# Kim Barthel

We are pleased to offer the following webinar for 24 hours!

Tune in to this interview via:

- Skype
- A local phone number
- The Internet using Firefox or Chrome web browsers

## Sensory Processing In Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
(58 minutes)

####

Kim Barthel, OTR

Your brain receives and processes bytes of sensory information from the world around you every second that you are alive. This endless stream of data coming into the brain is knit together into a network of interacting nerve cells that operate like a freeway of electrical information. The nerve cells that “fire together, wire together” and form a “neural net” like a web of information that lights up all at once. This neural net represents every increment of our life’s experiences.

When the brain is pre-nataly exposed to alcohol during fetal development there is significant disruption to the flow of information that travels through a neural net distorting the way sensory data is processed and experienced. Many individuals with FASD experience everyday ordinary sensations as traumatic and terrifying. From the fluff in your socks to the sound of someone chewing beside you, distortions in filtration of this data heightens the awareness of irrelevant information distracting the mind from learning, interacting and relaxing. Other sensations like movement and touch may be slow to the reach the brain or insufficiently processed resulting in heightened need for more than typically required to stay alert, focused and energized. These sensory processing disorders can affect all aspects of behavior and daily living.

This workshop will highlight the sensory processing challenges experienced by individuals with FASD and provide "doable" solutions that support learning, behavior and mental health. Discover:

#### How sensory processing challenges affect behavior and learning;

#### The principles of intervention that support those with sensory processing challenges;

#### Several strategies to assist with management at home, school, and in the community.

## Biography

Kim Barthel integrates the science of occupational therapy and neurobiology with cutting edge practice to support the conscious evolution of the human spirit. With 30 years of professional experience in the field as a therapist, Kim’s approach to helping others is visionary and eclectic yet grounded and “doable” in daily life.

Kim began her career in Winnipeg as a pioneering pediatric occupational therapist serving children and adolescents with a broad spectrum of neurological and developmental disabilities. Today, Kim is primarily a multi-disciplinary teacher of therapists, and is sought after around the world for her knowledge on trauma, neuro-development treatment, sensory integration therapy and the science of attachment. Kim has lived and worked in Nunavut with the Inuit and has extensive experience working with First Nations across western Canada. A couple of Kim’s recent professional challenges include pioneering therapy services in Asia (India, China and Singapore) and attachment training in North America in support of lasting healing beyond sexual abuse and addiction.

When time permits, she is also the author of three forthcoming therapy-related books; perhaps most notably “Waking up to Healing” which she is co-authoring with former NHL hockey star, Theo Fleury.

Kim currently lives in Victoria, BC, with her husband and seventeen year old daughter.

## Links

LabyrinthJourneys.com
VS Furniture – Hokki Furniture
Hokki chairs on Amazon.com
School Specialty http://www.schoolspecialty.com/

The Art of Roughhousing by Anthony T. DeBenedet M.D., Lawrence J. Cohen Ph.D. and Carl Wiens

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## Summit Participants

> - This teleseminar is EXCELLENT! I can't wait to listen to more. I want you to know that you have organized a most valuable support for FASD parents. I have never gone to an FASD conference before. I always wished I could hear the guest speakers from the comfort of my own home. You have solved this conundrum. I can actually be in my own home, keeping an eye on my alcohol affected son, and feel reassured there are people out there that understand and "get it". Thank you most sincerely.

>   Nancy -

> - I would just like to express me warmest appreciation for the tele-summit you organized. I am learning so much! I am an Occupational Therapist working on a FASD prevention project in a small community in the middle of South Africa. I do plenty of training similar to Kim Barthel and found it so refreshing to hear her present the same information in a somewhat different way. All your other speakers have been very informative and will help me tremendously in my work. I really appreciate having access to this high quality training. Training in an area this remote always comes at a greater cost as it includes accommodation and traveling, so it is a real privilege to have it at the tips of my fingers. Thank you for taking the time and effort to put this together not only for my own enrichment but also for all our clients!

>   Lian-Marie - Foundation For Alcohol Related Research, South Africa

> - I bought the package so I can listen to the interviews several times... the best money I have ever spent!

>   Tim - Vancouver, Canada

> - Until today, seriously David, my wife and I felt "really" alone in fighting with these so-called authorities (both agencies and government) because of THEIR lack of understanding of FASD and ALL the challenges that we as foster parents experience. With all my heart, I thank the LORD and you David and the FASD group that we are finally not alone after listening to the second talk of the day. Suddenly, it dawned on me, there is a group out there that I can work with... Triple blessings to you and your group.

