By Alexa Altman

Queens Courier

Photo courtesy of Sandra Constantino

Several Lindenwood residents are raising money for Autism awareness, sparked by one young girl’s YouTube video.

Sixteen-year-old Shyanna Constantino created an online video about her younger sister, five-year-old Kaylene Vazquez, who suffers from Autism. A friend’s mother saw the video, called “Happy Hope for Autistic Children,” on YouTube, and thought it would be a great way to raise money for the cause.

Shyanna, along with her mother Sandra Constantino, friend Lisa Tazeras and her mother Drena Muniz, who originally spotted the online video, sold chips, cupcakes and toys to attendees at P.S. 232 Park in Lindenwood on Saturday, April 14. Several families with Autistic children came to the event, happy to see the great work being done by the local philanthropists. Cookie Monster and the blue Care Bear came to the event as well, making children smile while posing for pictures.

Over 70 children also participated in a basketball tournament to raise money for Autism awareness, held at the same time. Organized by Constantino’s son, kids donated $5 each to participate in the afternoon’s athletic competition.

According to Constantino, 100 percent of the proceeds are going to help build New York Families for Autistic Children’s (NYFAC) new recreation center in Howard Beach. They were able to raise $1,200 during the fund raising event that took them less than a week to put together.

NYFAC is a non-profit organization that provides various services for children with Autism and other developmental disabilities throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Headquartered in Ozone Park, NYFAC’s most recent undertaking is the construction of a center in Howard Beach.

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Fundraiser held to support New York Families for Autistic Children

by Anna Gustafson Senior Editor

Queens Chronicle

Queens residents flocked to PS 232 in Lindenwood last weekend to raise money for the New York Families for Autistic Children.

Hundreds of people attended the event, which was organized by Howard Beach residents Shyanna Constantino and Lisa Taveras and included a basketball tournament.

“Shyanna and Lisa wanted kids to be aware of what autism is,” said Shyanna’s mother, Sandra Constantino, who has a four-year-old daughter, Kaylene, who is autistic.

Constantino will be holding another autism fundraiser on April 21 at Cordon Bleu, located at 96-01 Jamaica Ave. in Woodhaven.

Photos courtesy of Sandra Constantino

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NYFAC’s  annual car wash and car show will be held on Sunday, June 24^th, rain date Sunday, July 1^st  at the Lindenwood Shopping Center and Queens County Savings Bank located on 153^rd Avenue, between 82^nd and 83^rd streets in Howard Beach,  from 9am-3pm.  For details or sponsorship call 718-641-3441 x 144. To register your car in the car show, please call x 100.

The 2^ndAnnual Anthony J. Cirello Memorial Golf Outing will be held on Thursday, August 2, 2012 at Harbor Links Golf Course, 1 Fairway Dr, Port Washington. Registration and brunch begins at 11am. Putting contest starts at noon and  shotgun at 1pm. Barbecue dinner, beer and wine and raffle drawing will follow in the tent. Call 718-641-3441, x 144 for sponsorship’s and reservations.

 **Stay Tuned for more Details about Neirs Tavern Golf Outing.**

On May 17th, Neirs Tavern in Woodhaven is holding a golf outing to benefit NYFAC on the Forest Park Golf Course, 101 Forest Park Drive – Pig Roast and drinks to follow at Neirs Tavern, 87-48 78th Street.

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On Thursday, March 1st, 2012, New York Families for Autistic Children celebrated 14 years serving it’s community.

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Autism group offers help, hope to sufferers

by AnnMarie Costella, Assistant Editor, Queens Chronicle

A father takes his autistic son on a shopping trip to a mall. While there, the child wants to go into a toy store, but the father is in a hurry, so he refuses. The child, knowing no other way to express his frustration, throws himself to the ground and begins screaming “Somebody help me. Help me please.”

Shortly thereafter, with other shoppers looking on, three mall security officer appeared on the scene to try and figure out what was going on. Before he knew it, the dad found himself in handcuffs and sitting in the back of a police car. After about 45 minutes of explaining and the cops getting nowhere by asking the boy what his father had done to hurt him, he is released.

That actually happened to Andrew Baumann, CEO of New York Families for Autistic Children, and his son, Anthony, who was diagnosed with autism at three and a half years of age. Baumann shared the story during a presentation he gave about the disability at York College on Monday, hosted by City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans).

“Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability with some estimates showing that 1.5 million Americans are living with the disease,” Comrie said. “We need to do as much as we can to find a cause and possible cure for autism, which is a neurological disorder.”

NYFAC will be opening a new location on June 1 at 164-14 Crossbay Blvd. in Howard Beach. The $5 million project is being paid for through city, state and federal funding — half of which came from the Queens delegation of the City Council.

Although there is no cure for autism and there is no definitive answer as to what causes it, there is help for sufferers and their families. The key, according to Baumann, is early detection. He said parents should consult a neurologist immediately if they suspect their child might be autistic. Early intervention is possible from birth to age three.

“Kids with autism have very simple needs,” Baumann said. “They have very simple wants. They just want to know that they are safe and they’re secure and they’re loved. If they have that, the boundaries are endless.”

