TACA and an awesome blog

First and foremost, my close friends and family are probably getting tired of this picture, but I never will.  This is the first picture of Nathan in over a year where he is looking at the camera and smiling.  I am counting this as tangible progress!

Tonight is the monthly meeting for the local chapter of TACA (Talk About Curing Autism).  Once again, we are blessed.  The local chapter meets literally a mile from our house.  John and I try to go together, but we have been needing so much childcare from grandparents lately that John has generously been watching the boys so that mommy can go.  Really appreciate that!  TACA is a support group, but so much more.  Here is their website:  http://www.tacanow.org/
They offer a wealth of information for families.  They have a whole section dedicated to families with a child who is newly diagnosed with autism.  They offer screening tools for concerned parents.  Look at this, they have compiled a list of all of the available gluten free, casein free foods!  This was a lifesaver back when we were getting started:  http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/gfcf-food-shopping-list/
The local meetings are the first Tuesday of each month, and in general, each month offers a specific topic.  One month was a "tasting" of the GFCF food items made by One Dish Cuisine, a local supplier to grocery stores, bakeries, and even some hospitals now.  One month was a visit from a DAN (defeat autism now) doctor, talking about the immune system and the different biomedical treatments available for autism.  Then there was music therapy.  Also available at the meetings are various resource books that parents can "check out" for a month or two so they can do research without having to purchase a million books.  At your first meeting, you are given the "Autism Journey Guide" which is almost overwhelming because it offers SO MUCH information.
http://www.tacanow.org/store/Autism-Journey-Guide-Vol.-I-Early-Childhood-Book-only/

Some nights, like tonight, consist of round table discussions....small groups led by parents of older children with autism, they basically allow themselves to be barraged with a million questions from us less-experienced parents.  So helpful. I have a "mom crush" on one of the parents who leads these groups.  Her son is about 10 years old now, she is also a nurse, in fact, she used to be a bone marrow transplant nurse at the facility that competes with the hospital where I used to work.  When I met her, and we discussed our philosophies, I felt like I was looking in a mirror.  Ironically, I met her on Valentine's Day.  About 20 minutes into our conversation, she asked, how's the marriage?  Umm, err......she smiled.  Said, yeah, I know.  Then she told me to google Autism Daddy and to tie my husband to a chair and make him read it if I had to.  HA!  I LOVE this man's blog, he is amazing.  He is so not politically correct and he is exactly what my husband and I needed to read.  I will put the links to some of my favorite posts below.

http://autism-daddy.blogspot.in/2012/01/letter-to-dads-that-left-because-of.html

http://autism-daddy.blogspot.in/2011/12/12-ways-to-keep-your-marriage-strong.html

http://autism-daddy.blogspot.in/2012/02/10-polite-things-people-say-to-autism.html

And finally:
http://www.familybehavioralresources.com/uploads/wf_HelpUsUnderstandExtendedFamily0711.pdf

Found this indirectly through the guy's blog, but thought it worth posting.

I strongly urge you to read all of these, and file this stuff away.  I wish I had the nerve to write this stuff, well, his kid is older, so maybe it comes with time?  Great to read another perspective at the very least!