Autism Speaks Inaugural Blue Tie-Blue Jean Ball at the House of Blues

What an amazing night!! Last night, Autism Speaks held it's inaugural Blue Tie-Blue Jean Ball at the House of Blues in Hollywood. By any estimate, it was a huge success! The energy among the sold-out crowd was energetic, happy and celebratory. It was a night for recognizing all that goes into raising a child with autism and rejoicing in the success that is possible, at any age. Gina Kilberg, senior veep of international media at Sony Pictures, who was the driving force behind the night's event, took the opportunity to recognize what she referes to as "Team Lukey," the many individuals that work for her son, among them therapists, teachers, advocates. She played a video on the jumbo screen that I have to admit left us all a little teary eyed. I was so happy to get to see Gina again. As busy autism-moms, we rarely get the chance to catch up with each other. Gina said she wanted to point out how many people it takes to get a child with autism through his or her school years. It takes an entire "team."

Autism Speaks Inaugural Blue Tie-Blue Jean Ball at the House of Blues, Hollywood

I am excited and honored to be going to tomorrow night's Autism Speaks Blue Tie-Blue Jean Ball. Among the VIP’s scheduled to appear are Sinbad, Toni Braxton, Brooke White, Gene Simmons, Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, Tommy Lee, Holly Robinson Peete, Paul Marciano, Mark Paul Gosselaar, Wayne Brady, Ed Asner, Alyssa Milano, Brian J. White, Max Burkholder, and cast members from GLEE, among many others. So many of those are personally touched by autism. 

I am even more excited to see another autism-mom that I know, Gina Kilberg.  Almost five years ago, when we were first starting our autism "journey," we went to an amazing speech therapist, Roberta. At that time, all I knew was that my baby boy was not even attempting to speak. He was not yet two years old, the doctors did not even think it was autism at that point, "So bring him to speech therapy, if you want." 

Autism Spring, a recent blog post by Dr. Thomas Insel

Autism Spring is a recent blog post by Dr. Thomas Insel, published June 28th. Dr. Insel is the director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.

As a rule, I try to not copy other articles in their entirety. As a taxpayer, I feel that work by the government is in a different category, and so I present the entire article below.

I find it very interesting to read what Dr. Insel finds important in autism research. I've mentioned him and the NIH before (We Can Be Heard) and how we must demand research. Hopefully this is just the beginning and will lead to much much more, as well as the interesting discussions that will follow.

"Looking back over NIMH related events these past few months, one might wonder if this has been Autism Spring. It has certainly been a busy season for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a White House meeting, unprecedented press coverage, and the largest International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) to date. But perhaps most exciting has been the early scientific harvest evident in a series of high-profile papers published over the past two months. Some of these discoveries with autism have implications for mental disorders like schizophrenia and mood disorders, which increasingly are being addressed as neurodevelopmental disorders.

While the new findings range from epidemiology to new diagnostic tests, here I will focus on new insights into the molecular basis of autism. Three studies, written up in the June issue of Neuron, based their findings on data from the Simons Simplex Collection.1,2,3 The Simons Foundation funded the collection of careful clinical descriptions and DNA from over 1,000 children with autism who were the only affected member of their families; such families are referred to as simplex, in contrast to multiplex families, which have multiple affected members. The new reports look specifically at copy number variations (CNVs). These are rare, structural changes in the genome leading to a deletion or duplication of a segment of DNA. Many of these are de novo, meaning that the duplication or deletion is not found in the genome of either parent but develop in the DNA of germ cells (egg or sperm) over the life of one parent. Small de novo changes in DNA sequence, which occur in all of us, demonstrate that effects can be genetic without necessarily being inherited. And, of course, these germ cell changes may be the result of environmental factors, increasing with parental age.

LA schools stop serving sugar-filled flavored milks in school!

Huge news! Last night on the Jimmy Kimmel show, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District John Deasy announced to Jamie that he's going to recommend that LA schools stop serving sugar-filled flavored milks in school!

