Greetings Everyone ~

It has now been five years that I have been at this site and my youngest son, Matthew just turned 14 a few weeks ago. Life sure is different with two teen boys on the autism spectrum. Recently we thought we would have to find a new virtual online school for Nicholas, but AB 1950 did not go through - this was on charter schools and for profit companies.

Matthew starts Extended School Year (ESY) tomorrow - which is an earlier bus pickup than regular school year and a longer distance to a high school since LAUSD has summer sessions for special ed (IEP) students at these locations only.

This will be the first year he has attended due to summer camp for eight years. It is still too emotional for me to attempt to write about how the camp treated families after so many years and failed to communicate with us. I did not think I would be left with no summer plans for teens after having attended the same camp for 8 and 9 years.

Here's the latest articles from the Autism Spectrum Disorders site at BellaOnline.com.

Teaching Self Advocacy Skills to Teens
Resources we are utilizing over the summer break to assist high functioning teenage son as he gets ready for high school.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art67533.asp

Toilet Training Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art67258.asp


This is a story I read about today that has occurred in Santa Ana, California. I read that the School board is having their meeting on July 27th at 6 pm. This needs to be shared with families to know the extreme tactics school districts are taking against special needs families.

http://www.sausd.k12.ca.us/1443102812408810/site/default.asp

School district blames disabled student for own molestation | Raw Story http://bit.ly/bqvdhN


Please visit http://AutismSpectrumDisorders.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Autism Spectrum Disorders.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Autism Spectrum Disorders located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=365

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Bonnie Sayers, Autism Spectrum Disorders Editor
http://AutismSpectrumDisorders.bellaonline.com

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