Autism Pensacola, Inc.

Information and Resource Fair

One of the ways Autism Pensacola reaches out to the community is through our annual Information and Resource Fair. Mark your calendars for April 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Greenhut Auditorium at Sacred Heart Hospital. This event highlights area nonprofit organizations and local businesses that provide services to families living with autism and other developmental disabilities in the greater Pensacola area. Services beneficial to individuals of all ages will be represented including early intervention, recreational programs, transition into adulthood, and employment assistance. Don’t miss this great opportunity to gather information from all of these great resources in one place!

Workshops will be presented -

• 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. “Solutions for Problem Behaviors at School” presented by Debbie Gunter, FSU-CARD
• 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. “An Adult Journey through Autism” presented by Dr. Betsy Botts

For information regarding booth reservations or any other questions please contact (850) 434-7171 or email programs@autismpensacola.org

As one of our many Autism Awareness activities last month, Autism Pensacola donated a selection of autism-related books and DVDs to the Milton Library.  We are pleased to announce that these items are now available for check out from any Santa Rosa County branch library.  We hope that many families in Santa Rosa County find this to be a valuable resource.  Here is a list of the books now available (click on the title to read a description):

Apples for Cheyenne by Elizabeth King Gerlach
Autism: Believe in the Future by Ann Millan
Autism Solutions: How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child by Ricki G. Robinson
Building Social Relationships by Scott Bellini
My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete & Ryan Elizabeth Peete
The New Social Story Book by Carol Gray
Now I See the Moon by Elaine Hall
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin
The Way I See It by Temple Grandin

And these are the DVDs now available:

A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism       
Autism: The Musical    �
Temple Grandin

To see these and other autism-related resources available through the Santa Rosa County library, please visit their website.  We would like to thank the Santa Rosa County Library for helping us raise autism awareness in our community through their autism displays in all of the branch libraries during the month of April.

Bulletin board at Milton High School

As part of our effort to raise awareness and understanding in our community, Autism Pensacola produced several different informational posters that were distributed to both parents and teachers. They were asked to  create a bulletin board at their school. These bulletin boards have been put up in elementary, middle and high schools in both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Thank you parents and teachers for your effort!

April is Autism Awareness Month. How are you going to make a difference in the life of someone who is living with autism?

For me, as a mom of a beautiful boy who has autism, I’m going to spend this month putting a face to the disability. My son is more than his autism, and I know so many parents who would say the same thing about their children. Because no matter what age they are, our children are so much more than just “autistic.” (I know. I hate the word “autistic,” too.) Our children are artists, poets, horticulturalists, mathematicians, writers, thinkers, and comedians! They’re loving, empathetic, interesting, articulate, non-verbal, non-stop, smart, focused, exhausting, exhilarating, and the list goes on.

No one would want their entire lives defined by one word. Let’s make it a point to let the world know our children are more than their diagnosis!

“Through Awareness we Understand. Through Understanding we Love.”

We, the autism community of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, need for you to know what autism is. We can only achieve that through Autism Understanding and Acceptance.

Awareness of autism has increased dramatically over the past few years; and awareness is certainly a good place to start. Increased awareness has helped parents get earlier diagnoses for their children, and it has helped secure funding for research. However, it hasn’t done much to change public perception of what autism really entails.

This is a call out to the world to understand the people and the disorder.
This is a call out to the world to accept the people and the disorder.

You cannot understand or accept people until you understand and accept the autism they live with every day.

Autism is a part of who they are.

The media has focused almost entirely on children with autism – but children grow up. In a society where one in 110 children is diagnosed with autism (the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control), no one can afford to ignore the significance of this disability. People with autism are children, teenagers, adults, men, women, scientists, programmers, engineers, unemployed, in group homes … too many of them continue to be bullied, to be judged, or to just be ignored.

Each person is unique. Each person has their own unique set of strengths and weaknesses just like you or me.

The charities, the organizations, the groups, the parents, the people with autism themselves… we ask you… no, we need you to know what autism really is.

Today, we ask for your Autism Understanding and Acceptance.

This is what Autism is to me…

Now, people of the greater Pensacola area, answer this question – What is autism to your family? Comment here and let’s get our message out!