Jim Himes Shares The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

Thank you to Congressman Jim Himes (CT, D) for sending this email.

Dear Friends,

As we prepare for the upcoming holiday and anticipate warm reunions with friends and families, I urge those of you who are able to join me in helping our less fortunate neighbors. I have listed below by town a number of local food banks that are in need of donations. Best wishes for a lovely holiday.

Thanks,
Jim

BRIDGEPORT

Bridgeport Rescue Mission
1088 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 333-4087
www.bridgeportrescuemission.org
Tuesday-Saturday: 8:00am-6:00pm
Donations may be brought to 1050 Fairfield Ave; accepts donations of clothing, personal hygiene items, food, and blankets to distribute to the homeless

Bridgeport Health and Social Services-Veterans Affairs Office
752 East Main Street, Room 180, Bridgeport
(203) 576-7978
http://www.bridgeportct.gov
Monday, Tuesday, Friday: 9:00am-2:00pm
Accepts donations of nonperishable food and gift certificates

Calvary Saint George's Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen
755 Clinton Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 333-5116 ext. 150
www.calvarystgeorges.com
Tuesday and Thursday: 9:30-11:30am
Church accepts donations of food for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays; accepts food items including non-perishable food and baby food

Cesar Batalla Family Resource Center
606 Howard Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 579-8526
Monday-Friday: 8:00am-3:00pm
Accepts donations of clothing and nonperishable food

Dunbar School Family Resource Center
445 Union Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 332-5658
Monday-Friday: 9:00am-4:00pm
Accepts donations of books and magazines, clothing, food, household goods (dishes, cookware, linens, and furniture), infant goods, office equipment/supplies, personal care supplies, school supplies and toys

Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church Food Pantry
365 East Washington Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 334-2447
Tuesday: 11:00am-12:30pm
Accepts donations of non-perishable food items

Iglesia Pentecostal El Olivar Food Pantry
1241 Barnum Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 913-1417
Tuesday and Wednesday: 9:30-11:30am
Accepts donations of non-perishable food for the food pantry

King's Pantry
30 Florence Street, Bridgeport
(203) 335-9255
Monday-Friday: 10:30am-1:30pm
Accepts donations of nonperishable food for the food pantry, and food for the soup kitchen

North End Community Council
555 Trumbull Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 690-6326
Saturday: 8:30am-12:00pm
Accepts donations of nonperishable food

Re-Entry Ministry Food Pantry
24 Holly Street, Bridgeport
(203) 368-4018
Monday: 4:00-6:00pm or call ahead
Accepts donations of nonperishable food

Roosevelt School Family Resource Center
680 Park Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 330-8181
Monday-Friday: 8:30am-4:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food for the food pantry

Salvation Army - Bridgeport Corps Community Center
30 Elm Street, Bridgeport
(203) 334-0995
www.use.salvationarmy.org
Monday-Friday: 9:00am-4:30pm
Donations of food are accepted for distribution to people in need; holiday food donations are also needed for holiday programs

Thomas Merton Center
43 Madison Avenue, Bridgeport
(203) 367-9036
www.ccfairfield.org
Tuesday and Wednesday: 10:00am-1:00pm; Friday: 11:30am-1:30pm
Accepts food for the soup kitchen and food pantry

DARIEN

Person-to-Person
1864 Post Road, Darien
(203) 655-0048
www.p2pdarien.org
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 9:00am-4:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am-6:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am-12:00pm
Accepts donations of non-perishable food for the food pantry, clothing that is in season and in good condition, baby clothing/diapers for the Baby Basics Program, household goods, and new toy donations for the annual Toy Store and Be A Santa programs

FAIRFIELD

Connecticut Food Bank - Fairfield Warehouse
74 Linwood Avenue, Fairfield
(203) 256-1935
www.ctfoodbank.org
Monday-Friday: 7:00am-3:00pm

Operation Hope of Fairfield, Inc.
636 Old Post Road, Fairfield
(203) 292-5588
www.operationhopect.org
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:00am-12:00pm
Thursday: 4:00-6:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food for the food pantry and food for the soup kitchen, and turkeys and holiday gifts for the Thanksgiving and December holidays

