http://www.lifeprotekt.com/our-committment-to-the-autism-community/

Over the past few months, LifePROTEKT has participated in many autism events and is planning participation in various future events on behalf of the autistic community. We have donated personal GPS devices to organizations such as Autism Speaks, the National Autism Association of Central Texas, Autism Society of America, TACANOW, Mason Medlam Foundation to name a few. Our support at various events, including ones we were unable to attend, is important in promoting the awareness of our location based devices in relation to the specific campaigns of each foundation. The donations supplied by LifePROTEKT were given to raise money in silent auctions as well as to provide our products to deserving families within the community that are faced with the challenges of caring for special needs or autistic loved ones.
It is our mission to help families that have at-risk wanderers by providing solutions that will enable personal location devices to be more cost effective and affordable. LifePROTEKT is dedicated to providing care givers, individuals and organizations with the most superior, innovative personal location based GPS technologies available while providing a network of support for those who care for special needs individuals. We want to give back to those communities who rely on our technology to assist them in safeguarding their loved ones!
LifePROTEKT is committed to growing grassroots community awareness programs that educate caregivers about products that are available to prevent wandering, locate individuals that have wandered and to increase the safety for the at-risk community of autistic and special needs loved ones. Please help us in our quest to spread the word about our products and services!

Our mission is to help the quality of life for autistic people via technology music and the arts. Here are some fine examples of music that appeals to me–>

1) Electric Cello:

2) harpsichord–>A truly amazing rendition–>

3) A nice video from Europe Amazing architecture and music as well–>

This is a nice review of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet. It seems intriguing, a bit more easy to handle, and quite feature rich.

Here is another view of it from Phonearena as well–>

I would like to check it out.

And Finally here is one from CTIA wireless:–>

It’s reviewer was from Europe, which explains his accent.

GFCF Cooking Together: Learning Can be Fun!
AADigest Exclusive

Reprinted with permission from a 2011 column on “GFCF Cooking Together with Kids” offered by the Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine. This selection is featured in the July/August 2011 issue. Find previous GFCF Cooking Together articles at the Article Library page of the AADigest website, www.AutismDigest.com.

The kitchen is a natural learning environment. From organizing ingredients, to creating lists, and teaching basic math concepts, it’s not hard to imagine turning time spent cooking together into an incredibly fun learning experience.

Lay the Foundation
While any time spent cooking together can become a learning opportunity, do not introduce your child to cooking for the sole purpose of teaching. The key word is “fun!” Your child needs to be comfortable being together in the kitchen with you first, so if you haven’t begun the process, take steps to gradually introduce him to food, cooking, and sharing time in the kitchen. (Check out our earlier GFCF Cooking Together articles for some great tips!)

Don’t Forget the Food
It sounds silly to say “don’t forget the food,” but the point is simply this: There is no greater motivation to learn in the kitchen than for the end product to be the reward. This means making sure you choose foods your child loves to eat.

Basic Skills
One of the best things about using cooking to teach skills to our children with autism, is that it’s so easy to tailor the information and level of difficulty to meet their needs.

· Organization and Sequencing. Write each step of the recipe on a separate card, or list them on a dry erase board in simple terms so you and your child have a visual sequence of steps to follow. Make a list of ingredients and utensils you will need, then collect them and organize everything on the counter in the order in which it will be used. The extent of your child’s participation depends entirely on her ability and comfort level in the kitchen. If necessary, begin by asking her to find just one utensil and make it her “assigned” utensil. For example, her utensil could be a spoon and when that step is reached in the recipe, she has responsibility for stirring. Put a star next to the steps that she will complete.

· Sharing Together. This is a great time to implement strategies like turn taking and synchronizing actions together. Examples might be: “I’ll pour this, then you’ll pour that,” “I’ll get the mixing bowl, you get the spoon,” or “I’ll add eggs while you stir.”

· Verbal Communication. Keep a happy, chatty conversation going, even if you’re delivering a monologue. Remember that the idea is for you to model the steps and teach while you’re in the cooking process, whether your child is watching or actively participating. Every now and then ask a simple question and give him sufficient time to respond.

· Descriptive Language. While you’re talking, use as much descriptive language as possible to define colors, textures, tastes, and smell. Pause to let her experience and absorb the similarities and differences in ingredients.

Math in the Kitchen
Could there be a better place to teach essential math than the kitchen? This is the perfect opportunity to give real-world substance to abstract concepts. Depending on your child’s academic level, you can work fractions, measurements, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and even weight (if you have a kitchen scale) into any simple recipe.

· Counting. Count the number of times you stir, every time you add an ingredient, the number of steps in the recipe, the number of ingredients, etc. Make it a game by taking turns counting or by pretending you can’t remember the next number so your child can pitch in and help.

· Double the Recipe. Create the opportunity to teach addition or multiplication by doubling the recipe. Your child can count out loud, and physically measure and pour each ingredient twice, which gives you multiples chances to reinforce the concept. Make it more complicated by increasing the recipe by 1 1/2.

