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What voters can do about President Obama’s abuse of Executive powers, mis-leading Congress and policies opposite to those Congress seeks…

jaj48 — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:31:15 +0000

Voters have the power of the pen, the bully horn of blogs, stay in touch smart phones and old trusty land lines. Voters can put up one big howl which Congress will listen to. The 2012 elections will be a time of choice. Choose a President with a known track record for abuse of Executive powers and misleading Congress or choose the best Republican candidate.

An example of President Obama’s abuse of Executive powers: While Congress was in session and without advise or consent of Congress, Obama appointed Richard Conray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB). Elizabeth Warren now running for Senate was the presumed to-be head of the Consumer Bureau but could not get Congressional approval. The Consumer Bureau’s budget comes entirely from another entity and Congress has no yea or nay say.

An example of President Obama follows policies that most members of Congress oppose: The KeyStone XL Pipeline had and has bipartisan support. Plans for the Pipeline were examined for three years. Citing not enough time given, Obama refused to sign.

Does President Obama mislead Congress? President Obama’s Attorney General of the United States has mislead Congress concerning what he knew about gun running to Mexico which resulted in the death of one border patrol agent and countless guns used wrongfully. Eric Holder has testified 5-6 times and still has not turned over documents showing what he knew and when. Below, read the Ettinger Report
written by DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

___________________________________________

Don’t Underestimate Congress!
Yoram Ettinger http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=1195, January 13, 2012

“The November, 2012 election to all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats will determine the capability of the elected, or reelected, President to operate in a system which features the strongest legislature in the world, equal in power to the President, the most authentic representative of the American constituent and a systematic supporter of the Jewish State.

“At this stage, the House Republican majority of 242:192 (one vacancy) seems to be secure.

However, the Senate Democratic majority of 53:47 is increasingly vulnerable with the retirement of 6 Democrats, compared with 2 Republicans; the 23 Democratic contested Senate seats, compared with only 10 Republican seats; and the high vulnerability of 8 Democratic, compared with 2 Republican, Senate seats. In fact, the retirement of Centrist “Blue Dog” Democrats, in both chambers, could reflect their own polling, thus spelling a potential trouble for President Obama’s reelection.

The November 2012 election will determine the House and Senate majorities in Congress, which is co-equal to the White House in shaping domestic, foreign and national security affairs.

It was Congress which terminated the US military involvement in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (the “Eagleton Amendment”), Angola (the “Clark Amendment”) and Nicaragua (the “Boland Amendment”); forced the USSR/Russia to open its gates to emigration (the “Jackson-Vanick Amendment”); cut foreign aid to Turkey and Chile; restructured the US intelligence community; caused the cancellation of the AWACs sale to Iran and trimmed the sale of Hawk and Sidewinder missiles to Jordan and Saudi Arabia; played a lead role in toppling the White Regime in South Africa; authorized the 1991 and the 2003 wars against Iraq; determined the date of the Somalia evacuation; refrained from ratifying the 1999 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; extended emergency assistance to Israel in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, in defiance of President Bush and Secretary of State Baker; etc.

US legislators prefer to yield the international arena to the President, and be preoccupied with district, state and national issues, which are critical to their constituents and to their reelection. However, Congress reveals its powerful co-determining muscle in the international arena whenever urged by constituents and when Presidents abuse the Executive power, mislead Congress or follow policies which are opposed by most legislators.

The Congressional clout has grown dramatically since the Vietnam War, Watergate, Iran Gate and globalization. These milestones have enhanced the involvement of most legislators in international issues, have upgraded the oversight capabilities of Congress, have dramatically elevated the quality and quantity of Capitol Hill staffers, and have restrained the presidency.

Congress derives much of its power from the decentralized federal system, the centrality of the constituent, the effective separation of (equal) powers, the total independence of the Legislature, and the elaborate system of checks and balances, which are designed to prevent the tyranny of the Executive and maintain a limited government. Congress – which possesses the “power of the purse,” the jurisdiction of oversight, advice and consent and the “congressional veto” – has the authority to change, suspend, reverse, direct and initiate policies, prevent senior presidential appointments, reject treaties and add and eliminate government departments and agencies.

In contrast to prime ministers and presidents in the parliamentary systems, US presidents are not omnipotent Executives, but one of three equal branches of government. US presidents are very powerful and -unlike the diversified views of the Legislature – they is are a one man Executive. But, the Presidents are not super-legislators, do not determine the legislative agenda, do not crown congressional leaders and committee chairmen and do not set the list of congressional candidates. US Presidents execute policies which are legislated by Congress, whose loyalty to the constituent, the constitution and the legislative process supersedes loyalty to the President and to the political party.

