Gil talks about Shrub Oak International School on “Affect Autism.”

I love the blog and website, Affect Autism! I sat down with my good friend, and fierce developmental advocate, Daria Brown, while I was in Toronto at Oakwood Academy a couple of weeks ago, to do a podcast and interview for her influential blog. We talked about Shrub Oak International School, the school I am helping to found in Westchester County, New York. We ranged over a number of topics, but we focused in on how I plan to use what I have learned over many years of starting, running and consulting to schools to make Shrub Oak extraordinary. Specifically, we talked about how the fantastic 127 acre campus of Shrub Oak supports the sensory processing challenges of students, and avoids the problems that occur when classrooms are overcrowded and schools are loud and confusing.

Take a couple of minutes to listen to the interview, visit the Shrub Oak website, and then do a deep dive on Daria’s site, “Affect Autism.” I think you will find it worth the time you invest!

Gil on the “I” in DIR at Oakwood Academy in Toronto

This is a video of me answering a question for a parent in an open forum in Toronto, in support of Oakwood Academy, a school for kids with neurodevelopmental challenges. They are using the DIR/Floortime model as part of their comprehensive curriculum, and I have been supporting them, doing case conferences and coming to the school, as they work to create a great educational program for their kids. They are a really wonderful group of people, so hard working and dedicated, and they are doing a great job in the model.

During my recent visit, the Oakwood Academy people rented a local gymnasium and invited their parents, and others in the community, to come hear me speak about DIR/Floortime. The reception we got was fantastic, which is not surprising, as we talked about a developmental model, that takes into account who a child is, and respects that child for who he or she is. Parents are always excited to find that there is an appropriate, developmental model, which respects their child, and works!

There will be other videos from my three days with this great group of people at Oakwood Academy coming soon.

Rebecca School in the New York Times Today!

Today we were lucky enough to have a reporter from the New York Times,Vivian Yee, and a photographer, Librado Romero, to come and write an article about the “Olympics” at Rebecca School. There is a great photograph in the article of Ryan Lambiasi, our adapted phys ed teacher, and a student, Dylan Riano, working on their technique for the shot put. There is a brief quote from me, and a nice quote from Tina McCourt, the Program Director, but the real juice can be found in the quotes from the kids. It was a lot of fun to show the school to visitors, and a real joy to see the kids enjoying the day so much. Link to the article below. It is a quick read, and we are proud to be represented in the New York Times!
New York Times Article about Rebecca School

Rebecca School Speaks at MAR AMTA

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Hi all you folks interested in music therapy and DIR! We at Rebecca School had a blast at MAR AMTA! Below is a form to fill out to get the slides from our presentation. We are editing video, and will make that available to you all pretty soon. Watch this space and you will see when we post the videos. While you are here, check out the rest of the blog!

3/31/12 Just a quick addition. Check out the link to CJ Shilo’s blog and her appreciation of the presentation we did at the conference:

The Musical Autist blog talking about our presenation.

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Dr. Tippy Speaks to Museum Professionals at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In February, I got to speak at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! I have been a lifelong visitor to this museum, even having my room plastered with posters of paintings from the Met as a child. Needless to say, I was thrilled and honored. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to share some thoughts about the DIR model and its compatibility with the missions of the museums in the New York metropolitan area, and indeed, with the missions of museums everywhere. I got to give an overview to the DIR model, show a little video of how it works, and then make some suggestions to the local museum professionals about how they can make their museum experiences more fulfilling for their visitors with Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Relating and Communicating. Click on the link to the MAC website with a full transcript of the talk, and some other great pictures.

When I was done, my friend and colleague Aaron Feinstein, spoke about a collaboration between the Rebecca School and The Brooklyn Museum that we just completed. This project was managed by Aaron and the great teachers and staff at Rebecca School, as well as the great educators at the Brooklyn Museum. After about a year of work, we believe that we have a template for fulfilling collaborations between museums and schools, that will make for meaningful experiences for the students with ASD. Aaron, and his not for profit, Actionplay, will spearhead our efforts, and I am excited to play a part in this great project.

Why You Need to Pick One Good Boat to Row

The video in this post is the introduction to a presentation I did in the beginning of February at the Rebecca School. I wanted to help people to remember that our model, the DIR model, Floortime, the Greenspan Model, is a wonderfully flexible model, rooted in the best developmental science, and is very effective. I start by talking about Rembrandt, and a painting I love, Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. I talk about the fact that all Rembrandt used was linseed oil, pigment and a little solvent, to paint these luminous paintings. Then, I talk about an idea I first learned from Pema Chodron, the American Buddhist teacher, of picking one boat, and staying in it; of avoiding boat shopping. We, at Rebecca School, have chosen the simple, child and family friendly tenets of DIR/Floortime, as our simple tools, our boat, and we intend to stay in it. Finally, I talk a little about a great PBS Series, This Emotional Life, where they talk about the theoretical underpinnings of good, scientifically based, developmental interventions. Finally, we end up in my kitchen for a summing up. Enjoy the talk; there are a lot of other pretty cool posts coming in the next couple of weeks, so I will talk to you all soon.

Gil on The Coffee Klatch Radio Show Last Night

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!

Gil Tippy,PsyD and Mary Wiener, OTR/L Present at Capital District Beginnings in Albany, Part 1

Hi Albany Folks and others. Here is Part 1 of the presentation Mary and I gave at Capital District Beginnings on October 27th, 2010. I had to do a lot of editing, it was a 4 hour presentation, but there was a lot of material covered, and some great questions asked. I will be editing the videos and posting them over the

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This is the introduction to a presentation I did with Stacey Hensel, MA, MT-BC, LCAT, NRMT at the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association’s annual conference in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago. It was entitled, “A Complicated Friendship:DIR and Music Therapy”, but truthfully, the relationship is not that complicated. I am always so glad to be amongst music therapists, as they are the natural allies of the relationship-based intervention that is DIR. They, and sometimes only they, can help kids with language disorders

MAR AMTA Conference

Right now, I’m upstairs from the conference, and Stacey Hensel, MA, MT-BC, LCAT, NRMT, the brilliant music therapist, and I are really happy with all the positive feedback we got from the presentation we gave Friday morning. A lot of people asked for the slides from the presentation, and I said we would make them available through the blog. So, if you want the slides, or you want to contact me at all, for any reason, here’s how. Click on this link: NYAutismServices.com and that will take you to the page of my private practice. On that page is a button in the lower middle that says, “We Care Greatly, Contact Us Now”. Click that, and leave your information. In the comment section tell me you want the slides. Then click “Submit”. I will use the email address you leave to send you the slides. You can also use this way of contacting me to talk about all the great ideas we had in casual conversation over the days of the convention. Some of you talked about the great ideas you had for research, for instance.

While you’re here, check out the blog, and let me know what you think.

Check back to the blog over the next few days as I add Stacey’s contact information, and some great links in the blog role to Music Therapy sites and blogs, and DIR sites and Blogs. You will find them, as I post them, in the “Blog Roll” in the right hand column of this page. Let’s keep the momentum going! Thank you again for inviting me and being so kind and generous. I look forward to seeing you all soon!