January 27:     TBA (Note, it may be an RDI information meeting )

February 24:    Amy Langerman, Attorney - "Special Ed Law"

March 23:        Sharon Lerner, Ph.D. "Summer recreational opportunities for kids with ASD"

4)   Corona:  3rd Saturday – 1:30–4:30 pm  - Corona Library. For more info: Contact us

Saturday, Jan 17th 1:30pm-4:30pm – Speaker: to be announced

Saturday, Feb 21st 1:30pm-4:30pm

   Speaker: Carolyn Doherty – Rapid Prompting Method / Carousel Schools

Saturday, March 20th 1:30pm-4:30pm - Speaker: Dr. Kenneth Williams (DAN! Doctor)

5)  Torrance:  3^rd Monday of each month at Whole Foods Market on PCH in   Torrance – 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.  For more info: Contact us

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3)     General News:

CA Budget Update:

Cities budgets spared lost revenue
By HANH KIM QUACH and JOHN GITTELSOHN The Orange County Register

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger played budget Santa on Thursday, invoking emergency powers to avoid cutting funds for municipal fire and police services while also sparing certain programs for the disabled.

To pay for the reprieve, Schwarzenegger used his new powers to trim 5 percent as he sees fit, with colleges bearing two-thirds of the $150 million of cuts in this case.

Schwarzenegger said he took the action because the Legislature failed to address the budget crisis facing cities and counties, a shortfall triggered by his rollback of state vehicle license fees.

Schwarzenegger's actions Thursday will replace $2.6 billion of the $4 billion in vehicle fees owed to cities and counties.

"What a Christmas present you've given us," said Paul Stein, president of the California State Association of Counties, which was leading 18 counties - including Orange - exploring a lawsuit to force the state to reinstate the car-fee income.

The $150 million cut Thursday is only a start. To fund Schwarzenegger's local bounty, lawmakers would have to OK $1.9 billion of cuts he proposed last month.

"Since the legislative leadership refuses to act, I will act without them," said Schwarzenegger, who accused lawmakers of overspending. "We must protect the people in this state and give the cities and counties the money we owe them."

But while demanding cuts, Schwarzenegger took back his request to suspend the Lanterman Act, which guarantees services to the developmentally disabled. That $11 million in savings was part of the $1.9 billion in cuts he proposed last month.

Special powers
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger invoked a common budgeting tool, typically used to pay for unforeseen expenses: • Director of finance can approve an "emergency expenditure," such as for fighting the Southern California fires.
• Director of finance must advise the Legislature, which can't stop the spending.
• New powers granted in August allow the governor to cut up to 5 percent of any program to help pay its expenses. 
"Going this way in this season is great," said Bill Bowman, executive director of the Regional Center of Orange County, which serves 13,600 developmentally disabled people.

The proposed cut would have denied services to hundreds of children, such as Patrick Riley, 2, who started receiving 12 hours a week of at-home behavioral therapy for his autism in September. If Patrick had applied for help, under the governor's plan, he would have been put on a waiting list.

"Without it, he would not have made progress," said his father, Scott Riley. "He's calmed down. He doesn't get frustrated."

Riley, 38, took two days off from his software-consultant job to attend last week's demonstrations in Sacramento against the cuts. He believes the protests helped change the governor's mind. "When there are thousands of protesters in the Capitol, you have got to take notice," he said. "It's just so counter to what his public image is."

Schwarzenegger is a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, a charity founded in 1968 by his mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. He said the developmental cut was a mistake.

"It's just one of the things that slips through the cracks when you make decisions that quickly," Schwarzenegger said. "Everything that I do here is 10 times as fast as other governors have the chance to do."

Some conservatives criticized Schwarzenegger for being too generous.

"I'm disappointed he isn't holding everybody by the noses and taking them to the table and saying, 'Cut,'" said Tim Whitacre, a Santa Ana real estate consultant, Republican activist and veteran. "As a Marine, I expected more out of the Terminator."

Senate Leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, said Schwarzenegger's plan to return money to local governments creates a larger hole in the state budget that will eventually mean cutting more money for the poor.

"The bottom line is he dug us ($2.6) billion in the hole, and I don't know that many poor people that we can get that much money from," said Burton, who also questioned the legality of the governor's actions. He said he wanted cities and counties to come to Sacramento and justify their assertions of dire straits.

"I just get very concerned when they take money from the poor and give a tax break to people with four or five Mercedes. There's something very impure about that," Burton said.

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle defended the governor's single-handedly reverting cash to local governments and creating a bigger hole in the state budget.

