Autism Society San Diego

Have you gotten your tickets for Autism's Got Talent Live, happening Saturday, April 17th at the Del Mar Fairgrounds? Tickets start at only $30 for your entire carload of people, and can be purchased here: https://autismsocietysandiego.networkforgood.com//26324-au Autism's Got Talent Live Performer Spotlight: ALEXANDER PRUETTING Diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, Alexander has spent his life overcoming challenges and succeeding in his music and media endeavors. Having ...perfect pitch and a love of playing piano, saxophone and singing has allowed Alexander to express himself through music. As a student of Poway High School, he earned a spot in Southern California District and California All State choirs as well as trips with Poway High School’s Choir to Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco in 2017 and Carnegie Hall in 2018. Also, during high school he participated with the International Academy of Jazz and participated in Poway High Schools Jazz, concert and marching band programs all four (4) years. Since high school he has performed with RB Chorale and North County Winds wind ensemble with local performances including the Poway Center of Performing Arts. He has also had the fortune to be a premier performer for the local Autism Society partnered with Mainly Mozart for events at Balboa Theater in downtown San Diego, Gillespie Field in El Cajon, CA and Qualcomm for an Autism fund raiser and movie premier. He also plays in a rock and roll band with his brother, Nathan, called Major Distraction, and really hopes to get past COVID so that they can start performing in public again. Alexander also has a certificate of completion from Studio West in sound recording and is currently a student of Options for All Film and Media school in San Diego, CA. He has participated in projects for film like the 48 Hour Film Production where he wrote, performed and recorded the music score and sound effects. Alexander would like to thank his parents, his band, and those that have provided him services, lessons and support over the years. You can learn more about Alexander at his website www.alexanderpruetting.com. See more

A big thank you to Brightside Law Group for being a sponsor for Autism's Got Talent Live! Be sure to get your tickets and join us at this drive up style concert at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 17th! Tickets are available here: https://autismsocietysandiego.networkforgood.com//26324-au

Wishing you all a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!

Join us tomorrow, Wednesday March 17th, for our March Virtual Coffee Talk! Stop by for information and support any time between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM. We hope to see you there!!

This eye-opening article from Michelle Sara explains so much about autism when looking at the role of movement differences and their relationship to sensory and social transactions with the world around us.

We were so happy to be able to play Santa Claus today thanks to a generous donation from our friends at TruHugs Weighted Blankets! We were able to give out beautiful high quality weighted blankets to some of our members to help them relax and enjoy the holiday season!!

Join our friends at Unscripted Learning for a virtual play reading benefitting their programs, like Connections, which uses improv to help autistic teens learn social skills. FALLING boldly explores the dynamic and complicated reality of a family with an autistic young man. The show is available for streaming anytime from Thursday, January 14th through Sunday, January 17th. Tickets at https://unscriptedlearning.org

A huge thank you to our good friends at Flex Watches for being such a generous supporter of our organization! In addition to these 15 watches they donated for our #GivingTuesday campaign, they also recently donated $6600!!! We truly appreciate their support and how it helps us fund important programs like swim lessons, our camp programs, and more!

The team’s interdisciplinary approach allowed them to tackle big questions around autism and connection through a multifaceted lens that incorporated psychological, ethical, and cultural context. In particular, they wanted to challenge the popular deficit view of autism that describes the condition in terms of impairments relative to neurotypical development. The dominant perspective on autism for decades has conceptualized autistic experience and capacity as just the abs...ence of what ‘normal people’ have, explained UCSC associate professor of philosophy Janette Dinishak. That’s dehumanizing in itself, but we also have to appreciate how little we come to understand about a person if we just see them as the absence of something else. UCSC psychology professor Nameera Akhtar added that the key to flipping the script is to see the person that’s there, which mothers in the study demonstrated in a variety of ways. One of the major trends identified in the research was that mothers attributed rich personalities to their nonspeaking autistic children, providing a crucial lens through which to interpret their behavior.

San Diego County vaccination update

Sign up for a FREE SAFARI EXPRESS VIRTUAL ANIMAL PRESENTATION on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 11AM! We have a limited number of spots so register now at: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSff6Fmp6v09fjolOK/viewform Join the Safari Park for a virtual animal presentation where you will have a chance to see some of our animal ambassadors up close. During your private program you will have the chance to learn about the animals that live at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and ask any questions you have about our animals and what it takes to care for them. Each program last between 30 45 minutes and will highlight multiple animals that vary by program. Engaging directly with these animals builds connections between people and wildlife and provides wholesome, educational entertainment. We look forward to having you virtually visit the Safari Park!

