by Lisa Ackerman “You say you are too busy to exercise, so prepare to schedule a lot of time being sick” Chef LaLa This quote captures an important topic: the parents of special needs children. Parents of children with autism and their families work extremely hard to get what their child needs from educational services,... Continue Reading →
Retard! Autistic!
By Lisa Ackerman As a parent of a teen diagnosed with autism nothing makes my skin crawl and me more upset then these words - especially together: Retard! Autistic! Especially in a mean, cruel statement. I am a child during the 1970's and the derogatory statements once commonplace plus more I don't wish to repeat... Continue Reading →
Autism Fairy
by Lisa Ackerman Like most folks, I receive a lot of mail. Some junk mail, bills, and many letters from families needing help. On a regular day there are 3-10 letters to review, refer and answer. This week was a special week. I received a handwritten letter addressed to me that contained something very special.... Continue Reading →
Ode to Joe & all dads
Guest blogger Charlie (age 10) doesn't let autism get in his way talking about his hero dad Joe. We will let him share his thoughts. Ode to Joe is to all dads. We love all the TACA super dads. We appreciate and love you. Happy Fathers Day! Write your ode to a special dad in... Continue Reading →
On the front lines: calls that make us at TACA smile
A little ditty by Lisa Ackerman Another parent called to let us know her son with autism won't need an aide next year. He has graduated his class & is completing grade level work! After four years of early intervention and a myriad of biomedical treatments unique to the child's needs her son will be... Continue Reading →
TACA’s Secret Weapon is YOU!
EDITORS NOTE: This was too good and we had to share. If you do not live in the beautiful State of Hawaii (ahhh... Hawaii!!!) please just insert your state name instead! The secret weapon of success lies in every family in every parent. The secret to success is within YOU. Let TACA help you find... Continue Reading →
Picnic V.9.0!
By Lisa Ackerman Every year, I am full of excitement; it’s not Christmas or my birthday, but it is absolutely my favorite time of the year. It is PICNIC TIME! This event is my favorite event of the year. I am happy to share with you the 9th Annual Family Picnic on Sunday, June 10th... Continue Reading →
Can you hear me? A fathers love
TACA dads rule. Please see why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI6dmkM8F_8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Annual Cost of Autism
By Lisa Ackerman In May, new figures were released highlighting a huge increase in the annual costs of autism which have soared to $137 billion a year (1). This represents a three-fold increase within the last decade. If you ask “who pays for autism?” my answer would be everyone. We know many families living with... Continue Reading →
Autism in Past Tense: Recovered. Really.
By Guest Blogger: Holly Riley In November I spent four whirlwind days at the Autism Research Institute’s conference in Las Vegas. This was not a vacation. The ARI conferences are intense and full of information, and I was volunteering as a Parent Mentor at the TACA booth and Coffee Talk meetings. So when I wasn’t... Continue Reading →
Moving Autism Forward by Team TACA 