This just shows that when thousands of us come together to demand for better for our kids, people WILL listen. When the TV cameras go away the Food Revolution will still be there as a powerful grassroots movement working for better school food across the country, but it takes lots of people joining in together to make it happen.

Food Revolutionaries sent thousands of letters to the new Superintendent and board of the Los Angeles Unified School District asking him to step up and make some real changes to the school food, and he got our our message.

Grassroots pressure from members of the Food Revolution in Los Angeles helped push the superintendent to decide to bring back plain milk, and this success can happen in every city for every school in America -- by building local networks of everyday people who want better for our kids in school, and who will take actions large and small to show it.

Flavored milk is just one change we can make to give better nutrition to our kids; there are still donuts for breakfast and chicken nuggets for lunch that aren't doing well for our kids' health. To make these changes all across America, we need to continue to build this powerful grassroots movement so that we will have a voice for better food in every city, in every school. You can help by simply inviting your friends to join and sign Jamie's petition.

All of us coming together can prove to the superintendents everywhere that we're willing to stand up for better for our kids.

Thanks for all you do,

The Food Revolution team   

Share |

Jamie Oliver says "Bring Plain Milk back to Schools!"

As MITH readers know, we've followed and supported Jamie Oliver and his Food Revolution from the start.  And we are not quitting! Too much sugar is threatening the health of our kids and we've got to do something about it. Sugar is a major contributor to health problems like diabetes and hypertension, and kids are getting loads of extra sugar from drinking sweetened chocolate and strawberry milk at school.  Sign on with Jamie Oliver and the Food Revolution to ask schools to switch back to plain, wholesome milk, and make sugary flavored milk an occasional treat. If you believe our kids don't need sugar in their milk, join our Sugary Milk campaign and sign up to bring plain milk back to schools.

The Food Revolution is progressing with baby steps!

Stay tuned! Watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Tuesday’s 8/7c on ABC. 

Share |

Surfers Healing A Foundation for Autism

Originally posted August 27th, 2010

Yesterday was the second time I've had the amazing privilege to go out to an event for Surfers Healing, the Foundation for Autism.  Surfers Healing is a wonderful foundation that puts on the special day a few times a year on the west coast for kids with autism, never excluding any other special needs, as well as many events around the country throughout the year. Surfers Healing was founded by Israel and Danielle Paskowitz. Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. A former competitive surfer, Israel hit upon an idea - with Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and Izzy steering from the back, the two spent the day surfing together. Suffering with sensory overload like many kids on the spectrum, Isaiah found respite in the ocean. Surfing had a profound impact on him. Izzy and Danielle decided they wanted to share this unique therapy with other children with autism.

Can you imagine, feeling everything so intensely, lights are brighter, noises are louder and more distinct, sensations and touch are more intense? For someone with autism, all of this in everyday life is overwhelming. Then there's the confusion of conversations and facial expressions, combined with the distractions of all of those sights, sounds, and sensations. And for some it can be difficult to perceive the proximity of people moving quickly around them and may feel uneasy or even threatened in their own space. It's something the rest of us will never fully comprehend.  But then you get onto a surfboard, your buddy paddles out with you.  You feel the ocean roll beneath you.  The sounds, the conversations, the fast moving

Kris's "What You Need-To-Know About Autism" for All Parents

I was filling Lisa in on some of our special-needs lingo the other day and it occurred to me, we need a tutorial, a cheat-sheet and glossary, for all those terms and acronyms we use every single day that seem to baffle the typical parents. So here's what I have. Some are a little more scientific, and not so much mentioned in my everyday chats with friends, but I've included a few of them anyway. 

I also thought it might also be useful to give a few important facts for autism. I know they're in the media all the time,  "1 in 110 children," but do you know how quickly these numbers are growing?! Do we realize how much money this is costing until we have some more answers or solutions for everyday living? Anyway, a little reminder of the pertinent facts never hurts.

And I have a few points that I want to get across to all parents of "typical" children. These facts are a big deal to me and are a Need-To-Know...