GREENWICH

Neighbor to Neighbor
c/o Christ Church, 248 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich
(203) 622-9208
www.n-to-n.org
Monday-Friday: 8:30am-12:30pm
Accepts donations of clothing, small household goods, children's books, and baby clothing; closed holidays. Donations are used for agency programs

MONROE

Monroe Department of Social Services
980 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe
(203) 452-3770
www.monroect.org/FoodPantry
Monday: 2:00-5:00 pm
Wednesday and Friday: 9:00am -1:00pm
Donations of nonperishable food, along with condiments, paper goods and toiletries, are accepted. Also accepts animal food/supplies; infant items (clothing, diapers, formula); cell phones; office equipment/supplies; and school supplies for the Back to School Program

NEW CANAAN

Town of New Canaan and St. Mark's Church Parish House
Church House Foyer-111 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan
(203)966-4515
www.stmarksnewcanaan.org/outreach
Monday-Friday: 8:30am-4:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations, toiletries, and paper goods

NORWALK

Christian Community Action
98 South Main Street, Norwalk
(203) 899-2485
www.ccanorwalk.org
Monday-Friday: 9:00am-12:00pm
Accepts donations of nonperishable food, winter clothes, children's books, toys, and household goods for use in agency programs

Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project
16 River Street, Norwalk
(203) 855-9535
www.mfap.com
Monday-Friday: 9:00am-5:00pm
Accepts baby clothing and diapers, baby formula, office equipment and supplies, personal care supplies, recreational equipment, and school supplies for agency programs

Norwalk Emergency Shelter Manna House of Hospitality
4 Merritt Street, Norwalk
(203) 866-1057
www.norwalkemergencyshelter.org
Monday-Sunday: 6:00am-12:00pm, 2:00pm-9pm
Accepts donations of food for the food pantry and soup kitchen, and clothing and furniture, office equipment, personal care items, school supplies, and toy donations

St. Philip Parish Food Pantry
25 France St, Norwalk
(203) 847-4549
http://stphilipnorwalk.org/
Monday-Saturday: 8:00am-8:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations for the food pantry

St. Vincent De Paul Society at St. Thomas Apostle Church
203 East Avenue (rear of church), Norwalk
(203) 866-1644
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9:00am-12:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations, baby food, diapers (but not baby clothes), household cleaning supplies, personal care supplies such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper

Salvation Army—Norwalk Corps Community Center
14 Byington Place, Norwalk
(203) 866-2125
www.use.salvationarmy.org
Monday-Friday: 10:00am-2:00pm
Donations of food are needed for the food pantry and for holiday food baskets

REDDING

Town of Redding Department of Social Services
Community Center, 37 Lonetown Road, Redding
(203) 938-3580
www.townofreddingct.org
Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-5:30pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations for the food pantry

RIDGEFIELD

Town of Ridgefield Department of Social Services
Town Hall, 400 Main Street, Ridgefield
(203) 431-2777
www.ridgefieldct.org/content/46/84/default.aspx
Monday-Friday: 8:30am-4:30pm
Social Service Department accepts nonperishable food donations for the emergency food pantry, as well as personal care items and household goods

SHELTON

Area Congregations Together Spooner House & Valley Food Bank
30 Todd Road, Shelton
(203) 225-0453
www.actspooner.org
Monday-Friday: 9:00am-5:00pm
Accepts donations of diapers, infant formula and personal care supplies to support agency programs

STAMFORD

The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County
461 Glenbrook Rd, Stamford
(203) 358-8898
www.foodbanklfc.org
Monday-Friday: 8:00am-4:00pm
Accepts donations of non-perishable and perishable food for the pantry

Wilson Memorial Church of God in Christ
164 Richmond Hill Avenue, Stamford
(203) 554-9807
www.164wilsonfoodpantry.org
Call to arrange time for drop-off
Accepts donations of non-perishable and perishable food for the pantry

Faith Tabernacle Church Food Pantry
29 Grove Street, Stamford
(203) 348-8755 ext. 14
Call to set up a drop off time
Accepts nonperishable food for the food pantry

Haitian-American Catholic Center
93 Hope Street, Stamford
(203) 406-0343
www.ci.stamford.ct.us/content/25/50/260/95932/95984
Call to arrange time for drop-off.

