Angie’s List Wishmakers and local company grants wish for area family battling cancer and autism

(Los Angeles – September 28, 2009) In many ways, the Reztlaff family is the typical American family - two working parents and three children. However what they face on a day-to-day basis is anything but typical.

Roger and Lisa Reztlaff’s middle child, 16-year-old Jacob, is in a fight for his life. The now wheelchair-bound teenager was diagnosed with brain cancer in May 2008. Additionally, he and his older brother, 22-year-old Eric, both suffer from severe autism.

In the midst of learning about Jacob’s diagnosis, the family also learned that their home equity line of credit was being retracted due to declining home values in the Santa Fe Springs area. Since then, medical bills and full-time adult care costs for Eric have consumed the family’s limited finances. Several home improvement project that were underway have been stalled as they deal with the more pressing obligations.

A family friend heard about the Angie’s List Wishmakers program and reached out for help.

“It has been a rough few years for us, so when we heard that we were nominated for the Wishmakers program, it was like a little ray of sunlight breaking through the dark clouds,” said Lisa Reztlaff.

Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List (www.angieslist.com), began the program five years ago.

“It’s our way of giving back to the communities we serve,” Hicks said. “We work as a liaison between families in need and highly rated service companies in the area that are willing to volunteer their time and service for a worthy cause.”

After hearing about the Retzlaff’s struggles, Los Angeles-based, California Construction Center (www.californiaconstructioncenter.com) stepped forward to replace the family’s mix-and-match kitchen floor. The entire floor is being donated.

General Manager, Oz Zilberberg felt compelled to do what he could for this family in need. “This family deserves so much more than they have. It was an honor to be able to help them out. I only wish we could have done more.”

***PHOTO / INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY****

Date: Thursday October 1st

Time: 11:30am-12:30pm

Interviews Available:

Lisa & Roger Reztlaff, Parents

Oz Zilberberg, General Manager, California Construction Center

Visuals:

Crew installing new kitchen floors. Still photos of “before” pictures are also available

CONTACT Angela Barnes, Angie's List for details and address

angelab@angieslist.com

317.803.7561

Anyone wishing to help the Reztlaff family wish additional home repairs can contact them via email at: lretzlaff@mac.com.

Previous Wishmakers projects include:

• Building a room addition on to the home of an Indianapolis family whose little boy has the “Bubble Boy” disease and has to live in sterile isolation.
• Repairing the car of a disabled Navy veteran in Deland, Florida to help him get back up on his feet after a long, up-hill medical battle.
• Removing and properly sealing exterior lead paint and replacing gutters for a Rochester, N.Y. woman who operates a child care center out of her home.
• Finishing flooring and installing doors in the home of a St. Petersburg, Fla. woman in frail health who has spent her retirement fund taking care of her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother.
• Improving the kitchen and organizing the home of a Boston, Mass. woman who cares for drug-addicted and HIV positive newborns.
• Improving kitchen countertops and installing a portable dishwasher in the home of a legally blind Portland, Ore. man.
• Making a Kansas City, Mo. backyard safe for young children, including an infant with a congenital heart defect.
• Installing a safety rail and improving the gutters and trim of the home of a Washington, D.C. woman with multiple sclerosis.
• Landscaping for a widowed Bellingham, Wash. woman with two young children.

###

Angie’s List is where thousands of consumers share their ratings and reviews on local contractors and companies in more than 425 different categories. Currently, more than 750,000 consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them find the right contractor or company for the job they need done. Members have unlimited access to the list via Internet or phone; receive the award-winning Angie’s List magazine, which includes articles on home improvement and maintenance, consumer trends and scam alerts; and they can utilize the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Get more information about Angie’s List at http://www.angieslist.com View the latest Angie's List News Releases in our Press Center and read Angie’s blog at http://www.angiehicksblog.com.

We have a graphic for our BENEFIT!!!

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Wow I can't believe the benefit is so close. Well, its one month away. But its still blows my mind that there is so much to do in so little time. Its very exciting.


Press kit is done. Media list has been built. I created a wonderful href="http://www.facebook.com/keenla">facebook fan page for our organization and even threw wonderful videos of the kids playing onto youtube. Its so much more enjoyable sharing our athletes with people instead of selling steak and t-shirts and concerts. Don't get me wrong- I learned a lot from working at href="http://kobeentertainment.wordpress.com/">other places...

But volunteering with KEEN is much more rewarding. I love that I get to play with athletes twice a month. I love that I get to talk with parents who struggle daily, yet still seem to get up the next morning and be willing to work, and fight, and push forward. Children with special needs are wonderful and appreciative, but caring for them on a daily basis is not easy and the parents I interact with are so inspiring.

One of my favorite parts of my position as outreach coordinator for KEEN LA is being on href="http://twitter.com/KEENLA">twitter and reading the stories, the blog entries, the tweets, of parents just being themselves; sharing about taking his/her son to Disneyland, questioning the true motives behind organizations, seeking ways to deal with attachment issues and bonding, food allergies, and homeschooling, transportation, and play dates.... All these conversation happen on a daily basis and though I don't tell the parents enough- they truly inspire me to be the best mom I can and be the most involved volunteer I can be.

AUTISM STATS EXAGGERATED: PARENTS STARTING TO REBEL Worldwide Event Oct. 10 & 11

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ — Parents and child advocates in 60+ cities across the US and Canada and on every continent will gather Oct. 10 &11 to advance the conversation about “autistic-like” children, and watch the path breaking documentary film AUTISTIC-LIKE: Graham’s Story.

www.autisticlike.com

Misdiagnosis is the hottest emerging autism issue. Thousands of children diagnosed each year with autism actually have milder disorders, but to get treatment, parents are often pushed to accept the inaccurate label of autism.

