"Juice Plus+ is the perfect way to ensure that we get more of the whole food based nutrition we really need."

SDRC San Marcos Presents: The North County Network of Parents

Support Group at Compass Family Center, USD

How Many IEP Team Members Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?

Autism Speaks ENewsletter

Heart of Sailing in Ventura and San Diego

SDASA Support Groups

Silver Gate Yacht Club's 48 Annual Regatta, June 7th and 8th

Lonely Little Boys

Family in LA needs EMDR therapist

A Challenge to Parents: Try "Quitting" Autism for Just One Day

Upcoming USD Autism Institute & Radio Program on Autism

Website Developed by Parents

Ventura County ASA, Support Group Meeting

Bounce for Autism in Irvine, CA

Melaleuca

Delia Garcia, M.D.
Home: St. Louis, Missouri

Medical Specialty: Radiation Oncology

Education: Graduated summa cum laude from Western Illinois University (1976). Graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (1979). Internship at University of Wisconsin Hospital (1979-80). Resident/Chief Resident at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (1980-83).

Fellowships and Appointments: American Cancer Society Clinical Fellowship (1981-82). Assistant Professor of Radiation Therapy and Oncology, Medical College of Virginia (1983-84). Assistant Professor of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine (1984-1992). American College of Radiology Fellowship (2001).

Other Professional Accomplishments: Author of over 40 scientific articles. Founding member of a cancer and breast institute in St. Louis (1999). She is a leading expert in breast cancer and was selected by her peers to appear in Best Doctors in America.

Community Service: Professional Advisory Board Member, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation ("Race for the Cure") and The Wellness Community of Greater St. Louis.

Health Advice: "Take responsibility for your health, and you will be astounded by the benefits. Stop smoking; eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; exercise daily; and, drink plenty of water. "Life is not a dress rehearsal! Simple measures can make a huge difference in disease prevention."

Why she recommends Juice Plus+: "Last year alone, I consulted with over 400 new patients diagnosed with cancer. The sad truth is that many of these cases might have been prevented through sound nutrition, stress reduction, and an overall healthy lifestyle. "As a busy professional and mother of three, I realize how difficult it is to eat the way we should, especially day in and day out. Juice Plus+ is the perfect way to ensure that we get more of the good, whole food based nutrition we really need."

Juice Plus+ is the simple, convenient, and inexpensive way to add more nutrition from fruits and vegetables to your diet, every day.

Tony and I have been taking Juice Plus+ daily for almost 5 years and we feel fabulous, and are more healthy. I have Fibromyalgia Syndrome (an inflammation of the nervous system that causes painful muscle spasms and chronic fatigue), and Juice Plus+ reduced my pain level by 90% and doubled my energy level. (Results may vary.)

Juice Plus+ is whole food nutrition and will not interfere with any biomedical treatment that you may be doing with your child, but will actually enhance it. Poor nutrition has been linked to ADHD in numerous studies.

If you would like more information about Juice Plus+, please email me.

To check out my Juice Plus+ website, click here.

Isadore Rosenfeld, MD, and his 'family take Juice Plus+ regularly.'

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 thoroughly 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
My enewsletters are archived on my website:
www.ValeriesList.com

AUTISM, CERBRAL PALSY, DOWN SYNDROME, EPILEPSY, MENTAL RETARDATION

Calling all parents of children with special needs ages 3-10 who would like to meet other parents in North County. Become part of a growning network for support, socialization, education and fun!!! Our hope is to connect parents with one another and also provide informational presentations on topics of interest based on feedback from the group.

Come meet some new people and have a cup of coffee. Group generally meets every other month 9:30am to 11:30am on a Tuesday.

SDRC San Marcos
1370 W. San Marcos Blvd., Suite 100
San Marcos, CA 92078

Questions? Call Kristina Gunnarson, Necol Shabazz or Jamie Michalski at 760-736-1200.

The COMPASS Family Center at USD has recently received funding from The California Endowment to start a Family Guidance Program. One of the components of this program includes funding to run a parent support group with child care.

We are looking for assistance from parents and the community to:

• Identify and recruit parents to attend the group.
• Locate a venue to hold the group. Ideally we would need 2 rooms: one with a door that can close for the group itself and the other for childcare.
• Find 2 childcare workers with experience caring for children with special needs.

