L IFELONG LEARNERSM

L I F E L O N G L E A R N I N GTM

Winter 2012

OUR STARS SHINE AT OUR 10TH ANNUAL GALAAnderson Center for Autism proudly hosted our 10th Annual Gala

in October at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie. Our very dear friends

Tondra and Jeffrey Lynford and The Good Dog Foundation were

presented with the V.V. Anderson Community Service Award. The

Award recognizes a person(s) and a business/organization who has

demonstrated continued commitment and dedication to furthering

autism awareness in our community, as well as their outstanding

leadership and strong desire to make this world a better place to live,

work and play in.

The Lynfords quietly pursue efforts to make this world a better place through their many

volunteer efforts in the areas of education and health, historic and environmental conservation,

and the performing and visual arts – thoughtfully approaching each endeavor with energy,

dedication and kindness.

Tondra is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Anderson Foundation and

past Chair of its Grants Committee. Jeffrey is the Co-Managing Member of Wellsford

Strategic Partners, LLC and the co-founder of the Wellsford group of public and private real

estate companies. Currently, he holds three gubernatorial appointments as a Commissioner

of The Port Authority of NY and NJ, a Member of the NY State Council on the Arts and a

Director of the Trust for Governors Island; and serves on the board of two Institutions of

higher education, NYU and Polytechnic Institute of NYU.

This year’s organizational award went to The Good Dog Foundation. Founded in 1998 to

promote the use of animal-assisted therapy to enhance a person’s life, their mission is to

help society better understand the therapeutic value and benefits of the human-animal

bond. Good Dog provides therapy dog services through the use of professionally-trained

and supervised volunteer teams.

Anderson Center for Autism has worked with Good Dog for more than three years

with gratifying results. The dogs are trained to remain calm even if a student or adult

becomes stressed, frustrated or agitated. Dog therapy is helping Anderson Center’s

children and adults develop skills that can be transferred to relationships with people.

(Gala continued on page 3)

· Executive Director’s Message 2

· Family Corner 3

· Fundraising Highlights 5

· Notes and Notables 6-7

WHAT’S INSIDE

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a u t i s m t o d a y

Thoughts from the

desk of Neil J. Pollack,

Executive Director

We all know how it feels to be misunderstood or judged for

any variety of reasons. Regrettably, people with autism

spectrum disorders, specifically high functioning autism or

Asperger’s Syndrome, can often be targets of unkind reactions

or even bullying in their school or community because of

their unique behaviors and social unease. The slings and

arrows of unkindness can leave emotional scars that last a

lifetime. Most unfortunate is that lingering below the surface

are often amazing, creative talents that, once fully engaged,

can be tapped into to solve tremendous societal challenges.

Having been haunted by this type of adversity himself, local

celebrity and author Jesse A. Saperstein hopes his newest project

entitled Free-Falling to End Bullying in 2012 will raise awareness,

foster compassion and call for change. Anderson Foundation for

Autism is proud to partner with Jesse on this endeavor. I encourage

you to learn more about what this courageous young man did to rise

above the adversity and become a champion for people living with

ASD at www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9080363.html.

Jesse also tackles serious subject matter in his book Atypical, Life with Asperger’s in 20 1/3 Chapters in which he offers a raw

disclosure about the challenges of his life and his quest to root out

bullying. Jesse is courageous in sharing the intimate details of his

life and it is important that we support his helpful work. You can

do this today by visiting his website www.jessesaperstein.com and

watching the Free Falling video as well as by purchasing his book.

I promise you that both will be eye-opening experiences you will

appreciate!

Jesse is also available for speaking engagements and the

Anderson Development Team stands ready to help you by

contacting ElizaBozenski@ACenterForAutism.org or calling

Eliza at 845-889-9594.

b o a r d s o f t r u s t e e s

Anderson Center for Autism operates under the guidance of our exceptional Boards of Trustees. We appreciate the contributions that each of these talented and generous individuals makes towards the achievement of our goals.

David W. Melby, Chair

Francis M. Synan, 1st Vice Chair

Eric D. Gorman, 2nd Vice Chair

Justin L. Cole, Treasurer

Elizabeth P. Corcoran, Secretary

ANDERSON CENTER FOR AUTISM*

Neeraj Alimchandani, Trustee

Elinor B. E. Arnold, Trustee

Rebecca M. Blahut, Trustee

Pompey Delafield, Trustee

Joe Lepore, Trustee

Richard W. Lewis, Trustee

Peter M. Olympia, Jr., Trustee

Jeanne R. Raichle, Trustee

John A. Scileppi, Trustee

Andrew Stewart, MD, Trustee

*Trustees for Anderson Center for Autism are also trustees for Anderson Center Services, Inc.

