Iceberg Abilities

09/25/2020

Over the last two years I’ve been growing Iceberg abilities and it is thriving. I can’t thank all of the families who have supported me during this growing process enough. The majority of the individuals I work with have aged out of the schooling system. Sadly there are very little opportunities for individuals after they reach 18. We now have a handful of employees who provide life skill development training for individuals on the spectrum. I have been brainstorming ways to provide employment opportunities for this demographic in the Denver Metro Area. My brother recently launched Code 3 Christmas Lights for Colorado Springs. He inspired me and after diligent research I have concluded that a Christmas light installation business can provide tangible opportunities to develop life skills and potential employment opportunities to individuals on the spectrum. I am now launching Iceberg Christmas light installation for 2020 for Denver and the surrounding communities. I believe that individuals on the spectrum should be given equal opportunity to prepare for employment. This year is dedicated to providing professional grade lighting for residential and commercial properties. It is Icebergs goal to provide additional life skill development opportunities which can lead to employment opportunities by the 2021 Christmas season.
Please Go Like and share our new page Iceberg Christmas Lights to help grow our efforts of making a difference in our community.

03/04/2020

https://i-asc.org/ten-ways-to-presume-competence-in-nonspeaking-kids-and-adults/?fbclid=IwAR1ccA3U1pZwuazjtZ80LmSQ-u-ITK69e5EMtuCvtUmml5Qgs2onsjkijCo

Ten Ways to Presume Competence in Nonspeaking Kids and Adults As a Registered S2C Practitioner, presuming competence is the heart and soul of what I do every day. But it wasn’t that long ago that the term was unfamiliar to me. I remember with great clarity when I sat down with Elizabeth Vosseller ...

02/20/2020

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Yesterday one of my best friends Robbie Arrington was jumped in Durban South Africa. A large sum of money which was going towards rent and expenses was stolen from him and he was beat up pretty bad. He is a missionary in Durban and is doing beautiful things to impact the community there. I would like to help raise some money for him.

There is an event coming up to help raise money for the Special Olympics.
At least 75$ will go to the special Olympics and the rest will go to Robbie. My goal is to raise $1,000 for him.

My plan to raise money is bye running a 5k and then filming myself do a polar plunge and staying in the water for 3-5 minutes. I have done 3 minutes multiple times in icy lakes and ice baths with no issues.

You can sponsor me by the minute. My goal will be to withstand 5 minutes in freezing water. Now hear me out Before freaking out that i will get hypothermia.
Recently i have been doing something which has significantly helped my health. It is called the Wim Hof method. Through cold exposure and breathing techniques i have found a lot of freedom from depression and sickness. Cold exposure and breathing is proven to help alkaline your body, decrease the bodies stress response, lower your heart rate, boost your immune system and neurologically impact areas of the brain associated with depression and anxiety.
Believe it or not the leader in the movement (Wim Hof) has figured out how to regulate his body temperature through breathing and mindfulness. And he has taught hundreds of thousands of people to do the same. I have been through his online course and i am confident i can do this safely.

Wim hof has nearly climbed Mt. Everest in a bathing suit, holds the record for climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (while in only a bathing suit). He holds 18 world records for various cold exposure and physical feats of endurance.

Currently i do cold showers, occasional ice baths and polar plunges in icy lakes and rivers and i have grown a greater tolerance for cold weather. You have nothing to fear with me doing this plunge

How the fundraising sponsorship will work:
Sponsor me per minute:
For example:
1$ per minute:
5 Minutes=$5
5$ per minute: $25.00
10$ per minute: $50.00

I will Facebook live the plunge.

The plunge is this Saturday so we need to raise money fast.

Yesterday one of my best friends Robbie Arrington was jumped in Durban South… Nolan Shaffer needs your support for Raise Money For Robbey and Special Olympics

01/02/2020

Check out an article highlighting the opportunities that Spelling to Communicate is giving nonspeaking and unreliably speaking individuals the ability to communicate through Spelling. Over the past year, I had the opportunity to study/be mentored by the professionals at this center in Herndon Virginia and around the U.S. The training has given me tools to be an advocate and lead my clients in developing intentional movement and communication. I am proud to be an endorsed professional in the ACTS (Accessing Community Through Spelling) professional network and I love the research and advocacy that takes place within the network. Check out more information about Spelling to Communicate at i-asc.org.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/?fbclid=IwAR0_kdZMan5Tqeo9V8QypjMUTRggCOBZJSUsp50maqcIN-_ov_PB5igAVkg

Turning physical movements into speech can be an obstacle for people with autism. So at this center for autistic kids, students spell-to-communicate.

08/12/2019

Tip # 1 - Prompting

Prompting is like the gas to the motor. People often ask why we use prompts. Individuals with sensory and motor differences fight with sensory overload and distractions from outside stimuli. Sensory overload results in impulsive, reactive and protective movements. As a CRP: Communication Regulation Partner we are aiding in the development of intentionality, self-initiation and focus.

Reasons for prompting:
1. Provides feedback
2. Maintains attention and regulation
3. Coaching the motor

Types of prompts:
- Initiation
- Continuation
- Eye movement
- Corrective Prompts
> Directional
> Gestural Prompts

08/04/2019

Athlete of the Week: Dan Sutter!
Dan's ultimate goal is to be able to type independently on a keyboard. In order to achieve this goal Dan must work hard, exercise his motor and trust the process. Dan struggles with a brain-body disconnect resulting in a movement disorder. When he commands his body to perform a movement his brain does not effectively communicate with the body resulting in impulsive and reactive movements. In order to develop intentional motor movements he must strategically work on exercises and repetitive movements which restructure and build neural pathways which align his brain and body.

My mission with Dan is to work on intentional movement patterns until they become automatic. When I first started working with Dan he was unable to contract and engage his muscles or point intentionally on a letterboard without physical assistance. He can now point with general accuracy on a letterboard and his body is showing huge improvement during exercise, Fitlight and Interactive Metronome.
Last session he was able to intentionally point to 56 letters on a stencil board. Dan has also gained 10 lbs from diet and exercise and is showing significant strength gains. Dan is the athlete of the week because of his persistency, grit and determination.

This is a portion of our session. Not all exercises are included in this video. Dans ultimate goal is to be able to type independently on a keyboard. In order to…

06/13/2019

If you are at the Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference this weekend, please come and say hello! We would love to meet you and share about what Iceberg Abilities is all about! @ Denver, Colorado

05/19/2019

We out here! So grateful to be a part of this wonderful resource fair! %

05/19/2019

We are so excited and honored to have a booth tomorrow from 11-3pm at the Resource Fair! We hope we are able to see some familiar faces and of course meet some new ones!

05/10/2019

A suite of recent studies has reported positive genetic correlations between autism risk and measures of mental ability. These findings indicate that alleles for autism overlap broadly with alleles for high intelligence, which appears paradoxical given that autism is characterized, overall, by below...

04/28/2019

Honored to work with the Exceptional Athletes at the Worlds Dance and Cheer championships. The athletes were truly impressive!