Announcements

We are very excited to offer "Reaching New Heights," the themed Summer Camp hosted by Keystone Behavioral Pediatrics and The Keystone Academy. This will be our camp's third year, and we are already working hard to prepare for another outstanding camp experience.

This 4-week summer camp will focus on increasing your child's ability to effectively interact within social, academic and behavioral contexts. Campers will be challenged to maintain skills they have worked on all year long, while being introduced to new skills that will broaden their repertoires.

For more information, see the Summer Camp 2011: Reaching New Heights Information Package and Registration Package. For questions, please contact Marlena Jenkins at 904-619-6071 or via email at jenkins@thekeystoneacademy.com.

Employee Spotlight

Each month we will spotlight an employee here at Keystone. Staff work diligently to provide the most effective and up to day empirically based treatments available. What better way to recognize these efforts than to spotlight an individual’s interests and activities. This month's employee spotlight will shine on ...

Julie Riley is the Quality Assurance Manager for Keystone Behavioral Pediatrics and The Keystone Academy. She received her Master's Degree in Social Work from the University at Buffalo in New York. Ms. Riley's previous experience includes working as the Director of Admissions for a non-profit psychiatric center for children with severe psychiatric disorders. She also was employed by the Department of Children and Families Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office as the Program Coordinator for the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Assessment Program which coordinates mental health care and substance abuse treatment for children in Florida's foster care system. Additionally, Julie has served as the Clinical Director for Jacksonville's only Child Baker Act receiving facility.

Julie is responsible for so many things here at Keystone and she works hard to ensure our core values of integrity, quality and unity. One thing for sure, Julie is a proficient multi-tasker!! From developing policies and procedures to conducting internal audits and ensuring client satisfaction, to working on staff trainings and ensuring quality services, Julie doesn't sit still for long. We are very happy to have Julie here with us at Keystone so if you happen to see her, make sure to say hello.

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month! Did you know?

• 1 in 110 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
• 1 in 70 boys is on the autism spectrum
• Autism prevalence rose 57% between 2002 and 2006
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Treatment approaches grounded in ABA are now considered to be at the forefront of therapeutic and educational interventions for children with autism. The large amount of scientific evidence supporting ABA treatments for children with autism have led a number of other independent bodies to endorse the effectiveness of ABA, including the U.S. Surgeon General, the New York State Department of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For more information visit Autism Speaks.

Sensory Friendly Films

The AMC Regency movie theatre will be participating in the monthly "sensory friendly films" series. Sensory friendly films are a way for families affected by autism and other disabilities to enjoy films in a safe and accepting environment. During these special showings the lights in the theatre will stay on and the sound will be turned down. No previews will be shown and families are welcome to bring their own gluten free/ casein free snacks. Talking, singing, dancing and moving around are all allowed. April 30th will be Rio and June 4th will be Kung Fu Panda 2. Shows start at 10 am. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the theatre at 1-888-AMC 4 FUN.

Community Giving

On Sunday, April 10, 2011, Keystone Behavioral Pediatrics participated in the second annual Early Steps Easter Spring Fling at Losco Regional Park.  While there, we met a lot of new families and provided face painting for many of the children.  The children also enjoyed an Easter egg hunt and got to meet the Easter Bunny.  We were excited to be a part of such a wonderful event! 

The Early Steps program offers early intervention services for infants and toddlers from birth to three years of age who have, or may be at risk for, developmental delay.  For more information about Early Steps, visit http://www.hscj.ufl.edu/pediatrics/early_steps.

Keystone Kids

This month we got a glimpse into the life of Dina and her sons Alex and Luke. Thank you, Dina, for sitting down and sharing your experiences and insight with us!

How long have you been with Keystone? 
We started working with Keystone in August of 2008.

What therapies do Alex and Luke receive at Keystone?
Alex receives ABA, Speech, and Feeding.  Luke receives ABA, Occupational therapy, and Feeding.

How has therapy helped the boys? 
It has helped them both in so many ways!  When Luke started he only had a few words, within a few weeks he was requesting skittles with a sentence.  Keystone has helped us with every aspect of our lives.  I always tell people that I take no credit for all the progress the boys have made.  I give all of the credit to their teachers and therapists at Keystone!!

Tell me a little about your family? 
I am a stay at home mom, I used to be a flight attendant.  My husband is a pilot for a fractional airline.  He is away 18 days a month.  We have 3 kids , Luke who is 5, Alex who is 3, and our new addition Anna who is 4 months old.  We are always busy doing something, and tend to like it that way!

What are some of your favorite things to do as a family? 
We love the beach!  Even when it is cold we will take our kids for a walk on the beach sometimes.  We also love spending time with our extended family members that live in the area, and try to get together with them a couple of times a week

What have been some of your biggest challenges and gains? 
I would say our biggest challenges with Luke have been speech and communication, and potty training.  Thankfully, the potty training is taken care of.  We still have a long way to go with the communication.  For Alex, tantrums were a huge problem, he went from having 5 tantrums a day to maybe 2 a week, so I definitely consider that our biggest gain with him.  Feeding has also been a problem for both boys, but they are making steady progress, so I am hopeful!

What have the boys taught you as a parent? 
They have taught me so much!  They have taught me patience, they have taught me acceptance, they have taught me what it is to be truly exhausted, but the most important thing they have taught me is unconditional love!!

KEYSTONE BEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS STAFF