Don't Miss Autism One This year

Today some terrific news was announced from Autism One!

A Gift from Our Family to Your Family

FREE Registration to the

AutismOne/Generation Rescue 2011

CONFERENCE

The Largest and Most Comprehensive International Autism Conference is now FREE

Keynote Address Jenny McCarthy & Byron Katie

150 Autism Experts
5 Jam-Packed Days of Presentations
6+ Specialized Content Tracks
May 25 – 29, 2011, The Westin Hotel, Lombard, Illinois

The future of autism recovery begins now!

We are thrilled to bring you the, “Autism Recovery on a Budget: Empowering Parents,” conference registration for FREE.

Recovery depends on education, not on how thick your wallet is. But first you need to know how to help your child. You need to know the most effective treatments and therapies. You need to know when certain interventions are appropriate and when they are not. You need to know hope is real.

It’s time to open not only our hearts, but our home. And so it is with open arms we invite you to come and share with the AutismOne family what we have learned collectively over the past decade. It’s time to embrace every family affected.

Currently constructed autism costs too much. One of the biggest obstacles to recovering children has always been the cost of educating parents. We believe answers need to be free.

Each year we learn how to do more with less and each year the conference is a reflection of the ever-growing body of accumulated knowledge.

Each year we learn more about how to prevent autism or minimize its effect. Each year we learn more about dealing with autism in adolescence and adulthood. Each year we learn more about the underlying biomedical issues at work.

This year we will have the chance to share with you what we have learned whether you are a woman thinking about having a child or a parent with a child aging out of the school system or a mom facing autism for the first time.

This year we will help you learn about taking care of yourself. For the first time, this year, we will train practitioners to implement the biomedical mission of care.

This year we will train more attorneys to fight for you and first responders to help protect your family. This year we will train more students to assist your child, advocates to challenge the system, teachers to educate your child, and professionals to embrace recovery.

This year we welcome parents who have not had the opportunity to learn what they must to help the ones they love the most.

We will teach you, we will guide you and provide you with the tools and education and together we will begin the journey of recovery.

- Ed and Teri Arranga, conference directors and parents to Jarad and Ian.

Thanks to the good folks at OxyHealth for helping make the conference FREE.

Wednesday at Buffalo Wild Wings

Please join us each Wednesday in February for a FUNdraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings. For lunch or dinner, 10% of your check will be donated to our chapter. The coupon will change each week, so check back here for the updated coupon.

You can print this weeks coupon here:
http://freepdfhosting.com/710f6e1be0.pdf

BINGO

Hope you can all make it to Bingo night at Hamburger Mary's tonight. We will start at 8pm. See calendar for all the details!

TV Opportunity

Here is a note from Ally Weinberg of Pie Town Productions:



Greetings,

I am the Director of Development at Pie Town Productions, a Los Angeles based television production company. I came across your organization while researching Aspergers and autism support groups throughout the nation.

We are in the early stages of developing a new show about families with multiple children that have Aspergers syndrome and/or high functioning autism. I’m contacting you to see if you could share our information with your group members or had any suggestions on other individuals or organizations to contact.

We think this could be an amazing opportunity to shed light on misconceptions surrounding an individual's ability to live a fulfilling life with this disorder(s). Our intent is to produce a thoughtful and respectful series that will lead to a greater understanding and sensitivity about Aspergers and/or Autism through the real-life perspectives of the family members featured.

A little about us...Pie Town Productions is an award-winning company that was founded in 1995. We have produced over 3,200 episodes of programming in a variety of formats from daily series to network specials to weekly reality shows. Our client list over the last fifteen-plus years includes: Discovery, TLC, Paramount, A&E, WE, Lifetime Television, Logo, CMT, Discovery Heath, the Food Network, and HGTV. We've brought over 44 series, 36 special projects, and 1 feature documentary to the market, including the Emmy-award winning A Baby Story. We are currently producing the new Food Network hit, Meat and Potatoes and WE's new family docu-soap, Downsized. To see more about our programming go to http://www.pietown.tv/

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Please feel free to contact me directly for further information.

Thanks very much for your time! I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards --

Ally Weinberg
Director of Development
Pie Town Productions
5433 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
N. Hollywood, CA 91607
818-255-9279 (Direct Line)
818-255-9333 (Fax)
ally_weinberg@pietown.tv

Holly Rod Foundation IPAD Program

This Information is being shared with you from the Iowa Federation of Families of Childrens Mental Health.

The HollyRod Foundation is giving iPads to children diagnosed with autism who are non-verbal or minimally verbal. Application deadline is December 31, 2010.Link for application: http://www.hollyrod.org/#/holiday-2010/4545650338 What are the eligibility requirements??1. The individual you are applying for must have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum (as identified in diagnosis report).
2. Reside in the United States of America.
3. Be non-verbal or minimally verbal (as identified in speech pathology report).
4. Be in financial need: Gross income not to exceed $35,000 single income family or $50,000 two-income family (asidentified by documentation).
5. Have access to a computer and an iTunes account (some programs must be downloaded on a computer and transferred to the iPad due to size).
6. A professional on your team (i.e., speech pathologist, doctor, teacher) must be willing to take responsibility of the gift card that downloads the applications.For more information please visit the foundation's website:

November is National Eplilepsy Awarenss Month

Who Has It?

• About 3 million people in the US live with epilepsy
• About 300,000 Iowans live with epilepsy
• Approximately 200,000 new cases of seizures and epilepsy occur each year

What is It?

• A seizure occurs when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain.
• When a person has 2 or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy
• There are over 20 different types of seizures
• Some seizures last a few seconds while others can last up to several minutes
• Symptoms of seizures can include convulsions, loss of consciousness, muscle jerks, difficulty speaking and staring spells

Where and When can It Happen

• A seizure can happen anywhere at any time: at the supermarket, in the library, or on an airplane
• 10% of the American population will experience a seizure in their lifetime

Why?

• Common known causes of epilepsy can include head trauma, stroke, infections of the brain, heredity, and lead poisoning.
• However, in about 70% of people with epilepsy, the cause is unknown
• Seizure triggers lack of sleep, missed medications, stress/anxiety, hormonal changes, dehydration and photosensitivity.

Thanks to Cara for sharing this info with us. As you may be aware, a high number of those on the autism spectrum also have a seizure disorder. More info can be found at www.getseizuresmart.org

Copy of Letter to the Editor

Published 11/13/10

As a parent of a child with autism, I would like to express my great concern over what is going on in the Cedar Rapids School system.



My son was given a chance to participate in a terrific case study by the University of Iowa. This study provides free training to all guidance counselors who participate in the case study. Counselors would be trained on 2 different models, Video Modeling and Social Stories. Both of these methods have been proven to reduce behaviors in children with autism.



After being declined, I spoke with the associate superintendent, Mr O'Malley. During our conversation, I explained with this is so valuable, and the training is free to all participants. Mr. O'Malley told me upfront he did not know much about autism, but he would reconsider.



Less than 24 hours later, I had a 2nd decline, saying that too many resources would be used to participate.



How many resources are spent when a child is pulled out his classroom for a behavior that could have been prevented using social stories or video modeling? Does the school not see the influx of special needs kids coming up the ranks? I spoke with Mr. O'Malley again, and he told me I was right, but was unwilling to have Cedar Rapids participate in the case study. After speaking with my son's staff, they were disappointed as well.



How can we expect improvement in our children when the school is unwilling to provide the tools?