NEW! Hawaii Autism Foundation Partners with TACA for Vision Therapy in Hawaii

BIG NEWS!!  TACA will be administrating the Hawaii Autism Foundation Vision Therapy grant. Services for this grant will be provided by Dr. Angel Lopresti, a developmental optometrist from Southern California.  While many children with special needs may have 20/20 visual acuity, they may still have vision related learning problems like poor tracking, focusing, eye teaming, a lazy eye etc, etc, etc.  Dr. Lopresti specializes in remediating these problems.

TACA and the Hawaii Autism Foundation are putting together a conference call for parents who are interested in learning more about Dr. Lopresti's services. This call will take place on Tuesday, August 28 at 7pm Hawaii time. 

Participants should call into: Conference Dial-in Number: (559) 546-1000
Participant Access Code: 381456#
This is a free call if you have free long distance on your phone. Otherwise, your prevailing long distance rate will apply. 

During the call Dr. Lopresti will be going over a Powerpoint which introduces vision therapy and also answering any questions that you may have about the vision therapy program. If you plan to participate in this call, please rsvp to Debbie Zimmerman debbie.zimmerman@tacanow.org and she will forward you the PPT. Families working with Dr. Lopresti will meet once a week for a 45 minute vision therapy session and then be asked to work with their children on vision exercises for 20 minutes per day.

If you have questions about this grant, please email Moira Giammatteo at moira.giammatteo@tacanow.org

ANNOUNCING – Hawaii Autism Foundation Vision Therapy Scholarships

TACA is proud to be administering the Hawaii Autism Foundation Vision Therapy Scholarships. These scholarships were made possible by a Sony Open Grant awarded to the Hawaii Autism Foundation specifically for Vision Therapy treatment. This scholarship will be $1450 towards the cost of Vision Therapy Treatment with Dr. Angel Lopresti. The remaining costs of the treatment would be the responsibility of the patient.

Eligibility Requirements:
To be considered for a partial scholarship, applicants must be a full-time student and meet the following criteria:

• Children diagnosed with autism who are full-time students
• Can demonstrate financial need
• Are committed to perform 15-20 minutes of therapy activities a minimum of FIVE days a week
• Attend vision therapy session once a week with Dr. Angel Lopresti and vision therapist
• Agree to adhere to the policies and procedures of Angel Eyes Optometry
• Have completed the vision therapy evaluation OR are willing to pay approximately $550 out of pocket for that evaluation. (While Angel Eye Optometry does not accept insurance and expects payment in full at the time services are rendered, this evaluation may be partially reimbursed by certain insurance plans.)
• Are willing to share their story

Private and home schooled students are also eligible to apply for this scholarship. 

This scholarship pays 50% of the cost for weekly Vision Therapy treatment up to $1450.  (Vision Therapy Treatments cost $145/session; therefore, this scholarship subsidizes $72.50/week up to $1450).  Any additional expenses after the scholarship has been utilized in its entirety will be the full responsibility of the patient’s family.
Scholarship payments are made directly to Angel Eyes Optometry.
Beneficiaries who fail to comply with scholarship requirements will forfeit their financial aid.

Application Criteria:
Include with completed application:

• A recent photograph of the applicant.
• A copy of the applicant’s most recent academic progress report (report card) and/or proof of enrollment.
• Proof of diagnosis. (Need not be the entire evaluation, just the page with the child’s name that confirms diagnosis.)
• Copy of current year to date pay stub for all household wage earners AND most recent Tax Return.   
• Copy of a utility bill to prove residency in Hawaii
• Copy of your most recent tax return.
• Date you became a TACA Member.
• Completed Vision Therapy Prescreening Questionnaire form.

DEADLINE:
SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 – this is a RECEIVED BY deadline. Completed Application must be received by September 11, 2012 in order to be considered.
MAIL COMPLETED APPLICATION TO:

TACA/HAF VT Scholarship
2222 Martin Street
Suite 140
Irvine, CA 92612