>   Dr. Winfield, PhD -

> - Thank you so much for this summit. For the first time I feel hope as I raise my daughter with FASD. Since the diagnosis of FASD, I’ve asked myself so many questions: We have the diagnosis, so now what? What does this mean for our family and for our daughter living with FASD through the years? It feels like we’re always reacting and treating symptoms. I worry that the social and educational gaps will widen as she gets older. Is there ways to close those gaps? I think the most helpful part of this summit is the real life examples and practical parenting tips given by the presenters.

>   Julia - New Jersey, USA

> - You know the expression, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." I have my computer running with the presentation, and my laptop running so I can type and take notes. I have ordered the package of transcripts, etc. I just want to say thank you. The information has been unbelievable, and sometimes it is reassuring when I hear that the professional experts don't exactly agree.

>   Elaine - North Bay, Canada

> - This series is amazing and informative. Thanks for thinking of it and making it happen

>   Lynette - Saskatoon, Canada

> - This was AWESOME! Thank you! I will be getting in contact with Dr. Claire Coles to find out how I can be trained. Oregon has very few resources for families/individuals dealing with FAS/FASD. Thank you SO MUCH!

>   Carol Anthony, LPC - Salem, Oregon

> - I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you and everyone who is involved in the FASD Summit Conference. Thank you for all the hard work that has gone into this. The biggest thing is that I can listen to it without charge [48 hour replay]. I've already listened to one speaker and want to listen to Dr. Rod Densmore and others.

>   Kevin -

> - These interviews are so awesome and tremendously helpful. Where have you all been. You are all my angels and saviors.

>   Kimberly - Corinth, Mississippi

> - I have just listened to the session with Kim Barthel, which was music to my ears and makes so much sense about my nieces sensory problems and how to work with her. I am finding this conference so helpful in my understanding of my niece where FAS has been ruled out. Many thanks for putting this conference together.

>   Chamomile - England

> - Thank you Cheryl, you are doing a AWESOME job. The Summit is excellent, a lot of good information. Due to 48 hour REPLAY, a lot more people are getting this information. Thank YOU to everyone involved in this Summit and to the people who are sharing their stories on the "Living With FASD" Facebook group. You are ALL angels.

>   Patsy - Labrador, Canada

> - I would like to add my accolades for this Summit. I don't live with FASD, but am the center manager for a Head Start program and have worked in early childhood education for 25 years. Our program uses the PBIS (positive behavior interventions and supports) which focuses on building relationships, then teaching social skills, and then developing plans as needed. The information I got from Diane Malbin many years ago (thinking about the brain first) is a perfect fit with PBIS. The ideas and information presented throughout this Summit has given me updates on research, and some practical intervention strategies I can share with my teachers to help ALL children be more successful in the preschool classroom. The Summit has also given me ways to work with our families to help them advocate for their child. Thank you so much!

>   Julie - Washington, USA

## Speakers

> - The Summit is a masterpiece. It is absolutely brilliant! I can't rave enough about how important it is. The design and technology are superb. I am honoured to be included.

>   Susan Fleisher - Founder NOFAS-UK

> - First, again, congratulations on your stellar global event! I hope it contributes to change all over the world. Second, thanks for inviting me to be part of it.

>   Diane V. Malbin, MSW - FASCETS.org

> - David, the work you have put into this program is absolutely outstanding. It is so clear that you have worked really hard to make this happen. Way to go!

>   Dorothy Badry, PhD, RSW - Associate Professor, University of Calgary

## FASD Quotes

> - FASD is what I have. It's not who I am!

>   Anonymous -

> - Mummy, at school, if I don't learn the way they teach, why don't they teach the way I learn?

>   Charles, Age 9 -

> - After I told my daughter, "Keep your eyes peeled," while we were driving to look for an address, she answered, "Mom, that would hurt!"

>   Anonymous -

> - "You told me to brush my teeth, not to use toothpaste."

>   Anonymous -

> - Mother’s question to a child with FAS: "Why do you always talk out loud when no one is in the room?"
>   Son’s answer: "I’m telling the one side of my brain to tell the other side what to do."

>   Anonymous -

> - "I don’t know why I got in so much trouble at school. All I did was set off a loud, fake firecracker in chapel." (age 7)

>   Anonymous -

> - "I didn’t steal it. Johnny did. I just took it from Johnny’s room."

>   Anonymous -

> - ""But Mom, they must be 'nice' people. They have animals."

>   Anonymous -

> - "I didn’t spill the coke, mommie. The can spilled the coke."

>   Anonymous -

> - When told that most people think about what they are going to say before they say it my daughter replied, "No one can do that. That’s impossible!"

>   Anonymous -

> - "I did not take your make-up! You abandoned it in the bathroom."

>   Anonymous -

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