Co-Presidents' Message

AACC-ASA meetings are held on the last Tuesday evening of each 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!

It was a great pleasure to see so many people at our Family & Friends Day event on April 22^nd. Watching the children play, listening to the musical performances, seeing the presentation of the Proclamation from Janet Owens' office - all of these moments provided a feeling of positive celebration and accomplishment which is hard to express in words. We extend our very special thanks to Karen Orofino for her fine job as event coordinator.

At the event, several people commented on the very elegant puzzle ribbon pin being worn by Colleen Wilson (Director of Special Education for our county's public school system). When asked about it, she informed us that it is a cloisonnÈ pin which was given to her by a parent at a recent budget hearing. We have further learned that this distinctive pin is part of the merchandise being sold to support CycleUSA.  So if you are looking for a unique gift item which not only promotes autism awareness but also supports autism research (all for a mere $10), go to www.cycleusa.net or call (877) 703-3606.

Thanks also to everyone who joined us for last month's meeting, which included a presentation by William Stanley, Jr. and Diana Bonan of Developmental Services Group, Inc.  If you missed the presentation and wish to learn more about the information they covered, please contact DSG at (410) 381-7171.

Our May 29^th meeting will offer something different from the standard format; instead of having a speaker, we are inviting everyone to participate in an open discussion entitled "The school year in review".  Our purpose, as this school year ends, will be to provide an opportunity to share insights, ideas, strategies, resources, and lessons learned.  We hope that you can join us for this meeting.

Please remember that, after this month, our next regular chapter meeting will be held in August.  However, plans are in the works for a very special summer family event. Look for further details in next month's newsletter.

Also, don't forget to sub-

scribe to our new chapter e-mail action alert. It will provide you with an easy way to stay on top of the latest information about Federal, State, and local legislative initiatives, lobbying efforts, or other action items related to autism and disabilities.

Sign up by sending a message to our chapter's e-mail address: . Be sure to indicate the e-mail address where you'd like the messages sent. If you have questions about the service, contact Barry Conner at our chapter's e-mail address.

Speaking of Barry Conner, our web master reports that he has added a new feature to our chapter's web site: via a link to Map Blast, you can now obtain directions to the Ruth Eason School (where we hold our monthly chapter support group meetings) from wherever you might be coming from.

We are going to close with a minor correction: The web page location for the CDC Kids Quest Page (as mentioned in the April newsletter) has moved.  The new location is www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/kids.