Legislation Allows Children to Receive Behavioral Therapy

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today applauded Governor Jerry Brown for his signing of SB 946, which requires insurance companies and health care service plans to provide coverage of behavioral therapy for autism as a medical benefit. The legislation, jointly authored by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), received strong support from Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and the California Department of Insurance (CDI).

“Behavioral therapy is widely considered to be an essential and effective method for treating children with autism, and it’s a long overdue development for insurers to offer coverage for this treatment,” said Commissioner Jones. “SB 946 represents a major step forward in ensuring that children with autism get the treatment they need in order to live the high-quality lives they deserve… (Read the Full Announcement)

Where:
ESPN Zone
1545 Disneyland Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92802
Phone: 714-300-3776

More Info: http://www.espnzone.com/anaheim/

Where:
Scandia Amusement Park
1155 S. Wanamaker Ave.
Ontario, CA 91761
Off the 15 fwy between the 10 and the 60

Click here for more information:
http://www.eddieguardado18.com/event/

What it Was all About

This was a once in a lifetime chance to bowl alongside your favorite Texas Ranger!

Eddie Guardado Celebrity Bowl

Players like:

• Marlon Byrd
• Hank Blalock
• Andruw Jones
• Ian Kinsler
• Kevin Millwood
• Michael Young

gathered with us to benefit the Eddie Guardado Foundation and Ava’s Friends. By attending, everyone helped support families struggling to pay for much-needed therapy that helps their child cope with the affects of Autism.

Thanks to Splitsville Luxury Lanes and Dinner Lounge for hosting our event.

Thanks to On the Ball for donating the pins!

Sponsorships

There were multiple levels of event sponsorship available. We gratefully recognize all of you below:

Gold VIP Lounge Sponsorship - $10,000

Silver Lane Sponsorship - $5,000

• The Caden Sheetz Family

If you missed us this year but would still like to sponsor the event and help out Ava’s Friends, we won’t argue with you! We’ll be sure and put your name and logo on this page.

Click here to download a copy of the sponsorship form. Fill it out and mail it to:

Eddie Guardado Foundation
c/o Celebrity Bowl
1100 Irvine Blvd. #334
Tustin, CA 92780

The Guardado Family (and especially Ava) thanks you for your support!

Wed all like to believe wed do anything for our child.

Especially a child with special needs.

But would you move from a place you love and quit your job so your child could attend a specialized school to help him? Then, once he was enrolled and thriving, would you do whatever it took to save that school from being closed down by state budget cuts?

Thats what Kate and Martin Jacobson are doing.

Their son, Mikyle, 12, is one of a dozen students at The Matthew Reardon Centers Advance Academy in Savannah, which serves children with neurological disorders, mostly autism.

This summer, the Jacobsons moved from Pawleys Island, S.C., so Mikyle could attend the year-round Advanced Academy. Martin quit his job as a family practice physician and found work in Bluffton. Kate gave up practicing psychotherapy.

Its worth the sacrifice, Mikyles mom says. The public school environment wasnt helping Mikyle, who has pervasive development disorder, which is on the autism spectrum, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. There were no other resources for him in their area.

Mikyle needed a place committed to children like him. The Jacobsons found such a place in the Matthew Reardon Center.

“The expertise of the staff and their commitment to this little tiny school blew us away,” his mother said. “It gave us hope for the first time.”

But now the school, which serves children ages 5-17, is at risk of being shut down at the end of this year.

The Georgia Department of Human Resources slashed 50 percent of funds for the center as part of an overall, statewide $2.4 million budget cut. Cuts to Matthew Reardon were retroactive starting July 1, meaning $325,000 disappeared from their $650,000 state contract.

The private school is working to raise $150,000 between now and the new year to remain open, said executive director Helen Waters.

The accredited schools sliding-scale annual tuition of $7,000 and less doesnt cover the $37,000 a year it costs to educate each child, Waters said.

