Kyle at School 3 of 8

In this video, Kyle identifies colors, is rewarded with toys, works on action verbs with object cards, and performs imitations such as "do this" while raising his arms.

Kyle at School 2 of 8

Not much success here, but: fine motor skills using building blocks, identifying colors of blocks

Kyle at School 1 of 8

This video is the first in a series of 8 videos of Kyle at School with his teacher Carol, who is assisting him this month. I will give a summary below each video so that if you don't want to watch all of them, you can find the ones that do look interesting to you.



In this video, Kyle identifies objects by name from pictures. He also discerns them by pointing them out. This method of learning is called Discreet Trial Training (DTT).

Letter

Some of you may not have known whyKyle was able to go to summer school this year. It was because of a grant we received......here's a thank you letter which explains more:

To Whom it May Concern,

My wife, Jana, and I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness for the gracious and unmerited gift of therapy provided to our autistic son Kyle during the summer of 2008, thanks to a grant provided to the Child Developmental Center by the Carson Kolzig Foundation. Without their support, Kyle would have gone without critically necessary intervention during the entire summer after the school bell rang on the last day of pre-kindergarten. But because of your generous support, Kyle was able to immediately transition into his stable and accomplished program with Christine Lindgren, whose oversight originally preceded early intervention by the school district.

It was through Christine's autism therapy sessions at the CDC that Kyle was able to develop from the age of two to three in the most professional, helpful, loving, and nurturing environment, outside of his home. The five months that Kyle spent away from Christine's classroom while in Richland School District were simply the changing of the tide for Kyle. Because of the foundations of trust and comfortable routines, Kyle was able to easily and willingly transition back into Christine's classroom. There, he regained his ability to perform neurotypical functions such as increased eye contact and other crucial cognitive abilities.

Honestly, we were surprised, but thankful, to learn that this grant was only available to one child, thus fatefully ours. As you know, in the state of Washington when children turn age three, they transition to the school district. But, when summer quickly arrives, as it did just five months after my son transitioned, the child is left to himself or herself and whatever means the parents or caregivers have. This is an unfortunate crack in the system of absolutely necessary full time early intervention of our young autistic children.

Therefore, as receivers of this wonderful gift that we could not imagine any autistic child without, we do testify of the accomplishment and value that it has contributed to this family. By any means necessary, I encourage the continuation of your philanthropic efforts to support the endeavor of helping and healing the most beautifully gifted children on God's Earth. If I may support your cause in any way, please feel free to contact me personally.


With my Deepest Regard and Thankfulness,



Nathan Long.
Richland

Boys at Bechtel Annual Picnic

These "Vimeo" videos are best viewed in high definition. In order to see them this way, hover your cursor over the video and click on "HD Off" and follow the link.

Check out the Baby Preacher!

Isaac's Upward Soccer Game

Montana Trip

Sunset

Jana got a good sunset shot right out our front door last night.

Kyle's Ready for School!

Kyle wanted to get ready for school a little bit early today. He was ready to go about 30 minutes early, but happy nonetheless.

Sillly Boy

Kyle decided he was going to stuff his entire french toast into his mouth. He looks like an ape! :) He gets to eat in the bathtub sometimes when he wakes up late and needs to rush off to school.

He Likes Hats

Isaac's First Day of Kindergarten!!

 

 

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This is Kyle and me on the dock at my Grandpa's house in Montana.

Tillamook Vacation to see Tia

Back in School!!

We're so glad Kyle went back to school yesterday. To be honest, it's been a tough summer for him. He's been bored and his behavior has shown it. Next summer, we're definitely going to have more for him to do, whatever it takes.

Yesterday, his teacher wrote a note home saying, "Today I worked with Kyle but Teacher Carol will be working with him starting tomorrow for the month of September. [They switch paraprofessionals every month.] Kyle seemed very happy to be back. [Indeed he was. He got to ride the bus and wasn't the least bit shy getting on.] He did very well with the routine. He remembered many of the vocabulary pictures. With review, he will remember the rest quickly, I think. He knew shapes expressive 100% and only missed 3 of the 10 colors. He had a great day!"

Well we're off to a good start!

Kyle's Favorite Activity

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Photo in Newspaper

 

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Kyle was in the Newspaper!

Thursday, Apr. 10, 2008
Health & Fitness
Targeting autism early
Richland's CADET specialists take team approach to diagnosing, treating disorder
By Laura Kate Zaichkin, Herald staff writer

Kyle Long spent the first half of his life meeting normal developmental milestones.
The Richland toddler had a vocabulary of about two dozen words, played with his brother and was "spot on with everything," said his father, Nate Long.

Then his vocabulary began to disappear, and Kyle retreated into himself. "He was in his own world," Long said. "Other kids would be engaging with us, but he'd rather play with his trucks.

"He was a really happy kid so we didn't see anything wrong with it."
Kyle, now 3, was the first child diagnosed by Richland's Children's Developmental Center's Comprehensive Autistic Disorders Evaluation Team, or CADET, which started last month.

CADET is the only Tri-City team that uses specialists in many disciplines to diagnose autism. And they review the largest age range of children in the area, explained Christine Beck, the program's autism specialist.

Most physicians won't diagnosis autism before children are 3, while CADET's team of Beck, a pediatric neuropsychologist, physical therapist and speech therapist will diagnose those who are 15 months to 7 years old.

"We're all about early diagnosis," Beck said. "We want to push the importance of the early identification."
The disorder that affects one in every 150 children affects the development of social and communication skills. Autism affects nearly 1.5 million Americans.

Beck says early diagnosis generally leads to a better prognosis for the child. Once diagnosed, both the child and family can learn more about dealing with autism, including information on communication and adaptive and social skills.

Kyle was officially diagnosed with late-onset autism only about a month ago, though he has been at the developmental center since last summer with suspected autism. Already "he's made phenomenal progress," Beck said.

CADET is accepting referrals, and the evaluation process begins with a referral to Dr. Scott Grewe, the team's pediatric neuropsychologist. From there, the team does a series of interviews with the family as well as standardized tests that cater to the respective age group.

"They're pretty thorough," Long said. "They're things that parents wouldn't really think about.
"There's a lot of things that parents think are cute when their kids are young," he added. "But they're really flags."
For instance, Nate and Jana Long noticed Kyle laughed hysterically at things that children wouldn't normally find funny, like a child sliding down a slide. He also used repetitive motions with his toys.

Early diagnosis is just as important for parents and families of autistic children as it is for the children themselves, Beck said. Once diagnosed, families are provided with knowledge and resources to help them cope.

"Autism, no matter what, is awful and hard," Beck said. But education, "makes autism a little bit less scary. It helps parents feel less helpless."