There will be more children diagnosed this year with autism than with AIDS or with juvenile diabetes, childhood cancer and asthma combined, Baumann said. Back when his son was diagnosed, he was told one in 2,500 children have autism. Today it’s one in 100, he said.

Theodora Turner-Kenny of the Bronx was one of about 10 people at the event. She came at the behest of a member of her mosque and wanted to find out more about how she could help her 4-year-old grandson, Jabril, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.

Turner-Kenny said she was concerned that her son-in-law is being too passive and allowing Jabril to misbehave, perhaps out of confusion on how to interact with a child who has the disability. She said she plans to seek help for her family through NYFAC.

Autism is a spectrum disorder meaning that it affects every child differently, impairing at different levels the way they function, learn and can be taught, according to Baumann, who is a psychologist by trade specializing in drug and alcohol addiction.

“They will drop on a dime,” Baumann said of autistic children.“They will scream and yell. They will spin around. They will run away. They will just look at you,” Baumann explained. “ … So, kids with autism are unique, but they are not that much different.”

Some autistic children are referred to as savants — having one specific expert area of knowledge. For Baumann’s son, Anthony, now 18, it’s U.S. Presidents. He can rattle off details about them without a second thought — everything from how long they served and their stands on certain issues to where they are buried and the names of their wives and children.

“But if you took a bunch of change from your pocket, and you threw it on the table, and you said ‘Anthony, give me 37 cents,’ —he couldn’t do it,” Baumann said. “He wouldn’t have a clue.”

In order to help autistic children learn and develop, one must understand their cues — the things that help them feel comfortable or allow them to express themselves.

At NYFAC, based in Ozone Park, staffers teach clients different simple skills — everything from making their bed and preparing a sandwich to fastening a button or washing a piece of clothing. The group also offers a number of recreational sports as well and individual and group counseling

Autistic children will often express themselves in atypical ways because they can’t verbalize simple things like letting someone know that they are hungry, sick, tired or lonely. Some children are so severely affected that even putting on a pair of gloves could be a major chore, but that doesn’t mean they can’t live productive lives.

“I can never forget that these kids are kids,” Baumann said,“and they are individuals who need help, and want help, and deserve help.”

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NYFAC TO START RENOVATIONS ON $4.9M HOWARD BEACH AUTISM FACILITY

The puzzle pieces on the wall of what will be the new nearly $5 million, 10,000-square-foot autistic services facility at 164-14 Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach are meant to be symbolic, said Andrew Baumann, CEO of nonprofit New York Families for Autistic Children (NYFAC).

“Autism is a puzzle; it’s about finding the missing pieces,” he said.

The Ozone Park-based nonprofit, which provides services for more than 300 families in Queens and Brooklyn, hopes to help those families find those missing pieces in the form of new programs that their facility—scheduled to open in June—will provide.

Renovations at the new site are expected to take 90 days, with NYFAC officials slating June 1 as the official ribbon-cutting ceremony that will mark the opening of the facility.

Between support, training, clinical and recreational services, NYFAC, founded in 1998, currently offers at least 18 different programs for families. The added room at the new two-floor facility on Cross Bay Boulevard will allow the agency to add new programs such as art, music and drama for children with autism.

The $4.9 million in funding for the facility—split between city, state and federal funding sources—includes $2.5 million from the Queens delegation to the council, $1.5 million from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget, $300,000 from Congressman Gregory Meeks, $200,000 appropriated by former state Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer prior to her stepping down last year, and $200,000 from state Senator Malcolm Smith.

Baumann called funding the facility, a project in the making for the last six years, a joint effort on local, state and federal levels.

While NYFAC currently provides support groups and informational session workshops for parents and professionals, the nonprofit’s current facility in Ozone Park, Baumann said, does not have the space necessary to do much more than that.

“I can’t have kids here; we don’t have the room for it. So the new building is going to be completely dedicated to the kids that we serve,” he said.

It took NYFAC roughly 15 months to iron out the details on the property deal involving the Cross Bay Boulevard facility—formerly the site of now-closed Chinese restaurant Danny’s Schezuan, which was owned by Danny Chan, a close friend of Baumann’s.

The nonprofit closed the deal on the property last June. Chan, who last owned the property, donated a piano for the music center, which will be dedicated to the Chan family.

NYFAC plans to use the additional space provided by the facility to house adult programs, children’s programs, speech therapy, socialization and music classes, first aid, a sensory room for occupational therapy, and a full working kitchen to teach home economics. That’s just the first floor.

The second floor will provide space for an instructional room, computer room, meeting room, board room, and administrative offices, among others.

Also featured on the second floor will be a TV studio to web cast instructional videos, presentations, lessons for kids, training programs, or even shows that children sing or act in at the center.

“We want to make our community a big part of this building, so community involvement is key to us,” said Baumann.

Adding additional programs such as those, Baumann said, would go a long way towards providing assistance to local families with loved ones struggling with autism.

“One in a hundred kids get diagnosed in with autism,” he said. “Whether you’re in Queens or elsewhere, it’s a big issue.”

With the current facility, NYFAC sends employees to local homes three to four days a week to work with autistic children, where they teach them activities in daily living—which are basic social interactions such as learning to shop at a store.

