Emerald Coast Autism Society - The Emerald Coast Chapter of the Autism Society of America was formed to provide information, referrals and assistance to the growing number of families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We are parent, professionals and volunteers who wish to enhance the lives of those who are living with ASD, and to raise public awareness regarding Autism.

Emerald Coast Autism Society
8668 Navarre Parkway
# 216
Navarre, FL 32566
ECAutismSociety@yahoo.com

The Emerald Coast Chapter of the Autism Society of America was formed to provide information, referrals and assistance to the growing number of families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We are parent, professionals and volunteers who wish to enhance the lives of those who are living with ASD, and to raise public awareness regarding Autism.

Dear ECAS Family,

As 2009 comes to a close I would like to take a few minutes to thank everyone that has made this year such a great success for the Autism Society. Here are the highlights from 2009.

In January we attended the Autism Education Center Conference in Panama City and sponsored lunch for the presenters. In March we had our very successful Autism see the possibilities seminar. We enjoyed hearing from Sarah McCarren and William Keeley both adults with Autism and also three parents of adults on the spectrum. We covered everything from High School to College to relationships and everything else in between.

On April 2nd we braved the weather to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day in the City of Niceville and donated $500 worth of Autism related books to the Niceville Public Library in Honor of Beau Brooks, the son of some of our founding members of the Autism Society and Susan and Jack Brooks who passed away last year. We also attended the Okaloosa County Commission Meeting as they proclaimed the month of April Autism Awareness month in Okaloosa County.

On April 25th we had our 4th Annual Walk 4 Autism Awareness at Niceville High School. I think this was our biggest and best walk ever. We raised close to $7500 after expenses. We enjoyed entertainment from our friends at Pyramid and Crestview High School Chorus. The kids played soccer with the Dent family and volunteers. We had bounce houses, therapy dogs, a fire truck and not to forget the great food provided by our friends from Culinary Catering 365. The Walk was lead by the Brooks Family walking in honor of Beau. We also had lots of information booths from local agencies that offer services to our families. I am so thankful to the army of volunteers and sponsors it took to plan and execute the Walk and look forward to our 2010 Walk. Mark your calendars for Saturday April 17th at Destin Middle School.

During the summer we offered a four week session of Fun Fridays Social Skills classes in conjunction with FSU CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities). We had over 60 children enrolled between the ages of 3 and 26. We are so thankful to our friends and staff and Niceville United Methodist Church who loaned us their staff and facilities for our classes and the staff at CARD. We hope to do something similar this summer. We ended the summer with a back to School Pool Party at the YMCA in Destin.

In September we hosted the On Track to Transition Conference with Florida Network on Disabilities and learned about local options for our children as they age out of the school system. In October we launched EMERGE - our support group for Adults with Aspergers or High Functioning Autism. This group is lead by Theo and Maria Farnsworth. Theo was diagnosed with Aspergers very late in life about a year ago. Maria is his wonderful wife who completes him in every way and together they are doing a superb job with Emerge and have had anywhere from 12 to 20 adults at their meetings and social events.

In December we hosted our first Autism Friendly Family Christmas Party and our families enjoyed a party created for them. They enjoyed Santa and food and could do their own thing with no-one looking down or passing judgment our our parenting skills. Best of all there was an Autism Friendly Santa with no lines and no waiting, and no time limit parents could get all the pictures they wanted. Thanks to Sarah our photographer and my dear husband our Santa Claus. Thanks also to our wonderful volunteers from Sam's Club and Holley Navarre Middle School.

Just to top the year off we had our very first Heart of Sailing Trip on December 23rd with Captain George Saidah. What a wonderful experience for eight of our families. We are thankful to Cpt George and Ray and Tina Watson for putting the day together and look forward to more trips in the New Year.

I am also thankful for the speakers from the community who have shared their time and talents educating us and sharing information to help make our lives easier and better informed. I am thankful to our new Board of Directors that we elected October this year that help me lead and guide the Autism Society.

All in all I think 2009 was a fantastic year for Emerald Coast Autism Society and I am excited to see what is in store for 2010! Look for information that will be coming out in the next week or so on some exciting things planned for 2010.

As you make your New Years resolutions please plan to join The Autism Society of America . Our chapter now gets a percentage of the membership fees paid to ASA and will no longer be offering local memberships in the new year. Please resolve to get involved or volunteer if you are able in some way in the New Year if you have not been involved already. We are a 100% volunteer organization as our chapter is not able to support paid staff at this time. We need volunteers to be able to offer even more programs and opportunities in 2010.

Happy New Year to you and yours.
I look forward to seeing you all next year!
It has been a pleasure serving you as President!

Myra Fowler

Myra Fowler
President