ANDERSON FOUNDATION FOR AUTISM, INC.Margaret Cusumano, Chair

John Maserjian, Vice Chair

Robert Shoemaker, Treasurer

Tondra Lynford, Secretary

Susan Angeles, Trustee

Ellen L. Baker, Trustee

Didi Barrett, Trustee

Barry R. Feirstein, Trustee

Vance A. Gage, Trustee

Joseph T. Kirchhoff, Trustee

Harold L. Mangold, Trustee

William F. Melcher, Trustee

Marisa Perez-Rogers, Trustee

Maryann R. Pilon, Trustee

Alexander E. Roithmayr, Ex-Officio Trustee

Rebecca A. Valk, Trustee

LIFETIME HONORARY TRUSTEES

COURAGE IN THE FACE OF ASPERGER’S SYNDROME

Michael McNaughton Wilfred RohdeJaime Rodriguez-TellezEllen L. Baker Fritz SonnenschmidtSarah E. Sholes

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Alexander E. Roithmayr, Ex-Officio Trustee

Rebecca A. Valk, Trustee

GALA story continued from cover

The highlight of the evening was a special performance by

Anderson Center’s Adult Services Program “Dancing with

Our Stars” Dancers. They had worked hard to perfect their

performance and thoroughly entertained Gala attendees with

their lively, inspirational presentation of dancing and singing.

If you were unable to attend last year’s Gala, be sure to mark

Saturday, October 6, 2012, on your calendar!! We will be

celebrating “A Courageous Journey” and honoring Mr. David

Melby and Marist College at the 11th Annual Gala ~ an

event that should not be missed!

Please see related article on page 4

PERFECT TIMING WAS ON THEIR SIDENearly 15 years ago, Hank and Gail Arnold were faced with a dilemma that is familiar to so many parents of children reaching adulthood with autism and other disabilities. Their son David was aging out of his current school system and they were searching for a place that, as an adult, David would be safe, happy and continue to develop to his individual potential – a place that he could call home.

For the Arnolds, “perfect timing” was on their side, according to dad Hank, and an opening with funding became available at Anderson Center’s Lamoree IRA. In 1998, David moved in. “After dropping him off, we were asked not to visit for the first 30 days so that he could settle in and know that it was his new home,” recounts Hank. “After our first visit, when we pulled up to his new home he said “You can go away now. It was a strong indication that he had adapted well and we were thrilled.”

Today, David still lives at the Lamoree Road IRA and attends West Road Day Hab. “He has progressed an incredible amount, both socially and in all the things he can do,” says Dad. “A regular day-to-day routine makes him comfortable and he likes par-ticipating in tasks. He has done lots of great work and seems very happy. Most of all he loves being outside, eating at restaurants and travelling around.”

“When we visit, the staff is amazing,” says Hank. “And, considering their mission and the challenging environment they work in, the staff retention rate at Anderson Center is tremendous. They are all wonderful individuals. As parents, we are very impressed and we’re sure that David is too!”

f a m i l y c o r n e r

STAFF KUDOSCongratulations to Amanda Coons, Brandy Haight and Beth Foster on becoming Board Certified Behavior Analysts! Further

congratulations go to Amanda Coons who also recently earned a Masters Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism from Sage

College.

Beth Gray, MSOTR, and Rebecca Stanmyer, CCC-SLP, conducted a workshop presentation entitled “Innovative, Interdisciplinary

Program Development for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders” at the New York State Occupational Therapy Association 2011

Annual Conference on October 23, 2011. Great work Beth and Rebecca!

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THANK YOU TO OUR GALA SPONSORS, SUPPORTERS, AND DONORS - YOU ARE OUR HEROESAnderson Center would like to thank the following outstanding individuals and organizations for their generosity and support. It is because of all of you that our 10th Annual Gala was such a great success. You are all amazing and we appreciate your involvement more than you know.

