TACA holds monthly meetings in many locations throughout the United States that feature educational speakers on important topics and allow family members to connect with one another and stay on top of the latest information in the autism world. Each TACA group maintains a resource library of the latest autism books and tapes that can be checked out by members at no charge.

Check out our group listings: each contains information on TACA meetings and special events as well as a contact form.

Are you wondering what happens at a TACA meeting? Watch our video.

Bloomingdale’s Shopping Benefit
at the Beverly Center, Century City and Sherman Oaks
Thursday, October 23 – Los Angeles Area

Give a little, Get a lot! Read more.

GFCF Cooking Class
at the Century City Bloomingdale’s
Thursday, October 23 - Los Angeles

• Read more
• Register online

An Evening for Autism

Saturday, November 1, 2008, 7 p.m.

Presented by: Tommy Bahama

Buy tickets: $150 per person

Benefitting:
› Easter Seals California
› Talk About Curing Autism
› Autism Society of America
› Newport Mesa School District Autism Programs

See more info at www.aneveningforautism.org

November 19, 2008

› Grove Theatre, Anaheim, CA
› Benefiting the City of Hope, Talk About Curing Autism and New Vista School
› Dinner and Special Entertainment
› More info

2nd Annual
Holiday Fashion Fundraising
Saturday, November 15 – San Diego

Grab a girlfriend and join us for a wonderful day of fashion, food, shopping and FUN at the 2nd Holiday Fashion Fundraiser to benefit TACA. Read more.

Autism One Radio

We will be having the Internationally Acclaimed Personal Finance Expert "Suze Orman" as a guest on our Radio Show "The Candy Store" on Autism One Radio in early 2009. If any parent who has a child with autism would like to ask "Suze Orman" a question about their finances please e-mail Robert & Sandy Waters Host's of "The Candy Store" on "Autism One Radio" at rwaters@autismone.org. We need your questions no later than December 2008. Depending on the amount of questions we receive, we will try to ask most of them on air with your name and state where you live. Or, Suze might even e-mail the answers back if we can not get to the question on the air. Thank You!!

Faith, Love & Hope,
Robert & Sandy Waters
Hosts of "The Candy Store" on Autism One Radio

The Autism File, a long-established and leading international journal covering all aspects of autism, hit 2,000 bookstores throughout North America last month including some Barnes & Noble and Borders, all Books-a-Million, Chapters, Indigo Books & Music, Coles and Presse Commerce.

Becky Estepp, Taca's Parent Support and Media Relations Manager sits on the publication's Editorial advisory board.

The Autism File provides practical information covering medical, nutritional and educational matters. It tracks and reports on research and focuses on applications today and the solutions that may be coming soon.

The publication is written by: parents, doctors, consultants, teachers, people on the spectrum, anyone in the field of autism who has anything to say on any subject concerning autism.

The Autism File aims to give as much information as possible, with medical updates including: vaccination coverage, diet and nutrition, recipe pages for gluten and casein free diets, problems solved, organizations and support groups advertised, parents, sibling and family views on treatments tried and tested, books, videos, websites to look out for, "your say," "what you want" and much more.

It is available worldwide by subscription.

Let the Press Know about Your Trip!

If you are traveling to the conference this month, ARI hopes you'll tell your local press about your plans to attend and help to spread the word about TACA and effective treatments for autism. ARI has prepared an easy-to-use press release you can customize and send to the local media. Please let them know about your trip and help more families learn that autism is treatable.

View and Edit Release to print and send to your local media

Association of the United States Army

10/1/2008  

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa.
Member, House Armed Services Committee
In the United States, 1 in 150 children suffer from autism spectrum disorders and 67 new cases are diagnosed each day. As the fastest growing serious developmental disability, more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes and cancer combined.

Tragically, autism research nationally receives only $80 million, or .28 percent of the National Institute of Health's research funding, compared to the $130 million in private funding alone that is allocated to juvenile diabetes and the $310 million for leukemia, both of which I strongly support.

With approximately one percent of the nation's total autistic population, military families are acutely aware of the funding and coverage limitations provided for autism.

