Welcome to the home page for Autism Speaks National Capital Area chapter.  We have an active and busy volunteer community supporting our organization's mission:  research, awareness, advocacy, and family services.  Our chapter supports events in DC, Baltimore, Richmond, and everything in-between!

Chapter Events and Initiatives in 2011:

School Outreach Ambassador: Marjorie Robinson in our office is working on a school assembly program that we would like to present to as many schools as possible in April 2011, Autism Awareness Month. The Ambassador would be responsible for:

a. Train in our office (1-2 hrs) to make the presentation.
b. Contacting school districts and /or private schools in their target community to get an appointment to present, preferably to a school assembly.
c. Confirm the date and time of presentation.
d. Make the presentation.
e. Communicate feedback from the school(s).
f. Train other volunteers in your community.

Autism Speaks Lending Library (see below)

Autism Speaks Family Services Outreach Project (see below)

Upcoming Meetings:

National Capital Area Meeting:

Want to get more involved?  Please attend one of our chapter meetings, open to all!  To rsvp or for more information, please contact Christina at christina.markish@autismspeaks.org .

Richmond Walk Committee Meeting:

We need your help! Join us at our next Walk Committee Meeting, date TBA.

 

Meet other volunteers to hear about our local activities and how you can help. Rsvp to richmond@autismspeaks.org .

If you are unable to attend but wish to join us by phone, please email Shawnie at skeenan@autismspeaks.org .

 

Baltimore Walk Committee Meeting:

 

We need your help! Join us at our next Walk Committee Meeting, date TBA.

 

Meet other volunteers to hear about our local activities and how you can help. Rsvp to baltimore@autismspeaks.org .

If you are unable to attend but wish to join us by phone, please email Susan at spereles@autismspeaks.org .

 

For more information contact us at nationalcapitalarea@autismspeaks.org .

 

Autism Speaks Lending Library:

Donate: Your gently used therapy materials for other families to use
Borrow: Therapy Materials you need!
Where:  Thank you to Runners, Inc., who has generously donated their time and space to house our materials.
7924 Queenair Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20879
(Main Office)
301-948-7500 / cell 301-252-1220
toll free 800-204-7501 / fax 301-330-1451
www.runnersinc.com  / tsmith@runnersinc.com

When:  Items may be Borrowed or Donated weekdays between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm to the address above. Pick up is also available for a nominal fee.
 
Also, thank you to Christine McKee who has volunteered to oversee this program. Please visit our Lending Library page or phone 202.955.3113 with any questions.

2010 Inventory: Autism Speaks National Capital Area Lending Library

ABA Resources

The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills - ABLLS - R Protocol
The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills - Scoring Instructions and IEP Development Guide
VB-MAPP - Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program - Protocol
VB-MAPP - Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program - Guide
A Work in Progress - Behavior Management Strategies and a Curriculum for Intensive Behavioral Treatment of Autism

Augmentative Communication (PECS, sign, AAC devices)

PECS books

Books - Children's

Baby Duck and the Cozy Blanket (Touch and Feel Book)
Dora's Book of Words
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Book with Felt Letters and Tree
Nursery Rhyme Book with Hand and Finger Gestures

Books - Adult Resources

The Child with Special Needs by Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder
Look Me In The Eyes, My Life with Asperger's by John Robison
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew - Ellen Notbohm
George and Samm Two Boys, One Family, and Autism by Charlotte Moore
The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz
Autism and the God Connection by William Stillman
Teaching Children with Autism, Strategies to Enhance Communication and Socialization by Kathleen Ann Quill
Engaging Autism by Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder
The Autism Sourcebook, Everything You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Treatment, coping and Healing by Karen Siff Exkorn
Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Development Disorders) by NIMH
Send in the Idiots by Kamran Nazeer
The Autism Acceptance Book by Ellen Sabin

CD and DVD Materials

Earobics Home - Sound Foundations for Reading and Spelling
Sonas and Samonas Sound Therapy CD and Manual
Mozart for Modulation - Modified - Therapeutic Listening

Fine Motor - Lacing, Cutting, Handwriting)

Lacing Tree - Battat
Wooden Music Box - Dizzy Ducks
Magnetic Sculpture Kit
Magnetic Color Cubes
Tote - n- Tiles - Mosiac Tiles Set - Discovery Toys
Wooden Beads Lacing Set - Learning Resources

Autism Speaks Family Services Outreach Project

Washington DC (October 15, 2009) - Autism Speaks National Capital Area announced today that it has partnered with Children's National Medical Center's Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and the District of Columbia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (DC LEND) Program to disseminate information to the underserved communities in the DC metropolitan area.  The Family Services' Outreach Project will be staffed by volunteers under the leadership of DC LEND trainee James Rutledge, who holds a masters degree in psychology. The DC LEND program is funded through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).

The Autism Speaks Family Services' Outreach Project includes dissemination of the First 100 Day Kit: a manual for newly diagnosed families; the online resource guide, a database with thousands of services categorized by state; and the local special project, the Autism Speaks National Capital Area Lending Library, from which families can borrow free of charge new and gently-used educational materials and toys to be used in home behavioral therapy programs.  For more information or to invite Autism Speaks to present to a group or organization, contact nationalcapitalarea@autismspeaks.org or 202.955.3112.