Have a ball (or is it tee a ball?) at the second annual PACE Golf Classic! It should be a lot of fun, full of golfing, prizes, lunch/dinner, and awards on Monday April 26 at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. (I’m hoping I’ll get to drive a golf cart!) Plus you are golfing for a great cause. Last year’s event sold out it was so popular, so register for this year’s tournament today!
This photo was taken by Cesar, a PACE School student. I love the texture of the ground against the white shoes.
"Shoes" by PACE School student Cesar
The infamous 1998 Wakefield article suggesting a link between Autism and the MMR vaccine was officially retracted a few weeks ago by The Lancet, the British medical journal that initially published the article. The Lancet cited questionable research methods on behalf of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, including performing invasive tests on children, paying the kids to participate and failing to disclose ties to a lawyer representing parents of children with autism. 10 out of Dr. Wakefield’s13 research colleagues have disavowed the article. Here’s The Lancet’s editor, Dr. Richard Horton, in a scathingly candid comment on how the media took the MMR vaccine and Autism link and blew it out of proportion:
“This was a system failure. We [The Lancet] failed, I think the media failed, I think government failed, I think the scientific community failed. And we all have to very critically examine what part we played in this. I think the media certainly did sustain the story over a decade. It became a political story, with did Tony Blair have his son vaccinated with MMR or not, suddenly a huge media furor around that.
“Andrew Wakefield would make many statements during the course of those ten years, each of which was dutifully reported as if it was the gospel truth. Profiles of him were written as this charismatic doctor saving the lives of children. I mean, I think we all have to look very carefully at ourselves and say, we really messed up here.”
Check out the entire fascinating interview with Dr. Horton on NPR’s On the Media.
What do you think about The Lancet’s retraction of the Wakefield article?
The Sobrato Family Foundation has awarded PACE a Challenge grant for the second time in four years! The grant amount has increased while maintaining the same unrestricted spending guidelines.
The Sobrato Family Foundation provides capital that support nonprofits’ capacity to deliver services, which as a result strengthens the local community in the Silicon Valley. The Foundation’s Executive Director, Diane Parnes, explains why they chose PACE, “PACE’s work has greatly contributed to the quality of life of their clients and of the community as a whole!”
The grant value for PACE is $35,000 in the first year, and if PACE successfully matches the grant with new or increased cash donations in 2010, in the second year they will award PACE $36, 750 (the first year’s grant amount plus an additional 5% increase). This new award will total $71,750 over two years (not including what PACE raises)!
One great aspect of the grant is the flexibility–it allows PACE to decide how to invest in either “People” or “Place” expenses. Here’s the donor requirement breakdown:
- A cash gift from a first-time donor will be matched 100%
- A cash gift from a lapsed donor (one who has not made a donation in 12+ months) will be matched 100%
- A cash gift from a current donor (one who has given within the last 12 months) will be matched 100% by the increased portion of their most recent gift (i.e., if the donor gave $500 last year and gives $750 this year, then $250 is the eligible match amount)
PACE thanks the Sobrato Foundation for their generosity, and we are incredibly excited to again be part of this wonderful opportunity. Help us reach our matching grant goal of $35,000 by making a donation today: visit the PACE website, call 408-245-3400, or contact development@pacificautism.org!
PACE welcomed the newest member of the therapy staff this February-Balia, PACE’s first facility/therapy dog! She is a black lab/golden retriever mix with a very mild temperament, perfect for our students.
Balia and Allison get ready for the school day.
Facility dogs are expertly trained dogs partnered with a facilitator working in a health care, visitation, or education setting. Her facilitator is our OT Allison, who attended an intensive two-week Team Training course to learn dog handling and care.
There are many benefits to facility/therapy dogs:
- Can perform over 40 commands designed to motivate and inspire clients with special needs
- Gives unconditional love and attention to the clients and patients
- Helps engage students in schools and special education classes
- Encourages feelings of calm and security for clients in a visitation setting
Balia will work with Allison to help teach PACE students and facilitate interactions. We are all very excited to have her here, and she has already been a major hit with PACE School students! I’ll be sure to update on Balia’s progress and success stories.
PACE student Demitri pets Balia.
PACE School student Steven shakes with Balia.
For more information about therapy dogs, visit www.cci.org. Do you have any stories about facility/therapy dogs and people with Autism/developmental disabilities?
