Here is your update on the TACA (TALK ABOUT CURING AUTISM) Group for September 2003 #2. 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 the Southern California Autism support group called TACA.
We focus on parent information and support, parent mentoring, gluten/casein-free diets, the latest in medical research, special education law, reviews of the latest treatments, and many other topics relating to Autism. Our main goal is to build our community so we can connect, share and support each other.
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) provides general information of interest to the autism community. The information comes from a variety of sources and TACA does not independently verify any of it. The views expressed herein are not necessarily TACA’s.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS, just respond and I will be happy to remove you from the list. EMAIL ADDRESS IS: tacanow@cox.net
TACA has an official web site at www.talkaboutcuringautism.org
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In this edition of TACA e-news:
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1) Next TACA COSTA MESA support group meeting:
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2003 (always the 2nd Saturday of each month)
Time: 2:30 - 5:30
TOPIC: Beginner
Course on Biomedical Intervention
By Dr. Bob Sears
NOTE: This is a beginner’s course! Dr Bob will be providing a basic overview of tests and protocols, and will answer questions.
PLACE: Folks
– this is still being determined. Please stay tuned over the
next two weeks while I work this out. TACA
Costa Mesa meetings
will be held in Newport Beach or Costa Mesa. Our location is in
turmoil.
Please note, I am working on this as quickly as I can.
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:
November 8, 2003 Mainstreaming High Functioning ASD
Kids - Jessica
Postil –
Autism Spectrum
Consultants
December 13, 2003 School District Roundtable -
The meeting will start with a general announcement about the state of local school districts. Then each school district or general area will break out into separate groups to discuss general information, share IEP’s and strategies.
Note: This meeting is for PARENTS ONLY!
January 10, 2004: Big Fun Gymnastics – Occupational Therapy for ASD Kids
Gene Hurwin
Much more is being planned for 2004! Stay tuned!
Note: How do topics get selected for TACA MEETINGS? Each location frequently does a formal or informal survey of attendees by the Meeting Coordinator. Based on the meeting attendees’ requests, topics are then selected and speakers are scheduled. Is there a topic you are interested in learning more about? Please forward a note to Lisa. We want to make sure the meetings are informative with topics based on the group’s needs. If you have a suggestion, we would like to hear from you!
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TACA has FIVE So. California meeting locations:
1) Costa Mesa: 2nd Saturday of each month (info in item #1 for meeting subjects and details.)
2) Mission Hills (the valley man!): NEW the 1st Sunday of every month 7-9 pm. Location: Jay Nolan Community Services – 15501 San Fernando Mission Blvd. Suite 200, Mission Hills CA 91345... - Info: Contact Us
3) San Diego: 4th Tuesday evening – 6:30- 8:00pm – Info: Contact Us
4) Corona: 3rd Saturday – 1:30–4:30 pm - NEW LOCATION!!!
EMAIL FOR MORE INFO AT: Contact us
Topics for the TACA Corona location are:
· Saturday,
September 20th (1:30 pm - 4:30 pm)
Dr. Kurt Woeller from San Diego (DAN! Doctor) to speak regarding DAN! protocol and biomedical interventions
· Saturday,
October 25th (1:30 pm - 4:30 pm)
Jack & Christina Anthony (Legal Advocacy Firm)
· Saturday,
November 15th (1:30 pm - 4:30 pm)
Lisa Ackerman - Interventions that worked for my child. This will be the
presentation given at the Great Plains Conference
for those who missed it.
5) Torrance: 3rd Monday of each month at Whole Foods Market on PCH in Torrance – 6:30 - 9:00 pm. Info: Contact Us
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3) General News:
Important: Congressional action on the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is coming up by the END OF September – get educated and tell folks what you want!
This
note comes from YAHOO GROUP! RECOVERED KIDS:
PEOPLE FROM ALL STATES ARE WELCOME TO SIGN. IT JUST TAKES 60 SECONDS TO READ
AND SIGN THE ON-LINE PETITION FORM. See description below.