GOLD

The Geduld Cougar Foundation

Lynford Family Charitable Trust

SILVER

Kirchhoff-Consigli

Construction Management, LLC

M & T Bank

M & T Charitable Foundation

The Zauderer Family

FAMILY

The Feirstein Family

BRONZE

Vassar Brothers Medical Center

TABLE

Cheryl Coleman Law Offices

McCabe & Mack

The Mertens Family

Rose & Kiernan

SUPPORTER

Clear Channel Communications

The Gilmartin-Ronayne Families

Integrated Enterprise Solutions

Med World Pharmacy

Sloan Architects PC

SPONSOR

The Barry Friedberg and

Charlotte Moss Family Foundation

Sysco Food Services of Albany, LLC

DONATIONS

Edward and Marilyn Bennett

Richard and Myrna Broadman

Radita Casapu

City Living Realty

Justin Cole, PLLC

Michael Fleischer and Michael Dupree

The Barry Friedberg and

Charlotte Moss Family Foundation

Ilene and Irving Fish, M.D.

Sandy and Floss Frucher

Vance A. Gage

Jill and Jerry Hultin ~

Polytech Institute of NYU

JJS Realty Management Corp.

Matt’s Auto Body

Mariko and Mark Mozeson

Karen and John Nagy

Bob and Geri Neiman

Svetlana and Joseph Niyazov

William and Helen Page

Janice Pollack

Jennifer Raab ~ Hunter College

The Rosenfeld Family

Frederick and Pearl Rosenfeld

Sweet’s Funeral Home, Inc.

Ultimate Software

Stephanie and Hugh Vargas

The Weisman Foundation

Margaret and Gary Zurheide

PROGRAM JOURNAL

SUPPORTERS

Adams Fairacre Farms

American Heating & Cooling

Christopher Barley M.D.

and Jonathan Sheffer

Myrna and Richard Broadman

Calculated Fire Protection Co., Inc.

City Living Realty

Justin Cole

Ethan Allen Personnel Group

The Frucher Family

Victoria and Buzzy Geduld ~

Geduld Cougar Foundation

The Gilmartin-Ronayne Families

The Hamdan Family

The Heyday Foundation

Fred Hochberg and Tom Healy

Elliot Horowitz

Hudson Valley Autism Society ~

Hudson Valley

JJS Realty Management Corp.

Jilco Kitchens

KathodeRay Media Inc.

Howard Kaufman and Phyllis Lazard

Lloyd Lynford

Marist College

Matt’s Auto Body

Assemblyman Joel Miller

Charlotte Moss and Barry Friedberg

NYU Silver School of Social Work

The Nagy Family

Svetlana and Joseph Niyazov

Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Lynn and Alan Pearce

Pedatella Realty Inc. - Brian Woolsey

Pedatella Realty Inc. - Joan Pedatella

Jennifer Raab

Radiology Associates of Poughkeepsie, PLLC

Resources for Children with Special Needs

Rhinebeck Savings Bank

Riverside Bank

Susan and Michael Rogoff

Rosenfeld Family

Sciame Development Inc.

Cynthia and Bill Simon

Sweet’s Funeral Home, Inc.

Barbara and Stephen Torpie

Ultimate Software - Ultipro

Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center

The Zauderer Family

AUCTION DONORS

All Sport Fishkill Health & Fitness

American Glory

Anderson Center for Autism Adult Services

Anderson Center for Autism

Children’s Services Department

Anderson Center for Autism Human

Resources Department

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Hudson Valley Autism Society ~

Hudson Valley

JJS Realty Management Corp.

Jilco Kitchens

KathodeRay Media Inc.

Howard Kaufman and Phyllis Lazard

Lloyd Lynford

Marist College

Matt’s Auto Body

Assemblyman Joel Miller

Charlotte Moss and Barry Friedberg

NYU Silver School of Social Work

The Nagy Family

Svetlana and Joseph Niyazov

Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Lynn and Alan Pearce

Pedatella Realty Inc. - Brian Woolsey

Pedatella Realty Inc. - Joan Pedatella

Jennifer Raab

Radiology Associates of Poughkeepsie, PLLC

Resources for Children with Special Needs

Rhinebeck Savings Bank

Riverside Bank

Susan and Michael Rogoff

Rosenfeld Family

Sciame Development Inc.

Cynthia and Bill Simon

Sweet’s Funeral Home, Inc.

Barbara and Stephen Torpie

Ultimate Software - Ultipro

Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center

The Zauderer Family

AUCTION DONORS

All Sport Fishkill Health & Fitness

American Glory

Anderson Center for Autism Adult Services

Anderson Center for Autism

Children’s Services Department

Anderson Center for Autism Human

Resources Department

OTHER WAYS TO RAISE FUNDS Looking for a fun

and effective way to raise funds for Anderson Center?

