Join us on tomorrow night for our Webinar "Understanding Behavior: What are Autistic Children Communicating?"

xMindsWire March 2021

Spanish Interpretation for xMinds Speaker Events
ONE MORE STEP TOWARD ACCESSIBILITY


In our ongoing effort to make our resources accessible to everyone who can benefit from them, we are now providing simultaneous Spanish interpretation at our speaker events so that Spanish-speaking attendees can participate fully. Please help spread the word to any Spanish-speaking parents who might be interested!


Now Available -- xMinds Annual Summer Camp Guide
SUMMER IS AROUND THE CORNER!


It's been a long haul, but summer will come! Camps and programs are getting organized and gearing up, so it's time to start planning. To help you find the right fit, xMinds has put together a guide to summer camps and programs that kids on the spectrum have enjoyed in past years. Whether you are planning for in-person or virtual summer fun, there's a camp for your child!



Take Two: Our Rescheduled Webinar on "Understanding Behavior: What are Autistic Children Communicating?"

JOIN US ON OUR NEW DATE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10 @ 7PM – 9PM 


We had to reschedule this event from its original date in February, but it will be worth the wait!


Children on the spectrum often react or operate in ways that confound families and limit navigation of school and community; sometimes these behaviors even result in dangerous situations. Unfortunately, autistic children -- with or without apparent communication challenges -- often cannot articulate the reasons behind their actions. 


How can we as parents and educators understand the behavior we see? How can we figure out what the child may be reacting to? What are they communicating with their behavior? How should we respond and support our students? 


Join us to learn from our presenters: Sarah Wayland, Ph.D., founder of Guiding Exceptional Parents, and Kimberly Clairy, Occupational Therapist and autistic self-advocate. Register here.


Sarah Wayland and Kimberly Clairy (pictured with husband William Miller) will be presenters at our March 10 webinar. 

Join Team xMinds for Bike to the Beach 

NON-BIKERS NEEDED TOO

What's Bike to the Beach?  Bike to the Beach/Add Impact is a nonprofit that organizes bike rides around the country to help local autism organizations like xMinds raise money. xMinds has participated for the last three years. It's been a lot of fun and raised a lot of money!

What's involved for bike riders?  If you like to bike-ride and want to support xMinds, you can get together with other xMinds families on weekends this spring for training rides led by our team captain, Patrick Quigley. No pressure -- all the practice rides are optional. On July 30 the ride starts at Union Station, DC and ends at Dewey Beach, DE, but you can join at different starting points along the way if you want to do a shorter ride. Find out more about the ride here.

What's involved for non-bikers?  We need non-biking volunteers to staff the rest stop that we're going to host on the day of the bike ride (July 30). This is a great way to be involved, especially if another family member wants to ride. Find out more about volunteering here

When is the actual ride?  It's scheduled for Friday, July 30, so mark your calendars now. It's always on a Friday, and lots of families in the past have stayed at the beach for the following weekend.

How important is this to xMinds?  xMinds relies on this event to provide half our annual budget -- so it's important! 

How can I find out more?  Go to the xMinds website here

Upcoming xMinds Events

Wednesday, March 10, 7 PM – 9 PM

Understanding Behavior: What are Autistic Children Communicating?

(Online) See details here


Saturday, April 24, 10AM – 1PM

Navigating Special Education: An Overview for Parents in English and Spanish  

xMinds will host special education advocate Monica Martinez for the English version at 10am. We're partnering with Parents' Place of Maryland for the Spanish language version at 11am. (Online) See details here.


Community Events 

The xMinds March and April calendar is FULL of great offerings! Check out the programs and many free events listed there. Events Calendar

Plan Ahead

Our Events Calendar shows events on their start date, but some programs require you to apply before the start date, so please look ahead!  

Missed the online February Open House for Parents of Black Autistic Students?

A video recording of the presentation about xMinds resources is available on our website. The breakout sessions that followed were a great opportunity for participants to connect, and were not recorded.

Carolina Harp, Bonita Williams, and Kim Pinckney-Lewis hosted our February 27 Open House.

Professional Member Spotlight

This month, xMinds would like to highlight the following new and renewing Professional Members:


Matthew B. Bogin, Attorney at Law

5454 Wisconsin Ave., Ste. 760, Chevy Chase, MD 20815

(301) 656-1755; www.boginlaw.com

Contact: Matthew Bogin; matthew.bogin@boginlaw.com

Services: Financial/trust management


Matthew B. Bogin has been helping families with special needs members throughout the D.C. metropolitan area for over thirty-five years. He is well respected for his championing the varying rights of special needs clients. Currently his particular focus is ensuring that families with special needs members complete and review planning to ensure a successful future for these children. Because that calls for specialized knowledge and expertise, Matthew is ideally suited to assist clients in the area of special needs trust, estate planning, and guardianship.



