December Newsletter 2020
Today is the day! Join the #GivingTuesday movement by making a gift of $10, $15, or $25 today.
Your donation today will give families of a loved one with autism the support and resources they need to thrive. And, to be able to do so in an Autism Welcoming Community. 
Recreation Programs Sponsored by the 
Holiday Sing-a-long Saturday December 5th 2:00-3:00 p.m. Come and celebrate the songs of the season at our Annual Children's Holiday Sing-a-long featuring Roman Music Therapy. We welcome families, children and siblings of ALL ages to join in this years virtual fun! 
Faith's Dance Party Tuesday December 15th 4:00-4:30 p.m. Faith will be leading this super fun dance party featuring songs that YOU select. You are invited to join us as we move our bodies and listen to some fun Holiday favorites. 
Southwick Zoo Club Thursday December 17th 9:30 -10:00 a.m. Special Edition Southwick Zoo Club. This program is open to all ages. Home and school classrooms that support students with autism are welcome and invited to join. 
Holiday Trivia Tuesday December 22nd 4:00-4:30 p.m. Join us for Holiday Trivia where we will find the answers to some classic trivia questions about Traditions, Decorations, and Charlie Brown Christmas. This program is for all ages.
Glee Club Saturday January 9th 10:30 a.m. The Autism Alliance Virtual Glee Club for individuals with autism ages 18+ is facilitated by our favorite music teacher, Mr. William Lynch, and co-lead with Sophie McLaughlin, expressive movement therapist. The group meets monthly. The program is a mixture of singing short songs, and movement. This program is generously sponsored by the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
Fun, Friends and Family December Program Sponsored by Foundation for MetroWest 
Fun, Friends, and Family Karaoke Night December 18, 2020 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Roman Music Therapy will join us on Zoom for a night of singing. Choose your favorite songs an we will sing all together. There will also be opportunities for solos. All are invited to join in the fun! No registration is necessary. This event is free thanks to a generous grant from the Foundation for MetroWest. Advocates Fun, Friends, & Family events are open to individuals with disabilities who are 16 and older, staff who support them, their families, and friends. We welcome members of the Advocates community, as well as those interested in learning more about us.
The Autism Alliance and Middlesex West Department of Developmental Winter Program Enrollment 
Thursday 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. Ages 12-17
This program is Co-facilitated with Roman Music Therapy twice a month and is designed for teens that enjoy music. This group will explore expressive social skill development while creating virtual music together. 
Friday 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. Ages 18+
Friday Night Club is all about developing new adult friendships and strengthened independence in virtual social programming. We meet once a month and play group games and have lots of FUN! 
Saturday 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. Ages 4-11
"Morning Magic" is our NEWEST VIRTUAL program. Kids can wear their pajamas and sing songs and enjoy fun movement games with our very own Expressive Movement Therapist Ms. Sophie. This program meets monthly.
Support Groups 
SibShop Saturday December 5th 
Just for Dads Thursday December 10th 6:30-7:30 p.m. All Dads are invited to join us on zoom for our monthly support group Facilitated by Rob Sutherland, dad of two boys on the spectrum. Drop-ins are welcome
Parent Support Group Friday December 11th 12:00-1:00 p.m. All family members are invited to join us as we meet virtually to share joys and concerns of raising loved ones on the autism spectrum. 
Portuguese Support Group Monday December 14th 6:30-8:30 p.m. Portuguese Speaking Families are invited to our monthly support group.
Grief and Loss Support Group Workshop Grief and Loss Group Thursday December 3rd and 17th 12 noon - 1:00 p.m. This is a group for family members raising a loved one on the Spectrum. Caregiving can be an all-consuming process and we don’t always take the time to reflect on our own experiences and emotions as we care for others. In this group, we will discuss caregiving through the lifespan and through the lens of loss and grief, and we will discover ways to take care of our emotional and physical health in the process. Offered on Zoom. Please register at below link. Facilitated by Jennifer Wiles, LMHC, BC-DMT, Beth Israel Lahey Health at Home. Open to all at no cost through a generous grant from The New York Life Foundation. 
January 2021 Guest Speaker Author Elizabeth Field Author Elizabeth Field Wednesday January 20th 6:30 p.m. We are pleased to welcome Elizabeth Field, Author of the new book Building Communication and Independence for Children Across the Spectrum as our first Guest Speaker of 2021. Elizabeth is a Speech/Language Pathologist with over 40 years of experience providing therapy and consultation for children, families, and school teams impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder. Elizabeth has volunteered with the Autism Alliance in the past and we are very pleased to have her exclusively with the us on zoom. This session will include: A BRIEF overview of the book and her philosophy of intervention; Some of the most important skills to address at different levels of communication ability, and why; Some key aspects of effective teaching methods and specific examples. We will have time for discussion and questions. Don't miss our on the FREE raffle where one lucky attendee will receive a complimentary copy of Elizabeth's book. Must be present to win. 
Autism Alliance Family Satisfaction Survey If you haven't already completed the survey, We want to hear from YOU! We would like to know what you think about the services the Autism Alliance provides to you and your family. We value your feedback and will use the responses to better meet our needs and directly improve our services. The estimated time to complete the survey is 5 minutes. Thank you for your time and the opportunity to serve you and your family and our community. 
Resilient Community Series for Parents, Caregivers and Community Members Self Compassion During Challenging Times with Dr. Kristen Neff Tuesday December 8th 7:00 p.m. Self-compassion involves learning to treat ourselves with care and support. Rather than continually judging ourselves, we can have compassion toward ourselves as imperfect humans and learn to cope better with the inevitable struggles of life. In this talk, leading Self Compassion expert Dr. Kristen Neff will show how we can use both fierce and tender self-compassion to cope with the pandemic and also racial injustice. In times like these we need a friend, and we can learn to be a friend to ourselves. ASL interpretation will be provided at this event. 
UMass Lowell Programs for Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum Horizons Mentoring Program Beginning March 2021 Horizons is a college preparation mentoring program for high school students on the autism spectrum who plan to go to college in the next year or two. Participants will meet online with a trained UMass Lowell student who will be their mentor. The goal of Horizons is to help prepare these students for university life and to feel more confident about attending college in the future. Click on link for more details. "The Network" Social Networking Group First Wednesday of the Month 6:00-7:30 p.m. The Network is a monthly social networking program for adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum aged between 16-30 years. The goal is to provide those with ASD an opportunity to meet others and hopefully make connections. Click on link for more details.
Healthy Heroes Weekly Resources 
In case you missed one, or want to check back in, our daily Healthy Heroes Emails are archived on our website along with our current and past monthly newsletters. Healthy Heroes is now being published weekly for up-to-date resources and information. 
DDS encourages everyone in the DDS community to get a flu shot this season. It is important for all individuals, family members, providers, and staff!
Connect With Us
www.AutismAlliance.org | (508) 652-9900 | AutismAlliance@Advocates.org Our Contact Information 
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