Charity Tuesday: TACA (Talk About Curing Autism)

Hello Everyone,

As we all know, spotlighting charities and worthwhile causes is important to SR.

As a group, Elli, Coco, Sere and I are also dedicated to promoting these endeavors. Therefore, we are happy to share a weekly series of posts in order to take a more in-depth look at the various charitable organizations highlighted by SR. You can find a complete list of these charities on our blog by clicking on the "About the Charities" header.

Today's post was co-written by Efrat and I. It also announces a special fundraiser taking place this month. Please read on for more details.

We hope you will find the information in these posts informative and educational.  If you have a particular cause that is close to your heart or you have personal experiences with any of the charities we spotlight, please feel free to contact us about it.

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TACA (Talk About Curing Autism)

Mission Statement: Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating, empowering and supporting families affected by autism. For families who have just received the autism diagnosis, TACA aims to speed up the cycle time from the autism diagnosis to effective treatments. TACA helps to strengthen the autism community by connecting families and the professionals who can help them, allowing them to share stories and information to help improve the quality of life for people with autism.

Website:http://www.tacanow.org/

Twitter: @TACAfoundation

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkaboutcuringautism

It all begins with a stick. A stick that shows a ‘plus’ sign, or two lines, or whatever image the manufacturer deemed worthy to indicate a happy event.

It’s that glorious moment when a parent begins to imagine the perfect future of an expectant child. How the child will begin to crawl, walk and talk and the exactly right milestones, how they will grow up being liked and having many friends, how they will excel at school and be accepted into a prestigious college, how they will marry and have children of their own… Each parent has their own dreams, but common throughout is the quest for happiness for their children. It’s a quest for their child to have an easy life, with as little difficulty possible.

But for some parents, that dream begins to crumble somewhere along the way. It might be when they realize their precious child, their own creation, is not responding to his or her name, or not making eye contact. It could be when other children begin talking but their child does not. It might be when their child spends their time alone, reading books, or playing with trucks, while other children play tag. And even scarier, when their child spends a majority of the time looking at spinning objects, covering their ears at what seems to be normal-pitched sounds or throw temper tantrums at random places and times.

These people are parents to a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex neurological disorder that is characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulty in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. It affects 1:88 children, and some say that statistic is even higher. Sadly, this number just keeps growing.

The diagnosis of a child with Autism is devastating to a parent. Not only because it shatters their dream of their child’s easy and happy life, but also because it seemingly destroys any fragments of hope for the child’s future.

My son was diagnosed 2 years ago, just before he was 3 years old. It was a devastating and an emotional shock. At that time, we had no idea whether our perfect little angel would even be able to lead a healthy and productive life, as his developmental delay was just too big and his behaviors were irregular. In addition, we didn’t know what do with it – how to treat it or how to speed recovery up. There was an overwhelming sea of information that required extra mental strength to even delve into.

Luckily for us, there was TACA.

‘Talk About Curing Autism’ (TACA) is an organization that is dedicated to educating, empowering and supporting families affected by Autism. For families who have just received the autism diagnosis, TACA aims to speed up the cycle time from the autism diagnosis to effective treatments. TACA helps to strengthen the autism community by connecting families and the professionals who can help them, allowing them to share stories and information to help improve the quality of life for people with autism.

For my family, TACA has been a savior. Through their various seminars, online articles and general ongoing support, we were able to find a path to recovery, and most importantly – hope. Hope that one day, our son will lead a productive and independent life.

Their support throughout our journey was, and still is, priceless. Be it through their personal mentoring program, online parent support or various hosted events.

In addition, the friends I’ve made through TACA are mine forever, and have been a rock during tough times as well as happy ones, as I am for them. These are friendships that will always last, as this destiny and path we’ve taken binds us all.

I still keep in touch with TACA, and use their vast sources of information to keep up-to-date with the newest advancements in technology. In fact, I think they will always be a part of my family, and my son.

Please, help me support this wonderful charity, that helps so many nationwide, and will continue to help many others in the future!

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Recently, we were approached by Efrat about the possibility of promoting a fundraiser she is hosting to benefit TACA. You may remember her emotional post from earlier in the summer when Argyle Empire highlighted Autism Speaks. 

Efrat recently won a set of signed copies of Gabriel's Inferno and Gabriel's Rapture. She wants to pay her win forward by raising money for one of her favorite charitable organizations and allowing someone else the opportunity to own an autographed set of SR's books.

We are happy to announce that between September 10 and 15, there will be an online auction held to benefit TACA. Not only will you have the chance to support a wonderful cause, you will have the chance to win a signed set of books.  Since the logistics are still being finalized, we will follow up this post next Tuesday with full bidding instructions.

In the meantime, please consider participating and please help spread the word about this wonderful fundraiser.

Take Care,
Jenn