Tag: Florida
Therapy dog helps Florida boy with autism
The News-Press
A 6-month-old golden retriever leaps out of the white sedan onto the gravel driveway.
A few yards away, pasted on the front door of the Golden Gate Estates home, is a picture of a dog with a red heart drawn around it. “Welcome Falcon!” it states.
Slowly, Kathy Lowers leads her 3-year-old son Nate toward the dog with the wagging tail.
She puts her son’s hand on Falcon’s back and looks at Nate expectantly.
Nate doesn’t react.
At first he appears the same as his siblings – Abraham, 11; Victoria, 9; Catalina, 7; Isabella, 5; and Maggie, his twin, who all squeal in delight and crowd around the dog.
But when Nate was 2 1/2 he was diagnosed with a severe, regressive form of autism.
Call his name, he does not turn around; toss him a ball, he does not try to catch it; ask him a question and he does not answer.
PAWS for Love Assistance Dogs placed Falcon with Nate and his family July 9. The specially trained golden retriever was bred for five generations for his temperament and training abilities.
via Therapy dog helps Golden Gate child with autism | news-press.com | The News-Press.
Posted on July 20, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: animals, Autism, children with Autism, Florida, service animals
Down syndrome dancer is headed to Disney World
WTSP
Thalia Arvelaez, a teenager with Down syndrome, is at a dance camp in Tampa this week. In mid-July, she’ll be at Disney World, dancing for the National Down Syndrome Congress. In November, she heads to Argentina to dance and raise Down syndrome awareness. Thalia’s teacher says she is a joy to watch. Her mother says Thalia loves applause — and when people give her flowers!
Tampa, Florida – Among the tapping toes at this summer camp class at the Patel Conservatory, you’ll find a pair of fancy feet belonging to Thalia Arbelaez. She loves to dance-all types.
“I like ballet, hip-hop, jazz, tap,” Thalia starts ticking off the list.
Thalia knows she looks a bit different than her classmates and she refers to herself as “special”. The 17-year-old has Down syndrome, a genetic condition that changes a child’s development, and she was born with a host of health problems.
Alicia Arbelaez recalls what doctors told her shortly after her daughter’s birth. “The doctor come to tell me, ‘this child is never going to walk.’”
But walk Thalia did and dance lessons at age 2 soon followed.
Posted on July 8, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Down Syndrome | Tags: dance, Down Syndrome, Florida, summer camp, teenagers with Down syndrome
Florida girl raising money for Alzheimer’s with Cartwheel-a-thon
Miami Herald
Here’s a story about a 12-year-old Florida girl is raising money to fight Alzheimer’s disease by organizing a “Cartwheel-a-thon.” Two of Ariana Feldman’s grandparents have Alzheimer’s, and the fundraiser will be part of a mitzvah, or good deed, at her bat mitzvah. She hopes to raise $3,000.
After seeing a second grandparent diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Ariana Feldman knew she had to find some way to help find a cure for the disease.
So, Ariana is turning to the sport she loves best as the foundation for a certainly different fundraiser. On June 6, she will host a Cartwheel-a-Thon, and she hopes to have dozens of people kicking up their heels for hours.“I think everyone can do a cartwheel, even if they don’t do gymnastics,” said Ariana, a seventh-grader at Tequesta Trace Middle School in Weston.
via Cartwheel-a-thon to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research – Weston – MiamiHerald.com.
Posted on June 2, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's | Tags: Alzheimer's, Florida, fundraising, grandparents
Florida Tech’s tennis clinic raises autism attention
Florida Today
Students at Florida Tech’s Scott Center for Autism Treatment had a ball and learned valuable skills, thanks to the university’s tennis team, which recently hosted a tennis clinic for the children.
The event was part of “Aces for Autism,” the tennis team’s initiative to raise awareness and funds for the Scott Center. The clinic addressed the specific needs of children with autism and provided a fun activity for their families. The tennis team also gained valuable skills in helping children with disabilities.
via ‘Aces’ raises autism attention | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY.
Posted on June 1, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: athletes, Autism, children with Autism, Florida, sports, tennis
Blogger touches world with story of Down syndrome
ParentDish.com
Kelle Hampton’s blog, Enjoying the Small Things, is a lush peek into her life as a photographer, wife and mother in Naples, Fla., gracefully told with her own gorgeous photos and beautiful prose about the poetry that can be found in everyday life.
Hampton, 31, has been writing about her life as wife to husband, Brett, and mom to her 2-year-old daughter Lainey nearly every day since December 2007. It made perfect sense that she would announce the birth of her second daughter, Nella Cordelia, on her blog. And she did, with this entry written by her sister and posted on Jan. 24:
At 4:24 pm, January 22, 2010, six pound Nella Cordelia Hampton entered the world and our hearts.
Nella has Down Syndrome.
via Blogger Kelle Hampton Touches World With Story of Down Syndrome – ParentDish.
Posted on March 24, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Down Syndrome | Tags: Down Syndrome, Florida
Golfer Ernie Els wins for autism
The Canadian Press
DORAL, Fla. — This is one time the party got started without Ernie Els.
As he walked off the 18th green with a four-shot victory in the CA Championship, ending the longest and most discouraging drought of his career, some well-heeled friends were at cocktail party up the road at PGA National to get ready for a tournament no less important than the World Golf Championship that Els won at Doral.
The Big Easy spent Monday playing and hosting the “Els for Autism Charity Pro-Am,” with a lineup of stars that included Jack Nicklaus, Steve Stricker, Raymond Floyd, Adam Scott and Robert Allenby.
His goal, as ambitious as winning the career Grand Slam, is to raise enough money to build a 2,800-square-metre centre in Palm Beach County that eventually would be self-sustaining and treat some 300 children who have autism.
That would include his son, seven-year-old Ben, with his big blue eyes and blond hair.
via The Canadian Press: Els picks up a crucial win for himself and for his cause.
Posted on March 18, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: athletes, Autism, celebrities, Florida, golf, sports
Golfer Ernie Els to be honored for his autism work
Jacksonville.com
Ernie Els’ son, Ben, was diagnosed with autism four years ago at the age of 3. Since then, the three-time major champion has been a tireless supporter of research and treatment of autism. In April, he will be honored by the Golf Writers Association of America with its Charlie Bartlett Award.
The award, named for the first secretary of the GWAA, is given each year to a professional golfer for his or her unselfish contributions to the betterment of society. Els will receive the award April 7 at the GWAA annual banquet in Augusta, Ga.
Els and his wife, Liezl, founded the Els Autism Foundation in 2009 and are now in the process of a $30 million capital campaign for the Els Center For Excellence. The center will offer education and therapy for autistic children and conduct research.
via Golf notebook: Ernie Els to be honored for his autism work | Jacksonville.com.
Posted on March 5, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism | Tags: Autism, celebrities, Florida