Here is your update on the TACA (TALK ABOUT CURING AUTISM) Group for January 2003 - #1.  As always, email your thoughts and or questions. 

 

I want to make this e-newsletter informative for you. Let me know your thoughts on how I can improve it.

 

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IF this email is NEW to you and you don't recognize the name... WELCOME!   These emails happen two to four times a month for Southern California Autism support called TACA.

 

 We focus on parent support, parent mentoring, gluten / casein free diets, the latest in medical research, special education law, reviews of the latest treatments, and many other topics as it relates to Autism. 

 

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TACA has an official web site at www.talkaboutcuringautism.org  

 

COMPLETE SITE OVER HAUL IS DONE!  Dozens of new resources, hundreds of new web links, new THERAPY, GFCF Diet, Medical and Legal information!  Check it out!

 

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In this edition of TACA e-news:

  1. Next TACA Meeting Information
  2. Upcoming TACA Schedule & other TACA meeting schedule info – January – May 2003
  3. TACA CALL FOR INFORMATION!  Need your help!
  4. Vaccine News (three incredible articles)
  5. Book available from the California DDS
  6. UC Davis investigates potential causes of autism
  7. Need a mentor in the AUTISM WORLD?
  8. Dr Jerry Kartzinel Medical Conference tapes available – limited time
  9. NEW Gluten Free/Casein Free Pie Crust available
  10. Frankies Update – LA TIMES
  11. Conferences & Upcoming events
  12. Personal note

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1)  Next TACA COSTA MESA support group meeting:

 

Date:               Saturday, January 11, 2003

 

Time:               2:30 - 5:30

 

Topic:              Regional center:  Funding before age 3 AND AFTER age 3

                        What should they fund? 
                        Presented by Bruce Bothwell, special education attorney

 

PLACE:           VINEYARD NEWPORT CHURCH - 102 East Baker Avenue - Costa Mesa

 

(Please do not contact the church for meeting details.  They have graciously offered use of their facility, but are not affiliated with TACA.)

 

Directions:

405 FWY South, Exit Bristol

Right on Bristol

Left on Baker

Go under FREEWAY.

The Vineyard church is on the corner just after the FWY - turn left onto the freeway access road, MAKE FIRST right into the Vineyard's parking lot.

 

And remember, we are still a non-faith based group!

 

CONTACT PHONE FOR DAYS OF THE MEETING ONLY:  949.678.9010

Please do NOT use the cell contact for days outside of the meetings.  Thank you!

 

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2) UPCOMING TACA Costa Mesa Meeting Schedule:

 

Please make sure you note the new dates below

– changes and additions have been made

 

February 8, 2003:     Dr William Shaw – Great Plains Labs -
What medical tests?  How to read basic results?
How often to re-test?  What to do with the info?
and other important medical information

 

March 8, 2003:          Special Education Law - a look back at 2002 and into 2003      Big changes in cases, services provided & hearing results. –
Always a big turn out for Paul Roberts, Spec Education Lawyer

April 12, 2003            Autism and Apraxia
Not just a language problem for autistics
Presented by Speech & Language Connection: Melanie Foshee and Kim Bowman

May 10, 2003            School Shadowing Presentation -
What to look for - what to avoid ABA Specialist - Jessica Postil - Autism Spectrum Consultants

 

Much more is being planned for June – December of 2003! Stay tuned!

 

 

TACA has FOUR So. California meeting locations:

 

Costa Mesa:  2nd Saturday of each month (info in item #1)

West Hills:  3rd Saturday of each month – 2:30-5:30pm - Info: Contact Us

San Diego:  4th Tuesday evening – 6:30- 8:00pm – Info: Contact Us

Corona:  4th Saturday – 2:30 – 5:30pm – info:  Contact us

 

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3)         IMPORTANT CALL FOR INFORMATION FROM ALL TACA FAMILIES!

