If you thought last year’s National Poetry Month celebrations were hot in Sacramento, you haven’t heard about the happenings this month. Carlos Alcalá kicked the month off at the Sacramento Poetry Center on Monday, April 1, with some light verse. The Book Collector is offering a generous discount on all poetry books until April 30. Did you know that they have the largest collection of chapbooks by local area poets? Stop by and ask Debbie to show you the collection. Look at these highlights for the rest of the month. How many events will you attend? Head to Folsom on Wednesday, April 3, when Verse on the Vine features Indigo Moor. The Sacramento Poetry Center’s Literary Lectures series

Connie Post’s latest poetry collection, “And When the Sun Drops,” is also her third about autism from a mother’s point of view. Her first collection, “Seasons of Love, Seasons of Loss,” is “about discovering and accepting that her son has autism,” writes Post. Her second, “Letting Go,” is “about the difficult journey of placing her son with autism in a residential group home.” It is, Post continues, “a book about coming apart, and coming together.” About this third collection, Post writes, “I didn’t think I would write another book about autism. I had written individual poems about our continuing lives with autism. Mostly to serve as a catharsis for me to express the inexpressible. As Tho

The numbers are staggering: 1 out of every 88 children in America has autism. Statistics show, it is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S. Autism: Emerging from the Maze, a new documentary produced by KVIE Public Television examines the daily journeys of local families as they seek to understand autism and explores the latest research and services. In the documentary, insights on early behavioral markers for autism from experts at the UC Davis MIND Institute; STAND, Sutter Transition for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, a clinic helping adults living with autism; and services provided by the Alta California Regional Center are explored. Amanda, a 22-year-

Local residents can sample new Pyramid brews at a fundraiser for UCP of Sacramento and Northern California’s Autism Center for Excellence summer camp. The tasting event will take place 5-8 p.m. on April 19 at Pyramid Alehouse, 1029 K Street, Sacramento, and will include unlimited samples of Pyramid’s new beer releases, light snacks and live music from local band Secret Argyle. Tickets cost $25 and must be purchased at http://ucpacecamp2012.eventbrite.com. The event will help raise funds to send 15 children with autism to summer camp at Grizzly Creek Ranch in Portola. All 15 campers have been learning the skills to interact with other children with autism, as well as typically developing c

Now that an autism diagnosis is 10 times more common than it was in the 1980s, more children than ever before are undergoing effective early interventions and treatment plans. However, one aspect of the disorder that has yet to garner attention is the scarcity of support for young adults transitioning out of high school and into adulthood. “There is a severe lack of knowledge for educators and parents regarding available options after the public K-12 system,” says Rodger Stein, M.A., an instructor at UC Davis Extension and professor of psychology with the Los Rios Community College District who specializes in behavior supports for youth with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. “

The Midnight Masquerade Charity Fashion Show flaunted a cornucopia of fashion designs and styles – from pop art-inspired dresses to “Star Wars” costumes – by Sacramento State students Tuesday at the Sacramento State University Union Ballroom. More than 200 people attended the two-hour charity event, which helped raised funds for the Autism Center for Excellence at Sacramento State or A.C.E., a program by United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Sacramento that provides socialization training programs for children ages 8-12 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. SFA donated part of the proceeds from the event in the amount of $300 to UCP. To welcome guests, while keeping with the midnight m

“These shows allow our artists to feel genuinely appreciated by people who don’t see them for what they lack, but see them for what they have," says Jessica Dore, of Studio 700 Center for the Arts. Twice a year, the artists of Studio 700 have the chance to open the doors of their studio to the community and display their work, in a public recognition of exactly who (and what) they are. Artists. “I think there’s a general climate of sympathy rather than appreciation that surrounds this population,” Dore said, “but there’s something raw and unique and wonderful about someone who isn’t ‘classically trained’ putting something down and creating art." A program of Placer ARC, Studio 700 is t

Throughout my 'radio' years here in Sacramento, people have asked me about my involvement with FEAT--a non-profit organization of parents, family members, and treatment professionals dedicated to providing best outcome Education, Advocacy and Support for the Northern California Autism Community. FEAT stands for Families for Early Autism Treatment. My answer is simple. Someone in the media needed to help. When I first started to help FEAT the term autism was still relatively unknown to the mass audience. Back then, when one would say, autistic--people thought we were saying, artistic. I knew I needed to help with the enlightenment of autism. I realized then, these parents needed more than a

