Dr. Gil Tippy's Child Development Blog

Interview on the “Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism”

Gil Tippy — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:26:43 +0000

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
Above is a link to a cool blog where I had a chance to do an interview on the controversy relating to the New York Times article last week about the proposed changes to the Autism Spectrum Disorders diagnostic criteria. I weighed in, but toward the end of the interview I proposed a way to make change here in the Autism Community. It is about time to use our voices to assure continued funding for the people in our community who are the consumers of treatment. We need to be vocal with our legislators, and with the charities to whom we send our money. If you give your money to a not-for-profit, and they use some of it to lobby for legislation, it is time to tell them to stop supporting one intervention or another, and instead, lobby for appropriate funding, and continued funding, for the people who need it. In other words, call on the charities you support to lobby only as advocates for continued financial support for appropriate treatment, and stop lobbying on behalf of one intervention or another. Remove your financial support if they do not.

So please, click on the link above to read the interview, which also links to the New York Times article, has links so you can find your state and federal legislators, a link to the Affordable Health Care Act, and a link to the proposed changes in the DSM 5 diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is a really cool blog, my interview aside, loaded with useful links.

Dr. Tippy is Honored

Gil Tippy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:12:46 +0000

Honor for Dr. Tippy
If you click on the link above, you will be taken to a page for “Autism Light.” This is a blog space where Alan Stokes, a father of a child diagnosed with ASD, tries to put together a positive set of posts recognizing various people in the autism community. The other day, it was me, and I was blown away to be put in the company of the people who have appeared in this space. I was made squeamish by the word “hero” being linked to me, as anyone who knows me personally will be able to tell you I am far from a hero. But, I think the honor came to me in recognition of the advocacy I have done in reference to the Developmental, Individual difference, Relationship-based Model (DIR), created by Dr. Stanley Greenspan. I think it came in my direction in recognition of my role in the Rebecca School in Manhattan, which is based entirely in the DIR model. And, I think it came my way because I have been very vocal about using DIR, and not using other ways of working that are not based in the respectful relationship model. I am glad to be honored, it is a very nice page, with a picture and one of my videos, and I hope it leads to more acceptance of DIR.

Now, let’s change the world of Autism treatment for the better!

Gil on The Coffee Klatch Radio Show Last Night

Gil Tippy — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:20:17 +0000

Click on the above link to hear my interview with Chuck Walley on The Coffee Klatch last night. Chuck was very well informed about DIR, and we spoke a lot about the difference between DIR and ABA. Again, we know where I stand, but I am becoming increasingly impressed with how much parents dislike ABA, and how attracted they are to the methods, and the results, of DIR. Chuck spoke about his own child and how he has used DIR and its ideas in his work with his child. I also got a chance to examine the critical link I see between Autism Spectrum Disorders and the lack of abstraction in kids with the diagnosis. I think this is a pretty good interview, and I think it is worth a listen, if you have a little time.

Oh, and I hope you like the new look of the blog. Despite my love of orange, I think this makes it a little more readable. New year, new look.

Now, let’s change the world of Autism treatment for the better!

Dr. Tippy on DIR vs. ABA at Rebecca School on The Total Education Radio Show

Gil Tippy — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:55:53 +0000

Gil On Total Education Radio last night.

Click on the link above to hear my interview with Neil Haley on Total Education Radio last night. I got a chance to talk about the book, Respecting Autism and Rebecca School. A lot of the discussion focused on the difference between DIR and ABA, and needless to say, that got interesting! The talk starts around 47 minutes into the podcast, I was being interviewed at 11:45 pm last night, and lasts to the end of the show.

Also, Neil Haley has said we can use the link/podcast for any additional promotion, so feel free to share the link.

Hope you enjoy the interview. If you like DIR you probably will, if you are a practitioner of ABA, you probably won’t. If you are the loved one of someone with Autism or some other spectrum disorder you will probably agree with much of what is said.

Dr. Tippy on why he practices DIR, and why saying, “I just do what works,” is saying nothing at all.

Gil Tippy — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:00:31 +0000

This is a video of the beginning of a presentation I did at ICDL’s 15th annual International Conference in Maryland in November, 2011. I spoke on the topic of Rebecca School, and how we stay true to the DIR model all day long, and this clip focuses on why we chose the DIR model over other models, and why I don’t think certain therapies mix with DIR. I also spoke about what I think about what it means to say that you, “do an eclectic approach,” or say, “I just do what works.” I have strong opinions about the subject.