TACA is updating their database:

IF YOU HAVEN'T SENT ME YOUR INFORMATION  PLEASE DO- OR YOU HAVE MOVED – SEND ME AN UPDATE!   I am waiting to hear from YOU!


To make sure to keep receiving these newsletter emails and IN THE FUTURE MAIL - please provide the following information:

 

REQUESTED MINIMUM INFO:
Name, address, city, state, ZIP
Name of child -  age (or better yet -birth month & year)
School district name
Email address

OPTIONAL (PLEASE PROVIDE IF YOU CAN!)
Month & year your child was diagnosed
Official diagnosis (list all)
Who diagnosed your child?
Phone Number
 
Thank you for helping keep the TACA database updated.

PRIVACY NOTE: We do not use this list for sales and marketing of any products. Your name and information will not be sold to anyone. This list will be used for communication purposes only.

The OPTIONAL INFORMATION is used internally to watch trends in diagnosis in our area or referrals on specific items effecting your school district. Again – the information will NOT BE SHARED outside the group.

Send information to contact us

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4) THE LATEST VACCINE NEWS – 3 articles

 

Article #1

Lawmakers Vow to Act on Vaccine Additive Issue

Thu Jan 9, 8:59 AM ET  Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Julie Rovner

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A group of US Senators and House members are wasting no time trying to address a lingering controversy left over from the last session. In that session, the homeland security bill was passed containing language that granted the drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. protection from thimerosal-related lawsuits.

 

Thimerosal is an additive the company once used in its vaccines, and lawsuits allege that the additive contributed to autism and other neurological problems in children, although there is little or no medical evidence for such a link.

 

Exactly who inserted language into the bill remains a mystery. The bill requires that those with complaints about vaccine additives first pursue remedies through the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

 

But parents whose lawsuits were canceled by the language have several lawmakers now doing their bidding. "This is the worst kind of special interest legislation," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) told a news conference outside the Capitol attended by dozens of parents of stricken children.

 

Leahy on Tuesday joined Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in introducing legislation that would repeal the provision enacted in November, which Stabenow said "takes away the legal rights of parents to protect their children." Reps. Tom Allen (D-ME) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) are introducing a House version of the bill.

 

Meanwhile, a second group of lawmakers is working on another approach, which would modify but not repeal the language in question. Just before the Senate passed the bill, Maine Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, along with Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), threatened to block the bill until House and Senate GOP leaders promised them the language would be revisited in January.

 

A spokesman for Snowe said the senators have been working with Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), the incoming chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on language that would clarify parents' ability to use the federal vaccine compensation program for thimerosal claims, even if their children's injuries occurred outside the normal three-year time limit.

 

Complicating matters is the fact that the pledge to revisit the matter in the Senate came from Trent Lott (R-MS), who has since been replaced as Republican leader by Bill Frist (R-TN). Frist wrote the language that was inserted in the homeland security bill, originally part of a broader vaccine measure, and while he has denied seeking its inclusion in the bill, he defended it on the Senate floor during the homeland security debate.

 

Nonetheless, Frist has agreed to keep Lott's promise to reconsider the matter, a spokesman said. "We are continuing to talk with them to address their concerns," he said of the Snowe-Collins-Chafee-Gregg group

 

Article #2

Burton pushes to repeal thimerosal lawsuit restrictions

- Legislation Would Strike Thimerosal Provisions in Homeland Security Bill  -

 

Washington, D.C. - Today Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN) introduced legislation to repeal provisions tacked onto the Homeland Security Act last month that limit the rights of families of autistic children to sue for damages.

 

Late in the 107th Congress, provisions were added to the Homeland Security Act, sections 1714 to 1717, which cut off the ability of families to seek legal recourse against the manufacturers of thimerosal.  Many parents of autistic children believe that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative use in vaccines, contributed to their children's condition.

 

Said Burton, "I want to remind my colleagues in the House that as we set our priorities for the first session of the 108th Congress, we have a looming crisis.  It is an economic crisis to the education system, to health care systems, to long-term housing and care for the disabled, to un-addressed research needs and most especially to an increasing number of families across the country.  This crisis is the Autism epidemic."

