CLEVELAND - Oct. 3, 2016 -- Strengthened by the tremendously successful annual Golf for Autism event held in August, the Orange Effect Foundation announced today that it has awarded five grants for speech therapy and assistive technology. These grants will empower five more children and young adults, helping them to transform their lives. One eighteen-year-old recipient received funds to …
blog
A Look Back at Autism: Denial
Summer of 2003. I remember it very well. I was a stay-at-home mom and the happiest one that there ever was. I had two boys, 22 months and 4 months old. We attended library story time and play groups. We went to the park where Joshua, the oldest, could swing for hours. We were an active and happy family with great support systems and lots of love. I believed everything anyone would tell me that …
Extending Grace
Dear Mamas At Chick-fil-A, To the one I judged. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not biting my tongue and taking a moment to see past your son’s behavior. I’m sorry I raised my voice when he pushed my son around. As soon as we left that day I knew I was wrong. I asked for forgiveness and prayed for you. Mamas face a lot of messes. If I were to see you face-to-face, I’d admit I was …
Getting the Most Out of Your Child’s Speech Therapy
Learn how to get the most out of your child's speech therapy sessions. Whether you are new to therapy or your child has attended many sessions, this podcast will discuss what you can expect and how to build upon sessions for practice at home. Certified speech language therapist, Sara Solet, offers concrete tips and tools for families that you can use to optimize therapy sessions and practice what …
Seeing Orange!
We're seeing oceans of orange and it's beautiful! The Orange Effect Foundation is thrilled to be here at Content Marketing World 2016, the world's largest content marketing event. With over 3,500 delegates from 74 countries in attendance, the word is quickly getting out about the world of good that the Orange Effect is doing to empower children and young adults with speech disorders. Help us to …
Meet ROTUS, The White House’s First Deaf Receptionist
The Orange Effect Foundation recently funded sign language therapy for a hearing impaired young girl and her family. We hope that by empowering her communication, this child is able to set her sights high. Hearing impairments should not hold any one back. Come along with Leah Katz-Hernandez, the White House's first deaf receptionist, as she gives a tour of the West Wing in sign language. …
Back to School Speech Therapy Tips for Parents
Summer is coming to an end, and a new school year is right around the corner! To help your child start the year off right try using these tips: Prepare: As your child gets ready to head back to school it is a great time to help prepare him or her for what to expect. Writing a social story about his or her new school schedule might help make things go smoother. An example of a back to school …
Does Sucking on a Pacifier Harm Speech Development?
There is not a clear-cut answer to this question. While the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association takes the position that overuse of pacifiers can negatively impact speech development, results of studies investigating this question have yielded mixed results when comparing the speech skills of pacifier users versus non-pacifier users. What does the research say? Pacifier use has been …
Joshua Pulizzi Gives 10th Annual Speech to Golf Outing Attendees
Joshua Pulizzi, son of Orange Effect Foundation founders, Joe and Pam Pulizzi, has addressed the attendees at every annual golf outing since they began in 2006. Good evening, and thank you for coming out here to support Autism tonight. My name is Joshua Pulizzi. Most children start talking around 6 months. However, I was two years old and I hadn’t said a single word; all that came out of my …
Finding the Right Words
The Orange Effect Foundation supports early speech therapy—and for one family, helps a child find words to express her delight. At 2 years old, Bridey loves to paint and get messy playing outside. Her mom describes her as a free spirit with lots of love and affection to spread around to her three siblings—all under the age of 4. Yet when Bridey was 16 months her mother Kelly noticed she wasn’t …
Learning About Speech Production
What is the typical progression for learning to produce the speech sounds? Children begin developing speech as an infant. By 6 months of age, babies coo and play with their voices producing sounds such as "oo, uh, mm, da, and goo." Children learn speech by imitating the sounds they hear. Caregivers talking about what they are doing during the day, singing songsand reading books expose the child …
Transforming Speech Therapy With New Treatments
By Melissa Pandika Whenever Matt Maxion approached the counter at McDonald’s, he wanted nothing more than to order chicken nuggets. But the bespectacled 7-year-old knew what would happen when he reached the “n” in “nuggets”: the tremulous, uncontrollable stutter that sometimes made his jaw clench and his chest ache as he felt himself shrink with shame. His tongue caught on harsh consonants — …
