By Melanie Sanchez – TACA Mom My son Andrew is 15 1/2 years old. He is non verbal, has autism, and a lovely contagious smile. He had a brief “sleep deprived” EEG done right after diagnosis when he was around 3 years old. It lasted less than an hour and hardly seemed worth the time and effort. At the […]
Tag: hope
From autism to skateboard star
By Jacqueline Garza Hi I am a TACA mom and I have an amazing, incredible 9 year old superhero son named Mason. Mason began receiving early intervention at 17 months and was formally diagnosed with autism at 2.5 years old. In April 2014, Mason participated in Volcom Autism Awareness Day brought to us through TACA […]
This is Reeve’s Story and Autism Journey
By Jennifer Baker – TACA Mom Reeve* was born via c-section at 38 weeks with an APGAR score of 9. Reeve was a relatively healthy infant who ate and slept well and met his developmental milestones until approximately six months of age, when his development hit a plateau. Reeve didn’t respond to his name and […]
What is Autism and Why do I have it?
By Melody Benbow – TACA Co-coordinator New Jersey We knew one day Cal would ask this question, however, in my head I always thought I would be so much more prepared with an answer. Instead, I stumbled through my words and gave an answer I was not satisfied […]
Wonder Twin Powers UNITE for Autism
By Gabriella True – TACA Co-Coordinator Connecticut I have twin boys who will be 11 years old this summer and one of them has autism. Although Timmy was diagnosed with autism just prior to his third birthday, he’s been in therapy since the second day of his life. His twin brother, Xander, and the rest […]
Girls have autism too
By Jackie Moore – TACA Georgia Every autism journey is different. This is our family’s journey with autism. Thirteen years ago, I gave birth to my daughter, Jordyn. At that time, I knew very little about autism. If you would have asked me what I knew, I think my response would have been […]
Our Two Autism Superheroes
By Paulette– TACA Mom We have 2 children, both diagnosed with autism. Our daughter, Sophie, is 6 and our son, Charlie, is 4-1/2 years. Sophie was born prematurely and with many complications after birth and in her first few months. She was severely anemic at birth due to a fetomaternal hemorrhage, suffered […]
Uncles should be fun
By Jeff Ottman, a proud uncle It was exciting for our whole family when we learned that my baby sister Lisa would soon be delivering her second child, a little boy. My wife Sheila and I were invited to the hospital to meet the little guy shortly after he was born. I could not wait! […]
Farewell 2012. Welcome 2013!
by Lisa Ackerman It’s the end of another year, 2012 is almost in the history books! It’s only in reflection that I am reminded that what feels like a blink now, wasn’t. As usual, TACA was a whirlwind of activity all year; helping families, building relationships, and expanding our community. This could not have happened […]
Real Stories. Real Hope.
You haven’t experienced joy until you have seen the TACA Facebook page (www.facebook.com/talkaboutcuringautism) or FLICKR Page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkaboutcuringautism/sets/72157632301247683/ . We asked families what they are celebrating in progress for their ASD child in 2012 last night at 4pm and over 140 photos and motivational stories were sent in. And more keep coming! I LOVE THIS! This […]
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 […]
Beware of false pessimism
By Lisa Ackerman When Temple Grandin’s life story was featured in a fantastic, Emmy Award winning HBO movie the scene between the psychologist and Temple’s mom Eustacia made me cry for two reasons (1.) For one, it’s heartbreaking to hear the autism diagnosis followed by no cure, nothing you can do, and to consider institutionalization. […]
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 […]
Videos of Hope
Charlie First Giving Calvin’s Story Alec’s Journey This is Autism Mom Jacey Capurso’s Video Response to the Chicago Tribune Story: “This Too Shall Pass…..” Read her article in the Age of Autism. By Quinn Has Autism Watch this two-minute video that shows the remarkable progress of Quinn. When he was diagnosed with autism at age […]
Family Scholarship Program: Notes from Families Who Have Received Scholarships
Wonderful notes from families who received scholarships from TACA Thank you so much for all your help! The scholarship was so helpful in moving my son forward on his autism treatment plan. We identified areas that needed additional work and have laid out a plan of action to correct these. For example his labs […]
Woody’s Story: On a Mission For Woody
When Woody was diagnosed with autism at age 2, I went into a mad dash for services and interventions. I heard that some mythical window closes at age 5; the once-elastic brain becomes concrete, impenetrable. Age 5 passed, then 7, then 10.
Akshay’s Story: There is No Such Thing as a “Window”
On March 21, 2002 my dreams to be a mother became fulfilled. I gave birth to a beautiful boy and we named him Akshay, in Sanskrit it means “everlasting.” I remember calling his name right after delivery and watching his little cap covered head flop towards me, hearing the sound of my voice. It was […]
G’s Story: It’s All in the Eyes
We didn’t expect our pediatrician to tell us she thought our infant son’s problems were signs of autism. But we are glad she did: in that moment she added precious months – maybe years – to his intervention. Determined to change the course of this disease, we learned that appropriate medical treatments, combined with highly […]
Dana’s Story: GFCF has removed the “FOG”
My daughter, Dana, is my 17-year-old Autistic child. She is my inspiration to appreciate and stay focused on the true blessings of our great world. I have been a single parent, raising Dana alone, since three months into the pregnancy. When Dana was 8 years old, she was labeled, after several attempts, as mild retardation, […]
Christian’s Recovery
I had Christian when I was 19 years old. For the first year of his life I couldn’t imagine anything being wrong with my baby. He smiled; he laughed; he rolled, crawled and walked on time. At age one he had a massive overload for his little immune system. He had two ear infections, a […]