LONG BEACH, Calif. – Easter Seals Southern California Disability Services invites community members across Southern California to help shape national policy for life-long learning with autism at the Advancing Futures For Adults with Autism (AFAA) Town Hall meeting in Long Beach on Friday, November 13. The Long Beach meeting is one of 16 nationwide linking 1000 families, service providers, elected officials, community members and others via webcast to focus on the increasing and unmet demand for effective services for adolescents and adults with autism.
“There’s a huge wave of adolescents with autism who will become adults within the next ten years and our country has yet to address how the need for services, jobs, housing and other opportunities to lead fulfilling and productive lives will be met,†said Dr. Paula Pompa-Craven, autism expert at Easter Seals Southern California. “Last month we saw a new rate of autism in this country at one in every 91 children, including one in 58 boys. Children with autism grow up to become adults with autism. We cannot afford to keep putting off these challenges, and the Town Hall is a critical step in developing an agenda that can ultimately be realized through legislation and other means of effecting change.â€
Follow one Southern California family and their race for change
In Los Angeles County, Scott Siegel was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at age 8. Now 23, Scott struggled in his job as a clerk in a grocery store until today. Like so many artists, Scott wants to be a musician but in the meantime needs a day-job to pay the bills. Scott and his family reached out to Easter Seals for help. Now Scott is enrolled full-time in a local school funded by the Regional Center that teaches all aspects of film production to adults with disabilities. When Scott graduates he will be equipped to earn a living in the entertainment industry. And there are plans to use Scott’s music in the student films. The Siegel family will be attending the autism Town Hall to help effect positive change for adults with autism on a national level.
“Easter Seals believes every individual with autism, their family members and professionals should have access to a continuum of appropriate autism resources and receive necessary services, supports and guidance at every life stage,†said Dr. Pompa-Craven. “We joined the consortium leading this Town Hall initiative to make sure critical life services become a reality for families living with autism – to help create hope for the futures for adults with autism.â€
For more information about Scott Siegel and to interview the Siegel family, or to interview Easter Seals autism expert Dr. Paula Pompa-Craven, please call Marianne Tomich at 323-330-0160. For information about the AFAA National Town Hall, please visit www.afaa-us.org.
About Easter Seals
Easter Seals Southern California’s mission is to provide exceptional services to ensure that all people with disabilities and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities. We serve 3,500 people at 50 offices and sites throughout Southern California. To learn more, please visit www.SouthernCal.EasterSeals.com.
– END –
