Greetings from Jenin!

Today concludes my third day in Jenin and already there are many exciting updates to share about the project!

Yesterday I met with the governor of Jenin and he endorsed the project. He also gave approval for us to hold autism education programs in the schools, for adults in the community and at local universities. When we spoke about autism, he asked whether autism is caused by TV and computers. There is definitely a lack of autism awareness in the community but families of children with autism and community members alike seem eager to learn.

This morning we held an informational session for mothers in Jenin who are interested in participating in the program. Everyone at the meeting filled out a survey about their child’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their own comfort with their child’s diagnosis. These surveys will allow our team to design an ABA curriculum that focuses on the needs and goals of the families in the community.

At the end of the meeting, parents had many questions. One of the first questions that a woman asked was whether her child would ever “be normal.” Unlike my previous experience working on this project in the West Bank though (those of you who have been following this project from the beginning know what I am talking about), the mothers who came to the meeting today, although devastated by the diagnosis of their child seem to have accepted the diagnosis and are at a stage where they are looking to help their children succeed in every way possible.

Other questions that were asked were about the benefit of gluten-free casein-free diets, how to help a child with autism who is struggling with sleeping, how long therapy should be continued and whether Ritalin is an appropriate drug for autism as it is commonly prescribed to children with autism here. Our team will address these questions on a case by case basis, but if you are an autism professional reading this blog and have any suggestions about these topics, please feel free to comment below with your advice!

Welcome Nutritionist Jan Katzen to the Jenin team!

Diet is often a question for families of children with autism. Fortunately, for families in Jenin we have a dietician on our team to ensure that the children in our program are receiving holistic care at the cooperative and in the home. 

Jan Katzen is a certified nutritional therapist and educator. She also works as a consultant for schools and food manufacturers.

Jan studied nutrition and health under the guidance of renowned professor Michael Crawford, director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at the London Metropolitan University. She interned with Nim Barnes, founder of Foresight Preconceptual Care (Bognor Regis, England) and is the Foresight U.S. programme director.

She is a former certified AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) educator with decades of experience teaching and feeding children. She has published numerous articles and books on nutrition with a focus on preconception health, brain and child development. Jan is on the advisory boards of The Mother and Child Foundation (UK) and The Montessori Education for Autism Foundation (UK).

Jan knows the paramount importance for families and educational communities to become familiar with the nutrients in the food we eat, their specific jobs, and understand how to “feed the brain” not just the body. In fact, this is what inspired teacher Jan to change careers and become a nutritional interventionist and educator. It became increasingly clear to Jan that certain styles of eating were complementary to attention, mood, and behavior and others, not only detrimental, but cognitively disruptive.

 Under the direction of Professor Crawford, Jan researched nutrients uniquely and collaboratively in brain development for her scientific article, The Declaration of Nutrition, Health, and Intelligence for the Child-To-Be (2007), published in the UK. Jan states, ” Nutritional research points in the same conclusive direction; specific nutrients are required throughout the life-span to support mental health and deficiencies may prevent conception, compromise the neurological development of the embryo and fetus, diminish a child’s ability to learn, and impair future mental health.”

Jan’s specificity in nutrients and brain function paved her way into working with a developmental pediatrician and children with neurodevelopmental delays and difficulties. She specializes in providing individualized eating plans, nutritional education, support and guidance for families of children with language disorders, developmental delays, sensory integration issues, dyslexia, reading and attention problems, autism and correlative mood, behavioral and health issues. She has clients worldwide with complex neurological challenges such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease which is a deterioration of myelin and Prader-Willi syndrome, a chromosomal deletion affecting cognitive development and abilities. 

Jan works for a developmental pediatrician, maintains a private practice in Phoenix, and offers telephone and Skype consultations to clients worldwide. She is a certified nutritional educator and instructs educators, school communities, health professionals, and organizations. Jan loves to instruct small groups providing one-on-one attention and hands-on practicum.

This class is ideal for the Jenin Autism project. Jan is ecstatic about teaching nutritional/brain principles to the Moms of autistic children in Jenin. She states. “I was mentored by benevolent and impassioned nutritional scientists. It is a distinct honor to pass along what was selflessly given to me. Jenin’s rich agricultural opportunities and small farming community make this an ideal environment for feeding nutrient dense, fresh food to children.”

