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The conference held for First Responders on March 27th was a success! About 45 people attended and participated in the discussion on autism and preparing First Responders for dealing with persons on the spectrum. Mr. Dan Martelle was very effective, not only with his EMS background, but also because he lives with autism every day. His grandson Ryan is autistic and non-verbal, so has many challenges. I hope to bring Dan back again.

The Learning Early conference will be held in Sayre on April 23rd, 2010. It is sponsored by BCRAC (Bradford County Regional Arts Council) There will be two sessions addressing Autism. I have been asked to represent AH by obtaining speakers on autism. For more information you can contact brooks@bcrac.org. That is Brooks Eldridge-Martin, coordinator of the event. Dan Martelle will also be speaking at this event, gearing his words toward early childhood care providers and educators.

Plans for this year's fund raising Autism walk are underway. The date is Sunday, May 16th. I am hoping holding it on a Sunday does not deter many. It has just been too difficult to coordinate Saturdays with the school district until the last minute and it makes it hard to plan. The district has been extremely generous letting us use the facilities, so I am grateful to have use of the space, no matter the day! Watch the site for further details. The pledge sheets, registration, etc. are now available for download. T-shirt orders will be on-line again as well. Thank you for your support!

As of today, April 17th, the tshirts are not yet on line, but will be in the next couple weeks. A decision will be made at the next board meeting on the 22nd as to type and color for this year. Remember to contact us if you want to be a sponsor and have your business name on the shirt.
Sandy

Reader's Reviews
Have you read a good book on Autism lately?
If you have and would like to share a title and make a comment about it, please email it to me at
AutismHearts@stny.rr.com
I will then place it here for all to share! Sandy

Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum-A Practical Resource of Play Ideas for Parents and Carers by Julia Moor

As indicated by the title, this books offers every day practical ideas for playing with and teaching the autistic child. Great ideas!-recommended by Sandy

When you become a friend to a person with autism, you both learn a lot from each other. Here are some ideas that can help you be a better friend to a kid with autism.

Know that some kids with autism are really smart, just in a different way.

Wait..give him or her extra time to answer your question or complete an activity.

Sit near your friend whenever you can and help him or her do things if they want you to.

Protect your friend from things that bother him or her.

Be patient. Understand that your friend doesn't mean to bother you.

Talk in small sentences with simple words and use simple gestures like pointing.

Invite your friend to play with you and to join you in group activities. Teach your friend how to play by showing him what he can do in an activity or game.

Join your friend in activities that interest her.

Help other kids learn about autism.
(Tips provided by ASA)

Egan's Story-In November of 2002, Egan was a typical 1 year old baby. He said "mama, baba, dada, flower, dog..." all the usual baby words! At about 15 months of age, Egan changed. He lost his vocabulary and seemed to be in a daze a lot of the time. He also had terrible bowel issues with many diaper/underwear changes daily. The only things that made him happy were food (specifically milk and pasta) and moving. He loved his baby swing and would have stayed in it for hours if I let him. He was also very "moody", for lack of a better word. He was not my baby anymore...he was different and in a bad way. I was very confused about what was going on with him, so of course we ventured to the pediatrician. Mind you, I had two older children and was pretty versed in the normal and abnormal behavior of kids. I KNEW Egan's changes were NOT normal. I was reassured by the pediatrician that Egan had" two older siblings who talked for him" and that he was fine. Assuming I knew nothing and a medical person knew something, I relaxed, for about two minutes. I wasn't really sure where to go for help or what to do, but I knew he should be talking, so I thought I'd tackle that first! Egan began receiving speech/language therapy shortly after his second birthday. After a few months of speech therapy, Egan's therapist gently broached the subject of Autism. I had done some research on my own, but kept ignoring the signs and red flags, telling myself, "my son doesn't have Autism, no way." I initially said "HUH? You really think so?" and then moved on to discussing his progress or lack there of.
It was later that same day that it really hit..My
son DOES have Autism. So what now? How do
I fix him? I was advised to get a diagnosis, so I
did. Just before Egan turned 3 years old (2004),
he was diagnosed. It was official. After a good
hard cry, it was   time to get to work! The next
few years were filled with tons   of reading and
hopeful thoughts. It was the summer of 2008
we decided to try a new diet for Egan. We
had     heard    amazing     things    about   the
Gluten/Casein Free Diet and gave it a whirl. It
has been the best thing to ever happen to Egan and us! His vocabulary grew immensely and no more tummy problems. Egan is just a happy, well-engaged, fun loving 7 year old. I get a ton of hugs and kisses every day and I can just tell Egan has changed again in a very good way.   I encourage you all to educate yourself on options. It's a learning process. What works for one may not work for another. A lot of trial and error goes into finding what works...DON'T EVER GIVE UP!!!

This is a previously printed story.