While the President is the Commander-in-Chief, article 1 of the US constitution (reinforced by the 1973 War Powers Act) stipulates that Congress shall have the power to declare War. Congress has the power to initiate, authorize and terminate, while the President executes.

In 1992, I was told by then Majority Leader, George Mitchell: “Didn’t you brief our distinguished Israeli guest that the US is not a monarchy and that Congress is co-equal to the Administration?!” Hopefully, future Israeli leaders will realize that next to a powerful US President, there is an equally-powerful Congress – the most genuine representative of the American People and a bastion of support for enhanced US-Israel cooperation.

Trojan Horse of Obama-Care in 2012 – who best to slay it? Romney with Romney-Care,Gingrich with individual mandate, MD Ron Paul or ??

jaj48 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:46:15 +0000

Trojan Horse Obama-Care

Let’s keep focused on the ball: repeal Obama-Care. That is the goal. And all sorts of things will flow from the repeal.

With no Obama-Care the government cannot wipe out private health insurance. With no Obama-Care the takeover of one sixth of the economy ceases.

Remember, Obama-Care — a Trojan Horse in hour midst — already spends big bucks.

Who best will slay the Trojan Horse of Obama-Care? Romney the business man who pragmatically solves problems? Romney on the surface talks like a conservative but … Visionary Newt who defended Reagon and his policies on C-SPAN in the early 1980s for hours in the evening with the cameras rolling and nobody except a handful freshman Republicans there? Energetic and no baggage Rick Santorum who socked it to Romney on Romney-Care and who strongly opposes Marxist and socialists world wide?

You got to admit that the MD old man Ron Paul knows from personal experience how government has harmed the practise of medicine. Ron Paul is worth 2-3 million and has zero money in stocks. Paul has his money invested in gold.

So more than likely Paul would support a strong dollar and return to the gold standard. What about a Ron Paul and Rick Santorum ticket?

Firenze Sage: Who are the cheapstakes? [charity donations by Al Gore? Joe Biden? Obama? Gingrich? Romney?]

jaj48 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:38:44 +0000

worst cheapskate politicians?

Romney raked in about $42 million in 2010 and 2011. His effective tax rate was just below 14 percent, lower than that for many American taxpayers. Romney paid $6.2 million to the taxman and donated a staggering $7 million to charity, including $4.1 million to the Mormon church.

In fact, in those two years, Romney paid 16 percent of his income to charity, compared to, er, 2.6 percent by Newt Gingrich.

And what about President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the run-up to their 2008 campaign?

USA Today broke it down here. In 2007, the Obamas gave more than $240,000 to charity, about 5.7 percent of their income. The Bidens gave an average of $369 to charity a year for the decade before he moved to the Naval Observatory – about 0.3 percent of their income. Back in 1997, then veep Al Gore and his then wife Tipper gave $353.

Since becoming veep, Biden hasn’t become much more generous. In 2010, Biden gave $5,350, about 1.4 percent of income. That same year, Romney gave some $3 million. The national average is about three percent.

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Did you hear the one about Biden giving the homeless guy a cup of coffee. Never mind, no one did.

jaj48@aol.com JAJ48@aol.com http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/109312

Mass medication of children with fluorides SiFs in drinking water & EPA admits no research shows SiFs are safe. NaF shown to be safe was replaced with SiFs with no safety record. What to do…

jaj48 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:43:07 +0000

SiFs or NaF flurides?

What can citizens and parents do to reduce ADHD, Autistic Spectrum, intellectual disability and other developmental disorders?

Make sure that all children have safe, healthy water to drink.

no chemicals water

Find out what your community puts in the water children drink.

Communities switched from NaF — which has a track record of safety — to use of SiFs — which have zero record of safety. Two huge studies of children (280,000 in Mass. and 150,000 in New York state) show elevated iron with use of fluoridated water.

Perhaps communities should use of NaF instead of SiF to fluoridate water? Might safer water remove or reduce symptoms associated with lead poisoning?

Go to Keepers of the Well.com. Or contact Jeff Green 800 728-3833 greenjeff@cox.net for more information. Let’s do all we can to see that all children and adults drink healthy water.

