Month: April 2013

Eat at Noodles & Co. on Kirkwood in Bloomington on Tuesday, April 23rd from 5pm to 9pm and BRING THIS COUPON BELOW with you and Noodles will donate 25% of you sale! Print it out from HERE, from our Facebook page or pick them up at our office at 200 E. Winslow Rd., Bloomington, IN. Help us out by doing something you love! Eating grrrrrrreat food at Noodles & Co.!

Help us spread the word! Go to www.facebook.com/lifedesignsinc and re-post what we have shared about this event! Invite your friends on Facebook to this event as well. The more people we can get at Noodles that night the better! Our goal is 80 people, but can you help us get more than that? We think so! Let’s see how many people we can get!

• An article by CEO Susan Rinne about the year ahead
• Pictures and recap from the Holiday Party
• A recap of the Week and Art of Chocolate
• Crawford Apartments Groundbreaking
• Columbus Open House
• Monthly Awards to Staff and Customers
  
• Celebrating our First Anniversary
  
• Disability Awareness Month
• Dine-to-Donate Fundraisers
• MLK Jr. Day Volunteers
  
• Information about our Annual Awards Ceremony coming up

Here’s how to sign-up:

• Go to http://homewardboundindiana.org/bloomington
• Click on “Register to Walk”
• Select “Join an Existing Team”
• In the “Select Team” drop-down menu, choose “LIFEDesigns”
• Continue to register and you are set to walk with the LIFEDesigns group on Sunday, April 14th at 1:00pm. Meet us at The Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park (Third Street Park). Look for Marianne Stemm, our HR Director. She is our site coordinator. Also, look for the sea of orange t-shirts with the LIFEDesigns logo on them!

Do you really know about Autism?

We have a list of wonderful resources to help you learn about Autism and spread the word to bring awareness about individuals on the spectrum. If you have a resource that you use, but is not listed here, please post a link on our Facebook page!

Autism Speaks is a nonprofit organization that provides resources on their site for free to download (here and here), including the 100 Day Kit for families who have a child recently diagnosed with autism. For still more information and resources please see their Video Glossary and FAQs and special sections on Diagnosis, Symptoms, Learn the Signs, Treatment, Your Child’s Rights, Asperger Syndrome and PDD-NOS.

The American Academy of Pediatrics joins with other child health organizations in recognizing April as Autism Awareness Month. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Pediatricians screen children for ASD, and support families whose children have this diagnosis. Here are some new resources provided by the AAP for pediatricians and families.

• Sound Advice on Autism – a series of audio interviews with medical experts and parents of children with ASD. A new interview features James Perrin, MD, FAAP, who is a pediatric developmental expert and president-elect of the AAP. Dr. Perrin discusses the latest in autism research, diagnosis, and treatment.
• Autism: Caring For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Toolkit For Clinicians now is available as a digital download or CD-Rom and includes tested screening tools, clinical fact sheets, and family handouts in both English and Spanish. 
• Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Every Parent Needs to Know is a new book that helps parents understand how autism is defined and diagnosed and provides information on behavioral and developmental therapies.

During April, parents, caregivers and health care providers can visit www.aap.org/autism for free samples from the toolkit and to preview chapters from the parent book. Additional information for pediatricians can be found on AAP.org, and for parents at Healthychildren.org.

The Autism Society has been celebrating National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. The United States recognizes April as a special opportunity for everyone to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community.  The Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon is the most recognized symbol of the autism community in the world. Autism prevalence is now one in every 88 children in America. Show your support for people with autism by wearing the Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon – as a pin on your shirt, a magnet on your car, a badge on your blog, or even your Facebook profile picture – and educate folks on the potential of people with autism! To learn more about the Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon visit http://www.autism-society.org/about-us/puzzle-ribbon.html. To purchase the Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon for your shirt, car, locker or refrigerator, click here.