John entered my life and my dental world at the age of 2.  Dr. Suzy (MD), John’s mom, brought John into my scary dental world with its noises, smells and bright lights with the hope that I would show John the same patience I showed to her at an early age also as my patient.

John’s success in my office came very slowly, sometimes at his six month recall simply handing John a toothbrush and telling him that he was my friend.

After approximately three years of slow patient care Grandma Barb brought John in for his routine care appointment.  I had been using the dental version of the b-Calm technology on my highly anxious patients and asked Grandma Barb if I could try the b-Calm unit with John (even though the ear buds were too large and had to be held in place.)  My heart literally jumped for joy as an agitated child was carried to a safe place as I for the first time “counted” John’s teeth.  I think Grandma Barb was pleasantly shocked at John’s successful dental visit.

This was b-Calm’s first step into the world of autism.  This spawned our very positive research findings with local state universities, and our autism conference in Des Moines, Iowa, as well as the exciting birth of Champions of Autism, a non-profit entity.

My life experience with John continued as John, Dr. Suzy and myself went to Dr. Ed’s office, an oral surgeon friend, for John to have some teeth extracted (due to lack of space).  Through no prodding from me John’s b-Calm’s unit was in Dr. Susie’s hand as we entered Dr. Ed’s suite.  Dr. Susie asked John if he wanted his b-Calm at which time John answered “of course”.  John was placed in the dental chair, surrounded by five adults, bright lights with no visual negative response.  He did react as we all would as an IV was placed in his hand.  The work was uneventful and Dr. Susie’s fears with John not being able to handle this experience were pleasantly forgotten.  Dr. Ed’s comments were that “normal” treatment of an autistic child would be IM sedation and then work would proceed.  He was pleased at the effectiveness of the b-Calm unit.

My life story with John continues.  I have been thanked by Dr. Suzy and Grandma Barb numerous times.  I do not think they believe me when I thank them for allowing John to be part of my life.  I look forward to be able to rejoice in his successes and truly thank God for allowing John to be a champion in my life.

-Dr. Ken Budke, Founder of b-Calm

Currently, b-Calm and AudioSedation research has not been published in a peer reviewed journal.  However, we have taken certain steps to build b-Calm on a reputable foundation:

• Current University Research Efforts

Research has been conducted and is ongoing in cooperation with education/autism faculty at a leading midwestern state university.  Early results strongly suggests that b-Calm and AudioSedation is an effective intervention for some students.  Final results are currently being compiled and we anticipate seeing the report published in 2010.

• Independent 3rd Party Trials

From its beginning, b-Calm was tested in by special education professionals (teachers, therapists, etc.)  In each instance, the evaluators were encouraged to choose participates at their sole discretion, and use AudioSedation as according to their own expertise.  to keep the study as independent as possible, b-Calm representative provided only minimal instruction and allowed to professional to guide the evaluation parameters.  To date evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive.  We continue to work closely with key evaluators in looking at how b-Calm is used and its effectiveness.

• b-Calm White Paper & Foundational Research

While b-Calm itself is not evidence based, the techniques employed do draw directly from peer reviewed, published research in both the US and Europe.  An internal white paper was written outlining this research and how it relates to b-Calm.  The white paper is available by request through our Contact Us page.

We will continue to build the reputation of b-Calm and we improve AudioSedation and conduct additional research.  If the mean time, feel free to Contact Us with any questions or comments.

b-Calm will be working closely with Champions to bring real positive impact to those living and working with ADHD and Autism.  To that end, the new website www.autismchamps.com has been launched to be an even better clearing house for information, support, and services.

To that end, we’ve taken the resource material previously found on b-calmsound.com and moved it to autismchamps.org.  If there’s something you still can’t find, let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

b-Calm exists to serve individuals with Autism and ADHD. We set very ambitious goals for what we would like to do. In those efforts it is extremely valuable to us when we hear back from people that are using our system.

