Health

Autism Awareness Month
By Angela Giacobbe

April is National Autism Awareness Month and Foothill Autism Alliance is a Local Organization Dedicated to Families Helping Families

According to the Centers for Disease Control “It is believed that almost 1.5 million Americans have some form of Autism.” Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year.

While the growing crisis of autism gains awareness, families facing an autism diagnosis can still feel isolated. But one local group is doing something about it. Foothill Autism Alliance, Inc, a non-profit organization was started in 1998 when six families met because they all had children with autism and needed to share their concerns and learn how to care for their children. Now, 10 years later, they serve 5,000 families throughout the greater Los Angeles area, host monthly meetings and social events, and have a website, www.foothillautism.org that receives over 2,000 hits a day.

The Vamos Family is dedicated to the Foothill Autism Alliance. Sherrie Vamos, of Studio City, is a working mom and a board member of FAA. In 1999, her son, Jonathan, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Children with Aspergers typically exhibit social awkwardness and an all-absorbing interest in specific topics. Signs and symptoms of Aspergers include displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures.
Not knowing where to turn for help, Sherrie was referred to FAA by a staff person at UCLA. According to Sherrie, “FAA helped me learn about how to deal with the school district and the Regional Center. I learned about my rights as a parent, the importance of advocates, as well as support from other family members.”

According to Yudi Bennett, one of the founders, “Education is essential for parents raising children who have special needs. Knowledge is power. Our mission is to give parents the knowledge they need to advocate successfully for their children.”

As current president Jane Fitzpatrick says “Providing families with a safe, understanding and accepting environment to socialize in is an integral part of what we strive to do.”

Foothill Autism Alliance, Inc is an all-volunteer organization of parents, professionals, adults with autism and caregivers, dedicated to providing education, resources and support to the autism community. They hold monthly educational meetings for parents 9-10 months a year in Pasadena. In addition, FAA sponsors three social events for parents and kids: a spring picnic, a holiday party and a back-to-school pool party that allows the children to interact and enjoy themselves in a safe environment.

For more information on the program please visit their website at www.foothillautism.org or call (818)66-autism. (662-8847)

Sun Smarts
By Staff Writer

Everyone knows that it's wise to wear sunscreen daily. But not all sunscreens are the same. That's why SunBotanicals is a smart choice. SunBotanicals offers a line of sunscreens with safety in mind, specifically designed to block the sun's harmful UV radiation from damaging the skin (widely known as UVA/UVB rays). Exposure to such UV radiation can not only cause sunburn, but also long lasting damage resulting in premature skin aging and/or skin cancer. However, SunBotanicals doesn't stop at producing the highest quality sunscreen! In addition to offering products that work as everyday prevention, their sunscreens also have great scents and aromatherapy.

SunBotanicals' unique blend of organic ingredients provide an aromatherapy lotion while at the same time protecting the skin against the sun. SunBotanicals is dedicated to producing sun protective products from the finest quality natural ingredients. While they strive to use as many organic contents as possible, they don't sacrifice sun protective ability in order to make artificial organic content claims. Instead, SunBotanicals believes in full ingredient disclosure and labels that accurately reflect the organic content of their products.

Safety is first with SunBotanicals! So when it comes time to make products SPF protective, they use only the finest ingredients. Moreover, SunBotanicals is designed by women for women and that gives them an edge in producing superior quality products.

Another uniqueness of SunBotanicals is the fact that they only produce their sunscreen lines in small batches, not mass-produced like so many of their competitors, and this therefore ensures that SunBotanicals' customers receive only the purest and highest quality of ingredients.

SunBotanicals is sold through high-end department

For more information, please contact: www.sunbotanicals.com