My name is Melissa Mendoza, and my family and I live in a lovely neighborhood called Woodlake in Sacramento. We are your typical family of four, married for eight years with two beautiful children, a daughter and a son. Our lives seemed typical and ordinary until two years ago when our son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 ½. We were thrown into a world of psychologists, neurologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and so many unanswered questions. My husband and I had just started our own web and database design business and were now spending countless hours in doctors’ waiting rooms and searching for answers to why our son was still not talking at the age of 2. Why w

I have had a very surprising past few days. I wanted to share it here because I think what I have experienced has happened to everyone at one point. The surprising part of what I'm about to share, the most shocking part of all came from the most unexpected place; the point of origin! The thing that caused me the most pain ended up surprising me the most and spun my head clean around. Being a Mom of 3 extremely active boys so close in age, I have gotten my fair share of disapproving looks. Looks that speak volumes without any sound like the, "you must need a glass of wine before bed" look, the "what are you crazy?!?!" look and so on. When you add the extra twist of having a son...the oldes

“I don't understand why they placed him like they did, when he is clearly not what they say he is.” At 18 months old, my child was diagnosed as autistic. Like any concerned and loving parent, I immediately began learning about his developmental delay as I gathered all the resources I could to help him. I learned of a frightening statistic; One child in every 166 births will be diagnosed with autism. He began receiving speech and occupational therapy from the Alta Regional Center. As I watched and participated in his hours of therapy per week, I saw my non-verbal but happy child make progress very slowly. Sometimes the constant mental prodding was just too much, and he would melt down. We

“He doesn't care what you think,” Jack Gallagher said about his son Liam. “Liam is a different kind of cool.” Liam, 14, has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is Gallagher’s son. And he is the subject of the Sacramento writer/comedian/actor’s new one-man show, which opened last week at the B Street Theatre. Gallagher performed “A Different Kind of Cool,” his fourth one-man show, on Thursday night. He still performs his previous one-man shows - ”Letters to Declan,” “Just the Guy and “What He Left” - in various venues. All of Gallagher’s one-man shows are based on his life. Gallagher tells very personal stories during his plays, but he tells his “stuff,” as he puts it - not

On August 22nd, 2010 the eighth annual Walt Gray Ride For Kids roared into action with thousands of motorcycles lined up at Raley Field in Sacramento. Registration, a $25 per rider charitable donation, began at 8:00 am with free pastries, coffee and bottled water. Over the past seven years the Walt Gray Run has raised over $320,000 with all proceeds benefiting children’s charities. This year, the recipients were: Autism Speaks, Bikers against Child Abuse and Hope Productions Foundation. As the day started bikers of all creeds and ages filled the parking lot at Raley Field with every style, shape and color of bike you could imagine. The registration began early with riders braving the chi

On October 24, the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center in El Dorado Hills, California, will sponsor an event for Parents and Children that will focus on educating children with special needs, including those with Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Anxiety Disorders, Sensory Integration Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, and learning challenges. The Focus of this year’s event is Stress Reduction, Focus and Organization at home and in the classroom. Our objective is to bring to parents and children important information regarding their children’s education as well as practical strategies for understanding and overcoming the effects of these and other sensory-based learning chall

Most 20-year-olds don't play over 15 instruments or write three songs per week. Nor have they traveled and lived all over the United States. But Sacramento musician Autumn Sky didn't grow up in a so-called "normal" household. Having played hundreds of shows, the ambitious Sky is on the rise. Sky (she uses her middle name instead of her last name, Hall) was born in Paradise, Calif. She and her family lived out of a Volkswagen Beetle near Puget Sound in Washington and spent time in Oregon and Wisconson before settling in Sacramento. She also recalled living in a log cabin in Mendocino as part of a nudist colony. "There is a whole [photo] album that my parents have and it's all these babi

Ever since the 1950’s, the video telephones has been flaunted as an inevitability. And yet 50 years later, at a time when cell phones and the internet are considered essential services by most, video telephone phones remain a mere possibility to all but 0.7% of all households in the U.S. That number may change dramatically if the teachers and tutors at the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center in El Dorado Hills, California have their way. The NLC has unveiled a new In-Home Tutoring Program that offers free video telephones to families with children who are struggling in school. The in-home tutoring program is aimed at kindergarten though high school children struggling with chronic learning

There is so much to be learned from planting, working and harvesting a garden. I’m excited to be a part of a new community garden at 58th & 2nd Ave, and can’t wait to see all our seeds grow. It’s amazing to me the growing number of community gardens in our Sacramento area. One such garden is on the high school campus of Rio Americano. A few years ago when I worked there full time in the Autism program, the teacher felt the need for his students to work with their hands out in a garden, and went about making it happen. The lessons ranged from building boxes, life cycles and cooking to the simplicity of knowing colors and what herbs are used for. While subbing in my old class this past week