The Autism Blurb for April: Scholarship Opportunity for Parents

[Guest guest]

" The Autism/Disability Blurb " April 2008

April is National Autism Awareness Month!!!

Attached is our 2008 Autism/Disability Networking Meeting Schedule - please

distribute!

This e-mail is being sent by an automated mail program - please do NOT reply to

the e-mail address you received this from. Any inquiries related to this

e-mail, should be directed to: NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@....

Notice: All communication from NHC-ASA is by e-mail only at this time. If you

know of parents or professionals who would like to receive this monthly

e-newsletter, please have them contact us at:

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@... or

If you change your e-mail address - be sure and notify us at

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@...

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Message from M. Guppy

Wow - alot of information to share with you as it pertains to our chapter and

National Autism Awareness Month!

First off, I would like to thank everyone who came out and participated in the

slaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Seminar we held in March. It was

good to meet new parents. Thank you to all the Exhibitors who shared

information with parents that day! Our chapter has copies of the slaw

books used for the seminar. If you are interested in purchasing a set, please

let us know and we can mail them to you or you can purchase them at one of our

monthly meetings.

Scholarship Opportunity for Parents who have children, youth, or adults with

an Autism Spectrum Disorder:

Our officers and I are so excited to be able to " Show you the money " in terms

of a scholarship opportunity for parents in April, in honor of National Autism

Awareness Month. Because of the donations received, memberships received,

calendar sales, and exhibitors/sponsors who support us and our events - we are

able to " Pay it Forward " in establishing a Scholarship Fund to help some parents

pay for what they need for their child with an autism spectrum disorder. We

plan to help as many parents as we can, no request can be greater than

$1,000.00. We may award full or partial scholarships depending on the

availability of funds. The Scholarships will be to help those parents in

financial need pay for a conference, service, evaluation, ARD Advocate, summer

camp, or social skills class that they could otherwise not afford.

The scholarship guidelines and application will be available on April 1st, -

please e-mail us at NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@... if you are interested

in receiving the scholarship guidelines and application.

Please put " Scholarship Application " in the subject line. You do not need to

put anything in the body of the message. Please cut and paste this section and

forward it to parents you know who might benefit from this opportunity!

We will accept completed scholarship applications by e-mail or mail - from

April 1st through the deadline of April 25th. If you know of a parent who would

like to apply for this scholarship and they do not have computer access, please

have them call us and they can leave a message with their mailing address and we

will mail them an application.

If you are a professional/business and you would like to further contribute

towards our " Scholarship Fund " - you are welcome to do so! Funds received in

April will be used for the Scholarship Fund. We are a non-profit organization

and your donation is tax-deductible. Please contact us at

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@... for more information!

" Thank you " to the Exhibitors and Sponsors of our conferences and events --

funds we receive from you allow us to offer events at little cost, purchase

items for our Lending Library, and fund our " Scholarship Program " for parents.

A very special

" Thank You " to those speakers who offer their services for our meetings and

conferences at little, or no cost!

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" Turning the Tide of Autism " - Prayer Focus from Children of Destiny:

If you would like to print out a prayer calendar for April - National Autism

Awareness Month -- below are the links to do so.

http://www.childrenofdestiny.org/turning_the_tide_April_calendar.asp

http://www.childrenofdestiny.org/turning_the_tide.asp

Autism Day at the Oil Ranch

Please join us for our 1st Family Event for our chapter! April 12th from 10a

- 2p is Autism Day at the Oil Ranch! This will be a day where families can

come and network with each other and hopefully a time for siblings to meet other

siblings and those with Autism Spectrum Disorders to have an opportunity to meet

" friends " their age. Many parents contact us requesting " Social Opportunities "

for their child with autism and their siblings -- this is your opportunity to

meet parents and do that! When you get your ticket - go to the Pavillion that

has " NHC-ASA " there. Please wear an Autism Ribbon or Autism T-Shirt if you

have one! We will have items for sale at the event. We have a flyer about

the event, please contact us if you would like us to e-mail it to you for you to

print out and distribute to therapy centers for us!

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@...

" 2007 Tax Benefits for Parents of Children with LD "

If you have a child with a severe learning disability, you may qualify for

valuable tax benefits.

