Mission Statement

Our goal is to raise awareness about the prevalence of autism today while fundraising and volunteering to help families affected by autism. We work with the foundation office of TACA (Talk About Curing Autism) to plan and implement strategies that help us interact with youth who have autism in our communities. We also plan community fundraising efforts and volunteer our time at TACA sponsored events. We wish to promote student involvement in the autism community and inspire other high school students to join our cause.

In The News

Check Out the New Video Section of the Website

 

AYA Summit

The first ever AYA conference was a major success. Congratulations to Aliso Niguel High School for winning the video contest and Troy High School for winning the attendance award. To see Aliso Niguel's winning submission, please click here. Thanks to everyone who made the event happen and to all those who attended. Thanks to Volcom for the amazing shirts!

DoSomething.org Grant

AYA has received a generous grant of $500 from DoSomething.org!



TACA National Leadership Conference

On January 21st, AYA co-founder Manoj Kanagaraj and member Lauren Kim promoted AYA to TACA chapter directors from all over the country. They helped to garner support for AYA and assisted chapter directors to create AYA programs in their communities.

San Clemente Times

_San Clemente High School AYA club raised awareness for autism by providing hot chocolate and cookies while speaking about autism to the community.
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What is Autism?

Dr. Thomas Lin, MD
Autism consists of childhood developmental impairments in communication, socialization, and adaptive behaviors. Incidence has increased to 1 in 96 children which impacts every socioeconomic level and race. Though genetic predisposition can play a big role in its cause, environmental triggers of toxins, immunologic insults with over-vaccinations and antibiotics can ultimately lead to the onset of disease starting around 12 to 15 months of age.
Autism is a spectrum of various disabilities in social interaction, communication and behavior. While physical disability can also be present, most problems exist with behavior. Here are some of the symptoms*:

Social

  • Problems with nonverbal communication including facial expression and body movements.
  • Failure to express empathy with children of same age and others.
  • Lack of interest in games and social interactions.

Communication

  • Delay in or lack of speech.
  • Problem with carrying out conversations.
  • People with autism may repeat what they have previously heard (echolalia)
  • Inability to understand language devices such as irony, denotation, or humor.

Behavior

  • Preoccupation with certain objects or movements.
  • A need for routine. Things must be done in a certain manner.
  • Stereotyped behavior such as hand flapping and body rocking.
* Information from WebMD (http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/default.htm)