I got this off another list and thought is was funny:

If team members were asked "How many IEP meetings does it take to change a light bulb," this is what I imagine they might say:

Parent - "The light bulb is not the only thing that's burnt out."
General Education Teacher - "No one said I was going to have to teach changing light bulbs."

Case Manager - "If you hadn't wanted so many hours of service in that room, maybe the light bulb wouldn't have burned out."

Transition Coordinator - "I think they cover that in life skills."

Special Education Teacher - "We don't need a light bulb, it's not like they're reading or writing."

Special Education Director - "We'll have to just keep changing his placement until we find a room that has a light bulb."

Resource Teacher - "The side benefit is that we'll have to bring them up from the basement."

Teaching Assistant - "We don't really need a new light bulb, there's enough light coming off the television."

School District Attorney - "The regulations don't require light in the timeout room."

Dean of Discipline - "Is there supposed to be a light in the time-out room?"

Assistive Technology Team - "First, we have to determine that the light bulb's really burnt out and then we can trial a flashlight."

School Nurse - "I don't know how many it will take to change the light bulb, but all the special ed children will have to go home until we do."

Secretary at the meeting - "O.K. then, how many minutes of light are we allotting in the IEP?"

Special Education Director - "We are willing to provide nightlights and maybe open the door a crack; we feel this is more than educationally appropriate and all Rowley requires."
Teacher - (Sobbing) "What do you people expect from us anyway!"

Parent - "I don't understand why you're being so difficult, it's not like we're asking for a chandelier."

School Psychologist - "The children are just lazy. If they really wanted to learn they'd study by candle light like Abraham Lincoln."

Janitorial Custodian - "I'd like to help you, but I'm not a part of the IEP team."

Dean of Discipline - "I'm just here to make sure we write it as 'change the light bulb.' The minute anyone uses the word, 'screw' this meeting is over."

Special Education Attorney - "The light bulb is the least important thing that needs to be changed in that classroom."

click below

Heart of Sailing introduces sailing to children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities as a form of education and recreational therapy.

This is a great way for the whole family to enjoy an activity together. Very safe and relaxing!!!

Daysails from San Diego, June 6, 7 and 8.

Daysails from Ventura, June 3, 4, and 5.

NORTH COUNTY GROUPS

Asperger | HFA Parent's Group
June 2nd | 7:00-8:30pm
Carlsbad Senior Center | dining room
799 Pine Ave | Carlsbad, CA | 92008

Guest Speaker: Darlene B.Sweetland, Ph.D.
How to Talk to Your Kids About Their Diagnosis: The Amazing Strengths that Accompany the Challenges

Coffee Talk | June 12th | 9am
Join us at Pannikin Cafe
510 N. Highway 101 | Encinitas

Calling all parents who would like to sit and chat with other parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. These events are hosted by Shelly Hirschberg. No need to RSVP!

EAST COUNTY GROUP

La Mesa East County
Asperger/HFA Parent Support Group
June 3rd| 6:30-8:00pm
Java Mama Cafe
8250 La Mesa Blvd (behind Wireless Toyz)
La Mesa, CA | 91941

No speaker this month. Pease join us for a great opportunity to help families make connections, find support, and share resources.

The meetings will be held in a private room generously offered to us by Java Mama Coffee shop. Sorry, no day care is provided.

SAN DIEGO

Monthly Support & Informational Meeting
Join us on June 17th, 2008
6:30-8:30pm | United Way Building
4699 Murphy Canyon Road | San Diego, CA

Special event:
Annual Meeting & Elections and Father & Grandfather Appreciation Night with Special Guest Speaker, Jeff Sell, Esq

Jeff is the the Director of Chapters & Membership and the Government Relations Liaison for the Autism Society of America ("ASA"). He has served as the first Vice Chairman of ASA's Board of Directors and the Chairman of ASA's Government Relation Committee. Jeff presently serves on the Professional Advisory Boards of New York Families for Autistic Children ("NYFAC") and Developmental Delay Resources ("DDR") and he is the Vice President of the World Autism Organization (WAO).

Jeff Sell and his wife of 21 years, Paula Marie Sell, have been blessed with four children, Natalie (14), Ben and Joe (13 year-old twins with autism), and Gracie (10).

There will be door prizes for dads and grandfathers of people with autism spectrum disorders at the meeting. For more info contact info@sd-autism.orgor 858.715.0678.

