Welcome!

The Albany Chapter of the Autism Society of America serves people living with Autism in the greater Capital District and their families.

Our mission is to promote lifelong access and opportunities for people on the autism spectrum and their families so they can be fully participating, included members of their communities. We do this through advocacy, public awareness, education, compassionate support and research related to autism. Our primary focus is on public awareness, education and compassionate support.

We currently hold 4 monthly support group meetings (one in Albany, one in Saratoga, one in Warren/Washington county and an Adult Aspie Social Group). Times and locations are posted on our website in the Upcoming Events Section to the right of this column. Helping children, adults, families, educate the providers and providing support all along this path, are all in the forefront as we move ahead together.

WE'VE MOVED!!

Don't forget - we have moved our offices from Maple Ridge Center in Rotterdam to the Campbell House building at 101 State Street in downtown Schenectady. We are happy to be here and want to make sure you know where we are! We are almost directly across from the Bus Station and a few doors down from the YMCA.

We hope that you will come and see our new digs - you are welcome to come and say hello, get some information, borrow something from our lending library, etc.

FYI, our phone number and e-mail are the same at 355-2191 and info@albanyautism.org. Our new fax number is 374-2972.

8th Annual Albany ASA Gala Coming April 17, 2010 - Save the Date!

The Chapter has again started our planning and preparing for the 8th Annual Gala "Unlocking the Possibilities". The date is Saturday, April 17, 2010 at Glen Sanders Mansion in Glenville. Registration will begin at 6pm with Cocktail Hour to begin at 6:30pm. Dinner, music and dancing, live and silent auctions and lots of fun to follow!

If you know of a potential sponsor, business who may be interested in putting in an advertisement in our program or donating an auction item, please contact Sarah Hamilton, Communications and Events Coordinator for the Chapter at 355-2191 or shamilton@albanyautism.org.

We will once again be featuring a moving, always heart-wrenching PowerPoint Presentation with the faces of our children and adults on the spectrum, so if you are interested in including your family member, please e-mail the picture to the above e-mail address. You can also mail them to the Chapter address at 101 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305, but e-mail is preferred. Thank you for sharing in this special night in whatever way you can.

REGISTER HERE

Albany ASA appreciates all the past, present and future support we have and will receive. We enjoy working with each and every one of you as we make a difference in the community and especially in the lives of families of a person with an autism spectrum disorder.

As always, don't hestitate to call or e-mail us if you have any questions at the contact information listed above. Hope to see you there!

ASA TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

The Albany ASA is pleased to announce a new funding source from our Chapter. We are interested in funding special projects that will expand supports and services to individuals with autism spectrum disorders across the life span who reside in the 12 counties that the Chapter serves (Albany, Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington counties). Preference will be given to projects that are innovative and collaborative efforts among agencies, professionals, and individuals and have the potential to continue beyond the grant period.

For grant request process information click here. For the application click here.

Please note that the deadline for submissions has been extended indefinately. Applications will be accepted as long as there is money left in our budget allotted for these grants. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 518 355-2191 or info@albanyautism.org.

Albany ASA and Exceptional Parent Partners

The Albany ASA and Exceptional Parent have collaborated to offer subscribers a way to gather some awesome information and help the Chapter at the same time.

Exceptional Parent Magazine offers organizations the chance to raise money for the programs that are important to them. Exceptional Parent will donate $10 to the Albany Chapter for each subscription purchased.

We will be adding a link to this section to get started and sign-up online for your subscription. Now you can read some great articles and help our Chapter and local programs all at once! Thanks again for all you do!

SPECIAL NOTE: DAD'S GROUP

The Chapter would like to inform the public that if you are interested in a Dads Group, please contact Jim Swart at Parent to Parent at 381-4350x26 or jmswart1@verizon.net. So glad to know that Jim has offered to make this ever-important connection with Dads of children with special needs.

OMRDD's Platform to Address Autism Crisis

click here to view OMRDD document

click to view OMRDD document

REMEMBER, WE WANT TO SHARE.....

The Albany Chapter is happy to share all our photos from our events with you. It is an opportunity to see the programs that your generous donations help to provide. If you would like to see our photos and share in the fun, please go to Albums and click on the event you are interested in. If you have photos that you are interested in sharing, and have permission to post them, please send them to us at info@albanyautism.org.

Have you moved lately or have a new e-mail address? If so, please make sure you remember to let us know. You don't want to miss all the information and we want to keep in touch with you. Please either e-mail to info@albanyautism.org or call Cindy at 355-2191 with your update. Make sure you stay connected to the Albany ASA!

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In Memory of Bernard Rimland

To honor the late Bernard Rimland the Autism Research Institute (ARI) is selling puzzle pieces to fund research. Each puzzle piece costs one dollar, and can be purchased through the Albany ASA by calling 355-2191. The Puzzle Pieces will also be available in the ARI’s booth at every DAN!, Mini-DAN! and other major conferences. This project will continue until One Million Dollars are raised!

The goal of this project is to provide funding for research into possible environmental triggers of autism and to develop and validate effective treaments for individuals with autism.

http://www.autism.com/families/stories/huggins.htm

Educational Law Update

The Regulations of the Commissioner of Education have been amended to conform to IDEA 2004 and the final federal regulations to implement IDEA 2004.  The Commissioner's regulations, which were approved as an emergency action by the Board of Regents at their June 2007 meeting, are effective July 1, 2007.

http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/idea/announce7107.htm 

Events Calendar

Everyone is welcome at our events. To find out about our next meetings and events of interest to the autism community, check the Events Calendar.

Albany ASA Library

Ways You Can Help

Now you can raise money for the AlbanyChapter just by searching the Internet at GoodSearch.com.

You use GoodSearch.com like any other search engine — the site is powered by Yahoo! — but each time you do, money is generated for us. Here's how it works:

1. Go to www.goodsearch.com
2. Type "The Albany Chapter of the Autism Society of America" into the "I support" box and click on "verify"
3. Search the Internet just like you would with any search engine
4. Since GoodSearch shares its advertising revenue with charities and schools, every time you search the Internet at GoodSearch, you’ll be earning money for our chapter

The second way is by shopping on-line through iGive.com.

You could give up to 26% or more of each everyday purchase you make at no extra cost to you.

It doesn't cost a cent to join and once you're a member, every time you shop the Mall at iGive.com we can get a percentage of each purchase you make.

Just think of it ---- free money for the Albany Chapter of The Autism Society, your choice of over 600 nationally known online merchants like Barnes & Noble, Eddie Bauer, Home Depot, GAP, Best Buy, Lands' End, PETsMART, and you can even use e-Bay too! Your privacy is guaranteed, plus money-saving deals and specials every day!

We hope you can't resist!

Join www.iGive.com/Albanyasa now.

And now... from September 25-January 4, 2010, the Albany ASA will have Entertainment books available to help out the Chapter. The books are $30 with $12 for each book going to the Chapter. So, don't forget to start your holiday shopping with a gift that is truly a Win-Win for everyone! You get a gift that many people can use, you get your shopping done and Albany ASA benefits...what a deal!

You can also have anyone who would like to (and out of town relatives) get the Entertainment book online at a secure site. Just go to www.entertainment.com/support  acct # is 963407.

Once again, we appreciate all you do to help the community andAlbany ASA!

CDTA 2010 Holiday Schedule

Albany ASA would like to let you know that you can find a copy HERE of the 2010 CDTA Holiday Bus Schedule. We hope this helps those of you who need this important service in our area.