Night of Too Many Stars

From the Autism Speaks blog:
Comedy Central’s Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education is hosted by Jon Stewart and will air at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT. During the airing of “Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education” on COMEDY CENTRAL, viewers who call in to a celebrity operated phone bank and make a donation of $100 or more to the program will receive a complimentary White Castle Original Slider®-Scented Candle. Comedians include Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and many, many more. Viewers will be urged to call in to a celebrity phone bank to make donations. Answering the phones during the broadcast will be many of the comedians as well as George Clooney, Larry David and Jimmy Kimmel. Autism Speaks receives 10 percent of all proceeds. Check your local listings.

5th Annual Haunt for a Cure

The Haunt is a family friendly festival created and conducted by students at Chelmsford High School. There are games, music, food, and themed cabins to visit.

5th Annual Haunt for Autism

Sunday, October 24, 2010

12 PM to 5 PM

The Paul Center
39 Concord Rd.
Chelmsford, MA

Admission:
$5 per person
Children under age 2 - FREE
$20 maximum admission per family
Add $3 for the Haunted Trail
*Proceeds benefit Autism Speaks and The Paul Center

For more information:
http://www.thepaulcenter.org/files/Print_Flyer_2010.pdf
http://www.thepaulcenter.org/

Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid

This announcement was passed on to me from someone that works at LifeLinks:

Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid! November 9, North Andover, 7 p.m., and November 10th, Tyngsborough Elementary School, 7 p.m. Gina and Patty, real-life sisters and local authors of Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid! – A Survival Guide for Ordinary Parents of Special Children, discuss the humorous yet heartwarming side of raising imperfect "special" children in a world pre-occupied with perfection. For more information about the Andover night, visit The North Andover Parent Advisory Council (http://www.northandoverpublicschools.com/nahs/nahs_pac.cfm). For more information about the Tyngsborough speaking event, visit The Tyngsborough SEPAC (http://sepac.tyngsboroughps.org). Hear more about the Movement of Imperfection at www.shutupabout.com.

Another Article About Autism and Siblings

"Science News" had an article posted on Oct. 8th on its site. According to the article, siblings of children with autism may have milder ASD symptons that can go undiagnosed. Often many of these siblings are girls.
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/10/08/siblings-of-autistic-children-may-share-some-symptoms.html

Financial Workshop for Parents of Special Needs Kids

The Professional Center for Child Development will be hosting a workshop, "Planning for the Financial Future of Your Child with Special Needs" on Tuesday, November 9th at 7 PM. The workshop will feature Attorney Dave Burbridge who will discuss estate and special needs planning. To sign up for this event call 978-475-3806 x 217.

The Professional Center for Child Development
32 Osgood St.
Andover, MA
www.TheProfessionalCenter.org

Help for Families

Navigating the services for special needs children as well as filling out necessary paperwork can be daunting for families. The Massachusetts Family-to-Family Health Information Center is a FREE parent-run project at the Federation for Children with Special Needs. The center advises families on how to qualify and apply for MassHealth and how to receive different benefits such as private and public health insurance benefits. The center also offers information on community resources, has a listserv, conducts conferences and workshops. For more information Visit www.massfamilyvoices.org, or contact project director Beth Dworetzky at 1-800-331-0688, ext. 210 or massfv@fcsn.org.

Music, Social, and Career Programs for High Functioning ASD Teens and Young Adults

Beginning in October, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell will be offering various workshops for high functioning ASD teens and young adults. Some of the workshops:
SoundScape Music, Horizons College Preparation Mentoring, Career Chat Employment Skills, and Aspirations Social and Vocational Skills Support. Scholarships are available.

For more information visit http://faculty.uml.edu/ahillier/ or contact Dr. Ashleigh Hiller ashleigh_hillier@uml.edu or 978-934-2930.

Fall Calendar for the Asperger's Association of New England

Check out the fall calendar for the Asperger's Association of New England:
http://www.aane.org/
Some upcoming workshops:
"Understanding AS: Intervention and Strategies for Parents"
"Helping Teens Stay in Safe Relationships"
"Helping Your Child Make Friends"

Free Conference for Families Raising Children with Emotional, Behavioral, Mental, Physical and Other Special Health Care Needs

This year’s annual Joining Voices Conference topics: Navigating Health Care Systems, Available Services and Support, Health and Health Care Providers, Guardianship, Transition, Respite. The Keynote Speaker is Rosalie Edes (Executive Office of Health and Human Services). She will speak about updates in state programs and policies and the importance of family involvement in helping to shape programs for the disabled and their families.

The conference is free and will take place on November 3, 2010 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. For more information call Beth at 1-800-331-0688, ext. 210 or e-mail massfv@fcsn.org or visit http://www.massfamilyvoices.org/. Space is limited and registration is required. Please note that priority will be given to families with special needs children. Registration deadline is October 22, 2010.

Siblings of Children with Autism

Lately I've been noticing the beginnings of a trickling of research about siblings of children with autism. This brief article is from NPR's health blog:
http://http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/10/04/130324617/siblings-of-a-child-with-autism-often-have-subtler-problems

Something for Siblings

In the Sept. 8th posting I wrote about a program for siblings of special needs kids. The program is called Sibshops. See the Sept. 8th posting for details. The first workshop is this Saturday, October 9th. There is still space available. Contact Amy Young at 978-251-0610 Ext. 529 ayoung@lifelinksinc.net with any questions or to sign up.