Autism Parent to Parent
WEBSITE UPDATES!!!!
September 26, 2011 - I am so sorry for the delay in updates. I have officially had the worst summer ever. I was hit hard by the statistic of 80% of marriages of special needs kids ending in divorce.... as now I am one of those statistics. I am sorry that has affected me updating the site. Keep an eye on the site for updates. I want to encourage everyone to sign up for upcoming training!! A Special Education Workshop - FREE OF CHARGE on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at The Arc of Wichita County (3115 Buchanan, Wichita Falls, TX 76308) from 10:00am - 1:00pm. Call The Arc to register (940) 692-2303! Also, The State Conference on Autism is in Houston this year October 13-15th. Go to http://www.autism.esc2.net/Conference/index.asp for more information and to register.
May 6, 2011 - The Autism Conference of Texoma was wonderful! Over 250 attendees! 30 plus exhibitors! It was a great day! Last night was the F.A.S.T. Mom's Night of Relaxation! If you were unable to attend, you missed a treat! Thank you to the Arbonne Ladies from Bowie and Amber Hicks, LMT for pampering the mommies! Thanks to all of our donors that made the event possible! :) MORE DETAILS TO COME ABOUT OUR UPCOMING FAMILY F.A.S.T. Events this summer!!!!!! :) Join our Faceboook Group if you want up to the minute updates! Happy Mother's Day!!! - Tiff
February 28, 2011 - I hope everyone is excited about The Autism Conference of Texoma coming soon! If you know anyone who owns a business and is interested in being a vendor, have them contact me! For more information visit www.actwf.com!!! Get ready to register!!! See you all there!!! Also, a new business in town you all need to be aware of: Angels of Care Pediatric Home Health!!! Through Angels of care you can receive Home Health, Nursing Care, Attendant, Respite, Speech, OT, PT, Medical Supplies, and much more!
January 26,2011 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! LOTS of UPDATES! First of All, I want to see EVERYONE at The Boot Scootin' Boogie Benefiting The Arc of Wichita County! Prime Rib by the Elks and Does, Live Music, Silent and Live Auctions, Cash Bar, and TONS of FUN!!!!!! For Tickets, Call: (940) 692-2303! See you there!!! Also, Save the date for the 3rd Annual Autism Conference of Texoma on April 16th! More info. to come!
September 28, 2010 - Fall ARDs are in FULLLLL swing!!!! Lots of parents have been asking questions, and if you email me, I will get to you as soon as possible! :) I try to be prompt (especially with my fellow parents!) NOTICE: I am NO LONGER AFFILIATED WITH LIFESTEPS PEDIATRIC THERAPY CENTER. I worked as office manager and community engagement specialist there from Oct. 2, 2009 to September 22, 2010, but you can no longer reach me there, and I am no longer affiliated with their business . I hope to see everyone at the Pumpkin Painting Party this year!!!! Kinnikinnick Foods is donating GFCF Cookies and Donuts again this year! :) Woo Hoo! If anyone knows of someone that would like to donate a bounce house, please email me! :) See you all soon!
August 4, 2010 - Sorry I have not updated in a while! I have been SOOOO busy with work, and kids, and summer stuff!! I will try to get as much updated today as possible! Keep your eye on the site for updates! Our family is going to San Antonio for vacation this week, so I will be updating the Autism on Vacation section of the site as soon as we get back! We will be going to Morgan's Wonderland!!! It is a special-needs amusement park in San Antonio! For more information or to reserve a spot for your family to attend go to: www.morganswonderland.com!
July 8, 2010 - F.A.S.T. was featured in last week's issue of the Shoppette! It was a great article promoting the support group! This week's issue featured The Arc, and it was awesome as well! I have linked a music therapy website to the "Wichita Falls Resources" tab. Jodie White is an excellent music therapist and I HIGHLY recommend her! Visit her new website for more info. on music therapy: www.musictherapymeasures.com Jodie will be speaking at our next F.A.S.T. meeting about the benefits of Music Therapy with children with autism. I hope everyone is having a great summer! See all of you at the F.A.S.T. party tonight!
June 8, 2010 - Our June F.A.S.T. meeting was AWESOME!!!! We had over 50 people there! A record attendance! We are raising money to have a private swim party at the Iowa Park Spray Park for our July meeting! We need 200.00 before we can book it! If you would like to donate, PLEASE email me A.S.A.P. autismparent2parent@gmail.com !!!!
ABA THERAPY IN WICHITA FALLS!!!!!!!!!
