E-News September 2005

Here is your update on the TACA (TALK ABOUT CURING AUTISM) Group for September 2005 - #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.

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. As always, contact us with 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.

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. We focus on parent information and support, parent mentoring, dietary intervention, 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.

In This Month's Edition of TACA e-news:

1.
Upcoming TACA Costa Mesa schedule & other TACA meeting schedule info –
October – December 2005 meeting schedule.
PLEASE NOTE: WE HAVE GREATLY EXPANDED OUR TACA COSTA MESA MEETING DATES & OFFERINGS! WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE UPCOMING SPEAKERS!!! Please check out the variety of meeting dates, times and speakers!!
  A) SPECIAL PARENTS OF NON-VERBAL CHILDREN /
VISUAL STRATEGIES SEMINAR ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 1st!!!
2.
Special TACA Events
  We have been asked for more family based events – well here they are!
  A) Announcing The TACA 2nd Annual Picnic
3.
Fun Activities - NO CAROUSEL RIDES THIS WEEKEND!!
4.
Personal Note

1 Upcoming TACA Costa Mesa Meeting Schedule:
   
Saturday, October 1, 2005: Visualization Programs For Non Verbal Children

Parent Training – 6 hour training – by Center for Autism & Related Disorders (CARD)
Specifically designed for parents of non-verbal or pre-verbal children – we recommend you attend this exciting seminar. Key areas of discussion will include: for visual strategies and ideas for helping your child communicate to you and beyond!!

  • Time: 10am-2pm
  • Fee:  $25 registration fee due at the door – PLEASE RSVP
  • Location:  Vineyard Newport Church 102 E Baker, Costa Mesa
Saturday, October 8, 2005: Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment
For Autism Spectrum Disorders by Dr Gabriel Jolly – from Whitaker Wellness Institute
  • Time: 1:00 pm- 4:00 pm
  • Fee: Free – no RSVP required
  • Location Vineyard Newport Church 102 E. Baker, Costa Mesa
Saturday, October 15, 2005: TACA New Parent Seminar
The goal of the one-day New Parent Orientation is to provide parents and caretakers the “jump start” they need at the beginning of their journey from parents who have “been there, done that.”
PARENTS & CARETAKERS: $28 registration and materials fee required / $45 per couple.
Non-Parents/Professional registration: $50 registration and materials fee required
Saturday, November 12, 2005: TACA’s 2nd Annual – Recovered Children and Their Parents

Stay tuned for more information on this exciting TACA meeting!

  • Time: 1 pm - 4 pm
  • Fee:  FREE – no need to RSVP
  • Location:  Vineyard Newport Church 102 E Baker, Costa Mesa
Saturday, December 10, 2005: TACA’s 3rd Annual School District Roundtable

Stay tuned for more information on this exciting TACA meeting!

  • Time: 1 pm - 4 pm
  • Fee:  FREE – no need to RSVP
  • Location:  Vineyard Newport Church 102 E Baker, Costa Mesa

All Meetings at The Vineyard: 102 E. Baker, Costa Mesa, CA [click here to find a meeting]

(Please do not contact the church for meeting details. They have graciously offered use of their facility, but are not affiliated with TACA.) And remember, we are still a non-faith based group!

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 freeway - turn left onto the freeway access road,
make FIRST right into the Vineyard's parking lot.

 

  TACA Has 7 California Meeting Locations:
   
