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Stress Reduction & Essential Oils – Our June Giveaway

Stress Reduction & Essential Oils

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Stress Reduction & Essential Oils

Essential Oil Education with Dr. Brenda Yanofsky

Summer is officially here with the arrival of the Summer Solstice. While things continue to heat up with regard to the weather, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that our busy lives will cool down anytime in the near future. Let’s face it, life can be hectic and stressful and it’s important to find ways to reduce stress and anxiety for our own sake and for those individuals who love and depend upon us.

Register to Win the June Giveaway Contest

The June doTERRA Giveaway is an Adaptiv System, worth over $109.33 in retail value. Don’t forget to register to win this month’s free giveaway by sharing any of Easterseals Southwest Florida’s June 2021 Giveaway posts on social media. Be sure to include the hashtag #EastersealsThanksDoterra and you’re automatically registered. If you don’t want to wait for one of the June Giveaway posts, you can simply share this article on social media with the same hashtag. The winner will be announced at the beginning of July. Good luck!

DOTERRA_June_Giveaway

How is the Adaptiv™ System Beneficial?

Use the Adaptiv System to help get comfortable with new surroundings or situations. When a big meeting is coming up, or for other important events, keep Adaptiv Calming Blend on hand. In preliminary studies, the scent of Lavender, a main ingredient of Adaptiv, has been found to contribute to an environment conducive to performing tasks requiring sustained attention. Lavender, Magnolia, Neroli, and Sweetgum provide stress-relieving effects while Wild Orange and Spearmint energize and uplift. Copaiba and Rosemary soothe anxious feelings to round out the calming blend.

I love the power of this oil combination blend. Here are just a few of the benefits it provides:

  • Calms and promotes positive feelings
  • Supports emotional balance and cognitive function
  • Helps when you are exposed to new situations and environments
  • Soothes and Uplifts
  • Encourages relaxation
  • Assists in centering
  • Increases feelings of tranquility

Whether you’re feeling fatigued or restless, indecisive or irritable, Adaptiv Calming Blend is part of the toolbox to help the body and mind stay balanced. Use Adaptiv Calming Blend in combination with the Adaptiv capsules for synergistic results. Learn more about the science behind the Adaptiv capsules here.

What Products are in the Adaptiv System

The products in the Adaptiv System include Calming Blend capsules, Adaptiv Touch in a roll-on, and Adaptiv Oil to use topically or in a diffuser. I love the peace and tranquility these products provide. Adaptiv products are a great way to create a spa experience right at home.

Adaptiv System - Three Items

Application and Use

When you are feeling restless, fatigued, or indecisive, Adaptiv supports centering and increases feelings of tranquility. These products may be purchased individually or together in the Adaptiv System.

Here are just a few ways you can use this powerful blend:

  • Soak in a relaxing Epsom Salt bath by adding three to four drops of Adaptiv oil to your bathwater.
  • Mix three drops of Adaptiv oil with Fractionated Coconut Oil for a soothing massage.
  • Diffuse Adaptiv oil in a room with a diffuser to promote a centered and calm mindset.
  • Apply one drop to your hands, rub together, and inhale deeply as needed throughout the day.
  • Massage into your shoulders and neck to ease tension and relieve fatigue.
  • Roll on your wrists and temples if you feel you need to regain composure quickly.
  • Apply to your pulse points to promote feelings of balance.

What Do Essential Oils Have to Do with Easterseals Southwest Florida?

Easterseals Southwest Florida has partnered with doTERRA to offer you natural solutions that benefit your life. Every time you purchase products using the Easterseals’ doTERRA link, your purchase helps support our organization. In short, you benefit from a winning partnership that supports the many incredible Easterseals Southwest Florida programs in our local community!  

Easterseals has a long history of innovation and collaboration to create a solid financial base for multiple programs for the population we serve. With nonprofits exploring new ways to create a solid philanthropic base of financial support during these exceptional times, we have continued to partner with high-quality companies and projects that will support our vision for many generations to come. We have appreciated the support of Dr. Brenda Yanofsky, psychologist, acupuncture physician, and essential oil educator over the last few years.

A Final Note

I hope you find a way to reduce stress and anxiety that fits your unique personality and lifestyle this summer and beyond. Take time for self-care, invest in yourself through dedicated “me” time, and find ways to laugh.

I want to thank everyone that stepped-up to help support the “Horses Bring Healing to Children” Matching Fundraiser at InStride Therapy. This fundraiser was sponsored by the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation which supports many wonderful organizations in reaching their fundraising goals. The doTERRA HHF matched all donations that we received during the month of May. Together we were able to meet our goal of providing 10 children with weekly therapy scholarships at InStride Therapy for a full year. In fact, we exceeded our goal by $855! We are so grateful for everyone’s willingness to lend a hand. Thank you!

