Movie that Matters

April is Autism Awareness month. Autism: The Musical will be showing on April 25th at 4:30 pm at the Lynwood Theatre on Bainbridge Island.

This inspiring documentary follows the trials and triumphs of a group of autistic children who attempt to create and perform their own musical. Autism: The Musical begins with the sobering statistic that, a decade ago, doctors diagnosed autism in only one child in 10,000, but today one in 100 children is affected by the disorder. But things look up from there. Though each child in the film struggles with his or her individual challenges, this documentary provides an ultimately hopeful picture. Inspired by her autistic son's response to creative play, single mother Elaine Hall organizes the Miracle Project, which unites autistic children and their families in the creation of a musical. Autism: The Musical focuses on five children: energetic Henry, who boasts encyclopedic knowledge of dinosaurs and reptiles; quiet, angel-voiced Lexi; girl-crazy Adam, an enthusiastic cello player; Neal, Elaine's son, who is nearly silent; and chatty Wyatt, who endures bullying at school. By featuring a variety of kids whose autism is manifested in unique ways, the film gives a well-rounded picture of the disorder and its effects on families. Autism: The Musical bounces between each child's history and his or her present efforts at the Miracle Project in Los Angeles. It echoes past documentary hits such as Spellbound, but the children here have very different challenges. Audiences watching the film can expect tears of heartache at their plight, but each will be balanced by peals of laughter at the antics of the lovable children.

Autism Lecture Series

Autism 200 Lecture Series
Live teleconference participation is available on
Bainbridge Island. This series is FREE.

Autism 200 is a series of 90-minute classes for parents and caregivers of children with autism who wish to better understand this disorder. Faculty from Seattle Children’s Hospital, the University of Washington and community providers teach the classes. Each class includes time for questions. Classes are held at Seattle Children’s Hospital from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in Wright Auditorium or via web-cast on Bainbridge Islland through Children’s video and teleconferencing outreach program.

The Autism 200 class series is offered through the combined efforts of Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington Center for Human Development.

Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010
Instructors: Stacy Shook, PhD, Caroline Sheppard, M.Ed and Kristin McNally, OTR/L

“The Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) &
Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship Based Model (DIR)”

TIME: 7 – 8:30 PM
LOCATION: Bainbridge Highschool, Library Reading Room. For more information contact Elizabeth Saliba, B.I. School District’s ASD Coordinator, 780-1068 or ESaliba@bainbridge.wednet.edu

Autism 206: Communication Skills
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Instructor: Jim Mancini , MS, CCC-SLP
“Social Communication: Assessment & Treatment”
Location on Bainbridge: TBD

IAM Meeting

Wednesday, January 20th, 7 to 9 PM

Location: Tree House Cafe, Lynwood Center, BI

Hope to see you there!

IAM Meeting

Wednesday, November 11th, 7 to 9 PM

Location: 122 Winslow Way, Winslow Way Cafe

Topics will include on-going fund raising efforts for Bainbridge Island School District's WINGS Program, and Siblings of Children with ASD--Challenges and Opportunities.

Hope to see you there!

RSVP to catb@iam-hope.org

IAM Meeting

Please join us for our first IAM meeting of the school year.

This Wednesday, October 14th at 7 pm--tentative location "Winslow Way Cafe" 122 Winslow.

Please RSVP to catb@iam-hope.org for important meeting details!

Restoring Hope Conference, October 15th

Speakers: Dr. Gary Stobbe and Dr. Brian King

You will have the opportunity to hear from experts on:

* Effective behavioral interventions, sleep disorders, biomedicalinterventions, medications
* Successful school/family partnerships, evidence-based schoolpractices, positive behavior supports, social skills training
* Maintaining your marriage, handling challenging behaviors, parents aslong term care providers, families facing hard choices
* Sexuality education, transitioning to employment, housing options,risk and safety skills

Location:
Hyatt Regency Bellevue, 900 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004


*CostConference Only (early bird) $75Conference & Luncheon (early bird) $150Conference Only (after Sept. 23) $100Conference & Luncheon (after Sept. 23) $175Scholarships are available.

Resource FairAn all-day resource fair is being held in partnership with autismorganizations serving our region and will provide families with resourcesavailable in the community.

Please visit website for a list oforganizations participating in the resource fair.For more information & to register for the conference, please visit:www.tessera.org/conference.html

Social Skills Workshop in October

Michelle Garcia Winner is coming to Seattle October 6th and 7th! She is a speech language pathologist who specializes in teaching social skills and executive functioning skills. I highly recommend this workshop for parents of children who are working on their social cognition. This is a model and a curriculum that's used a lot in our school district- understanding this model will help you understand ways to teach social skills and executive functioning skills, and will help you understand and support what's going on at school.

If you can find a way to attend this workshop, you should be there!
http://socialthinking.com/