New Covenant House of Hospitality
90 Fairfield Avenue, Stamford
(203) 964-8228
Monday-Saturday: 10:00am-6:00pm;
Sunday: 10:00am-2:00pm
Accepts donations of non-perishable and perishable food for the pantry

Salvation Army - Stamford Corps Community Center
198 Selleck Street, Stamford
(203) 359-2320
www.use.salvationarmy.org
Monday-Friday: 10:00am-3:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations for the food pantry

Zion Lutheran Church Food Pantry
132 Glenbrook Road, Stamford
(203) 327-7751
zionlutheran-stamford.org
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am-1:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations for the food pantry

TRUMBULL

Trumbull Department of Social Services Center
23 Priscilla Place, Trumbull
(203) 452-5198
www.trumbull-ct.gov/content/550/8679/
Monday-Friday: 9:00am-4:00pm
Accepts nonperishable food donations for the food pantry

WESTON

Town of Weston Social Services Department
Town Hall Annex, 24 School Road, Weston
(203) 222-2663
www.westonct.gov/townhall/27652/28677/29470
Monday, Tuesday, Friday: 9:00am-4:00pm
Accepts food donations to be distributed to Weston residents in need

WESTPORT

Town of Westport Department of Human Services
Town Hall, Room 200, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport
(203) 341-1050
www.westportct.gov
Monday-Friday: 8:30am-4:30pm
Assists residents of Westport with emergency food

WILTON

Town of Wilton Social Services Department
Comstock Community Center, 180 School Road, Wilton
(203) 834-6238
www.wiltonct.org
Call to set up drop-off time.
Accepts donations of nonperishable food, personal care items and school supplies

Almost went out in Agoy Pants....

Why do we women check our arses in the mirror? (And why don't MORE women do so, have you noticed the rear views lately?) Sometimes it's to see if your pants look good or like a pair of water balloons are trapped in sausage cases. Other times it's to make sure your child hasn't smeared chocolate on your behind without your knowing it. This morning? Whatever the reason, it saved me. In some odd dressing malfuncton, my workout pants were on inside out. Not a good look but would have been worth a good laugh at kick boxing....

Billy Blanks pushes martial arts to help kids with autism

Even better? For National Autism Association - a leader in helping families.
Damn tired of "awareness" vanilla (even fancy French Vanilla from some)
for autism. Need action. And Billy Blanks pretty well personifies action!

Read more:From Tampa HERE.

BAM POW!

Costume Change the Tubes Fee Waybill

Blogging from phone?

Finally I'll blog more often. Happy Hallowine!

Happy Halloween

42 years young! Wanda the witch lives at my parents house.

Yeah, I copped a feel. ;)

PREDATOR??

Ha ha!, we're at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. Every room has a theme and memorabilia from a movie. Did we get Love Story? No. Did we get Good Fellas? No. Did we get An Officer and a Gentleman? No. WE GOT PREDATOR. There's a giant claw in the glass table, a hat in a case on the wall and THAT fella stares at us from over the bed. If it had been Nightmare on Elm Street I'd have checked the freak OUT of the hotel......

Pretty cool here in Vegas. Bright, noisy, shiny --- different.

And we're Off to the Els4Autism event!

And I'll have a special post to share when I return. It has to with something I wrote in my book that is finally going to come true!

Mark and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary today. When I married Mark, little did I know I'd be finding my way toward a new family - my friends in the autism world. You mean the world to me and my girls. Thank you.

Our folks are in the background. The highlight of the reception was when my FIL played the spoons as my Uncle Jerry (whom I adore) played the trumpet. It was so much fun. I miss Mike Stag very much. My Grandmother was alive. I miss her too.

(PS) I didn't know what gluten free meant when I cut into that cake.... Le sigh.

Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism, she writes for Autism File Magazine, HuffPo, TodayMoms and elsewhere. Her book All I Can Handle I'm No Mother Teresa is now available in paperback with bonus content, recipes and a book club/academic guide.

Author Kim Stagliano All I Can Handle 10/17 by The Organic View | Blog Talk Radio

Author Kim Stagliano All I Can Handle 10/17 by The Organic View | Blog Talk Radio

Today at 4pm!

An Evening with Kim Stagliano

Family Autism Center will be hosting an evening with Kim Stagliano
on Wednesday, October 26th from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at
789 Clapboardtree Street in Westwood, MA.

