The UF4A"Wristband" Campaign is driven and focused on the continuous support of the community. Our orange wristbands symbolize the new faces of autism. Help us spread awareness towards a very worthy cause.

UF4A.ORG is an informational website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The 49th Annual California Aquatic Therapy & Wellness Center Evelyn DuPont Awards

Event held in Long Beach California on June 9th, 2012

 

Mieko Hester Perez receives the 2012 Evelyn DuPont Community Service Award for her ongoing support for special needs families on behalf of, The Unconventional Foundation for Autism. Special thank you to the California Aquatic Therapy & Wellness Center, Buono's Pizzeria, Long Beach Grand Cru, District Wine, Southern Wine & Spirits, John Morris, and all the community leaders that lent their voice of support.


 

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More News & Highlights...

The Urban Autism Network 05/08/2013 Episode#4 Bullying & IEP

Two moms who have weathered through many challenges with their children on the spectrum, high functioning and severe. Their experiences with unconventional treatments and savvy survival tips with dealing with gov’t agencies, school districts and  regional centers nationwide. Both Tiffany and Mieko are dedicated to empowering families as they pay it forward on The Urban Autism Network weekly show. 

Tiffany Dukes, Is the granddaughter of Late Rock and Roll Legend Ike Turner, Tiffany Turner-Dukes learned in February 2007 that her oldest son Amari was Autistic. With the CDC statistics sky rocketing, she knew that this was a problem and began scouring for solutions immediately. At the age of 2 Amari lost his ability to talk and began to struggle with sever temper tantrums. By the time he reached 4 years old he was diagnosed with moderate Autism Spectrum Disorder.Co-Host Mieko Hester-Perez, Join The Urban Autism Network show every Thursday live streaming on www.rmconair.com


 

MARIJUANAMERICA at the "Sway in the Morning" studio at Sirius Radio
Book Release 4/20/2013 

Marijuanamerica: One Man's Quest to Understand America's Dysfunctional Love Affair with Weed


Alfred Ryan Nerz is a Yale-educated author, journalist, and TV producer.  He’s also a longtime marijuana enthusiast who has made it his mission to better understand America’s long-standing love-hate relationship with our favorite (sometimes) illegal drug. His cross-country investigation started out sensibly enough: taking classes at a cannabis college, hanging out with a man who gets three hundred pre-rolled joints per month from the federal government, and visiting the world’s largest medical marijuana dispensary. Chapter 13, Mr. Nerz meets Mieko & Joey - Cannabis & Autism

 

Targeting Components Of The Endocannabinoid Signaling System May Help Reverse Autism Symptoms

Medical News Today.Com Spring 2013

Mutations found in individuals with autism block the action of molecules made by the brain that act on the same receptors that marijuana's active chemical acts on, according to new research reported online in the Cell Press journal Neuron. The findings implicate specific molecules, called endocannabinoids, in the development of some autism cases and point to potential treatment strategies.

"Endocannabinoids are molecules that are critical regulators of normal neuronal activity and are important for many brain functions," says first author Dr. Csaba Földy, of Stanford University Medical School. "By conducting studies in mice, we found that neuroligin-3, a protein that is mutated in some individuals with autism, is important for relaying endocannabinoid signals that tone down communication between neurons."

When the researchers introduced different autism-associated mutations in neuroligin-3 into mice, this signaling was blocked and the overall excitability of the brain was changed.

"These findings point out an unexpected link between a protein implicated in autism and a signaling system that previously had not been considered to be particularly important for autism," says senior author Dr. Thomas Südhof, also of Stanford. "Thus, the findings open up a new area of research and may suggest novel strategies for understanding the underlying causes of complex brain disorders."  read more

 

Meet and talk with Martin Lee and DJ Short following the lecture and book signing

By Martin Lee

...Meiko’s uncle, a career LAPD officer, frowned upon marijuana, but he, too, was impressed by the dramatic changes that occurred after Joey started eating ganja edibles. The mute, autistic child became more responsive and more energetic, his body weight nearly doubled, and he took fewer Big Pharma meds. Cannabis “is an alternative for parents who have exhausted all other means,” said Hester-Perez...

