Maurice: Autism Awareness Month redux

Posted by Maurice Snell on April 30th, 2009

April has been a great month! Many organizations helped celebrate Autism Awareness month nationwide, including our very own Easter Seals.I have been busy myself, going around and out of town meeting new faces and telling my life story. It all started with a trip to Great …Read More » »

Superbrain Yoga!

Posted by Beth Finke on April 23rd, 2009

A news feature on a California T.V. station reported that Superbrain Yoga — a five-minute yoga exercise designed specifically to help the brain — has been endorsed by Yale-trained neurobiologist Eugenius Ang, Ph.D. The TV spot shows a few children with autism doing Superbrain Yoga and includes a testimonial from one mother who says her son’s behavior improved …Read More » »

Strike a Boom! Maurice on Obama’s bowling score

Posted by Maurice Snell on March 24th, 2009

It has been a busy first two months for our 44th President Barack Obama. In those first two months, President Obama has issued a promise of change to a whole new America. As with every other president, it is not a cakewalk. There have been numerous topics for President Obama to deal with — the economic stimulus plan, AIG bonuses, …Read More » »

Third time’s the charm: Extreme Makeover this Sunday

Posted by Beth Finke on March 5th, 2009

Remember our blog post last March about the Extreme Home Makeover show? Back then, actress Marlee Matlin had appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to present a $50,000 college scholarship to Stefan Vardon. Stefan’s parents are both deaf and his younger brother has autism. Matlin is an amazing advocate for people with disabilities and is …Read More » »

Couple with autism featured on Good Morning America

Posted by Beth Finke on March 2nd, 2009

Here’s a follow up to Patricia Wright’s Autism, adulthood … and love post — you know, the one about the two young people with autism who fell in love and were featured in a Glamour Magazine article.

Well, that article must have caught somebody’s attention at ABC TV — after the magazine came out, David Hamrick, 29, …Read More » »

Surfing and autism

Posted by Patricia Wright on February 18th, 2009

It must be the weather … living here in Chicago in the dead of winter makes me want to talk about warm weather sports! Last year at about this time, we posted information about Surfer’s Healing, and now I just saw a great video on the Ocean Psychology blog about surfing and individuals with autism.

From that blog post, …Read More » »

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Posted by Jim Leiker on January 12th, 2009

I started my morning last Wednesday with a visit to KMAJ-AM radio in Topeka. Julie Smrha (Easter Seals Capper Foundation Marketing Coordinator and Marketing Partner) joined …Read More » »

With kids home from school, you need a break

Posted by Beth Finke on December 22nd, 2008

Breaks from school can be hard on kids with autism — not to mention their parents! While the weather is wintry, and the kids are home from school, Here are three ways to get some emotional support without leaving the house:

Watch the press conference about the Easter Seals Living with Autism Study. The press conference last Tuesday was so …Read More » »

Scottie Gaither passes on the baton

Posted by Barbara Gaither on October 29th, 2008

We returned on Sunday from an action packed five days in Orlando for the Easter Seals 2008 Convention. This trip was bittersweet for the Gaither family — it marked the time when Scottie passed the baton, so to speak, to the new child representative. Scottie and all of us have …Read More » »

Courting the “special needs vote”

Posted by Beth Finke on October 28th, 2008

Our son turned 2 right before the 1988 presidential election. Gus was enrolled in our local Birth to Three Early Intervention Program then, and would be entering the world of special education at our local public school the next year. If Michael Dukakis or George H.W. Bush had mentioned “special needs” in a speech or debate in 1988, I …Read More » »