We also did a book signing for Respecting Autism there, and the book sold out of the bookstore, so it went really well and we were all pleased.

Extended interview with Dr. Tippy on Web Radio

Gil Tippy — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:24:01 +0000

I did an interview with Hubert O’Hearn of By the Book Reviews last week, and now that interview is on web radio. You can listen to that interview, done to accompany the review of my book, Respecting Autism by clicking here: Listen to the extended interview with Hubert O’Hearn on By the Book Reviews. If you want to read the review, click here: Read the review of the book, Respecting Autism

It was really interesting to do a web interview, sitting in my office at Rebecca School. But Hubert was so personable, and had read and liked the book, so that made it a lot easier. I hope you like it; the people who have heard it have given me really great feedback.

I have lots of video to post in the next couple of weeks. Until then, perhaps I will see you at The Center for Discovery on November 9th, and/or at the ICDL conference in Washington November 11–13.

Dr. Tippy Speaking at two conferences on the East Coast on November 9th and November 12th

Gil Tippy — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:01:29 +0000

I will be speaking at two conferences in November. On November 9th I will be taking part in a really cool conference at The Center for Discovery up near the site of the Woodstock Music Festival, on the subject of “Clinical Implications of Music Therapy for Children with Autism.” This talk will be a part of a conference called “Communication, Socialization and Harmony: Music Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorders.” There are some great presenters, including my friend and colleague, Stacey Hensel, the great music therapist with whom I am privileged to work at the Rebecca School. If you click on this link: MTWorkshop_Invite_2011_5 it will open up the invite to the conference in pdf form, and give you all the information.

The second conference is the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL’s) annual conference in Washington, D.C. I will be speaking about what I have written about in Respecting Autism, how you take the DIR/Floortime model and turn it into a school intervention. Along the way I will be giving my opinion about some other ways of intervening with kids and adults on the Autism Spectrum, so it promises to be fun. If you click on the link:ICDL Conference Concurrent Sessions, it will take you to the ICDL website, and to the page describing my session. This is the organization started by Dr. Greenspan, so they are true to the model as he conceived of it. This is a truly worthwhile conference, so if you are near, and you want to hear about DIR as it was intended to be, then try to get there. Also, I will be doing a book signing at the conference, so that alone is worth the trip!

“Respecting Autism” Book Launch

Gil Tippy — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:01:00 +0000

This is a video of me talking to Jake Greenspan, Stanley Greenspan’s son, about working with his father in general, and about how we chose the title, Respecting Autism. We make a little fun of Dr. Greenspan’s tendency to want to choose less readable titles, and then I talk about where we got the final title. It was a great event, I got to sign lots of books, but the best part of it was the chance to sit down with Jake and just talk about the intervention we both love. There will bea lot more video from this event, as I read some from the book, and Jake and I spoke for about half an hour. I am really eager to share this with you all, and will put it together as soon as the video is ready.

“Respecting Autism” is finally here!

Gil Tippy — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:12:36 +0000

Well, it’s finally here, the long awaited book that I wrote with Dr. Stanley Greenspan, Respecting Autism: The Rebecca School DIR Casebook for Parents and Professionals. It was a lot of work, but I cannot tell you how proud I am of the result. This is a promotional video created for the launch of the book, and it tells a little about the book in a couple of minutes. Here is a link to the book’s website, Respecting Autism, where you can see more about the book, the authors, and click on links to Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, among others, to buy the book. Or click here to buy it on Amazon, here to buy it on Barnes and Noble, or here to buy it at Powell’s. To take a quote from the book: “At Rebecca School we believe that everything we do originates with respect. Respect for the children we serve, respect for the staff with whom we work, and respect for the families of the children.” Here’s to respect!

Music Therapy and DIR, “Not Autistic Anymore.” MAR-AMTA

Gil Tippy — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:57:25 +0000

We are just back from Saratoga, and I am hard at work trying to send all of you who have requested them the slides from the conference. For all of you who were not able to be there, this is Part 1 of a presentation Stacey Hensel and I did at Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association’s annual conference in Saratoga on 4/1/2011. We presented on how important interactive, improvisational music therapy is when trying to get kids on the autism spectrum in a continuous flow. I presented the DIR/Greenspan Floortime Model briefly, and then we showed a therapy session we did jointly. Then I presented some very preliminary results from a research study we have been working on for 5 years about the efficacy of the DIR model at attacking the core deficits of autism, and how necessary the music therapy is to that intervention. This video is to be followed by other videos of the rest of the presentation.