Orange County
Come to a TACA Meeting!
TACA holds monthly meetings in many locations throughout the United States that feature educational speakers on important topics and allow family members to connect with one another and stay on top of the latest information in the autism world.
Each TACA group maintains a resource library of the latest autism books and DVDs/CDs that can be checked out by members at no charge.
Are you wondering what happens at a TACA meeting? Watch our video.
| Date: | Meets the 2nd Saturday of each month | ||||||||||||
| Time: | 1:00 – 3:30 PM | ||||||||||||
| Location: | TACA National Office 2222 Martin, Suite 140 Irvine, CA 92612 Directions from your location |
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| Coordinators: | Contact the Orange County Chapter Coordinators | ||||||||||||
| Child care: | Not offered at this time, sorry. | ||||||||||||
| Notes: | Unless specifically noted in the meeting description, all meetings are FREE and there is NO need to RSVP. Except for the annual parents-only School District Roundtable meeting in December, all meetings are open to students and professionals. | ||||||||||||
| Note: Parking is free for the first 2 hours with validation. Parking Fees are: $1.00 each 20 minutes, $3.00 per hour, or $12.00 Maximum* per day (*the maximum rate will be applied after 4 hours). Only cash or checks are accepted. Parking is free on weekend days. | |||||||||||||
| February 11, 2012 | Beginner- IEPs Made Easy | ||||||||||||
| Speaker: Summer L. Stech, Esq. | |||||||||||||
| ***RSVP is required for this meeting: CLICK HERE to RSVP online | |||||||||||||
| ***Please note: for the February 11th meeting only, you will need to enter the parking lot for the TACA Foundation Office (2222 Martin St, Ste. 140, Irvine, CA 92612), from the 2nd entrance northwest of the intersection of Martin and Von Karman Ave. The main parking lot entrance closest to Martin and Campus Drive will be closed that day. | |||||||||||||
| Do you feel confused, anxious and overwhelmed at your child’s Individualized Educational Program Meetings (IEP)? You are not alone! It is difficult to feel comfortable if you do not understand the process and what your child’s legal rights are. If you have just started attending IEP meetings (18 months or less) please join us for our free IEPs Made Easy legal seminar. The goals of this seminar are to help educate you on your basic legal rights in order to give you the tools you need to best advocate for your child. | |||||||||||||
| Summer Stechis an California licensed attorney and is currently working as TACA’s Legal Advocacy Coordinator and Program Director. Stech also works as an instructor for the University of San Diego Special Education Advocacy Certificate Program and as a Professor at San Diego State University teaching Special Education Legislation, Leadership and Management. Having worked in the fields of Special Education and Special Education law and advocacy for the past fourteen years, Stech has worked as a solo practitioner, a Program Specialist, a Staff Attorney for Legal Aid Society of San Diego, a Special Education teacher, an ACES Supervisor and an instructional assistant. In 2006, Stech was granted the prestigious Equal Justice Works fellowship grant with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc. (sponsored by Latham & Watkins LLP), where she managed and developed the Children & Youth Advocacy Project (CYAP). Through her project, Stech worked primarily with indigent transition-age youth with disabilities as they transitioned from school to adulthood.Summer has held positions as a law clerk for Protection & Advocacy Inc. in San Diego, Disability Rights Advocates in Berkley, the Special Education Legal Clinic at USD, and the Children’s Advocacy Institute. In 2006, she was awarded the James A. D’Angelo Outstanding Child Advocate Award, was highlighted in the USD Legal Clinics Alumni spotlight in 2008 and has recently been designated a Children’s Advocacy Institute Trailblazer. | |||||||||||||
| February 26, 2012 | ***LOCAL PARENT EDUCATION SEMINAR*** | ||||||||||||
| Tax Strategies for Parents of Kids with Special Needs | |||||||||||||
| Speaker: Gina Levy, CPA | |||||||||||||