"Today is somewhat of an unprecedented unilateral action by the governor, but one that didn't start out that way. In fact, it should have had bipartisan legislative collaboration. But it didn't."

Even though Schwarzenegger's plan does help many cities and counties around the state, some police, fire and city agencies still face drastic cuts.

Garden Grove is considering closing one of its seven fire stations and has cut its police force to below one officer per 1,000 residents. Laguna Woods is closing all city offices Dec. 24 to Jan. 5 and is considering disincorporating, said City Manager Leslie Keane, because the 4-year-old city relies on vehicle-fee money for about $2.1 million of its $3.9 million budget.

And universities, which have already raised student fees by 30 percent for the year and are turning away students to save money, were dealt another blow Thursday. Of the governor's new $150 million in proposed cuts, $105 million comes from higher education.

"This additional cut is painful and will further reduce enrollment growth by 4,000 students," said Charles Reed, chancellor of the Cal State University system.

NOTE: Special thanks to the RILEY family for participating in this FRONT PAGE article!

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The Power of 1.5
Political Autism Conference - Washington, DC
April 21 - 23, 2004

In April 2004, in Washington, DC, Unlocking Autism, together with Cure Autism Now, GRACE Foundation of New York, The Dan Marino Foundation, and Talk Autism, will host an energetic Political Autism Conference (PAC).  This conference is designed to equip parents and advocates from across the country by giving them the necessary tools and education to bring about political change for the issues of autism. The objective is to review the political process at the national level so that attendees can go back to their states and hometowns with confidence to affect change at a local level.

We have always believed that there is great power in this community in our grass roots that is simply un-harnessed. During a year as politically important as 2004 will be, we believe this is a terrific opportunity for all of us to shine and lead the whole autism community in a loud groundswell to let our political officials know that we have a huge voting block that is a force to be reckoned with now.

On Wednesday, April 21^st, attend the "Kick Off" event with a Rally and Press Conference that will take place at 3:00 on the Mall.  During this time, our Open Your Eyes picture boards, which will be approximately five football fields in length, will be on display.

Immediately following the Rally and Press Conference, The Dan Marino Foundation and The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism will be hosting a "Kick Off" Reception at the Capitol.  VIP seating at the Press Conference and Rally and admittance to the "Kick Off" Reception will be exclusive to Members of Congress, Conference Sponsors and Conference Attendees.

Thursday and Friday speakers will address our basic political system and how it works, current and upcoming national legislation, do's and don’ts for working with Congress, tips on writing and lobbying a bill, establishing an effective and lasting working relationship with congressional leaders and their staff, how to hook a story in the media, how to shape your child's educational program now for the adult that they will become and what you can do once you get back home.

The conference will focus on two pressing current Federal level issues: Education and Funding for Research.

Delegates will learn how to make politics work for the community in the morning sessions and then carry that knowledge with them to Capitol Hill in the afternoon. On both Thursday and Friday, attendees will canvass Capitol Hill, meeting with the offices of Members of Congress from their state.

The conference will seat a maximum of 500 people.  The conference will be open to 10 delegates per state.

By dividing the conference evenly by state, our hope is also that each state will develop a strong network of parents that will receive the tools they need to make change within their communities, state and nation on an ongoing basis. Ten people in every state asking for the same exact thing from every congressman and senator on the same day, all presenting the same literature, is a powerful thing for the autism community.

AGAIN, ONLY 10 DELEGATES FROM EACH STATE WILL BE ACCEPTED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.  WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU NOT DELAY REGISTERING IF YOU WANT TO BE GUARANTEED A SEAT. IF YOU ARE NOTIFIED THAT YOUR STATE IS FULL, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BE WAITLISTED AND WILL BE NOTIFIED OF SEATING AFTER FEBRUARY 15, 2004. GENERAL SEATING WILL BE OPENED ON FEBRUARY 16, 2004, FOR ANY REMAINING SEATS AT STATES TABLES WHO ARE NOT FULL.

The conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, VA. This is a beautiful, full service hotel with many amenities including an indoor swimming pool for families to enjoy, restaurants, a dance club with a full, clear view of DC and its monuments, a beautiful Ball Room our conference will take place in, and an incredible room rate of only $99 for conference participants. It is located 2 blocks from a metro station and across from the Pentagon Mall. To reserve your room, call 866-999-VIEW OR DIRECTLY at 703-416-4000 and tell them you are with Unlocking Autism.

