Kerkstra 22 headed to Nana's Cakery for their April Community Outing!!!  Students were grinning ear to ear as they rolled, patted, cut, baked, frosted and decorated cookies.  Sampling one of their sugar, chocolate chip or m&m cookies was a "tasty" way to fulfill the baking experience!  The beautiful day wasn't complete without lunch at the park and playground fun! 

We have had a busy first few weeks in room B15!  The educational team in our room includes Ms. McDermott, Ms. Dunneback, Mr. Talbot, and Ms. Williams.  We have all enjoyed getting to know our students.  Since the opening of our room on April 17, our students have been learning the new routine of the room.  We have learned to use a new schedule system, to work in stations with no incentives (not even food!), and to ask for a break when we feel overwhelmed.  All of our students have already made huge gains toward being able to function independently in our new classroom!  We can't wait to see what the future holds!   

CD Oakwood would like to spread the word about a program called 4Paws 4 ability!!!
Elopement occurs when a child runs or wanders from a safe, supervised environment. A 2012 study found (via parent survey) that 49% of the study children with autism eloped after the age of 4 and of these, 53% were away from supervision long enough to be considered missing. Elopement can happen in the home, school, or community setting.  

4 Paws was the first agency in the United States to begin placing task trained Autism Assistance Dogs and the first agency known to place these assistance dogs with tracking skills.
4 Paws Autism Assistance Dogs can be trained in a variety of tasks to assist a child.  These include behavior disruption, to distract and disrupt repetitive behaviors or ‘meltdowns’, tethering to prevent and protect a child from wandering, and search and rescue tracking to locate a child who has eloped, as children with autism are inclined to do. To learn more about  applying for a service dog, please visit their website at http://4pawsforability.org/autism-assistance-dog/