Not enough day care centers

by Crystal Ward

An article in the Daily Herald called No room for suburban special-needs kids? reports on the plight of families looking for day care when their child has a disability.

The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents child care facilities from dismissing or not accepting children solely because they have special needs. The law requires centers to “make reasonable modifications” to their policies and practices to accommodate a special-needs child. The law doesn’t define what “reasonable” means.

Kelly Lopresti, the Director of The Lily Garden here at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, was quoted extensively in the article, which appeared on the front page of the paper. Kelly shared how Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region is one of the few child care providers to offer an inclusive environment for children of all abilities.

“We need to find and create other quality child care centers so we can get these kids with special needs off the waiting lists. There just aren’t enough options out there.”

Read the entire story and you will truly understand the need and importance of The Lily Garden. Thank you to all of the teachers, staff, and donors who enable us to provide this necessary service for our community.

From Melrose Place to Cafe Mom

by Kristen Barnfield

I was thrilled when I heard from CafeMom.com that they wanted to honor Easter Seals as part of their Autism Awareness Month activities. CafeMom.com is a leading website for mothers. It has a large community of mothers of children on the Autism spectrum, and I just found out that one of the founders of the site happens to be Andrew Shue. Yes, the Andrew Shue that I used to watch on Melrose Place years ago — take a look at his interview about CafeMom.com with Good Morning America.

CafeMom.com wants to donate to non-profit organizations in honor of Autism Awareness month, and they’ve made it really easy for their visitors to help. They’ll make a monetary donation to Easter Seals based on the posts, or “bumps” Easter Seals receives to a donation page on their site. Just type “bump” under the comment section or click on “bump post.” CafeMom.com will donate one cent for each bump, so “bump” and/or comment often! To learn more about what CafeMom.com has to offer this month, link to their Autism Awareness Month post.

Washington roller coaster

by Katy Beh Neas

Its been a roller coaster of a week! No government shutdown, but Congress passes legislation that includes cuts to key disability programs. The President gave a speech that lays out his vision for achieving long term economic security and the House passed a budget that takes away the entitlement of health care to low income people with disabilities, including children with autism.

No wonder I’m tired!

But, I was completely energized when I heard the president say on Wednesday:

But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations.

Whatever your political stripes, please stay informed and get involved. Congress and the White House are making decisions that affect the lives of people with autism and other disabilities. They need to know what their decisions mean to you.

On newsstands now: Easter Seals in Parents Magazine!

by Kristen Barnfield

Easter Seals is very jazzed to be featured in another issue of our favorite monthly, must-read magazine: Parents.

The May issue of Parents magazine features a 5-page-spread about Easter Seals Make the First Five Count — our new awareness and advocacy effort designed to give children with or at risk of autism, developmental delays or disabilities the right support they need to be school-ready and build a foundation for a lifetime of learning.

Every year, millions of young children with unidentified disabilities enter school with learning and health issues that put them far behind their peers and have a lasting, negative effect on their ability to meet their full potential. Many will never catch up. But we know young children with special needs, autism and developmental delays can succeed in school alongside their peers if they receive early intervention services — therapies that work to strengthen their physical, social, emotional and intellectual abilities at a very young age.

Through this feature, Parents is really helping us spread the word about the importance of early intervention. We want every parent to know more about their child’s development, where to go for help if something doesn’t feel right, and how to take action early.

It’s a message that rings true with Easter Seals’ family of corporate partners, too. The Parents spread was made possible by our corporate partners (including CVS Caremark and MassMutual) and it highlights different ways these companies are working to raise awareness and funds for Easter Seals services for young children.

Be sure to pick up the May issue on newsstands now to learn much more about Make the First Five Count or go to our Media download page to get a preview of the piece. In it you’ll find where you can “shop where it counts” this month. You’ll see which retailers are supporting Easter Seals services for young children with autism, developmental delays and other disabilities — and get a few good deals and special coupons while you’re at it.

Hair Cuttery takes autism personally

by Beth Finke

I just found out that Hair Cuttery keeps an Official Hair Cuttery Blog. And guess what? Last Monday they blogged about us!

Throughout Autism Awareness Month in April, consumers can visit more than 900 Hair Cuttery salons nationwide to “Act For Autism” to support Easter Seals services for families living with autism in their communities. Hair Cuttery fundraising throughout the country will include point-of-sale consumer donations.

Dennis Rather, Founder and CEO of Hair Cuttery, is quoted in the post saying that Hair Cuttery salons across the country are “truly ready to ‘Act For Autism’ since many in our Hair Cuttery family have been personally touched by the condition.” A story I read in the Arlington Patch speaks to that point:

Hair Cuttery stylist Lisa Boule has dealt with autism personally.

“When my son was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, at the age of six, I knew my whole life would change,” said Boule, who took three years off to help her son with his diagnosis.

“My son and I always try to do something in April for autism, and I was extremely excited when I found out that Hair Cuttery was committed to the cause as well,” said Boule.

The Hair Cuttery store that Lisa Boule works in is located in Arlington, Massachusetts. She was also quoted in the story saying how pleased she is to work for a company that supports such a personal cause.

“My hope is that, with the help of Hair Cuttery employees and customers across the state and nationwide, people will begin to understand autism and the challenges families like mine deal with every day,” she said.

Amen to that.

Ten best places to live if you have autism

by Patricia Wright

Every parent wants the best for their child. For some families the “best” sometimes means choosing a new place to live. Families have asked me where the “best” place to live is if you have a child with autism. They wonder whether there is one location where services are all top-notch, a place where their child could be guaranteed access to quality treatment and a wonderful community of support.

