Coach Bill / Dad, Entrepreneur Special Educator, American Political Scientist, Writer, Musician.

somewhere in the heart in a crevice of my mind a spark grows from the inside out a revolution that becomes electric The value of self-expression development to a youth or adult with neurological deficits cannot be understated as an engine of positive growth on multiple levels. Be it typing an essay or writing a short poem, playing a musical instrument or dancing up a storm, self expression can be a form of communication, a work of art and a pathway to bringing our inside selves to the outside. By having typical children, those on the autism spectrum, with downs syndrome or executive function skill deficits   practice story dancing , they actively rewire the cognitive-physical story of their lives. In this case, self-expression can become a self-regulatory, communication life line to individuals who may be otherwise verbally-challenged. All said, the greater task exists in getting the student to recognize the value.  What is self-expression anyway? It i...

Over the last half-decade, the move to hide drug-use has gone from disdaining clouds of lingering marijuana smoke that leave blatant evidence to 'now you see them, now you don't' party-pills. Getting wasted on them can easily be mistaken for simply being drunk, especially if the drug-user has a beer bottle or 'drink' in their hand. No one is the wiser and unsuspecting, aloof parents chuck it up to a 'rite of passage' that is mildly looked down upon thinking it is just booze.  Drug distributors across the country have homed in on the popularity of taking drugs in pill format and have created a potpourri of '31 flavors' to cater to all kinds of demands mostly coming from an adolescent and early adulthood (college-age) market.  Injecting heroin with a syringe is passe,' and not at all fashionable. That is what junkies do. The 'cool kids' pop the pills, drink a bit of beer and proceed with their plans of having a good time. It i...

I t was made clear to me last night in the darkness of Scalzi skatepark in Stamford, Connecticut why there is hesitancy to bring in night lights. “The crowds it would bring…” I realized that the skatepark would be inundated with people from far-flung places. As skateparks go, Scalzi is definitely not top-of-the-line, yet it is one of the best in the region along with the one in New York City just outside of Chelsea piers.  Last night I stayed longer than usual and saw the park transform, and not for the better. A small crowd of middle school boys and girls drinking, smoking and going into the bushes.   I remember picking up used condom wrappers outside the skatepark fence, leaflets talking about the spread of AIDS and I wondered what would happen to them if they were pushed out and a new crowd would come in. Where would these kids go? What would happen to them? Surely, they would find some other place to party and unwind. So I stayed a bit longer in the darknes...

A surfer lets go of the need to control outcomes in the water knowing that he is in something bigger than himself. All he can do is ride his board as gracefully as possible. With some experience he situates himself at the right spot at the right time, and have the ride of his life. Analyzing wave patterns and their timing, riptide channels, sea floor contour and how the wind interacts with the wave, an experienced surfer takes it all in and moves in sync with all the patterns. Suddenly, the surfer and the water are one, and not two separate entities, yet still retaining their original nature. Two, yet one. The natural algorithmic practice of positioning oneself in tune with breaking waves is a practice of letting go and letting that which is natural physically and mentally move us. Repetition of such a lifestyle activity does go deep into the grain of one and changes you from the inside out. Outside the water, our brilliant minds make connections left and right. This generaliz...

The growth of a person cannot be lopsided. Inner and outer growth has to be balanced for optimal results. Working with a mindset that everything is possible, I meet my students in a place where there are no limits. Usually, I am always at this location first and then guide in (beam in) my student. With the right approach, a great coach can move a student quickly far beyond what they ever dreamed of once mindsets are shifted. Progress in skateboarding exemplifies this.  Like most endeavors, 'success' springs forward with practice, dedication and commitment. Not just committing to skate, but committing to moving beyond a present skill level. Thus, the mindset is not, "I want to do awesome skateboarding and get really good at it." No, the mindset is, if I just keep at it, little by little, one day at a time, before long I will move across the skill continuum to become a skilled boarder. Skateboarding is engaging and demands mental acumen to be proficient or grea...

The beginning of success starts in the heart. It slowly move its way to the mind and once there, momentarily pauses. It is calculating perceived total effort and drive required to manifest itself.  My students rarely think of ‘success.’ We focus wholeheartedly on process instead. Time goes by and I look back at their progress. The success happens daily in short increments that appear to accumulate over time and consistency. Success is in the details. Establish new ‘forward-operating beachheads’ in the quest for particular excellence is foremost on my coaching mind. That means that I constantly gauge and assess the effort level, motivation and clarity of purpose with my students.  Shedding light on the value behind a purpose becomes an initial priority. I understand that if I want my soldiers to go #allout,  they must be on-board with ‘why’ we work on what we work on. The value in a purpose helps set up a vision of things to come and provides a process fram...

