A.C. Moore crafting a new world for people with autism

by Patricia Wright

I have a lot of talents. Crafting, however, is not one of them. Asked to use my hands to contribute to the crafting community, I stretch out my finger, press a button on the computer keyboard, and link to Etsy. Etsy is my “place to buy and sell all things handmade” — I link there regularly to purchase cool earrings from crafters.

So when the fabulous crafting store A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts decided to work with Easter Seals to promote autism awareness and raise funds to provide services and supports for people with autism, I wasn’t too sure. I mean, I know a lot about autism, I just wasn’t sure how autism and crafting could connect. Well … this simply proves that I have a lot to learn!

A.C. Moore champions the message Crafting a Better World in their cause marketing work. This message is a great match for Easter Seals and autism awareness. In April, A.C. Moore provided autism awareness and education to every customer who purchased something at their check-out stand. That month they also hosted a free Make and Take crafting activity that involved a jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle piece is almost ubiquitous with autism awareness, and A.C. Moore’s jigsaw craft made the autism and crafting connection I was wondering about! The event was extremely popular in communities. Not only did A.C. Moore educate thousands of customers about autism, they also raised $141,000 for Easter Seals to use to deliver local autism services.

The top fundraising store for this campaign was in Delaware, and a few of us from Easter Seals were able to travel out there earlier this month to celebrate with the store. Through collaboration with corporate partners like AC Moore, Easter Seals is able to educate and serve so many more people with autism. And, I got to visit a craft store for the first time ever. Who knew there were so many cool things at A.C. Moore? I will definitely be making a return visit!

Time with Joe Mantegna is “a great kind of fun”

by Maurice Snell

Summer is almost here, ladies and gentlemen, and June is off to a great start here at Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago’s Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research. Last week Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago welcomed two people to the school, actor Joe Mantegna and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

The White Sox game the previous night, June 1, 2010 was declared Joe Mantegna and Ozzie Guillen Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago Autism Awareness Day, proclaimed by Governor Pat Quinn (D-Illinois). Pre-game festivities featured Joe throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Just for the record, it was a strike, just a little bit inside. The Governor and Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago CEO F. Timothy Muri also recognized Joe and ozzie for their generous efforts.

I was fortunate to spend time with Joe Mantegna and the rest of his family in his private skybox at the ballpark. Overall, it was a great kind of fun! The following day, both Ozzie and Joe stopped by the Therapeutic School for a press conference about constructing Phase Two, a therapy pool and fitness center for the clients. Joe Mantegna has a daughter with autism, and Ozzie Guillen is board member here at Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago. They discussed their commitment to help raise $8 million to build the second phase of the Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.

I was fortunate enough to give the grand tour to the most distinguished guests and they both enjoyed having me as their tour guide. They had the opportunity to visit some classrooms and spend time with the students, including Noah Martin — you might remember the post I wrote about Ozzie Guillen hosting Noah and his family during Spring Training earlier this year. It was an enjoyable day for the staff and students; it’s something we all can remember.

Once again, it was a pleasure to welcome back Ozzie and Joe to the Therapeutic School. I thank them both for their generous support of Easter Seals!

Speaking the same language, part two

by Patricia Wright

In my last post I promised to give blog readers more details on the Second International Congress on Persons with Disabilities I was fortunate enough to attend in Guadalajara last week, so here goes!

My colleague Beverlyn Mendez, the Chief Operating Officer at Easter Seals Southern California, joined me to give a presentation on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). We were also able to share time with our colleagues from the Confederación Mexicana de Organizaciones en Favor de la Persona con Discapacidad Intelectua (CONFE) to discuss how we can most effectively provide services and supports to individuals with disabilities.

And the good news is that Beverlyn actually speaks REAL Spanish as opposed to the “fake” Spanish I try to get away with. This, of course, is just one quality among many that Beverlyn possesses — she also has an amazing understanding of how to work collaboratively to meet the needs of people with disabilities. She was such a valuable asset to the trip to Mexico, as she really appreciates working collaboratively to promote the best outcome.

With international work, we have the opportunity to learn so much. One of my learning opportunities from this trip was that the natural supports that exist in Mexico within extended family are amazing! Two of the more memorable people I met In Guadalajara were our two hosts from CONFE: Javier Quijano Orvananos and Maria Quijano Orvananos. Yep, they are brother and sister. Their family has a long history of supporting people with disabilities, as they have a brother who was born with Down Syndrome.

