. He’s well-spoken, polite and funny.

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Dallas ASD Workshops

CIP National Professional Advisory Board members, Michelle Garcia Winner and Carol Gray, explore how students need to learn their own pathways to thinking socially, and how changing our own thinking as parents and teachers can encourage our students’ abilities to learn.

November 5th-6th, 2009
Grapevine Convention Center, TX

Find out more…

Admissions Corner: Bloomington Center

By Lori Mangrum and Teresa Colby

As admissions coordinator, it’s always exciting for me to get to know our new students. This year we have a group of wonderfully gifted, unique individuals with many talents and strengths. My relationship with these students started during the admission process. When they first arrive they are quiet and apprehensive. But very soon they were smiling and eager to talk about the possibility of a journey into the world of CIP.

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New Addition to the National Professional Advisory Board

Valerie Paradiz develops educational programs for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), including the pioneering ASPIE School, and has been featured in the New York Times, Redbook Magazine and The Guardian. She is the developer of Integrated Self Advocacy ISA™ (AAPC), a curriculum and training series for educators and therapists who wish to support individuals with ASDs in achieving greater ability in self-advocacy.

Read more about Valerie Paradiz…