· Reduce the Recipe. On the flip side, teach subtraction or division by cutting the recipe in half.

· Fractions. Measure one cup of flour (or other ingredient), then measure again using half cup, third cup, and quarter cup measures. Talk about how they’re different. Demonstrate that you can pour two half-cup measures into one cup to equal the same amount. Another great visual method is to choose a food item that your child likes, whether several carrots or slices of bread, then lay one item out whole, cut another one in half and place it under the whole one, cut another one in thirds and place it directly underneath, etc.

TIP: You’ll need more than one set of measuring cups to show the relationships. You’ll need two half cups, three third cups, and four quarter cups.

Shapes, Sorting and Fine Motor Skills
Scholastic.com had a great lesson plan for teaching shapes and sorting. Complete directions can be found by going to their web site and searching for “fruit-shape kebabs,” but here’s the idea:

· Cut different fruits into shapes. Use any type of fresh or canned fruit and cut each one into a variety of shapes. For optimum sorting, you’ll need enough of the fruit to cut each one into the same shapes. Ultimately, the fruit will be made into kebabs, so plan to have enough pieces cut to make several kebabs.
· Sort by type of fruit. Talk about their different colors, textures, tastes and uses in cooking.
· Sort by shape. This gives you the opportunity to teach different shapes. You can also compare the cut shapes to the original shape of the fruit.
· Separate the fruit into piles. Decide how many kebabs you’re making and create a pile of fruit for each one. Count as you divide the fruit into separate piles.
· Slide each pile of fruit onto a bamboo skewer to make kebabs. Be careful about safety issues if the skewers have sharp points, but if it’s appropriate for your child, placing fruit on the skewer helps fine motor skills.
· Enjoy the snack! Serve with a GFCF yogurt for dipping, sprinkled with some raw sugar on top. De-licious!

Spending time in the kitchen together offers all sorts of opportunities for learning, from academics like math, history (origins of food), or geography (when using ethnic foods), to working on sensory issues or social skills. The key here – and everywhere – is to make learning fun for the child!

Read More Online! Our companion e-article (available only to subscribers during July & August) focuses on converting recipes to GFCF. Plus, look for a delicious, nutritious warm-weather recipe to try out with your child. www.AutismDigest.com
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Copyright © 2011 Autism Asperger’s Digest. All Rights Reserved.
www.AutismDigest.com

Acer–>

It seems like a nice deal for the money, a good value and nice feature set.

Here is an overview on Android 3.1–>

Here is the Asus in action–>

http://www.suite101.com/content/ipads-for-kids-with-autism-tech-news-zone-wants-to-help-a375923

I recently had the opportunity to see a feature on 20/20 with regards to Stephen Wiltshire. Since I am asperger’s, and love art and music, and have a nonprofit to improve the quality of life for autistic people via the arts, music and tech, I loved the piece. I researched for more videos and information about him. According a bit of information on his website, he did not talk until he was 3 and became an artist at a young age.

I really like the following videos, especially the music and his art they appeal to my fellow autistic mind. I would love to meet Stephen see his art up close. If anyone wants to sponsor a trip to meet him for my Family and I let me know. I will continue to post anything that I can that relates to him.

People like Stephen are an inspiration to me and are part of why I started my nonprofit he is gifted at arts and music.

Here are some videos from Youtube with regards to Stephen’s amazing Skills.

He also helps with autism awareness. Some of us have autism for a reason to make a difference in the world.

People like Stephen bring a special light to the world, we also intend to bring light to our world, hopefully by allowing future Stephens to get a chance to reveal their special talents as well.

Here is the link to an amazing slide show with regards to Stephen as well–>
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/slideshow/extraordinary-artist-sees-cities-draws-detailed-panoramas-14084129

So far I ma impressed by the Toshiba Thrive. It has a nice selection of ports and it accepts an sd card.

This isn’t the first time Toshiba has showed up fashionably late to a party. Back in 2009, long after most every other consumer electronics maker big and small had jumped on the netbook bandwagon, the company belatedly released its first mini, the NB205. And it was fantastic. So we were optimistic when the outfit finally got around to releasing the Thrive, its first Android tablet for the US market. Surely, we thought, it’s learned a thing or two from everybody else’s mistakes.

And in that regard, at least, this 10-inch tablet doesn’t disappoint. It has full-sized USB and HDMI ports, an SD card slot, and a removable battery — all features you’d sooner find on a laptop. It comes with a raft of practical apps already installed, so that you don’t have to go hunting for them in Android Market. It’s one of the first out of the gate with Android 3.1, an undeniably improved version of Honeycomb. Oh, and it starts at $429, undercutting many of its competitors. Right there, in less than a paragraph, we’ve laid out why you might want this over any of the other umpteen tabs crowding the market. But should you get one? Well, folks, we’ll need more than a paragraph to tackle that. Join us after the break, won’t you?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/22/toshiba-thrive-review/

Toshiba Thrive–>A nice tablet worth considering!!!!