Easter Seals was able to share some of the communication strategies we are currently using in the United States with individuals who don’t develop spoken language. There are lots of different ways to communicate. Some people with autism point to pictures or symbols to tell people with they want. Others use sophisticated computer devices with touch screens that have pictures, symbols and words on them. The person with autism touches the screen on the computer, and the computer generates a voice — the computer talks! Pretty funny that I was in a country where I don’t speak the language and I was talking about communication, don’t you think? Good thing the topic was autism so that I at least had some content knowledge!

All in all, an absolutely wonderful and rewarding trip. Having opportunities to learn together like this makes all the difference in the world.

When it comes to autism, we speak the same language

by Patricia Wright

I love speaking in another language, even when I’m not proficient. Some people might view this as a deficit, but I have no shame — I just go for it! I’m sure I sound like a two year old but hey! Better than not trying at all, right?

I was able to try my Spanish last week at the Second International Congress on Persons with Disabilities, held in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Congress was aimed at professionals, parents, therapists, doctors, volunteers and anyone who is keen to learn more about the latest developments in the treatment and care of people with disabilities. Easter Seals was delighted to be in attendance.

Easter Seals has recently established a relationship with Confederación Mexicana de Organizaciones en Favor de la Persona con Discapacidad Intelectua (CONFE). CONFE is a national network of 160 associations in Mexico that share a mission: to be a factor for people with intellectual disabilities and their families, and see that they have a life of greater quality and social integration.

Easter Seals is delighted to be working with CONFE. Through our sharing of ideas, strengths and needs we can learn together to ensure people with disabilities in the United States and in Mexico have the best opportunity for a high quality life.

I’ll share more about my trip in a blog post next week, but right now, I’ve gotta go. Hasta luego!

Sweet Tomatoes wants to send you home with cookies

by Beth Finke

Hooray! It’s finally June! To celebrate the return of summer, Sweet Tomatoes Restaurants in Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon, Utah and Washington are offering a free bag of cookies and a coupon for a return visit as a thank you gift to restaurant guests who make a donation of $2 to Easter Seals.

Donations collected from the campaign support Easter Seals programs for people with autism and other disabilities in these six states. This means that each and every time you and your family visit a Sweet Tomatoes in June, you can help support essential local Easter Seals programs.

Sweet Tomatoes has supported Easter Seals for four years with nearly $50,000 in contributions. The generosity of Sweet Tomatoes patrons benefits people with autism and other disabilities who receive Easter Seals services, and those happy customers get to walk out the door with a coupon and a bag of cookies, too.

Now that’s a great way to celebrate the return of summer. Happy June!

Another celebration for Maurice

by Maurice Snell

Recently my family and I had the opportunity to attend the annual Easter Seals Celebration of Giving in San Diego. Every year Easter Seals honors its corporate partners at this event, and this year I had the awesome opportunity to reunite with many of my Easter Seals colleagues and meet some of the past representatives who served Easter Seals with great honor and dignity.

I already know former Child Representatives Marti Clark and Matt Gaughan, but this year I was delighted to meet a couple of representatives from a long time ago: Joy Hall and Dan Giuliano.

Listening to all of their stories was inspiring. I know that Easter Seals is the perfect organization for me and my family. My life wouldn’t have been complete without Easter Seals and the corporate partners who help Easter Seals. Overall it was a great Celebration of Giving event. I thank all of the companies for their contribution to the Easter Seals organization. We look forward to continue a great relationship with all of the corporate partners in the bright future!

Easter Seals segments air on Better TV!

by Patricia Wright

Easter Seals has been working with Parents Magazine to raise awareness about autism in its April and May issues. From these recent efforts, a new partnership emerged with Better TV, a lifestyle television show focused on topics that affect family and relationships.

Recently, Better TV promoted Easter Seals and Act for Autism by airing two segments focused on the importance of early intervention and autism services and Easter Seals’ signature event, Walk With Me.

Check them out:

“Easter Seals Walk with Us” encouraged viewers to join Better TV in raising autism awareness while catching up with an energetic and enthusiastic Scottie Gaither, Easter Seals 2008 child representative, as he led viewers around the Walk With Me event in Dallas.

