Rowell Family Empowerment of Northern California

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Support, Education, & Advocacy

RFENC
Rowell Family Empowerment of Northern California

Ethan, Age 6
Loves animals, has Autism

S.L.A.T.E
Successful Living with Autism through Training & Education

Autism Ribbon

S.L.A.T.E Manual
(4.6 mb Word doc)

Empowering the Autism and Aspergers Community

Successful Living with Autism through Training and Education (SLATE) is a program under RFENC. The SLATE organization was founded in May 2002, by a group of parents led by a dynamic and committed mother, Dr. Karen Crum. During the summer of 2003, SLATE initiated its first Social Training Program, supported by Far Northern Regional Center and fundraising, which served fifteen children, ages 6-14 with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Outcome data assessing goal achievement as well as parent and child perceptions deemed the program a success.

SLATE will provide support and education for families and friends of children with ASD throughout the lifespan. SLATE will increrase specialty services to children with ASD, and increase inclusion in the community from preschool through the teen years and beyond. SLATE has three major components: parent education, community education, and social skills training for children with ASD.

Dr. Karen Crum, S.L.A.T.E. Founder

Dr. Karen Crum has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Health Science and a Doctoral degree in Public Health and Preventive Care. Her focus of graduate education was in Health Psychology and Health Behavior Change. She did her initial work with autism and learning disabilities during college. However, Dr. Crum attributes most of her knowledge to on-the-job training as the parent of a teenage daughter with mild autism.

In the effort to help her daughter, Dr.Crum spent years researching and educating herself and others about autism. SLATE serves children with autism spectrum disorders and their families by providing education to parents, professionals, paraprofessionals and the community, and by providing direct social-emotional training to affected children. In addition to her work with SLATE, Dr. Crum serves on the board of the Autism Society of Northern California, and speaks to diverse groups on topics related to autism, parenting children with special needs, faith and coping with grief. Dr. Crum can be reached via email at shastaslate@charter.net.

Click the icon to watch a short clip. Dr. Crum introduces the S.L.A.T.E program.

FORMS

Please make sure you fill out the appropriate form completely and thoroughly!

Inclusion Assistant
Application

Get S.E.T
Student Registration Form
Peer Registration Form

The social skills training program known as Get SET (Social Emotional Training) is a program designed to meet the needs of the children with ASD by providing a direct service that focuses on social skills. Right now, it is specific to the Redding area. The program is designed to meet the different skill levels of the children by carefully placing the children in homogeneous, small groups that best suit their needs. The Get SET program runs over the summer months 3 days a week and 2-4 times a month over the months when school is in session. Get SET promotes a combination of social emotional skills training, language and social skills building. Get SET incorporates typical children as peer mentors to provide a natural role model to the child with ASD while a facilitator assists the process. The peer mentors are trained by SLATE to support and guide the child with ASD in an inclusive classroom. The social skills training program is staffed by highly skilled teachers, speech pathologists, psychologists, counselors, inclusion assistants, and sometimes skilled parents.

If you have a child with Autism age 4 or older, and you'd like to get your child enrolled in this program please call the Redding office of Rowell Family Empowerment at 226−5129.

S.L.A.T.E Parent Group

Since its inception SLATE has monthly parent group meetings for parents, families and friends of children with ASD. These meetings provide a forum for support, education, program idea generation and fundraising/ASD awareness planning. To keep parent input and involvement alive SLATE set up a system which requires a minimum of 5 hours of parent involvement per year. Parents who fulfill this quota are given first priority for the very popular Summer Get SET program, while those who do not fulfill the time may have their children put on a waiting list.

Overview

Parent education classes are held in a one hour monthly format type of meeting. These sessions focus on helping parents support their children in home, community and school environments, and to provide continuity in all settings. Parents are also trained how to advocate for their children and families. The parents are encouraged to become active in community ASD awareness. Parents are an effective tool in promoting systematic change within the community.

Topics of Interest

Topics of interest were chosen by the parents. There are several areas where further education is needed to provide children with the best intervention to promote independence later in life. The classes are designed to provide support and education for families and friends and to increase inclusion into the community for the child with ASD. The classes focus on critical topics such as:

• How to Keep Children Safe
• What to Teach at Home/School
• How to Nurture and Empower Siblings
• Dealing with Ongoing Parental Grief
• How to Interact with Teachers in a way that Most Benefits Your Child
• How to Prepare for an IEP/IFSP
• Disciplining Children with Behavior Issues
• Estate Planning for Families
• Maintaining a Healthy Marriage
• Healthy Beginnings
• Behavior Plans

During monthly meetings SLATE helps to reinforce these topics. We also ask the families what topics they may want to add to the educational component of the SLATE Model. Parent input is a large part of the success of the program.