Behavioral Innovations is starting home-based ABA services right here in Wichita Falls!!!! If you are interested in receiving Applied Behavior Analysis for your child, you can attend an informational meeting this Thursday, June 10th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at The Courtyard Marriott (behind Jack-in-the-Box). RSVP by emailing: rsvp@behavioral-innovations.com
Autism Parent Spa Day!!!
SpaBella is offering discounts for friends and family of people on the autism spectrum on TUESDAY, JUNE 29th!!!! Option 1: 20 min. massage, 20 min. facial, buff and polish fingernails and toenails for $50.00 OR Option 2: 30 min. massage for $25.00. If you are interested, Please email me your NAME, PHONE NUMBER, and either OPTION 1 or OPTION 2 to autismparent2parent@gmail.com ON OR BEFORE JUNE 10th!!!!! :)
Don't forget to join the F.A.S.T. group on Facebook!!! :) Have an awesome summer!!!
APRIL IS AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH!
EVERY TUESDAY IN APRIL from 6-9 pm, On The Border in Wichita Falls will be donating 10% of their profit to The Autism Conference of Texoma! Go eat some good food for a GREAT cause! Tell all of your friends, coworkers, family and teachers!
3-9-10 - It is FINALLY starting to look like Spring! I bet all of you are ready to get out and get some sunshine! The last F.A.S.T. meeting about Autism Safety was a success and we even made the 10 o'clock news. April is approaching fast. April is Autism Awareness Month, and we will be having a busy month to generate community awareness and support for Autism!!!! Put the following on your calendar:
April 1, 2010 - F.A.S.T. - Autism Never Sleeps Pajama Party - (more details to come!)
April 17, 2010 - 2nd Annual Autism Conference of Texoma - 9:00am - 3:30pm for more details visit:
http://education.mwsu.edu/asp/act/
2-18-10 - LOTS of updates today!!!!!
The Arc's Boot Scootin' Boogie is this Saturday (Feb. 20th) from 6pm to 12am! There will be live and silent auctions, delish food, live music and dancing! Please call The Arc at (940) 692-2303 to get your tickets!!!! :) I will see you there!
The 2nd Annual Autism Conference of Texoma is coming up on April 17th! Please mark your calendars now for this awesome event! The keynote speaker is Nancy Kling - author of "The Cup Kid". I have heard her speak in person and she is great! You don't want to miss this! For more information go to education.mwsu.edu/asp/act.
Don't forget to stop by the F.A.S.T. tab of this site and check out the details of our March meeting! :)
The American Psychiatric Association is proposing changes be made to the diagnostic criteria for autism - lumping all spectrum disorders under one diagnosis "autism spectrum disorder" this includes pdd-nos, asperger's, autism, etc. You can go to this website to see the proposed changes: http://www.DSM5.org The changes are up for public comment! Make your voice heard on this issue!
2-1-10 - It is FEBRUARY ALREADY!?!?!?!?! January seemed to go by so fast! For those of you that made New Year Resolutions to lose weight - I found a really cool tool! www.sparkpeople.com! You can use it to track your calories, exercise, and even to network with other AU parents!!!! Check it out! It is also a good tool if you are trying to track your child's nutrition intake! Also, for those of you looking for GFCF Cheese... Market Street brought back the Vegan Gourmet Cheese! It is in the dairy aisle by the regular cheese.
1/3/10 - Happy New Year!!! Sorry again for the lack of updates! I have been swamped with my new job, and as most of you - holiday stress with my kiddos! We had a blizzard over Christmas, so stir-crazy autistic kids.... nuff said right? I want to get back on track this year with updates. Please don't hesitate to email if you have any questions or suggestions! Have an amazing 2010!
11/17/09 - It has been WAY too long since my last update! Sorry about that! We have been dealing with some rough behaviors, Mason's Birthday, and his theatre production, on top of everyday life! I apologize for slacking on the website! First of all, after much hard work, LifeSteps Pediatric Rehabilitation Center of Wichita Falls is NOW OPEN!!!! We are ready to provide OT, PT, ST, Dietitian and Counseling to children with special needs! Please call me to set up a tour or to get an intake packet or brochure! (940) 851-STEP. Another update - I found a new "lunchbox item" that is GFCF... HUNTS BRAND SNACK PACK LEMON PUDDING!!!!! (It is ONLY the lemon flavor that doesn't contain milk!!!) 4 pudding cups for a dollar... you can't beat that!!!!