June 7th and 8th, 2008, Silver Gate Yacht Club's 48th Annual Wheelchair Regatta - For further Information regarding this annual tour of the San Diego Bay, contact Nina at 858- 571-7803 x315 or ntarango@ucpsd.org

Note from Val: It is my understanding that this event is still open to all disabilities. Contact the person named above for more info. Tony and I were participants one year and it was a lot of fun.

Hi Valerie:
I would appreciate it if you would post the following:

I am the mother of an 11-year-old boy with Asperger's. He is a bright, funny, outgoing boy, and yet due to his social skills defecits he finds himself friendless. He is taunted and teased and ostracized at school. He is lonely and sad. He spends his time playing video games...alone. He longs for friendship, and the older he gets, the more important having friends is to him. He feels different and rejected.

I keep hearing of boys such as mine. They have so many interests and gifts, and so much to share with a friend, yet don't quite know how. When I think of all of these lonely little boys, playing alone it breaks my heart. It occurred to me that this is a crisis which needs addressing. I know that you are out there, and you want playmates for your boys. We parents should start a "playdate list", where we can call each other up and coordinate playdates for our boys. If you have such a boy, or know of such a boy, please email me and I will start a list and we can bring friendship, fun, confidence, and meaning to our little boys lives. The benefit is that we all understand what Asperger's is, so we can patiently guide our children in their play without the drama of trying to have playdates with children who have expectations which our boys cannot meet.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Portia Jacobs
peacecafe@hotmail.com

Hi, We are looking for a therapist who specializes in EMDR for kids in Los Angeles (preferably West LA) for our 11 year old son. We are also considering hypnotherapy. If anyone has had experience please email me at kg1099@roadrunner.com Thanks.

A friend of mine has an eleven-year-old son with moderately profound autism. One day, he expressed interest in the game of golf. His dad grabbed a bag of clubs and some balls, and took his son to the golf course. Amazingly, the boy was a natural! The two spent the whole morning playing 18 holes. The father's delighted quote: "you'd never have known he was autistic."

Those who have seen the video "Autism:The Musical" heard Lexy, a 13-year-old girl with autism, singing magnificently. Not long ago, she cut a couple of singles for itunes in support of the Miracle Project (the organization that runs the musical program for kids with autism). Listening to her, you'd never know she was autistic.

As the sister of an adult man who has autism, a special education teacher, and a disability education consultant, I want to encourage families of children with autism to attend the Autism Institute at the University of San Diego. If there's only one conference that you can go to this year, this is the one that will make a difference for you and your child. When I first attended the conference a couple years ago, I was blown away by the compassion for families, and the amazing insight the presenters had of the autism experience, both from within a person's body, and from their environments. Most of all, it was clear to me that the organizers and presenters were not selling anything for their own personal gain. They were simply presenting findings of their research as a means of helping individuals with autism and their families to be able to better advocate for themselves, and to better relate to one another. I've attended many conferences and workshops on autism. Many times, I went away with a sense of hopelessness and sometimes even disgust. As for the Autism Institute, I left with total respect for who my brother is and new ways to interact with him that have brought him and our family empowerment.

I feel very strongly that every parent needs to hear the perspectives presented at the Autism Institute for the sake of their child's future. If you care about the child within the autism diagnosis, go to the USD Autism Institute.

The Autism Institute is a 3 day event which happens twice a year. The Summer Autism Institute will be June 23-25, 2008. See more information at http://www.sandiego.edu/autisminstitute. Listen in to Sign On San Diego internet radio, Drew Schlossberg's show, on Friday, May 30th from noon to 12:30 to hear Dr. Anne Donnellan share about autism and the USD Autism Institute. Also available in archives at a later time.

Or feel free to contact me: Diana@AbilityAwareness.com if you have any questions.

Best wishes for peace in your home and in your heart,
Diana Pastora Carson, M.Ed.
Ability Awareness in Action
www.AbilityAwareness.com

Hello everyone- I wanted to post about a free web site my husband and I have developed to help teach toddlers and children with autism to use the computer and to help reinforce basic skills learned in an ABA program. It has games and activities to help teach the use of the mouse as well as matching, receptive labeling and counting activities. The site is always free with no registration involved. Since the site is still in development we also would like input on what kind of activities you would like so if you have one to suggest hit the button "Contact Jacob's Dad" and let us know! Thanks and spread the word if you like this site!

http://www.jacobslessons.com