Storydancing allows a person to begin to process feelings, ideas, emotions and whatever else is in there by holding those things somewhat in focus as they dance according to metrics, such as: pace focus sustained attention behavior modulation goal-directed persistence self-control self-monitoring short-term working memory mental flexibility (transitions/ shifting) beat rhythm how they feel story line story development story goal Storydancing is not about filling the air with movement and perfect pitch, but about processing and creating new ways of thinking, feeling and being just by dancing one’s way into a new life. It is a concerted effort to bring the movements of the future into the present as much as it is a catch drain that sweeps our heart and mind The actual #storydance itself becomes an analogic (analogy) poem in literal motion that amazingly rewrites how you feel about things, and how you see things. Yes, this is movement therapy. Yes it is...

For a few years I have been working on integrating the showmanship and basketball skills of the Harlem Globetrotters into my 1:1 coaching work with kids and adults on autism spectrum, those with ADHD/ADD and/ or those with executive function skill deficits. I see the ball-handling skills exhibited by professional basketball players and such show acts as the Globetrotters in-line with the holistic executive function skill use I teach and model. I also see the body positions that are required to surf and skate well pop up as we move to rhythm and beat, beat to rhythm. I love it. As I dance before dawn early in the morning or late at night I get ideas on how to stay crisp, fresh, keep the fun present, sustain and quickly implement ‘real-time’ coach-student feedback, harness my energy, manage my students energy, and the observable positive results I am able to help trigger.  I’d be remiss to say that my basketball moves don’t flesh into my dancing. They mesh with the...

Is it wishful thinking that growth hacking executive function skills through ‘alternative’ methods work faster than pure ABA therapy when working with individuals on the autism spectrum? Its not.  Why do U.S. Special Education dollars in public schools get outsourced when talented Special Educators get paid next to nothing for their heart and soul sacrifice? Does a hybrid instructional approach work better? What professional SHOULD be playing ‘point guard’ as the main expert in instructing students with disabilities like autism or ADHD?  Over the last twenty years in U.S. public education their has been a seismic shift in Special Education. Special Educators have lost critical footing due to top-down educational decision-making that is disconnected from the actual teacher-student connection. for example, having BCBA’s or ‘Board Certified Behavior Analyst’ as alternative Special Educators coming in to give additional expertise via the route of a...

Nine years ago I was given a key position as the primary 1:1 teacher of a nine year old on the autism spectrum. It was intense ABA therapy with an oversight team focused on success and a DOE that was auditing to track performance.  I worked with her from 7 am in her home, through the school day in Wahiawa, Hawaii, then back to her home for homework and daily living activities until 5 or 6 pm. When i first met Kristin, she was living on a rug with her six year old sister in the living room of the family home. Her mother lived in a bedroom with her boyfriend next to the room where her two daughters slept and ‘took as their room,’ their space. The other room on the top floor belonged to her ex-convict uncle who kept the door locked with a padlock at all times. The grandparents lived downstairs in their own room.  In the mornings it was quite routine for the Mom’s boyfriend to be playing ‘craps,’ with 2-3 friends in the living room as Mom looked on or lounged in b...

You put them to meditate two times a day one minute for every year of their age, up to 20 minutes. Ideally in the morning and in the mid afternoon. I am gonna talk briefly about how to do this successfully and the value and benefits of integrating this ‘being still, eyes closed, slow deep breathing’ activity as daily as drinking water, eating and sleeping. Firstly, I am following the basic format of the widely studied TM or transcendental meditation. Instead of the secret mantra given, intermittent use of the breath as a refocusing tool to clear the mind and regulate back to that ‘calm zero state’ where the brain apparently does incredible processing that boosts all executive function skills, including, (drum roll please) emotional control, behavior modulation and impulse control. As if that is not enough, the daily practitioner of meditation also gains an increased emotional intelligence, or ability to manage ones emotions  in a goal-directed manner across a variety o...

Flash Street parties don't happen all the time... but they could. Meditation is older than the invention of sliced bread... okay way older than that. Both are as old as time itself. I want to bring them together in a series of free events, and am seeking the shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration of others. This can be done. This can and should be bigger than me and you. It is for them. I am one of the leading private Special Educators in the world and I seek to disrupt how we go about teaching. This means outflanking impractical methods (not people), stripping down instruction and focusing on motivating students, equating learning with fun, and getting a strenuous cognitive workout all at the same time.  Disrupting a market or industry means starting at the very bottom and persistently working one's way or one's product to the top of the market. One can still be a gentleman or  lady and be disruptive in this sense.   No Muscle grows unless you ...

What is the price of your childs executive function skills development? Does that price increase or decrease according to deficits and disabilities that they may have? How do you go about best empowering them without breaking the bank? How do you know if the abstract and concrete interventions being employed will bear fruit?  How frustrated are you with your child’s progress? Do you feel the school is not getting your child to ‘the promised land?’ That is to say, do you feel that if you just rely on school support,  the instructional approach and their instructional execution that your child will exceed your expectations of their overall executive function skill and hemispheric connectivity development? Experience tells me as a Private Special Educator of over 12 years across Massachussetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York and Puerto Rico that relying on just the schools to catapult the mental/ emotional development of a child with ADHD or autism is as naive as th...