ASCEND: Asperger Syndrome

This is an abbreviated edition of our biweekly enews. Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Upcoming issue:
Worshipping and autism.
Please forward information on faith communities that welcome people with autism. Send suggestions to Deirdre Wright.

JANUARY SUPPORT MEETINGS
All parents and other adult family members or caregivers of children/ adolescents/adults with Asperger Syndrome and similar diagnoses are welcome to attend any of our support meetings.

1/13, 7pm—Chester County, West Grove 1/12, 7:30pm—Delaware County, Havertown 1/21, 7pm—Montgomery County, King of Prussia

Click here for additional details. Any changes to this schedule will be posted on the ASCEND website.

New! To have your event listed in ASCEND’s enewsletter, please visit our website and fill out the online event form.

RFP from the Penn Autism Network
PAN’s fifth annual conference will take place on April 23, 2010, in Willow Grove, PA. Proposals are being sought for workshop and keynote proposals that concentrate on the needs of adults with ASD and those transitioning to adulthood. The proposal deadline is 01.05.10. PAN is the outreach and education initiative of the University of Pennsylvania’s Social Learning Disorders Program (SLDP). For more information, visit the PAN website.

Get a HANDLE on the Autism Spectrum
1.16-17.98, 9 am – 4:30 pm
Camphill Village, 1601 Pughtown Road, Kimberton, PA
With Carolyn Nuyens, Acting Co-Director of The HANDLE Institute. From the promotional email: “This 12 hour intensive course views the many challenges of autistic existence from a broad perspective, rooted in neurodevelopment. For more info visit the website or email Carolyn Nuyens.

Eating and Feeding Difficulties in Children with Autism
1.6.10, 6 pm
Elwyn Seedlings 3300 Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
With Jennifer Dawson, PhD, clinical director Southeastern PA Autism Resource Center. For families and professionals working with children with autism. Free. For more info, contact Karen Krivit. Phone: 267-784-2009.

Next Steps Conference
01.27.10, 8:30 am – 3 pm
3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $20 (includes lunch, & resource binder)
The Regional Autism Center and the Center for Autism Research at CHOP, along with Variety, invite you to an all-day conference on the next steps to take after receiving an ASD diagnosis. For more info, click here.

From the article: "Nearly 1 in 100 American 8-year-olds struggle with autism, Asperger’s syndrome or a related developmental problem, according to a study that health officials released on Friday.” The full report from the CDC can be accessed here.

From the article: "One in 110 American children are considered to fall somewhere along the autism spectrum, according to the latest report released by the federal government. The new figure, which was released initially in October, comes from the most comprehensive set of data yet on the developmental health of eight-year-olds."

From the article: "Today as I leave for Brazil, I go back to a place and a people that literally saved my life. Without Brazil, I wonder how I would even be alive today. Brazil was the place that taught me to finally be happy with myself despite my numerous defects. As a teenager, when I was diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition known as Asperger's Syndrome, it seemed like a death sentence.”

From the blog: "Although their unusual abilities compel considerable attention, there are fewer than 50 autistic savants worldwide. Daniel Tammet is one of them. Over 30 years, the London-born mathematical and language whiz has transformed from an awkward, reclusive boy into a confident adult.”

From the press release: "U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey today announced that Congress has approved $100,000 in federal funding to support Mercyhurst College’s progressive initiative on behalf of students with Asperger Syndrome, operated through the college’s Learning Differences Program.”

From the article: "Estelle B. Richman, who has led the state Department of Public Welfare for seven years, is stepping down to take a top post in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

Little Wonders Child Growth & Development Center
East Norriton, PA (Montgomery County)
The 2010 therapeutic group activities schedule can be found here. Little Wonders’ Winter Session starts January 11.

Acting Antics
Glenmoore, PA (Chester County) + additional satellite sites
The 2010 winter schedule can be found here. Offers classes for individuals from 3 years old through adult. Satellite classes take place in Jennersville, Paoli, and King of Prussia.

Outlooks newsletter from PADDC
This latest issue of Outlooks takes a look at the PADDC's work in the area of employment of people with disabilities. It follows October's 2009 National Employment of People with Disabilities Month in which the federal government, state governments and numerous advocacy organizations highlighted the advantages of hiring individuals with disabilities as well as the employment barriers faced by them.

Autism Internet Modules project
This is a project of the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI).
The AIM project will develop a series of 60 modules by the time the project is complete on topics including assessment and identification, characteristics, evidence-based practices and interventions, transition to adulthood, and employment. Module authors include experts on ASD from across the nation. These modules are available at no cost to any computer or digital telephone user.

Compeer
Compeer Inc. is an international, non-profit organization. In our region, Compeer matches caring adults in one-to-one, co-equal friendships. Their mission is to “…serve as a complement to mental-health treatment through social integration for every person who is diagnosed with a mental illness or an emotional challenge that wants and needs help, in every community around the world.

Poem from an ASCEND member
This poem was submitted by Thomas O. Willcox, III. He and his family have been ASCEND members since 2001. Thomas says, “This writing is dedicated to those who understand the autistic people of this world to be unique and special, and who would not want them any other way.”

The Autistic Plea for Understanding
Why do you look upon me the way you do,
you who see me as a standout.
When you look upon me,
you see someone who cannot think or know about
What it means to learn and to love,
you see me as having a disease that needs
To be cured, or as having been poisoned by a heavy metal,
you search desperately
For a cause, someone to blame, for I present a great cost
a gift that has become a burden.
To you, I seem unresponsive and in constant need,
and you want what you think is best for me,
to return me to whom I was before I changed,
the normal person that I was at birth.
By your fears you do not see,
that this is what I was meant to be.
I have great potential,
a mind that can set endless focus on a single task,
though I may seem unable to ask for help when I am in difficulty,
and I do not socialize
as you expect me to, it is not a fault of mine.
Open your eyes, and you may see that I am not diseased,
nor have I been poisoned,
and this fault you see is but a part of the whole of me.
See not only the muddy roots but also the beautiful blossom,
for I do not need a cure.
I need help to be sure,
but come to see the whole of me,
and then you can truly say that you love me.

Thomas O. Willcox, III
November 2009
C.W. Post Campus, L.I.U.

ASCEND Group Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. We do not endorse any specific professional or therapeutic treatment. We are not meant to be a replacement for medical or legal advice. Our mission is to raise public awareness about Asperger Syndrome and related disorders, to advocate for improved education and services, and to provide support and information to the Asperger and autism community.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. Any link or mention in our newsletter should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation.

The official registration and financial information of ASCEND Group Inc. may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.