 

The prevalence of Autism has skyrocketed over the last two decades.  Fifteen years ago one in every 10,000 children in America was autistic. Today one in every 250 children is autistic.  One leading suspect is thimerosal, a preservative that was used for decades to kill bacteria in vaccines and contains ethyl mercury.  It has long been known that over-exposure to mercury can cause serious neurological problems in developing children.  Additionally, thimerosal is still being used as a preservative in several adult vaccines, including those given to men and women serving in the armed services through routine vaccinations.

 

Congressman Burton's legislation would repeal sections 1714 to 1717 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.  Congressmen Duncan, Paul, King and Kucinich,

as well as Congresswoman Maloney, have joined Congressman Burton as original

co-sponsors.

 

 

Article #3

Frist's Ties to Drug Firm Face Test in New Senate

 Likely next GOP leader must decide whether to honor a deal brokered by his predecessor.

By Nick Anderson, Times Staff Writer

 

WASHINGTON -- The expected Senate majority leader in the new Congress, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, will immediately face a controversy left over from the last legislative session in which he played a prominent role.

At issue is a provision of the new homeland security law that limits liability for makers of vaccine additives that some parents allege caused autism in their children.

When the provision was inserted into the bill last month, just before final votes in the House and Senate, no one stepped forward to claim authorship. Critics denounced the provision as a giveaway to Eli Lilly & Co. and other drug manufacturers. The bill passed Congress with the controversial language and was signed into law by President Bush.

Frist, an ally of the pharmaceutical industry, had written nearly identical language in a separate bill on vaccines. While he disavowed any responsibility for inserting the language into the homeland security bill, Frist twice spoke strongly in favor of the provision during a Senate debate on whether to kill it.

On Saturday, Frist spokesman Nick Smith said the senator has spoken with GOP colleagues who voted reluctantly for the provision in the homeland security bill but want to alter it when Congress returns.

"They've already been talking," Smith said. "There's a number of things being discussed" to address the concerns. He declined to elaborate.

Frist had no public appearances scheduled Saturday, a day after he became the consensus choice to replace Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi as the Senate Republican leader. He spoke with colleagues and well-wishers by telephone from Washington.

The vaccine additive issue is alive because of a back-room deal brokered by the man Frist is expected to succeed.

In the waning days of the 107th Congress, Lott was eager to get the homeland security bill passed and sent to Bush's desk. But he faced a potentially crippling amendment from Sens. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.). The amendment would have killed the vaccine-related language and a handful of other controversial provisions.

Had the amendment passed, the homeland security bill might have been in jeopardy. Centrist Sens. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) provided crucial votes to help defeat the amendment. But they extracted a promise from Lott, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to revisit the matter when Congress returned.

One change under discussion would scale back the vaccine additive provision to protect the interests of plaintiffs who filed lawsuits before the law was enacted.

Whether Frist would consider himself bound by any deal Lott brokered is unclear.

The provision requires people who allege damages from certain vaccine additives -- including the mercury-based preservative known as thimerosal, made by Lilly -- to first seek compensation out of court through a fund created under a 1986 federal law. The law does not bar potential plaintiffs from filing lawsuits after going through that process.

Thimerosal is being phased out of use in vaccines. Dozens of lawsuits blame it for health problems, including autism. Lilly and other defendants reject the allegations and say no research has proved a link between vaccines and autism.

This month, House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), who is days away from retirement, said he was responsible for putting the provision into the homeland security bill. Others point a finger at the Bush administration -- a claim the White House denies.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), a critic of the provision, called it "government at its worst."

Frist has close ties to Lilly. The company bought 5,000 copies of a Frist book concerning bioterrorism and has also given money to a Republican committee Frist recently chaired.

But Frist, a former heart-transplant surgeon, also is an expert on public health. During the floor debate in November, he said the provision was essential for vaccine makers to stay in business.