“Helping Families with Autism” gave a shout out to Easter Seals corporate partner CVS Caremark thanking them — and CVS employees and families who showed their support for Easter Seals by attending the event. The segment described Easter Seals autism services at Easter Seals North Texas’ autism center and showed viewers that they could help families living with autism by lacing up their walking shoes.

A sense of entitlement might help

by Beth Finke

I happened to turn on Bob Edwards Weekend on NPR just as he was interviewing journalist Judith Warner about her book We’ve Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication. In the interview, Warner was asked about a Newsday article that looked at why affluent school districts “classify more than five times as many of their students with autism as districts at the opposite end of the economic
spectrum.”

The Newsday survey drew on state data from school districts whose enrollments were more than 500.

Advocates who have compiled similar data voice concern that many poor, minority youngsters might not be getting the same extensive, state-mandated services available to those identified as autistic …

Medical experts blame the problem not so much on schools as on a lack of quality health care in low-income neighborhoods. Research shows toddlers in poor families who aren’t taken on regular visits to pediatricians are less likely to have their autism diagnosed when it first appears — usually, before age 3.

In the Bob Edwards Weekend interview, Warner said one reason students in affluent school districts are more likely to be diagnosed with autism is that their parents have a sense of entitlement. On first listen, this sounded a bit harsh to me. I guess I’ve always thought the phrase “sense of entitlement” had a pejorative connotation, that a person with a sense of entitlement was acting greedy.

I kept listening, though, and if I heard right, Warner meant that this particular sense of entitlement is a good thing. She wishes all parents, not just those who live in affluent school districts, felt this sense of entitlement when it comes to the health care of their children.

Do me a favor and listen to the podcast of Judith Warner’s interview if you get a chance. See if I heard it right.

A writer’s take on a new autism diagnosis

by Beth Finke

In my other life, I’m a writing teacher. I teach a weekly memoir-writing class for senior citizens in Chicago, and I give seminars on memoir writing and writing books for children at libraries and conferences.

One way I keep abreast of what’s going on in the writing and publishing world is to read blogs written by other authors. Last week, a post written by Jim C. Hines caught my attention. Jim’s first published novel, Goblin Quest, is a fantasy favorite among young adults. He has had five other books published, including The Stepsister Scheme and Red Hood’s Revenge. His blog posts are often about his own life, the craft of writing and his fantasy characters. Lately, though, he’s been writing about autism.

From his post last Friday:

A while back, I was pondering how much to publicly share about family, particularly my children. There was a reason for this.

Today we received confirmation from my son’s school that he meets their criteria for ASD — Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Hines goes on to say that the diagnosis was not completely unexpected. His wife is a practicing counselor, and he has a degree in psychology. Both of them had noticed their son Jackson had certain behavioral issues.

He is who he is. A note from the school doesn’t change that. What it does is gives us a way to make sure he gets the help he needs.

A diagnosis of autism is never easy to take, and I was very moved by this author’s reaction. It gave me hope that our messages about autism awareness and the services available to help must be getting out there.

Hines ends his post with an admission that he is still processing the diagnosis, and is not looking for advice quite yet.

He’s a good kid. I know he’s going to be okay. I know the rest of us will, too. But it’s hard right now.

And though he’s a successful writer, Jim C. Hines found it difficult to find the words to end his post. So instead, he did what any proud father would do. He ended the post by showing off a photo of the son he loves.

Support our friends at the Autism Society in the Pepsi Refresh Project

by Beth Finke

Our friends at the Autism Society are competing in this month’s Pepsi Refresh Project and their idea has our vote.

Pepsi is giving away $1,300,000 each month to fund great ideas, and the Autism Society is in the running to use $250,000 of the prize to set up a 24/7 support line for families and people with autism.

The Autism Society’s proposed Expand Autism Source project seeks to expand their ability to help the growing number of people affected by autism in the following ways:

• Provide accessible information and referral services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via a single point of entry that offers confidential one-to-one contact with a live specialist.
• Provide needs assessment and linkage to individually appropriate services and support, and immediate or short-term response to crisis situations.
• Implement follow-up, quality assurance, and success measurement protocols.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive, accurate, and dynamically updated database of available community resources accessible via the web.
• Provide training and continuing education for information and referral specialists.

The Pepsi Refresh Project accepts 1,000 ideas a month from people, businesses, and non-profits that will have a positive impact, then leaves it up to voters to decide who wins the funding. It’s easy to vote, and voting ends at the end of May. Join us in supporting a great idea from a terrific organization.