~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to all who entered and to our friends at Jack FM for selecting the winner. Lisa from Los Angeles won the contest with the following entry:

Greetings! We are writing in hopes of winning tickets to Jack’s First Show as we are in no position financially to afford to buy our own due to the many expenses we have raising our 2 autistic children (and they are sold out so that is irrelevant as well!).

My husband and I have been married for almost 10 years and have 2 boys with Autism. Nathan is 4.5yo and Isaac is 6.5yo. They are both fairly high functioning but their needs are much much more than typical children. TACA has been our lifesaver. Their web sight alone was a great guide to us when we were trying to figure out what was going on with our children. Reading the web site and networking with other families of Autistic children helped us realize that Isaac was mis-diagnosed and we needed to push for a proper diagnosis of both him and Nathan (who was about to turn 3 at the time). Isaac has been in early intervention since 20 months but never made much progress with the minimal intervention services he was given at first. During that time we were told that our older son had Receptive and Expressive Language delay and Developmental Coordination disorder and our younger son had Expressive Language Delay and Sensory Integration Disorder. They got less than 12 hours/week total of intervention under those labels. During the summer we use up Isaac’s college money to send him to a specialized Speech Camp and when we had 30hrs/week of intervention for those 8 weeks he would make leaps and bounds progress then stay stagnent again the rest of the year thru. We always wondered why he made so much progress during the summer but didn’t make any during the year. Then when I read on TACA’s web sight that Autistic children need intensive services of at least 25hrs/week in order to succeed it all stated making sense as to why he did so well in the summer but stayed stagnant the rest of the year and we started looking for a diagnostician to properly diagnose Isaac. Meanwhile Nathan went thru the regular channels for his diagnoses via the regional center.

Since their diagnosis TACA’s support groups have guided us in what sorts of services will be most appropriate for our boys. Other TACA members including our wonderful mentor that was assigned us to help us get through our IEPs have helped us learn our and our children’s rights with both the school and the regional center systems. This has allowed us to properly advocate for our children and help to get their many needs met. The other mom’s on TACA’s email list have given us hope and courage to keep plugging away each and every day and to keep in our hearts that possibility that our boys will one day be independent and recovered from Autism. The members of TACA have also encouraged us to seek out biomedical intervention to address our boys many physical/medical needs which have helped out boys get in a much better place physically so that they could make more progress emotionally and academically. Our boys have come so far in the 2 years since we’ve been with TACA mainly because of all the great support we have received through many arms of the organization. I don’t think our family would be on as good a track today if it weren’t for being part of the TACA family too.

Additionally, we’ve been blessed to take part in a marriage counseling group sponsored by TACA – this group is made up of 5 other married couples who also have children with Autism lead by 2 professional Marriage and Family Therapists who have both personal and professional experience with Autism. This group is absolutely free of charge to all the participants and has really helped us strengthen our marriage. The stats for divorce in special needs families are astounding and for Autism in particular the likelihood of divorce is 80% within the first 5 years of diagnosis. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that TACA has taken a stand against that statistic and is giving families the resources they need to succeed and thrive instead of fail.

When it seems like the whole world is against you, and the statisticians say the most likely outcome for your family is divorce and children who grow up and rely on government assistance to live it is so lovely to have people that tell you - no it doesn’t have to be that way – with early interventions, appropriate intervention, appropriate medical treatments and a unified mom and dad our kids will one day prove everyone wrong.

TACA Announces New Program: Teen Detective Social Skills Group

Opportunity for pre-teen and teen boys to socialize begins in SEPTEMBER!! We are excited to announce the Teen Boys Detective Club (social skills group). Pre-teen and teen boys with autism face ongoing social skill challenges that may leave them at risk for emotional problems such as; loss of confidence, frustration, fatigue, avoidance, withdrawal, anxiety, suspiciousness, depression, increased dependency, and loss of social support and activities. Three male therapists will meet weekly to guide preteen and teen boys in an experientially based social skills group that is run by three male therapists, for young men. The goal is to tackle the “hidden curriculum” of our everyday social-life, and to teach the boys how to handle themselves in a variety of social settings, from restaurants to movie theaters, and community facilities.

Additionally, while the boys go on their adventure, the parents will stay with a parent support group leader in order to review social skills progress, concerns, and related behavioral strategies. The groups will be limited to 8 pre-teen to teen boys (ages 11 to 16) to experientially learn how to socialize in 1:1, small groups and large groups of people across a variety of contexts. The tasks they engage in will promote positive interpersonal relationships by working on the following skills, using appropriate levels of eye contact, planning social events, staying on topic, initiating and ending conversations appropriately, and referencing others (feelings, thoughts, actions) before acting. Additionally the detective club will work on how to manage money, navigate around the community, use the computer for information and communication between peers and phone skills. Weekly homework assignments will consist of staying in contact with peers and group leaders via email and / or the phone throughout the week to organize for the next sessions activities.

There will be six meetings from 4:00 - 5:30 P.M> on September 6, September 13, September 20, September 27, October 4 and the last meeting on October 11, 2006.

Office location is in Newport Beach, California at 1100 Quail Street Suite 106, Newport Beach, CA (meeting places for future meetings will be given on the first day of the group)

These groups will be funded by TACA. Parents will be asked for a commitment to have their boys attend the six weeks of sessions and to complete questionnaires prior to and after the six weeks of group.

All students must pass the screening before their attendance in the group is confirmed. Please call Jacob at (949) 474-5577 to set up your son’s screening appointment.

Important notes:

TACA is starting in Orange County due to funding received and professionals with experience with autism. In October, TACA will fund the existing Teen Boys Detective Club in San Diego.

This program is available on a first come, first serve basis. Please sign up as soon as possible before availability is gone.

Each family will be required to pay approximately $90 for activities prior to the group start date. Several scholarships are available – also on a first come first serve basis.

Thank you to our TACA friends & Autism Spectrum Consultants, Inc. for making this much needed program happen!

No shows on the first date of the social skills group will lose their spot in the program to the first people on the wait list.

No changes on meeting dates or times can be made – sorry. Please check your schedule before committing to this program.

Special thanks to TACA's anonymous sponsor for helping us start this important program.

You must be a TACA member and have a child with autism or aspergers to apply for this program.

A minimum of 1 parent per teen is required to attend the parents support group with the assistant clinical director while their teen is on the social skills excursion with the social skills group leaders.