News & Notes from

In This Issue:  Upcoming Events At-a-Glance People of PCDA Support PCDA Programs & Services Resources for Families Job Posting!

Dear Friends, The word June comes from ‘young.’ At this time, the summer is new and children are starting new summertime routines and adventures. We hope your family will indulge in some summertime fun together. Children can grow so much over a summer through new challenges, opportunities to deepen their interests or discover new ones. We encourage you to help your children stretch their curiosity, bravely explore a new place, and meet new people. At PCDA, we have several special summertime activities- please join us! Thank you,  Dr. Diane    Executive Director

Please help us help children with autism  and special needs.  Click on the PCDA client artwork to donate to PCDA today!

Upcoming Events At-A-Glance

June 8: Playhouse Block Party   (PCDA booth & NoteAbles performance) ) June 8: Teen Club/Teen Buddies Carwash (see below) July 3, 10, 17: Orientation to Floortime Workshop July 4: NoteAbles Performance at the Rose Bowl's Americafest July 22 - August 2 : Creative Arts Summer Program November 10: 11th Annual Harvest Moon Gala

People of PCDA

Developmental Interventionist (DI) of the Month: Ricardo

Ricardo received his B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Development from California State University, Northridge. He has a broad background of experience working with children as a program aide and volunteer with at-risk youth through various programs. At PCDA, Ricardo has taken on all the programs he has been presented with. He especially enjoys our Young Athletes Program, as he has a natural sports ability coupled with the capability to engage children with his affect and personality. Ricardo is creative when planning his sessions and always presents ideas and is ready to collaborate with his co-facilitators in Teen Buddies and Social Skills. Within our in-home program, Ricardo is thriving in his relationships with clients and their families. We are so proud to have Ricardo as our DI of the month.  Congratulations Ricardo!

Client Spotlight of the Month: Lincoln!

Lincoln has been coming to PCDA since 2016. He attends feeding therapy and speech therapy. With the help of his family, Lincoln is developing a curiosity about food and finding his voice to help put his ideas into words. Lincoln is thoughtful, playful, and brave. He is great at math, reading, and geography and recently started attending Chess Masters after school with his sister!

Program Spotlight: The NoteAbles Choir!

We are so proud of all the children in PCDA's NoteAbles Choir directed by Sarah Martinez and Anna Needham. They had their first performance of the year at South Pasadena’s Eclectic Music Festival and Arts Walk at the Music Center and Conservatory on April 27 th where they performed "You've Got a Friend in Me" from the Toy Story soundtrack and "Price Tag" by Jessie J. It is so exciting to be a part of local events and integrate PCDA's creative arts programs into our community.   Currently, they are preparing for their performance at the Pasadena Playhouse Block Party on June 8th at 3 p.m. at the Main Stage . Join the celebration of the arts and culture with a FREE block party on El Molino Avenue. This all-day event featuring more than 20 performances, family-friendly interactive activities, food, libations, and guided tours, all curated by our local arts organizations and community partners.  The NoteAbles will also return to perform the national anthem at the 4th of July Spectacular at the Rose Bowl alongside renowned "Tenor of the Americas," Maximo Marcuso. Go NoteAbles, we couldn't be more proud! For more information on The NoteAbles Children’s Choir, please contact Aimee: aimee@pcdateam.org

June Volunteer Highlights

Welcome to PCDA’s New Volunteers:  Sally Deng, Stephanie Demars, Stefanie Kuizon, and Kelsey Keener! Thank you to PCDA Ambassador, Bill Cullinane, and the Occidental College Men’s Soccer Team for coming out to paint the PCDA parking lot fence. Great teamwork! Thank you to Skylar Bowyer from Girl Scouts Troop #12501 who helped make PCDA’s Sports Social an extra special one. In addition to volunteering her time to facilitate fun sports activities, Skylar presented a new Sports Corner for PCDA’s outdoor play yard. Skylar’s generous donation of sports equipment, fun games, and storage sheds will benefit all of the children who receive services at PCDA. We are grateful for Skylar’s hard work in planning, fundraising, and coordinating volunteering to make this special gift of play to PCDA happen!

Support PCDA

Save the Date! 11th Annual Harvest Moon Gala November 10, 2019 La Canada Country Club

PCDA Thanks the Rotary Club of South Pasadena! Last month, PCDA was among the recipients of generous grant funding from the Rotary Club of South Pasadena. The Rotarians’ grant will help to fund PCDA’s Creative Arts music services and summer program, as well as a multi-use piece of equipment for our new Building Blocks-Group Services program. This isn’t the first time that PCDA has benefited from the generosity of the Rotary Club of South Pasadena, and we’re deeply grateful for the club’s ongoing support for our work and our client families!

Programs & Services

Resources for Families

Sharing Books by Anne Davis, MS, CCC-SLP Head of Speech & Language Services Certified Speech-Language Pathologist

This month, I’d like to give you some strategies for Sharing Books with your child. Sometimes the words on the page are not the most important part of the book. If you find a book with easy-to-understand pictures of people or animals engaged in different activities, you and your child can develop a storyline together. For example, the books, "Babies " written and illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa and "I Can" by Helen Oxenbury have simple illustrations of a young child engaged in many activities such as playing, eating, drinking, crying, sleeping, hugging, crawling, etc . If your child is talking in single words you can use a simple picture book to model putting 2-3 words together. This way you and your child can discover the book together.

Nutrient of the Month: Potassium

Potassium is a mineral that supports healthy blood pressure. It helps keep your kidneys, heart and brain healthy. Most people do not meet the recommended daily intake for potassium, making it that much more important to include in your everyday meals! Vegetables and fruit are good sources of potassium. Try making these Orange Carrot Mango Popsicles with your children. They are a great source of this mineral! A science experiment to see what they look like before and after they are frozen is a fun way to “cook” with kids!

Ingredients  1 mango – diced 2 large oranges, peeled 1 cup of shredded carrots 1 banana 1 cup of orange or apple juice Instructions  Blend all of the veggies and the fruits along with the juice at medium speed until the ingredients are smooth. Fill popsicle molds with the mixture. Freeze.

Work with PCDA

PCDA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to providing children with developmental challenges and their families the best possible programs. Your donations directly support children with special needs and their families.  Please click here to donate today.   Thank you for your generous support!

PCDA's Mission The mission of PCDA is to help children with autism and other developmental challenges increase their capacity for communication, problem-solving, creativity and reflective thinking, and engage in joyful interactions and warm relationships with family and friends.

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