MARTIN A. LEE has written several books, including Smoke Signals, a comprehensive social history of marijuana, published by Scribner in August 2012. Historian Douglas Brinkley said of Smoke Signals: “Every American should read this landmark book!” Lee is the director of Project CBD, an information service that reports on cannabis science and therapeutics. He is also the associate editor of O’Shaughnessy’s, the journal of cannabis in clinical practice, and a contributing writer for BeyondTHC.com.

 

Lee’s first book, Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD – The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond, was published by Grove Press in 1986 and by MacMillan UK in 2001. Andrew Weil in The Nation described Acid Dreams as “Engaging throughout…at once entertaining and disturbing.” Choice hailed it as “a landmark contribution to the sociopolitical history of the U.S.” The American Journal of Psychiatry said the book contained “a wealth of historical, sociological, and political information.” The San Francisco Chronicle called it “a generalist’s history that should replace all others.” Acid Dreams was on the Chronicle’s bestseller list for six weeks. Featured in several documentaries, including the History Channel’s special on hippies, Acid Dreams has been translated and published in France, Spain, and the Czech Republic. read more

 

The Unconventional Foundation for Autism and VeeV Acai Spirit
present “Kick Autism”

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM (PST)  Ten Asian Bistro 4647 MacArthur Blvd Newport Beach, CA 92660

   Lola 76 & UF4A "Kick Autism" at The OC Mart Mix in October 

Lola 76 Designer Gabriela Aceves is teaming up with The Unconventional Foundation to raise awareness at The OC Mart Mix by donating a portion of her sales from her Fall 2012 luxury handbag collection to the foundation. UF4A Wristbands, Exclusive donated artwork by Ana Rodriguez, Brandie Mata and Catrina Coleman and Foundation information is displayed throughout the store. 

Creative Designer, Gabriela Aceves and Mieko Hester-Perez, co-founder founder of UF4A, Both single mothers bonded over their unconventional approach to their business and being moms. 

 

Senate Bill 946 Autism Health Care Coverage

Parents of children with autism lauded the governor's decision to sign into law a bill that requires health insurers to cover behavioral health treatments for their kids, but questions linger about the therapy and whether the coverage will continue after the main provisions of the federal health law go into effect in 2014.

The law, Senate Bill 946, will be in effect only from July 1, 2012, through July 1, 2014. After that, either the requirement will be covered under the federal law or the state will have to decide what to do next. In his signing message, Gov. Jerry Brown expressed reservations about the law and the therapy, saying, "There are remaining questions about effectiveness, duration, and the cost of the covered treatments that must be sorted out. "There is still much work to be done," he concluded. Read More,  What You Need to Know about SB 946.


Go Ahead And Turn Out The Lights

The Litro Glow Lamp was initially created to pursue health measures and alleviate side effects of hindrance to sunlight. Through trial and tribulation, we have created the ultimate in lighting. The lamp itself ascertains benefits never associated with traditional lighting. It is the first and only lamp that Glows after power interruption! The only lamp being implemented into schools, hospitals, hospice care, and the testimonials are outrageous!

We have just introduced Litro Glow Lamps into a world study to examine the actual clinical trials and effects of our lighting and children with autism. Children being submitted to Litro Glow Lamps are actually seeing ADD, ADHD, and Autism symptoms alleviated! Read more


Natural cannabis-like chemicals in the brain may help combat the leading

genetic cause of autism, research has shown…

25 September 2012


Natural cannabis-like chemicals in the brain may help combat the leading genetic cause of autism, research has shown.Scientists linked blockages in a signalling pathway dependent on the compounds, called 2-AG endocannabinoid transmitters, with symptoms of Fragile X syndrome.

 Correcting the fault with drugs led to dramatic behavioural improvements in mice with a version of the condition.