Center for Anxiety & Behavioral Change (CABC)
50 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville, MD 20850

301-610-7850; changeanxiety.com

Contact: Jonathan Dalton; drdalton@changeanxiety.com; clinic-coordinator@changeanxiety.com

Services: Psychological counseling; Social skills therapy; Behavioral therapy

The Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change, with offices in Rockville, Maryland and McLean, Virginia, is a private treatment center that is dedicated to reducing the suffering of individuals living with anxiety and related disorders through state-of-the-art, evidence-based, behavioral treatment in the context of a warm, compassionate, and collaborative environment. These services are provided through individual, group, and family therapy. In addition, we provide professional training, consultation services, and public outreach as core aspects of our shared mission.



Center for Assessment And Treatment (CAAT)

8401 Connecticut Ave., Ste. 1000, Chevy Chase, MD 20815

240-424-0184; caatonline.com

Contact: David Black, Ph.D.; dblack@caatonline.com
Services: Psychological counseling; Social skills therapy; Behavioral therapy; Neuropsychological testing; Educational testing; Educational consulting; Academic tutoring/coaching

The Center for Assessment And Treatment (CAAT) was created to improve the lives of children, teens, and adults. Their team consists of compassionate clinicians who are dedicated to identifying the obstacles that interfere with an individual’s performance and creating personalized treatment plans to help the individual reach his or her full potential. CAAT provides extraordinary service through a uniquely integrated and continuous approach to evaluation, treatment, and support. We are committed to helping people reach their potential through careful evaluations of strengths and weaknesses and providing individually tailored, empirically-based interventions. 



Steven Kane, Ph.D. 
4405 East West Highway, Suite 501, Bethesda, MD 20814

240-476-8764; www.stevenkanephd.com
Contact: Steven Kane; stevenkanephd@verizon.net

Services: Psychological counseling; Social skills therapy.


Steven Kane provides psychotherapy to children and adults with diverse neurodevelopmental profiles. He has worked in special education, residential and private practice settings for over 30 years with a primary focus on autism spectrum disorders. 



Link Education Resources
17208 Wellflet Dr., Olney, MD 20832

240-644-4648; www.linkeducationresources.com
Contact: Eve Margol; eve@linkeducationresources.com

Services: Educational Consulting; Academic tutoring/coaching


Our philosophy is to provide children, parents and educators the greatest chance of success by offering the necessary supports, education, and skills for both the individual and group setting. In a group setting, a classroom, daycare or homeschool environment, LinkEducation Resources offers parents and educators research-based training and development of strategies for students' mindfulness, executive functioning and behavior modification as well as the underdeveloped student skills that often accompany and lay as the root of these behaviors. This multi-tiered and collaborative support approach partners parents, teachers and students to work as a team towards the shared goal of student success. On the individual level, LinkEducation Resources offers support for both typical and exceptional students in understanding and developing underlying academic areas of weakness and identifying strengths. This is done using an individualized tutoring approach combining research- based programs such as Orton Gillingham, Lindamood Bell, Handwriting Without Tears, and Framing Your Thoughts. Additionally, LER integrates strategies that will enable students to problem solve, stay organized and master challenging academic environments independently.



MOCO Movement Center

5268-A Nicholson Lane, Kensington, MD 20895

301-770-5437; www.MOCOmc.com
Contact: Andrea Santman; info@MOCOmc.com

Services: Occupational therapy; Physical therapy; Speech-language therapy; Behavioral therapy; Social skills therapy; Athletics/recreational support; Coaching


MOCO Movement Center is committed to excellence and puts our patients and families first! That means staying on the cutting-edge of medical research and education, truly understanding your child’s goals, and adapting therapy to meet their specific needs. Showing families how to interact and grow in a real-world environment is our way of showing you that MOCO’s commitment does not end at our doors.



SpeechKids, LLC
DC, MD, and VA

202-306-0505; http://www.speechkids.com; http://www.raisingorchidkids.com
Contact: Gabriele Nicolet; info@speechkids.com

Services: Speech-language therapy; Educational consulting; Coaching


Speech Kids provides holistic, developmental, attachment-based pediatric speech therapy serving DC, MD, VA. Raising Orchids is the parent education division of SpeechKids that offers parent education and parent support groups for parents of neurodiverse children (global, online), along with a monthly subscription service that past participants can opt into. 



Dr. Jamell White 
6288 Montrose Rd., Rockville, MD 20850

301-613-1766

Contact: Dr. Jamell White; drjamellwhite@gmail.com
Services: Psychological counseling; Social skills therapy; Behavioral support
 


Dr. Jamell White is a therapist specializing in working with children, adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities. She has over 20 years of experience providing individual and family therapy, social skills intervention, and care coordination for individuals with disabilities and their families. Dr. White is also a PEERS Certified Provider.


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