Conference Registration is only $275 and includes exclusive admittance to the "Kick Off" Reception, Conference attendance, Breakfast and Lunch on Thursday and Friday, an official Political Autism Conference T-shirt and all the materials and tools you will need to carry out the mission and goals set before you.

Be a leader. Do something. Make it happen. ACT! If you don't, who will?

To register for the conference, visit our website at www.unlockingautism.org  

We look forward to big things for the whole autism community in 2004 and to seeing you in DC!

Unlocking Autism

SPEAKERS AND TOPICS INCLUDE:

Beth Clay, President, BC & A International, "Do's And Don’ts on the Hill"
Bill Davis, UA Pennsylvania State Rep, "There is Safety in Numbers!"
Barbara Loe Fisher, President, NVIC - "Focusing Your Grass Roots Activity"
Joe Gambale, President, GRACE of NY, "Why me? Why Grass Roots?"
Lisa Graham Keegan, President, Education Leaders Council, "No Child Left Behind???"
Julio Melara, - President, Time for Action, "The Journey from Good to GREAT!"
Members of Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee "Calling All Donkeys and Elephants to Rock the 2004 Vote"
Ron Oberlightner, Talk Autism, "Why TALK Autism??"
Shelley Reynolds, President, Unlocking Autism, "For those about to ROCK, we salute you!"
Jonathan Shestack, Vice-President & Treasurer, Cure Autism Now, "Reauthorization of the Children's Health Act means what?"
Stephen Shore, UA Board Member, "Shaping your child’s education for transition to adulthood"
Craig Snyder, Ikon Public Affairs, "Lobbying Do's and Don'ts - What the Federal Government Can Do and What the States Must."
Stuart Spielman, "GIMME A BREAK! Tax breaks for Parents of Kids with Autism:"
and more.......

CURE AUTISM NOW SECURES INCLUSION OF $2.2 MILLION APPROPRIATION FOR NATIONAL AUTISM AWARENESS AND PHYSICIAN EDUCATION PROGRAM
Bill Will Provide $2.24 Million For Centers For Disease Control To Develop And Execute Autism Awareness and Physician Education Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 11, 2003  Cure Autism Now Foundation today announced that their request for funds for a physician education and public awareness program, aimed at the early identification of children with autism, has been approved for inclusion in the Federal Fiscal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Act pending before Congress.

The bill, set to become law in January 2004, would provide $2.24 million to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to develop and execute a program, in cooperation with autism advocacy organizations like Cure Autism Now, to expand autism awareness and education.

Since its inception, the Cure Autism Now Foundation has worked very closely with politicians in Washington, D.C. to help raise awareness and increase federal funding for autism. In conjunction with the CDC, Cure Autism Now will seek out national partners such as sport franchises and retailers to help spread autism awareness and education.

In the national campaign that will roll out like the very successful Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) “Back to Sleep” campaign, parents will be taught to look for early signs of trouble and physicians around the country will be taught how to make a fast reliable diagnosis or, at minimum, a referral to a specialist.

Although the Children’s Health Act passed in 2000, which called for expanded research and services for a variety of childhood health problems, including autism, the key awareness and education component of the bill was never appropriated.  Cure Autism Now families worked for several years with Senators Specter and Harkin to make sure that this was remedied as part of the government’s efforts to deal with growing crisis of autism.

Senator Specter has gotten to know many families affected by autism both in Pennsylvania and around the nation.  Parents of autistic children told him that they felt they lost valuable time with their children because of delayed diagnosis.  The Senator heard their concerns and took it upon himself to make sure that in the future families would not have to face delayed diagnosis.

”We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Senator Specter, who, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee which funds the CDC, added these funds for this vital purpose in a very tight budget year,” said Jonathan Shestack, Cure Autism Now founder.  “Cure Autism Now intends to work with the CDC in the development and execution of this program in order to ensure that children affected by autism are diagnosed as early as possible.  While we search for the ultimate cure for autism, the most effective means available to help autistic children and their families require early identification and early intervention.  The funds Senator Specter has provided are aimed directly at this most vital link in the chain.”

Autism now affects at least one in every 250 children.  Preliminary diagnosis now takes as little as ten minutes and autism can reliably be detected as early as 18 months, but parents do not know to ask for a screening and most primary care providers have not been educated on how to make the diagnosis.

Currently the average age for diagnosing autism is between three and four years. The National Institute of Health’s road map for autism desires to drop this age to as early as 18 months.  This national autism awareness and physician education program will be key to reaching that goal. Most autistic children are missing out on the two most critical years of intervention.

4)    VACCINE NEWS !