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As you may know, there is a draft bill in the Senate that will drastically weaken IDEA, the current federal law governing the education programs of most of our kids, and help is needed from all of you to write your representatives in Congress to stop this (as described in earlier emails from others on this list). One particular change in the proposed new bill is that - if successful, the new bill will prohibit parents from using parent advocates and other non-attorneys at due process hearings. ONLY ATTORNEYS WILL BE ALLOWED. And, depending on the district involved, parents may also be barred from bringing non-attorney advocates to IEP meetings unless the school district's attorney is present at the IEP meeting. I'm sure many of us will immediately see how harmful this change would be. Long story short - Parent Information Center of NJ has been working with Senator Corzine to have an amendment put into the draft so the right to use non-attorney advocates is protected. Apparently Corzine has been open to fighting, but it is believed that he will be less inclined to do this if he does not hear from us parents and others who are against this change. Many also believe that based on the timing of how things are going in Washington D.C., particularly regarding this one issue, that if Sen. Corzine is not moved to act this week, the opportunity may be lost forever. PLEASE GO ONLINE (using link below) TO SIGN THE PETITION THIS WEEK |
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MORE ON IDEA RE-AUTHORIZATION
From the Disability Rights
Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
preserveIDEA@dredf.org
IDEA Rapid Response Network (RRN)
News Briefing - September 12, 2003
TO JOIN THE RRN: Visit www.dredf.org and
complete our online subscription form. Earlier briefings can also be found on
our website: www.dredf.org.
CONGRESS BACK IN SESSION: The RRN has been quiet as IDEA lay dormant but not
forgotten over the summer. We hope our subscribers had opportunities to speak
with their members about the issues that concern parents and advocates. We
have no definite information on a timetable, but we anticipate that IDEA will
return to the front burner after the appropriations bills are dealt with in the
House and the Senate this month. S.1248 will go to the Senate floor, and the
problems in that bill have not gone away over the summer. In addition, new
concerns have arisen.
UPDATE ON FUNDING: The Senate agreed to a $2.2 billion increase for Part B
IDEA funding for next year. Senators added $1.2 billion to the proposed $1
billion increase for fiscal year 2004 during debate of the entire Labor, Health
and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. But the funding increase
is still vulnerable, because the House leaders and the President need to agree
with the proposal. The House appropriations bill funds IDEA with a $1 billion
increase, so there's a $1.2 billion difference between the House and Senate
plans.
NEW THREAT: We have heard that Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will introduce an
amendment to change No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to exclude children with
disabilities from the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculation if a school is
determined to be failing because of the scores of students with disabilities.
General education groups such as the NEA, we are told, support this initiative.
Note: Such an amendment could be added to any bill, as it applies to NCLB
rather than to IDEA.
There is tremendous pressure being brought to bear on Congress and the White
House to eliminate compliance requirements and documentation. Powerful lobbies
such as the National Conference of State Legislatures are making these
arguments. We must make it clear that the grassroots is paying attention and
that we want our schools to be both fully funded and accountable under the law
for their services and performance.
WHAT TO DO: We urge you to call Sen. Alexander's office, inquire about this
amendment, and register your opposition to it. It is discriminatory and would
change NCLB to "Leave Children with Disabilities Behind." If schools
don't have to count the scores of our children, they will not be held
accountable for educating them and will have no incentive to comply with the
law and provide services. Schools also won't have to count the test scores of
students who were not in the school for the entire academic year, giving them
another incentive to move our children to alternative placements. Copy the
members of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee (see
below) as well as DREDF at preserveIDEA@dredf.org
or fax at 510-841-8645.
OTHER ANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS: Although actual amendments have not yet been
presented, we believe that there will be several proposals:
1. Mandatory full funding for IDEA, a bill sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin
(D-IA)
2. A limitation on attorneys' fees similar to the Case (D-HI) amendment that
passed in the House
and is now part of HR 1350, making it more difficult for minority and
low-income families to obtain legal advice and representation.
3. A voucher amendment modeled on the Florida McKay Scholarship program (see
the analysis that DREDF co-authored with People for the America Way (available
at http://www.dredf.org/press_releases/Vouchers.pdf).
We may also see amendments concerning paperwork reduction demonstration
projects.
