WHY HAVE A PLAN IN THE FIRST PLACE? As a country, we need to address this important health issue affecting 1 in 68 every US Children (1.) A more recent parent survey shows the number even higher at 1 in 45 (2.) Candidates need to know this should be a front-of-mind issue affecting many families living with autism. They also need to know we need help.
By Lisa Ackerman The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is meeting again on January 12, 2016 (1.) On the TACA blog we have written about the IACC for years (2.) Let me catch you up: IACC was founded by funds from the Combatting Autism bill in 2006. About $3 billion has been spent. Sadly,... Continue Reading →
by Lisa Ackerman It’s the end of another year, 2015 is almost gone! Um…. That went fast!! Where did time go? (I know I write a variation of this every year. But I am serious about the time flying part!) As usual, TACA was a blur of constant activity this past year; helping families, building... Continue Reading →
Guest blogger & Autism Super hero sibling: Culzean Giammatteo After the school year came to a close in the summer of 2013, I spent most of my time indoors, on whatever electronic device I had access to, reading. On this particular evening I was reading like I normally do and my brother, Vico, was... Continue Reading →
By Lisa Ackerman What comes after Thanksgiving Thursday? First, Black Friday. Then, Cyber Monday and don’t forget #GivingTuesday! Today is a day to support nonprofit organizations across the country. Just as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become traditions in the United States, organizers are seeing #GivingTuesday as a tradition celebrating the joy of giving.... Continue Reading →
By Lisa Ackerman In December 2013 the University of Minnesota published a study regarding the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) population in Minneapolis. The results documented the ASD overall rate: 1 in 48. Another major finding from the Somali population showed autism rates are 1 in 32 (1.) In a new report released today two startling findings (2)... Continue Reading →
By: Melanie Smith, Parent of an adult son with autism We have all seen kids around town heading to games in baseball or soccer uniforms. Their teams are concentrating on mastering the techniques and skills necessary to advance to the next level of the team sports ladder. But when it comes to team... Continue Reading →
Janice Kern TACA National Conference Coordinator TACA hosts events every week somewhere in the country. There are coffee talks, family picnics, TACA Meetings, Autism Learning Seminars, Family Hikes, TACA Birthday Parties and the list goes on. It’s a fact that TACA has some of the most creative volunteers you’ll ever meet. If they... Continue Reading →
By Gita Gupta Study Reports That the GFCF Diet is Nutritionally Safe A recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study by Hyman et al (2015) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26343026 looked at the Gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet and established that it is safe and does not carry any nutritional risk. The study excluded kids with ASD who have gastrointestinal symptoms. For... Continue Reading →
By Lisa Ackerman On September 15 2015, Dr. Thomas Insel announced he will step down as a director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NMIH) and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) (1.) This change is effective November 1, 2015. On this blog we have written about the IACC and their efforts since inception back... Continue Reading →
Moving Autism Forward by Team TACA 