Warm Regards,

DrBrenda Yanofsky, EdD, LAc, Board Certified, NCCAOM, Diplomate Acupuncture Physician.

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Who is Dr. Brenda Yanofsky?

Dr. Brenda has degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Tufts University, Boston University, and the East-West College of Natural Medicine. Her passion for natural health solutions for all ages, especially in the area of stress management and caregiver support, connects with our desire to provide support to our community. Dr. Brenda has offered her expertise as a gift to any Easterseals families, staff, and supporters, and is available for free consultations and education on the use of essential oil solutions. She actively donates to Easterseals Southwest Florida each month and supports our fundraising efforts through the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation matching fundraiser opportunities.

Personally, Dr. Brenda has integrated essential oils into her daily personal health protocol for over forty years as well as shared this information with her patients. Dr. Brenda is also a certified instructor and for the Aromatouch Technique Massage which integrates the oils with healing touch and healing for the immune system, stress, homeostasis, and inflammation. She currently owns and operates Harmony Health & Healing which is located in the Meadows Country Club in Sarasota, Florida. Feel free to contact Dr. Brenda directly for advice and support.

Dr. Brenda Yanofsky | (941) 955-1220 | doctorbrenda@me.com | doctorbrenda.com

More To Explore

Easterseals Summer Camp 2022

2022 Summer Camps Available, June 6-July 22

Easterseals Academy will host summer camps for children with disabilities from June 6 through July 22. Easterseals believes that it is essential for students with autism to continue their curriculum

Employment

Easterseals Happiness House Employment Services is committed to helping people with disabilities find meaningful careers. In conjunction with the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, we provide career exploration, job coaching, and supported employment services to high school students attending Easterseals Academy, adults attending Life Skills Development, and community members with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

To learn more about employment services at Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Mental Health

Through partnerships with Samaritan Counseling Services, Telement Therapy and The Florida Center, the Easterseals Happiness House mental health program provides services to many of the clients we serve throughout the agency.

  • Samaritan Counseling provides counseling to identified students in our K-12 academy. Services include direct weekly counseling, classroom observations and consultation, and support to parents and families. Students are referred by families or staff members.
  • Telement Therapy is available for caregiver coaching sessions with clients and families and wellness checks to Easterseals’ staff members. All sessions are confidential.
  • The Florida Center provides a full-time staff counselor on staff in the Lily Preschool to provide ongoing support to the children and families that are in need due to trauma, emotional support to children and classroom support.
  • Easterseals Happiness House provides counseling services to veterans and first responders who need support.


To learn more about the mental health services at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

 

Case Management

Our case management office consists of two case managers who represent the agency as a whole. They are the first point of contact for the programs listed below. One of the case managers is bilingual, so we can help the Hispanic community navigate the process of getting support for their families.

  • The Diagnostic Clinic – Manage the assessment process and schedules for the psychologists.
  • Clinical Therapy – Assist in obtaining needed information for clients and managing the clinical waitlist.
  • Lily Preschool – Connect new families for enrollment as well as other services as needed, such as clinical, diagnostics and play project.
  • Easterseals Academy – Intake for prospective families, assisting with enrollment and scholarship applications, and other services as needed.
  • Adult Enrichment- Assist families with APD applications, diagnostic needs, and making connections with outside resources.
  • Digital Navigation – Help families obtain internet access, computers and training at a discounted price
  • Unite Us and Whole Child Network – Utilize these resources to assist families in finding services in our community.
  • Community Outreach -Connect with various agencies within the community to provide families with the support they need. Needs may include food, clothing, electric and utilities, housing and educational advocacy.


For more information on Case Management at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637 x 418 and x 430.

 

Play Project

This program supports all parents in developing a joyous, mutually beneficial relationship with their children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a way that will help each child reach his/her full potential.

  • Children, including children with autism, learn best through play in the natural environment of the home
  • Classes take place in the home 90% of the time, but can also be done in a classroom setting through TEACH Play
  • Students are engaged in a playful way to promote his/her development


To learn more information about the Play Project at Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Family Support Services

This family strengthening program provides a lifeline to parents of medically fragile and/or special needs children. Each family has access to up to 16 hours of care for ALL their children – and even the pets!

In addition to in-home care, we also provide a monthly “Kids Night Out” event, where families can get some much-needed rest while their children enjoy themed, educational activities right here at Easterseals Happiness House. We provide this monthly event with the help of our many treasured community partners.

Our services for families include:

  • In-Home Respite
  • Center-Based Respite
  • Cope with Hope
  • Parent Support Groups


To learn more about the family support services at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Children's Therapy

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To learn more call 941.355.7637

Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy helps people participate in their desired occupations with the therapeutic use of everyday activities, based on the client’s personal interests and needs. Following an initial evaluation, our occupational therapy practitioners can promote independence in areas such as self-care, work, school and play.

