Maui, Hawai’i References 2013-2017
1. Andrea Hall Rodgers – Director La’a Kea Farms, Paia – 281-3463
2. Howard and Denise Greenberg- Directors Autism Managament Services, Kihei - 879-4111
3. Sgt. Russell Kapahuelehua – Maui PD Senior Tactical Instructor – 870-4344
4. Officer Emily Kibby – Maui PD – Kihei Community Officer – 808 875-5463
5. Ruth Ballinger – Maui Special ED – 214-7676
6. Nancy Hawley –Mother of current client - Wailuku –310 486 4930
7. Shayna Nechama - Women Self defense participant –Kihei-
8. Chip Frank – Massage Therapist & Friend - Kihei - 344-7227
MAINLAND References 2000-1013
• Kathleen Allgood, Occupational Therapist, Eugene Oregon
• Eilleen Fisher, Clothes designer, NY, NY recommendation
• Steven Edelson, Director of Autism Research Institute, San Diego
• Lisa Johnson, parent, Eugene, OR recommendation
• E. Arielle Curtin, parent, NY, NY recommendation
Letters of References
To Whom It May Concern, April 2, 2012
Vicente Rubio worked with our 18 year old son for several months – (November 2011-Feb 2012), working on cognitive behavioral challenges. He worked on a one to one basis helping our son through movement and positive reinforcements. Within a few weeks our son was showing signs of improvement with personal hygiene, direction and respect. Vicente was able to connect with our son and get him to be open about his feelings, worries and his future. He was able to put him on a path of personal responsibility and accountability. Vicente helped focus our son to reconsider going back to our local Jr. College, as well as, prepare and focus our son to find and obtain part time employment.
Both proved to be positive developments to get our son out his room and computer gaming, and into the ‘real world’.
Vicente is a kind hearted professional who is able to connect with young people to help them control their impulsive reactions, and teach them the techniques to allow them to handle some of life's many challenges.
Yours,
Andrew and Carol Stoddard Los Gatos, CA e-mail: stoddies@att.net
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To Whomever It May Concern,
R. Vicente Rubio, formerly Ron Rubio, is a gifted educator, mentor & kindred spirit for young people with Asperger Syndrome. He's an author, "Mind Body Techniques for Asperger’s Syndrome – Way of the Pathfinder" of a book & dvd, with an incredible ability to inspire individuals with multiple challenges to manifest their inner power through the selected, guided movements of non-violent martial arts. Watching Vicente work his magic with students is like witnessing the "Pied Piper of Focus" creating a safe, supported and successful journey of mindfulness and focus via a series of synchronized movements and imaginative visualization of positive self esteem. You won't believe what these individuals can achieve until you witness it!
Katie
Kathleen Allgood
Occupational Therapist
Eugene School District
Education Support Services
200 N. Monroe St.
Eugene, OR97402
541.790.7862 (voicemail)
allgood@4j.lane.edu (email)
________________________________________________________________________
To Whom It May Concern,
R. Vicente Rubio has been a wonderful mentor to my son Zack, who has Asperger’s syndrome. Vicente worked with Zack for 3 years and helped him learn how to think for himself. He helped Zack realize that life wasn’t going to come to him, and ultimately he helped him transition into being an adult.
Vicente was an important role model for Zack and a key player in his transition from high school to college. He worked with Zack twice a week from the age of 18-21.Their work together started in the realms of martial arts training (aikido and sword training) which really helped Zack to get into his body and to let Vicente in. He presented a role model of a strong and compassionate male figure.
As a mother, I especially appreciated how Vicente worked with Zack when he was in college. He would visit Zack twice a week and help him with basic life skills (cleaning his room, shopping, hygiene, cooking, health). It really helped me not to hover over Zack and, in turn, gave Zack a real sense of independence. Vicente is a blend of strong/directive and caring/compassionate.
Zack values that Vicente helped him become a man, or as he put it "he helped me take charge of my own life". He was an anchor for Zack and I cannot imagine how Zack would have made it through college without him. I would highly recommend his services.
Sincerely,
Eileen Fisher
P.O. Box 110Irvington, NY 10533
To Whom It May Concern: February 2012
I am happy to write a letter of recommendation for Vicente Rubio. I have known Vicente for several years, and I have always been impressed with his motivation and sincerity. I have also had the opportunity to observe him work with several teenagers on the autism spectrum, and I was very impressed with his patience, communication style, and insight.