Kim Stagliano is the mother of three daughters who have autism, the
managing editor of Age of Autism (the nation’s first daily web
newspaper about the autism epidemic), a contributor for The
Huffington Post, The Debutante Ball, The Dallas Morning News
Moms Blog and has appeared on Good Morning America (with her
kids!), ABC News, Fox News, in The Chicago Tribune, The National
Catholic Register, and on blogs around the world.

Most recently, she is the author of All I Can Handle: I’m No Mother
Theresa (A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism). Please join us
for a night of stories, both Kim’s and yours – we would love for you to
come and share your own thoughts on living with autism! Kim’s book
will be available for purchase. If you are interested in attending,
please contact Betsy Roche at eroche@sncarc.org to RSVP.
We look forward to seeing you on the 26th!

The Carousel

If you know our family, you know that we love carousels, merry-go-rounds, flying horses. One of my favorite Reading Rainbow episodes featured a beautiful book called The Carousel by Liz Rosenberg. It's about two girls whose Mom has died and how a carousel in the park near their home brings them closer to her on a stormy night. I fell in love with the story from the first viewing. I hope you do too:

20 Years of Marriage

If you've read my book, yeah, that pink one, you know that the closest I've come to divorcing Mark took place both on and because of a golf course. He was playing way too much for a Dad of three young kids with autism. I was getting angrier by the second and one day? KABLOOEY! I lost it on him at the golf club.

So imagine my surprise, er, chagrin, well let's call it UTTER HORROR when we learned that since Mark and his partner Don raised over $10,000 for the Els4Autism Golf Challenge that he had won a trip to Las Vegas for the next event. During the weekend of our wedding anniversary. Quoting from my book and Depeche Mode, "I think that God's got a sick sense of humor."

Hell yes.

We leave on the 21st thanks to my Mom and some amazing helpers. More to follow!

Paperback Release Day All I Can Handle I'm No Mother Teresa A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism.

Hi, friends, time to get back to blogging. I've been cheating on the blog with FB and Twitter and honestly, bloggy deserves better!

Today is my paperback release day! I've added content and even some GFCF recipes (Food TV will not be calling anytime soon, trust me.) Buy it at Amazon or local stores.

School year is going great for all three girls. Gianna is in high school with Mia. (Yikes.) Bella is tall and growing taller every day.

Big news for Mark and me???? (Dear God no, it's NOT another baby, get the salt and throw it over your shoulder!) We're going to Las Vegas for an Els4Autism event and to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I'll have a a great blog post when I return, I promise. Thanks to the legion of helpers including my Mom and Dad so we can get away for the first time in almost 10 years.

Let's Hope Irene Goes Away!

Stay safe everyone.

Autism Kick with Tae Bo Fitness Creator Billy Blanks - Tampa, FL

Autism Kick with Tae Bo Fitness Creator Billy Blanks - Tampa, FL


Support National Autism Association this Fall in Tampa with Billy Blanks!

How one mom -- with three autistic daughters -- finds hope and happiness

How one mom -- with three autistic daughters -- finds hope and happiness

Autism Affection and Auntie Asunta by Kim Stagliano

One of my favorite aunts (pronounced aw’nt, in proper Massachusetts style please) died this week at 93 years of age. She was my father’s older sister – one of ten in a large half Irish, half Italian family from Boston. My Dad, Richard, 89 on August 4^th, is still vigorous and dare I say it, alert and agile. He played 18 holes of golf this summer with my husband Mark who later confessed to my Mom and me, “I was just praying we didn’t end up with a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario.”

My aunt’s birth name was Asunta. But everyone called her Gertrude. How anyone thought Gertrude was a cuter nickname than Asunta is beyond me, but in 1918, perhaps Gert was the au courant version of today’s, “Madison”?

Auntie and I shared a special bond, acknowledged with a nod, a brief conversation and a twinkle in her Irish eyes.

In 2008, my cousin Roger threw auntie a surprise 90^th birthday party at a yacht club on the South Shore of Massachusetts. We all questioned the advisability of surprising a 90 year old, but my cousin Tommy the priest (every Irish Italian family has one) had RSVP’d “yes” so Roger must have figured he was covered should the unthinkable happen. And we all hoped the luck of the Irish would stick for auntie, who was born on St. Paddy’s day.

