The Reason For It All

Announcing a New Radio Talk Show on Autism - "Remarkably Able"

31ST ANNUAL SMSC "HAUTE WITH HEART' ON AUG 23RD

Thank You From Jenny McCarthy

Why Juice Plus+???

Family Services Committee Requests Grant Proposals

In Their Own Words: The Crucial String

Improving Executive Function Skills-An Innovative Strategy that May Enhance Learning for All Children

Stuttering v. Apraxia????

SALE on "Social Stories"

Westlake Village: PAUSE4Kids Mom's Night Out!

Dr. Kartzinel D.A.N. Doctor???

Autism Insurance Legislation

Melaleuca, The Wellness Company

San Diego Center for Speech Therapy now in Carmel Valley

Empowering Through Information & the Fostering of Connections

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

Promoting Quality of Life and Creating Tangible Outcomes for All Teens and Young Adults with Autism and Related Disabilities. Listen, call in your comments or questions, and/or email your questions, concerns or requests for discussion topics to Jackie@drjackiemarquette.com -she will address a new topic each week and invite an expert guest. Where to Listen: KFNX News-Talk Radio AM 1100 on the dial, Phoenix, AZ or log onto KFNX and listen live. When: Mondays 9-10 PM, Pacific, or Listen via Internet Streaming - www.1100KFNX.com. The areas for discussion will include: emotional, social, educational, vocational, medical, alternative options, political and spiritual. Interviews with leading experts in the field will be conducted as well as interviews with people who have ASD and their families. Effective tools, collaboration strategies, and practical everyday solutions are discussed to help dissolve the barriers and deliver to youth community participation, inclusion, and personal growth. The ultimate goal is to offer hope for a better life to individuals with ASD of all ages and their families. For more information, email info@independencebound.com.

Most Heartwarming Fashion Event to Benefit St. Madeleine Sophie's Center, August 23rd, 10am to 2:30pm

St. Madeleine Sophie's Center (SMSC) will be wrapping up the summer season in style with our 31st annual Haute with Heart '08 Fashion Show Fundraiser/Luncheon. Over 700 guests are expected to attend the event being presented by Hai Elite, Carlton Hair, Sempra Energy, Sycuan Resort & Casino and Leadership Sponsor; San Diego National Bank. The popular fashion show, produced by KUSI's style guy, Leonard Simpson of Fashion Forward, will feature guest speaker Carol LeBeau, 10 News/ABC with runway models including San Diego community leaders and the students of St. Madeleine's in the sprit of this 'couture for a cause' event.

Honorary Hosts, Phyllis & John Parrish, have put together a stellar committee, including: People Magazine's Hottest Bachelor; Mario Lopez, Rana Sampson and Mayor Jerry Sanders, Sally Thornton, Joye Blount and Jessie Knight, County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price, Reo Carr, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Jeanne Jones and Don Breitenberg, Katherine and Julian Kaufman, Dee Amon, Valerie and Harry Cooper, Dede Carlson, Sheriff Bill Kolender, Virginia Monday, Barbara McCall, Dian and Admiral Raymond Peet, Dixie Unruh and Marilyn Miles.

The Sheraton Hotel & Marina is the model setting for this fabulous event to benefit SMSC's adults with developmental disabilities. $100 VIP runway seating (limited), seating $60, Tables of 10 are also available. Your reservation provides access to the boutique, auctions, lunch, and fashion show. Hurry, this event is always a sell-out, and prices go up August 6th! Almost 500 tickets have already been sold!

To buy event tickets and raffle prizes, or make a Haute with Heart '08 donation that benefits the students of St. Madeleine's, contact: Nora Boswell, St. Madeleine Sophie's Center; phone: 619- 442-5129 (Ext. 3117) or e-mail: nboswell@stmsc.org . Tickets are also available on-line at www.stmsc.org.

Hi! It's Jenny. Thanks so much from both Jim and me for helping to make the Green Our Vaccines rally and march a smashing success. We really made them hear us loud and clear - for at least one day, they couldn't ignore us!

The rally is over, but our fight continues. If you're interested in keeping in touch with what I'm up to, as well as getting information about products and services that I think are great, you can click below to join my Teach2Talk LLC mailing list where I can keep you updated. Thanks again to all of you and god bless you and your families.

xoxo
Jenny
Click here to subscribe to my mailing list!

Why Juice Plus+?
The best way to answer that question, is to ask another. How do you think you would feel; how healthy would your body be; how much positive energy would you have, if you ate a serving of 15 different fruits and vegetables and 2 grains EVERYDAY?
That is what JP+ is and that is what it does.

Juice Plus+ provides the natural nutrition (millions of nutrients) of fully ripened, RAW fruits and vegetables in a capsulated form for adults and chewables and gummies for kids.

The cost for adults is $41.50 per month, or $1.36 per day. (Could your buy a serving of 15 fruits and veggies, and eat all of them, RAW for $1.36 per day?)

The cost for kids for Chewables or Gummies is $22.50 per month, or .74 cents per day? Could you even get your kids to eat 15 RAW, fruits and veggies per day?

For more information about Juice Plus+ and/or purchase it, please visit my website here. JP+ is certified GF/CF Dairy Free and Kosher!!! Click here for info on ingredients for all the JP+ products.

Starting in September, I will be having Juice Plus+ In-Home Parties. It is a great way to learn more about good, lasting health and JP+. If you are interested in learning about JP+ as a home-based business, click here. Juice Plus+ and its' parent company NSA, are NOT Multi-Level Marketing Companies. 95% of the people who order from the companies are customers only. NSA has been in business for 47 years.