He called it a matter of national security and said the American Academy of Pediatrics backed him.

"I will say that, without this clarification [provision]," Frist said, "litigation outside the program -- and that is what is happening today -- will continue and the supply of vaccines could well be jeopardized as we have these huge lawsuits."

 

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5) BOOK AVAILABLE FROM THE CA DEPT OF DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES

 

AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS:

Best Practice Guidelines for Screening, Diagnosis and Assessment

 

California Department of Developmental Services, 2002 ©2002 California Department of Developmental Services

 

This publication was developed for and under the direction and supervision of the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) by the Northern California Autism Collaborative with assistance from the Association of Regional Center Agencies and produced by the Center for Health Improvement through a contract with Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center. All rights under federal copyright laws are held by DDS except for those previously published articles or tests included in the appendices of this document.

All parts of this publication, except for previously published materials credited to the authors and/or publishers, may be reproduced in any form of printed or visual medium. Any reproduction of this publication may not be sold for profit or reproduction costs without the exclusive permission of the DDS. Any reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, shall acknowledge, in writing, the California Department of Developmental Services.

 

This publication is available at no charge at http://www.ddhealthinfo.org  or a printed copy may be ordered by contacting the DDS, Children and Families Services Branch at
(916) 654-1596. A fee to cover reproduction costs, shipping and handling will be charged for hardcopies.

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6) UC DAVIS INVESTIGATES POTENTIAL CAUSES OF AUTISM

Sun, Dec. 29, 2002
UC Davis scientists to study potential causes of autism
Researchers hope to understand possible roles of environment, genetics

By Sandy Kleffman


UC Davis researchers have launched several major new studies to unlock the mysteries surrounding autism.
They hope to answer a fundamental question: Do environmental factors combine with genetics to cause the disorder?
The research, expected to break ground in an area where little is known, will take place over the next few years.
Next month, investigators from the UC Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health will begin enrolling 2,000 California children in the study.
They plan to include 700 autistic children, 700 who have mental retardation or developmental delay but not autism, and 600 who have developed normally.
Researchers will then analyze blood, urine and hair samples from the children and their family members to search for the presence of toxic substances.
They will compile comprehensive histories on the mother and child, looking at exposure to everything from vaccines containing a mercury preservative to pesticides, PCBs and chemicals used in industrial processes.
The work will be much like fitting together the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the final picture looks like. Investigators will search for patterns of differences between the children with developmental problems and those without.
"We're casting a really wide net and that's because we really don't know a lot about autism," said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a UC Davis professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine who oversees one of the studies.
"This is really the first big, comprehensive effort to enroll a lot of children and look at a combination of environmental and genetic factors," she added. "It's likely that both play a role."
Autism, a severe developmental disorder that undermines a child's ability to connect with the world, has no known cause and no cure.
Autistic children often have difficulty making eye contact and carrying on a conversation. Many engage in ritualistic behavior such as hand-flapping and obsessively following routines.
The search for answers takes on added urgency because of a recent explosion in the numbers of autistic children in the United States, England, Scotland and elsewhere.
While some experts believe the increase is a result of better diagnosis, others note that a recent study by UC Davis researchers concluded that it appears to be a real phenomenon.
Scientists now believe as many as five to 15 genes play a role in causing autism, said Isaac Pessah, a UC Davis professor of pharmacology and toxicology who directs the center.
But Pessah and other experts wonder if an unknown environmental factor pushes genetically vulnerable children over the edge into autism.
"We know that genes by themselves don't cause epidemics," said Rick Rollens, the father of an autistic boy. "There must be something else going on."
A couple of years ago, Rollens joined other parents of autistic children in urging Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to establish several autism research centers around the country.
"Really for the first time, autism research has been expanded to include new disciplines and new ideas about possible causes of autism," Rollens said.
UC Davis officials succeeded in obtaining grant money to open the center in late 2001.
With an annual budget of $1.6 million, it receives funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency and UC Davis' Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute.
Investigators at the M.I.N.D. Institute, who do research on autism, collaborate closely with those at the center. Together, the two institutions place the Davis campus at the forefront of those seeking to unravel the disorder.
Hertz-Picciotto's study will focus on children between the ages of 2 and 5 living in Solano County, the Central Valley, Sacramento and Napa areas, and Los Angeles.
Researchers selected these areas to include children likely to be exposed to pesticides and other chemicals found in agricultural regions, as well as those from urban centers.
"We want a real dichotomy of environmental exposures," Pessah said.
The autistic children will be recruited from those who receive services through the state Department of Developmental Services regional centers.
The normally developing children will be selected at random from state birth certificate files.
Hertz-Picciotto hopes to have some preliminary results within two years. But the study has funding for five years and could last much longer.
After obtaining blood samples, researchers will analyze if the immune systems of autistic children function differently than those of other children. They will look at cell-to-cell communication and metabolism.
Other researchers at the center have begun to tackle one of the most controversial theories surrounding autism: Could it be triggered by thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to voluntarily phase it out in 1999?
Vaccine manufacturers insist thimerosal is safe. But it has spawned class-action lawsuits in California and at least 10 other states by scores of parents who blame the preservative for their child's slide into autism.
To find answers, center investigators have begun to ask if thimerosal influences social behavior in mice. The question is significant because social behavior is a key criteria for diagnosing autistic children.
Center researchers have injected mice with thimerosal at about the same rate that children received it as part of their routine vaccination schedule, with an adjustment to account for the smaller size of the mouse. Researchers then analyze if the behavior of the mice changes.
Most mice like to huddle with their mother and littermates after they're born and will emit ultrasonic cries of distress if separated from the group, Pessah said. Researchers hope to discover if mice who have received thimerosal no longer want to huddle with others, echoing the isolation exhibited by autistic children.
Center officials hope to release some findings on thimerosal early next year, Pessah said.
Parents around the world eagerly await answers on autism.
"We think it's not going to be one single factor that's going to turn out to explain it all," Hertz-Picciotto said. "It may be a combination of things. We're really at the very beginning of understanding this complicated disorder."

