Mikal Britt, Behaviorist 10+ Years This is a piece I wrote with a child with autism who preferred not to be mentioned. It’s 5 things we think your child with autism wish you knew, but maybe doesn’t tell you. We hope you enjoy! 1. They love you deeplyThey may not show it in the traditional ways, but your child understands on some level the importance and value of your relationship. They would be scared and helpless without you and they…
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Linda Andron-Ostrow, Executive Director Dateline NBC, which usually only brings a story about murder, this month brought us a very sad story of families with young adults with autism in states with no services. It was a very sad piece to watch (Click here if you’d like to watch). The services that are available in states like New York are isolating and limited. For us in California, this Dateline special should invoked a gratitude practice. We are the only state…
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Zoey Giesberg, FACT Intern & Future MSW As I go about my journey to self-acceptance, I find myself engaging in informal autism research and self-evaluation. The more I learn about autism, the more I figure out how it applies to me and how I see it as a whole. So I’d like to share some things I’ve learned about autism, and thus myself. 1. Autism largely occurs through genetic mutation When I received my diagnosis at the age of two, the…
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An acrostic is something kids usually do at some point in elementary school. We’ve all seen them. But when’s the last time you played with one? I recommend parents take the word AUTISM and make an acrostic. Do it by yourself or with your child. It might end up being revealing. It might be empowering. Or it might be plain silly. Either way, I think it’s a fun way to explore autism and the wide variety of attributes it can…
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We are just hours away from Autism Awareness Month. A month full of events, celebrations and opportunities to learn more about autism. This year, F.A.C.T. has teamed up with the Los Angeles Public Library to demonstrate our support for autism awareness. GAP Voice (our young adult public speakers) will be touring various libraries and hosting workshops. They will guide you through interactive presentations and discussion, you will hear insights about autism and get tips on how you can help individuals with autism feel…
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Linda Andron-Ostrow, Executive Director I spent a really incredible weekend with 800 therapists learning the importance of play creativity and mindfulness for the brain. We threw beach balls around the room and blew imaginary bubbles. We learned how to listen to each others sentences so that we could start a new sentence with the last letter of the last word. And we learned how to jump for joy. I realized how little time we make in our own lives…
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Zoey Giesberg, FACT Intern & Future MSW One of the most repeated things I’ve heard in grad school is the phrase “self-care”. It is basically what you think it is – taking care of oneself. It feels like a no-brainer to take care of yourself to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but to practice self-care you have to be able to take a break from whatever is bringing you down and remind yourself you are worth the care. And I can…
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By Kharlo and David, GAP Students Five Students went on a special outing to the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair on January 30th 2015 located at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. We saw artist’s work from all over the world. We talked to many galleries about their artist’s work they represented. We dressed very sleek for the occasion and fit right in the scene. Some of our favorite works and artist were represented by ACME Gallery of Los Angeles.…
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Martin, GAP Parent Our children, although they are young adults, have a long way to go to be more independent (By the way, this is also true of the college students I teach). The GAP is devoted to giving them those skills that contribute to their becoming adults who can make their own way (of course, with help). Every day they are at GAP they are learning and reinforcing what they need for the longer run. We owe it to…
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Linda Andron-Ostrow, Executive Director A riddle. When is spending every dime that you have a way to save for the future? As California moves to implement its Self-Determination Law this strange axiom will become a mantra. Self-Determination simply means that persons with a disability receiving services from the regional center, will have a large range of choice to design programs and services that they mesh with the goals that are developed in their person-centered plans and implemented by their individual…
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