April is National Autism Awareness Month ! Let's help to increase awareness and aid by participating in events throughout the month (and purchasing an Art for Autism CD while we're at it). Keep on checking for event updates. Here are a few posted on Baristanet, the community website for Bloomfield, Montclair, and Glen Ridge, NJ:

"In Glen Ridge, there are four after-school bake sales to raise money for COSAC, a New Jersey advocacy organization: Linden Ave School on Friday April 10, Ridgewood Ave School on Friday April 11, Forest Ave School on Tuesday April 15 and Glen Ridge High School on Wednesday April 16."

Don't forget that today, Sunday morning at 10am is the DOORS Walkathon held at Rutgers Gardens. Art for Autism will be there supporting the cause and part of a Barnes & Noble $100 Gift Card raffle. See you there! Thanks to everyone who came out for the wildly successful Art for Autism show at the Barnes & Noble in Holmdel this past Friday. I'd like to thank also the three acts who performed: Vic Fraternale (formerly of Head Traffic), Mike Kovacs and the Post Modern Tribe, and Chris Pierce of the Groucho Marxists.

For my pictures of the show, click here, and for Scott Zadroga's pictures, click here! TOMORROW NIGHT!
Don't forget about tomorrow night's Art for Autism acoustic show being held in the Barnes & Noble cafe in Holmdel (click here for directions) at 8pm. I'll be selling CDs and pins and collecting donations. Please come out; it should be fun!

Tunes in Hoboken now carries Art for Autism !

Also, don't forget about the acoustic show featuring the Groucho Marxists, Mike Kovacs, and Vic Fraternale from Head Traffic next Friday, July 27th at 8pm at the Barnes & Noble in Holmdel. Please come out to support Art for Autism and see the bands live. Tell your friends! Good news! Art for Autism is now available at the Princeton Barnes and Noble! Art for Autism was featured in Sunday's Star Ledger! Click here to read the article or download a scan of the paper by clicking here.

Also, an acoustic set featuring Mike Kovacs, Where's Alaska, the Groucho Marxists, and Head Traffic will take place at the Holmdel Barnes and Noble cafe on Friday, July 27th at 8pm. Bring your friends and help support adults with autism!

Thanks! There is an "Art for Autism" listening party scheduled for Friday, June 29th at Mulligan's in Hoboken, NJ between Bloomfield Ave and 1st Street at 10pm. Please come out and show your support, as well as listen to some great music!

Click here for the Digital myspace. "Art for Autism" will be available for purchase in stores starting Thursday, May 10th. Those stores are: Barnes and Noble stores in East Brunswick, North Brunswick, Menlo Park, Freehold, and Holmdel, Princeton Record Exchange, Vintage Vinyl in Fords, and Jack's Music Shoppe in Redbank. Of course, you can also puchase the album online here.

For those of you who have already ordered the CD through PayPal, I will be shipping your orders out on Thursday. Look for a shipping email then.

Keep your eyes and ears open for an Art for Autism show at the Parlor some time in June as well as an in-store acoustic show in the Barnes and Noble - Holmdel cafe in July. Friday the pressing of CDs began. They should be ready for purchase by the end of the first week of May. Reserve a copy now for only $10. Please keep a lookout for more information regarding the release show soon !

*Please click HERE for an important correction to paragraph #7 of the information inside the CD packaging.*

The challenges faced by adults with autism are by no means small or few. When one's child with autism is young, things seem less grave. People gravitate to these children offering love, affection, and support. But what is going to happen once these children grow to adulthood? The question sparks the realization of the life-span issues and how they affect the parents of children with autism. How will they live and function in the community? Will they even be able to at all? Who will take care of them once I no longer can? But these questions should not be asked solely by parents of individuals with autism. The community as a whole should be concerned about the consequences that result from insufficient residential, vocational, recreation, and educational services for adults with autism. The more opportunities that adults with autism have available to them, the more able they will be to live and work in the community. Their ability to do these things will allow them to be as self-sufficient as possible, and less of a burden to the community.

This is where "Art For Autism" comes in. "Art for Autism" is a compilation of mostly local New Jersey bands, whose proceeds benefit the Douglass Developmental Disibilites Center's Adult and Outreach program. By purchasing a copy, you will be improving quality of life for adults with autism, allowing them to build and maintain social relationships, jobs in the community, and individuality, as well as offering their parents peace of mind.

Please use the links below to learn more about autism, the challenges faced, what needs to be done, and what you can do to help.