Juice Plus+®

Autism Spectrum Therapies

Best Buddies Easter Events

TACA San Diego March Meeting

Mom needs advice

4 S Ranch Autism Group

Legos a building block in autism therapy

Annual Mental Health Fair in Encinitas in May

All San Diego Unified Parents with Children with Special Needs

Mom looking for a camp

Newsweek: Mysteries and Complications

Mom needs Speech!

ICDL Graduate School

ASA: Still time to get your autism wristband

Day Program Worker Sentenced To 90 Days For Video-Recorded Assault

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Good Health is not Good Luck; it's Science!

I never endorse anyone or anything. Opinions expressed in what I send out, may not be shared by me. Everything is for informational purposes only.

People who "advertise" through this newsletter have never been checked out by me. This includes professionals and even people who are interested in babysitting, etc.

Please take the time to throughly check out anyone and everyone that will be working with or caring for your child. We are all sadly aware, through news stories and word of mouth, of people who pray upon special needs children because of their extra vulnerability.

Thank you,
Valerie Dodd-Saraf

Check out my new website!

Autism Spectrum Therapies was created by William Frea, Ph.D., BCBA and Ronit Molko, Ph.D., BCBA with the goal of providing comprehensive and state-of-the- art ABA services for individuals across the autism spectrum.

AST bases its treatment on the principles of applied behavioral analysis (ABA). We strongly believe in the use of modern play-based ABA strategies in combination with discrete trial training, as well as the infusion of social-skills goals, positive and functional approaches to challenging behaviors, the use of visual supports, and structured routines. Since each individuals needs are unique, we tailor our goals and methods accordingly.

To all my Best Buddies Bunnies!
HAPPY EASTER
Here's a list of FUN things to do for FREE!

In Escondido
Take your pick from 50,000 candy-filled eggs scattered on the spacious lawn of the California Center of the Arts, Escondido. Sunday, March 23, Noon; registration from 8:30-11:30 am. Free.
www.theeasteregghunt.org

Easter Bonnet Parade & Hat Contest
Kids unleash their imagination in a hat-making workshop and contest, search the park for more than 6,000 eggs filled with M&Ms, watch live performances and enjoy other educational activities. March 22, 11 am-3pm. Adults $10-$12; kids $5-$6. Petco Park, 9th Ave. & J St., downtown San Diego.
www.gaslamp.org

Easter Bunny Teas - Westgate Hotel
Grand Lobby- March 20, 21 & 22 - 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m
Les petits mademoiselles and messieurs in full Easter regalia will enjoy a delightful afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, cherry vanilla scones, lemon meringue tartlets, butter cookie rosettes and your choice of tea, milk or hot cocoa. The afternoon fun continues with a visit from the Easter Bunny and an Easter egg hunt.
www.westgatehotel.com/events/springfest.html

Don't forget BB Movie Night tonight where we will be showing "Splash" from 5-8pm

Buddy Brian Goodman will also be showcasing "Dungeon's and Dragons"

On Wednesday, March 19, Best Buddies will be holding their monthly Best Buddies Movie Night at the Best Buddies San Diego office in Mission Valley. I will be there to teach people how to play D&D. The event starts at 5:00 pm, and lasts to 8:00 pm. I am going to arrive at 4:30 pm to set up the game table. Tell me if you can come that evening. If you find you enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons with me as your Dungeon Master, than I will arrange for us to have a play session at every Best Buddies Movie Night.

Don't worry about bringing anything with you. I will bring all the materials we will need to play. Just bring an open mind full of imagination, and some idea of the person you'd like to be.
To get you excited, here is a preview of the adventure I have planned.

"A long time ago, evil threatened the land and carved out a place called the Cave of Shadows. Since the days of the ancients, the Cave has loomed threateningly in the forests surrounding a local town. New trouble now lurks in the cave, and on a dark and stormy night, a wife a local merchant barges into the tavern at the local Inn constantly weeping, looking like she's on the verge of collapse. In the very same tavern sit four heroes looking for adventure. As fate would have it, the tavern owner leads her to rest at the very table where the heroes sit.

Can the heroes calm her down to find out what happened?