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| Gina Levy has been a Certified Public Accountant for over 20 years. Her experience includes over 5 years with a major international CPA firm and several years managing accounting departments. Recently she opened her own CPA practice in West Los Angeles. Gina is also the mother of two children with special needs. Her daughter has autism and her son has ADHD. She has been a passionate advocate for increasing the quality of service for all children with special needs. Along with her husband, Ralph, and other parents, she founded SpecialKidsLA, Inc. The website was a great help to many parents, unfortunately, they were unable to secure adequate funding to continue managing and hosting the website. Gina now brings this passion to her prior background of tax and accounting. She has recognized that many parents of children with special needs are unaware of how they can access additional services by tax planning. She is available for consultation on any of these issues and looks forward to helping parents. | |||||||||||||
| March 10, 2012 | iPad Applications for Kids with Autism | ||||||||||||
| Speaker: Dr. Jessica Postil, PsyD. & an additional speaker from Autism Spectrum Consultants (ASC) | |||||||||||||
| Come and learn about how the iPad (or iPhone or iPad Touch) has revolutionized the autism world. Coupled with the available applications, or ”apps” that have been developed to enhance communication between children and their parents (or caregivers, teachers, and therapists), the results are nothing short of miraculous. | |||||||||||||
| Read more about Dr. Jessica Postil here: http://www.autismconsultants.com/about_autism_spectrum_consultants.html#executive_directors | |||||||||||||
| April 14, 2012 | Summer Activities | ||||||||||||
| May 12, 2012 | Puberty | ||||||||||||
| Speaker: Cindy Underwood, MA, BCBA and Erick Leiva | |||||||||||||
| June 9, 2012 | School Aides: Best Practices | ||||||||||||
| Speaker: Dr. Chelsea Henson | |||||||||||||
| July 14, 2012 | Diet & Biomedical Interventions on a Budget | ||||||||||||
| Speaker: Lisa Ackerman | |||||||||||||
| August 11, 2012 | TBA | ||||||||||||
| September 8, 2012 | TBA | ||||||||||||
| October 13, 2012 | TBA | ||||||||||||
| November 10, 2012 | Recovered Kids | ||||||||||||
| December 8, 2012 | Annual School District Round Table | ||||||||||||
| ***Important: This meeting is open to parents, guardians, and caretakers of children affected by autism ONLY. |
Coffee Talk
| About: | Come and receive some extra support or to chat all topics related to autism and meet other TACA families. |
| Date: | Meets the 1st Tuesday of each month |
| Time: | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM |
| ***Note: The Coffee Talk LOCATION has been changed*** | |
| Location: | TACA National Office 2222 Martin, Suite 140 Irvine, CA 92612 Directions from your location |
| Note: Parking is free for the first 2 hours with validation. Parking Fees are: $1.00 each 20 minutes, $3.00 per hour, or $12.00 Maximum* per day (*the maximum rate will be applied after 4 hours). Only cash or checks are accepted. |
Upcoming Local Events & Activities
AAC Friendship Group
| About: | If your non-verbal or low-communicating child with autism uses Assistive Technology to communicate, you are welcome to join our AAC Friendship Group.For kids who type to communicate, it’s a great opportunity to share thoughts, ideas and feelings on a wide range of topics in a relaxed and supportive environment.So bring your letterboard, your Go-Talk, your Lightwriter, or your Dynawrite and come make some friends! |
| To RSVP: | If you would like more information, please call Karen at (714) 490-3780 or Nancy at (949) 412-0502. |
| Notes: | Children must be accompanied and supervised by a parent or other guardian. We look forward to seeing you there! |
Need support BETWEEN support group meetings?
Real Help Now Live Chat
Get Online Help now! Live Chat with a TACA Parent. The image below indicates whether a TACA Parent is currently available. Please click on the image below to initiate a chat session.
Frequently Asked Questions About Live Chat
Connect with TACA friends, share about your family, and stay up-to-date on the latest TACA happenings by joining
our cause on Facebook.
Yahoo!
Email lists are a great way to stay connected between meetings. You can subscribe, read emails and ask questions all related to autism. These lists connect you to other parents like you!
Here is how to connect:
Step 1 – Get a Yahoo! user ID and password
Step 2 – Search for groups in your area. Here are some groups we like:
Step 3 – Click on “Join This Group”
Step 4 – Set your account to “Individual Emails,” “Daily Digest” or “Web Only.”
Contact TACA of Orange County
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[...] the event should raise between $35,000-$40,000 to benefit other SoCal organizations such as Talk About Curing Autism and Autism [...]
[...] the event should raise between $35,000-$40,000 to benefit other SoCal organizations such as Talk About Curing Autism and Autism [...]