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Material below is from Keeper of the Well.com

ll items are in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file format. You will need Acrobat Reader to view and print these files. If you need to download and install a free copy of this useful software, click here.

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material on this web site is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research under the “fair use” provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for “fair use” non-profit educational purposes, without permission of the copyright owner.

1. Fluoridation On-Point:
Congressional Investigation and Recent Events PDF (33K)
Highlights of the written statements from five government agencies in response to questions posed to each agency in 1999 and 2000 by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Science.

2. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 2000, response to questions posed by subcommittee of the House Committee on Science PDF (69K)
“Fluoride, when used in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or animal, is a drug that is subject to FDA regulation.” “No New Drug Applications have been approved or rejected for fluoride drugs meant for ingestion.”

3. Title 42 Ð The Public Health and Welfare, section 300g-1. (194K)
“(11) No national primary drinking water regulation may require the addition of any substance for preventive health care purposes unrelated to contamination of drinking water.”

4. Letter, April 2, 1998, from EPA Director, Office of Science and Technology PDF (33K)
“In the U.S., there are no Federal safety standards which are applicable to drinking water additives, including those intended for use in fluoridating water.”

5. Letter, March 14, 1994, from Cosme Water Treatment Plant, City of St. Petersburg PDF (65K)
St. Petersburg, Florida, contracts with Lucier Chemical Industries for its fluosilicic acid. Lucier purchases the chemicals from Cargill Fertilizer, Inc.

6. The 1998 AWWA Standards Committee on Fluorides PDF (65K)
Listed are the 17 members of the “volunteer standards committee” which review and approve the fluoride standard. The Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary are from the CDC, Lucier Chemical Industries, and Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp., respectively. Cargill Fertilizer Inc. and Chemtech are producer members.

7. Photo of Cargill Fertilizer Inc. with 1979 Fluorine Recovery excerpt PDF (165K)
Required to suppress environmental emissions of fluorine-containing vapours, industry must now find a use or market for the recovered fluorine.

8. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 1999, response to questions posed by subcommittee of the House Committee on Science PDF (63K)
In collecting data for a fact sheet, EPA was not able to identify any chronic studies for the two chemicals used in 90% of U.S. fluoridation programs.

9. Letter, Nov. 2000, from US EPA National Risk Mgmt. Research Laboratory PDF (65K )
National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory was unable to find any information on the chronic effects of silicofluorides on health and behavior.

10. Letter, March 2001, from US EPA National Risk Mgmt. Research Laboratory PDF (65K)
In response to Dr. Roger Masters’ request for specific data, the EPA’s National Risk Assessment Laboratory indicates that they are not able to provide reliable data on the complete dissociation of fluosilicates; or, any data on interaction of fluosilicates with other metals, such as aluminum and iron, expected to be found in drinking water.

11. Request for Assistance (RFA) – Measurement of Fluorosilicates in Drinking Water, April 25, 2002 PDF (1000K)
The U.S. EPA National Risk Management Research Laboratory is now soliciting competent researchers to investigate the reactions that take place when fluorosilicates are added to drinking water supplies.

12. National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) 2000, response to questions posed by subcommittee of the House Committee on Science PDF (42K).
For a manufacturer to receive certification for their fluoridation product, NSF requires submission of toxicological information, if available. No studies on the silicofluorides have ever been submitted to NSF.

13. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 2000, response to questions posed by subcommittee of the House Committee on Science PDF (38K)
90% of tooth decay occurs in pits and fissures of chewing surfaces of teeth; surfaces not as affected by fluoride.

14. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2000, response to questions posed by subcommittee of the House Committee on Science PDF (44K)
Subsets of the population that are unusually sensitive to the toxic effects of fluoride are identified as well as demographic data for each of the identified populations.

15. Letter, June 1993, from John V. Kelly, Assemblyman, State of New Jersey PDF (65K)
The FDA has confirmed that there are no studies demonstrating either the safety or effectiveness of fluoride supplements for children, therefore, he requests the FDA to remove the products from the market immediately.

16. Fluoride warning on toothpaste label, required by FDA since 1997 PDF (129K)
“Warning: As with all fluoride toothpastes, keep out of the reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional assistance or contact a poison control center immediately.”

17. Content specifications of hydrofluosilicic acid as referenced by retailer Lucier Chemical Industry, Ltd., 1990 PDF (35K)
A typical batch of commercial grade fluoridation product is 24% hydrofluosilicic acid and 76% waste water which contains varying amounts of heavy metals.