From New York to Mexico, and from Fiji to Dar Es Salaam, parents working to persuade the medical community to make more nuanced distinctions about early childhood developmental delays will gather to discuss the issue and watch the film. Parents who accept an inaccurate diagnosis to get therapy for their child often embark on a confusing treatment path, wasting precious time and money.

According to Dr. Stanley Greenspan, who is featured in the documentary, “We basically have to misdiagnose them to get them treatment. The people who are going to have to take the lead on this are the parents.” Go to www.autisticlike.com

AUTISTIC-LIKE: Graham’s Story shows how Erik and Jennie Linthorst eventually found the right help for their 4-year old son, who has sensory processing issues, but is not autistic. “Every child with autism has sensory issues, but not every child with sensory issues is autistic,” Greenspan says in the film.

Linthorst produced the film with journalist Jody Becker, a former National Public Radio station reporter and editor. Praised as a “must see,” unblinking portrayal of a family’s anxiety and education, the film’s universal message stresses parent advocacy, no matter what challenges a child may face.

The worldwide event October 10 &11 is co-sponsored by the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. The SPD Foundation is dedicated to Sensory Processing Disorder research, education, and advocacy, including diagnostic recognition of SPD in the DSM-V.

AUTISTIC-LIKE: Graham’s Story has screened at eight film festivals in the US this year, is featured in segments on the Documentary Channel and Good Morning America/Health, and is a 2009 Freddie Award finalist for outstanding medical reporting. Director and dad Erik Linthorst presents the film at the SPD Foundation’s annual conference October 10 in Chicago.

Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley are among growing number of parents adopting special needs children

BY Rosemary Black
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Ellis/AP

Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley adopted their 10-month-old baby girl from Korea.

Katherine Heigl’s decision to adopt a special needs child rather than endure an ever-lengthening wait for a healthy child “made the adoption process much quicker,” as she explained on Ellen DeGeneres’ chat show.

The actress and her husband, Josh Kelley, are now parents to 10-month-old Naleigh, born in South Korea. They’re also joining the growing numbers of prospective adoptive parents choosing to add a child with medical issues to their family rather than wait to take home a healthy child.

As the number of children available to adopt from other countries is dwindling, more babies with disabilities that range from a cleft palate to heart disease are being brought home by their adoptive families.

“We’ve seen a lot more interest in special needs babies,” says Nancy Dykstra-Powers, director of Bethany Christian Services, which she says is the largest adoption agency in the country. “I used to have a really hard time placing babies with disabilities but there's a real demand for them now.”

Cory Barron, foundation director at the St. Louis-based Children’s Hope International adoption agency, says that this year so far, 62 percent of the children placed by that agency have special needs, as compared to 13 percent in 2005. It’s due, he says, to the fact that the wait for healthy children grows ever longer.

A couple wanting to adopt from China can expect a wait time of four years, he says, while a special needs child can be picked up within four to six months after the adoptive family’s paperwork is completed.

“People look at the waits and say, could we handle a child who is missing a limb or who has HIV/AIDS,” Barron says. “They’re starting to think, okay, there are other children besides healthy ones out there who need a home as well.”

Adoption from China in particular has slowed down because there simply aren’t enough children available. Domestic adoptions are up in China, and as the per capita income there has risen, more couples can afford it, Barron says.

His agency also handles adoptions in Ethiopia, and this year, close to 10 percent of children placed by Children’s Hope from Ethiopia had special needs.

Russia, another popular country for Americans to look when they want to adopt, is not only a lot more expensive but more complicated. A Russian adoption can cost $35,000 to $45,000 and involve several trips there, Barron says.

While it can seem like a wonderful idea to give a home to a special needs child, experts warn that it’s not a decision to make lightly. Some of the children’s medical issues, like heart disease and cerebral palsy, can require lifelong care and drain a family’s financial and emotional resources. Many of these children are older when they join their adoptive families, since it can take longer to place a child with special needs.

“And with an older child, attachment and bonding with the parents can be difficult,” says child psychologist Michelle Reitman. “The older a child is, the more difficult it is. And if there is not good bonding these kids become oppositional and defiant, and more at risk for dropping out of school when they are teenagers.”

Recognizing the commitment in time, energy and money is crucial, says Nina Epstein, a partner at Goldweber Epstein LLC, says.

“You have to be a very focused and committed person to adopt a child with special needs,” she says. “Taking on this commitment, while it may advance you to the head of the line in terms of getting a child sooner, is something to consider very carefully. It’s virtually impossible to reverse an adoption.” Yet, she adds, “People who do this are remarkable.”

Dykstra-Powers says her agency is now placing some children with very severe medical challenges. “But the people who are adopting them are amazing,” she adds. “It is wonderful when people have it in their hearts to adopt a child with special needs.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/09/22/2009-09-22_katherine_heigl_and_josh_kelley_are_among_growing_number_of_parents_adopting_spe.html#ixzz0SqomVwUD

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Chiropractic Care Helps Child With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

KEEN coverage is going really well!

Sharon daVanport is an influential blog BlogTalkRadio Show Host and Pre-Executive Director for the Asperger Women Association. She and her youngest son and are on the autism spectrum, both diagnosised with Asperger's Syndrome.

Sharon is an influential "tweeter". She has 1,241 followers on the social networking site.

Sharon also keeps a blog, that is very engaging and highly circulated among the autism online community.

Sharon would like to interview KEEN for her radio show. She learned about KEEN through twitter. Her friend, Bonnie Sayers also learned about KEEN on twitter. She introduced her two special needs sons to our event last weekend. Bonnie then continued to act as a KEEN advocate by sharing our information with the parents of the Los Angeles Unified School District Special Education Community. Bonnie also wrote a very positive article on BellaOnline Community for women about her experience with our organization.

Here's KEEN LA's current press kit