Will this lead them to the grand adventure they've been looking for?

Find out in my adaptation of a classic introductory D&D adventure; The Cave of Shadows: A Missing Child."

I hope to see you on March 19 at the Best Buddies Movie Night.

Sincerely yours truly,
Brian Ian Goodman
brianiangoodman@yahoo.com

Tim Adams, Attorney at Law & Lynne Arnold

"Bridging the Gap:
The Extended School Year Services (ESY) IEP"

Tuesday, March 25, 2008
6:30 - 8:30 PM

Rancho Bernardo Presbyterian Church (Directions below)

What will your child be doing this summer? When are year-round services warranted? How do you make a case for ESY without letting your child regress first?

Special education attorney Tim Adams and TACA mom Lynne Arnold make special education law accessible and interesting with lively presentations that include video of enacted IEP meetings. They will provide an overview of special education law as well as strategies and tactics for achieving FAPE for your child.

Directions to Rancho Bernardo Presbyterian Church: 17010 Pomerado Road, San Diego, CA 92128. From I-15, exit Rancho Bernardo Road and travel east to Pomerado Road. Turn left (north) at the stoplight. The church will be on your left hand side.

Room Change: TACA is now meeting in the Lower Fireside room. The Lower Fireside room is downstairs in the main church building. Park in the lower (southern) lot for best access to this room.

Valerie,
Could you please post this? I need to know if anyone else has had this problem and how they handled the situation. My 11 year old son with asperger's was suspended from school for sexual harassment. He was walking in line swinging his arms behind him, bugging this other boy, and his hand touched the boy's privates. He reported it and my son was suspended. The principal explained it was because he had been warned to many times to stop bothering the other kids (which it seems he does pretty much by breathing now). I did not object to the suspension...I supported it at home as well...but I do object to 'sexual' harassment in his file. My son goof's off ALL the time. The school deals with his repetitive sounds and behaviors on a regular basis. I have been told that the law does not make exception for disabilities or disorders where sexual harassment is concerned. Did my boy's hand touch that boy's crotch? Yes. That's all that is taken into account. Sorry. Is this true? I'm having a hard time accepting this one. I've swallowed lots of unfair judgments of my son, but this is the one that is about to break the proverbial camel's back. I have a meeting with the district in a couple of days...any suggestions? A lawyer maybe? Thank you for any help you can provide and thank you Valerie for this forum. geezmom@cox.net

Dear Families,
I am the brother of an autistic boy (he is 10 years old). We live in the 4S Ranch community.

I have decided to help my brother and other autistic kids by holding a ½ mile family walk/run at 4S Ranch Park in Rancho Bernardo (at the end of 4S Ranch Pkwy). The walk will be on Saturday, May 3rd. We will meet at noon and walk at 12:30. The cost is $10 per family.

All proceeds will go to benefit kids with autism and other disabilities. I will be donating half the money to Heart of Sailing, www.heartofsailing.org, an organization that introduces special needs children to sailing. With the other half, I will buy craft supplies. My helpers and I will teach crafts and sports at the 4 S Ranch Park. Any child with a disability will be included in the crafts and sports.

If you would like a sponsor sheet, please email me. All you have to do is ask family and friends to donate to my autism fund and sponsor you on the walk.

This is my first year, so your donations aren't tax deductible, you would just be doing a nice thing for our community.

Please RSVP to me at harrypotter5898@hotmail.com or call 858-312- 1418 by April 26th. If you have any other donations or other ways you might be able to help, please email or call me.

Thanks,
Max Utter

The Lego raft carrying the Lego castaways approached the Lego island, "chased by raptors."

Lewis Roberts, a 12-year-old from Medford, moved the raft an inch, then another young filmmaker snapped a digital camera. A third boy consulted their script.

"Quiet on the set!" In the sudden silence, the boys let out a raptorlike ROAR.

Lego animation is like a cartoon. The illusion of movement is created with a sequence of slightly different photographs of the colorful plastic brick construction sets.

But this wasn't just fun and games. It was "Dr. Dan's Lego-based Social Development Therapy" - one of the many interventions that have been developed to teach social skills to children with autism.