Roger invited my family, including my daughters Mia, Gianna and Bella, who have autism. I was so pleased that they were included in a joyful family celebration! Why? You’d be surprised how frequently children with autism are left out of events across the nation, by family (loosely used as in, “that stinking pack of skunks is a family”) who can not be bothered to respect and include their a-typical nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. They deserve the malocchio.

We had a glorious time. Cousin Tommy blessed my girls and prayed for their healing. Cousins and aunts and friends of the family danced with the girls and welcomed them. They asked me pertinent questions about their autism that I was happy to answer. They cared. They were engaged with the girls.

They acted like family.

A few months later, auntie was visiting my parents, so we had a chance to talk one on one. She, like most people who meet my children, was taken aback at their level of impairment and their beauty. (The other night, a friend of a friend was over for dinner, and he cried a bit when he watched the girls, shaken by what autism has done to them. That happens frequently.)

My aunt lost a son in a tragedy many years ago, my cousin Stephen who was as handsome as Richard Gere. I said to her, “We’ve both grieved for our children, auntie. We have that in common.” She nodded her head and answered, “But we survived, Kim. We’re fighters. And you’re a wonderful Mom to your girls.” I was so glad we shared that moment.

My parents visited with auntie the day before she died. She took my Mom’s hand and said, “Take care of my Roger.” Auntie was 93, you can guess Roger’s age. Someday I’ll be saying, “Take care of my Mia, Gianna and Bella.

The name Asunta means ascension, as in the ascension of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Motherhood and a mother’s love never ends. Not for auntie Asunta. Not for me. Not for you.

Yesterday was auntie’s funeral. The girls and I were there to pay our respects. And to look out for cousin Roger.

As my Gianna says, “We’re a family.”

Amen.

Team Stagliano Raises $21K for Els For Autism Event!

Update: Mark's team came in fifth out of 44 teams - and they raised over $21K. I met one of the heads of the event - very interesting work going on. More to share later. Mark and Don are going to Vegas in the Fall for the next round. Now, how to bring the kids? Think Vegas can survive us?

By Kim Stagliano

Indulge me a proud wife moment. Like most couples, Mark and I share the work of raising our children. But it's usually me in the "limelight" (although sometimes it feels like a searchlight during a breakout) when it comes to autism. It's Mark's turn. He and his friends Don and Lisa Fleck and Marty Eunice entered two teams in the Connecticut tournament for Els4Autism and have raised over $20,000 for the Els foundation and school. Mia, Gianna and Bella are honorary team captains.

Ernie Els says, "The rest of my life, I will be fighting this thing [autism.]" I was encouraged by seeing Dr. Martha Herbert as an advisory board member. Maybe autism finally knocked on the wrong door for real? (Name that reference in the comments and win a prize. Or at least a high five.)

So, hats off to my husband Mark and his good friends for helping our kids in a meaningful way.

To learn more about his team and the event click Els4Autism golf team Stagliano.

Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism. Her book from Skyhorse Publishing, All I Can Handle I'm No Mother Teresa; A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism is available now. Visit her website at Kim Stagliano.

Kim Stagliano Book Signing The Learned Owl Hudson Ohio

BOOK SIGNING* WITH FORMER CLEVELANDER

KIM STAGLIANO

A MEMOIR ABOUT RAISING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM…

AND LAUGHING YOUR WAY THROUGH IT!

ALL I CAN HANDLE

I’m No Mother Teresa

By Kim Stagliano

Foreword by Jenny McCarthy

Saturday, July 23

The Learned Owl

204 N. Main St., Hudson, Ohio 44236

330-653-2252 or 1-800-968-2685

* And keynote speaker at the Third Annual Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders Friday July 22 at the Holiday Inn, Independence.

Visit http://americanmedicalautismboard.com/amab-2011-conference.html

“Incredibly funny… A bird’s-eye view into what it’s really like to love

and raise kids with autism.”—Jenny McCarthy, from her foreword

Hundreds of memoirs, cookbooks, and medical volumes have been written about raising children with autism, but none of them will make you laugh this hard. In All I Can Handle: I’m No Mother Teresa, mother, wife and down-to-earth human being Kim Stagliano tells the inspiring, heartwarming, and utterly hysterical story of how one very strong woman raises three daughters with autism, loses one at Disney World, stays married, has sex, bakes gluten-free, goes broke, and keeps her sense of humor.

