TEAAM'S "Autistic Angels"
Autistic Angels is the Gulf Coast Chapter of TEAAM (Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi). This chapter was formed in November of 2007.
It is our goal to educate, support, and bring awareness to our community, our state, and the country about Autism. Autism, the fastest growing neurological disorder, affecting 1 in 110 children. Parents are searching for answers, looking for hope, and feel alone after hearing their child has Autism. We want to ease their fears by providing hope and the belief that we will find the cure for Autism and we will be able to pull our children, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces through that window and they will live happy normal lives.
With the research being done, we will keep you informed on all the latest findings. Gov. Haley Barbour has appointed an Autism Task Force. Dr. Mark Yeager, is the Founder and Executive Director of TEAAM. We are working with Dr. Yeager to bring the needs of our families to the attention of our legislature in Jackson, MS. Dr. Yeager founded TEAAM in 1996 and also founded Kamp Kaleidescope, the only summer camp in the state of Mississippi for children with Autism. At this time, TEAAM is looking forward to opening up two more camps of it’s kind to better serve the children in our state. This would make it more convenient for parents who want to send their child to camp for a week.
For each family, the needs will be different and you may come across a situation that another parent may not have had to face. The purpose of support meetings is to bring parents and family members together to discuss their experiences and learn from each other. You can be the voice that brings attention to certain matters and make a difference on behalf of your child.
Finally, WE ARE IN NO WAY, PUSHING FOR ANY CERTAIN "TREATMENT OR CURE" FOR AUTISM!!! As is TEAAM's policy, we will always provide vital information that parents may be interested in so they may make an informed decision on their child’s needs. All we want to do is make everyone aware and informed. You will always find well meaning people who may “have all the answers”, but a parent is the only one who can make the call as to how to proceed with their child’s education, therapies, and treatments.
As you will see, we gather our information from various sources. As we get information, before it is passed on to our parents, we will thoroughly investigate the sources, and if it is legitimate, we will pass it on immediately at our meetings and on this website.
If anyone has questions, concerns or suggestions, please feel free to talk to us about it. This is the purpose of starting this chapter and working with TEAAM. With the Autism Task Force in place, we will be able to get our concerns to them and fight for the services, funds, and support we need early on as we have a great advantage by getting involved in the early stages of this task force.
We hope to see you at one of our meetings. Please feel free to contact us at any time.
Believe in our angels, we do!
2009 Newspaper Articles
AROUND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
Autistic Angels reach out to stressed families
The beginning of a new school year can be stressful and emotional for families affected by autism, but help and support are available.
Autistic Angels, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter of Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi, serves the three coastal counties of South Mississippi. The chapter was started by Lori Forillo and Cindy McNelley.
Autistic Angels offers resources and services for children, as well as training materials. Chapter and support group meetings are held once a month, and child care is available.
Details or to attend a meeting, call Cindy at 447-3567 or Lori at 990-7617. Other details: Visit the Autistic Angels' site at webjam.com/ autistic angels or the TEAAM site at TEAAM.org.
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By Elise Roberts - bio | email
D'IBERVILLE, MS (WLOX) - There are at least 19,000 children and adults living in Mississippi with the disease. That's why members of one organization is hoping to educate people about the disease.
"Nobody really knows the cause of autism," said Lori Forillo.
Forillo is a volunteer with Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi, also known as TEAAM.
Like many of the walkers, she is also the parent of an autistic child.
"They are normal kids, but they just have a bit of behavioral problem," said Forillo.
Forillo is joining dozens of others to support families affected by autism.
"My wife and I have just joined up with this group, and we've dealt with our autism about six years by ourselves," said Pete Lee.
Now the Lee's 10-year-old daughter Shelby has a network of volunteers and friends who understand her struggle.
"There's different ends of the scale for autism," said Lee. "Some of the children are not able to function very well. They are not able to communicate. We are blessed with Shelby. She's able to communicate and others."
Signs of the bio-neurological disability usually appear by age three. Autism is diagnosed more often in boys than girls. It's not prevalent in any particular race, region or socio-economic status. And there is no cure for the disease.
However, that's not stopping the South Mississippians in their quest to educate everyone about autism and they're doing it one step at a time.
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Autism walk brings awareness to Coast
Imagine a world where your communication and motor skills are limited or difficult to improve from a time when you are very young. The ability to concentrate, to put across your message, even to move smoothly, sets you apart from others.
That’s the world of autism, illustrated by an awareness ribbon of puzzle pieces. An estimated 19,000 children and adults live with autism in Mississippi, and the numbers grow as The Autism Society of America claims statistics that one in every 150 U.S. births develops into autism.
The first “A Day of Celebration: A Walk for Autism Awareness” will bring attention to the alarming statistics, but more importantly organizers want to let South Mississippi families affected by autism know there are local support groups.
“There seems to be a lot more buzz about autism,” said Amber Markline of Gautier, who has two autistic children, George and Ashley, she will bring to the awareness walk.
“Events like a walk put a face to this disorder. It lets the community see that people with autism are in the community they live in.
