DEAR FRIENDS,



Our friends over at Accelerations Educational Software (AES ) have just released the press release below, which discusses an innovative "video modeling" software program that helps children on the spectrum. They are offering their program on a free trial basis and we encourage you to visit their site to request the software. Go to http://www.dttrainer.com to obtain your free 30-day copy.



I have personally used the program for my child and it is an excellent tool for helping children learn about imaginative play, daily living skills, fine motor skills, and social interaction. Story is below:



Software Company Uses Video Modeling to Assist Children with Autism



Columbia, SC -- According to new statistics recently published, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that 1 in 100 children now have some form of autism. With such a high prevalence rate, many parents, educators and medical professionals are seeking the most effective treatments and therapies available. With this in mind, a South Carolina-based software developer is using the Activity Trainer video modeling program to assist children with autism, which it claims is a highly effective tool in treating children with the complex disorder.



“Research proves that video modeling increases acquisition rates across a wide variety of skill-sets for individuals with autism,” said Karl Smith, founder of Accelerations Educational Software and father of a child with autism.



“The Activity Trainer takes this a step further and makes the use of video modeling easy and practical so that it can become common practice in our schools,” he added.



John M. Williams, an expert in the area of assistive technology, recently stated that video modeling is helpful because it “takes advantage of a child’s experience of learning from television and video.”



“Students with autism are visual learners,” said Williams, who coined the term assistive technology over 30 years ago. “They replay these videos in their head, therefore helping them to accomplish tasks.”



Williams went on the praise the Activity Trainer because it directly addresses the “ practicality issue.”



“The [Activity Trainer] program enables teachers to use videos to teach any targeted activity or skill -- from simple to complex,” he noted. “It also includes a skills library of activities with options to customize, and a user library for users to create their own activities.”



Williams concluded, “The Activity Trainer could be the next tool that makes a significant improvement on education by making practical what research has shown us for a long time.”



The Activity Trainer is competitively priced and designed to deliver at least ten times the content for the cost of typical special education software.



In addition, Accelerations Educational Software also provides the DT Trainer, a program that allows even very low functioning students to be independent learners for at least some of what they need to know.



For more information, including a free 30-day trial on both products, visit http://www.dttrainer.com or call 803-233-0541.



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Autism Rates Now Much Higher



In case you haven't heard, two new government studies were released this week, indicating that autism rates are now an oustanding 1 in every 100 children, much higher than the previous and well-known estimate of 1 in 150. Even more alarming, when factoring in only boys, the new autism rates are an unbelievable 1 in every 60 children. More info about this can be read here.



We encourage everyone to share this note and help raise awareness to what is an unbelievable and alarming epidemic.



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Thanks for reading and I hope all is well with everyone. We will stay in touch with further news and information.



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KS