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Event To Be Held At Rocky Point High School On April 29, 2004 ROCKY POINT, NY -- April 27, 2004 -- On Thursday, April 29th, from 6:30-10:00pm, members ofthe Autism Community will come together at Rocky Point High School in Rocky Point, NY for the first annual Autism Awareness Fair, co-hosted by Just Parents for Autism and the Rocky Point Special Education/Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA). National Autism Awareness Month, which was first established by the AutismSociety of America in 1972, provides an opportunity for members of theautism community to educate the public about this complex developmentaldisorder. One out of approximately 200 children born will develop some formof autism. This means that an estimated 1.5 million Americans (children andadults) have autism today. According to the ASA, each day 50 additionalchildren are diagnosed with autism. Autism is considered a spectrum disorder because the number and intensity ofthe symptoms people with autism display may vary greatly. However, allpeople with autism demonstrate impairments in the following three areas:communication, social relationships and restricted patterns of behavior. Maribel Danta, Co-Founder of Just Parents for Autism (JPFA), said "This is agreat opportunity to bring the whole Autism Community together. If yoususpect your child has autism, or just got the diagnoses- this is theperfect event for you. We did all the work by bringing many of the localresources together, in one place." Christine Heeren, another coordinator, talked about the inspiration for thisfree event and JPFA, "Maribel and I both have 4 year old sons with autism inthe same preschool class and met at a parent support group meeting. Wewanted to take action and be part of the solution.", Heeren added, "thereare many positive treatments for children with autism. When we tookthegluten, casein and soy out of my son's diet he began to talk and make bettereye contact. As a parent you have to try new things, and do whatever ittakes to help your child. We hope this fair will educate, as well asinspire. "The 1st annual Autism Awareness Fair will include a panel of individualswith autism and experts in the field, a question & answer session, a varietyof information/resource tables from groups around Long Island, and a videopresentation. This free event will also include an "empowerment table"where attendees can sign petitions, get voter registration forms, and signup for email support groups.Some of the scheduled speakers are: Mike Darcy from the Autism Help Center, Karen Mowdy of Just Kids Preschool, Dr. Alan Sherr from the Wellness Center,Councilman Kevin McCarrick from Shoreham, Sue Lesco from the Cody Center, Kenneth Kaufman of the Behavioral Institute, Nick Villani of CommunityEnterprises, James Ciaravino from Suffolk County, Kim Lane from Just KidsPreschool, Christine Racca of the Young Autism Program/DDI and Pat Long, who will also be master of ceremonies. Additional organizations will be manning tables including; School Link,William Heslin of Met Life, Kids in Action, IRIE, Social Connection CenterInc, Cindy Ahmed of Discovery Toys, Autism Networks, AHA-AS-PDD, ChildHealth Plus, AAPC book company, Concerned Citizens for Public Transportationin Suffolk County, and Long Island Spectrum Magazine, who will bedistributing free copies of their first addition. The third event coordinator, Rosemarie Komorowski, is a parent of a childwith autism and president of the Rocky Point SEPTA, "No one individua lpresents like any other, they are uniquely different, sometimes talented andalways worthy of respect and acceptance. If we walk away from this fairlearning only one thing, I would hope that it would be the fact that we needto concentrate on these autistic individuals strengths and gifts, learn howto help and educate them. We also need to stop trying to make them conformto our sense of "Normal", when in essence they have been placed here onearth to "fix" us and our way of thinking. Let's celebrate their uniquedifferences and encourage their efforts." This year's program is dedicated to Abby Irwin, an advocate in the autismcommunity who is currently battling breast cancer. A "pink butterfly" willalso be displayed on her behalf. To learn more about the Autism Awareness Fair, please visit the Just Parents for Autism Web site (http://www.justparentsforautism.com), or call ChristineHeeren, at 631-205-5090. For more information about the Rocky Pt. SEPTA visit their website (http://www.rockypointsepta.org), or call Rosemarie Komorowski at 631-744-1748. Media Contact: ------------------------- About Just Parents
for Autism: About Rocky Point SEPTA:
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