“The teachers are becoming more aware, too, and my hat is off to them for taking more training and just being more aware that each child is individual and unique.”
TEAAM, which offers teacher and parent training, currently has three South Mississippi chapters with a fourth possible in Hancock County. Money raised from the March 14 walk will support Camp Kaleidoscope, a Mississippi summer camp for those with autism and other developmental disorders.
The scientific community debates the causes of autism, with current emphasis on environment and genetics.Severe autism may require institutionalization, but many autistic youngsters live with their families and attend public schools. They are no longer simply labeled “mentally retarded” as they were in generations past. There is speculation that such greats as painter Vincent van Gogh and physicist Albert Einstein had high-functioning autism.
News paper articles
Sun Herald - May 2008
Walk benefits autism groups
By JAY HUGHES
SUN HERALD
OCEAN SPRINGS --
Participation in the First Annual Gulf Coast Autism Awareness Walk held Saturday was more than double expectations, much to the delight of organizers.
The event was held by Ocean Springs-based Konnections, a program of the state Department of Mental Health's South Mississippi Regional Center, and Autistic Angels, a Bay St. Louis-based support group. They expected about 200 people, but more than 460 registered and others showed up to walk at the Ocean Springs Civic Center without registering.
Together, the groups raised about $3,000 before the event and were still tallying proceeds from the walk Saturday afternoon.
"It wasn't about the money. It was about awareness," said Tonya Turbville, director of Konnections.
Turbville said there are as many as 11,000 people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with autism or asperger syndrome, a form of autism characterized by inhibited social skills, and many are undiagnosed.
Signs of autism include lack or loss of language skills by age 18 months, a child who prefers solitude, sensitivity to loud sounds, poor motor skills and excessive temper tantrums, among others. Turbville said autism, when diagnosed, is often identified by age 3 and asperger syndrome by 8 years old.
Lori Forillo is a leader of Autistic Angels, a branch of the non-profit TEAAM, or Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi. Mother of a 22-year-old autistic son who wasn't diagnosed until five years old, she believes doctors are often hesitant to attach the "A-word" to a child - a stigma she wants to see erased.
Proceeds from the event will be split between the two programs. Turbville said Konnections plans to put the money toward a parent resource library and further development of social skills programs for autistics.
Vincent Arbogast, 17, and Kyla Grace, 15, cadets in Ocean Springs Junior Reserve Officers Trainer Corps, participated in an honor guard, then decided to stay and walk.
"It's a good cause," Grace said. "Anything we can do to help is also good for us."
Mississippi Press Register
Autism Walk
OCEAN SPRINGS -- The organizers of a walk to raise awareness of autism and the services available for the developmental disorder were surprised when more than 400 people showed up in support of the event. Only about 100 people were expected.
"It shows that way too many kids have autism," said Tonya Turbville, director of Konnections, a part of the South Mississippi Regional Center in Bay St. Louis that provides autism services along the Gulf Coast.
"Every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed with autism," she said. Autism is marked by impaired communication and social interaction.
"So many people are looking for something," Turbville said.
She said that even a year ago there weren't services offered in the area, but with a job change she was able to give her full attention to autism services and to helping those who need the services.
Turbville said 400 registered for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Autism Awareness Walk, so there could have been more walkers that didn't register. She said many of the walkers have a family member or friend with autism, but some people just walked in support. She mentioned AmeriCorps, Imperial Palace, Northrop Grumman and the military as a few of the groups participating.
Saturday's walk focused on awareness, but the group sold T-shirts and accepted donations to raise money. Before the walk, the group raised $3,000 from donations and corporate sponsorships, according to Turbville. She mentioned the Imperial Palace casino as being a "good sponsor."
The money raised will be split between Konnections and Autistic Angels for Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi.
The walk began at 10:30 a.m. at the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Ocean Springs, and participants walked for an hour. Then the South Mississippi Regional Center provided a picnic lunch for the walkers at the Gulf Islands National Seashore Pavilion.
Reporter Lindsay Mott can be reached at lmott@themississippipress.com or 228-934-1435.
Walk to raise autism awareness
OCEAN SPRINGS Ѡ The Mississippi Gulf Coast Autism Awareness Walk is planned from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. May 24 at the Veterans Memorial Park.
A picnic will follow from 11:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. at Gulf Islands National Seashore. The event is sponsored through the cooperation of South MS Regional Center's Konnections Autism Resources and Services Center and the local Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in MS Chapter ѠAutistic Angels.
Autism is the No.1 fastest-growing disability at this time, affecting an expected 1 in 150 individuals nationwide. There are thousands of individuals and family members affected by autism in the state. All proceeds for this event will benefit Konnections Center and the local TEAAM Chapter and will include support of public awareness campaigns, training, resource materials and distribution, social skills programs, and support of Kamp Kaleidoscope, Mississippi's only fully inclusive summer camp for children with autism.
For additional information, contact Konnections Director Tonya Turbville at 228-463-9785 or turbville@ smrc.state.ms.us. For more information about the local chapter of TEAAM contact autisticangels1@aol.com and visit www.teaam.org.
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