WHAT TO DO: Parents and advocates should write to their respective Senators and
Representatives in preparation for Conference, stating your views on each of
these issues and on any other issues of concern to you. The important thing is
to call, write, email, fax: make our voices heard so that we are not drowned
out by school boards, administrators, and bureaucrats and so that we keep the
focus on services and protections for our children. See earlier RRN briefings
for discussions of vouchers and attorney fee caps. Please copy members of the
Senate HELP Committee as well as DREDF. S. 1248: We remain concerned about
several provisions in S. 1248. These are in the bill as it came out of the
HELP Committee, prior to floor amendments. This is not an exhaustive analysis
of the bill, rather, we emphasize a few key provisions that disenfranchise
children with disabilities.
While the Senate bill vastly improves on the House bill, HR 1350, it still
attacks some of the core
principles of current special education law.
What we like: provisions for alternate assessments, positive behavioral
supports, school to life
transitions, and personnel standards.
What we don't like: (www.DREDF.ORG)
* Elimination of short-term objectives and benchmarks from IEPs: S. 1248
follows HR 1350 in
removing the requirement to include short-term objectives and benchmarks from
IEPs. Current law stipulates that the IEPs contain "a statement of
measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related
to (I) meeting the child's needs that result from the child's disability to
enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum; and
(II) meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from the child's
disability
(614(d)A(ii). The Senate bill requires quarterly reports concurrent with
report cards that state
progress toward IEP goals and objectives, but this provision does not make
clear how progress will be measured, what it will be measured against, or who
is responsible for measuring and reporting on a child's progress toward annual
goals. If the requirements for students with disabilities to be counted in
NCLB are also dropped, parents will have nowhere to go to get information about
their children's performance. This change removes parents from the planning
process and significantly dilutes parents' ability to keep track of their
child's educational development. It makes it more difficult for schools and
parents to monitor and measure students’ progress. It not only removes one of
the pillars of IEP accountability, but in the process this provision may
actually increase the paperwork requirements of IDEA.
There may still be an opportunity to return short-term objectives to the Senate
bill if enough
pressure is brought to bear on Senators from parents and advocates.
* "OPPORTUNITY TO CURE"-EARLY RESOLUTION: DREDF calls this new
provision an "opportunity to intimidate." It requires all parents
who file for due process to go to a meeting to explain their complaint. The
purported reason for this is to see if resolution can be reached without going
to hearing. Yet parents file for due process only as a last resort, and this
provision does not allow for attorney fees for these meetings.
* Multi-year IEPs: Both House and Senate bills make available the option of a
three-year IEP.
However, S. 1248 permits that option only for students between the ages of 18
and 22.
* Discipline: S. 1248 alters the process by which students with disabilities
can be disciplined for various violations of school code of conduct. While a
stark improvement over the House bill, the Senate bill permits schools to
remove certain students from their current placement for specific violations
even if the violation was a result of the child's disability. The Senate Bill
removes the requirement to conduct a manifestation determination for students
who are removed for up to 45 days (school days rather than calendar days, as in
current law, which increases the length of removal from 6 weeks to 9 weeks)
based on allegations of possession/sale/distribution of drugs and possession of
weapons, as well as the new category of students who have committed a serious
bodily injury.
The Senate Bill also eliminates the "stay put" provisions of current
law. Under the proposal, if a student with a disability is excluded for more
than 10 school days for violating school rules, and the IEP team determines
that the behavior is not a manifestation of their disability, the student has
no right to "stay put" in their current educational placement even if
their parents challenge the decision by requesting a hearing. This is a
significant weakening of protections for classified students, and may well lead
to the result that students with disabilities who break a minor school rule may
be out of school for months or even years.
* Statute of limitations: There is no statute of limitations on due process
complaints in the current IDEA, although many states have such statutes. S.
1248 requires that complaints be filed within two years of when a parent or
public agency "knew or should have known" about an alleged violation,
with exceptions for cases in which the local education agency (1) fails to
provide prior written notices or procedural safeguards, (2) falsely represents
that it was attempting to resolve the problem, or (3) withholds information
from parents.
WHAT TO DO: Write to both Senators in your state and send copies of your
letters to members of the HELP Committee and to DREDF. Tell your stories. GOOGLE:
DREDF has been awarded a grant from Google that gives us an ad for our website
when users "google" a number of keywords such as "disability
rights."
AND REMINDER: FAXES ARE
BETTER THAN EMAILS! PLEASE SEND FAXES!
