There's an app for that

Anyone who knows me well knows that a) I've never met a gadget I don't like, and b) as far as I'm concerned, God must have created the iPhone.

I've found a couple of great autism-related apps at the iTunes store, and was pleased to see that quite a few more are available. I've had some fun playing with Behavior Tracker Pro, which I got on sale for $10. It's also available for the BlackBerry and the Google Android. If you need to keep behavior data on your kid, this is a pretty cool way to do it. I can track frequency and duration of behaviors, or do a full ABC workup, with just a few taps. But again, I'm a gadget junkie.

I also bought Is That Gluten Free?, which is exactly what it appears to be -- a database of gluten-free foods that includes national brands and some grocery store brands. It's not a perfect fit for our community -- what many of us really need is 'Is That GFCF and Maybe SF?' -- but I've always found it most challenging to ferret out all the potential sources of gluten from an ingredient list. Casein is a bit more straightforward. Also, Leah has celiac disease, which means that cheating on special occasions and compensating with a good enzyme (which I know some people do from time to time) is not an option. Although we've been doing the celiac thing for awhile, I still have to make the occasional call to manufacturers. I'm hoping this app will save me some time.

I also saw a lot of ABA flash cards in the app store. I have no experience with them, but it was nice to see them there. The flip side to the flash cards is, if you use them, you have to let your kid know what the iPhone can do. Which is sort of like opening Pandora's box. I speak from experience. Leah is quite adept at stealing my iPhone when I'm not looking and using the You Tube app to find her favorite Guinness commercials and Phineas and Ferb bits.

In fact, I think I hear her coming. Time to secure the gadget.

--Alison Hamilton

A great meeting!

Final head counts aren't in yet (i.e., we haven't had time to go over the sign-in sheets), but early estimates are that we had between 30 and 40 people at our meeting yesterday. Our thanks to Dr. Richard Layton for a great talk and to Dr. Pamela Compart and the staff at HeartLight Healing Arts for donating their space.

Dr. Layton addressed a lot of things, but one point that resonated with me came toward the end, when he characterized his DAN practice as a combination of both the art and science of medicine. He acknowledged that his work evolves frequently, saying that he has discarded some of the approaches he was using a few years ago and may find new, better practices tomorrow. I've been on the biomedical path for -- gulp -- six years now, and in that time I have acquired a true appreciation of the flexibility and openness to new ideas required of a DAN practitioner. While many mainstream doctors can fall back on the same approaches to medicine year in and year out (whether or not they should is an argument for another day), a good DAN doctor cannot. They have to adapt to the issues our kids are presenting today.

I also appreciated his candor -- he was quite honest in saying that biomedical approaches lead to recovery for some, improvement for others, and few effects for some kids. He also said something I and many other parents have expressed before -- that in our shoes, he would use the DAN protocol on his own children, because he'd want to look back and know he'd tried every possibility. I'm the mother of a slow responder, and while I have faith in the biomedical approach, I often call it an emerging field. I'm thrilled at the number of kids who are already benefiting from biomedical treatments and remain hopeful that our slow responders will catch up in time. I appreciate that Dr. Layton and others like him are willing to practice the art of medicine, because it is that adaptability that will keep DAN moving forward.

As will I. Pretty sure it's time to go and administer some more probiotics.

-- Alison Hamilton

Welcome

Believe it or not, our first birthday is approaching. This time last year, we were preparing to launch the TACA Maryland/DC chapter. We were especially pleased with our decision to apply for a chapter when we realized participation in the annual TACA boot camp -- held in warm, sunny southern California in January -- was mandatory. Jokes aside, we were drawn to TACA's focus on families helping families and impressed that TACA offers 95% of its programs for free.

Like most startups, we've had leaps forward and more challenging steps as we've worked to establish TACA in our community. Our Yahoo group has grown to more than 100 members, and we're grateful for those members' willingness to contribute their ideas and knowledge. The need and desire for TACA is clearly out there. Our biggest challenge this year has been finding free space for our meetings, available at times our members can be there. Initially we thought the best way to reach as many people as possible was to alternate months between Montgomery and Anne Arundel Counties. Meeting space remained challenging, and attendance fluctuated. At the end of last year, thanks to Dr. Compart and HeartLight Healing Arts, we found a solution. They have generously offered to host us every month at their office in Columbia, beginning this Sunday, January 17. We're excited to christen our new meeting space with a talk on the allergy-autism connection by Dr. Layton, and we're looking forward to seeing many of you there. After a month off in December, we're itching to give away some Journey Guides too!

We also have a few New Year's resolutions to grow our chapter. Watch this space and the Yahoo group for details:

• Take advantage of the digital age. With this new blog, we're partway there already. We will be inviting some of our active members to contribute content. We're also working on ways to make more of our meeting content available online.
• Plan some family activities. We're hoping to start by planning something fun for autism awareness month in April. Dads' nights out will continue in Montgomery County.
• Keep getting the word out. We hope to have a TACA presence at the DAN conference in Baltimore this April, and possibly one of the Autism Speaks walks in the fall. Other chapters have done this; we're waiting for the budget gurus to approve our requests.
  
• Keep reaching out to new families. We're always on the lookout for new mentors and we're hoping to host a TACA Autism Journey Seminar later this year.

So, welcome 2010! We're looking forward to a great year.

-- Alison Hamilton