Some Great Reading Material When the Weather has you Stuck Inside – The Latest Autism Topics and Research: ASAT Newsletter Winter 2011

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are warm and your schedule is back to normal after all the crazy weather last week.  Little Star Center was closed three days due to ice and snow, but we are back and ready to roll.

This morning, when I sat down at my desk, I was excited to see I had the latest edition of the ASAT Newsletter in Inbox.  My favorite part is Media Watch – a section where Association for Science in Treatment of Autism (ASAT) responds to both accurate and inaccurate portrayals of autism intervention in the media.

This quarter, there are also three research article summaries – examining hyberbaric oxygen therapy, the use of weighted vests and a manualized DIR parent training approach to treatment.

Also, check out page six for our latest ad!

Happy reading and enjoy the sunshine today!

The Latest News Regarding the Issue of Vaccines and Autism – Dr. Wakefield’s Research

As you know, there has been a media frenzy lately regarding Dr. Wakefield’s 1998 research paper that linked the childhood measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to the onset of autism.  Recently, Dr. Wakefield’s paper and research have been discredited since follow up studies could not replicate the findings casting doubt on its conclusions.

NPR’s, The Diane Rehm Show, has done a great job of discussing this issue and has had some experts come on and speak about it. Check out the latest edition – Vaccines and Autism: A Story of Medicine, Science and Fear.  Click listen to this hear this discussion.

2010 – The Year in Review at Little Star

Well, it’s 2011 – can you believe it?  Little Star has a big year ahead of us, but I wanted to take a step back and reflect on all the happenings of 2010.  Check them out:

  • We celebrated our 8th anniversary!
  • Our Executive Director, Mary Rosswurm, came back after a 22 month “sabbatical” in Massachusetts.
  • In the fall, we expanded our facility in order to serve more children.  Our center is now almost twice its original size.
  • Our staff has grown to over 35 employees.
  • We introduced “Middle Star” – a program for children ages 10 and up.
  • The center went wireless – we are so advanced! :)
  • We joined the social media world and you can now find us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
  • For the 9th Annual Golf Marathon we raised over $25,000 for the center!
  • We started a Parent Morning Meet-Up for Little Star parents to come meet and mingle with each other.
  • In December, we debuted our new website – littlestarcenter.org

Thank you to our staff, parents, families, friends and sponsors who make Little Star Center the success that it is.  We can’t wait for another great year and are so glad to have you on board!  Happy New Year!

If you give a kid a cookie…

An awesome little guy who attends Little Star Center sat across from me at lunch today. He excitedly dumped the contents of his lunch bag onto the table and dug through the chicken chunks, fruit cup, cheese, bread and juice box until he found a bag of four chocolate chip cookies. He emptied the bag onto his empty plate and began to eat them. May your day also be a day of dessert first!

Serving children with autism since 2002…

Little Star Center is excited to launch its new website! Please check out our center and the services that we offer.

Annual Holiday Party – Reindeer and all!

It’s the season to be jolly, when we gather together to celebrate with our nearest and dearest!  I love parties, it’s no news.  I love attending them, hosting them and even hearing about them – so I thought you might too!

Little Star hosted it’s annual holiday party on Saturday.  Over 130 people were in attendance including LSC parents, kids, siblings, staff and their families.  Santa Claus came by and the kids were sitting on his lap, telling him their lists (I did, too!).

Also, in attendance were a couple of his reindeer – the kids loved petting them and feeding them carrots and apples.  Attendees ate great food, met other families and watched the kids play.  It was a great time and we look forward to doing it again next year!

Happy Holidays to everyone and feel free to stop by my office and tell me about your parties – again, I love parties!