Thanks from DREDF and the RRN Staff
CONTACT INFORMATION: THE HELP COMMITTEE
THE HELP COMMITTEE REPUBLICANS
Judd Gregg, Chairman (R-NH)
393 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T 202-224-3324 F 202-224-4952 E-mail: mailbox@gregg.senate.gov
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Bill Frist (R-TN)
416 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T 202-224-3344 F 202-228-1264 E-mail: Web Form: frist.senate.gov/contact.cfm
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Mike Enzi (R-WY)
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
T (202) 224-3424 F (202) 228-0359 E-mail: senator@enzi.senate.gov
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Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-4944 F (202) 228-3398 E Web Form: alexander.senate.gov/contact.cfm
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Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
493 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0104
T (202) 224-4124 F (202) 224-3149 E-mail: senator@sessions.senate.gov
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Mike DeWine (R-OH)
140 Russell Senate Building,
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-2315 F (202) 224-6519 TDD: (202) 224-9921
E-mail: senator_dewine@dewine.senate.gov
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Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-5972 F (202) 224-1189 E Web Form:
lgraham.senate.gov/email/email.htm
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John Warner (R-VA)
225 Russell Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
T (202) 224-2023 F (202) 224-6295 E-mail: senator@warner.senate.gov
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Christopher Bond (R-MO)
274 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-5721 F (202) 224-8149 E-mail: kit_bond@bond.senate.gov
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John Ensign (R-NV)
364 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-6244 F (202) 228-2193
E: Web Form: ensign.senate.gov/contact_john/contactjohn_email.html
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Pat Roberts (R-KS)
302 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-4774 F (202) 224-3514 E Web Form: roberts.senate.gov/email.htm
THE HELP COMMITTEE DEMOCRATS
Edward M. Kennedy, Ranking Member (D-MA)
315 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-4543 F (202) 224-2417 E-mail: senator@kennedy.senate.gov
Tom Harkin (D-IA):
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-3254 F (202) 224-9369 TDD (202) 224-4633
E-mail: tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov
Christopher Dodd (D-CT):
SR-448 Russell Building
Washington D.C., 20510
T (202) 224-2823 F (202) 224-1083 E-mail: Web Form:
dodd.senate.gov/webmail/
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Suite 709, Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
T (202) 224-4654 F (202)224-8858 E-mail: Web Form:
mikulski.senate.gov/mailform.htm
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
703 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
T (202) 224-5521 TDD: (202) 224-1792 F (202) 224-2852
E-mail: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Patty Murray (D-WA)
173 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
T (202) 224-2621 F (202) 224-0238 E-mail: senator_murray@murray.senate.gov
Jack Reed (D-RI)
320 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-4642 F (202) 224-4680 E-mail: jack@reed.senate.gov
John Edwards (D-NC)
United States Senate
225 Dirksen Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-3154 F (202) 228-1374
E-mail: Web Form: edwards.senate.gov/contact.html
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
United States Senate
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T (202) 224-4451 F (202) 228-0282 E-mail: Web Form:
clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html
******INDEPENDENT*******
James Jeffords (I-VT)
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
T (202) 224-5141 F (202) 228-0776 E-mail: vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
Special thanks to Maureen Graves for the information! To contact Maureen, special education law attorney, e-mail maureengraves@cox.net.
TWO SAMPLE LETTERS
RE: OPPOSE WEAKENING OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT
Dear Senator _____:
I am a constituent of yours, from _____________. (If applicable) I am the _______ of _____, who is ___ years old and has ________.
I am writing to ask you to oppose proposals which would basically gut the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. IDEA has been a bipartisan commitment to children with disabilities and their families. [Mention your party if it’s the same as the senator to whom you are writing]: As a long-time ________ for whom my child’s needs are my top political and personal priority, I hope that it stays that way. As Congress recognized in 1997, a great deal is known about how to educate children with disabilities effectively. Positive behavior management techniques are available, and I have seen in my home and in my child’s educational program how powerful they can be, both for teaching socially appropriate behaviors and for reducing unacceptable behaviors. Students with some disabilities can learn to function independently and "normally," while others can learn to accommodate to their disabilities.
Many school districts follow the law. Minor deviations from procedural requirements do not lead to conflict when staff works with parents in good faith to address children’s needs. Unfortunately, Congress seems to be listening to a highly vocal minority of administrators whose main priority is to make sure that instead of facing more accountability – as one would expect under IDEA ‘97 and No Child Left Behind – they get rid of the accountability which they have long had.