Occupational Therapy is used to:

  • Improve sensory processing
  • Develop play skills and leisure interests
  • Improve muscle strength and range of motion
  • Improve fine motor skills
  • Increase independence through adaptive devices

Services may be provided on-site at Happiness House, in an outpatient clinic, at a child development center or adult day program, as well as at home, at school and in a variety of other care settings.

To learn more or to begin occupational therapy services, call 941.355.7637.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy services focus on preserving, developing, and restoring physical function that may have been lost due to injury, disease, aging, or congenital abnormality. Based on an initial assessment, our licensed physical therapists incorporate therapeutic exercise and physical agents to encourage independence at work, home, school, and in the community by:

  • Encouraging motor development
  • Improving functional mobility or the ability to move (including bed mobility/transfers and walking)
  • Increasing range of motion (flexibility) and strength
  • Promoting tissue (wound) healing
  • Decreasing pain and swelling
  • Incorporating safety, prevention, and education
  • Promoting fitness and health

Services may be provided on-site at Happiness House, in an outpatient clinic, at a child development center or adult day program, as well as at home, at school, and in a variety of other care settings. State and federal laws determine referral requirements and funding opportunities.

To learn more or to begin your physical therapy process at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Speech Therapy

Speech-language pathologists, also called SLPs, are experts in communication. SLPs work with people of all ages, from babies to adults, and treat many types of communication and swallowing problems. These include problems with:

Speech Sounds—How we say sounds and put sounds together into words. 

Language—How well we understand what we hear or read and how we use words to tell others what we are thinking. In adults this problem may be called aphasia.

Literacy—People with speech and language disorders may also have trouble reading, spelling and writing.

Social Communication—How well we follow rules, like taking turns, how to talk to different people, or how close to stand to someone when talking. This is also called pragmatics.

Voice—How our voices sound. We may sound hoarse, lose our voices easily, talk too loudly or through our noses, or be unable to make sounds.

Fluency—Also called stuttering, is how well speech flows. Someone who stutters may repeat sounds, use “um” or “uh,” or pause a lot when talking. Many young children will go through a time when they stutter, but most outgrow it.

Feeding and Swallowing—How well we suck, chew and swallow food and liquid. A swallowing disorder may lead to poor nutrition, weight loss and other health problems. This is also called dysphagia.

To learn more about speech therapy at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

 

Behavioral Therapy

Our behavior therapy team collaborates with caregivers, teachers and parents to make learning fun and engaging, while also promoting growth and positive development. Interventions are based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis and are aimed at increasing the individual’s language, learning, and independence. We also help them overcome challenging behaviors by teaching alternatives and increasing flexibility, which leads to better results and happier people!

Goals often seen in plans include: 

  • Increasing requests for things the person wants  
  • Sharing with peers/playing appropriately with peers 
  • Toilet training 
  • Decreasing challenging behaviors  
  • And so much more that are based on the person’s needs! 

To learn more about behavioral therapies at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a non-invasive treatment that encourages the brain to develop healthier patterns of activity. As a part of their initiative, the Brain Wave Center provides neurofeedback training to the students who attend Lily Preschool. The majority of the children who are positively impacted by neurofeedback meet the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The primary goal of partnering with The Brain Wave Center is to help as many children with disabilities as possible using neurofeedback. The Brain Wave Center is also developing a research project to further prove the effectiveness of neurofeedback with children, as part of a comprehensive treatment program.

To learn more about neurofeedback at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Hippotherapy

Easterseals Happiness House is proud offer therapy and horseback riding services at InStride Ranch, a beautiful 62-acre therapy facility in Nokomis, Florida to deliver Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech Therapy. Additionally, InStride also offers Therapeutic Riding and Equine-Assisted Learning Programs. Our horseback riding program offers the ability for riders ages 7 and up to learn Classical Horsemanship and Classical Dressage.

To learn more about hippotherapy with Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Transportation

We provide daily transportation for students of Easterseals Academy and those who participate in our Adult Enrichment program. We also help with transportation to field trips, employment programs, community-based instruction, job training, volunteer services, and recreational activities.

To learn more about transportation services with Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Operation1Stride  

The goal of Operation1Stride is to provide a safe environment for all participants to learn basic horsemanship skills and to promote a general well-being. The program incorporates a classroom and controlled, direct interactions with horses to develop and broaden participants’ horsemanship skills and knowledge.

Participants will experience a variety of emotional benefits:

  • Reduced stress levels
  • An increase in confidence
  • Enhanced relationship skills
  • Improved ability to trust others
  • Restoration and revitalization of their physical and emotional being


Program curriculum covers equine behavior, observation skills, grooming, handling and leading horses.

