A NEW VENTURE FOR EYECAN CREATIONS

Introducing a new partnership between 4 entrepreneurs who have decided to work together to bring top products to parents and professionals working with children who have special needs.

We are Jean Nicol, Karen Lynne Sadler, Mari Nosal and Mary Beth Rochin Palo.

Mary Beth and “Watch Me Learn” bring you Video Modeling; effective video based instruction DVDs. Struggling with therapy that was not helping her autistic son, Mary Beth began developing videos she knew would help him. She was right and others asked for her educational products so they could teach critical developmental skills and social skills to children in their care. Learn more from Mary Beth and others at http://www.watchmelearn.com/about-us

Mari Nosal is a published author who has written many Autism publications. Through her writings she shares her knowledge and firsthand experience with her autistic son, from toddler through teens to adulthood beyond college graduation. Her writing offers support, affirmation, encouragement and hope to parents and professionals. Learn more about Mari’s publications and what readers think at  http://amzn.to/1dqyYcR 

     

Karen Lynne Sadler has created the winning Success Box products. With her first hand experience as an educator and therapist, she has developed organizational storage systems for all the visual supports you use to help your child with communication. Karen’s mission is to organize, inspire and support. Read about how she does that http://firstandthen.com/my-story/

Jean Nicol invented The Eating Game, a program that is changing the lives of children who eat a limited number of foods; providing them with the tools to have fun as they plan and eat healthy meals and snacks every day. Her inspiration was a seven year old boy with autism. Her motivation was to do what she could to help him reach his potential, starting with a healthy diet he would plan himself! Learn more at http://eyecancreations.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-eating-game-2007-2014.html

We will all contribute to a blog that we hope will provide you, parents and professionals with support you need. Our hope will always be to increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of those with special needs. There will be an emphasis on visual supports that we believe can enhance the lives of those with needs in the areas of communication, social skill development and behavior.

EYECAN CREATIONS is the ideal host for us to share what we have learned and experienced over many years working and living with those who may have different abilities. We believe these abilities need to be recognized and nurtured to help them reach their full potential. The hope is that what we have to offer will assist with this achievement for those you love and care for.

A Very Special Visual Support System

As a special education teacher I had created many visual support systems for children but never had the time to prepare more than what was needed. I knew what I had created for this little boy (see http://on.fb.me/gDWmRd ) could help many more children and families and now as a semi retired person I had the time to make more. So I did! It was a very special visual support system that would enable many to plan and eat a healthier diet.


What I had created for this little boy he called his "Canada Food Guide Game" I wasn't sure such a serious issue should be called a game and his response was "Well, it is FUN!" So a "game"it was and I used it as an acronym for Get Awesome Meals Everyday.

The name changed to The Eating Game to accomodate Copyright and the Patent Application and my innovative and actually quite simple solution would continue to help hundreds more children and families deal with helping picky eaters, obsessive eaters, those who are non verbal, those with developmental delays.

Since the launch of the original Eating Game four years ago, I have launched 2 more Eating Game products:

1) Eater's Choice Daily Meal Planners for those who need an eating game to help them have a healthier diet but don't need the 200+ food pictures for their visual planner. This was in response to customer request and is being used by many to eat a healthy diet. It has helped some of us lose weight or battle eating obsessions and has helped some eat more as needed.

2) The MIY Eating Game Kit - it is The Eating Game in a Make It Yourself format; I supply all the materials you need(laminated charts and pictures and velcro type fastener) to make your own Eating Game. This was in response to many folks who said they would love to have an Eating Game but could not afford it; this enabled me to cut 38% off the price of The Eating Game so that more kids could benefit.

And now you know the rest of the story ~ that was four years ago and because The Eating Game has helped so many children and their families it has become my passion to share it with others in the hopes that it will maybe help even one more person! I have to honestly say that each day my passion is enriched as is the health of many children!

The Eating Game Story

The Eating Game was invented in March 2007 (patents pending in Canada & USA) for Ethan who was 6 years old and is autistic. At the time he was happiest eating just hot dogs and rice! He was very excited the first day he used The Eating Game because had hot dogs and rice for breakfast! - a story I like to tell to illustrate that a key feature of The Eating Game is that the child is in control of the choices! They like that!

The user needs to have only 2 skills:(NOTE: verbal or literacy skills not needed)

• be able to make a choice
• be able to match 4 colors (blue, yellow, green and red)

There are over 200 food pictures in four different food groups and colors: (1 inch pictures, 5 mil laminated card stock with a hook & loop button)

• Milk & Alternatives* - Blue
• Grains* - Yellow
• Fruit & Vegetables - Green
• Meat & Alternatives - Red

* pictures will support alternative choices made by those on CFGF diets or any other dietary restrictions

There are planning charts for each of the age groups in Canada's Food Guide: five are included in the book (2-3, 4-8, 9-13, females 14-18, males 14-18) but there are also 4 more that are available if needed(females 19-50 & 51+, males 19-5 & 51+). It is being used in some group homes and by folks in assisted living programs. The charts are also 5 mil laminated card stock with hook & loop buttons to accept the food pictures. There are storage pages to put the pictures on that the parent chooses to present to the child.

Initially the parent chooses the food pictures to present based on:

• foods the child can eat (special dietary considerations)
• foods the child has eaten in their lifetime
• foods available at the time
• foods the parent chooses!

Once the pictures are presented for the child's choice, it has to be totally their choice. They must choose pictures to match the colored squares on their planning chart. Once they have done this they have chosen to eat the foods recommended by Canada's Food Guide** for their age group. They can later be exchanged but the new choice must be the same color.
NOTE: The choice Ethan made of hot dogs & rice for breakfast only happened once, because then he realized he couldn't have it for lunch or supper! However, he was pretty excited to be able to make that choice which also convinced him he was in control!

** There are some pictures that Canada's Food Guide might not recommend, like chocolate cake with the "grains pics" but I felt they needed to be included. The reality is that these foods will be eaten and perhaps not all that bad a choice when made in moderation (and the parent is really in control of what is presented!) If a child who is a poor eater can start eating most of what Canada's Food Guide recommends then maybe they deserve a treat too!The cake or other choice could also be used as a reinforcer to enhance motivation!

Ethan was eating over 200 new foods in 15 months and he still (after 29 months) uses The Eating Game although is eating almost everything! Being able to make the choices and being in control is important. This makes mealtime very predictable and the visual supports are a great communication tool! Meals are no longer a surprise - pretty significant for a lot of kids with ASD!

NOTE: The Eating Game now has Patent Rights ~ US Patent #8,333,593 B2
          and Canadian Patent # 2,612,218