To access the above article, go to:

http://www.greatsch ools.net/ cgi-bin/showarti cle/1187

The Autism Store:

If you need Autism Awareness T-Shirts, Jewelery, or Pins -- please visit our

Autism Store that is open during our Monthly Meetings! At our April Meeting -

we will have Autism Awareness Calendars on sale for $5.00. You can purchase

them buy one get one free --- so that you may give one to a clinic, business,

therapist, teacher, physician, etc. There are MANY Autism Resources in there

of benefit to all who work with a child, youth, or adult with an Autism Spectrum

Disorder! There is an Inspirational Quote from a parent of a child with autism

on each month of the calendar! We would appreciate your support in helping us

distribute these Autism Awareness Calendars for Texas!

April meeting reminder for the Northwest Houston area:

Thursday, April 3rd, is the monthly Autism/Asperger/PDD Parent & Professional

Networking Group Monthly Meeting - from 7-9pm.

" Table Talk " is the topic for our April Meeting. We will have facilitators at

each table, covering a different area of focus for Autism. Parents will hear a

brief talk about the topic, then have an opportunity to ask questions of the

facilitator. Parents will rotate tables every 15 minutes.

For our monthly meetings at Graceview Baptist Church:

We are very blessed that " The JOY Ministry " of Graceview Baptist Church is

providing childcare during these meetings. If you are a single parent and need

childcare to attend, or if you have no other childcare options, we welcome you

to contact Briley to register for that. You can reach her at

or TheJOYLady@.... Childcare is from 7pm until 9pm and is

free. You must register for childcare by Wednesday of the week of the meeting.

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As always, if there is anything our chapter can assist you with, please

contact us and we'll try and help - or if we can't - we'll put you in touch with

someone who can!

Sincerely,

M. Guppy

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@...

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Announcements:

(If you have an item for this section, please submit that to:

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@...)

Bounce for Autism...

....is a fun, family event that benefits the Autism Society of America. Kids,

grown-ups and friends of all ages can bounce, play and laugh at Pump It Up,

America’s #1 inflatable party zone, while raising money and awareness for autism

care, support, treatment and research. Every day in America, 60 families learn

their child has autism. These families face challenges of care, support,

education, financial hardship and medical and health care issues. Although there

is no cure, with the right services and support, individuals with autism can

live full, healthy and meaningful lives. The Autism Society of America, the

nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, exists to improve the lives of

all affected by autism. We do this by increasing public awareness about the

day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate

services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest

information regarding treatment, education, research and

advocacy.

Bounce for Autism

April 16, 2008

Pump It Up

536 Sawdust Rd.

Woodlands, TX 77380

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Register online: www.bounceforautism.org

If you can’t make it to Pump It Up on Bounce day, there are many other ways

you can help support us:

· Send this email forward to anyone you think might be interested in

joining us for the Bounce

· Display the attached poster to help spread awareness for this great

event

· Make a donation to an existing “Sock Squad” (by visiting our

website)

· Join the Virtual Bounce and help ASA improve the lives of all

affected by autism (by visiting our website)

Pam

Bounce Marathon Staff

info@...

www.bounceforautism.org

Personal Stories Needed about Affects of Waiting Lists

Have lengthy waiting lists for a Medicaid Waiver or other services affected

you or your family?

Are you willing to share your thoughts and experiences regarding the

waiting/interest lists?

If so, we would like to hear from you!

Every two years the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD), in

conjunction with the Texas Office for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities

(TOPDD), develops a Biennial Disability Report to the Texas Legislature,

Governor and other state leaders. This report is designed to help policy

makers, advocates and other people understand the range of needs, services and

supports for Texans with disabilities and as a guide for future policy

development and decision making procedures. The theme for the 2008 report is

“The State's Allocation of Resources to Provide Long Term Services and Supports

for People with Developmental Disabilities.”

We are looking for individuals with disabilities and family members who are

willing to share their personal experiences with the waiting lists. We would

like to know how the delay in obtaining waiver services has affected your life.

We are also interested in any thoughts you have regarding long-term services and

supports in the community.

To help obtain individual stories, TCDD has contracted with Therese Palombi to

write short accounts of the thoughts and experiences of 10-12 people. We are

looking for young and older parents, individuals from minority cultures, people

from different parts of the state, as well as people with different types of

developmental disabilities. TCDD may also use these stories on an Internet site

about Medicaid waiting lists.

If you are interested in sharing your story or for more information on the

Biennial Disability Report, please contact:

Therese Palombi at or tpalombi@....

Calendar of Events:

(If you would like your event listed here, submit that information to:

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@... - flyers with more information about events

are attached to this e-mail where possible)

These events that have a fee to attend are part of our above-mentioned

scholarship opportunity. If you are a parent and would like to attend any of

these events, please apply!