Like others in the medical research and care community, the Department of Defense's healthcare system has failed to adequately provide autism therapy services to families.

Master Sgt. Buck Doyle's daughter Kate is an example.

After incurring $250,000 in legal fees and therapy costs trying to compel their local school district to provide basic autistic therapy, the Doyle family turned to TRICARE's Extended Care Health Option (ECHO).

They waited seven months for Kate's coverage to be authorized and then received only a fraction of the therapy costs.

I would like to say that the Doyle family's story is the exception; sadly, it is not.  Military families wait as long as two years for their coverage to be authorized and ECHO's current coverage limit of $2,500 provides only one hour of therapy per day.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and National Academy of Sciences recommends a weekly minimum of 25 hours of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and optimal results are seen with 35-40 hours a week.

With diagnoses of this disorder increasing 10-17 percent nationally each year, TRICARE and Congress should set a standard for healthcare nationwide, ensuring that autistic children have the opportunity to reach their potential and become productive members of society.

Toward this goal, I sponsored amendments that were included in the Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House of Representatives and laid the ground work for a model that could be used across the country.

First, my amendment provides autistic children from military families enrolled in ECHO with a minimum of $5,000 per month for therapy services, a 100 percent increase from the current level.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recently announced plans to introduce a companion amendment in the Senate.

Second, I call on the secretary of defense to make certain that the process of determining eligibility for these services is conducted in an expeditious manner, to prevent the Doyle family's experience from becoming the norm.

Finally, I have mandated a study to research the costs and benefits of covering these treatments under TRICARE's basic plan rather than under a supplementary program. If this transition occurs, autistic children will finally receive the recommended amount of therapy as an entitlement under TRICARE.

Just as autism is categorized by the military as a segregated disability that is only covered under TRICARE's ECHO program, most insurance companies exclude it from basic coverage.

Finding a way to cover autism treatment under TRICARE will set a precedent for legislative efforts to require private insurance companies to provide coverage of Applied Behavioral Analysis and other structured behavioral treatments.

Three states – South Carolina, Texas and Indiana – have passed laws that mandate coverage and Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism advocacy organization, has established a multi-state initiative to promote similar provisions nationwide.

After 31 years in the United States Navy, I entered politics primarily to improve healthcare in this country.

Having served in the armed forces, I was given access to the military's healthcare system and the exceptional coverage I received allowed my family to overcome our most difficult personal challenge.

I believe that we have an obligation to provide the same affordable, quality and accessible care that I received, to the many military and civilian children who suffer from autism every day.

As the Senate begins consideration of this legislation, I hope that my colleagues will do what is in the best interest of our nation's heroes and set an example for state legislatures, so that autistic children benefit from the best possible care and have the ability to provide for themselves as adults.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Marcelo and Carolyn Ferrari can take case to court over son’s disabilities

An Atlanta couple’s lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers can go to trial on claims a childhood vaccine caused neurological damage to their young son, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In a landmark decision, the state high court unanimously ruled that Marcelo and Carolyn Ferrari’s lawsuit is not barred by the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act. The court upheld a prior decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which was the first appellate court in the nation to make such a ruling.

When the Ferraris’ 18-month-old son, Stefan, received his vaccines, he was a healthy verbal boy. Now 10, Stefan has not spoken since, according to court records.

A year after Stefan received his vaccines, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that thimerosal, a preservative used for multi-dose vaccine vials, be removed from childhood vaccines. The Ferraris filed suit, contending that the manufacturers should have made vaccines without the preservative before Stefan was vaccinated.

The companies argued that the 1986 vaccine act shields manufacturers from liability in civil lawsuits for damages caused by vaccines given after Oct. 1, 1988.

In Monday’s ruling, written by Justice George Carley, the state Supreme Court said the vaccine act “clearly does not preempt all design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers.”

Instead, it provides “that a vaccine manufacturer cannot be held liable for defective design if it is determined, on a case-by-case basis, that the injurious side effects of the particular vaccine were unavoidable,” the ruling said.