Individuals, organizations and companies can volunteer to

organize, develop and execute events such as tag or bake

sales, basketball games, car washes, dress-down days, coin

drops and more, with Anderson Center as the beneficiary.

Or, if you sell makeup, gifts, jewelry or other great

product lines, can you offer a portion of the proceeds to

go to Anderson Center as an incentive? If you have a fund

raising/autism awareness idea or questions, please contact

Anderson Center and share it with us! We’ll do all we can

to help you get the word out. Every little bit helps!

PLANNED GIVING

Please remember us in your will. Call us today.

For more information on all the ways you can help to support ACA, please contact Noel Crotone at (845) 889-9208 or NoelCrotone@ACenterforAutism.org. Donations should be made payable to Anderson Foundation for Autism.

FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS Thank you to Michael Dupree and Michael Fleischer and Pompey and Margi Delafield for hosting an introductory party in September. In addition to financial support, the event resulted in a connection with the Hudson Valley News who did a three-part series on Anderson Center.

Our 2011 Holiday Gift Drive was very successful. Parent Kathy Spruyt worked with Michelle Fritz to gather and deliver over 400 donated items for the holidays. Other gift drives included the Hyde Park Brewery, St. Colombo Church and Allure Salon.

Our Annual Appeal is ongoing; please consider making your

annual gift today.

CULTIVATION OF GIVING All Anderson families are being

contacted throughout the year for involvement and a

continued pipeline of support. Thank you for your time and

support.

Anderson Center for Autism

Nursing Department

Anderson Center for Autism

Operations Department

Aroma Thyme Bistro

Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro

bar pitti

Bardavon 1869 Opera House

Beekman Arms & Delamater House

Beekman Country Club

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Bradford Renaissance Portraits Corp.

Brasserie 292

Bread Alone

Brotherhood Winery

Bunny Levinson

Butler Woodcrafters

Casperkill Golf Club

Mary Higgins Clark

Clear Channel Radio

Coppola’s Italian & American Bistro

County Players, Inc.

Double O Grill

Gold’s Gym

Doris Graves

Hudson Beach Glass

Hudson River Cruises, Inc.

Mark Klein

Krause’s Chocolates

Amy Krebs

Late Show with David Letterman

Long Island Children’s Museum

The Lowenthals

Debbie Macomber

Marist College

Mary Abdoo & You

Kate McKenna

Mediak (Kids Personalized Media)

Miami Seaquarium

Mid-Hudson Civic Center

Mohegan Sun

Montage Laguna Beach

NY Buffalo Bills

National Baseball Hall of Fame

Nelson Demille

New York Jets LLC

NIKE, Inc.

Oriental Trading Company, Inc.

Rita Benitez

Riverside Bank

Rocking Horse Ranch Resort

Safeguard Business Systems Inc.

Sandra Foster

Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Seasons Restaurant II

Sesame Workshop

Shadows on the Hudson

Susanne Koval

Tammie Sprague

Terrapin Restaurant

Tessie Abastillas

The Kimberly

The Pastry Garden

The Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel

The Shubert Organization, Inc.

Tom Clancy

Tribeca Grill

Vassar Golf Course

Viscount Wines & Liquor

Williams Lumber & Home Centers

N o t e s a n d N o t a b l e s

HOLIDAY BAZAAR The annual Holiday Bazaar was

held on December 16, 2011. This event gives students the chance to

shop for holiday gifts for their families. Throughout the year, new and

gently used items are collected and then the gym is transformed into a

holiday shopping bazaar. Children choose gift items and “elves” wrap

the gifts. Many thanks to the staff who volunteered to make this a

wonderful event for the children…Maintenance, Teaching staff, Speech

& OT staff, Transition & Recreation staff - a true group effort!

A BUSY SEASON ON THE LANES This has been a busy season for our Adult Program’s Special Olympics

Athletes and Coaches. We ended the summer with a coaching clinic

where 19 of our staff volunteered their time to be trained as bowling

coaches. The staff then bowled with our athletes and collected their

required hours, while providing tips and having a good time. By the time

we participated in the local bowling event at Mardi Bob’s Lanes in

Poughkeepsie in October, we had a record 25 athletes with several new

coaches cheering them on. Twenty of these athletes later competed in the

Regional Bowling event at the Chester Lanes in November. Thirteen

(including four campus athletes) wrapped up our bowling season in December at the Unified Bowling event in Jefferson Valley

where they competed alongside several experienced bowlers from the community. Great job to all of our athletes and thank

you to our new and seasoned coaches!

