Kia ora folks! Ruby here again. This week we’ve been doing more enviro-madness, getting outdoors and considering many of the awesome solutions to healing our global ecosystem. We learnt about Greta Thunberg, Jane Goodall, Extinction Rebellion and the Fridays For Future movement, all of whom are challenging the rest of western society to think about […]
A week of EnviroMentality Read More »
Growing Kids Therapy Center’s STEM-focused Summer Institute is in full swing! This week, our group met for an Eggciting Physics Eggstravaganza, and kicked off the week with some eggsperiments. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Can you tell the difference between a raw egg and a hard-boiled egg just by spinning them? Can
GKTC Eggstravaganza Egg Drop! Read More »
TRIBE CONTINUES TO GIVE! The Tribe are nonspeaking young adults who meet weekly at Growing Kids Therapy Center and who use spelling as a form of communication and are all highly fluent in their ability to communicate. Growing Kids Therapy Center is dedicated to teaching non-speaking, minimally speaking and unreliably speaking individuals how to Spell
Tribe Spreads Love Read More »
TRIBE GIVES BACK! This year, the Tribe, a group of GKTC’s nonspeaking young adults, decided they wanted to devote their time and work to community philanthropy. Their efforts have been impressive. First, the Tribe held a toy drive at GKTC and collected over 3 boxes of toys which they delivered today to Cornerstones in Reston, Virginia. Cornerstones will
To the Board of Directors: I am writing to you to ask that you withdraw the proposals from the Ad Hoc committee on FC and RPM. Â The members of this committee have a longstanding public record of trying to discredit the use of FC, RPM and other forms of typing or spelling as a form
Open Letter to ASHA by Elizabeth Vosseller Read More »
Re: [TIME SENSITIVE] ASHA Policy Statement on RPM My name is Thomas Pruyn and I am a nonspeaking autistic who uses spelling to communicate. I am Ryan McMahon and I am a nonspeaking autistic who uses spelling to communicate. Like many other nonspeaking autistics, I, Ian Nordling, have found my voice by spelling on a
Open Letter to ASHA from The I&I Guys Read More »
We have been so grateful to spend the last 6 weeks with Shelby Watson, our fabulous Australian intern! Shelby was so eager to learn how to teach nonspeaking individuals to Spell to Communicate (S2C) that she packed up her bags, hopped a plane and embraced American life and clinical skills as a participant in our
When I first started working at Growing Kids, I worked with students who were brand new to Spelling to Communicate, as well as some who started with Elizabeth beforehand. Over that time, skills began to build, goals were being met, and fluency was increasing. For the students and for myself, as well! Doing a regular,
A Myth of Giant Proportions Read More »
Today we welcome guest blogger, Michele Kukler, one of our ACTS (Accessing Community Through Spelling) professional practitioners and teacher extraordinare of the Connections School of Atlanta. Michele and the incredibly dedicated teachers and staff at Connections are leaders in education as they include nonspeaking students along side speaking peers inside and outside the classroom through
Mindful Inclusion at the Connections School of Atlanta Read More »
When people meet Buddy, our OT dog, they often ask me how I became interested in animal assisted occupational therapy.  While this picture says 1,000 words, I will still write a few more! Well, the journey began when I was born. No, really!  My family adopted a golden retriever puppy a few months before I
What a spectacular night at the Atlas Theater in Washington DC for the screening of Deej! Deej is the must-see documentary about DJ Savarese, a nonspeaking autistic and his journey to be included as a college student. The film is powerful and a story that we hope will become common for all of our students.
DEEJ The Movie: Inclusion shouldn’t be a lottery Read More »
GKTC’s Tribe has kicked off the fall schedule with an exchange between The University of Virginia students and Tribe members. The University of Virginia students are taking the undergrad psychology course, The Science and Lived Experience of Autism along with the young adults of Growing Kids Therapy Center’s “Tribe”. Â Last year, the Tribe completed the
GKTC Tribe and UVA: Creating Welcoming Communities, a kickoff exchange! Read More »