Please demand facts and figures before you take away fundamental rights from children with disabilities. Find out who is spending how much money on attorney’s fees, and why. Find out how the amount of money spent on litigation in special education compares to the amount of litigation in any other sphere of our society: at the rate found by the GAO of 5 administrative hearings per 10,000 special education students per year, it is clear there is no litigation explosion here. Find out why the same administrators who claim to want to shift emphasis from "procedures" to "results" are pressing so hard to remove children with disabilities from No Child Left Behind requirements for annual improvement in academic achievement. Find out why most special education teachers and their professional organization, the Council for Exceptional Children, strongly oppose this bill which is supposed to reduce their "paperwork." Find out why so many pediatricians think the proposed changes would harm children’s emotional and physical health. Please listen to parents, children and educators: they will tell you how well IDEA works, in many cases [personalize]. We can also tell you how the proposals which the House has enacted and which the Senate is considering would increase current problems, and bring a set of new and worse difficulties.
Re: Please OPPOSE attacks on attorney’s fees for prevailing parents in IDEA cases
Dear Senator ____________:
Please keep in mind the following points as you consider whether to limit attorney’s fees parents can recover after school districts violate their children’s rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
1) It is easy to scapegoat lawyers for problems, and to criticize the whole legal profession. However, this tends to stop when a person actually needs a lawyer, as many parents do in dealing with a complex system in which some participants are ignorant of the law and some bureaucrats are openly resistant to complying with it.
2) School districts are not proposing to limit the largest source of legal costs: the money they spend on their own lawyers – who range from in-house employees to lawyers who travel around the country when parents really need to be "taught a lesson," collecting spectacular fees and having school districts "expense" their lavish tastes.
3) Repeated studies have shown that private enforcement – case-by-case – has been the ONLY effective kind of enforcement IDEA has gotten. Congress is now reducing the paperwork that makes it possible for outside monitors to come in and see what is going on. Private enforcement will increasingly be the only kind of enforcement that is even possible. Recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees is what makes that feasible.
4) School districts are eager to get rid of adversaries who know the law and are capable of presenting evidence clearly and efficiently, but may not have fully considered the alternative. As the DC experience suggests, a dysfunctional system will generate enormous conflict. If IDEA changes radically, and the availability of counsel is sharply reduced, districts will have to deal with more and more parents "in pro per." In a field which is complex and emotional on all sides, this is not a good model.
5) The impact of counsel in special education cases goes far beyond the tiny number of cases that directly involve attorneys. School districts have often obtained staff training and adopted effective instructional techniques because of a hearing or mediation involving one child, to the benefit of many others and to the delight of staff. School districts now know that if they do not obey the law, something bad may happen: they may face reimbursement for parent expenditures, compensatory education obligations and, if the district is stubborn enough about correcting problems, fees for the legal representation of parents. Many special education administrators accept this situation: indeed, it gives them the leverage they need to make sure that federal law is complied with despite competing local priorities. Others would like to change it and, while they are at it, eliminate No Child Left Behind accountability for students with disabilities as well. The claim that these administrators care about "results" and simply want relief from burdensome "procedures" is pure posturing.
6) With the new "discipline" provisions that would basically eliminate stay-put (in the House bill) and sharply reduce it (in the Senate bill), it appears that students with disabilities are about to be subject to quick, often poorly considered placement transfers. Many situations that would not be handled by behavioral interventions, or even blow over as students and staff realize that sometimes children with disabilities do unusual but not dangerous or harmful things, will result in segregated, often improvised, educational placements. Few parents will be able to challenge those placements without legal representation.
NOTE: PLEASE CREATE A LETTER UNIQUE TO YOUR NEEDS AND
DESIRES FOR THE IDEA REAUTHORIZATION. THESE ARE JUST SAMPLE LETTERS.
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4) VACCINE NEWS
New
Research on vaccines and autism.