Vicente Rubio is a conscientious, perceptive, and exceptional person. I recommend him highly.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D. Director
Autism Research Institute
4182 Adams Avenue San Diego, California 92116
www.Autism.com
619-281-7165 fax: 619-563-6840
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To Whom It May Concern, December 1, 2011
I have had the pleasure of knowing Vicente Rubio for three years now, since 2008. My husband and I engaged him as a mentor and private aikido instructor for our son, then 10 years old. Bjorn experiences life with Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, anxiety and depression. He’s been through multiple schools and spent four months in a residential setting as a fifth grader. His continues to be a difficult path, and his father and I have worked with many professionals in an effort to help our child find a place of peace within himself, and within the world.
Vicente (or Ron, as we knew him) is simply the best of the best. I could not have created a more understanding, hopeful, patient and standard-setting teacher than Vicente. In the year we shared with him, we grew to appreciate his influence every week. From the very first meeting, in which he sat down and spoke with Bjorn man-to-man, I thought, “Wow! This guy in one hour has a better sympathetic understanding of my son than anyone besides my husband and me!” He totally connected with Bjorn, and could be loving, helpful, and patient while also demanding a high level of respect for himself and all living things.
If Vicente still lived in the area, we would still expect him weekly, on time and ready to focus his tremendous energy on Bjorn and his family. In his stead, my son references the little yellow book “The Art of Peace” that Vicente gave him. They worked with it together, learning to gain strength and wisdom from the teachings of Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido. Bjorn keeps the book in a special place and treats it with great respect and appreciation. He takes it to school on days he feels he needs extra support. What a marvelous gift, a continuing touch of Vicente’s powerful calm.
I am happy to speak to anyone wishing to consider Vicente Rubio as a mentor or instructor. He has my full endorsement.
Lisa Johnson
2245 Pierce Street Eugene, Oregon, 97405 541-520-1548
________________________________________________________________________To Whom It May Concern,
I would like to recommend the services of R. Vicente Rubio, without qualification.
From a very early age, my son, Rees, exhibited signs of Asperger’s Syndrome. As parents, we debated the utility of having him diagnosed and did not want him to self-identify as having AS. However, in about third grade, due to difficulties in school, we began to realize that we needed a formal diagnosis and thus came in contact with Mr. Rubios’s wife, who is now deceased, who was a Ph.D. Psychologist, specializing in children with AS. Vicente mentored our son from approximately September ‘09 through July ’10, when our son was 12 years old, with a few later sessions added when possible.
It struck me that it seemed that when Vicente first met Rees, he provided him with precisely what he needed at that exact moment in his life. I believe Vicente has a very deep understanding of both what children, and especially boys, need and what the “gaps” are in kids with “AS.” My son at that point had a very high-pitched voice and could only bear to wear loose-fitting clothes such as sweatpants. His physical tone was very doughy and limp. He rarely made eye contact and generally gave the impression of being lost in space somewhere. I often felt he was semi-hidden in a cloud with his outlines only faintly visible; he was the opposite of “present.” He could be very off-putting and was not often liked by other children.
After the end of the very first session, Vicente and Rees came downstairs from the studio and shook hands good-bye. I was shocked to see Rees sustaining eye contact in a very conscious way with Vicente, shaking his hand firmly and saying good-bye in a low and solid tone. He was all there at that moment.
I found out over time that Vicente had told Rees that he wanted to hear his true voice from the center of his being, not some squeak from the top of this throat (which is how he had been talking), and that he wanted Rees to look him in the eye when they spoke, and that he wanted to “feel him” when they shook hands. When I observed my son shaking his new mentor’s hand, talking in a low and solid tone, and making purposeful eye contact, it was profoundly moving for me and looked like an immediate and measurable improvement in behavior.
Vicente insisted that Rees wear a jacket when it became cold – a seemingly little thing but really an insistence that Rees engage and “feel” the exterior world. He came right out and said that when you slouch around limply and wear sweatpants and a loose baggy t-shirt, you know what you look like? You look like you have Asperger’s. Vicente was an honest and caring critic who tenderly conveyed to my son the beginning inklings of what it is to be a man, to know that you can actively be who you want to be, and the importance of nurturing the temple that is your body.
Through Vicente’s mentoring process, Rees became extremely interested in nutrition, physical fitness and following the correct path of the warrior. He took everything Vicente said to him immediately to heart and his experience with Vicente continues to resonate with Rees to this day and will continue to do so throughout his life. Vicente made a deep and significant impact on my son that I believe allowed him to leave behind his babyish passivity and blaming of others, recognizably a part of Asperger’syndrome, and begin to forge a new active identity for himself as a young man.
I cannot say enough positive things about R. Vicente Rubio’s mentoring practice. He is a gifted teacher and any child who has the good fortune to work with him will benefit from the experience.
E. Arielle Curtin
81 Prospect Street New Paltz, NY 12561 (845) 399-4284