18. The California Code of Regulations list hazardous waste fluorides PDF (65K)
All three fluoridation substances are included in the list of 39 fluoride compounds classified under California law as hazardous wastes.

19. Toxic waste becomes ‘product’ for two bits PDF (65K)
According to federal regulations, if a fluoridation substance is given away, it is classified as hazardous waste. If it is sold for transportation costs or a token fee, it is a product.

20. The city of Escondido, CA, calculated the amount of product actually used PDF (3K)
The amount intended for the targeted children is only 16 pounds out of 33 tons of product used per year in Escondido.

21. Photograph of a sack of sodium fluorosilicate (picture) PDF (164K)
Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. is a Producer Member of the voluntary product standards committee for the American Water Works Association.

22. Hydrofluosilicic acid product warning and directions for use PDF (21K)
Product warnings and safety instructions for water department personnel.

23. Opflow Magazine/American Water Works Association, Oct. 2000, Treatment Chemicals Contribute to Arsenic Levels PDF (56K)
About 90 percent of the arsenic that would be contributed by treatment chemicals is attributable to fluoride addition.

24. Two charts comparing toxicity and MCL of lead, fluoride and arsenic
Graph #1 gives the relative toxicity between lead, sodium fluoride and arsenic. Graph #2 shows the maximum contaminant levels for the same three substances.

25. Comparative Toxicity of Inorganic Fluorides PDF (387K)
The products used for fluoridation are many times more toxic than naturally occurring calcium fluoride.

26. Dartmouth news release, Aug. 1999: Silicofluorides are associated with increased lead levels PDF (26K)
Analyzing a survey of over 280,000 Massachusetts children, investigators found a significant association between water fluoridated with silicofluorides and children suffering from blood lead poisoning.

27. NeuroToxicology 21(6):2000:, Abstract: Silicofluorides are associated with increased lead levels PDF (387K)
Analyzing a survey of over 151,000 New York children, investigators found a significant association between water fluoridated with silicofluorides and children suffering from blood lead poisoning. Click here for the full study.

28. Chemical and Engineering News abstract of 1998 Brain Research study PDF (65K)
Test animals treated with the same concentration of fluoride used in fluoridated tap water suffered neural injury and increased deposits of B-amyloid protein in the brain, similar to those seen in humans with Alzheimer’s disease.

29. The California Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996 requires the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to adopt Public Health Goals (129K)
Because of the alleged benefit of fluoridated water, several of the most important criteria for Public Health Goals are circumvented.

Send questions/suggestions concerning this site to the webmaster at: toxicfree@qwest.net

Congressman Sam Farr’s failure to raise $ govt payments to physicians

jaj48 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:43:02 +0000

Farr fails to change MD's designation

Congressman Sam Farr has failed to get local MD’s and other health professionals paid equivalent to urban MDs. Sam Farr represents Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

Is Sam Farr simply ineffective? You decide:

Payment to health providers: Various health professionals (including MD physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists) in Santa Cruz & Monterey Counties are paid much less per patient than physicians in urban areas such as San Jose and near by cities.

So what? It matters because MD’s and other health providers do not want to take on more patients when paid only through federal government. Hence, the pool of doctors and other health providers available for older citizens is shrinking and shrinking.

This has been an on-going problem for years. Repeatedly, Democrat congressman Sam Farr has been asked to get the designation changed so that Santa Cruz, CA and Monterey are not considered ‘rural’.

Congressman Sam Farr has failed — and continues to fail — to get the designation changed.

Back in 2007, Sam Farr said in public meetings that the best way to increase reimbursements for our ‘rural’ medical doctor MDs was to vote in the Democrats.

Well, Sam Farr got what he said was necessary: Since 2008, the Democrats have been in control. And the Democrats have passed just about everything they want.

Despite control by the Democrats, Sam Farr has still never gotten the designation changed so that local MD doctors are paid equivalent to near by urban areas.

So, Sam Farr failed under the Republicans and he has failed under the Democrats to get the designation changed so our MD’s and health professionals are paid equivalent to those in San Jose and urban areas.

How much failure by Sam Farr should voters accept? Enough is enough seems to me.

What say you?

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Firenze Sage: How to tell an incompetent teacher … [questions asked prospective teachers]

jaj48 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:05:05 +0000

Incompetent teachers

Question 1: Which of the following is equal to a quarter-million? a) 40,000, b) 250,000, c) 2,500,000, d) 1/4,000,000 or e) 4/1,000,000.