Just released on Thimerosal and
Neurodevelopment Disorders in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons,
including "A Case-Control Study of Mercury Burden in Children with
Autistic Spectrum Disorders" and "Response to Critics on the Adverse
Effects of Thimerosal in Childhood Vaccines."(http://factsformedia.com/) Thank you doctors Geier & Geier, Bradstreet, Kartzinel,
and Adams!
http://factsformedia.com/factsformedia/BradstreetStudy703.pdf
For direct article link
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5) TACA SOCIAL EVENTS - FREE CAROUSEL RIDES AT SOUTH COAST PLAZA CANCELLED!
Due to situations beyond our control and South Coast Plaza’s prescheduled events, we cannot offer free carousel rides on Saturday, September 20th. We will let you know when these free, social events will resume. Thank you!
Note: South Coast Plaza is hosting their “Festival of Children” the very same day. It looks like fun, but no TACA representatives are there.
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6) TACA FAMILIES – WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Occasionally, we ask TACA families to provide feedback that will assist in making TACA a more valuable resource. Please take a minute to respond (tacanow@cox.net). Thank you.
1. How did you hear about TACA?
2. What TACA location are you associated with?
3. How many TACA meetings have you attended?
4. Why do you attend TACA meetings?
5. What facet of TACA provides the most value?
Please send the answers to TACANOW@COX.NET with the email subject line: TACA SURVEY!
Thank you for taking
the time! We appreciate it!
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7) CONFERENCES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
September 23, 2003
Autism Spectrum Therapies invites you for an evening with DR.
BJ FREEMAN,
PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY, UCLA
"Review of current treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorders -- What
research shows us about effectiveness."
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Hyatt Regency-Regency Ballroom A, 200 South Pine Ave. Long Beach, CA 90202
====
"HOPE
FOR THE FUTURE" at the Ontario Convention
Center, Saturday and Sunday,
September 27 & 28th. A two-day Conference for Parents, Teachers,
Counselors and anyone interested in knowing more about children who learn and
behave differently presented by the Inland Empire Autism Society in
collaboration with the LDA of Pomona Valley.
The conference includes:
-Pre-conference, Hands-On Workshop: "Living with Sensory Overload"
- Nationally Known Speakers: Jerry Newport, Stephen Shore, Bryn Hogan from The
Autism Treatment Center, Rick Rollens, and attorney Christopher Angelo
- Breakout sessions that include Sexuality and Puberty, Information on 504 and IDEA, Homeschooling, the DAN! protocol, transition topics, communication, inclusion, social skills, behavior issues, advocacy and more!
- Author's Book Signing and Exhibitors - AND a Special Full Day Workshop For
Teens and Young Adults (from 14-24). A session designed to explore your own
potential with some awesome teachers, counselors and adults who overcame the odds.
Food, prizes and music! Participants must have attention level skills and
interests sufficient to allow independent group inclusion. For any questions
regarding this workshop, please contact the workshop facilitator, Arline Krieger, MA at (909) 621-1494
For a conference brochure, please call (909) 549-1777.
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Children's
Hospital in San
Diego
is hosting Tony Attwood on Oct. 15 from 8:30-3:30.
Making Friends and Managing Feelings:
Asperger's Syndrome & High
Functioning Autism. The cost is $120 ($100 for early reg.).
For more information, check the website: www.chsd.org/autism
Location: Children’s Hospital of San Diego
Challenging
Behaviors in Autism: II
October 25,
2003
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Lake Avenue Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Rm. 203, Pasadena
Pasadena
Child Development Associates is holding a one-day workshop on floortime
strategies to support appropriate behavior. This is a continuation of a
discussion of challenging behaviors presented in Part 1 from June 2003.
Topics to be addressed:
Cost $50. For questions, please call Cambria at 626.793.7350. A copy of the registration form will be available through your CSC or Facility Liaison.
http://www.mailermailer.com/x?u=6452565d-56539404
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Jay Nolan – Journey to Solutions 2003
Friday November 14 – 16, 2003 – Pasadena Conference Center
Location: 300 East Green Street, Pasadena 91101
Hear about the most current information and research on autism spectrum disorder. Topics include: Floortime, Behavior, High School Academics, Super Sensory Workshop, Strategies for Successful Inclusion, Visual Strategies to Enhance Language and Promote Early Literacy, Communication Techniques & Therapies, Role of Medication for ASD and much more.