IOM MEETING ON VACCINES AND AUTISM SET FOR FEBRUARY 9, 2004

On February 9, 2004, the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will hold an information-gathering meeting on the topic Vaccines and Autism. The registration deadline is February 2, 2004. The committee is seeking input on the topic; the deadline for submitting input is January 16, 2004.

For information about the meeting and to register online, go to: http://www.iom.edu/event.asp?id=17047

For additional information or to submit input, contact Amy Grossman at (202) 334-1361 or

(202) 334-1342.

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5) TACA 2004 Speaker Survey RESULTS

Since May 2003, I have handed out over 400 TACA 2004 Speaker Survey forms at the TACA Costa Mesa meetings. It is a questionnaire with 41 different topics for potential TACA Costa Mesa meetings.  Unfortunately, no matter how I begged, I have only received 135 responses back. 

I have outlined notes on how the survey results should be interpreted and comments regarding if the topic has been completed, when it was completed or if the topic is scheduled.

The following information outlines the results of the survey for your information.

TACA 2004 Speaker Survey RESULTS

Notes:

a)      If you would like to fill out your own survey, please contact us and I will be happy to send one to you via email.  Deadline for additional survey response is
January 31, 2004.

b)      If you have any suggestions for speakers for a specific topic, please also contact us.  Please remember, speakers are volunteers, not paid for their participation. In addition, we do have speaker requirements that each speaker needs to follow. I would be happy to send that information to anyone at their request.

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6) Need more support?  MORE COFFEE TALK !

Coffee Talk is going to be your hour (or so) once the kids are away at school to chat with other families affected by Autism.  This is an unstructured, casual meeting environment to chat and talk about what you want to talk about.

Date:               Tuesday, January 13th
Time:              9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Location:        Diedrich Coffee – Costa Mesa

                        1170 Baker Street (off the 405 freeway and Fairview Street)

NO need to RSVP, just join us for a little coffee, a little talk, no big whoop!

7) CALLING ALL SUPER GRANDPARENTS! We need grandparent mentors!

Our first scheduled meeting has been tentatively set for Wednesday, January 21 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. in Huntington Beach.  If you can attend, please RSVP to Grandma Jo (Joanne Davies) at  grandma.jo1015@verizon.net  or 714-968-4667.  Directions will be sent to you after your RSVP.

Our purpose is to support grandparents of children with ASD and their families.

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8) Great Plains LA OUTREACH:

Outreach Clinic

For Children with Autism, PDD, ADD/HD, and Behavior Disorders

Coming to Los Angeles, CA. - February 7-8, 2004

Residence Inn – Los Angeles

1177 South Beverly Drive - Los Angeles, CA.  90035

Great Plains Laboratory will be having their Second Autism Outreach Clinic in Los Angeles, California on February 7-8^th, 2004.

Dr. Kurt Woeller (DAN! Physician) will be seeing patients on both Saturday and Sunday from 8:30-5:45.  

Our goal is to help children with Autism, Allergies, ADHD, and behavioral abnormalities to improve their health and well-being. 

Kurt N. Woeller, D.O. is the Medical Director for BioHealth Centers in San Diego.  He is an osteopathic physician specializing in natural and complementary medicine.  Since 1997, Dr. Woeller has been a referral doctor for DAN! (Defeat Autism Now), which is an organization of physicians dedicated to the biological causes of autistic-spectrum disorders. Much of his practice is dedicated to helping children suffering with an autistic-spectrum disorder optimize their potential and recover their health.

Kris Davis, LVN/Phlebotomist of Great Plains Laboratory, will perform all laboratory procedures for blood collection at the Outreach Clinic.  She encourages ALL parents to start increasing fluids on their child at least 24 hours prior to appointments.  All other specimens, including urine, hair, and stool will be collected at home.  The test kits will be given to parents to take home from the clinic.  All kits will have a prepaid Fed Ex envelope to send back to Great Plains upon completion of collection.  Results of testing will be sent to Dr. Woeller’s office within 4-5 weeks. Please see our website to obtain further information about Dr. Shaw, founder of Great Plains Laboratory, and the specialized testing that we offer at www.greatplainslaboratory.com

We will not be billing insurance for discount panels.  Super bills (medical receipt with diagnostic codes that can be submitted to your insurance company by you for reimbursement) will be available upon request after billing is completed.  Many insurance companies will reimburse for Great Plains Laboratory testing.  However, HMO's do not reimburse for out-of-network testing.