Question 2: Martin Luther King Jr. (insert the correct choice) for the poor of all races. a) spoke out passionately, b) spoke out passionate, c) did spoke out passionately, d) has spoke out passionately or e) had spoken out passionate.

Question 3: What would you do if your student sprained an ankle? a) Put a Band-Aid on it, b) Ice it or c) Rinse it with water.

Guess whether these questions were on a sixth-grade, ninth-grade or 12th-grade test. I bet the average reader would guess that it’s a sixth-grade test. Wrong. How about ninth-grade? Wrong again. You say, “OK, so they’re 12th-grade test questions!” Still wrong.

According to a Heartland Institute-published School Reform News (September 2001) article titled “Who Tells Teachers They Can Teach?”, those test questions came from prospective teacher tests. The first two questions are samples from the Praxis I test for teachers, and the third is from the 1999 teacher certification test in Illinois. According to the Chicago Sun-Times (9/6/01), 5,243 Illinois teachers failed their teacher certification tests.
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How much do we spend on education until we junk the whole system and start over.

Send comments to: jaj48@aol.com
For more Firenze Sage go to: JAJ48@aol.com http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/109312

Republican candidates’s websites need to listen to voters. Romney’s website is a bill board & there’s no way to communicate to him…

jaj48 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:09:27 +0000

how contact Romney & say focus on REPEAL OBAMA-CARE

If you go to Romney’s site — there is no way to contact Romney on his site. It’s only a bill board saying what he wants to say.

So how do voters contact Romney to say stop going after the other contenders for the Republican nomination. FOCUS on what has happened on Obama’s watch (e.g., gas prices are double what they were before elected) and

The only email address listed on Romney’s site is: info@mittromney.com

Take a look at Romney’s site and let him know that you have something important to say. Please make it easy for voters to communicate to you. For example, how about a simple plan how to reform the tax code?
DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Firenze Sage: Pass the wine and the lifeboat… [ship wreck off Italy's coast]

jaj48 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:39:42 +0000

boat wreck and dinner for two

The captain of the Costa Concordia ordered dinner for himself and a woman after the ship struck rocks off Italy’s coast, a cook from the ship told a Filipino television station.

In an interview with GMA Network, cook Rogelio Barista said Capt. Francesco Schettino ordered dinner less than an hour after the accident.

“We wondered what was going on. … At that time, we really felt something was wrong. … The stuff in the kitchen was falling off shelves and we realized how grave the situation was,” Barista told GMA.

Schettino ordered dinner around 10:30 p.m. Friday, Barista said. Authorities say the ship struck the rocks at 9:41 p.m.
_______________

A romantic dinner cruise complete with shipwreck.

JAJ48@aol.com
for more Firenze Sage:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/109312

Aptos Psychologist: NOAA & citizens — Govt overreaches and congressman Sam Farr from CA silent on NOAA fines for feeding whales and using jet skis in Monterey Bay

jaj48 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:27:50 +0000

Sam Farr congresman from CA has no comment re NOAA fines for biologist and jet ski use to save surfers

Federal agency National Oceanographic & Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) recently pressed criminal charges and has levied huge fines against a nationally known biologist for feeding large fish.

Also, NOAA recently levied enormous fines — which keep going up — against two persons using jet skis to save surfers in Monterey Bay.

The overall issue is that a federal agency (NOAA) under Obama and with the blessing of local congressman Sam Farr now controls access of the public to use of Monterey Bay. Do you accept this control?

Because the jet ski users are contesting the charges, NOAA’s response has been to double and triple the fines. Per discussion by Dr. Bill on radio 1080, NOAA is acting as judge, jury and prosecutor and not allowing any defense.

Sam Farr, congressman for the Monterey and Santa Cruz, CA area, refused to come on a local radio show Saturday, Jan. 14 and discuss his views of NOAA and the legal charges against people using the Monterey Bay for work and play. Sam Farr’s office likewise did not contact the radio station. Farr’s offices were contacted repeatedly without success.

“Put a sign on your car, in your window and on a telephone pole telling Sam Farr what you want” says Dr. Bill on 1080 Radio. “Or just write, Sam Farr — Farr Out!”

NOAA’s senior positions are filled with political appointees who push for the political agenda of the current administration. Dr. Bill refers to NOAA as the “green Gestapo”.