Fragile X syndrome is the most common known genetic cause of autism. It results from a mutation in the FMR1 gene on the female X chromosome. Men possess one copy of the chromosome, paired with a male Y chromosome, and women two.

Boys are much more likely to be born with Fragile X than girls. This is thought to be because with two X chromosomes, a defect in one may be compensated for by the other. People with the syndrome suffer mental impairment, learning difficulties, and may be hyperactive or impulsive. They also possess notable physical characteristics such as an elongated face, flat feet and large ears. The scientists, writing in the journal Nature Communications, stress that while their discovery may help people with Fragile X syndrome it will not provide a cure. "What we hope is to one day increase the ability of people with Fragile X syndrome to socialise and engage in normal cognitive functions," said lead researcher Professor Daniele Piomelli, from the University of California at Irvine in the US.

The study was the first to identify the role of endocannabinoids in the neurobiology of Fragile X, she said.
Read more


Marijuana-Like Chemical May Help Autism And Fragile X Syndrome Symptoms

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 09/27/2012 8:12 pm EDT Updated: 09/28/2012 2:10 pm EDT


Daniele Piomelli of UC Irvine and Olivier Manzoni of INSERM, the French national research agency, led the study, which could result in treatments of anxiety and cognitive defects in individuals with fragile X syndrome, the most common known genetic cause of autism, according to a press release by UC Irvine.

The study examined 2-AG, which naturally occurs in the brain and is in a class of chemicals called endocannabinoid transmitters. These transmitters allow for the efficient transport of electrical signals at synapses, which is severely limited in people with fragile X syndrome.

The researchers treated mice that exhibited symptoms of fragile X syndrome with novel compounds that correct 2-AG protein signaling in the brain. And the results were promising--the mice showed "dramatic behavioral improvements in maze tests measuring anxiety and open-space acceptance," UCI reports.

Piomelli said this is the first study to identify the role of naturally-occuring endocannabinoids, which share a similar chemical structure with THC, the primary psychoactive component of marijuana. "What we hope is to one day increase the ability of people with fragile X syndrome to socialize and engage in normal cognitive functions," said Piomelli, a UCI professor of anatomy and neurobiology.

"It would be either an oral or injected drug but that’s at the very end stage of drug discovery, and we are at the very early stage of drug discovery," Kwang Mook Jung, a researcher on the study and UCI professor, told The Huffington Post.

In addition, his study of endocannabinoids could result in new treatments for anxiety, pain, depression and obesity, according to UCI.

Piomelli and the other researchers are not advocating giving marijuana to individuals on the autism spectrum; they are only looking at increasing the marijuana-like chemical naturally occurring in the brain.

However, some have advocated for marijuana as a treatment for people with autism, reporting the same anxiety-reducing effects. In 2009, Mieko Hester-Perez made national headlines for giving marijuana to her then-ten-year-old son with autism, Joey. Hester-Perez said that pot changed Joey's life. The mother said she tried countless diets and drugs on her son, with no luck, the Autism Support Network reports. Prescription drugs, such as Ritalin, gave him serious side effects, including facial ticks, seizures, liver damage and dangerous weight loss. With the marijuana cookies his mother gives him, Joey is able to calmly play with toys, smile and even try to talk, according to his mother.

When another mother, D'Ette Spurgeon, saw her 20-year-old son begin smoking marijuana, she quickly accepted it as she saw that it improved his sociability, vocabulary and calmed his anxiety, according to Marijuana.net. She said she was able to have her first conversation with her son.

However, there are strong critics of giving marijuana to children and young adults. Research on the effects of marijuana on autistic children is limited, and there have been studies showing possible negative effects of marijuana on young people. A study released last month found that teens who routinely smoke marijuana risk a long-term drop in their IQ. Earlier this month, a study found that smoking pot as a teenager can double a man’s risk of getting testicular cancer. Other researchers found that people who smoke marijuana are twice as likely to become schizophrenic than those who do not, although it is unclear if it's because of a correlation or actual causation.

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