Recently I received an email from a woman with ADD who had been using b-Calm while she worked on her graduate school thesis. I thought I would share her message as it is was a real encouragment to us and serves as a great example that with determination and commitment, ADD does not have to hold you back from realizing a dream.

Dear Curtis,

I just want to thank you one more time for the B-Calm you gave me. It has been a great help! I managed to finish my thesis and a large part is due to B-Calm.

So, again, thank you so much and please keep in touch

-Riri

We send our own congrats to Riri for completing her degree, and are humbled that b-Calm would be of value in that effort.

Do you have a story about b-Calm?  Email us and let us hear about it.  We love to hear the sucesses and value honest constructive feedback so we can continue to improve on our products and services.

-Curtis

Curtis Carroll
Engineer
b-Calm

If that’s the case, please call our office at 515-289-0856 and ask about a conference scholarship.  We’re working hard to ensure that anyone who wants to come has the opportunity.

Assisted Therapies and Local Resources

This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss possible therapies and local clinical resources for parents, families and caregivers of children with Autism, Asperger’s or ADHD.

Families First, Inc. offers diverse, passionate, and experienced employees that provide counseling and support to children and families, applicable services, and programs that meet individual and family needs.

Speaker Spotlight:
Dr. Kory Frederick, PsyD, LMHC/LPHA

Dr. Frederick is the Clinical Director for Families First, Inc. with over 18 years experience in providing services for mental health and wellness.  He also provides training and supervision for the staff with the agency.

He has worked for various agencies in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota.  He currently provides assessments and counseling for children, adults, and families.  He has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he brings to the clients he serves.  He has worked in schools, hospital, and clinics and has assisted in the development of programs for such.  He works closely with physicians, schools, courts, and the Department of Human services to insure children receive the best possible care.

Learn more about the upcoming Peace Within the Noise 2009 Conference

Saturday, November 7, 2009 | 6:00 p.m. | Iowa Events Center at Hy-Vee Hall, Downtown Des Moines

Iowa’s Senator Tom Harkin has dedicated much of his career to expanding opportunities for people with disabilities and Best Buddies Iowa will be honoring Harkin for this dedication at the Third Annual “Giving Thanks Gala”.

More surprising were the results of a CDC and the Health Resources and Services Administration survey.  Parents of 78,000 children ages 3 to 17 were asked whether a health care worker or doctor had ever told them their child had autism spectrum disorder.  Parents of 1 in 91 children said yes and also said their child currently has the disorder. For boys, the figure was 1 in 58.  All these number work out to mean that approximately 1% of American children will be affected by ASD.

Before we go into “panic mode” it’s important to take a step back.  First, this data does not necessarily mean that more kids are autistic than ever before, but that perhaps identification and diagnosis have improved such that we “seeing” more cases.  It’s also important to look carefully at phone surveys, the data can be valuable but it is open to inaccuracies as opposed to other research that looks at medical records, health worker interviews etc.

So what does this mean?

This is a good wake-up call for those outside the ASD community.  It’s interesting that most parents would not concieve of driving with their 1 year old child not in a saftey seat, yet the odds of dying in a car wreck are 1 in 18,585.  If we can take the time and effort to buy a $100 car seat and strap it in the back of the minivan, we can take the time to get educated about ASD.

One thing we do know, the early an autism disorder can be identified in a child, the better and more effective the treatment will be.  To that end, it’s imperitive that all parents, especially those with young kids, know the signs of autism.  The CDC website is a great place to start:

CDC Resource – Signs of Autism

Second, with the more and more parents raising autistic kids its important for us, their friends, neighbors etc to do whatever we can to be supportive.  Chances are we all have someone we can think of that has an autistic child.  How nice it would be if we went out of our way to cook them a meal, mow the grass.  If you know the family well enough, maybe offer to help watch the kids so mom and dad can get out of the house for an hour or two and have a break.  We’re all busy, but it doesn’t take much to help out, and it certainly makes a difference.

Many hands make light work.  If we all get informed and involved we’ll find a better life for ourselves and our kids.