9) CONFERENCES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

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Scientific Meeting on Autism, Main Topic: Mirror Neurons, Psychoanalysis and Autism
Main Speaker: Gilbert Kliman, M.D., Medical Director San Francisco's Children's Psychological Health Center
Discussant: Pauline Filipek, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology, UC Irvine

Feb 21 Los Angeles 9:30 – 4:00,  $50, Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Institute 2014 Sawtelle Blvd., Phone: 310 478 6541 Fax: 310 477 5968 lapsi@aol.com

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Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) 2-Day Workshop – San Diego

March 15 & 16, 2004:  Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)2-Day Workshop Presented by Donna Banzhof, M.Ed. & Christine Cavarretta, BCBA

Holiday Inn Mission Bay Sea World $375 professional tuition, $235 parent/student tuition, Includes 2nd Edition PECS Manual and handout packet for note taking

Sara Moore at smoore@pecs.com or 302-368-2515.  Mention Sara Moore on your registration form and receive a $20 discount on the one-day workshops and a $30 discount on the two-day workshops

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Workshop 4: Teaching Verbal Behavior to Children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities Hands-on workshop for Tutors and Therapists, March 22- 24, 2004 in Southern California (most likely Torrance or Redondo Beach)?  We will have only 21 openings. More details to come.

For more info:  Sabrina Y. Marasovich, M.A., Board Certified - Resources in Autism Education  -

Phone (310) 320-5856 – web: www.autismed.com

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MAJOR Autism Conference announced for Southern California by CASD.

Location:  Santa Monica – April 16-18, 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.

______________________________________________________________________

10) Available Therapists

Occasionally, therapists will send me an email suggesting they have availability in their schedules to provide ABA in home therapy.

Two therapists have therapy schedule openings:

• Jenni Carsrud – email: jlcleigh@yahoo.com
• Amy Hawk - email: Amyhawk1@aol.com

11)       SOCIAL EVENT:  Aquarium of the Pacific LONG BEACH & “Festivals of Human Abilities”

On Saturday and Sunday, January 24-25th, there will be the first annual "Festival of Human Abilities; a celebration of the creative spirit of people with disabilities."  This celebration will feature music, storytelling, art
exhibits, and interactive displays for children and adults - All at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. This aquarium is home to more than 12,500 animals, including spectacular underwater viewing exhibits of sharks, as well as hands-on ray/shark lagoons and Lorikeet forests.

People with disabilities are being encouraged to attend, and I have been given 50 coupons which will allow one free admission for any age **(with one paid adult admission).  Wheelchairs are provided free of charge, and the typical adult rate is $18.95.  If you are interested in receiving some coupons for your students/families, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can distribute them accordingly.
 
For further information on the aquarium, visit http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/index.html

Note:  We just went to the aquarium over the holiday break and Jeff loved it!  If you have a child that loved “Finding Nemo,” there were lots of fish to see and talk about from the film. I would say to Jeff, “I see a something that swims in the Australian EAC, has a hard shell and says “DUD.E” Jeff would respond with, “I SEE CRUSH!”  It was a wonderful outing!

12)       Personal Note:

It is about time! After two weeks of feeling poorly, Jeff and I are feeling much better. The cold is finally getting behind us. The cold seemed to affect me more than Jeff.  I had to go on antibiotics, and Jeff, well, he got over the cold quicker with fewer complications.

Even though we all got sick, the holidays were the best holidays we have ever had -- starting with a great trip to see Santa and ending with great family gatherings and fun. Jeff absolutely enjoyed himself and was more connected and excited about the holidays than ever before. It was a fun but very busy time.

This is Jeff's first year for DIGGING SANTA.  The picture from last year is Jeff trying desperately to get away from Santa, holding his bribes: a GFCF cookie and rice milk.  Jeff had no conversation or understanding of the visit. This year was a different story -- he wanted to hug Santa immediately. He was so excited to go! His conversation with Santa went a little something like this:

Jeff:     HI SANTA!!! Ho Ho Ho!
Santa:  Hi there, what is your name?
Jeff:     My name is Jeff!
Santa: What do you want for Christmas?
Jeff:     Jeff pulled out a list with pictures we made at home and proceeded to read the entire thing to SANTA! He was so excited!
Santa: To MOM - Boy mom, he knows what he wants! I hope there are some extra funds at your house for all the gifts he wants! (LAUGHING!)

He took his picture, hugged Santa and happily took the candy and put it in his pocket. We then went on the train ride. I was moved to tears.  What a great holiday present. I wish you all the best of the New Year and may all your dreams come true.

Hugs, thanks, and be SAFE,
Lisa A Jeff's mom