October 2007 Newsletter

Upcoming Meetings

We are pleased to have Julie Swanson, a Special Education Advocate and Disability Specialist speak at our October meeting on Tuesday, October 30.  Ms. Swanson will be presenting 10 Things Every Parent Must Know to Effectively Advocate for Their Child with Special Needs.  We look forward to seeing you there

We're still finalizing the 2007-2008 meeting schedule.  We are working on scheduling dates for several presenters and will update the web site and newsletter as the dates are finalized.    

Announcements

There is an Asperger Syndrome Social and Support group for adults in the Hartford area. Information is available at: http://www.ct-asrc.org/asdsupport.html. There are some energetic and enthusiastic young adults leading this group and new members are welcome.

ASRC has formed a new networking group now forming for parents of teenagers ages 13 and up. You can find more information at http://www.ct-asrc.org/networking.html.

Wallingford Parks And Recreation Department is holding a series of adaptive recreation programs this fall. Wallingford has been a leader in facilitating programs for youth with special needs. More information is available at http://www.ct-asrc.org/adaptivep.html or by calling the Department at (203)294-2120.

Wrongplanet.net describes itself as "a web community designed for individuals (and parents of those) with Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, ADHD, and other PDDs. We provide a forum, where members can communicate with each other, an article section, where members may read and submit essays or how-to guides about various subjects, and a chatroom for real-time communication with other Aspies."  There is an active and vibrant community on-line made up primarily of individuals on the spectrum.  It's a great place to interact with others, share experiences, and learn. If you have an older teen or young adult on the spectrum, it may be a place for them to connect with peers.

Conferences and Workshops

We've updated the FAVAN web site to include a large number of CT and New England conferences and workshops scheduled for this fall, winter, and spring.  The following are some of the upcoming highlights.

Jewish Family Services is presenting a 5 member panel discussion titled Fitting the Pieces of the Autism Puzzle Together at Mandell Jewish Community Center, 335 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 7pm

The CT-ASRC will hold their annual Resource Fair on November 3 at Southern Connecticut State University.

The CT-ASRC will hold a conference "Inclusion for Kids with ASD" presented by Ruth Eren PHD and Barbara Cook MS-SLP at Southern Connecticut State University.  A session will be held on November 10 for school personnel and December 1 for parents.  Contact CT-ASRC for additional information.

Over a dozen other conferences and workshops are listed on the FAVAN website.