Merry Christmas Everyone! And Best Wishes for the New Year!!

Share |

Parenthood on NBC

I have to apologize to everyone, I'm a little delinquent in posting lately. My little guy started kindergarten a month ago.  Yes, a huge deal! And I've been so swamped with everything else going on. I'll have to tell you all about it soon. Unfortunately, MITH has taken a backseat.  And, as you know, my partner Lisa, was stressing over work and finding a new job in this tough time... but she has landed an awesome gig! Go Lis! You all have to tune in to the premier of The Talk on CBS on Monday.

But in the meantime, and to plug another network, I have to mention this amazing tv show on NBC.  I don't get to see a lot of tv, my dvr is full of shows I'd like to catch, and I never seem to get to it.  But Parenthood is a must-see for me.  When it started about a year ago, a few friends from our autism community started talking and wondering if anyone was going to tune in. The talk was there was going to be a family portrayed on the show getting a diagnosis and dealing with life with a child on the autism spectrum, Asperger's to be exact. I was really reluctant.  I don't usually like the portrayals of us in the media or on tv. We are portrayed as frazzled or misinformed, or most often, chasing down pharmaceutical companies yelling fowl at vaccinations.  After the premier episode, I got an email from a fellow autism-mom, "You have to see this!"  And I got another voicemail, from a non-autism friend, "You should be so proud." So I turned on the dvr and watched.

Another Parenthood (Life with ASD) Clip

Since I'm sharing those "so real" moments from my favorite show, Parenthood, here is another. I think my partner Lisa has witnessed me have this moment quite a few times: you look over and quite unexpectedly you see your friend or another parent having a wonderful sharing moment with their child, a real conversation, talking to each other, doing something together. And then you look at your child on the spectrum and you can't get their attention, you've never experienced a conversation, and trying to share an activity with your child is usually only after a lot of prompting, pushing, or briefly with coaching during a session of ABA. There are so many feelings in that moment: sadness, frustration, jealousy, love for your child and then guilt for what you may be feeling. For us living with a child on the spectrum, I think we can see all those feelings in Adam's face in this clip.

Share |

New Booster Seat Ratings in the News

New booster seat ratings are in the news today. The Inusrance Institute ranks the best and the worst models based on seatbelt fit.

In a new guide for parents, Linda Carrol reports for msnbc.com, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reviewed the seat belt fit of 72 models available at major retailers or online, assigning a “Best Bet” rating to the 21 boosters that provided a correct fit across the full range of vehicle types.

Oh, To Be a Child in the Summer

As the summer winds down... well, actually, it is mid-August and we still have a month left of summer in our area, and in LA it seems as though the fog and gloom has delayed our summer until recently... well, digressing... I can't help but think of the summer vacations I used to have as a kid and wonder how my son's compare. I don't know about you, but I can't even remember the days of being so carefree that my biggest thoughts of the day were when Mom would hook up the sprinkler to let us run through, or when Dad said enough time had passed since lunch so that we could swim. And for some reason, I had no fears back then, even of creepy crawly critters. Can you remember having enough time, or not knowing the concept of time, to be able to wander aimlessly through a field in search of buttercups and, what are those things called, those airy round balls that you blew into the wind?! It was a lifetime ago. 

And now I feel we have all become so over-worked, so over-stressed, even our kids.  My child has a different set of circumstances, being special-needs, he doesn't have time in a day to search for bugs. His days are filled to the max. But we all do that these days, between special activities and lessons and scheduling our meetings around all of that. When did life have to become so hectic? And to top it all off, I spend what little mind-space I have left with the mental arguments. "Could we possibly fit another few hours of something in on Wednesday's? No, he gets tired and burns out and then it will all be a waste. Could I fit a meeting in while he is in occupational therapy, or will I have to drive too far? No, I should stay and participate.

Nationwide Egg Recall Expands to 360M!

After The FDA announced the expansion of the Wright County Egg recall this week covering all five of the Wright County Egg farms, the nationwide recall has been expanded to 360 million eggs with salmonella food poisioning cases across the country!  