Per the 1080 radio show Jan. 11, 2012 NOAA spent millions of Obama Stimulus money on a new building close to the beach at Asilomar CA state park in Monterey, CA. NOAA will not permit any non-native plants in the area and has built a building which, to put it mildly from the comments of listeners to the raido show, does not blend into the environment. Check out the NOAA building next time you drive along the Asilomar state beach beach in Monterey.

For more information on NOAA, congressman Sam Farr’s lack of response to air his views on NOAA and current fining of the biologist and jet ski users contact
www.ksco.com

Aptos Psychologist: How parents can help kids with ADHD or autism be happier and achieve goals

jaj48 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:30:47 +0000

How parents can help ADHD & Autistic children be happier & achieve goals

Some simple techniques can assist children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/ or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)to be happier and achieve appropriate goals. These techniques are easy for parents and teachers to implement.

Of course a child is not a car but think of the following analogy:

Every car to get to a destination needs a driver. Parents can assist children to get into the driver’s seat and drive their ‘car’ to appropriate ‘destinations’.

Here’s how to assist children who have difficulties with focus, attention, concentration, ‘executive functioning’ or ‘working memory’ difficulties. Executive functioning and working memory are words used by school psychologists. What the parent sees is a child who can’t seem to figure out what comes first and appear disorganized.

What to do: Get a pad of 8 by 12 inch lined paper.

On one per sheet of paper —
1) Write at the top, a Goal that parents/teachers want the child to achieve.
2) Write out all the Steps required to accomplish the Goal.
3) Order the steps from first to last using KISS (Keep It Simple, Simple)
4) Figure out an appropriate Reward for child accomplishing the steps.
Set it up so child can get partial reward for partial completion.
5) Decide the number of Days child needs to complete the Goal.
6) Draw up a Graph with Days across Top of Page and Goals listed on left.

Here’s an example of a Behavior Plan for a child who shows symptoms of both ADHD and ASD:

Gina is 8 years old and was exposed in utero to illegal drugs and alcohol. Her biological mother lost parental rights and Gina has been in foster care since age two. Since age four, Gina has received County Mental Health therapy and medication to assist with focus, attention and concentration. The therapy provided by County Mental Health focuses only on helping Gina to label emotions and better express her emotions appropriately.

Gina’s foster mother and her teacher agree that Gina’s adaptive functioning abilities are considerably below what they expect for her age. Her foster mother wants Gina to 1) wash her face & brush her teeth; 2) make her bed; 3) put toys in basket in her room; 4) set the table with utensils and plates before dinner.

Goals:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Wash face & clean teeth
Make bed
Put toys in basket
Set table with utensils & plates

Spiritual/ religious beliefs need to be integral to a successful Behavioral Plan.
For example, Gina’s foster mother goes to church and rests on Sunday. Therefore the behavior plan is for six days a week and no work on Sunday, their day of rest. Six days a week time four goals = 24 Goals for Gina to achieve. For each Goal achieved she earns one (1) dime. During the week she puts stickers on the sheet and gets her motivators (dimes) which she puts into a plastic, clear jar. That way she can see exactly what she has earned towards a new toy on the weekend. Her foster mother believes Gina can find age appropriate toys for around $2.50 to $3.00 a toy.

What makes a Behavioral Plan successful?
The answer is simple: practice and more practice so the Steps are as simple as possible and the child gets rewarded for partial and then complete finishing the Goal.

For example, Gina when we started could not make her bed said her foster mom. Well, the cover was too big and too heavy for a thin, small 8 year old to move around. Thus, by simplifying and making a bed simply tossing a light duvet (down comforter) on a twin bed and putting the pillow in place — then making a bed by an 8 year old is simple and possible.

A second example:
Gina has never set the table for dinner. Part of the reason is that the plates are too high for her to reach and they are china easily breakable. Also, the utensils are not easy to get to. This is easily solved by moving plastic plates and smaller folks and spoons to one drawer that the child can reach. The point is to set it up so the child can successfully achieve the Goals.

Overall point: Parents can set simple ‘destinations’ for their child to drive their ‘car’ towards and by keeping the steps simple and practising the steps again and again their child can achieve those destinations to goals that parents set.

Very important: the hugs and ‘You did great!’ and ‘Keep trying!’ are as important and at times more important than any reward system. Parents – whether biological parents or foster parents – are the fire to ignite important, life long change in children.
Send comments to DrCameronJackson@gmail.com