Juice Plus+ "Thins" and anxiety and OCD:
Since, giving Tony "Thins" everyday, starting just 2 years ago, with no other medication or change, I noticed that Tony was more relaxed. Less anxiety. And, even more remarkable his repetitive, obsessive behaviors dropped about 80%. Changes in his routine/schedule became much easier, new experiences were no longer hard. Repetitive behaviors/routines nearly disappeared. I have been also able to reduce his medications: Zyprexa, Celexa & Tenex.

Please think seriously about giving this a try!!! If you have any questions about the "Thins", please email me and if you would like to order them, click here.

I now have several families that are going to give the "Thins" a try. It will be several weeks before I know if this is going to work for others, besides Tony. As soon as I know anything, you all will know!!!

Autism Speaks is once again seeking proposals to fund projects that will enhance the lives of those affected by autism spectrum disorders. Proposals for these family services grants are sought in the following areas: Recreation/Community Activities; Education; Equipment/Support Technology; or Young Adult/Adult Services. Educators, trainers and services providers who work with individuals with autism are invited to apply. Applications are due by September 26, 2008 11:59 p.m. (EST). Since the inception of Autism Speaks' Family Services Community Grant program in December 2007, over $1 million has been awarded to 50 community programs across the nation. Read more.

My husband and I had grown increasingly uneasy about our second child Mickey. Though a warm, engaging baby, he showed no interest in playing Peek- a-boo, How Big is the Baby, or waving bye-bye. At monthly visits the pediatrician assured us that all was well. But by 18 months, Mickey had only three words, which is why 14 years ago we finally found ourselves sitting in a cubicle at a major teaching hospital. A team of unsmiling experts spent two hours poking, prodding and measuring our son, asking him to draw a straight line, stack cubes and put pegs in boards. I perched forward to catch the doctor's words more fully, hoping to hear how adorable, how promising my child's future was. Instead, she said, "Don't expect higher education for your son."

Janie did well in school until she got to fourth grade. Then her grades dropped, she couldn't keep up with her work load, she got frustrated, and her self-esteem was sinking. Janie was referred for testing for special education, but she scored well on the assessments. What was wrong? Janie's difficulties in school stemmed from executive function (EF) weaknesses. Janie is not alone. While children who have learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, and conduct disorder often have difficulties with EF, more children without disabilities are exhibiting EF problems as well.

While definitions vary, EF generally refers to the cognitive processes that enable individuals to engage in goal-directed or problem-solving behaviors. Thus, EF may include goal setting or identifying a problem, developing a plan, the ability to execute the plan, flexibility, attention and memory systems to guide the individual (e.g., working memory), and evaluation or self-monitoring.

Stuttering v. Apraxia:
My son was dx with Apraxia of speech around 1st grade because he quite simply "could not get his words out." There is now emerging thought that he does not have Apraxia of speech but that he has instead severe stuttering problems which instead manifest themselves in Apraxia like symptoms. The difference in dx can provide very different approaches. The issue of stuttering came up when I was telling our son's school speech therapist (Trini Meyers) how our son is able to read almost fluently when he and I read the words of a book together at the same time.

So, we installed and tried the program "Fluency Coach" which is a relatively inexpensive program you can download form the http://www.fluencycoach.com/ (Cost is about $25). It is a delayed auditory feedback (DAF) program that you download on your computer and use with headphones and a mic. Anyway, my son read his first book almost completely fluently using this program whereas before he would demonstrate severe blocks (not being able to get words out at all) and a lot of secondary physical issues (e.g. pounding his chest, eye blinking, etc.). This program uses "choraling" which makes it sound to him like someone is reading with him (small echo in the earphones of his own voice). Because he did so great with this, we are looking into the stuttering devices offered: Fluency Master and Speech Easy. Fluency Master is not a DAF device but Speech Easy is. If anyone has actually tried either the Fluency Master or Speech Easy devices, please let me know your experience.

Please note that I am already aware of the differences of opinion out there about the efficacy of these devices and have read the studies on them (ranging from Zimmerman, to Kalinowski, Stuart, etc.), Cigna's position paper on why it will not cover these devices, and also the position paper of the National Stuttering Ass'n. So, I am really only interested in personal experiences of those who have actually tried it with either their clients or their children (or themselves!)

Many thanks.
Lucile Lynch

Although Social Stories(TM) were first developed for use with children with ASD, the approach has also been successful with children, adolescents, and adults with ASD and other social and communication delays and differences, as well as individuals developing normally.

For those of you using (or learning to use) Social Stories(TM), we're offering a one-week SALE on all Social Story(TM) products! Just go to our online store at www.thegraycenter.org to view the selection, which includes Storymovie DVDs, Social Story(TM) books, a training workshop DVD, Quarterlies, and the Social Stories(TM) 10.0 download! (Hurry-sale ends Saturday!)

Whether or not you're using Social Stories(TM) at home or in the classroom, the work that you do to promote social understanding is very valuable! Thank you for your efforts!

Back by popular demand. PAUSE4kids has now scheduled a return of our very popular "Mom's Night Out" program. Please join us for a night of fun and recuperation, dinner, discussion and No Kids!!.

August 21st, 2008 at 7:00 pm.
Westlake Landing Grill and Sushi Bar
32123 W. Lindero Canyon Rd. #109
Westlake Village, CA 91361
(818) 706 8887
Please RSVP. Susan Baukus

Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone had taken there child to see Dr.Kartzinel in Irvine?
mggillespie@cox.net

If you are in a state that is interested in or in the process of putting forth autism insurance legislation to force insurance companies to cover autism services, you may want to join the new yahoo group called