5th Anniversary Special Edition

Announcing_TFA_Newslink
1/9/06
11:33 PM
Page 1
TM
Toonies for Autism Campaign
Celebrates 5 Years
Five years of creating understanding and support
in our children’s daily school lives
Congratulations
from
Autism Society Ontario
Board President,
Claudio Del Duca
“Toonies for Autism has been
endorsed by politicians, educators,
and students at all levels in our
Our New Name and Look
Bonnie McPhail & Ron Harrison
Campaign Co-Chairs
W
e are excited to announce changes to our
Toonies for Autism™ Campaign.
After a busy summer of examining our successes
to date, followed by interviews with a number of
school teachers, we have made some important
changes to our Campaign.
communities. Everyone personally
Updated Campaign Name
affected by autism in Ontario will
You will see that we have changed our name to
“Toonies for Autism” from “Toonie for Autism Day”.
Many schools hold their TFA events over a couple of
days or a week, so, we took “day” out of the title and
we changed toonie to toonies.
benefit by the actions of our
Toonies for Autism Committee.”
“I applaud the hard work of this
Committee, and encourage everyone
in our great province to support the
New Tagline
efforts of Toonies for Autism in
We also realized that we needed a tagline to
emotionally reflect our Campaign’s goals. So, we
created the simple, but multiple-meaning, tagline:
Together for Autism.
every way.”
Announcing_TFA_Newslink
1/9/06
11:33 PM
Page 2
Our Toonie Friends!
Parents and the Campaign
are Making a Difference
Educators and Students:
Together for Autism
Cindi Buick, Parent
Richmond Hill
Nicole Aliya Rahim
I
A
fter learning from the schools that the most
important reason they host TFA activities is to
raise awareness and educate their students, we
realized that we needed to come up with a more fun
and compelling way to connect with students.
So, we created our Toonie friends. You will see that
they are fun, active and can represent children with and
without autism. We continue our colours orange and
purple, and we have added the autism community’s
puzzle metaphor to his shirt and her dress.
We have also replaced the puzzle colouring page (in
school packages) with the boy and girl. This way, students
can colour our Toonie friends and then connect and
post them, hand in hand, on a wall or bulletin board.
TM
New Logo
Finally, we have incorporated all of these changes into our new,
colourful and inspiring logo. Our flying boy represents freedom,
fun and possibility.
Updated Website and
Campaign Material
These changes have also been incorporated into the 2006 Campaign
promotional materials, and our new look has been applied to a more
interesting website www.togetherforautism.ca.
We hope that you and your children will like our new
Toonies for Autism friends and messages and we look
forward to continuing growth and success in raising
awareness and money for research.
’m not an autism expert. I’m an Adam expert. I’m
just a mom who wanted a positive school experience
for my child and I quickly learned how the Toonies
for Autism Campaign could influence my son’s happiness
at school.
Adam was in Grade 1 and it was becoming increasingly
obvious to his classmates that there was something a
little different about him. I thought it would be a slow
process to raise autism awareness. But, to my delight, it
happened instantly. The other students really got it…
right away!
Very Supportive School Principal and Staff
I remember being a little intimidated to ask staff at the
school to organize a TFA Campaign but I had no need to
fear. The principal and staff were very supportive. They
immediately saw the benefit in getting age-appropriate
information into our school and community.
Together, the school and I decided that each class
would be brought into the library to view the TFA video.
I talked briefly about autism and the students responded
with questions that showed they were really listening.
What has TFA Meant to My Son?
He has peers and teachers who understand him and
he is an active participant in his class. The custodians
and office staff interact well with him. He has genuine
friends who are very supportive. He gets invited to
birthday parties. He plays with other kids at recess,
and they respect his wishes when he “just wants
to be alone”. He participates in intramural
sports and his team-mates cheer him on –
all because he is surrounded by people who
have been educated about autism.
W
e’ve had an overwhelming response from
teachers who have gone above the call of duty
in their school Campaigns!
Creative & Fun Fundraising
For example, the educational assistant (E.A) at
Brechin Public School, encouraged empathy by having
students experience sensory stimulants. “Students from
each class were presented a sour candy to eat while being
sprayed with strong perfume. Teachers also blasted
static from a radio and flashed the lights; the kids were
amazed, they had no idea what children with autism
might experience.”
At Dylan’s school (site of the 2005 Campaign video),
staff and students set their gym up to look like the Air
Canada Centre, complete with courtside announcers
and VIP seats for an in-school basketball game.
The staff at Mount Pleasant Public School volunteered
to do the Chicken Dance on the condition that the
school’s previous year’s donations be exceeded.
And, one of the most imaginative activities took place
at St. Clair College, Windsor, where students sold lengths
of duct tape for $2. These were then used to tape two
instructors to a wall!
Clearly, staff and students enthusiasm is essential in
organizing imaginative activities that create good school
spirit and student eagerness,
and we want to thank
them all!
It’s Easy to Get Your
Child’s School Involved
The best part is that I didn’t
need special training to help my
son’s school start a campaign.
The TFA Committee supplies all
of the necessary materials (free
to schools that register), and it
makes it easy for you to help.
