The Help Group's Legislative SummitAugust 4, 2008 |
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 With an outpouring of love and appreciation, a choir comprised of mostly children with autism and other special needs serenaded state Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) at a legislative briefing held July 23. The briefing was hosted by The Help Group, California's largest nonprofit serving children with autism and other special needs. While the choir was not the focus of the forum, the performance captured the hearts of the audience and demonstrated the positive outcomes for children with special needs when they receive early identification and intervention services. Held at The Help Group's Sherman Oaks campus, the meeting presented an overview of the current California Legislative package on autism. "This landmark legislation offers hope and real change that will positively impact many California families," said Dr. Barbara Firestone, president and CEO of The Help Group who also served as the Vice Chair of the California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism and authored the award-winning book, Autism Heroes: Portraits of Families Meeting the Challenge. The nine-bill package aims to address the needs and improve the lives of an increasing number of individuals, mostly very young children, diagnosed with autism in California. Torlakson, who also chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee served as the keynote speaker. He is the author of SB 1475, known as a "Pilot on Transitional services for Early Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Treatment," and one of the nine bills. If passed, it would create integrated programs between Regional Centers (state-funded agencies that deliver and coordinate services for individuals with developmental disabilities) and local school districts to identify, assess and treat children with ASD and other developmental delays from birth to 5 years of age. "I am pleased to have authored SB 1475 on behalf of the children and families of our state," said Torlakson. "Research indicates that early intervention creates lifelong benefits for young people with autism spectrum disorders. This bill is an important step to ensure the continuity of early identification services." The event also featured Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, who is director of The Help Group-UCLA Autism Research Alliance and clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute and Kristina Kell, parent of a child with ASD who graduated from The Help Group's Young Learners Preschool for Autism and now attends its Village Glen Kindergarten.
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