To learn more about Operation1Stride, call 941.355.7637.

 

Equine-Assisted Learning

Studies have shown that interacting with horses can positively affect a participant’s:  

  • Decision-making and problem-solving skills 
  • Creative thinking and critical thinking skills 
  • Communication and interpersonal skills 
  • Self-awareness and empathy 
  • Ability to cope with emotions and cope with stress 
  • Feeling of empowerment 
  • Ability to develop healthy connections with others

Individual and group sessions are available.
 
 
To learn more about equine-assisted learning with Easterseals, call 941.355.7637.

Victory Garden 

The Victory Garden is an organically operated garden of raised vegetable beds, pollinator beds, and various fruit trees. The goal of the garden is to provide a peaceful natural environment while promoting self-reliance, sustainability skills development and social connections that foster overall healing and wellness. This is a place where people of all ages and skill levels can learn to grow and care for plants.

As an instructional garden, Easterseals Victory Garden is a place to learn new skills like how to amend the soil and add nutrients to the beds, how to plant seedlings and direct sowing beds, plant spacing, watering and companion planting. It also focuses on keeping the garden going, addressing pruning, fertilizing, pest management, staggered planting/seeding and harvesting.

Along with learning new skills, the Victory Garden provides a range of health benefits:

Along with learning new skills, the Victory Garden provides a range of health benefits:

  • Builds self-esteem and confidence
  • Reduces stress
  • Improves mood, diet and cardiovascular health
  • Increases hand-eye coordination and mental acuity


To learn more about the Victory Garden at Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

 

Horse and Farm Camp

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To learn more call 941.355.7637

Spring Break Camp

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To learn more call 941.355.7637

Summer Camp

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To learn more call 941.355.7637

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is an immersive and interactive training therapy modality that Easterseals clients use to improve work skills, social and communication skills, hand-eye coordination and on task behavior. Other uses include calming and refocusing environments that when utilized, help our clients to reduce anxiety and focus on their other therapies and training.  

Virtual Reality is available to our Adult Enrichment Program participants and Easterseals Upper Academy students. The technology is used as a tool to help our neurodiverse clients safely experience new environments and practice new skills that will then allow them to enter a job or new experience with much less anxiety and much better prepared to succeed.  

To learn more about virtual reality with Easterseals Happiness House, call 941.355.7637.

Horse Boarding

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To learn more call 941.355.7637

Riding Lessons

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To learn more call 941.355.7637

Lily Preschool

The Lily School for Child Development is a licensed, inclusive early childhood and education program recognized for children 6 weeks to 5 years old. The Lily School utilizes the Creative Curriculum as the foundation of a developmentally appropriate, interactive learning environment that promotes the success of each child by:

  • Building healthy and positive self-concepts
  • Providing opportunities to think, reason, question, and experiment
  • Stimulating individual imagination, creativity, and sense of discovery
  • Promoting language development encouraging sound health
  • Safety, and nutritional habits
  • Respecting cultural diversity

 

To learn more call 941.355.7637

Easterseals Academy

Easterseals Academy provides exceptional services for students with disabilities and their families across a lifetime by empowering individuals to live their lives to the fullest.

Easterseals Academy specializes in serving Manatee and Sarasota County students, through age 22, who are challenged by developmental, physical, learning and mild behavioral disabilities, as well as autism.

Your child’s education experience will be enriched with art, music, performing arts, Spanish, yoga, organic agriculture, nutrition and movement. Our students’ wellbeing is balanced with PT-OT-speech-equine therapies including behavioral and neurofeedback as well as family support. More than special, your child is exceptional and our individualized education plans help to ensure that their progress shines brightly.

To learn more call 941.355.7637

Equine-Assisted Services

Equine-Assisted Services are therapy sessions guided by a Licensed Mental Health Therapist that is certified as PATH Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. Participants will initially meet with the therapist for an individual evaluation to develop personalized goals for treatment. The number of sessions will be determined by individual needs. 

Individual and group sessions are available.

To learn more about equine-assisted services with Easterseals, call 941.355.7637.

Autism (ASD) Support Services

The Diagnostic Clinic at Easterseals Happiness House provides comprehensive diagnostic evaluations (CDE) to clients aged two through adulthood. We have two licensed clinical psychologists on staff who are qualified to diagnose autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and any disorder listed in the DSM-5. These evaluations equip parents, teachers, and caregivers with the necessary tools to address the varied needs of the clients we serve.

  • Insurance companies require a CDE to approve needed behavioral therapy services
  • Clients receive appropriate recommendations for school and other needed services
  • Doctors utilize the CDE report to provide needed medical intervention
  • Other social services can be made available with a proper diagnosis
  • A sliding fee scale is available to qualifying clients

To learn more about our ASD services, call 941.355.7637.