The good news is that there are great communities and service providers in many locations. And the bad news is that even in the most service-rich areas, not every child is receiving quality intervention. I have worked in dense urban environments (San Francisco) and rural/remote environments (Alaska). Both settings delivered fantastic services.

Autism Speaks just completed an on-line survey on the ‘Ten Best Places to Live if You Have Autism.’ The report has some great stories about communities and their support for residents with autism. The majority of the locales were large urban settings. This may simply be an issue of volume — there are more people whom can respond in New York City than there are in Paducah.

But even in the large urban centers, the majority of respondents in the survey felt that services were still lacking. When asked, I tell families to try to determine where they might find the greatest amount of support. When I was working in rural Alaska, some parents felt some sense of urgency about moving to a larger city for better services. Then I’d see their child with autism playing after school with their cousins who lived in the village, attending school in the village alongside classmates they had grown up with since birth, fishing with their grandfather who was an elder in the village. These children may have had to take a plane in order to see a neurologist somewhere, but they were able to spend every day with an incredibly supportive community.

So where IS the best place to live if you have autism? Parents every day make this personal decision. I look forward to the day when there is no “best” place to live … because every place will be a good place to live.

Special in-store craft event at A.C. Moore stores tomorrow!

by Kristen Barnfield

As another way to celebrate April’s Autism Awareness Month, A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts is once again providing a fun and creative forum to build awareness and support Easter Seals autism services in stores.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 9, 2011, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time, A.C. Moore will throw a free in-store “Make and Take” craft event at all of its 136 locations.

Make an outing of it! Your family can come into the store to decorate an Act for Autism jigsaw puzzle together. Completing a project together can be a great opportunity to spend time with your family and to talk about autism.

Can’t make it out to one of the A.C. Moore locations? You can also go online for instructions to create a puzzle at home (PDF). It’s a way for you to play with your kids, decorate a jigsaw puzzle, and to learn about autism all at the same time.

A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts store is also helping out Easter Seals from March 27th through May 7th — shop now and you’ll be able to donate $1 to Easter Seals’ Act for Autism campaign at checkout. The money raised will support Easter Seals autism services in local communities.

Last year, A.C. Moore’s efforts raised over $141,000 to support Easter Seals autism services, giving thousands of children and adults with autism access to critical services that help them live, learn, work, and play.

Baby sign language helps children with autism

by Crystal Ward

A story in the Daily Herald called “Baby Sign Language Opens Doors for Early Communication” focuses on the Lily Garden Child Care Center here at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region. The article talks about how the use of baby sign language can play a significant role in helping children with autism by increasing their vocabulary and cognitive skills.

Tara Kehoe, speech pathologist and manager of our speech and language department was quoted in the article:

Baby sign language can be a great way to help you communicate with your baby even before language develops. Baby sign language helps babies who are ready to communicate, but can’t quite bridge the gap to full speech.

Tara also shares some basic signs in the article and provides a list of resources for parents. Our speech therapists and teachers in our Lily Garden Child Care Center are passionate about teaching communication skills to children of all abilities. If you live anywhere near the western suburbs of Chicago, we’d love the opportunity to teach your child. Visit our web site or call us at 630-261-6283 for more information.

Future teachers learn All Kids Can™

by Beth Finke

I started off Autism Awareness month last Friday visiting a college class of future educators. Many of the students I talked to at Elmhurst College will be teaching this Fall, and it’s likely they’ll have children with autism in their classes.

I recommended a number of resources for these future teachers to use in their classrooms, including a link to All Kids Can. Created by the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, All Kids Can is a $25 million commitment to making life easier for children with disabilities. Through this signature program, CVS and the Trust help nonprofit organizations like Easter Seals raise awareness in schools and in local communities about the importance of inclusion.

I’m confident the students I talked to last Friday will do well in their new careers, thanks in part to programs like All Kids Can. This CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust Program not only helps teachers do their work, it also serves to remind all of us that … All Kids Can!

Safeway receives well-deserved philanthropic award

by Beth Finke

What a great way to start off Autism Awareness month! I just got news that the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) awarded its 2011 Freeman Philanthropic Services Award to our all-time top corporate Sponsor: Safeway, Inc.

The Freeman Philanthropic Services Award honors a corporation that demonstrates outstanding commitment to important causes through financial support and encouragement, as well as the company’s ability to motivate others to take on leadership roles in their communities. Here at Easter Seals, we know first hand how deserving Safeway is of this award.

Since 1986, Safeway and thousands of its employees nationwide have raised $112 million to help Easter Seals provide services for people with autism and other disabilities. One of the largest, most successful fundraising events Safeway hosts is its annual People with Disabilities Campaign held each April during Autism Awareness Month. All 1,700-plus Safeway stores across the United States and Canada and its family of brands (Vons, Tom Thumb, Dominick’s, Randall’s, Genuardi’s, Carrs and Pavilions) raise funds to support Easter Seals services in local communities.

This year’s campaign has just kicked off and it extends through April, giving customers the opportunity to shop where it counts the most — knowing their dollars will change the lives of families living with autism and other disabilities. Safeway has contributed hundreds of millions to other causes as well: cancer research, education, food banks and more.

The award was presented to Larree Renda, executive vice president of Safeway and Chair of the Safeway Foundation, at the organization’s 48th International Conference on Fundraising here in Chicago. Look for another post later this month where I’ll highlight some of the many, many autism-related programs Safeway supports at Easter Seals. Right now, though, I’m going to take a step away from the computer keyboard and raise my cup of java to this well-deserved award!