You are invited to attend our annual Mental Health Fair, held Saturday, May 3rd from 10:00 - 2:00pm at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas, Ca (just off the I-5 and near Coaster train station) on Encinitas Blvd.

Organizations, practitioners and vendors will be there to give you information. Lectures from psychiatrists, psychologists, attorneys and others will be held every half hour. All of this is FREE to both the public and interested vendors. For more information, please contact Karen at ksheffres@cox.net.

If you have not heard, tremendous change is proposed/under way within the District's special education program. Most drastic is a proposed plan to eliminate special day classes as they currently exist by September 2008. All SDC designations such as ILS, PACE, ED, NS, etc. will be changed on your child's IEP to "Specialized Academic Instruction". In addition, the "choice" option (ability to request/transfer to a different school than your neighborhood school) is being eliminated. District leadership is proposing that the majority of students with IEPs be transitioned into their neighborhood schools in a general ed classroom. Once there, it will be your principal's responsibility to implement your child's IEP within that school site, mostly likely through full inclusion.

District Parents were not notified by mail of these changes, nor has the district conducted any information meetings. The first opportunity for parents to be heard on this far-reaching topic is at the next Board of Education Meeting on March 25 at 3 p.m. We are encouraging any parents who would either like to know more, or who already have an opinion on the merits/drawbacks of these changes, to attend this meeting. It will be held at the Eugene Brucker Education Center Auditorium located at 4100 Normal Street in San Diego (92103).

MaryEllen Stives
Executive Director
Area Board XIII
750 B Street Suite 1830
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 645-3000
(619) 645-3008

I have a son with AS, and I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for camps that have been successful. Kelly

You wonder what he thinks. The little boy who flaps his arms and bangs his head. Who bristles at the touch of wool and covers his ears when balloons go "pop!" The boy who doesn't respond to his name and will never say "I love you." What does he think of the world outside? The busy world of childhood vaccines, celebrity fund-raising and genetic research. The cauldron of medicine, media, politics and the law. What does he think of autism?

For that matter, what are we to think? Passions about autism are running higher than ever, and for good reason. Autism spectrum disorders affect one in 150 kids from all walks of life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a tenfold jump in just the past decade. As the numbers grow, public awareness increases and the fervor surrounding each new development intensifies.

I live in Del Mar / Carmel Valley area and have a 3.2 son with mild ASD. I am looking to supplement his speech therapy. Would any mom/dad have a referral for a speech-pathologist who has experience with ASD? As I work full time I really need a therapist who can come to my house 1-2 times per week and is consistent with their attendance and his therapy. Please email me at meyers.gretchen@gmail.com if you have any recommendations.

Welcome from President, Serena Wieder, PhD. With the increasing rates of mental health and developmental disorders in infants and young children, as well as the growing demand for culturally competent mental health professionals ICDL has recognized the need for a permanent, ongoing, state of the art graduate program that responds to these demands with a comprehensive framework. A number of disciplines have contributed to this growing body of knowledge including: psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, speech pathology, occupational and physical therapy, social work, education, and counseling. The goal of the ICDL Graduate School is to enable students to master the insights of each of the contributing disciplines, understand the range and variations of healthy and disordered functioning in the early years of life, implement a unified developmental approach to research and clinical practice, and serve as leaders for future generations.

The admissions committee is currently reviewing applications for the second class, which will begin on September 8, 2008. Spaces in the second class are still available. Applications completed by April 15, 2008 will receive priority for admission into this class. The final deadline to apply is July 1, 2008.

The PhD in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Developmental Disorders is a distance learning program for qualified applicants throughout the United States and abroad.

Thanks to so many supporters from across the country, we've had an incredible response to the autism wristband offer.

To recap: In April, the Autism Society of America and its partner organizations are staging special events across America to increase autism awareness and advocacy, and promote early autism diagnosis and therapeutic research.

We asked friends like you to make a special online donation by March 25th and receive our autism awareness wristband to wear on April 2nd to demonstrate your commitment to our cause.

JOIN OUR AUTISM ADVOCATE ARMY! GET YOUR AUTISM AWARENESS WRISTBAND TO WEAR ON APRIL 2ND!