Kim has been featured on Good Morning America and in Time Magazine among other national media outlets for her work with AgeOfAutism.com. She has devoted her life to raising autism awareness and helping parents like herself find the answers they need to best support their children. However, in this book, for the first time, she tells her life story. The memoir of a mother raising three severely disabled daughters may seem bleak, but in her loud, unique and compelling comedic and literary voice, Kim explains how there is nothing in life not worth laughing at – and even less that you can’t come to love and appreciate. Some of the highlights of her daily adventures are:

· Poop. Kim relates the difficulty in potty training her three autistic daughters, and how she ends up finding poop EVERYWHERE in her house (on the floors, in the walls, inside toys etc. etc. etc)

· Sex and love. Kim didn’t have three kids with her husband by NOT having sex! She discusses how they make time for each other during their crazy schedules, how they got through her husband’s being laid off THREE times, how they almost got divorced over a round of golf, and how their relationship is now stronger than ever because of the setbacks they’ve encountered and overcome.

· Autism. Kim describes her various encounters with doctors - some of whom told her there was nothing wrong with her children - and she does not hesitate to speak her mind about the extent to which she was supported or NOT supported throughout the process.

· Her devotion to her children. Kim describes the panic-attack she had when she lost one of her daughters at DisneyWorld. She also writes about times when she had too much trouble getting her kids out of the car to pick up groceries or take-out food, and forfeited her own dinner because she refused to leave her kids alone in the car to get it.

· Money problems. Kim and her husband, like many other American couples, have suffered through layoffs, new jobs, and not having enough money to buy their kids Christmas presents.

Kim Stagliano’s story is unique because it is both tragic and heartwarming. She describes the terrible things she has had to endure, but also explains how she feels happy and blessed and enjoys every moment of her “Stagtastrophe-filled” life.

About the Author:

Kim Stagliano is a nationally recognized autism advocate and speaker. She is managing editor of www.ageofautism.com and writes for The Huffington Post, The Autism File magazine, and The TodayMoms blog from MSNBC. Stagliano lives in Connecticut with her family. Her website is www.kimstagliano.com

To schedule an interview with Kim Stagliano, please contact:

Nina Boutsikaris / nboutsikaris@skyhorsepublishing.com / 212-643-6816 ex 233

All I Can Handle:

I’m No Mother Teresa

By Kim Stagliano

Skyhorse Publishing Hardcover Original

On Sale: November 2, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-61608-069-3

Price: $24.95

Welcome to The Talk Viewers!



I hope I didn't leave any dirty undies on the floor of my blog!!! Came running over to check. Seems like everything is in its proper place.

I'm so tired today - Mark and I drove to Maplewood NJ (about 90 miles from our home in CT) to Words for a signing. What fun! The store CATERS to families of people on the spectrum. They have a work-shop for adult employment and offer programs. They also have a sensory seating area and you don't get the "Ooh is that poop on your shoe!?" face from the sales staff if your child makes noise. I love WORDS.

We arrived home around midnight. I got up at my usual 6am to prepare the girls' GFCF breakfasts and lunches. I watched the wedding too - I admit it! And I cried. Color me romantic. Who knew? Spent time thinking about my own wedding - Mark and I celebrate our 20th this October. Good golly Miss Molly how did that happen. No - really, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Have you read my book? :)


Then I continued my quest to kickbox myself into oblivion. Today was DAY FIVE this week. I'm shooting for 5-6 classes a week. Did I mention my 30th HS reunion is in two weeks? I know - so cliche! I kick box at Hanko Ryu in our town and Shihan is a tough taskmaster, it's really boot camp. On Wednesday he dropped the medicine ball on our stomach as we lay on the floor. Today he timed us on his obstacle course he may have borrowed from Abu Graib and then made us do a sort of push up where it only counted if your chest hit the floor. I call that blatant discrimination of the flat girl, don't you? I feel like screaming, "I DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE TO GO!!!!" every few moments during class.

After class today I got home, showered and crawled into bed. Mark (who works from home) was pleased as punch. Until I looked at him from under the covers, pulled up to my chin thank you, and said, "No really, IT'S A NAP." Poor boy!

