PCDA Lights It Up Blue for Autism Awareness

Light It Up Blue, also known as World Autism Day, kicks off Autism Awareness Month to help raise global awareness about the disorder which currently affects 1 in 68 children in the United States.

PCDA Music Therapy Teaching Tour

We’ve been invited to teach about DIR music therapy at the 15^th World Music Therapy Congress! Please help us get there by donating today.

FREE Autism Screening

PCDA will provide a Free Community Autism Screening at “Spring Vision BBQ”
hosted by the Los Feliz Lion’s Club.

Location: Dresden Room (parking lot) 1760 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027 12pm-4 pm

There will be free vision screening, BBQ, Jumper, DJ, and Live Band “Rivermaker”

Two New Social Skills Programs

Fun and Friends*
A Social Skills group for 3-4 year olds
PCDA is now offering Social Skills playgroup for 3-4 year olds!
Friday mornings from 9am – 10:30am at PCDA.
Parents are encouraged to join the fun with their little ones.

Socials Skills Group now in Baldwin Park!*
PCDA is happy to announce their collaboration with the City of Baldwin Park Department of Recreation and Community Services. Social Skills Groups are now being offered at the Teri G. Muse Family Service Center.

*Both programs are vendored by the regional center

For more information, please contact Jennifer Avendano at 626-793-7350 x222

Free Talk on Safety in the Community
Monday, April 24 – 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Ambassador Auditorium
131 S St. John Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105

Leadership Pasadena in partnership with PCDA, Villa Esperanza Services, and Ability First is presenting a free seminar for families about safety in the community for individuals with special needs. For more information and to RSVP, click here.

Thank you to our Move-A-Thon Leadership Sponsor

To become a sponsor, contact Franci at (626) 793-7350 x289 or franci@pcdateam.org

In the Spotlight – Vincent Rojas (age 7)

“I really want to thank the team of PCDA, especially the Department of Speech and Language Department. Maybe saying thank you it is not enough. My family didn't only receive speech therapy; we also received support and consistent care for my son. To be very honest, since my son’s diagnosis, I felt very alone, dealing all the issues by myself and not knowing where to go or what to do. I was scared most of the time. Now, here at PCDA, I don't feel alone anymore on this journey with my son’s diagnosis. I feel that I have a team and support for my son Vincent. Thank you very much to the clinicians at PCDA for showing care and love to my son.”
Andrea Rojas (Vincent’s mother)

DIR Approach to Pediatric Feeding Conference (June 8 – 9)

Our 2-day DIR Approach to Pediatric Feeding Conference is on June 8-9. This course will illustrate how DIR principles are used in feeding intervention for children ages 6mo-12yrs with a range of feeding challenges. For complete information and to register click here.

Volunteer for the Special Olympics Summer Games

More than 2,000 volunteers are needed to make Summer Games possible for the 1,100 athletes who will compete.

Public volunteer registration will open on April 10 at 8 a.m. Be on a lookout then for a reminder email with the link to register for Summer Games. We expect volunteer spots to go quickly and are first come, first served.

To volunteer, visit https://www.sosc.org/volunteer

On March 2, 41^st District Assembly member Chris Holden presented a “Certificate of Recognition” to Dr. Diane Cullinane at the 2017 Woman of Distinction award ceremony.

Congratulations Irish Salangsang for being
DI of the month for March!

Irish has background working with children for the past 6 years in school and community settings. Irish has a B.A. from CSUN in Communication Disorders & Sciences. She has a positive and enthusiastic spirit in the work she does with families and her co-workers. We are honored to award her with DI of the Month.

HELP US GET FUNDING FOR ALL AUTISM TREATMENT!

The DIR/Floortime Coalition has a new bill--Senator Anthony Portantino's SB 399 will require insurance funding for the most appropriate treatment approach for each patient with autism!

We need you to add your name to our sample letter. We must show that parents, professionals, and organizations are behind this bill.

Please click here to add your name: http://www.dirfloortimecoc.com/news--updates.html

Conservatorship Presentation

The 3^rd Annual Conservatorship presentation by Joseph Lee from Lee Green Attorney at Law was a success. Thank you to those that joined the discussion.

When asked, "If you could leave parents with one thought about Conservatorship, what would it be?" Here is what Mr. Lee had to say: “It is never too late to have a conservatorship filed. You can always file when it is needed despite your child’s age. Also, you can tailor your child’s conservatorship so that it will fit your child. One size does not fit all.”

Congratulations to Nicole Wiederecht and Amanda Aaronian for completing their 6 month music therapy internship with PCDA! We wish them the best with their future endeavors!

Thank you to everyone that attended our special screening of Asperger’s Are Us at the Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena!

(From left: Q&A moderator, Chris; director Alex Lehmann; producer Sean Bradley; Dr. Diane)