Jan has a sub-specialty in preconception nutrition for Mom and Dads-To-Be.

Jan can be contacted with questions  602.595.2027  or Jan@nutritionforlearning.com  Visit her web sitewww.nutritionforlearning.com

CGI America

This week I had the opportunity to attend the Clinton Global Initiative America conference as a volunteer. The Clinton Global Initiative is a non-partisan organization that promotes commitments to action that measurably improve America and the world. In fact, A Global Voice for Autism is a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment that I made for the CGI University conference this past April. Hearing speeches by former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and a dialogue between former President Bill Clinton and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was inspiring to say the least, but the number of high-level professionals who dedicated their weekends to making commitments concerning Early Childhood Education was especially inspiring.

Because this was a conference about American advancement, the individuals that were present primarily represented local, statewide and national organizations. However, one point  is universally agreed upon: parental involvement in early education is crucial.

Whether a child is involved in a Head Start program or ABA therapy, the commitment of the parents to their success plays a large role in the ability of the child to succeed. Hilary spent the early part of her career working at the Children’s Defense Fund where she advocated for special needs children who were denied access to special education. In situations where schooling is not an option for special needs children (as is the case in Jenin), parental engagement becomes even more important for a child’s success. Before a child reaches the age of 5, 700 new neural connections are formed every minute. These connections lay the foundation for behavior and learning. Activities such as reading to children and engaging with them socially enable a child’s healthy development. Autism is never a parent’s fault but by engaging with their children, parents help their child maximize their ability to succeed.

Just like the Clinton Foundation, we believe that partnerships are key to making progress whether working domestically or abroad. For this reason, our intervention services focus on teaching parents how to work with and to advocate for their children. In addition to information about autism and training in ABA, parents will be taught about nutrition (a post about our nutritionist Jan Katzen will be coming soon!), taking their children into the community and about the potential of individuals with autism. We hope that the parents in our program and in the Jenin community will no longer feel helpless and that they will realize the amazing things of which their children are capable and will understand that their involvement makes a significant difference in their child’s success and quality of life.

To watch Hilary Clinton’s full speech about early childhood development click HERE.

Thank You For Your Support!

It is hard to believe that within the past year this project as gone from an idea that developed on a school trip to Jerusalem to a program that brings together people from communities around the world to make autism services accessible to children who would not otherwise have access to these services.

A Global Voice for Autism is fortunate to be partnering with The Jenin Creative Cultural Center and its wonderful and generous director to carry out this project in the Jenin community. A special thank you goes to Trefor Lloyd for connecting me to the Jenin community. Another special thank you is due to Qazi Fazli Azeem of Autism Pakistan who has been a constant support throughout the development of this project over the past year and who has volunteered as a guest speaker at our August 1st fundraiser in Minneapolis. There are many more people to thank for this project, including all of our Facebook and Twitter followers and the countless people who have asked about ways to get involved since the project officially launched in April. Please see the Our Supporters page for a list of people whose financial and moral support has enabled this project from the beginning.

Last but not least, a big thank you goes to our Jenin Autism Project Travel team. This group of BCBAs and ABA therapists has committed to taking time off from their jobs and obligations in the U.S. to volunteer their services training mothers of children with autism in Jenin in ABA. Kitti, Megan, Daniel and Ashlea are all therapists at different organizations in the Richmond area who are coming together to carry out this project. Additionally, Megan is designing a curriculum for our training program that is specific to the cultural, educational and community needs in Jenin. Check out The Jenin Autism Project Team page to learn more about our impressive therapist travel team.

If you are interested in getting involved in volunteering, fundraising for or sponsoring The Jenin Autism Project or future endeavors of A Global Voice for Autism (Site in Jordan for Syrian refugees hopefully coming in summer 2014), please contact Melissa Diamond at: thejeninautismproject@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest in our project and we hope that you will continue to follow our journey and spread the word.

Also…Follow us on Twitter @JeninAutismPro and Like us on Facebook here.