About
Us
Hi!
My name is Annette Musso. I am the proud mother of a nine year old son
with autism and founder of the Creative Autism Solutions Team (CAST)
in Livermore, California. A bit about myself… I have a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Music and Business from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa
and a double Master’s degree (MM) in classical piano performance and
pedagogy from Arizona State University. I founded the ASU Piano
Preparatory Program in 1988…wrote and secured a grant to start that
program, developed the curriculum and taught piano and pedagogy at ASU
from 1988-2005. I am currently a sales consultant for an optical frame
manufacturer and director of my son’s full-time Sonrise Program and
home-school education.
I founded CAST in 2010 and we received our 501C3 tax exempt status
from the IRS in September of 2012 (#45-1877605). The creation of CAST
came out of the experience I have had personally with my son and the
challenges my husband and I have faced struggling to attain services
which could help him. We drive all over the Bay Area to various
therapists, putting hundreds of miles on our car and taking precious
time out of our son’s day traveling instead of playing with him and
working on his autistic challenges. Those of us who have jobs end up
paying someone else to do this and the “money-pit” grows deeper. Our
story echoes that of thousands of parents all over the world as the
“epidemic of autism” has dramatically increased in the recent years. I
have been truly inspired by my son, his strength and his ability to
see joy in the smallest detail of his everyday life. I am in awe of
his courage as he works so hard to accomplish that which is not
challenging for most of us. But conversely, I have also been inspired
by constantly hearing the following phrases from entities which exist
to help parents like me: ”We don’t do it that way…we don’t have a
program like that…would you like to be added to our waiting
list?...that will cost $150/hour…we don’t think that’s “right” for
your child…he’s doing really well (for a child with autism),” and the
list goes on…
Our
Mission has attracted a creative group of knowledgeable parents and
professionals who have been touched in some way by an Autism Spectrum
Disorder. With 1 in 78 (1 in 54 boys) being diagnosed with an ASD, it
is time to “think outside the box” and create some innovative
solutions to the challenges families face every day as they assist
their loved one in overcoming the challenges of autism. So, here we
are, the “Creative Autism Solutions Team”, "Embracing the
Possibilities"...enhancing the lives of children and families with
autism and other neurological challenges.
Phase I of our Mission was successfully completed in the summer of
2011 with the creation and implementation of our JumpAhead Summer
Camps and Drop-In Classes. We also established Creative Autism
Solutions Team (CAST) as a non-profit corporation in the state of
California and it is on file with the state as such.
The year 2012 brought us to Phase II of our Mission: To further
educate ourselves and prepare a “Parent Mentoring Program” to support
and listen to parents struggling with their child’s diagnosis. CAST is
here to provide positive, loving, nurturing guidance for parents of
children/people on the autism spectrum. CAST is an organization filled
with hope and positive energy and believes that ALL children deserve
respect and love and can become anything they want to be! Parents
become empowered to pursue any treatment avenues they feel are right
for their child and family and are presented with opportunities for
guidance and support from loving, caring parents and professionals who
have “been there…done that.” Because, at this time due to lack of
funding, CAST has no “formal” storefront office so we meet at local
coffee shops or private rooms at churches or local restaurants. In
2012, we continued our fundraising efforts.
Happy New Year…enter 2013! After gathering data among parents in the
East Bay of northern California, we have decided that the most
immediate need for CAST to fulfill in our community is to provide an
after-school program for children and young adults with autism, ages
6-12 and 13-24. There is a great deficit in available effective
programs for ASD children during these hours and in fact, this is
creating hardships for families as it prevents both parents from
securing meaningful employment. CAST will open an after- school
program called, “Here We Grow.” Physical and Occupational therapy,
art, yoga, gross motor exercise, social skills, balance board classes,
1:1 attention in special playrooms and a sensory “chill-out” room will
be available to participants of Here We Grow…all under one roof! An
anomaly in the world of autism today!
We have two fundraisers coming up which we hope will fund this project
and allow us to launch Phase 2 of CAST’s “Dream” in April of 2013.
This funding will also enable us to establish a formal CAST office
with a “storefront” and 3-5 full-time employees: a CAST Director,
Administrative Coordinator, Director of Fundraising, Assistant
Director and Operations Manager.
Phase 3 of “The Dream” will consist of building a sensory-friendly,
indoor gross motor play facility and sensory center for ALL children.
Neuro-typical children and those with challenges will play together
and learn from each other. It will be wheelchair accessible and
include activities for ALL children, including those with severe
neurological challenges. It will be a sensory and
environmentally-friendly facility and will eventually house our Here
We Grow Program from Phase 2. It will also have life-skill pretend
play rooms (kitchen, laundry, grocery store, library, art gallery,
etc…) where ASD children and their neuro-typical peers can learn and
practice life-skills guided by trained personnel.
In
the words of the incredible author and father of a formally autistic
child, Barry Niel Kaufman…”To Love is to Be Happy With.” We at CAST
know first-hand that sometimes as we face the challenges of autism,
this could be a little difficult to remember. BUT, soon there will be
somewhere one can call or visit, where people understand the
challenges and emotions (that can accompany autism spectrum disorders)
and can provide mentoring, hope and creative ideas as well as social
and learning opportunities for their special child.
Thank you for your interest in the Creative Autism Solutions Team! We
look forward to an incredible year and to making our dreams come true
for families with an autism spectrum disorder in the Bay Area!
In Appreciation and Hope,
Annette Musso
Creative Autism Solutions Team, Founder/Director
www.castcal.org
(925) 456-HOPE (4673)
Cell: (925) 784-1537
