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About two hours after Melissa Thomason gave birth to her son Welles, she and her husband learned their baby had the chromosomal abnormality known as Down syndrome. “I remember sitting in the hospital room and having a lot of uncertainty about what that diagnosis meant for us, what it meant for him.” She wished she could talk to someone who’d had the same experience.

Just six treatment sessions designed to help moms of kids with developmental disabilities manage their stress can go a long way toward reducing depression and anxiety, researchers say. Parents of children with developmental disabilities often experience greater stress than moms and dads of typically-developing kids. Nonetheless, most interventions target the needs of their children with disabilities exclusively. Now, researchers say more attention ought to be paid to the unique needs of these parents. In a trial of two treatment programs, Elisabeth Dykens of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development and her colleagues found that weekly sessions with trained peer mentors could help moms conquer their stress and, in turn, interact more constructively with their children with disabilities.

Some of this year's workshops include: Writing, Bollywod Dancing, Understanding Money, Dance NIA, DIY Fashion, International Culture, Intro to College, Japanese Drumming, Taekwondo, Personality Exploration, Sustainable Energy, Cooking and more!What:Keynote speaker and President of Montana State University, Dr. Waded Cruzado is the first woman and first minority to serve as a university president in the state of Montana. Her commitment to teaching and volunteer service is certain to be an inspiration for all Montana girls. History of GFAC:Girls for a Change is a grass-roots initiative designed to empower girls to embrace their future--confident in their individuality, supported by friends, parents and mentors, and secure in their ability to lead and achieve self-sufficiency, fulfillment, balance and success. Founded in 1997 by sixteen girls and their female mentors, Girls for a Change (GFAC) is a signature program of Thrive devoted to supporting and encouraging the successful development of girls.GFAC Activities:Each year GFAC plans an annual conference, does one local and one international community service project, participates and facilitates workshops and attends a retreat. GFAC participants also meet and facilitate activities with international visitors resulting in an ongoing dialogue about girls' and womens' issues in different cultures. Outcomes of GFAC:Girls feel confident about themselves and their ability to succeed--Girls gain public speaking skills--Girls are empowered to accomplish their goals and dreams--Girls learn what strengths they already possess and how to build on those strengths--Girls learn that there are all different kinds of beauty--Girls gain exposure to other girls from different social, cultural and international backgrounds--Girls learn to work together as a team. When:Saturday, February 25, 2012 Where:MSU Strand Union BuildingBozeman, MTContact:Email: gfac@allthrive.orgPhone: (406)587-3840Website: allthrive.org

RCT Demonstrates the Efficacy of the LEAP Model of Early Intervention for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the development of interventions for children with autism have expanded greatly in recent years, though most comprehensive interventions have not received systematic, scientific evaluation. One of the few exceptions is LEAP (Learning Experiences�An Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Parents), a comprehensive intervention for preschool children with autism, developed by Phillip Strain in 1981, that uses a variety of science-based learning techniques. Although LEAP had been shown to improve child outcomes in a prior evaluation, the developers recently implemented a new experimental evaluation comparing full LEAP implementation to a reduced model based only on access to materials. With funding from the National Center for Special Education Research, principal investigator Phillip Strain and his research team conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing classroom implementation of LEAP with training and mentoring by LEAP staff to classrooms in which teachers were only provided with the usual LEAP training manuals and materials. They found that providing preschool teachers with LEAP training and mentoring resulted in greater fidelity of implementation and more positive child outcomes when compared to teachers who were only given the training manuals and materials.