One of PACE’s exciting community connections in the last year has been the development of our Youth Leadership Committee (YLC), a leadership training program for young people. With the goal of encouraging philanthropy and social service, the YLC organize events to raise funds and awareness of Autism. Each committee member has pledged to raise a minimum of $365 per year (a dollar a day) for PACE and to educate the community about Autism and developmental disabilities. Some of the members have siblings in PACE programs, while others just wanted to get involved in a good cause.
I’ve sat in on some of the YLC meetings, and I’m amazed by how motivated and organized these teenagers are. Their upcoming fundraising event is a high school mixer, “Breaking the Silence,” consisting of all high schools around the Bay Area on March 20th at the San Jose City College main gym. They got a WILD 94.9 DJ to donate his services for the dance (94.9 is a major top 40/hip-hop station in the Bay Area). They will also sell snacks, drinks, glow sticks, and the PACE School candles. They’ve also put together an online ticket system and a great publicity campaign. All proceeds from the event will go to PACE!
So tell all the high school students you know about this awesome dance on March 20! (Just check out how cool the flyer looks!)
PACE is cosponsoring the Sixth Annual “Special Needs Trusts” Seminar by Gilfix & LaPoll Associates. This free seminar explores estate planning for people with disabilities and goes over the following questions:
- What is a Special Needs Trust?
- Why is it a “must do” if a child or other family member is disabled?
- How can a family member with disabilities have a trust and still keep public benefits?
- What can and cannot SNT funds be used for?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
1pm-3pm
Crowne Plaza Cabaña
4290 El Camino Real, Palo Alto CA 94306
To register call 650-493-8070 or 408-971-7292 or on www.gilfix.com.
Seating is limited!
A new study from the CDC indicates that approximately 1% of the 8 year olds in its study had an “ASD”: “approximately 1% or one child in every 110.” That’s a 57% increase from a similar study of 8 year olds in 2002. Although increased awareness and improved diagnosis accounts for some of the prevalence increase, a true increase of Autism prevalence cannot be ruled out.
One interesting explanation for why improved or broader diagnosis does not explain everything: while the high-functioning/Asperger’s diagnoses went up (as a result of the evolution of Autism as a spectrum disorder), so did the numbers of those more severely impacted. So no clear pattern of broad diagnosis effects emerged. Also, diagnostic evaluations were more detailed and more frequent compared to 2002, which also may have contributed to the increase. The overall increase was so marked that the CDC called for the need to regard Autism as an “urgent public health concern.”
Read the report here. The abstract on the first page nicely summarizes the study’s significance.
Change in prevalence, per 1,000 children, of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among children aged 8 years.
What do you think of the new study, and others like it recently, that report a marked increase in the prevalence of Autism?
“Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, United States, 2006.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report). 58:SS-10, December 18 2009.
In honor of the holidays! We put this painting along with three others on PACE holiday cards.
Picture by Nathan, a member of the Adult Day Program.
In the PACE school and other programs, we work with some of the most profoundly challenged individuals affected by Autism. This requires that the PACE staff develop a highly individualized and creative approach to teaching functional skills. Since the majority of our students at PACE School are non-verbal, in that program we rely heavily on visual learning and icons.
A couple of years ago, PACE began using video, like Flip video, to help with teaching as well as developmental tracking. This pilot project turned out amazing results. For the first time, parents could see their child’s developmental progress in an engaging video format on DVD as part of the Individualized Education Plan. The video depicts aspects of the child’s progress that could not have been captured with traditional data charts.
PACE School Program Director Marquis Zane explains, “These videos show students reaching their outlined goals throughout the day, which makes it easier to track their progress.”
Occupational Therapist Stefanie Warner, PACE student Demitri, and his aide Rosie Villarreal write an email. (Picture courtesy of Tech Soup.)
Scaling of this project was made possible through the generous support of Tech Soup. Tech Soup is one of those awesome nonprofits that help other nonprofits: they provide free technology resources and support, as well as a product philanthropy service that helps nonprofits with an otherwise limited technology budget. For PACE, they provided deep discounts on refurbished computers and a broad selection of discounted video and image software. This allowed PACE to quickly and cheaply upgrade our computer systems to allow our staff to edit and compile video projects. The entire production came online within a matter of weeks, thanks to Tech Soup. Help from companies like Tech Soup keep PACE at the forefront of Autism services.