“It would be easy to say Lets raise tuition to a more realistic level reflecting the cost of the childs education,” Waters said. “But how many parents can realistically afford $25,000 or more in private school tuition?”

The funding cuts come at a time when autism diagnoses have increased to 1 out of every 150 children and public school systems are stretched thin to serve the jump in autistic students.

“When you have skyrocketing autism numbers, why cut the funding for autism services by 50 percent?” Waters said.

Where Autistic Children are the Focus

Cabelle Robles drives her 8-year-old son, Grayson, back and forth to the Matthew Reardon Center from their home in Midway for a total of 100 miles a day.

In order to make the long commute twice a day, she quit her job as a child support enforcement agent with the Liberty County District Attorneys office after Grayson made it off the schools yearlong waiting list and finally was accepted this past August.

“This is the one place he can thrive,” Robles said. “Its inconceivable theyd close the school. There is nowhere else to send my child for individualized help.”

Grayson has autism and epilepsy. He tries to talk but doesnt form words properly. Poor motor skills means the child also has difficulty signing and cannot write.

He used to dislike school so much that his mother had to drag him to the special education class at a public school in Midway.

Now at Matthew Reardon, Grayson looks forward to getting to his classroom, which has a 2 to 4 teacher-student ratio.

Being able to have therapeutic services - occupational, speech, music and physical - within the school gives Danny and Cabelle Robles hope their only child will eventually be able to communicate.

“They try to make him as self-sufficient as possible,” Cabelle Robles said. “Their No. 1 priority is your child. Where else are we going to find that?”

Finding Funds

Kate Jacobson recalls the moment she knew relocating for the sake of their son was the right decision.

It was during the first few weeks after Mikyle started at Matthew Reardon. He was going through a tumultuous adjustment, including not sleeping and having frequent meltdowns. Jacobson saw Mikyle’s teacher Robert Irving, his arms wrapped around a crying, screaming Mikyle. The teacher was soothing him saying “Mikyle, it’s going to be OK.”

“I had never seen a teacher do that. Instead it was always “Stop it, Mikyle! Or ‘Calm down,’ ” Jacobson said. “I had this sense of Mikyle being understood for the first time. You just can’t find that anywhere.”

Improvements in Mikyle since being in a class with a 3-9 ratio of teachers to students include less frequent meltdowns and nightmares, less impulsive behaviors and a desire to behave more appropriately. No longer does Mikyle’s mother receive calls during the school day saying “Come and get him,” as she did when Mikyle was in a S.C. public school.

No wonder the Jacobsons e-mailed family and friends asking them, in lieu of holiday gifts this year, to please make donations to save their son’s school instead.

“We didn’t get this far without fighting,” Jacobson said. “We’ll fight to keep this school open.”

Which is, after all, what parents do for their children.

Donations to help save the school can be made at www.matthewreardon.org.

Contact the writer, Anne Hart, at anne@southernmamas.com.

Visit her Web site for local parents at www.southernmamas.com.

The driving concept of the brand is the “Celtic” cable look. Their delicate artistic talent, magnificent craftsmanship and skills in goldsmithing and crafting inspired Mr. Charriol to create a modern interpretation of their art.

His philosophy towards life, “L’art de vivre la difference,” translated as “the art of living the difference,” is embraced by people who want to share the same experience.

We at EGF coudn’t agree more with Mr. Charriol. We are proud to count him as Ava’s Friend and hope to continue the tradition of awarding our tournament winners with pieces from his fine collection.

While sharing the same goal of raising money and adding great value to events, SEMG is a firm that clearly understands the concept of charity and establishes relationships only to put the charity’s best interest first. First class services and the highest level of professionalism is what you will receive when you team up with the market leader in charity fundraising auctions. 

Whether it’s a golf tournament, gala dinner, or school event, SEMG can design a program exclusively to fit your needs. With an inventory of over 3,000 items, they have every available item within the memorabilia industry for you to put your best foot forward and perform a first class auction. 

