You’ve heard the expression, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’. But you’ve probably also heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Put those two things together and you have quite a conundrum. For the past few years we ran a fundraising campaign asking people not to talk for 24 or 12 …
Why a Night at the Races?
We’ve written before about fundraising. It’s tough. Many organizations have a staff person dedicated to it, because fundraising needs time and attention to be successful. For the past couple of years here at The Orange Effect Foundation, we’ve done an event called Silence for Speech. We asked people to go a day without talking to learn what it's like to be a person with a communication …
Eyes?
My oldest (who is autistic) just returned from a weeklong trip going to theme parks on the East Coast with the goal to ride as many roller coasters as possible! Not my idea of a great time but something they’ve been looking forward to for a long time. The trip made me a little sentimental. First off, my baby was covering over 1000 miles of driving on their own and second managing all the things …
People with Autism Finding a Lifeline with ChatGPT
Have you heard all the rage? ChatGPT is making headlines across a huge array of topics. From kids using it to complete homework assignments to folks worried about losing their job because of it. ChatGPT is a force that is not likely to slow down anytime soon. I previously wrote about ChatGPT when sharing the struggles I often find when working to come up with content for this blog, or other …
Honoring Dads this Father’s Day
Happy Fathers Day to anyone out there who has been a role model in a child's life. Remember you are a crucial part of that child's upbringing. And to those of us who have lost a parent, I know these holidays can be difficult, but let’s remember how important our parents were in our upbringing and do our best to carry that tradition on to younger generations. Many of those present …
Board Member Spotlight: Pam Pulizzi
Have You Ever Been To Pickwick and Frolic? Cleveland has an eclectic and all inclusive food and entertainment scene. To be honest we have come such a long way just in the last 10 years. So much so that it is often hard to decide where to entertain friends and family when they come to town. One of my favorites though, is Pickwick and Frolic, located on E. 4th Street and also home to …
National Speech Language Pathologist Day
The month of May brings so many things – signs of summer, graduations, weddings, and so much more. May is also Better Hearing and Speech Month. Part of that is National Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Appreciation Day on May 18. SLPs are VERY important to us here at the Orange Effect Foundation. One example of this is that every application is required to involve a speech-language pathologist …
Honoring Mothers
I’ve had a lot of people in my life who have been a role model to me. I am thankful to every one of them. However, especially now as a mom, I find Mothers Day to be extra special. It’s fun to look back and reminisce about the things our parents did for us. Most of us don’t recognize the sacrifice parents make until we are adults ourselves. Here are some thoughts from our board members about their …
Spring Showers Bring May Flowers and Summer Vacation! So soon?
Where I live in Ohio, many elementary and high schools finish their school year at the end of May. I know this is not the case for everyone, but no matter where you live, summer is coming up fast. I love summer. I enjoy the break from the rigors of the schedule that comes during the school year. Traffic patterns are different, more kids are out and about playing, and overall the mood …
When Someone Else Can Put It Into Words
Being the parent of a child with Autism is no easy task. To those of you doing it every day this is not new news. I’ve read so many books by the experts about everything from causes to best practices, but never have I been so struck by a book as I was when I read The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. Let me backtrack just a little. I am in a book club that I love. After so many years of …
Advice for Future Speech Language Pathologists
Deciding what you want to be when you “grow up” is often one of the most difficult decisions a person makes. For some it comes easily, but from my experience most people just aren’t sure and change their mind often. In this third part of the series in which we asked our expert Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) for their feedback, we wanted to know what advice they have for someone …
What Speech Therapists Want Parents to Know
In this second part of our series, we asked our expert Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) what they wish parents knew? The question was broad, it could be what they wish parents knew about speech therapy, about their child's disorder or pretty much about anything. Even with that said, the responses we got have some pretty clear themes. The first is that your SLP is your advocate, …
