Co-Presidents' Message

AACC-ASA meetings are held on the last Tuesday evening of the month at Ruth Parker Eason School in Millersville.

Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.

The agenda includes introductions and general announcements, followed by time for open discussion. A refreshment break is followed by a presentation given by the guest speaker. Then time is allowed for a follow-up discussion and further opportunity for group support and socialization.

New members and new ideas are always welcome. 

Come check us out!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for last month's meeting, which included a lively discussion about school services.  Please remember that our next regular chapter meeting will be held in August.  However, as you will see in the enclosed flyer, we've planned a very special summer family event for Sunday, July 15th. We hope to see you there.

At our May meeting we introduced a new item which we want to share with all of our chapter members: it is a 4-panel business-size card which you can use in those public situations when your child's behavior is receiving stares or comments from people.

The front panel of the card reads "I'm sorry if my child's behavior disturbs you" and the second panel reads "My child has autism.

My child and I are doing the best we can."  The third panel has a brief description about autism, and the last panel gives information about our chapter, including phone numbers and the web address.   

We will have the cards available at all future meetings, but we would also be pleased to send a set by mail to anyone who makes a request.  To request a set, please send an e-mail to or call Linda Carter-Ferrier at (410) 551-0655.  Be sure to indicate how many you'd like to have sent and the address you'd like them sent to.

As we prepare for fall, we are putting the final touches on the next edition of our Chapter Directory.  To ensure that you are included in the August edition of the Directory, be sure to complete and mail in the application form

that is enclosed with this newsletter.

Also, as we prepare for fall, we are looking for ways to "grow" the chapter and, in particular, the funding that we receive.  In this regard, we are looking for anyone with experience in dealing with charitable contributions (such as United Way or CFC) that would be able to work with our board in pursuing these kinds of charitable funds for our chapter.  If you have this kind of experience and would be interesting in working with us, please contact either Frank Wise at (410) 721-4562 or Linda Carter-Ferrier at (410) 551-0655.

Lastly, we want to note that the web site address we gave in the May edition for the JHU workshop series is incorrect; it should be http://cte.jhu.edu/summerfun.  We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this error.

Docksiders Gymnastics is offering two full-week summer day camps for special needs children. The campers will learn gymnastics, as well as play games, do arts and crafts, and engage in other theme-related activities. 

The camp is being held during the weeks of July 2 - 6 and August 6 - 10.  For further information, call (410) 987-8780.