MeMoves Review and #Giveaway - A Recommended Tool for #Autism

This is the third and final opportunity for you to enter to win a MeMoves Package and I'm pleased to invite Shanon Andreson, a mom of two and the Director of Communications, Autism Society of Minnesota to share her insights with us today:

A Recommended Tool for Autism

When you have a child with autism, few things are easy. Tasks that other families do without thinking require schedules, detailed explanations, anticipation of behavior and emotion changes, and sometimes, on the spot meltdown control. And we’re just talking about an afternoon of errands here.

So when something can help regulate your child, and then you hear that it’s simple to do, you jump on it.

I first heard about MeMoves from my son, Theo’s, first grade teacher. She told me Theo loved it. She was using MeMoves in class for all the students, and Theo seemed to really connect with it. That same day, my co-worker who runs social skills groups for children with autism, recommended MeMoves for Theo as well. She thought he would really like it.

I don’t know about you, but when two people who work with kids, and know your child tell you to check something out, I tend to listen. So I took the offered MeMoves DVD home.

When my son saw what I had, he was excited. He wanted to know where I got the copy of MeMoves. He started telling me random things about MeMoves from school, and how he felt about it. I knew right then that this program had had a profound impact on him.

So that night we loaded up the DVD and started a Calm sequence. As a general rule of thumb, I try to limit the time my son spends in front of the TV, so I was wary that this program was just another chance for him to zone out on a screen. I was wrong. Immediately, he prepared himself and got ready to engage with the program.

We all did the gentle, simple movements. Upon my son’s request, we completed the entire Calm series – 15 minutes long. I was impressed. I even felt calm and settled myself, and I could clearly see that my son felt the same.

The MeMoves program combines movement with music. It’s simple to do. You just put the DVD in, select Joy, Focus or Calm, hit “Play” and mirror the movements of the person on the screen. MeMoves shows all ages and types of people, so that everyone feels like they’re able to do the movements. I also have a three-year-old son, and even he can relate to the kids doing MeMoves on the screen.

            It’s great because there’s no software to learn and no complicated process to mimic. It’s one of the easiest, most effective tools I’ve used for my son. We do the Joy sequences in the morning and the Calm ones before bed. Everyone in the family does it, and we all feel the benefits.

MeMoves isn’t a magic cure, but it’s a fantastic tool for parents with a child on the autism spectrum. For me, it’s refreshingly easy. And easy is precious when you live with autism.

-Shannon Andreson, shanand@gmail.com

PS. Here's a great video of a kindergarten class putting MeMoves into action: http://www.casttv.com/video/mtubao/memoves-in-the-classroom-video

How to win your copy!

Mandatory Entry - Go to the MeMoves web site and then comment below to win!  

Here are the links to MeMoves on Twitter and Facebook - please visit and become part of their community.

Rules:

• There will be three opportunities to enter - one on each of three posts about MeMoves this month.
• Giveaway is open to US and Canadian Residents only
• Giveaway will end on April 28th, 2011 at 11:59 PM and 
• the winners will be chosen by Random.org, announced on Acting Balanced and contacted by email.
• The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. 
• There are three opportunities to enter to win - Comment on ANY MeMoves post before April 28th (this is the third post - you can also comment here and here for other entries)