In February Dr. Stobbe spoke at an event in Seattle for a large group of Somali refugees to help them better understand Autism diagnosis and treatment. The Somali population all over the United States has a large incidence of Autism and many attribute the traits and behaviors of their autistic family members to religious and spiritual factors. Many Somalis believe Autism is a curse and condemn those who posses the disorder. They are not allowed to marry and suffer repercussions from the community. Interestingly enough, the NYT published an article on the front page of the science times on Tuesday discussing the Autism “outbreak” in the Somali population in Minnesota. They also highlighted Seattle but said no studies had been done yet to confirm if the same numbers were presenting themselves in other parts of the world. Any takers on this study? I hope ASTAR will consider once we have settled at the new location. Take a look at the article below.
Welcome to a brand new group and a brand new guild!
Seattle Children’s and ASTAR autism professionals and staff, along with many new ASD specialists are joining together in building the new, world class Seattle Children’s autism program. This new center will offer expanded, coordinated diagnostic and treatment services, research opportunities and professional training, for all families through the life span.
The Seattle Children’s ASTAR Autism Guild has been established to raise funds to support program growth to meet the needs of all families living with autism spectrum disorders.
Anyone is welcome to join the Guild… put in as much time and effort as you have to give and know that your support will have an impact in the autism community. If you’re ready to get involved today, we need you now to jump in the fast lane by joining the Guild’s Golf Committee for our first annual golf tournament May 15th!
We need your help recruiting players, obtaining sponsors, volunteering at the event and helping us launch our first guild event!
For more information email Mari at maris@astar.org.
Thanks for checking our new group! Please check in regularly for updates!
Dear Friend:
For a variety of reasons, 2009 may widely be remembered as a year of “change”.
And, in many exciting ways, change is coming to ASTAR.
Many of you may have seen an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last
week regarding the monumental integration of ASTAR with Seattle
Children’s Hospital. (If you did not see the article, you can read it
here:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401455_autism26.html)
The depth of autism expertise, doctors, staff and support
represented by these two organizations means the opportunity for bold
progress and a continued focus on life-long care for autism patients
and families in the Northwest and beyond.
While the Seattle Post-Intelligencer article
characterized this development as an “acquisition” we believe that may
be misleading. This is an integration of services, as no money was
exchanged. We see this as a partnership in every sense of the word. In
fact, In short, we believe this is the best partnership that could have
possibly happened for the autism community.
While this new effort will be further developed in the next few months, what we do know now is the following:
- The new ASTAR / Seattle Children’s autism partnership will have a
new building located between the University of Washington and Seattle
Children’s dedicated solely to autism. - Drs. Stobbe and Osterling, as well as ASTAR families, will have
improved access to and improved coordination of care with Seattle
Children’s GI services, sleep studies, labs, SLP and inpatient
procedures. - Our ASTAR staff are not being ‘absorbed’ by Seattle Children’s, but
rather will be partners in part of this larger integration effort. The
new project, although it falls under the Children’s umbrella, will
continue to serve individuals and families through their lifespan.
ASTAR patients and families will see little to no change in their
service in the next few months. When we do know what will change, we
will post new information on our website, as well as in direct
communication to you via mail or email.
Many of you have questions as to what this means now or in the future, please feel free to contact us directly at: info@astar.org. (Note: This new email address replaces astar_center@msn.com, which has been compromised and is no longer being used.)
Thank you,
Dr. Gary Stobbe Mari Stobbe
At ASTAR, we know that “spring break” means an increase in frantic phone calls to the office regarding a variety of behavioral, social and emotional issues kids are having surrounding the lack of school and normal routine. Your kids aren’t as tired out at the end of the day, they are bored and destructive, they don’t want to comply with their medication on non-school days. We know breaks are hard.
I stumbled upon this article from the NYT (dated Sept. 08) giving quite a few options and new programs for families wanting to travel with their autistic child(ren).
Here are a couple good takeaways from the article:
1) Cruises with Autism on the Seas provide special space for autistic families. Staff is trained to deal with autistic guests, no waiting in line, early seating at meals, special diet accommodations and air conditioned special needs play areas.
2) For winter activities try Smuggler’s Notch Adaptive Program, also known as SNAP. Snap provides a 1:1 ratio of instructor. Instructors are trained on developmental disabilities, specifically Autism.
Tips before you go:
1) Get a doctors note explaining your child’s medical condition. This will allow you to dodge any lines and also make airport security far less stressful.
2) Practice “new situations” with your child before you leave. Simulate the airport security process or how swimming in a pool may feel.
3) Video of family from NYT article
Lastly, keep us posted on your travel ideas!
Until tomorrow,
Lauren
Welcome to the Astar Center Blog. Whether you have stumbled upon us on a google search or are a long time community member, we would like to welcome you to the blog! Astar Center is a non-profit Autism Treatment and Research Center is Seattle, WA. We have a number of practitioners in our office, namely Dr. Gary Stobbe M.D., medical director, and Jan Bersin, R.N. We provide comprehensive medical and psychological diagnosis and treatment for families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Hi Everyone! Welcome to the newest adventure with ASTAR, a blog! We are hoping to create a more established and even fun community for ASTAR families, supporters and the autistic community at large. Enjoy the ride….
Autism Treatment and Research Center 