By Lisa Ackerman The 2nd Annual National Autism Speaks conference took place July 26-27, 2013 (1.) I wrote about it briefly on this blog (2.) The good news, this conference had several bright spots including; Dr. Sue Swedo, Dr. Alesso Fasano, Dr. Margaret Bauman and Dr. Paul Carbone. Their focus on testing and treatment co-morbid... Continue Reading →
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans
By Moira Giammatteo Family Scholarship Program and Parent Mentor Program Manager When you think that you have things under control that is when something hits the fan. Five years ago we had three seizure events in our house. Vico had three grand mal seizures at age 11. One resulting in a nice scar on the... Continue Reading →
Retard! Autistic – Part 3
By Lisa Ackerman Sadly, I thought the topic above would be a “one time” blog (1.) Occasionally, someone in the public eye says something that can deeply offend others. Using the word “retard” happened again in a song. Rappers J. Cole and Drake released a new song, so here we go again with the words “autistic”... Continue Reading →
Overcoming Autism – From My Child to the Community at Large
By Guest Blogger: Eyal Aronoff When my daughter Leya was two and a half, Dr. Ira Lott of UCI diagnosed her with autism. She was non-verbal, had extreme food selectivity, did not complain about pain, would cry for no reason (sometimes for hours), could not follow simple three step instructions, and was unable to animate... Continue Reading →
Reminder: Everyone needs a break!
By Lisa Ackerman Taking a break is something I RARELY do. I am always plugged-in answering calls, emails and writing. (As of this publishing, I still need to finish 4 articles and 6 blogs - not to mention my JOB needs me to focus on 58 things too!) Well, for the next two weeks, I... Continue Reading →
Do you have a sick child with an autism diagnosis?
Action Alert Provided by Safe Minds Editors Note: Lisa Ackerman ACTION ALERT! Let the IACC and AAP know how sick your autistic child is/was, and about their unmet medical needs. SafeMinds believes that the lack of appropriate medical treatment for individuals with autism is a violation of basic human rights. Together we can improve... Continue Reading →
Where did the name “TACA” come from?
By Lisa Ackerman When the very first TACA meeting was held in my living room in Huntington Beach, California almost 13 years ago, I had no idea where it would lead my family (1.) The early days of our son’s diagnosis were frustrating. We spent countless hours researching, reading, talking – wasn’t there a better... Continue Reading →
GOAL!!!!
By guest blogger & TACA dad Chris Benbow “Dad, I miss hockey.” That’s what my 6 year-old son, who has autism, said to me a couple of weeks ago as we were getting ready for dinner. I can honestly say that I never expected to hear those words from him. I’m a sports guy. I... Continue Reading →
Finding My Voice: you can recover from autism
By Leya Aronoff My name is Leya. I am 16 years old and will be a senior in high school next year. Today, I would like to share with you something special about myself. -------- When I was two and a half, I was diagnosed with autism. At the time, fourteen years ago, there weren’t... Continue Reading →
The DSM-5 Nightmare
By Lisa Ackerman Since 2011, TACA has been warning families about changes proposed to the diagnostic guide used to detect autism (formerly known as the DSM-IV). The DSM-5 is the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders released at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting in May 2013. This is a... Continue Reading →
Moving Autism Forward by Team TACA 