OT: Wisconsin Need ASD help for Lego League

[Guest guest]

Hello, DTT-Listers.

(Please excuse the Wisconsin-specific post. I'm trying to reach Wisconsin-area

parents and professionals who may be members of this list, but not the

Wisconsin-specific lists.)

I have been contacted by the president of the F.I.R.S.T. Lego League of

Wisconsin to help find judges who are familiar with autism and/or Aspergers to

judge Lego-based robotics competitions throughout Wisconsin. The league has

been attracting more and more children with ASD and judges in the past have not

understood the condition well enough to prevent adverse decisions on the basis

of some of the kids' behaviors (for example, kids with ASD might look to their

parents for help answering a judge's question, might avoid eye contact, etc.,

which might make the judge think the parents built the machine, which costs the

team points). The league plans to put together a comprehensive training system

for next year, but there isn't enough time to do that this year. In the

meantime, there are several competitions coming up around the state that need

judges who understand a little bit about autism and/or Asperger's.

The competitions take place on Saturdays and the commitment from judges is

limited to just one training session and one Saturday--that's it (unless the

judge wants to do more Saturdays in other locations). The judging panels

typically include engineers, math majors, other related professions (architect,

accounting, construction, etc.) and other judges (any profession/'field) who

rate items such as teamwork, impact on the community, etc. College students are

very encouraged to volunteer to judge.

These competitions are coming up quickly, so please help spread the word. If

there is anyone in your family--husband, wife, brother, grandparent--or anyone

in your circle of friends and acquaintances--therapists, teachers, church

buddies, etc. who might be willing to volunteer one Saturday to help prevent

unintentional problems in an organization that is actively seeking to

successfully include our kids, PLEASE spread the word! This Lego League is a

wonderful opportunity for kids with ASD, but only if the competition can attract

enough judges to put at least one judge familiar with ASD on each judging panel.

Here is the schedule for the upcoming tournaments:

1.. Nov 3rd Oak Creek (south side of Milwaukee) - (need 2 judges)

2.. Nov 3rd Madison - (need 2 judges)

3.. Nov 10th Appleton - (need 3 judges)

4.. Nov 10th Menomonie (UW Stout) - (need 2 judges)

5.. Nov 18th Mukwonago (southwest of Milwaukee) - (need 4 judges)

6.. Dec 9th State, Appleton - (need 4 judges)

If you or someone you know might be willing to volunteer, please contact Mark

Couture as soon as possible at coochy@... or 920-749-2772.

Thank you!!!

Cheers,

Liz