The year 2020 was ‘special’ – in many ways. Unfortunately, the pandemic and its devastating impact was top of mind for most of the year hoped and prayed that the path to recovery would not be steep.

For AAOP, the year 2020 will be remembered as a ‘special year’ in yet another way – as the year of the landmark declaration by Catholicos Aram I as The Year of Armenians with Special Needs. In his Epistle, which was read across Prelacy churches on January 12th, the Pontiff made frequent reference to the concepts of equality regarding individuals with disabilities, protection of their rights, and the importance of serving and addressing their needs across our community, organizations, cultural institutions, and of course the Church. You can find the full Pontiff’s message here.

Since 2006, AAOP’s mission has been to support families who have children with ASD. We have done so through informational resources, opportunities for social engagement, and community education to promote understanding and inclusion.

On January 12, 2020, families with children with autism attended a memorable service at the Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley (CV Church), and heard his Eminence, then Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, read the Pontiff’s Epistle to a full house of worshipers. However, this was not the first time families had attended CV church with their children. In June of 2019, the CV church, with the blessing of then Archbishop Mardirossian, and in partnership with AAOP, launched its program of ministry to families with children with special needs, through services that would provide accommodations for the children to attend with their families. It was understood and accepted that the children may feel the need to explore the environment, interact with choir members, or be differently engaged, during the service. AAOP became the conduit to families, and provided behavioral support to the children during the services, and post-service special activities.

Under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Ghevont Karazian, Pastor of CV church, the program started with the services celebrating the five major feasts in the Church calendar – in summer 2019: first, Vartavar in July, followed by the feasts of Asdvadzadzin, and Khachverats, in August and September. After each service, the children engaged in games and arts and crafts activities, prepared by AAOP, appropriate to the message of the feast celebrated. The last special service that was celebrated in person was on Christmas Day, January 6th, 2020. As the pandemic ‘stay home’ regulations and prohibition against public gatherings were instituted early spring, the services switched to the church’s FB platform. AAOP continues to design and lead fun activities, now virtually, for the kids and parents to participate in.

With the traditionally positive hopes we associate with the coming of every New Year, this year too, we look forward to returning to the more natural ways of life we knew prior to the pandemic, including church. We appreciate very much the spirit of outreach the CV church leadership has exemplified, and it is our hope that the same will be spread across all of our community institutions and members at large.

In his January 2021 Epistle, Catholicos Aram I started out by reminding us of his declaration of 2020 as the The Year of Armenians with Special Needs. He also noted that due to the pandemic, as well as the events in Lebanon and Armenia, outreach activities had been hampered. It is our hope that the Pontiff’s message will endure and all of our efforts in this regard will be successful in 2021 and beyond.

Following the war in Artsakh, countless Artsakhtsi families were displaced and many lost their loved ones. When AAOP learned of a family of 8 from Sushi, who had lost their father in the war and included a young 11-year old with developmental challenges, the board was eager to lend a helping hand.

AAOP provided the family with psychological support and resources in Armenia and assisted with the child’s referral for diagnosis and behavioral intervention. AAOP is delighted to continue the monthly sponsorship of this family as they transition to their new lives. 

Special Thank you acknowledgement to the following people who have been instrumental with AAOP!

Dr. Talin Babikian for her pro bono parent connect services

Father Ghevont Kirazian, the deacons, the choir and the board of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley for their ongoing dedication to serve those with special needs in our community with virtual services during the pandemic.

Nina Avadis and 2BeeHappy for their volunteer work with our virtual arts and crafts events.

Patille Kalachian for her graphic design services, creating most of the AAOP event flyers and posts

Gayane Kadzhikyan for volunteering her time on the newsletter, our website and other upcoming changes to AAOP’s digital operations.

Carmen Arakelian for helping to keep our families informed of upcoming events, support of our projects and her overall commitment to AAOP and the families we serve.

And most importantly, we want to thank all the donors who have stood by our side through this difficult time to continue to uphold AAOP’s efforts to support the families we serve.  

Armenian Autism Outreach Project welcomes you to 2021, and our new newsletter!  What better way than to share all that we accomplished in 2020 while looking forward to a new year full of opportunities!  

We know very well that these have been difficult times for our families.  Not only are we all dealing with having to work from home, but we must do so with all our kids sitting by our sides.  We have heard from many families about the challenges of trying to educate children with special needs from home, while adapting to ABA, speech, OT, adaptive skills, and so much more via telehealth.  

Some of our families have had to deal with challenges in our homeland, losing family members to the war, and watching their loved ones suffer the consequences of the outcome.  Others faced difficulties here with their children struggling with the emotional pressures of being stuck at home.  But, through it all, our families have shown resilience as we stuck together and supported each other at the most difficult of times.  We learned to accept that things are just not going to be ideal. The goal now is to minimize the regression and keep communication with our community.  

