The group meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month, with a combination of Zoom and in-person meetings. It's an opportunity to learn from guest speakers, share resources, and enjoy connecting with other parents raising a child on the autism spectrum or related special needs. All parents welcome!

TOPIC:  Exploring Life with an Autism Sibling: Nurturing the Bond and Offering Support

Having a sibling on the autism spectrum can be a unique and enriching experience that brings both challenges and rewards to families. It's a journey that often involves a profound impact on sibling relationships, family dynamics, and personal growth. In this group, we'll explore what life is like having an autistic sibling, the significance of the sibling connection, and strategies for providing support.

• The Sibling Connection
• Challenges Faced
• Supporting Siblings
• Balancing Attention and Our Well-being

Guest Speakers: Ethan Haithcock, Juliana Fetherman, Aarti Garg

Join us as we hear about strategies that have helped to foster sibling and child/ parent relationships for others.

Ethan Haithcock:

Ethan is a natural advocate, behavioral therapist, and caregiver for his younger brother Cameron, who is 12 years old and non-speaking. Over the years, Ethan has taken on various roles to support Cameron. At the age of 14, he actively participates in volunteering alongside his mother, enjoys public speaking and fundraising for NFAR, and takes pride in advocating for our community.  Last year, Ethan served as a best buddy + teacher's aide in his brother's SPED classroom. Notably, Ethan has become Cameron's closest friend, especially as Cameron has faced challenges in forming connections with classmates.   

Ethan enjoys cooking, comedy, improv, and gaming.  One of his aspirations is to become a public speaker within the autism community.

Juliana Fetherman: 

Juliana is the creator of Making Authentic Friendships, an app that enables individuals with special needs to make friends based on age, diagnosis, interests, and geographic location. Making Authentic Friendships (MAF) are also her brother's initials. Her brother is 25 and has autism and ADHD. He has always struggled with making friends, so she set out to change this for him and the millions out there like him.

Aarti Garg: 

Aarti is an Indian-American and Southern California native who appeared alongside her brother Subodh on the Emmy-winning docuseries “Love on the Spectrum U.S.” on Netflix.  Born and raised in Cerritos, CA Aarti graduated from Whitney High School and went on to earn her B.S. from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2013 and Macc from USC in 2014. She obtained her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in 2015.

Aarti works with her family’s business as the Director of Operations at Insight Examination Services Inc. in Long Beach. Insight is a leading advisory firm that delivers assurance and due diligence services to financial institutions and is 8(a) certified. She has been working there since 2017 and is proud to be the leading second generation of Insight.

Aarti enjoys trivia, social dancing, singing, and spending time with friends and family. She and Subodh have been roommates for several years. She has been instrumental in his social growth and provides emotional and social support to him as needed.

TO RSVP

HOW TO JOIN THE VIRTUAL MEETING:

• Please RSVP by no later than Oct 18 by 4:00 pm on Eventbrite
• On meeting day, we will send those that have RSVP'd an email with a link to join the meeting on Zoom. (Email sent by 10:00 am for early RSVPs and another at 5:00 pm.)
• Join the meeting on Zoom at 6:30 pm. The guest speaker will start shortly.
• All interested family members welcome!

 The group meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month, with a combination of Zoom and in-person meetings. It's an opportunity to learn from guest speakers, share resources, and enjoy connecting with other parents raising a child on the autism spectrum or related special needs. All parents welcome!

TOPIC:  How to Help Your Child Eat Healthier

Guest Speaker: Dr. Dawn Eichen, Assistant Professor, UC San Diego Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research

Dr. Dawn Eichen is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego at the Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who has specialized in studying and treating weight management and eating disorders including picky eating. She has been consistently funded by the NIH since 2018 and is currently a co-investigator on a study evaluating weight management treatment for Autistic children. Her research focuses on understanding how executive function impacts eating behaviors.