HE HAS HELPED MANY GREENBURGH FAMILIES...

My name is Matthew Marzella, I live in Harstdale.  Myself and another parents from Ossining are hosting a movie screening on April 7^th at the Greenburgh Library about a childhood auto-immune disorder (PANDAS/PANS) that is often going misdiagnosed. 

With that being said, we were wondering if you can promote the film screening on your email blasts over the next month.  Our goal is to raise awareness of this disorder so that other families and child do not suffer.  Some studies suggest that as many as 1 in 200 children can be affected. We are reaching out to doctors, teachers and parents to attend this screening.  It is the first documentary on the disorder, and it highlights the struggle that this disorder entails. At the screening we will also have two mothers that are featured in the film host a Q and A.

Thank you for any help that you can provide.  We will begin sharing on the Facebook groups in town next weekend.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Here is a link to the film www.mykidisnotcrazy.com  and this link is for information on the disorder www.nepans.org Attached to this email is the flyer for the event.

Film: My Kid is Not Crazy

My Kid is Not Crazy, a film by Tim Sorel, tracks the journey of six children and their families as they become tangled in the nightmare of a medical system heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. Her...

Date:

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Time:

2:00pm - 4:30pm

Location:

Multipurpose Room

Categories:

Adult  

THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT THE GREENBURGH TOWN BOARD WILL HONOR ROB BERNSTEIN, A LEADING EXPERT WHO HAS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED CHILDREN WITH AUTISM. HERE ARE SOME SUCCESS STORIES ABOUT GREENBURGH FAMILIES HE HAS HELPED...

Rob Bernstein has been in the Greenburgh community for 35 years helping children on the autism spectrum significantly improve their ability to function in the world. He shares many of his stories in his new book “Uniquely Normal: Tapping the Reservoir of Normalcy to Treat Autism.”

 THESE ARE SOME STORIES FROM ROB'S BOOK ABOUT GREENBURGH CHILDREN WHO WERE SUCCESSFULLY TREATED ....

I signaled Frankie, from Brick Oven Pizza, to come over to Harriet, who was depressed and spoke to Frankie with her head down. He told her that she could choose any ice cream she wanted. She didn’t say thank you and Franky walked away. She explained “I didn’t say thank you because I didn’t want to sound like my mother.” She then told me that “He’s a nice guy,” to which I suggested she stand up and tell him. She felt empowered, perhaps for the first time. This was a turning point when her depression started to lift. There is more than one way to say “Thank you,” and sometimes it’s better for the child to use his or her own words.

Jeff would scream and scream whenever he took a haircut. I recommended my barber Gino in Dobbs Ferry, near my office. With me applying pressure to both sides of Jeff’s face, which he liked, the haircut was easily given. Some kids like deep pressure — it calms them down.

And then there was Ivan, five years old, whose mother expressed her frustration in trying to teach him to ride a bike. I took him to my “office extension” at Gould Park. And realized that he could not listen to instructions regarding putting his feet on the peddles. Gould park was perfect because when you enter the park there is a little decline with grass on the side. I let him balance himself first and get the feel for going down from the entrance until he was able to keep his balance while steering. By the time his mother came back he was riding the bike. Once you understand how a child’s mind works, he can learn what typical kids learn.

One turning point for Mitch in the book, was when we went to Pumpernickel (Do you remember Pumpernickel?) and Al, the owner, came over and noticed that the teen had a boot on his foot and asked “You know I had the same problem, how do you manage with sleeping?” Mitch said nothing and he walked away. I said “Do you know why he just walked away?” He shook his head “No.”  I continued “He doesn’t think you’re friendly. Do you want others to think that your are not a friendly person?” Mitch said, “What do you mean, I didn’t say anything?” I explained to him that when someone asks you a question and you don’t say anything, they see you as not being friendly. They are expecting a response, not to be ignored. That was the first time Mitch felt like his behavior affects how others see him. That was the start of Mitch becoming self-aware and starting to change his behavior. Sometimes we change our behavior not because of how we are told to behave, but because we become aware of how others see us.

One of my favorite stories is of using baseball therapy with Mitch at Gould park. Here’s a boy that lost 1 1/2 hours of class time every day (I know this first hand).  He would have tantrums because he felt inadequate doing his classwork. The teacher coming over to help him was not working at all. in fact, it set him off; he would kick over garbage cans, throw over his desk, and be instructed to leave the classroom. Mitch liked baseball. When I hit out the balls to him, he caught them turned to his side, as opposed to standing squarely under the ball. I asked him If he wanted an easier way to catch the ball. I showed him how to go right under the ball and not to worry about the ball hitting him on his head. He caught more balls that way and actually thanked me at the end of the session. I asked why are you thanking me. He said that I showed him a better way to catch the ball. I emphatically said, “That’s exactly what the teacher is doing - helping you find a better way to do the math problem. He got it. I asked “What should the teacher say when she approaches you?” Mitch said, “Just tell her to say that she is going to tell me an easier way to solve the problem.” Mitch’s tantrums were few and far between after that.

Richard (in the book) was a teen who never started a conversation with someone he didn’t know. He went all four years in Ardsley High School eating by himself in the computer room. Everyone in high school knew him as “weird.” I got him a job at Sunshine Bagel in Ardsley and, at a certain point, I asked Sumeng, the owner, to tell Richard that he had to say something  to the customer when he gave them the sandwich or bagel. “Have a nice day,” “bye-bye,” “Thank you,” “See you soon,” — something. He started responding, and when a girl walked in whom he liked, and ordered chocolate cream cheese, he was ready to have a successful conversation with her. He then went off to college and I asked him one question: what do you do for lunch? He told me that he had two sets of friends, those who liked to party and those who were “shy like me.” He had lunch with one group or another everyday. The last I heard was that he graduated from college, had a job in Manhattan, and was engaged to be married.