The Positive Development Approach with Dr. Jennie + Ciara LaVelle

Dr. Jennie Trocchio holds a PhD. in Leadership and Special Education with a focus in Autism.

Ciara LaVelle is a mom and advocate for her two sons, one of whom is autistic. Ciara is also a board member and the editorial director of NICU Alumni.

Quick Call Outs from the Episode:

• Although Dr. Jennie’s speciality focused in the area of autism may not seem to be related to a family's journey after the NICU, there actually is quite a fascinating connection. According to NIH, preterm infants are about 4x more likely to be diagnosed with autism! We wanted to bring awareness to this and of course, share tons of resources. Since this month is also Autism Awareness Month, we know you may be looking for support in this area
• What drives development? Trusting Relationships!
• PLAY is one of the best drivers for development
• Neuroplasticity - a beautiful thing about the brain - helps us to know that it’s never too late to make neuro connections that can foster development
• A typical therapy setting tends to be therapist driven, with an emphasis on rewards vs punishment from a list of desired tasks - therapists use games and work to make it as fun as possible
• Positive Development will follow the lead of the interest of the child to engage and navigate toward meeting a desired goal, so rather than be therapist driven it is child driven
• Swings are great for neurodevelopment, they provide a lot of stimulus and sensory input
  • A fun take to add connection to the swinging, is to push the child from the front
• ABA therapy - Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy
• You can learn more about Positive Development at their Website; the Positive Developments Blog; and follow on Social Media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) 
• Some of Dr. Jennie’s recommended resources:
  • Stanley Greenspan books, including: Building Healthy Minds,  The Child with Special Needs, Engaging Autism 
  • Books by Dr. Mona Delahooke, including: Beyond Behaviors,  Brain-Body Parenting. Mona can also be found on instagram.
  • Self-Reg by Dr. Stuart Shanker 
  • Some autism specific books and resources include: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida; Uniquely Human by Barry Prizant (Ciara’s favorite, too); and How Can I Talk if my Lips don’t Move? by Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay. In addition to that, any work by Temple Grandin (books, TED Talks, etc.), as well as the

A special thanks to the Prolacta Bioscience Foundation for supporting the NICU Alumni podcast!

You can also support our mission and help create brighter futures for babies that have graduated from the NICU (who we affectionately refer to as NICU Alumni) and their families by donating here.

The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment only and should not be viewed as medical advice.