Equal parts immersive cinematic experience and bold challenge to neurotypical stereotypes, #TheReasonIJump opens January 8 in virtual cinemas supporting independent theaters: kinomarquee.com/jump Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, later translated into English by author David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film bl...ends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe. Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distills these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.

If you're planning on voting in person today, be safe and bring the Disability Vote California emergency Voter Assistance Hotline phone number with you! Si plan...ea votar en persona hoy, tenga cuidado y lleve consigo el número de teléfono de la línea directa de asistencia al votante de emergencia de Disability Vote California. VOICE 1.888.569.7955 TTY 1.800.719.5798

"It feels like forever since we took up residence in the United States of Anxiety. As the months drag on, that mix of fear and fortitude I felt at the beginning of the pandemic is giving way to fatigue and frustration. The crisis isn’t abating anytime soon. Yet surprisingly, the uncertainty and angst feel familiar. I know this road. As a parent of a child with special needs, I’ve been traveling it a long time, learning how to stay flexible, adjust expectations and persevere." https://www.nytimes.com//f/autism-parenting-pandemic.html

When San Francisco's de Young Museum put out an open call last summer for artworks by Bay Area artists for a special exhibition, it got nearly 11,000 submissions, which a jury then whittled down to just under 800 -- not knowing who the artists were behind the works. It came as a surprise when it was revealed one of the pieces chosen -- an abstract blue painting with layered colored squares was somewhat symbolic of the colorfully layered artist behind it -- a severely autistic San Mateo teenager named James Lee de Guzman aka "Jamesey."

Our president was interviewed by SD Voyager Magazine recently.

"It was very surreal," resident Eileen Shaklee said. "Pretty much every neighbor came out. It's not what you normally see, and it was fun." The hot dog-shaped vehicle, and its two Hotdoggers, "Cold Cuts" Chloe Kersh and "Chili Dog" CJ Zabat, were there to see Shaklee's 16-year-old son, George, who has autism. They found out about George after reading Shakee's blog, which featured a picture of him dressed up as a giant hot dog, his favorite Halloween costume. The blog's message: don't be judgmental when you see a teenager or adult trick-or-treating.

De-stigmatize autism

Autism's Got Talent Champion was featured on CBS 8 tonight. Congratulations Jonah, AKA DJ the King!

"The sprawling industry that has coalesced around ABA is causing frustration for many technicians, clients and experts alike. Plenty of therapists in a wide range of settings, including schools, homes and clinics, do ABA well, and plenty of studies support its value, says Zachary Warren, a clinical psychologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. But ABA’s worth depends greatly on who is delivering it. And as autism diagnoses and demand for ABA have risen over the past decade, how to ensure people are qualified to deliver the therapy effectively has become a point of contention."

A picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s what train conductor and photographer Phil Martin Jr. aims to achieve through his work. The Washington, D.C. conductor, who is on the autism spectrum, is speaking out about awareness for the disorder. Martin was diagnosed with autism at a young age. He has also suffered from homelessness and PTSD however, his dream was to one day make his love for trains a career.

Happening today at 7 PM!

The district launched its first phase of school reopenings on Oct. 13, welcoming for in-person instruction elementary school students with special needs and those who had fallen behind during distance learning. One parent said she was at first relieved when she heard about the plan, but quickly learned that not all students would be accommodated. I was excited because I felt like it would be great to get him back, said Ashley Lewis, a parent of a fourth-grader at Ocean Bea...ch Elementary. It wasn’t until I found that it was going to be different on a school-by-school basis. It was just a huge disappointment when we found out, oh he’s not gonna get these services in person. Lewis’ son is on the autism spectrum and struggles with focusing in front of the computer. She said the school wasn’t offering much in-person instruction because not enough teachers had volunteered to participate in the first phase of reopening.

A California family are hurt after they received an anonymous complaint about their 6-year-old daughter living with non-verbal autism. Kayla Newton is a lover of the outdoors and lollipops. Living with non-verbal autism, she communicates through shouts and noises. It’s a way for her to get out her energy and for her to relax. These noises calm her, her mother Monica Newton said.... However, the family recently received a letter of complaint from an anonymous neighbor saying Kayla’s time outdoors is making it difficult for them to work from home.

It’s time to start thinking about #GivingTuesday, a global day of generosity on December 1st. How can you or your organization give back and help to provide a #SpectrumOfOpportunity for autistic people living in San Diego? Your donations to our organization go directly into funding needed programs like swim lessons and our summer camp programs!