Check out what we have been up to, thanks to the support of our donors, we are able to provide programs for our community.

PAST EVENTS GALLERY (Click here)

Our Mission is Supporting individuals with Autism and their families with resources and referrals in the Ventura County area of California.  As an affiliate of the Autism Society of America, we support national initiatives and promote local events to support our families and individuals.

Family Swim Event 2018

Our annual Family event is scheduled for July 21 & 22, currently, we have 420 participants registered. This year, as mentioned above, we will be partnering with swimming instructors before the event and provide training to instructors prior to our event and to serve as they develop their adaptive swim programs.  We will also utilize this opportunity to recruit participants and volunteers to our TEAM Wellness Program to launch in August in partnership with Special Olympics

Adaptive Swimming Instructor Training

We were approached by local youth swimming programs to facilitate a training session for swimming instructor staff to better serve the special needs community.  We developed a panel training session in collaboration with a YMCA Swimming Director, ABA Specialist, Occupational Therapist, Parents and Tri-Counties Regional Center parent resource group.  This is set to be an ongoing program which, in the future, will include staff and volunteers from Special Olympics.

Girl Scouts – Adaptive Carnival Event

We were one of the sponsors for an adaptive Carnival Event with sensory friendly activities and resource booths.

The event was created by Girl Scout Troop as part of their service project.  We hope to strengthen that collaboration in the future and have the Girl Scouts as a partner service organization as volunteers or participants in future programs.

https://www.facebook.com/girlscouttroop61056/   https://www.thecamarilloacorn.com/articles/scouts-help-make-it-a-super-summer/

Aut2Run 2018

Aut2Run (5K, 10K, 15K and Free Resource Fair): Each year in April, ASVC organizes an annual 5K/10K Race and Autism Resource Fair co-sponsored by CSU Channel Islands.

The event is attended by over 3000 people and helps raise awareness AND acceptance for children and adults with Autism and their families.  In addition, this year we had the largest vendor and provider fair thus far with over 70 vendors and sponsors, allowing us to share valuable resources with our families.

Special Olympics: For the first time, this year Special Olympics joined us at our Aut2Run Event and we are working to put together active and health conscious programs for our community. We are set to launch a Team Wellness program in August and will be marketing their sports programs to our members to raise awareness and participation.  If you are interested in joining, volunteering or hosting a Team Wellness Program group, contact us at programs@autismventura.org.

Here is a video produced by one of our vendors: https://www.facebook.com/fegocinematography/videos/2000590820193579/
Here are is a gallery of pictures to our entire event: https://captivatingsportsphotos.shootproof.com/gallery/18aut2run/home

Law Enforcement Training

In collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, we held several training sessions over a two-day period for both the community and law-enforcement.  We were given access to a current cadet class as well as existing officers on the field.

We hired a national professional trainer, former law enforcement and parents to present the training as well as local law enforcement officers.

The training provided to the community was held separately in English and Spanish, engaging the largely Latino community in the city where the training was held.

This year, we were joined by local law enforcement officers who were integral in presenting and delivering the program.

 

We have established a relationship with local law-enforcement (including Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Oxnard PD, Ventura PD, Crisis Intervention Team)  to provide training to incoming staff members as well as senior officers in the special needs of responding to incidents involving individuals with Autism.

After the training we provided, the Sheriff’s Training staff who attended decided to self-fund future training for their programs and are looking at making it part of their ongoing training curriculum.

 

We will continue to offer this training to Law Enforcement Agencies and Families so that we can move forward to make our communities safer.

 

 

Parent Support Group

We updated literature and promotional material for our ongoing parent support group and were able to distribute information to over 2500 participants during our Aut2Run Event.  Our Support Group continues to grow and we hope to use it as a launching board for other needed programs such as Young Adult Meet-ups.

If you are interested in joining or hosting a meet-up group, contact us at programs@autismventura.org.

Scholarships

ASVC offers scholarship and this year we decided to have applications open year-round to encourage participants to apply at any time.  Scholarships are provided to individuals with 12 or more units in a secondary school program.  Awards range from $500-$1,000.

To apply, go to https://www.autismventura.org/scholarships/ 

Thomas Fire Assistance

Our area families were devastated by the Thomas Wild Fires early in the year and some are still working through recovery. ASVC was available to our families with support.

Assistance provided included vouchers for temporary housing, groceries, comfort blankets, air filtration and general assistance to search out other resources.

 

Hussman Grant – Outreach

With the Hussman grant we received we are able to provide the Sesame Street Books “We are Amazing 1, 2, 3!” and “Family Forever” to local schools, libraries and physicians’ offices with information about the Autism Society Ventura County and a letter describing some of our programs and invitation to collaborate in the future.  In addition to our program coordinator staff member, we are working with intern volunteers to make this happen by the new school year.

English Online Book: https://autism.sesamestreet.org/storybook/we-are-amazing/ 

To receive a printed book for your school, library, doctor’s office or service provider, contact us at programs@autismventura.org

Spanish Online Book: http://autism.sesamestreet.org/espanol/
Initiative information (Spanish) https://autism.sesamestreet.org/acerca-de-esta-iniciativa/ 

 

2017 & Past Events Sponsored by ASVC:

 

Here are just a few of the amazing events ASVC helps to put on!

*January 2018 – Law Enforcement Training held for 25 officers and 62 cadets in January.  Seminar for Families on preparing individuals with autism to safely interact with law enforcement trained over 80 parents in English and Spanish.

 

* October 2017 – Seminar on Requesting Workplace Accommodations – Held by ASVC Board President Carly Fulgham during Disability Employment Awareness Month, over 60 individuals attended two sessions which gave them important information on the types of accomodations people can ask from employers and how to handle the process.

* July 2017 – Summer Pool Party – Each summer we hold a pool party where everyone can relax among friends and have fun at the Ventura Aquatics Center with lifeguards on duty. Check out some highlights here.

* March 2016 – ASVC was pleased to sponsor the “Spectrum of Opportunity: Autism, Inclusion, and Communication” Conference at California Lutheran University. Prior to the conference, there was also a screening of Wretches and Jabberers the movie. Thank you to CLU professor and autism researcher Edlyn Pena for all your work to put the conference together.