Just before the “lock-down” our parents had a wonderful opportunity to enjoy each other at our annual Parents Night Out in February 2020.  Who would have known what would follow!  Throughout the Stay-at-home order, AAOP has continued to host events, albeit virtual, throughout the year.  Church services (organized by Father Ghevont of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley) on Facebook Live and Parent Connect (an intimate parent support group) via Zoom turned out to be very well received.  We also hosted informative Webinars as well as a robust Christmas Virtual Party all online!  Moms were pampered with Mother’s Day Gift Bags delivered to their door, and the kids had the joy of participating in art projects after the church services throughout the year.  

Our families had the opportunity to make a group therapeutic art project, thanks to Nina and 2BeeHappy Art Therapy, keep active with HMEM Hrashq sports program, and continue to learn from the Lanterman Armenian Parent Support Group as well as the Bi-Weekly Armenian Parent Group meetings hosted by Modern Support Services.  

All in all, it was a year packed with laughter and tears, but most of all, it is the friendships that are created in such a dedicated group of families that makes up our very own AAOP.  

Now… let’s see what 2021 has in store for us!  Whatever it is, we know our families are ready to face it together.

COVID-19 has had an immeasurable impact on families, especially those of children with special needs. With the pandemic halting all in-person services, children have had no choice but to engage in online learning. This transition to remote learning has presented many challenges for both children and caregivers. Engaging in hours of learning in front of a computer as well as in the home environment has had an effect on children’s sensory processing. Sensory processing is defined as “our ability to take in sensory information from our environment, organize, and interpret it, and produce an appropriate response”.

Changes in the learning environment undoubtedly have an impact on our 7 sensory systems: auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, vestibular, and proprioception. These changes often bring difficulties with a child’s ability to stay focused, calm, and regulated during online learning.

Good news! There are simple adjustments that you can make to your child’s workspace and learning environment that can help to improve focus and attention. Some of these adjustments include:

• Setting up your child’s workspace in a quieter area of the house
• Simplifying the environment by de-cluttering and removing unnecessary items
• Providing alternative seating options (e.g., yoga ball, lying prone on elbows, chair on wheels, bean bag).
• Providing additional visual cues (e.g., timer, visual schedule of daily activities, “in/then” board, checklists, incentive/reward system)
• Providing a desk fidget (e.g., shoelace with beads, scrunchie, rubber band, stress ball)
• Providing noise canceling headphones or quiet/classical/rhythmic music during homework/reading time
• Allowing frequent movement breaks (e.g., dance, run in place, animal walks (e.g., crab walks, bear walks, bunny hops, frog jumps, wheelbarrow walks, yoga, create an obstacle course)
• Engaging your child in heavy work activities (e.g., pushing a ball (yoga or medicine) across the room, playing catch with a pillow or ball, baking or cooking (scoop, pour, mix, roll), art projects (finger painting, dot markers, rip, crumple, & glue paper), hiding small items in a sensory bin & digging through to find them).

Since every child is unique, feel free to try out these strategies to discover what works best for your child!

Parent Connect started as a space for parents to come together, share their experiences and challenges of raising children with ASD, and connect with each other.  Each attendee is required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement as the conversation topics could get intimate, therefore the content needs to remain confidential.  In this structured and trusting environment, parents have connected, continue to build trust, share their big and small victories, and motivate one another.  The meetings are conducted over Zoom under the guidance of Dr. Talin Babikian who is a Licensed Clinician.  Each meeting covers a different topic, such as self-care, disability in the Armenian Community, War in Armenia and how to introduce the idea to some of our children.  Dr. Babikian is astounded by the diversity of the parenting experiences, their resourcefulness and resilience.    

AAOP would like to express gratitude to Dr. Babikian for providing her volunteer services to our families last year and encouraging them as they went through difficult times. 
Here are some of the comments from parents who participated last year. 

“They were great meetings. We learned that we should fill our buckets with negative and positive factors. Also, we need to put time for ourselves first to make decisions for other parts of the family. We should be grateful for each small milestone that our children reached.”

“We were being reminded to take care of ourselves first to be able to take care of our family. Our buckets should be full. Being realistic and seeing what makes our kids happy rather than us as parents. It is a nice group to share and listen to others and realize that we are not alone and at the same time receiving professional feedback.”

“I am so happy that we have this parent connection group. I feel very comfortable that I can voice my thoughts and concerns without being judged. Also, it is great to get professional advice during these meetings to improve ourselves in the best way possible. This group has really helped me and my family so much. Thank you.”

AAOP is committed to supporting parents on their journey and to create space for them to come together in support of each other as well. 

For future meetings please email Kristine Aslanyan, AAOP Board Member at Kristine@ArmenianAutism.org