 

7)  NEED A MENTOR IN THE AUTISM WORLD?

 

Please let me know if you have any questions, need any help - remember - we have parent mentors in your area now!  There are now 37 parent mentors in Southern California!  (Please note: unfortunately we do not have one in every school district/city in Southern California - we are working on that!)

 

AND IF YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO BE A MENTOR - WE NEED YOU!   Just send me a note and the school district you are in.

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8) Dr Jerry Medical Conference Audio TAPES NOW AVAILABLE

 

Total Number of Tapes:  4 (double sided)

Total Hours:  6 (including presentation & Question / answer period)

Total Costs:  $35.00 Includes shipping

 

Summary:

The latest medical treatment and protocol by world renowned Dr Jerry Kartzinel of the GND Foundation / ICDRC. Hear the latest in treatments and guides for parents on how to help navigate the medical needs in the autism world!

 

For more information on Dr Jerry & ASD protocol - please see the web site; www.icdrc.org

 

Note:  These tapes are being produced at a low costs for parents.  Funds will be distributed both to GND Foundation (aka ICDRC) and Vineyard Church for hard costs on producing the tapes.

 

If you want an order form via email for these conference tapes: please email lisa.Ackerman@anysite.com   THANK YOU!

9) Need A Gluten Free / Casein Free Pie Crust??

Natural Feast® manufactures a line of fresh frozen pies and pie shells. Our pies include fruit pies, as well as Chocolate Mousse pie and pie shells. Our vegan products are totally free of genetically modified ingredients, hydrogenated oils, artificial additives, refined sugar, eggs, dairy, and preservatives. All of our products are wheat and gluten-free and have been tested by the independent nutrition and dietary departments at Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Florida, as well as the Joslin Clinic in Boston, MA, and are certified for celiac and diabetic consumption. Natural Feast® products are certified Kosher and contain only 3-4 grams of fat per serving. You can find our products in most health food stores as well as select supermarkets. Please visit us at www.naturalfeast.com and don’t hesitate to call us at (508) 785-3322 if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you and are always interested in participating in programs that support and educate the celiac community.