10/24/09 - The F.A.S.T. Pumpkin painting party was a blast! We had a great turn out this year! A big thank you to all of you who came out and braved the cold with your kiddos! Please join our F.A.S.T. Group on Facebook for continuous updates and pictures of our events!
LIFESTEPS IS OPENING SOON!!!!! I am offically on-board with LifeSteps of Wichita Falls, and can't wait until we open our doors for kiddos in our community. If your child is in need of speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nutrition or counesling, LifeSteps is the place to be! For more information or a brochure about LifeSteps - email me! autismparent2parent@gmail.com
WFISD PARENT TRAINING - Thursday, October 29th, 2009 - 6:30 pm - Cunningham Elementary. Dr. Christie DellaNebbia from Rose Street MHC will be speaking about behavior in the home and community. If you need childcare - please email Anne Anderson (WFISD Autism Specialist) at abanderson@wfisd.net
10/5/09 - The CDC reports that autism has risen from 1 in 150 American Children to 1 in 91 American Children. A scary and sad statistic that all of us are all too familiar with. Hugs to you fellow autism parents. Our circle is getting bigger - which is a sad reality. Let's support the newly diagnosed and continue supporting each other! Keep on pressing forward for your kids! :)
10/1/09 -
PLEASE DONATE TO HANDS TO HANDS COMMUNITY FUND!
I am sure you have seen the signs around town. I have a sign in my front yard! This organization is VERY important to me and to our family. Seven non-profits that were originally funded through United Way were not given United Way funding this year. One of those seven non-profits was The Arc of Wichita County. The Arc of Wichita County has been a HUGE support for our family!!! Just to see Christian's face light up when he got to go to their special needs childcare all day this summer. Just to know that when he gets off the bus at their after-school program he is in a safe and clean place with staff that not only cares about him and his needs, but genuinely loves him is so amazing. I can't tell The Arc and their staff thank you enough for all the support and love they have given to our family and our community. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE say thank you by giving to the Hands to Hands Community Fund! Here is their website: www.handstohandsfund.org
9-5-09 - Our September FAST meeting was wonderful! A huge thank you to Michelle Hicks and Prince Taylor for all of their insightful advice about how to transition our kids back into school. We had 3 new families!!! I can't wait until next month's PUMPKIN PAINTING PARTY!!! BE THERE!!! Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:00 pm. at Rose Street (by the school/playground). We will be having GFCF snacks, pumpkin painting, and lots of other fun! More details later! If you want to get email updates about FAST meetings, send me your name, email, and a little note about you, and I will add you to the Families for Autism Support of Texoma Email list. Email me at autismparent2parent@gmail.com .
8-18-09 - Because of the AWESOME response I have been getting from the website, I have had to create an email address specifically for the website! So instead of emailing my home address, please email the website address if it is a website question! THANKS! :) The new email addy is: autismparent2parent@gmail.com
8/17/09 - I can't believe it has almost been a month since my last update! I am SLACKING! I apologize for that! It has been a busy time getting ready for school to start! Everyone enjoy this last week of summer! I am excited about the WFISD reducing their school supply list! This is a good time for all of you GFCF parents to stock up on lunch boxes, thermoses, ice packs, and other items! They are much cheaper during school supply season! Grab an extra!
Speaking of school starting, remember the saying "this too shall pass." Transitioning back into the routine can be hard on our kiddos (not to mention hard on parents and teachers). The quicker you can transition your child back into the school routine, the better. Expect the worst... but hope for the best (expect a meltdown or two.. but hope that it passes quickly!) Ask your child's teacher, or diagnostician, or paraprofessional if they have any ideas on helping your child get settled. Ask other moms and dads how they are doing! Sometimes the greatest ideas come from the parents that have walked in your shoes! :)
Also, my friends at F.A.S.T. (www.autismwf.com) and I are gearing up for a school-year full of F.A.S.T. meetings and FUN! We want everyone to be sure to attend and help our support group grow as much as possible! THE 1st THURSDAY OF THE MONTH - 6PM - ANCHOR BAPTIST CHURCH! BE THERE!
7/23/09 - The Texas SuperConference featuring Jed Baker, Carol Kranowitz, Tony Attwood, and Temple Grandin was WONDERFUL and very informative! My favorite speaker of the event was Dr. Jed Baker. He wrote the book "No More Meltdowns" and he is an amazing behavioralist!
COMING UP ON AUGUST 4th - Paula Kluth "You're Gonna Love This Kid" - is coming to Region 9. This is a BIG DEAL for our Region! Make it to that if you can! For more information, to register, and to look for other upcoming workshops about autism, go to www.esc9.net.