If you haven’t talked to your child’s school about the
Campaign, please visit www.togetherforautism.ca or
contact TFA staff at 1-800-472-7789 for more information.
Announcing_TFA_Newslink
1/9/06
11:33 PM
Page 2
Our Toonie Friends!
Parents and the Campaign
are Making a Difference
Educators and Students:
Together for Autism
Cindi Buick, Parent
Richmond Hill
Nicole Aliya Rahim
I
A
fter learning from the schools that the most
important reason they host TFA activities is to
raise awareness and educate their students, we
realized that we needed to come up with a more fun
and compelling way to connect with students.
So, we created our Toonie friends. You will see that
they are fun, active and can represent children with and
without autism. We continue our colours orange and
purple, and we have added the autism community’s
puzzle metaphor to his shirt and her dress.
We have also replaced the puzzle colouring page (in
school packages) with the boy and girl. This way, students
can colour our Toonie friends and then connect and
post them, hand in hand, on a wall or bulletin board.
TM
New Logo
Finally, we have incorporated all of these changes into our new,
colourful and inspiring logo. Our flying boy represents freedom,
fun and possibility.
Updated Website and
Campaign Material
These changes have also been incorporated into the 2006 Campaign
promotional materials, and our new look has been applied to a more
interesting website www.togetherforautism.ca.
We hope that you and your children will like our new
Toonies for Autism friends and messages and we look
forward to continuing growth and success in raising
awareness and money for research.
’m not an autism expert. I’m an Adam expert. I’m
just a mom who wanted a positive school experience
for my child and I quickly learned how the Toonies
for Autism Campaign could influence my son’s happiness
at school.
Adam was in Grade 1 and it was becoming increasingly
obvious to his classmates that there was something a
little different about him. I thought it would be a slow
process to raise autism awareness. But, to my delight, it
happened instantly. The other students really got it…
right away!
Very Supportive School Principal and Staff
I remember being a little intimidated to ask staff at the
school to organize a TFA Campaign but I had no need to
fear. The principal and staff were very supportive. They
immediately saw the benefit in getting age-appropriate
information into our school and community.
Together, the school and I decided that each class
would be brought into the library to view the TFA video.
I talked briefly about autism and the students responded
with questions that showed they were really listening.
What has TFA Meant to My Son?
He has peers and teachers who understand him and
he is an active participant in his class. The custodians
and office staff interact well with him. He has genuine
friends who are very supportive. He gets invited to
birthday parties. He plays with other kids at recess,
and they respect his wishes when he “just wants
to be alone”. He participates in intramural
sports and his team-mates cheer him on –
all because he is surrounded by people who
have been educated about autism.
W
e’ve had an overwhelming response from
teachers who have gone above the call of duty
in their school Campaigns!
Creative & Fun Fundraising
For example, the educational assistant (E.A) at
Brechin Public School, encouraged empathy by having
students experience sensory stimulants. “Students from
each class were presented a sour candy to eat while being
sprayed with strong perfume. Teachers also blasted
static from a radio and flashed the lights; the kids were
amazed, they had no idea what children with autism
might experience.”
At Dylan’s school (site of the 2005 Campaign video),
staff and students set their gym up to look like the Air
Canada Centre, complete with courtside announcers
and VIP seats for an in-school basketball game.
The staff at Mount Pleasant Public School volunteered
to do the Chicken Dance on the condition that the
school’s previous year’s donations be exceeded.
And, one of the most imaginative activities took place
at St. Clair College, Windsor, where students sold lengths
of duct tape for $2. These were then used to tape two
instructors to a wall!
Clearly, staff and students enthusiasm is essential in
organizing imaginative activities that create good school
spirit and student eagerness,
and we want to thank
them all!
It’s Easy to Get Your
Child’s School Involved
The best part is that I didn’t
need special training to help my
son’s school start a campaign.
The TFA Committee supplies all
of the necessary materials (free
to schools that register), and it
makes it easy for you to help.
If you haven’t talked to your child’s school about the
Campaign, please visit www.togetherforautism.ca or
contact TFA staff at 1-800-472-7789 for more information.
Announcing_TFA_Newslink
1/9/06
11:33 PM
Page 4
Making Good Memories
Dear friends,
I have the privilege to work with some of the world’s
best athletes every day. The players I watch have been
blessed with the physical ability to perform skills that
both entertain and amaze.
Unfortunately, there are many people that not only don’t have these
abilities, but have been born with conditions that make their and their
family’s daily life a challenge.
Autism is one of these conditions.
A child with autism faces many challenges. However, having fellow students
and adults that misunderstand their condition presents a greater challenge
that children with autism shouldn’t have to face.
Toonies for Autism™ is working to teach students how to be supportive of
classmates with autism. For we all know, regardless of what challenges you
face in life, having the understanding and support of your classmates and
friends is very important to living a full life.
I have a nephew who is affected by autism. Now 16, I have watched Johnny
and his family deal with the many challenges of autism. Johnny has a loving
and understanding family and is fortunate to be in a school system that
gives him tremendous support. He will never be able to live on his own, but
I have watched him develop into a fine young man.
I have seen, first hand, the difference that Toonies for Autism Campaign
can make.
Thanks for your support,
Rob Babcock
General Manager/Toronto Raptors