CLEVELAND - April 11, 2018 - PRLog -- An orange wave is taking over the country. After a March 2018 board meeting, The Orange Effect Foundation is proud to announce that since it began awarding grants in late 2015, the foundation has funded over 85 children in 17 states nationwide. The most recent set of grants, awarded in mid-March after a thorough application review process, provides 26 children …
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Cavaliers Expand Accessibility For Fans With Sensory Issues
It's NBA Playoff Season (Go Cavs!) and whether you prefer to catch the game from your couch or are fortunate enough to have tickets to a game, several arenas have recognized that watching a pro game can be sensory overload for some fans. In fact, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the first to offer a sensory room in a U.S. sports facility in March 2017 (like I said, GO CAVS!) These rooms feature …
State of the Arts to Enhance Learning
The arts have always been an avenue to aid the development of all children. Teaching children how to express themselves and their emotions through artmaking is not new, as we spend more time with our children at home. The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) denotes that 'Art therapy' enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, …
Get Ready to Golf!
As the Orange Effect Foundation (OEF) continues to grow, we are now fundraising full time to meet the demand of children and families with need. That said, our golf outing is still our biggest fundraiser. Registration is now open for the 12th Annual OEF Golf for Autism. It's hard to believe that this amazing event started all the way back in 2007. It's wonderful to see the support of so many as …
Ultrasound Unlocks Articulation Roadblock
In this article published in the March 2018 Outcomes Magazine by the Harding University Center for Health Sciences, a speech-language pathologist shares a patient's breakthrough after ultrasound is used to map articulation. Lucie’s speech was atypical. In fact, it was like nothing that I had encountered in almost 20 years of practice as a pediatric speech-language pathologist. Lucie had been …
When Everything…Even Getting In Trouble…Is AMAZING!
From my UNscientific research*, about 10% of parents have been told that their child will not be able to do something. Maybe they were told their child can’t play a particular sport due to a past injury, or that their child cannot participate in an academic completion due to a learning disorder or walk without assistance due to a birth defect. Whatever it is, no matter the issue, parents just …
Music Therapy Moves Kids With Speech Delays
A German study published in 2010 revealed that music therapy helps facilitate speech development. If the German scientists could have spoke with Aristotle or Plato, they would have been told the exact same thing. Humans have been using music therapy for delayed speech since the time of the great philosophers. The result of music to encourage speech is an increased confidence in communication …
Seeking Balance
February has always been such an interesting month for me. Here in Cleveland it is often the “grayest” month of the year, meaning we don’t get much sunshine! But it is also the month of St. Valentine’s Day! Love is constantly in the air. It makes me reflect on relationships a bit more, including those with my children. What a struggle it is to balance accepting them the way they are with trying …
Caring For Siblings of Sick or Disabled Children
Recently, The New York Times featured an article that discussed the needs of siblings of a special needs or sick child. The author, Dr. Perri Klass, M.D., emphasizes the importance of communication and reminds parents that the illness should not be treated like a mystery. She also provides practical tips such as reminding parents to give one-on-one time to siblings and to maintain normalcy as much …
Recipient Spotlight: Charlotte
Four-year-old Charlotte used a speech-generating device to communicate for two years. Due to decreased fine motor skills resulting from cerebral palsy, the device became a source of extreme frustration. It now took Charlotte almost a full minute to locate and touch the screen on her device just to complete a single word. Charlotte needed a new way to a communicate. A visual tracking system …
Georgia Brothers On the Road to Communication
The Orange Effect Foundation funds speech devices like the ones described here. For more information on what we fund, please visit www.theorangeeffect.org. This article appeared on Dynavoxtech.com Eight-year-old James Ellerbee III likes to go for rides in the country, so much so that his mother likes to call one of his favorite roads “James’ Way.” James is also a fan of survival video games and …
Change and the Autistic Teenager
When my son Joshua was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two, I read every book I could get my hands on… (the internet wasn’t quite that big of a thing yet for resources). One of the things I read was that some Autistic teens get moody, even aggressive, as they start having hormonal changes. I kept this in the back of my mind for many years and knock on wood, at age 16 we still haven’t had …
