TACAnow Guest Blog: By Amber Betzold Growing up with a profoundly autistic sibling has been an adventure. It has been at times both painful and enlightening. I think in some ways I matured faster than my peers with neurotypical siblings. Growing up with my brother, Beau, required me to learn patience, and I like to... Continue Reading →
So autism is common. Who cares?
By: Dr. Bob Sears – Pediatrician and TACA Physician Advisory Member Before you yell at me for the title, pause and sense the sarcasm. I do care; I care deeply. As a full-time practicing pediatrician, I have continued to witness an alarming increase in the number of healthy babies in my practice who regress into... Continue Reading →
What constitutes an emergency?
By Lisa Ackerman We are all too aware April is autism awareness month. With the release of the new stats/figures/numbers of 1 in 88 U.S. children diagnosed with autism (1) just days before April kicked off, another announcement was shared: the new IACC appointees (2). Sadly with exception of one, it appears to be the... Continue Reading →
1 in 88 hit me hard
New numbers, same reality By guest blogger: Alison Hamilton One in 88 hit me hard. I wasn't surprised, sadly. This isn't the first time since Leah's diagnosis that the autism rate has taken a jump in the wrong direction. But this one felt more personal. The CDC calculated one in 88 using children born in... Continue Reading →
Day Two: Autism ACTION month
In honor of autism awareness ACTION month, we will be asking friends of TACA to do something every day in April. Today’s task is very simple. Please take two minutes to watch a great video about Charlie and how his community is rising up to help him. Here is the link: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/kernfamily/TACACAMPAIGN2012 Here are several... Continue Reading →
April = Autism Action Month
Today is World Autism Awareness day to kick off Autism Awareness month. Some folks consider today a day of celebration. Some folks do not. There is a dad that sent me a very profound, touching email this morning about his severely affected son. His son does not sleep more than a few hours at a... Continue Reading →
The Autism Epidemic continues to rage on…
Will the new CDC autism rates make this disease a priority? By Lisa Ackerman Back in 1999, I was lost. I didn’t know what autism was. It was a foreign word with a vague reference to the movie Rain Man and a character played by Dustin Hoffman. Back then, when I started searching for answers... Continue Reading →
April is Autism Awareness Month
By Lisa Ackerman There are a lot of dreams for two grown people who come together, in love, with dreams to be lucky enough to create a family. In the early stages, you giggle "what will their eye color be?" while you silently pray they turn out identical to the ones you stare at. You... Continue Reading →
I CHOOSE ELLIOT..
Guest Blog By - Laura Sylvester Our autism journey has been a rocky one. Like most families we have marched forwards and backwards at times. In our quest to help Elliot be the best he could be, we have had to take some seemingly “backward” steps before we could continue “forwards.” One of those “backward”... Continue Reading →
Hope is a Big Word…
It surprises me how much the single word HOPE can make all the difference when living with a child with autism. Follow that word with EDUCATION and EMPOWERMENT and nothing but good things can happen. These powerful words, HOPE, EDUCATION and EMPOWERMENT are exemplified in a short but powerful note I received from a family... Continue Reading →
Moving Autism Forward by Team TACA 