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10) Frankies Update

LA TIMES COMMENTARY

Powers That Be Should See the Needs of Frankie

By Frank del Olmo, Frank del Olmo is associate editor of The Times.

 

There is good news and bad this holiday season regarding my son, Frankie, and other children like him who have autism.

Frankie is 10 now, and the good news involves his personal progress against the neurological disorder that impairs a child's ability to speak, learn and respond to people.

The bad news involves political shenanigans that could deny many autistic children the costly therapies my wife, Magdalena, and I fought so hard to get for Frankie.

I shudder to think how far behind other children Frankie would be today were it not for the difficult odyssey our family began eight years ago, when doctors diagnosed his autism and told us there was no cure.

At the time, we were so desperate to help our son that we didn't dwell on what might have caused brain damage in an otherwise healthy toddler.

Instead we immediately contacted specialists and studied the work done by autism researchers. This convinced us Frankie's situation wasn't hopeless.

The process of rewiring Frankie's brain has taken us from behavioral therapies to specialized treatment for reading and hearing disorders to gymnastics classes to help him become better coordinated.

When we realized Frankie could not function effectively in a regular classroom, we home-schooled him with the help of my sister.

Frankie returned to a classroom last summer, at a private school in Sherman Oaks that specializes in the education and treatment of disabled or emotionally disturbed youngsters.

Frankie can keep up with his classmates with the help of an aide, but he is still easily distracted. But he genuinely likes school and his teacher. He has even accepted the fact that he must finish his homework before he can play video games -- although not without the complaints of a typical 10-year-old: "Do I have to?"

In many ways, Frankie is so close to normal that it is sometimes easy to forget how far he's come. But the stories of other autistic children remind me.

Many more are being told, now that researchers have confirmed a suspicion I had, that there are many more kids like Frankie than anyone had realized.

In October, UC Davis reported that the number of California children with diagnosed autism increased nearly 300% between 1987 and 1998, an upsurge that is no statistical quirk.

When we first learned of Frankie's autism, experts said one in 10,000 children had the disorder. Today, the estimate is one in 250.

Some public health officials and politicians are pushing for more research to find a cure, but others have cynically moved to protect legally vulnerable rear ends.

I refer to a recent effort by Eli Lilly & Co., the giant pharmaceutical company, to deflect hundreds of lawsuits by parents of autistic children who suspect a Lilly-manufactured vaccine additive, thimerosal, may be a culprit in the autism epidemic.

Lobbyists for Lilly could not persuade Congress earlier this year to enact legislation that would shift the autism lawsuits to a federal vaccine-injury compensation program.

Then last month, just hours before the final congressional vote on the Homeland Security Act, U.S. Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas) quietly tacked two paragraphs onto the 247-page bill that gave Lilly what it wanted.

Armey says he acted on his own because protecting vaccine manufacturers from costly lawsuits is a matter of national security. "I did it and I'm proud of it," he said. Maybe he'd feel different if, like U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), he had a grandchild with autism.

"Millions of children across the country were exposed to this mercury-based preservative at a time when concerns about its health effects were emerging," Burton told Congress in an unsuccessful effort to have the thimerosal provision dropped. (For the record, we are not involved in any lawsuits against Lilly.)

Burton and others in Congress will try to revisit the issue when a new Congress convenes in January, by which time Armey will have retired. But excising the provision won't be easy, given that Lilly's chief executive, Sidney Taurel, is an advisor to President Bush on domestic security and a former Lilly executive, Mitchell E. Daniels, is the White House budget director. The close ties between Lilly and the White House make this old political reporter wonder if Armey really was the prime mover behind the amendment.

