Dear Family and Friends,
Aida and I experianced a rare moment of pure joy when our twins, Teddy & Tara, were born on June 24th, 2008. They were perfect, healthy babies. We realized how lucky we were and never took a second for granted as I had had an extremely difficult pregnancy. And then last April, we were shocked when our constantly smiling, happy baby boy began to withdraw and lost interest in us and most of the world around him. At 10 months old, we rushed him to the doctor after about 2-3 weeks of this strange behavior. His pediatrician said to wait as we were probably overreacting. Then at his 1 yr. check-up, he wasn't meeting his milestones - no waving, no pointing, no babbling and no more eye contact. His pediatrician said we should get on the wait list for the Marcus Autism Center. Good idea, we thought. Finally, she was acknowledging what we had seen for the last 2 months. Turns out the wait list was 6-9 months. We called around to other specialists. They all said the same thing - 6-12 months for an appointment. So we waited, and waited. And Teddy got worse and worse.
We were so very lucky that at the end of the summer, we were connected through friends to the TACA organization. A caring TACA member called me immediately. She told me we absolutely had to get Teddy on a gluten-free casein-free diet. I finally felt empowered, like I could do something for my son other than just sit around and read about autism and wait for an inevitable diagnosis. They gave our family hope. It is the best gift we have ever been given. We found our wonderful speech therapist through TACA that fall and we started Teddy in ABA therapy at the same time. The difference in him is remarkable. He is clapping now and babbling. He's a little behind, but he is communicating in his own way and most importantly he is looking us in the eyes and smiling. He is a happy boy. When Teddy finally received his autism diagnosis in March of this year, it was just a meaningless formality to us. We were so far ahead of anything the doctors had to say to us. We owe so much to TACA. We could never repay them for the wealth of information they have shared with us. That is why we are asking for your help. 1 in 91 children is diagnosed with autism. TACA gives them and their families help and hope immediately. No forms to fill out and no checks to write. It is an amazing organization.
How does TACA help families?
- Monthly Parent Education meetings (including up-to-date books for the resource library)
- TACA Journey Guides (free to all new families)
- Financial Scholarships for Families in need (trust me these therapies are expensive!)
- New Parent Seminars
- Parent Mentor Program
- Increased Austism Awareness
- TACA's website (including Live Chat - someone is always there to chat with you, completely invaluable)
Donating to this website is simple, fast, completely secure and 100% tax deductible.
Thank you for your support.
Becca, Aida, Tara & Teddy