April 3, 2008 - 7pm until 9pm

Autism/Asperger/PDD Parent & Professional Networking Group Meeting

" Table Talk " Facilitators:

Dr. Kern on Biomedical Intervention

Joe & Wyndi Whitehead: Newly Diagnosed Child

Conteh - ABA Consultant - Video Modeling for the acquisition of skills.

FOCUS Initiative - Jacquelyn and Shana on Adult Issues and Social Skills

Higgins -

Hulshof - ABA Resources and Non-Verbal Learning

Sharron Reilly - Sensory Integration and Praxis

Dan Copes - The DAN Center for Autism - AIT and other treatments/interventions

for Autism

Janet Hahn - NHC-ASA Officer - Facilitating Discussion on Special Diets for

children with Autism

Crawford - M.Ed., BCABA, - Facilitating discussion on

Behavior/Educational Issues in the Classroom

Location: Graceview Baptist Church, 25510 Tomball Parkway, Tomball, TX 77375

Childcare: Provided if you register in advance by contacting Briley,

TheJOYLady@... or

For more information: NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@...

April 12, 2008 - 10:00am until 2:00pm

Autism Day at the Oil Ranch

Location: Oil Ranch, Phone: , 23530 Macedonia, Hockley, TX 77447

Cost: $8.00/person

When arriving at the Oil Ranch, please ask at the main gate what pavillion the

NHC-ASA group is at.

For information about the Oil Ranch, www.oilranch.com/index.php

Questions? Contact Crawford at J_CrawfordTX@..., please put

" April 12th Oil Ranch " in the subject line.

May 1, 2008 - 7:00pm until 9:00pm

Autism/Asperger/PDD Parent & Professional Networking Group Meeting

Speakers: Ron and Swink. Both are complaint investigators with

the Division of IDEA Coordination at the Texas Education Agency. They will

provide valuable information for parents on how to file a complaint with TEA, if

you have unresolved issues with ARD Meetings, etc.

As with each meeting, we will have a separate area where if parents have

questions other than what the presenter is speaking about - you will be welcome

to talk with one of us separately.

Location: Graceview Baptist Church, 25510 Tomball Parkway, Tomball, TX 77375

Childcare: Provided if you register in advance by contacting Briley,

TheJOYLady@... or

For more information: NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@...

May 1st & 2nd, 2008 - all day both days

Speech Pathologists Conference

The Learning Lane and NHC - ASA are proud to sponsor: Sara Rosenfeld –

’s Three Part Oral Motor Therapy by Talk Tools.

Speaker: Roy Hill, MS, CCC/ SLP

Location: Graceview Baptist Church, 25510 Tomball Parkway, Tomball, TX.

We are offering speech service providers an opportunity to participate in a

" take one table " .

Please contact @TheLearningLane to learn more about this advertising

opportunity and the conference.

Crawford, M.Ed, BCABA

NHC- ASA Vice President

@...

May 3, 2008 - 8:30am until 4:00pm

Maximizing ative Behavior with Ellen Catoe, M.S., BCBA & Whitcher,

M.A., BCBA

Location: Graceview Baptist Church, 25510 Tomball Parkway, Tomball, TX 77375

Pre-Registration is required to attend this event!

To register please contact Carol Sloan, FEAT-Houston, cysloan@...

For more information about location, or if you are an NHC-ASA Member and would

like to apply for a scholarship to attend, please contact

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@....

October 4, 2008

Mark your calendar for October 4th for our annual Autism/Disability Conference &

Resource Fair.

If you would like to be a presenter, please contact us at

NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@....

We are looking for presenters on Bio-medical Treatments & Interventions, Special

Education, Therapies, Behavior Management, Applied Behavior Analysis, etc.

Please contact NorthwestHoustonChapterASA@... to be placed on the

registration list for this conference!

November 11-12, 2008

Mark your calendar for a conference brought to you by The Learning Lane,

featuring Mark Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA

For questions about sponsorship, please contact Crawford, M.Ed.,

BCABA, @..., or www.TheLearningLane.com

December 2008

Autism State Conference in Arlington

M. Guppy

Autism is a very silent world; but the potential in that world speaks

volumes.... Texas Autism Advocacy: www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

" There are some aspects of a person's life that we have no right to

compromise. We cannot negotiate the size of an institution. No one should live

in one. We cannot debate who should get an inclusive education. Everyone

should. We cannot determine who does and who does not get the right to make

their own choices and forge their own futures. All must. "