Costa Mesa:
West Hills:
  • Meets: 1st Sunday of every month,
  • Time: 7-9 p.m.
  • Location: Jumping Genius – 22750 Roscoe Blvd., West Hills
    (the corner of Roscoe Blvd. & Fallbrook Ave.)
  • Info: Contact us
San Diego:
  • Meets: 4th Tuesday evening
  • Time: 6:30- 8:00 p.m.
  • Info: Becky Estepp
  • Location: NEW LOCATION AS OF April 2005:
    Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church
    17010 Pomerado Road, San Diego, CA 92128 - Rooms 22 A&B
    • October 25 - Siri Andrews --Social Stories for Autism Spectrum Disorders
    • November 29 - Speaker to be announced
    • December - no meeting
Corona:
  • Meets: 3rd Saturday
  • Time: 1:30–4:30 p.m.
  • Location: Autism Behavior Consultants -
    1880 Town & Country Road Building B-101,
    Norco, CA 92860.
    Located off the 15 Freeway (Take 2 nd street or 6 th street exit) off Hamner.
  • For more information, please contact us
    • September 17, 2005: No meeting – please attend the TACA 2 nd annual picnic
    • October 17, 2005: Special Education Advocacy- Valerie Aprahamian
Torrance:
  • Meets: 3rd Monday of each month
  • Location: Whole Foods Market on PCH in Torrance
  • Time: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
  • For more info: Contact us -
  • SPECIAL NOTE: This group tends to be an advanced group with biomedical discussions. If you are a newly diagnosed family, you may wish to attend other locations for your first meeting.
Visalia:
  • Meets: 3rd Wednesday of every month
  • Time: 6 p.m. "Happy Hour" with GFCF snacks and coffee 6:30-8:30 p.m. Speaker
  • Location: Kaweah Delta Multi-Service Center Auditorium, 402 W. Acequia, Visalia
  • Information: Please contact Lynne Arnold
  • Newly added meeting: COFFE TALK & SUPPORT
    Time: Every Tuesday morning, 9-11 a.m.
    Location: Visalia Coffee Company, 129 E. Main St., Visalia
Santa Rosa:
  • Meets: (typically) 2nd Tuesday of each month
  • Location: Swain Center - 795 Farmers Lane, Suite 27
    Santa Rosa, CA
  • Time: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
  • For more info: For more information, please contact us
 

2a Special TACA Events

Come join Talk about Curing Autism (TACA) and your friends at our annual family picnic and fundraiser. This event is a special day where families and friends affected by autism can gather, play games, have some good food (with many GFCF options), and enjoy each other’s company in a safe and fun environment. Funds raised at TACA’s 2 nd annual picnic are used for TACA’s general fund to help families affected by autism.

RESERVE YOUR FAMILY’S
SPOT FOR THE PICNIC!

THERE ARE already almost 800 registrants!
This event will sell out – please register today!

Talk About Curing Autism
2nd Annual Family Picnic & Fundraiser
GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Date: Sunday, September 25, 2005
  • From: 11:00am to 4:00pm
  • Cost: $15 per adult / $10 per child (3 and up) online until September 22nd

    ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT CLOSES THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22nd.
    On-site registration will be $20 per adult and $15 per child (age 3 and up.)
    This event can still SELL OUT.
    Best way to secure your spot - Register online:   http://www.tacanow.com/shop.htm

  • Location: CAMP James / Hidden Valley - Right next to Wild Rivers Water Park
    At Irvine Center Drive & Lion Country off the 405 Freeway
    Address:  8790 Irvine Center Drive – Irvine, CA 92618
    THIS IS A SPECIAL TACA EVENT! 
    DO NOT REGISTER WITH CAMP JAMES!!
    You must register via TACA!
  • Note:  Parking will be an additional charge for each car the day of this event

Fun Activities will include:

  • In-n-Out Burger AND Gluten-free / casein-free BBQ with hot dogs and beef burgers with buns. Other snacks, drinks, sides will also be available. (Please note: One In-n-Out meal per each paid attendee. Coupons for additional burgers can be purchased the day of the event. Parents can order “protein burgers” for their kids on special GFCF or other diets and utilize GFCF buns for a complete burger meal!)
    In-n-out Trailer will be at the TACA Picnic from 11:30-2:30 only
  • Classic carnival rides: carousel, kids swing chair, lady bug ride, and roc-o-plane
  • Other rides & attractions include: bounce house, junglerama (large outdoor kid habit trail similar to the ones at Chuck E Cheese) Miniature Golf, Mist Machine, Sidewinder Rock Wall, bubble machine, and more!
  • A balloon artist!
  • Traditional picnic games including: softball, volleyball, horseshoes, basketball, ping pong, pool table, foosball & soccer
  • Play with your TACA friends!

