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April is
finally here and I hope that means I will you see you at Fiesta by the Bay on
April 20th! Be sure to get there by 5:30 p.m.
to maximize your time at Glazer Children’s Museum. Please
remember tickets must be purchased online prior to the
event. This month many of our Autism Friendly partners
are hosting Sensory Friendly events throughout the area.
ZooTampa at Lowry Park and Naples Botanical Garden on April
14th, and MOSI on April 21st. As it is Autism
Awareness Month, I am sure there are many more wonderful events
scheduled as well.
The thing I love about these sensory friendly events is they
provide families a low-risk chance to try out certain outings.
Or, for those who have mastered the large venue visits, it can
provide a fun bonding time for the whole family with smaller
crowds. As you know, it is an autism spectrum and sometimes
where we are on our journey can be considered a spectrum too.
Sometimes these types of events might be your first attempt at
stretching boundaries. You might get there and decide quickly
that ten minutes might be the most that you or your loved one
on the spectrum can tolerate. But that experience of entering,
initial engagement, and excitement provides you with something
to build on for the next attempt. The important thing is to
never give up. Keep trying, keep collecting experiences until
they can be tolerated more easily. I always found it helpful to
preview the event or location with my daughter beforehand,
through the social stories often created by CARD, or online
videos, photos, and maps. And to provide distractions; for
example, when my daughter was reluctant to do something we
would give her a task of counting how many <insert certain
objects> she could find. You might just be beginning
your journey or not need sensory friendly events at all to
enjoy outings but I hope to see you out and enjoying one of the
many events available.
Michele Jewell
Constituency Board Chair
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Dr.
Karen Berkman, executive director of CARD was honored by HIPPY
National to be an invited plenary session speaker along with
Brenda Brinson, Hillsborough HIPPY Parent Involvement Program
Director at their conference in San Antonio on April 10, 2018.
They will be talking about their outcomes over the past 5 years
of this collaborative project for delivering a home instruction
program for children 3-5 years of age and applying it to
children diagnosed with ASD. Our data has shown academic,
social and communication progress in the participants and
higher levels of family engagement and a sense of confidence
within the caregivers. Several graduates of the program have
moved on to regular education kindergarten classes and are
performing at grade level or above. But progress is not always
measured by test scores. Children were described as more
cooperative, more engaged, calmer, and more focused when
caregivers did the curriculum activities together. One
graduate even made honor roll in his autism support classroom.
We were just notified that our CARD team working on this
project was nominated for the prestigious Avima Community Award
issued by HIPPY International for our commitment to families
and children. We will learn the outcome of that nomination at
the conference!
WORLD AUTISM DAY
The area
of employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder has
been a prominent topic in our field. This is also a
priority of the Learning Academy team at USF. As such, we have
gotten involved in a pilot project providing job coaching to
individuals at a local company in order to promote successful
outcomes. As a result of our efforts in the employment area,
Dr. Karen Berkman, Director of the Learning Academy was asked
to attend an invitation only event at the United Nations in New
York City for World Autism Day events. This specific event
included international leaders in the area of employment and
ASD from Fortune 500 Companies as well as others leading
efforts from universities and agencies. Opportunities for
networking and planning future projects was a part of the
event. Photos from the day are below.
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Only a
couple of weeks until Fiesta by the Bay is here!
Do you have your tickets? Tickets will only be sold online and
the last day will be Thursday, April 19th. So don't delay.
Tickets: $28 for adults & $10 for kids
ages 3-17.
Purchase your tickets today!
Glazer Children's Museum will open at 5:30 to allow
families to begin exploring and playing throughout the exhibits.
At 6 p.m., Fiesta by the Bay will begin on the 3rd floor and
guests can begin eating, grab a drink from the cash bar and view
the silent auction. Take a look at the amazing buffet provided by
Saltblock Catering here. Also, on
the third floor there will be craft activities for guest and
their children to enjoy.
Join the Facebook
event page to view
auction items and get the latest updates as we get closer to the
event.
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Click image to expand flyer
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We
couldn't be any prouder of Erica King, a Learning Academy
student, whose article was recently published in April's
edition of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine. Read the full article here.
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