Autism Action Groups

 New Support Group for autistic children takes action!

 By Kristine Messenger

                When it comes to making a difference in the community for children with autism, there are no limitations. The following groups in particular have set their sights higher than most. They are not just talking about making changes, they are making changes!

                Royal Palm Beach residents Linda Boucher and Tamara McKlveen of the newly formed support group Autism Action Group and Andrea Thompson, president of The Other Side of The Fence joined forces to make their dreams of, “no limitations,  find your key to success” come true!

               These three women and other group members took it upon themselves to form a much-needed support group and not-for-profit organization to help families facing autism in the Western communities.

                It is not hard to see their determination when you meet these women. Their time and effort to make things happen is very apparent as each member brings their own talents to the table. They are parents and grandparents who are raising children diagnosed with autism. Not only are they trying to find help for their own children and grandchildren, they are trying to help other families in the process too.

            Unfortunately at this time, the obtain services in our community are few and far between. Most of the group members also agree there are little to no “affordable” services. So, in April of this year the groups came together and started to take action, seeking solutions.

             All group members are now on a mission to help bring financial, educational, emotional, and therapeutic services to the area. It was not a hard decision for them to make. They saw a need to help support children with autism and went for it.

              Andrea Thompson, president of The Other Side of the Fence says, “The Other Side of The Fence was born from a need for my son, and for other children with autism. I felt like autistic children and their parents are actually standing on the other side of the fence. Our children deserve services that are convenient and affordable in the community. My mission is to help provide affordable services and help educate individuals with autism and related disabilities. My vision is to open a therapeutic and educational center to service individuals with autism and their families, regardless of their financial abilities. I know this organization can become a success if not only families with autistic children come together, but every member of our community takes the opportunity to help. To put it simply, I am a mother of a child with autism who cannot find affordable services for my son.”

             Linda Boucher of the Autism Action Group writes, “As with any disability, autism presents some very unique circumstances for those affected and their families. It didn’t take me long to realize that families in our community really didn’t have a place to go, or someone to talk to about these special challenges. Unless you are going though it yourself, it is very hard to grasp the gravity of what is really happening both physically and emotionally to the people involved. The support group, ‘Autism Action Group’ is a place to start. It is a place where people can talk to each other who have been there, and who they can relate to without a lot of explanation.

           At the present time our group meets every other week at The Old Wellington Mall @ 8:30 am. [Call for exact dates and locations.] It is my hope as membership increases (currently we are a small group, and steadily growing!) we will be able to add meeting times and places accordingly, so more people can participate.

            We have banded together with The Other Side of The Fence. In doing so, we hope to combine our efforts to promote positive change. Most families affected by autism are currently driving as far as Jupiter and Boca Raton to find care for their children and young adults. We want to bring help and awareness to those living here! We want to create an environment with a sort of ‘one stop shopping place’ here in the western communities.

            As of today, there are 1 in 150 children being diagnosed with autism. When a family first learns of their child’s diagnosis it can take weeks, months, or longer to find which treatments are available, and where they are located. At the very least, it is our goal to make finding the information and services more accessible.

             People in our area can help by educating themselves about autism, and understanding that people with autism are a part of this community. Children affected with autism are not “bad” kids. They are very smart and loving children. Unfortunately, most individuals with autism have difficulties communicating with others. They express themselves differently and are not always able to understand socially acceptable behavior.

  Not only does Linda dedicate her time to the support group, she has also taken on another huge responsibility. In June, Linda met with Michelle Damone,

Executive Director of Project Lifesaver of Palm Beach County. Together they set up one of the first Project Lifesaver managing agencies in Royal Palm Beach. The site is located at Palms West Presbyterian Church in Loxahatchee Groves.

              Project Lifesaver of Palm Beach County is making great strides toward bringing

 their program to the area.  It is a public safety program used to locate missing persons due to wandering because of dementia, Alzheimers’s disease, autism, or related disorders. A transmitter (wristband) similar to a wristwatch is placed on the participant. Each transmitter has an assisted radio frequency inside. If that person becomes lost or wanders off, they can be tracked through the Palm Beach Sheriff’s office 911 center.  To date, hundreds of officers have been trained, including many from their K9 department. Once a person is deemed eligible for the project, he or she will then be connected with a local managing agency and an initial assessment will be made. Information is then collected, including a current photo, and is stored in a private data base which is accessed by law enforcement in case of an emergency. A monthly battery change is mandatory, and at this time a fee is charged to cover costs. Currently grants and fund raising efforts are being made to provide participants in financial need with wristbands. To date, Project Lifesaver is offered in 45 states and the country of Canada.