FUN ON ICEThrough an ongoing Therapeutic Ice Skating Program

at the McCann Center in Poughkeepsie, a small group

of students have been ice skating one-on-one with

center staff. Skating has many benefits for our students

including physical activity, interaction with others,

self esteem building, and skills development.

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OPEN HOUSE The school’s annual

Open House was held on October 15, 2011. A

record number of parents, family and friends

joined us and were able to visit classrooms and

speak with teachers. Teachers were excited to

share lessons on the new ActivBoards! The faculty

and school administrators appreciated everyone’s

attendance and look forward to our next Open

House on October 20, 2012!

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SHOWING THEIR VOLLEYBALL SKILLSFor the first time, Anderson Center athletes participated in the Special Olympics

Volleyball Skills competition in October at the Mt. Pleasant Community Center

in Valhalla, NY. After having practiced together for the two months prior, the

adult athletes and 14 athletes from campus, participated and showed their talents

for the game. Thank you to all the staff and coaches (Stacey Trapani-Barber,

Kwame Wiafeakenten, Claude Porter, Kelly Dooley, Jarmar Richardson and

Coach Intern, Olivia Sciacovelli) who made this happen and turn out to be a

great success. The athletes are looking forward to next year!

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

RIGHT UP THEIR ALLEYIn November, ten campus athletes represented Anderson Center at the

2011 Hudson Valley Regional Bowling Special Olympics competition

in Chester, NY. The athletes had an opportunity to compete against

others from all over the region. From the fun that was had and the

skills that they showed, it seems that bowling is right up their alley!

WARM WISHESThe Speech and OT vocational strategies group at Saugerties LLC organized

a coat drive in January. The national organization onewarmcoat.org provided

support materials on how to run a successful coat drive that the participants

utilized to execute the drive. The collected coats were donated to Family

of Woodstock. Thanks to everyone for your heartwarming efforts!

HEART WALKThe Dutchess County Heart Walk will take place on March 10, 2012, at

Vassar College with a 10:00 am start time. Brenda Sieh, Children’s Services

Residence Manager, is coordinating campus participation and sponsorship.

Brenda and Kwame Wiafeakenten, Recreation Coordinator, will ensure a

group of students participate in this annual community event. We’re happy

to include students as it underscores our dedication to student wellness

activities, community participation and giving to others.

FUN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

It was a day of celebration, connection and

reflection with delicious food created by our

Food Services Department at our annual

Anderson Staff Holiday Party/Open House

on December 14, 2011. This was the first

year the event was held in our new Recreation

Center and the venue was a terrific spot for

our growing numbers in attendance. Forty-six

staff were delighted to be the recipients of

the prizes from the annual raffle. Special

thanks go out to our families who supported

the event and raffle: Agostino, Albamont,

Appel and Lenczewski, Aviles, Consoli, Diaz,

Hoffman, Hsia, Hudder, Ingram, Karpinski,

Kolind, Krebs, Loschiavo, Lynford, March,

Mertens, Morganthal, Rogoff, Sciammetta,

Tadena, Taylor, Valdes, Vargas, Woitasek,

Zauderer.

4885 Route 9 · P.O. Box 367

Staatsburg, NY 12580-0367

Ph: 845-889-4034

www.AndersonCenterforAutism.org

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SAVE THE DATES APRIL 12, 2012Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce Breakfastat Anderson Center for Autism

APRIL 13, 2012Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce Policy Breakfast at The Poughkeepsie Grand

MAY 19, 2012ACA’s Cultural Festival at Anderson Center for Autism

MAY 23, 20122nd Annual Autism Tomorrow Conference at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie, NY

JUNE 7, 201211th Annual Golf Tournamentat Dutchess Golf & Country Club in Poughkeepsie, NY

OCTOBER 6, 2012 11th Annual Gala at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie, NY

OCTOBER 20, 2012 ACA’s Open House & Harvest Festival at Anderson Center for Autism

OCTOBER 23, 2012 Family and Community Workshopat Anderson Center for Autism

For details, participation and sponsorship information, or to register for the above events, please contact Noel Crotone at 845-889-9208.