LAURA'S BISTRO - (GFCF Bakery and Restaurant in Plano) has CLOSED!!!! Another autism mom and I went there after the conference, and were treated very rudely, so we left without buying anything. (I did get a chance to have dessert there the day before - and the carrot cake was amazing if you can deal with the employee attitude! LOL) Anyway, just a few days after our visit, they closed the doors due to the economy.
7/13/09 - Updates on the GFCF Diet Page and New Page "Autism Friendliness Reviews". I will be adding a review of Casaway Cove soon. We have had real problems there this year, and I am starting to doubt my decision in buying two season passes. More info. on that later. The Autism SuperConference is THIS WEEK in Plano!!! Our family is taking this opportunity to turn our time in DFW into a "mini vacation". I will report back with all of the details in the "Autism on Vacation" page! Keep visiting the site for info. Stay cool, and keep your babies hydrated! It is way hot out there!!! Remember to offer your non-verbal kiddos drinks frequently! They can't tell us when they are thirsty or feeling overheated.
6/23/09 - Check out the updates in the "Autism on Vacation" section for inexpensive or free things to do here in the Falls.
Albertsons has the Betty Crocker GF Products!!!! They have cookie, brownie, and cake mix!!! Check it out! If you are GFCF be sure you substitute the butter that the recipe calls for! Have a great summer!!!
6/13/09 - Summer Fun, and it is HOT!!! If you want to cool off at Castaway Cove, buy your tickets at United Market Street! You can get an UNLIMITED pass for 89.99 plus tax (a BIG savings over the price at Castaway Cove). You can also buy day passes there, so you can pick up a Castaway Cove ticket and shop for groceries at the same time! If your kiddo's prefer dry land... there is a new park that was finished this week! The old "Wood Memorial Park" (in between Peachtree homes and the new Homewood Suites) has been redone! They tore down the wooden park and replaced it with a bright playground with several slides, platforms and climbers. The ground cover underneath the playground is a soft wooden mulch.
5/29/09 - Gluten/Casein Free Diet goes MAINSTREAM!!! More GFCF items are coming to stores. Betty Crocker is coming out with a line of gluten-free products including Cookies, Browines and Cakes ! Visit the link here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free/
Walmart is stocking Gluten-Free Pantry Brand Blueberry Muffin Mix and Chocolate Brownie Mix, as well as Pamela's Brand Cookies!
Toys-R-Us.. Keep an eye out at the Wichita Falls Toys-R-Us for GFCF Products!!! After a call from one of my GFCF Mommy friends after her visit to a Toys-R-Us in the Metroplex, I decided to check our store out! My friend said that the Toys-R-Us that she went to carried a long line of Ian's shelf-stable products and the Robert's Gourmet Products (INCLUDING TINGS!!!) The Wichita Falls store has some Robert's Gourmet stuff, but they haven't gotten Tings in yet. Let's keep an eye on it! :)
***NEW PRIZES for the Autism Parent to Parent Drawing are on their way! Autism Awareness Window Clings, Lanyards, Necklaces, and more! Don't forget to sign up in the MONTHLY DRAWING section, and check out what others have won on the WINNERS' CIRCLE portion of the site!***
Families for Autism Support of Texoma (F.A.S.T.)
Meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at Anchor Baptist Church
SEPTEMBER 3, 2009 - 6pm - Anchor Baptist Church - Speaker - Autism Teacher Panel
For all the details visit: www.autismwf.com
SAVE THE DATE! for the 2009 Texas Autism Conference - December 3-5, 2009 in Corpus Christi, Texas
SAVE THE DATE! October 2009 - DAN! (Defeat Autism Now)Conference in the DFW area!
THE FIRST ANNUAL AUTISM CONFERENCE OF TEXOMA
The Autism Conference of Texoma was held on Saturday, April 25th, 2009! Co-Chaired by Jessica Dunn and Michelle Hicks, this event was a HUGE success!!!! Over 200 people attended the event. Several parents, teachers, grandparents and others in the autism world came out to be a part of this conference! I am fully assured that this will be even bigger and better next year! A huge THANK YOU to all of you who made this event happen here in Wichita Falls!!! I had 20 attendees in my GFCF break-out session, and I consider that a great sucess!!!! If you didn't make it out this year, be sure you do next year!!!! Check out the photo gallery below for some of the pics of the conference! Be blessed! - Tiffany