How to Register:
$15 per each adult / $10 per each child 3 years of age and up. All TACA members need to register by mail or via the TACA web site

Register online:   http://www.tacanow.com/shop.htm

Please note:  This event sold out very fast in 2004. TACA organizers have booked a much larger venue this year that can hold up to
1,000 guests. This event will occur rain or shine! NO CANCELLATIONS!

Sponsors Thanks:

Special thanks to the great sponsor signed up to make this wonderful event happen for our families! Here is the partial list so far:

1

Cure Autism Now

2

Bruce Bothwell Law Firm

3

Oakley

4

The Listening Center

5

Children’s Learning Connection, Inc.
(formerly The Speech & Language Connection)

6

Lennar Homes

7

Beacon Autism School

8

Center for Autism & Related Disorders (CARD)

9

Christine Majors, Ruth Bass, Judy Segal, Sandra Shigetomi & Kate Mack

10

ABC Consultants

11

Autism Spectrum Consultants

12

Autism Solutions for Kids

13

Jack Anthony Law Firm

14

Coast Children’s Center

15

Oxy Health Corporation

16

Integrated Therapy Solutions

17

Pimco

18

NexGen Digital

19

Baseline Systems

20

Chaka Kahn Foundation

 

And two amazing anonymous donors (thank you!)

In the near future, we will have a special place on the TACA web site for our sponsors who support us and how you can reach them. Thanks again to this amazing sponsors!

Other ways to support TACA:

Please remember this is a fundraising event for TACA. TACA is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization, so all donations received are tax-deductible. Raffle tickets are not tax-deductible. Silent auction items are tax-deductible if over the value of the item is paid at the time of the auction.
Here is a list of the items available the day of the picnic:

  • TACA 2 nd annual picnic T-shirts in a variety of sizes at $7.50 each
  • Raffle Tickets for amazing items
  • Silent Auction items including:
    • Coast Children’s Center $5,000 social skills program (located in Southern Orange County.)
    • QEEG brain mapping and evaluation exam (from Mission Psychological in Southern Orange County.)
    • A new Kitchen Aide Mixer (great for GFCF bakers!)
    • Camp James one-week attendance for a child
    • GFCF goodie basket with private cooking lesson
    • An autographed copy of “Evidence of Harm” by David Kirby
    • Kirkman Laboratories special supplement packages
    • Sensaria Natural Bodycare gift baskets
    • Signed Lance Armstrong posters from Oakley
    • Fashion Island gift certificate
    • Skosh Monahan’s Restaurant Gift Certificates
    • Miss Roben’s GFCF foods gift certificates
    • Over 40 items!
  • Autism Related Products including: blue awareness bands, beautiful new bracelets, metal pins, car magnets, and key chains.
  • Special guest: Dr Jerry Kartzinel will be there from www.thoughtfulhouse.org

It is important to note: Sponsorship opportunities for this special event are still available! Sponsors for this event can be companies, neighbors or friends who wish to support TACA! Please contact us if you have any potential sponsor contacts.

How you Can help?

  • Please have your family and friends join us for this special event.
  • We could use corporate sponsors for this important event. Sponsorship will cover costs to create this special day for families affected by autism. This will be TACA’s main fundraiser for this year’s efforts. Our goal is to raise enough funds to cover what we do for our families for the balance of 2005. Please remember: 95% of what TACA does to help families affected by autism is free. For more information about sponsorship, please see http://www.tacanow.com/picnic2005_sponsor.htm

Need more information?

TALK ABOUT CURING AUTISM – TACA
Executive Director: Lisa Ackerman
Mailing Address: P .O . Box 12409, Newport Beach, CA  92658-2409
Phone: (949) 640-4401 - Fax: (949) 640-4424
EIN: 27-0048002
Contact Us

 

3. FUN ACTIVITIES:
 
TACA Family Social Event:

NO CAROUSEL RIDES IN SEPTEMBER!