The kids are about home from school. Have a great weekend everyone!

Tomorrow is day 6 of kick boxing (I'm addicted to the class and the terrific people who attend, and Shihan is actually a great guy, husband and father - originally from ROMA and his accent makes the commands a bit less painful) and Saturday is the toughest day of all. wish me luck!

Neutrogena Deep Wrinkle Cream Really WORKS!

It does, it does!!! How do I know I look younger after just ONE APPLICATION! I got a giant zit about an hour after opening the damn tube. Jeez oh man - now I have a frown line that looks like the Mariana Trench and a zit. Isn't that lovely?

Happy Easter!

California Dreaming! Kim Stagliano at TACA in Costa Mesa

Had a great trip to California! Thank you to Connie at VROMAN'S
in Pasadena and Generation Rescue
and toTACA
in Costa Mesa.

I'd thank the manager at the Border's in Costa Mesa but he/she never bothered to greet me or welcome me into their store - which I assume is closing soon enough. The TACA crew more than made up for Border's lack of courtesy with a healthy dose of SOCAL hospitality.

Lives in our Backyard.

Industrious little critter. Survived a horrible winter. Now back running between our yard and the neighbors.

Mark Blaxill To IACC: "It's Time To Lead"

The IACC is a gov't panel in DC charged with figuring out/solving/funding/researching/leading autism assistance in the USA. To date, they have been relatively useless and some of their members actively FIGHT against what's needed for autism. Like many gov't committees, there's dead weight and people with a personal agenda that is contrary to the greater good, to borrow a phrase. Mark wrote this for an open comment session yesterday. Read it, understand how your tax dollars have failed us all. And that President Obama has been a catastrophe for autism. An utter failure so far.

Time to Lead

My name is Mark Blaxill. I am the father of a 15 year old daughter diagnosed with autism, a Director of SafeMinds and editor-at-large of Age of Autism. I am also a co-author of The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine and a Manmade Epidemic. Since our book was published last September I have had the privilege of traveling across the country to meet with dozens of groups and thousands of families affected by autism. I was deeply impressed by the affected individuals, mothers, fathers and family members I met on our tour. Above all else, I was impressed by how so many families have the same story to tell and by how many of us are asking for the same things. We are asking for bold leadership that unfortunately we have not yet seen.

Most directly, in the midst of the greatest childhood epidemic of all of our lives, we are trapped in an historic failure of the scientific process. Thomas Kuhn taught us how communities of “normal scientists” can prevent progress and trap important field of inquiry in scientific orthodoxy. We have seen this pattern play itself out in autism, first in the idea that parents and especially mothers caused autism because they hated, indeed even wanted to murder their children. More recently we have been trapped in the equally failed search for inherited autism genes. In the meantime, we are investing next to nothing in environmental causation. This is a fundamentally irrational approach, yet the orthodox researchers who benefit from this irrationality have defended their territory while they invoke science in the name of their own interests. Not a single dollar spent in the process has prevented a single case of autism. Worse than that, we are spending millions of dollars to promote denial.

In an environment of increasing budget scarcity, this is more than just a scientific failure; it’s an economic one as well. We are wasting taxpayer resources and approaching the governance process with a lack of urgency that seeps into all aspects of autism science. As a near monopsonistic buyer, NIH has a unique power in setting scientific agendas. The IACC should serve the consumers of autism science. Instead you appear to most of us to serve the medical industry, aiding and abetting the fiction that the controversies over autism research pit “parents vs. science.” In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The real controversy is one between critical consumers of autism science and the orthodox producers whose work has failed us. In the debate between the autism community and the medical industry, your responsibility here should be clear.

This is not an abstract problem. Before 1930, the rate of autism was effectively zero. Before 1990, autism in the United States was exceedingly rare, as low as 1 in 10,000. Today, with roughly 1% of children born in the 1990s, it should be breathtakingly clear that autism is manmade. And that makes the autism epidemic not merely a public health crisis but a crisis of public ethics and morality as well. Hundreds of thousands of children, now growing to adulthood, are victims of preventable injury, a form of invisible violence. It is a form of violence that requires witnesses. Yet because of the nature of the injuries involved those witnesses must typically have scientific, medical or technical training. In large part, this witness pool also has career and economic interest in the medical industry, one of the main suspects. Tragically, but perhaps not surprisingly, we are seeing a moral failure of enormous proportions, as potential witnesses are sanctioned, censored and intimidated while the entrenched power of the orthodoxy has successfully sustained its prerogatives. This is not right. More to the point, it is not good. And it is long past time for a change.