               Linda’s grandson was a participant of the PLS program in VA. When her daughter and grandchildren moved to Royal Palm Beach, they wanted to continue to be participants of the program. However, after trying to find a local managing agency, they learned that Project Lifesaver was just in the beginning stages here in Palm Beach County. While speaking with others parents, Linda quickly realized she was not the only one looking for a managing agency. After contacting Michelle Damone, within a few months she was able to get permission to have the site at her church, and the managing agency was established.

           “Project Lifesaver saves lives; I didn’t want to hear about another tragedy if it could be prevented,” says Linda Boucher.

Personal Note: I can’t thank Linda Boucher, Michelle Damone, and the West Presbyterian church for all their energy and time spent to make the PLS Royal Palm Beach managing agency a part of the community.

           Project Lifesaver has given my family the extra peace of mind we have been looking for. It gives me a sense of pride knowing we have such committed people working together to help save lives.

            Many thanks to Andrea Thompson for taking the initiative to begin her dream and start making possibilities for the future a reality.

                                                                  Kristine Messenger

Upcoming Event to Benefit Project Lifesaver

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*Donations needed:

We need the community to come together and help us make a difference – Will you please be a part of our success?

*Volunteers and sponsors, and donations are needed to help provide services and keep ‘Autism Action Group’ and ‘The Other Side of The Fence’ a success. For more information on current fundraising events, volunteering, meeting dates and times, Project Lifesaver Of Palm Beach County, or to join this support group please contact the following:

The Other Side of The Fence:

Andrea Thompson, President

561-452-3900

[email protected]

Autism Action Group:

Linda Boucher or Tamara McKlveen

561-790-6751

[email protected]

Project Lifesaver Of Palm Beach County:

Michelle Damone

561-753-6053

www.pbcprojectlifesaver.org

Kristine Messenger is the author of her first book, an autobiography titled “Somewhere Between Here and … Autism, Laughing with Angels, Dancing with Butterflies.” Visit her website for more information on the book and on her life’s journey, as a parent and as an advocate for autistic children.

Tech Talk

By Jamie Allison

Desktops & Laptops & Netbooks . . . Oh My!

In today’s world, most people rely on the use of computers from paying their bills to communicating with the world and it is a tough decision when buying a new computer with so many options available. Many of us started off using desktop computers with those big bulky CRT monitors we all know and love. These days we live in an on-the-go wireless age where you can check your email and go online from just about anywhere with your laptop or cellular phone.

We all owned a desktop computer at some point in our lives, those big bulky boxes with the 2 ton monitors. It seems these days the desktop is being phased out and being replaced with laptops and netbooks. Unless you are doing some serious gaming or desktop publishing, you don’t need a desktop pc anymore. Even today’s laptops can handle the work load for just about everything. It’s all about portability and going wireless from checking your email from a bookstore or monitoring your stock portfolio before your flight leaves.

If you play online games or do a great deal of multi-tasking, then you might want to go with a much more powerful computer to handle the processing speed. The three main factors you want to consider on any computer you buy are processor speed, RAM (Random Access Memory) and hard drive space. Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up your computer. In fact, adding RAM can be more beneficial to your computer’s performance than upgrading the CPU.

But the question is, what do I need to buy? Well laptops are the way to go. They are small, lightweight and very portable. These days desktop computers are not as popular as they used to be and they can be configured for wireless connectivity as well, but you won’t be packing one up to take with you on your next business trip or vacation. There are so many brands and styles of laptops out there, it’s hard to choose one sometimes. If you are just doing simple day-to-day tasks such as email, searching the internet, creating word documents and spreadsheets even video conferencing, you can get a really nice laptop for under $500.00.

These days even laptops are getting smaller with the introduction of netbooks, sometimes called mini laptops. A netbook is a small, portable laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet. Primarily designed for web browsing and e-mailing, netbooks rely heavily on the Internet for remote access to web-based applications and are targeted increasingly at cloud computing users who require a less powerful client computer. Netbooks typically run either Windows XP or Linux operating systems rather than more resource intensive operating systems like Windows Vista. They are the ultimate on-the-go portable link to the online word. Very small and extremely lightweight with screen sizes below 10″, you can carry these computers with you anywhere, just like a laptop but even smaller. The downside to these smaller machines is drive space and processing speed, but as we all know these things always change and technology is always getting better.

Netbooks are perfect for email, internet searching and some basic office document creating. Most of them do not have CD/DVD rom drives and the keyboards are very small and can take some time to get used to. With all the wireless options we have today, a laptop or netbook computer is the way to go.

Jamie Allison, MCSA MCP Net+ A+, can be contacted at PC Piece of Mind Computer Services, [email protected] or at 561-827-3792. AOL IM: pcpieceofmind. Visit www.pcpieceofmind.com.