Attention all TACA members! Diane Gallant has worked hard with South Coast Plaza in arranging FREE CAROUSEL RIDES for children with Autism and their siblings!!

Come join us for a morning of fun and horse rides at South Coast Plaza!

  • Upcoming Dates: The Saturday schedule is: THERE ARE NO CAROUSEL RIDES IN SEPTEMBER! Next dates are: October 22 nd and November 19 th.
  • Times: 8:30 am-9:30 am (BEFORE the mall opens)
  • Local: South Coast Plaza by the carousel (NOT the Crystal Court carousel!)
  • Costs: FREE!!!!!!!!!
  • Park: Park by ZTejas Restaurant and the Bank of America ATM’s off Bristol
  • Note: Kids can ride as often as they would like and based on availability.

NO NEED TO RSVP! JUST COME AND PLAY!!

PUMP IT UP SOCIAL ACTITIVITIES

A special thanks to volunteer Lynn Milucky for being the host and organizer of these special events. These social events have concluded for 2005.
Please attend the TACA Carousel rides at South Coast Plaza above.

Also a special thanks to PUMP IT UP for being a wonderful place for TACA families!

If you have the desire to volunteer for your area, find an activity and location,
and manage this for TACA – please let us know!

 

4. Personal Note:

I had to share something totally cool about this past weekend. Thanks to a Mothers Day gift from Lauren of picture and song a few years back, Jeff's "theme" song has always been the band Five for Fighting "Superman" tune. Well…because Jeff is SUPERMAN, and Lauren is SUPERWOMAN.

Fast forward this past year in November 2004, when TACA was able to secure the song rights for free to use the song in the TACA PSA "What is Autism." This is all thanks to help from Aunt Jamie and a few of her friends! This video (started by Lauren) has been seen by an estimated 250,000 people since its debut in December 2004. I have received hundreds of emails about how this video has touched so many lives. It is truly amazing. (All due to Lauren’s original design, some amazing parents’ help with the words, and then Sylvie, the TACA webmaster, making it come to life.)

This past Friday night, we got to go to a fundraiser (less than a hundred people on the beach at Newport Dunes) and see the band Five for Fighting and the lead singer John Ondrasik sing live. He sang a few of the favorite songs, including "Superman" and some classics "Let it Be" and "Rocketman." All these songs are favorites of Jeff. The seats were amazing! When do you ever get to hear a cool band sitting basically right next to the band with only 100 people!

How did we get to this fundraiser? A neighbor, friend and client of Glen's set up a fundraiser featuring this band and a great charity. The company Buchanan Street Partners and the friend Tim Ballard and his associates did an amazing job raising over $300,000 for the Success before 6 children program from the United Way. What a great effort by Buchanan Street Partners and a wonderful night for my family.

Jeff was really excited about the concert. He got to dance, sing the words to songs his loves and be able to tell the lead singer "Dude! YOU ROCK!!" Then we got to meet John, take a picture with him (see below) and say thanks for his help helping families affected by autism. I have to say THIS WAS SO COOL!

Just so you can know why I am so excited about this band - their web site is http://www.fiveforfighting.com/

Besides my amazing family – music has been really helpful over the past five years in my autism journey. Many times, I found myself filled with anger or frustration as a big part of this journey. This anger and frustration was not because of my family or my beloved Jeff, but in part of the entire journey and its complexity with very little answers and support for families. Hence the reason TACA was started.

With this community growing in numbers, in knowledge and in friends, music has made the journey a bit easier on some of the families affected by autism. I know it has helped me.

I was so excited, I just had to share.


Lisa, Bubba Jeff and Five for Fighting Singer – John Ondrasik

Hugs, thanks, and be SAFE,
Lisa A Jeff's mom
And Editor: Kim Palmer (thanks Kim!)

 

Web Page for TACA Group: www.tacanow.com
check it out and let us know your thoughts

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. TACA does not engage in lobbying or other political activities.IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS, just respond and I will be happy to remove you from the list.

P.S. TACA e-news is now sent to 1,907 people!
(This number represents families – 95%, and the rest are professionals.)