Whatever answer finally emerges, for now I am grateful Frankie is making progress. If only I could share my hope with the many other parents just now embarking on the long journey to help their autistic children. The road has just been made a little rougher.

 

If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.

Click here for article licensing and reprint options

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11) CONFERENCES & EVENTS:

Subject: Behavior Analysts, Inc. Workshops

Behavior Analysts, Inc. Presents Two Workshops

Thursday, January 23rd, 2003
Teaching Language Skills to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disabilities
& Friday, January 24th, 2003
The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (The ABLLS)

Workshops for parents, special education teachers and aides, speech and language pathologists, psychologists, behavior analysts, support coordinators, administrators and other human service professionals by James W. Partington, Ph.D., BCBA Behavior Analysts, Inc. at the Country Inn &Suites by Ayres Costa Mesa, CA (Southern California- near Los Angeles)

To register: Laurie Winkler (925) 210 - 9370 ext. 100

The Workshops


Workshop 1 (Thursday, January 23rd)
This workshop is designed to provide an overview of B.F. Skinner¹s analysis of language to parents, educators, and other practitioners. A review of the primary types of verbal operants (expressive language skills) will be provided along with a videotape review of teaching methods typically used to teach those skills.

Participants will learn elements of assessing a child's language abilities, as well as designing and implementing an appropriate language intervention program. A major emphasis will be placed on identifying methods to enhance and utilize motivational variables (establishing operations) to teach language in both structured teaching sessions and in daily activities.

Techniques for coordinating the ongoing decision making necessary for effective language intervention and methods of data collection and tracking will be presented.

Workshop 2 (Friday, January 24th)

The ABLLS workshop will provide the participant with the tools to analyze and track learner skills and develop a comprehensive language-based curriculum for children with autism or other developmental disabilities. Participants will receive The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills set (The ABLLS).
====

Title: Intervention Planning for Children with Autism: A Workshop for Parents

Presented by: Autism Spectrum Therapies

Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003

Time: 9:00am-4:00pm

Place: Long Beach Site of Harbor Regional Center
1155 East San Antonio Drive, Suite B
Long Beach, CA 90807 (Cross streets of Orange & San Antonio Streets)

This workshop is designed to provide practical advice on choosing and evaluating effective programs for children with autism. Topics will include:
1) Intervention components that parents should inquire about when evaluating new programs
2) What to expect from an early intervention program
3) How to plan for social skills development for young & older children
4) Comprehensive Positive Behavior Support models for all ages
5) Planning for transition to school

Cost: $19 per participant -- includes continental breakfast & lunch

CHILDCARE WILL BE PROVIDED AT NO ADDITIONAL COST!!!!!!

Seating is limited: Please RSVP to Nancy at (310) 841-0411
=====

AND DANA’s Conference is rescheduled !

Direct conference agenda & information: http://www.danasview.net/confrenc.htm

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2003

Time: Check-in 7:30 am, Conference/Seminar 8:00 am through 6:30 pm

Location:
Hope International University
[formerly Pacific Christian College, across from Cal State Fullerton]
Terraces Office Complex - 2555 E. Chapman Ave. - Fullerton CA

Cost: $35 per person before March 1, 2003; $40 after March 1, 2003 [parking is free]

Registration information:
Mail check or money order payable to:
Dana's View
18032C N. Lemon Dr.
PMB 538
Yorba Linda CA 92886

Registration is subject to space availability. You will receive registration confirmation by mail. Please bring your confirmation to the conference to speed check-in. Registration will be accepted at the door on the date of the conference, if space is available.

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Personal note:

 

Some incredible upcoming speakers have offered their time on a volunteer basis!  I hope to see you all at a TACA meeting soon! 

 

Hugs, thanks and be safe  -
Lisa A Jeff's mom

 

 

Web Page for the TACA GROUP:  www.talkaboutcuringautism.org  - check it out!

 

P.S.  TACA e-news is now at 512 families