Nolan is a 4-year-old from Oklahoma who has Autism, Developmental Delay, and Apraxia of Speech. He has been receiving speech therapy since 2 years old, both privately and in school. He is mostly non-verbal but is using some speech. He has recently received an Augmentative Device to help him with verbal output. The family reached out to The Orange Effect Foundation hoping for a week of …
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Why I Care About Speech Therapy
It’s no secret that the Orange Effect Foundation started because of our experience with our oldest who was diagnosed with Autism at age 2. We were so lucky to have early intervention and to be able to find ways to get the resources needed. We know not every family is that lucky. But I’m starting to realize that my journey with speech therapy started long before I became a mom. One of my …
What’s Your Why?
Every once in a while, I get a little distracted and I forget why I do things. I’m not talking about just why I walked in the kitchen, although that happens a lot too. I’m talking about why I do the work I do or even why I chose the profession I did. But I was reminded of my why at our last board meeting. The application review committee shared with us the stories of a couple of the …
Opportunities in Communication
I listened to an interesting podcast interview with someone named Chris Sacca on the Tim Ferris podcast (of Four-Hour Workweek fame). Chris seems to be one of those technology innovators that are in all the important meetings. He meets with leaders at ChatGPT, Microsoft, Google and all the rest. In the interview, Chris was asked what he thinks the career paths of the future will be. He …
A Great Definition of Vocation
I recently heard a great sermon. The Reverend was talking about how he found his grandpa‘s old watch from the 1960s or 70s that was given as a gift for 40 years of service at the person’s work. He was even wearing the watch to show everyone the stretchy band that was so popular back then. Reverend went on to say how he remembered how much his grandpa loved his work. The sermon then evolved into …
Taylor Seems To Get It
My friend Melanie has written twice now about Taylor Swift, and how her lyrics connects to people who are autistic. Melanie believes that Taylor’s songwriting speak to the autistic experience. She’s not the only one by the way. There are Facebook groups related to Autistic Swifties, podcasts about it, Reddit threads and more. In her most recent post, Melanie shares that the latest album …
Traveling the Spectrum
Did you know that 87% of families with children on the Autism Spectrum do NOT take vacations? I am always hesitant to share links that require a paid subscription to access it but I can’t pass this one up. We are blessed to know the family of one of the creators of a new show that highlights three families who have a loved one with Autism and are taking a vacation. Peter’s (one of the …
Why We Went Digital at OEF (and some Upcycle / Recycle ideas)
We are rolling into our second year being all digital here at The Orange Effect Foundation. It was a tough transition. First for the team who had to learn the entire online system, and then for the families and therapists who also had to learn how to submit digital applications, including uploading documents and using electronic signatures, etc. If you haven’t heard our backstory, it’s quite …
Everyone Is Talking About AI
It’s a bit dramatic, but I feel like I can’t get through a day without hearing something about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Oftentimes it’s great stories about people with disabilities such as speech impediments, that are able to communicate more effectively because of some new related technology. Other times it’s something more fearful, like robots taking over jobs or fear that AI will take …
A Time for Setting Goals
There are so many different ways people approach the end of a calendar year. Some spend a lot of time reflecting on the year gone by. Some look toward setting new goals for the upcoming year. Even though that process is different for everyone, the outcomes are often the same. We come up with a “list” of things to accomplish, or habits to start every day. In speech therapy, goals are set …
Fun Gift Ideas For Speech Therapy
Yes, you saw fun and speech therapy in the same sentence. Many of us learn best when the style is fun or revolves around play. Below find a great round-up of speech therapy gift ideas! My friend Cindy, a speech therapist here in the Northeast Ohio area, posted this great list that is definitely worth checking out and sharing! Ashley Rossi knocked it out of the park with this …
The Deaf Football Team That Defied Odds
I love a feel-good story. This one I found is a couple of years old, but was recently featured in a People magazine I was flipping through. I wanted to learn more so I found a few articles online. First, let me preface by saying that one of my favorite lines from the movie The Replacements is when the head coach tells his offensive coach that the new receiver is deaf. The …
