Dear friends, family, and community partners:As many of you know, I have become a runner. But you may not really know why a guy who weighed 250 lbs in high school and rarely missed a meal turned the corner and now runs marathons. It's probably not what you think.
In early 2004, our only child Grant, was labeled autistic. That month, I began running - my therapy through the tough times as our son struggled to learn how to speak and play. It was a frustrating, devastating time, and I was creating a little hope in a lonely world.
About that time, my wife (and hero) Denise was taking the first steps on a long journey as well - she found the web site of a California support group called Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) that was dedicated to speeding up the cycle between the onset of autistic symptoms and the initiation of effective treatment. A researcher by nature, she discovered and shared with me the information we needed to treat Grant's physical symptoms - and as his health improved, he began to respond to his intensive therapies and learn. Four years later - our son - diagnosed with full-syndrome autism at age 2, attends a regular preschool and is nearly indistinguishable from his peers.
With the help of National Spokesperson Jenny McCarthy - who is also recovering her son - TACA is now going national and Denise and I are honored to help launch the Washington State Chapter. We need your help to give every child the chance Grant has had toward being the very best he can be. No two children are the same, and not all can recover, but every family deserves to have all the information to make informed choices on behalf of their kids.
Initially I set my "Marathon Fundraising" goal at $5,000 but now realize that sum is far too low for the good work we need to do. Sadly, the $225 per mile I've raised so far won't come anywhere what we need to change the course of autism for families this year. Now that I've reached that goal, I'll continue trying to raise more. Parents living with autism experience their own marathon every day, and I owe it to them to raise as much money as possible in order to give them meaningful support. Thank you for your generous and meaningful contribution to TACA Washington.Dean FultonTACA WashingtonGrant's dadYou may either make a secure online contribution by selecting the "Sponsor Us Now" button below or you may send your tax-deductible contribution to:TACA (Talk About Curing Autism)c/o Dean Fulton5417 Park Place Loop SELacey, WA 98503News and Links:
NEW - I completed my marathon on Saturday, May 10th. Here is the link to my official results - 3:38.57 (71st place out of 347 marathoners) and some pictures. Thank you all for your positive thoughts and support!NEW - An essay that I wrote for Age of Autism (thanks for the opportunity Kim!).NEW - The Tacoma News Tribune had an article in the Sunday paper (4-27) about our new TACA group and my marathon fundraiser. NEW - Current TACA Washington Events- We held our first TACA Washington meeting on March 15th and experienced great success! We had 27 families attend along with our eight amazing volunteers. We had representation from Hoquiam, Shelton, Vancouver and throughout Thurston, Pierce, Lewis, and King Counties. We look forward to building upon our early success. One of our enthusiastic volunteer leaders, Chelsi, made a video of our first TACA meeting. Check it out here.- The local newspaper (The Olympian) ran a story about the new TACA chapter and touched on Grant's story as well. Here is the link.- Dean and Denise presented Grant's story at the fall DAN! (Defeat Autism Now) conference in Seattle. Click here to download and play the presentation. It is titled "Children in Recovery" (about halfway down the page). - Visit our TACA Washington page.- Another favorite page of ours - autism.com - Denise works with this great organization - ARI. OFFLINE CONTRIBUTIONS:Community Sponsors:Carson Kolzig FoundationTACA Journey Guides are provided to all TACA Washington parents free of charge. Thanks to a generous gift from the Carson Kolzig Foundation TACA National's costs associated with the production and printing of the Journey Guides are completely underwritten.The mission of the Carson Kolzig Foundation is to: 1. Enhance Autism Treatment Resources2. Educate and Equip the Community about Autism3. Empower Families Challenged by Autism Thank you Carson Kolzig Foundation!South Puget Sound Rotary Club - "Service Above Self"Thank you Rotarians!Friends and Family:Bob and Janet L.Irene C.Dave and Kelly T.Kathy S.Bill and Janice S.Annika M.