EGF wishes to thank Ava’s Friend, Irving Widelitz and SEMG for sponsoring our kickoff event in Las Vegas this year.

In 2001, brothers, Steve and Darren Rosenberg noticed that polarized eyewear as the world knew it had serious shortcomings in all available materials. They saw through the fancy names and marketing spin of the leading eyewear brands and realized that polarized eyewear could be pushed to a level never before seen. With their entrepreneurial drive and passion to evolve the world optically, they set out to create a new polarized lens material that would enable their customers to experience clarity and polarization like never before.

EGF wishes to thank Ava’s Friend, Alan Burt and Kaenon Polarized for sponsoring the VIP reception at Eddie’s annual Poker Tournament. We hope to see you at our next event.

Bobby Kielty, Oakland A’s Outfielder, was the two time reigning champion and made the final table for the third time in three years.

Baseball players Michael Young, left, Eric Chavez, center, and Milton Bradley pass the time by playing poker

The weekend started with some golf and then a private VIP reception Friday night at The Palazzo Las Vegas inside the Sportsbook Bar & Grill. The reception was held in support of EGF’s efforts to offer direct financial support for families faced with the high cost of therapy and treatment for their children affected by Autism.

There was also a silent auction held by SEMG (a division of Sports Nation Enterprises, Inc)  and Kaenon Polarized showed off a beautiful table of their sunglasses. Both of “Ava’s Friends” donated a portion of their proceeds to the Foundation. Many thanks to both Alan Burt of Kaenon and Irving Widelitz of SEMG.

The Palazzo Sportsbook Bar & Grill was the ideal place to kick off the series of weekend events for this group as they felt right at home with all the sports memorabilia adorning the walls and the latest sporting events playing on all 70+ televisions found in the venue. The environment was private and relaxing allowing our guests to enjoy all the amenities of the club.

The evening was highlighted by a short video giving Eddie’s friends a good laugh while explaining the mission of EGF to guests not familiar with the Foundation. EGF wishes to sincerely thank the Venetian for hosting the fabulous weekend. Feedback on the venue from the guests was terrific and all said they would be happy to return next year. We’d especially like to thank the hard work and hospitality of the following Venetian personnel:

• Anthony Tricase - Executive Director, Casino Marketing 
• Charlie Nelson - Casino Host 
• Kim Sapp - Director of Special Events 
• Daniel Staub - Assistant Director, Property Marketing
• LeAnn Tinch - Manager, Communications 
• Chris Gleason - Palazzo Race & Sports Book 
• Amy Carlson - Public Relations

And special thanks to Michelle Hurdt, Coordinator-Special Events for pulling everything together for us. 

Oh, and we can’t forget possibly the happiest person we’ve ever met, Alex Dunphy, who worked the registration desk for the VIP reception. 

By Saturday afternoon we had our Poker champion: Oakland A’s First Baseman, Frank Thomas. For his win, Frank claims bragging rights for an entire year, a crystal plaque commemorating his win, and a Charriol watch from the Force Collection. The watch is steel and leather with diamond bezel, retailing for $6,590.

Chicago Cubs Outfielder, Reed Johnson took home 2nd place and a Charriol watch from the Columbus Collection. Bob Wells, retired Minnesota Twins Pitcher, captured the third spot and a Charriol watch from the Actor Collection.

In addition to the winners, final table players included:

• 4th Joel Hanrahan
• 5th Matthew Lawton
• 6th Jerry white
• 7th Milton Bradley
• 8th Robert Kielty
• 9th Mark Redman
• 10th Glen Perkins

It was a terrific kickoff event for the Eddie Guardado Foundation raising thousands of dollars even though that wasn’t the focus of the weekend. Thanks to all who donated. We look forward to another strong poker showing next year and we anticipate seeing everyone back again after the 09 season for lots of fun - and helping families in need.