Muscogee County Autism Support Group
NOTICES:
There will be no seminars in June and July due to Summer Break
We will see you at the Meet and Greet August 10th
****************************************************************************************************************************
Sensory Sensitive Screenings
Having a child with autism or other sensory issues can make typical family events – such as a movie - impossible. The individual may not be able to tolerate the darkness or the loud soundtrack, or may be unable to sit quietly. The concession stand may have nothing appropriate for those on a special diet. The Muscogee County Autism Support Group and Carmike Cinemas are proud to announce an exciting collaboration of “Sensory Sensitive Screenings” geared towards children on the Autism Spectrum (or other sensory issues) and their families. The monthly screenings will be shown on Saturday mornings and feature new releases whenever possible. Special features will include leaving the lights on low, turning down the sound, and throwing out the “no noise” restriction. Families may bring in their own special dietary food or purchase from the concession stand.
Families choosing to participate in this program must register for a special movie card to get the discounted tickets ($5 per person). All family members are welcome. Please complete the form and email it to muscogeecountyautism@mchsi.com. You can pick up the card Saturday July 31st before you purchase your tickets. MCASG will have a table near the box office. Keep the cards. You only have to register once and can use them for any of the monthly screenings. Call (706) 604- 6333 for any questions.
Your attendance will help us to justify continuing this program.
******************************************************************************************************
THIS MONTHS MOVIE
IS
TOY STORY 3
Hollywood Connection
11am Saturday July 31
*******************************************************************************************************
______________________________________________________________________________________________
August-May
Monthly Seminar and Parent Meet and Greet
.
Tuesday May 11, 2010
6:30 – 8:30 PM
St. Luke’s Ministry Center
Free childcare is available for all children 2 to 10 years old by reservation only
Please call 706 604 6333 to reserve a place
Welcome Back to the 2009-2010 School Year
Dear families and friends,
Since the founding in Nov 2005 MCASG has met over 300 families and encountered many opportunities and challenges. We are very pleased to give the announcement of the following adventures for 2009.
Lisa Jenkins Co Founder has stepped down as President to Vice President. We are so pleased that she has given so much of her time and talents to our community. Please send her an email expressing your appreciation and commitment to MCASG at lisaljenkins@yahoo.com .
Diane Pope is the new 2009-2010 President. 706-604-6333 dianempope@gmail.com Diane brings a fresh voice and remarkable knowledge in the field of autism. She has a son on the spectrum and has dedicated many hours of training on our organization and in strategic planning.
MCASG is currently accepting applications for the 2009-2010 Board of Directors, so if you would like to apply or nominate someone for the position, we would be grateful, we have 2 openings for members who are full of energy, enthusiastic, reliable, have strong advocacy skills and team work capabilities. The applications are on the website.
We are moving our monthly Tuesday Seminars to St. Luke United Methodist Church Ministry Center, which is located at 301 11th Street Columbus, Georgia. The new times will be 6:30-8:30 pm. We will be offering child care for autistic children only and a reservation is needed due to limited space. We have hired a BOARD CERTIFIED BCBA to oversee this program. Parents must attend the Seminars. The last day to register for the childcare that month will be the Friday before the meeting, to reserve a space call 706 604 6333. If you would like to volunteer or know of someone to help with childcare please let us know. Parents, you cannot drop your children off without prior approval, no exceptions. We need to make sure adequate staffing will be provided for our children’s safety.
The Teens with Autistic Siblings (TWAS) will also be changing to St Luke’s Ministry Center and will meet at the same time. This is a fabulous opportunity for our siblings 13-19 years old to encourage and support each other. Tamara Bonet, a rising senior at CHS has confirmed that she will be President of TWAS and can be reached at 706 569 0283. We have had such a great deal of interest in this group from other disability organizations and we hope it will expand to help others in the future.
Our first support group seminar will be August 11th at St Luke’s at the new time and will be a Meet and Greet. We will have many of the local providers present to speak briefly and meet with you to discuss your family needs. Please come to meet other families in order to share knowledge and advocacy so we can all gain strength and develop a stronger voice.
Autism Hope Center “Little Learners Preschool” is now accepting applications for the 2009-2010 school years, Opening date August 10, 2009. Applications are on the Autism Hope Center website or email at LILLEARNERSGA@AOL.COM
The 2009-2010 Social Skills groups are accepting applications on the Autism Hope Center web site
We are proud to announce that we are now a 2009-2010 United Way Partner; MCASG has obtained financial assistance for this coming year. Way to Go Board of Directors. Please visit the United Way Link on our website at www.unitedwayofthecv.org . If you want a new experience, please go to their Volunteer website, this is a wonderful opportunity to take some time to forget our problems, meet new people and help the community in other ways.
Fundraisers
We are asking all family members to start using GOOD SEARCH for all you computer search needs. All you need to do is go to www.goodsearch.com and make Muscogee County Autism Support Group your verified charity.
We have joined a fundraiser called TONER FOR AUTISM, www.tonerforautism.com. Please purchase all your toner needs and help support MCASG. It will help our community fight autism and the barriers we face.
We will be hosting a Belloos Night for Autism in August. Many of you will remember what a success we had last year, it was a wonderful opportunity for our families to have fun together. Details to come soon.
We will be moving our Walk for Autism to April 2010, for Autism Awareness month. Registration will be coming soon. Start looking for team members now. We want 600 people at this one. Every dollar we make stays in the Chattahoochee Valley. If you would like to help organizing the walk or have any ideas how to make this a better experience please let us know. lisaljenkins@yahoo.com
If you have a suggestion for the support group seminar to have a specialist you would like to have present a program or have an idea for a fundraiser for the group, we would like to hear from you, please email Diane Pope at dianempope@gmail.com. We want to meet your needs.
We have been asked by many parents to volunteer or to help the group in some way, if you are interested you may contact Lisa Jenkins at lisaljenkns@yahoo.com to get started.
We look forward to seeing you at the “Meet and Greet”.
Diane and Lisa