The original recall was issued on August 13 and was only for 228 million eggs on three of its farms. The recall has now grown after epidemiologic and traceback information indicated the contamination may have occurred at all five farms.

The egg recall has also added eggs in their shell in 6, 12, and 18-egg cartons under labels from Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast.

So Hollywood: Rocker Moms Not Soccer Moms

This is what you just gotta love about living in Hollywood!

After my lunch meeting yesterday, I stumbled upon an ultra chic baby boutique that, as Bret Michaels would say -- totally ROCKED!

Outside the store front reads: "Rocker Moms not Soccer Moms"-- I knew I must to go inside. The store is actually called Sugar Baby On Sunset  and their motto is: just because we've got kids, doesn't mean we can't be stylish.

Sugar Baby was founded almost six years ago by two woman, Christina Sitkevich and Lisa Akey, who are still very interested in the world around them and want to express it in various ways. They say "it's a big life, you should look good!"

Kim Kardashian Disses Breastfeeding in Public a al Twitter!

With a sister who just had a baby, I was kind of surprised that Kim Kardashian tweeted this while at lunch recently:


Kim: "Im at lunch, the woman at the table next 2 me is breast feeding her baby w no coverup then puts baby on the table and changes her diaper"


Okay, not sure what kind of mom would ever CHANGE their baby on a restaurant table - GROSS, but writing about mothers breastfeeding in public will certainly be subjected to major scrutiny amongst the mommy blogging land that's for sure!

Mel Gibson Latest Tirades and Domestic Violence

I think by now, we have all heard the incredibly abusive rants of Mel Gibson.  It is so upsetting. What can be somewhat of a relief is that Oksana, his girlfriend and target of his current rage, knows better to get out, has, and is getting help.  Many do not. It's disturbing to many who loved Gibson's films and admired his work. But often these abusers are deceiving, charming and seemingly nice in everyday life. What we can take from all this? Some learning, awareness and meaningful discussion.  My father has commented that it seems to be happening more often these days. I disagree, I think that now it is acceptable to speak about it, as compared to his generation when is was kept a dirty secret. Now it is ok to talk openly about domestic violence, to seek help, and to know it is not the victim's fault. No one needs to feel ashamed or humiliated. Emotional as well as physical abuse can quickly become overwhelming and completely controlling.

There is a very good website that a dear friend pointed out to me a while ago. Just logging on was incredibly eye-opening to me.

Bobbi Brown on the Today Show: Great Summer Skin is No Sweat!

Share |

The Today Show and Us Magazine's Summer Fashion Fixes

Share |

It's So Hollywood Splurge, But May Be Worth The $!

It's So Hollywood:

Must Have Little Maven - Production T- Shirt!

$28

Had to post this adorable t-shirt I picked up recently at Fred Segal  in Los Angeles for my son! It's so Hollywood, but being in the biz, Daddy's gonna love it.

Yes, FS can be pretty pricey, but if you're looking for something unique and ultra hip, you have to check out their kid section. I love it! Perfect for baby shower gifts and their signature items are always the talk at baby showers.

Here's an economical tip (to avoid any splurge guilt):

After your child grows out of a shirt like this, cut out the design (or leave as is) and frame it! I just did that with my sons baby USC jersey - looks great, with plenty of memories!

Little Maven Production Tee

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: Surfing for Kids with Autism

For those who know me, or even those of you who have read a little bit of this blog, you know that I am a strong believer in finding those little things that make us, while being so different, just like everyone else.  It keeps us connected, less isolated as parents and kids with special needs.  And, if you look at the bigger picture, it makes the world a smaller place. As special needs parents, we are unfortunately often told what "can't" be done. And when we venture out to try, we can be met with failure, uncomfortable experiences, or again, having all the ways we are different pointed out to us.  I personally find it so important never to tell my child with autism what he ''can't" do.  He can do anything, we may just have to work a lot harder at it.