From a parent’s point of view, Cheryl Marsh, NYFAC’s executive director, whose own daughter, Tori, was diagnosed with autism, pointed out that the struggles that come with raising a child with autism are many, which make any extra support vital for families to cope.

“The word is ‘more’,” Marsh said. “Every child has tantrums, but our children have them longer and much more intense. Every child goes to doctors, [but] we have specialists for everything. Everything is just more, and it can be extremely overwhelming.”

“The beauty of NYFAC is that we’re all together,” she added. “When your child is the one that is rolling on the floor and screaming, nobody is going to look at you, nobody is going to judge you…we’re in this together and we understand. When we first started NYFAC, we did it ourselves, and there was nothing. Now we can give back to the people that come after us.”

By Jean-Paul Salamanca

Forum Newsgroup Photo by Jean-Paul Salamanca

jp-salamanca@theforumnewsgroup.cm

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NYFAC  was recently featured in the New York Daily News for the new autistic center opening early 2012.

Comprehensive $5 million autistic center to open in Howard Beach
New York Families for Autistic Children to start facility renovations

Andrew Baumann (left), the head of New York Familes for Autistic Children, and his autistic son Anthony, 18, in the Howard Beach building that is to become one of the largest comprehensive Autism centers in Queens. --Nicholas Fevelo for New York Daily News

By Clare Trapasso / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A Queens group plans to transform a Howard Beach Chinese restaurant into a $5 million comprehensive center for autistic children and adults.

The New York Families for Autistic Children facility is expected to be one of the largest of its kind in the borough, said President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Baumann.

Renovations on the building are slated to begin next week. The center is to open June 1.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/comprehensive-5-million-autistic-center-open-howard-beach-article-1.1011068#ixzz1kfxV7ASk

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New York Families for Autistic Children

will hold its

14th Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Celebration

on

Thursday, March 1, 2012

at

Russo’s on the Bay,

Cross Bay Boulevard and 163rd Avenue 

Howard Beach, New York

Cocktail Party begins at 6:30 PM – Dinner to Follow

Raffles and Silent Auction

Please join us as we honor these very special friends:

Guardian Angel Award:  …………………………………… The Honorable Erich Ulrich,

                                                                                                           Member, New York City Council

Lifetime Achievement Award: …………………………….. Gerogiana Reese – Benatti

Humanitarian Award:  …………………………………………………………. Mike Brothers

Community Service Award: ……………………………………………….. Jack Taravella

Excellence in Special Education: ……………………………………… Debbie Edmunds

                                                                                                                                            Ozzie Roman

Autism Advocacy Award: …………………………………………………….. Scott Badecsh

TICKETS

Individual ……………………………………………………….. $125 per person

Table of 14 ……………………………………………….. $1,600 (no journal ad)

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Dinner Sponsor – $10,000

Includes TWO tables for fourteen and Special Recognition in the Journal

Cocktail Party Sponsor – $5,000

Includes table for fourteen and Special Recognition in the Journal

NYFAC Staff Tables Sponsor – $3,000

They work really hard!

Includes two tables of Ten and Gold Full Page Journal Ad

Music Sponsor – $1,000

Centerpiece Sponsor – $1,000

Raffle Sponsor – $500

Auction Sponsor – $500

All sponsors will be acknowledged in the reception area and special thank you in the dinner journal.

DINNER AND JOURNAL ADVERTISING

Diamond Benefactor – $7,500

Includes outside back cover ad and table for 14

Emerald Benefactor – $5,000

Includes inside front cover ad and table for 14

Ruby Benefactor – $4,000

Includes inside back cover and table for 14

Sapphire Benefactor – $2,500

Includes gold page ad and table for 14

Garnet Benefactor – $2,000

Includes silver page ad and table for 14

JOURNAL ADVERTISING

Gold Page ………………………………………………………………………………………. $1,000

Silver Page ………………………………………………………………………………………. $500

Full Page ………………………………………………………………………………………….. $300

Half Page …………………………………………………………………………………………..  $150

Quarter Page ……………………………………………………………………………………….$75

Business Card ……………………………………………………………………………………..$50

Friends of NYFAC (includes one line up to 80 characters, including spaces) ….$20

Please include copy of layout and camera ready artwork, name, address, phone number and contact person.

Insert a photograph $50 per picture additional.

Please make checks payable to NYFAC and mail to:

NYFAC Journal 2012

83-10 149th Avenue

Howard Beach, NY 11414

For further information call (718) 641-3441, ext. 144

Ads must be received no later than February 13th, 2012

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On Saturday, December 17th, 2011, Anita Sessa, Executive Assistant to the
President of NYFAC, and Jennifer Persaud, MSC Supervisor, assisted NYFAC members
create fun crafts to fill their homes for the winter holiday season.

See photos below…

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This is the final architectural rendering of the new NYFAC Building at 164-14 Crossbay Boulevard. The building is scheduled to open its doors in early 2012, and will host a wide variety of programs and services for the entire family.

The final architectural rendering of the new NYFAC Building at 164-14 Crossbay Boulevard.

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