Join me in New York June 8th for an evening with GRASP

This is a letter I received last night from Michael John Carley, founder of the GRASP advocacy group. . .

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Tuesday, June 8
The William Bennett Gallery
65 Greene Street
New York, NY
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

GRASP's Annual Fundraising Benefit Honoring . . .

The 2010 "FAB" (Friend and Benefactor) Award
Linda Walder Fiddle, The Daniel J. Fiddle Foundation.

The 2010 "DSM" (Distinguished Spectrumite Medal)
John Elder Robison, Author.

The 2010 "DNA" (Divine Neurotypical Award)
Lois Rosenwald, The Connecticut Autism Spectrum Resource Center.


Bios of all three are below our signature!

A more detailed email blast will follow with ticket info, journal info, and silent auction info!!!

Wanna volunteer??? We need tickets sold, journal pages sold, auctions managed, OR envelope stuffers for a pizza party at GRASP's NYC office the evening of Tuesday, April 20. PLEASE email back if so!!!!

Thank you all! As tough as last year's event would be to top, we think it'll happen!!! :-)

Yours,

The Benefit Committee
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Linda Walder Fiddle is the Founder and Executive Director of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation (DJF), a 501(c)(3) national autism organization with the mission to develop, advocate for and award grants to programs that enhance the lives of adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), including residential, recreational, vocational, educational and family programs. DJF is a leading national advocacy and awareness organization that focuses on issues affecting the lives of adults with ASD including health and wellness throughout the lifespan. The guiding principle of the foundation is to provide suitable and sustainable opportunities for adults with ASD to participate in and contribute to community life. This is the goal Linda had for her own son Danny for whom The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation is named in memory and honor of, and the all-volunteer run organization has pioneered the development and advancement of programs nationwide since 2002.

Linda has received numerous awards for her accomplishments on behalf of the autism community. In 2009 alone she received a Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference, the Jefferson Award for Public Service, Autism Family Services of NJ’s Community Service Award, and was honored by the New Jersey Coalition of Inclusive Ministries. Linda also received Redbook magazine’s 2009 “Strength & Spirit” Award and was featured, as one of the five the most inspirational women in the United States in Redbook’s December 2009 issue for her leadership on behalf of teens and adults with ASD.

In addition to Linda’s efforts directing the foundation, she is a member of the New Jersey Adults with Autism Task Force. She is a prominent advocate on the state and national levels and works closely with legislators on issues that affect adults with ASD. Ms. Walder Fiddle is a frequent contributor to autism publications including Autism Spectrum News and Autism Advocate. She is currently a member of the Advisory Boards of the Autism Center of New Jersey Medical School, Bergen County Community College Autism Center and Autism Family Services of New Jersey. She is member of the Steering Committee of Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism, a national collaborative effort of autism organizations focusing on adult issues.

Linda Walder Fiddle dedicates herself not only to those with autism but also to humanitarian projects around the world, from New Orleans to Cambodia. She recently helped open two schools outside of Phnom Penh with a group that included her 16-year-old daughter Ava. She also serves on The Board of Trustees of The Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey and is currently working on social action initiatives focusing on Africa.

Linda resides in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with her husband Fred and daughter Ava.


John Elder Robison is a free range Aspergian male who grew up in the 1960s before the Asperger diagnosis had come into common use. After dropping out of high school, John worked in the music business where he created sound effects and electronic devices, the best known of which were the signature guitars he built for KISS. Later John worked on some of the first video games and talking toys at Milton Bradley. After a ten year career in electronics John founded Robison Service, a specialty automobile company in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Robison Service has grown to be one of the largest independent restoration and service specialists for BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Rolls Royce cars in the northeast.

When he’s not at Robison Service, John serves as an adjunct professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He also serves on review boards for the National Institutes of Mental Health and Autism Speaks. John is also involved in TMS autism research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

John is the author of Look Me in the Eye, my life with Asperger’s. John’s writing has been translated into 18 languages and is sold in 60+ countries. John’s next book, Be Different!, will be published in the spring of 2011. His writing has appeared in a number of magazines and he’s a regular blogger on Psychology Today.

In addition to his autism advocacy work, John is a lifelong car enthusiast, an avid hiker, a photographer, a music lover, and a world-class champion eater. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.


Lois Rosenwald is the mother of a grown son with Asperger's syndrome, and is the founder of the Greater New Haven PDD/Asperger's Network: the first group of its kind in CT; also founder and Executive Director of the Connecticut Autism Spectrum Resource Center. The Center does most of the training in the state for both families and school personnel. She has been actively involved for years (legislatively) advocating for appropriate services for individuals in Connecticut with ASD, and for their families. She currently serves on, or has served on the Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitation Council, the Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitation ASD Assessment Team, the Board of Directors of CLERC, the Connecticut Family Support Council (appointed by the Governor), the Connectibility Steering Committee. the Commission for Persons with Developmental disabilities without Mental Retardation (appointed by the Governor); and she Co-chairs the Division of Autism Services Council and the Pilot Steering Committee that has developed services for adults with Autism Spectrum disorders that are currently served by the ASD Pilot Assessment Team.


GRASP
The Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership, Inc.
666 Broadway, Suite 830
New York, NY 10012
p + f = 1.888.474.7277
www.grasp.org