Speakers include: Sean Barron, Margaret Bauman MD, Teresa Bolick Ph.D., Brenda Bursch Ph.D., Cure Autism Now, Anne Donnellan Ph.D., Barbara Doyle M.S., Gail Gillingham M.S., Esther Hess Ph.D., Paula Kluth Ph.D., Lisa Lewis Ph.D., Rajarshi ‘Tito’ & Soma Mukhopadhay, Jerry Newport, Jamie Ruppmann, Jeffrey Sell Esq., Rosemary White O.T.R., Pamela Wolfeberg Ph.D..
Invited Organizations: California Institute of Technology, National Alliance for Autism Research, MIND Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center on Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities. Hosted by the Jay Nolan Community Services, Inc.
For more information (818) 242-9108 or email conference@jaynolan.org
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MAJOR Autism Conference announced for Southern California by CASD.
Location: Santa Monica – February 20-22, 2004
Watch web site for speaker list: http://www.casdweb.org/index.htm
If you have questions or would like more information, please email the director at kazuko@grandecom.net.
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8) Fundraising Update
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Celebrities Perform in
“Acts of Love” to Cure Autism
WHAT: "Acts of Love" is an evening of celebrity performances and
readings of original one-act plays, hosted by Lily Tomlin. Proceeds from this
event will benefit the Cure Autism Now Foundation and fund research to find treatments
and a cure for autism.
In addition to the performances, there will be a VIP celebrity pre-show dinner
and an after-show party. Tickets to all events are available to the public.
WHO: The Acts of Love Honorary Committee includes: Courtney Cox Arquette,
David Arquette, Patricia Arquette, Sofia Coppola, Will Ferrell, Jane Kaczmarek,
Rene Russo, Ben Stiller, Mark Wahlberg and Bradley Whitford. Acts of Love
performers are currently being determined.
WHEN: Monday, October 20, 2003
VIP Celebrity Dinner begins at 5:00 p.m.
Show will run from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with party to follow
WHERE: Acts of Love Show at The Canon Theatre, Beverly Hills,
California
Dinner and After-Show Party at Mastros Steak House, Beverly Hills, California
Note:
Funds raised will go to Cure Autism Now. The Cure Autism Now Foundation is a
non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and funding autism research and
accelerating the pace of scientific progress toward effective treatments and a
cure. The organization is one of the largest private funders of biological
research in autism, providing more than $12 million in research grants and
scientific resource projects since its inception in 1995. For more
information, visit www.cureautismnow.org.
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9) Personal Note:
Well, Jeff started Kindergarten this year (again! We liked it so much the first time, we thought it would be fun to give it another whirl!)
In all seriousness, Jeff was in a speech delay Kindergarten last year and we thought this year we would try Jeff in a typical Kindergarten with an aide. Well, so far so good – Jeff seems to enjoy his new surroundings and to be honest, he is really happy to be back in school. He is seeing old friends and happy to meet new ones. We are really pleased with his teacher and school. My hopes and prayers are for Jeff to excel again this year as he continues to do every year in impressing me and his team with gains and smiles.
Jeff’s deficits seem to really be his auditory processing, apraxia, and his significant speech delays. Autism is still an issue for him, but we seem to focusing more of our drills, our conversations, research and future therapy plans around auditory processing. What is so hard is that we all know Jeff understands so much, wants to socialize and communicate, but is missing so many parts of the communication at and around him. We have a plan to continue our auditory processing based drills and hopefully do Fast Forward this Christmas break and beyond. And then there is the Central Auditory Processing Disorder evaluation in December, a possible SPECT scan and… and…. And!!! There is so much more on the plate for Jeff and for us!
My favorite non-autism related items with Jeff are his recent flirting with the waitresses at Skosh Monahan’s, and of course his cute little ditty, “Does someone need a hug?” This is enough to melt the heart and get you right back in the game with a smile. I sure love this kid. He makes all this fighting, stressing, work and love so easy to do for him! I hope your kids give you the same inspiration that Jeff gives me to everyday. I hope that I can do what is best for him in helping him be the absolute best he can be.
Hugs, thanks and be safe
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Lisa A Jeff's mom
Web Page for the TACA GROUP: www.talkaboutcuringautism.org - check it out!
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) provides general information of interest to the autism community. The information comes from a variety of sources and TACA does not independently verify any of it. The views expressed herein are not necessarily TACA’s.
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