More than any other single group of individuals, you members of the IACC are in a position to lead that change. That requires many things of you. It requires you to pay attention. It requires you to think independently and rationally. It requires you to take personal risk. It requires you to challenge close friends and colleagues who are part of the orthodoxy that perpetuates the problem. Above all, it requires moral courage. The only thing it does not require is that you wade through the complex machinations of denial because the problem is simple and staring you in the face. We are staring you in the face. And because autism is what it is, we will be standing in front of you until we are gone, or until you have done the right thing, whichever comes first.

To Michelle Obama During Autism Action Month

Dear First Lady:

I wrote this post for HuffPo when your husband became our President. I hope it tells you what it feels like for those of us living with autism every day. Blue lights and awareness are great for K-Mart sales. We need much more to support every American with autism, and with every "version" of autism.

If the First Child Had Autism

As a Mom, one of the highlights of the inauguration was watching the first children, Miss Malia and Miss Sasha Obama, revel in their father's day. They were poised and yet still childlike. Eyes bright. Smiles wide.

Their mother, our elegant new First Lady, was able to fully share the day with her darling daughters. Did you notice the glances and grins they shared? I sure did.

And then I became sad.

As an autism Mom, I thought about how different the day would be if the First Lady had a child with autism. Here's one scenario:

The First Lady is holding her child's hand tightly as they walk toward their seats, her smile tempered by the interference from her autismometer, the scanning system she uses at all times to gauge her child's mood, temperment, ability to manage the input and to anticipate a meltdown. In her other hand she holds a metal ring on which hang dozens of plastic cards with simple pictures and words. It's an odd accessory.

The boy is wearing a pair of bulky, Bose noise canceling headphones to help him tune out the roar of the crowd. His eyes are cast down to the floorboards.

The lines laid out before him capture his attention. He stops. He sits down.

A brief look of panic crosses his mother's face. She erases it. Then gently, lovingly signs, "stand up."

He lies down.

She flips the pictures to the word "stand" and shows it to him.

He covers his eyes.

She starts to perspire despite the cold, turns to her Mom and nods. The older woman responds and reaches into the bag she is carrying. She hands the child a Thomas the Tank engine toy. He accepts it, clutching the toy, waving it in front of his face.

He stands.

His mother's shoulders drop a few inches as they make their way to their seats.

She tries to watch her husband, to admire his handsome face and take note of his momentous day. This is his day. But autism is along for the ride. As always. When the speaker (who was it again?) finishes, her son's voice rings out amid the cacophony of applause, "A clue! A clue! We need our handy dandy notebook!"

She breathes out -- shows her son another small card. "Quiet." He squirms. Her mother hands her a small surgical brush with which she strokes her son's palms.

Her husband is about to take the oath. He looks at her with his, "Are we OK?" expression. She will not add to the gravity of the job he is about to accept. She will not cloud his day. She smiles and winks.

She takes her son's hand and together they stand. Her mother wraps her arms around the boy, applying pressure to his torso.

The President takes his oath. "Elmo Loves You!" cries the boy. The crowd emits a nervous laugh. The President bends to his son, kisses his head. The new First Lady takes her child's hand and fights back tears, praying her face reveals nothing but love and pride.

The First Family waves to the throng of supporters. To the world. The boy waggles his fingers in front of his eyes. His head nods to a song only he can hear. The First Lady kisses her husband, her hands cup his face for a moment.

In that second, the boy bolts up the aisle. There is a large, wet stain on his pants as he scrabbles toward an exit. The day is simply too much for him.

His grandmother is right behind him. Leaving her daughter and son-in-law, now the First Lady and President of the United States.

The next day, the President announces an initiative to study every possible cause of autism from genes to vaccines and to spend millions on treatment.

In four years, he plans to have his son speak at the inauguration for his second term.

Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism. Her book from Skyhorse Publishing, All I Can Handle I'm No Mother Teresa; A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism is available now. Visit her website at Kim Stagliano.