South Pasadena Library Features Author’s Night with Amalia Starr

Amalia Starr, writer of the instructive and inspiring memoir, Raising Brandon: Parenting My Son to Live Successfully with Autism, Epilepsy, and Learning Disorders will appear for an Author Night speaking appearance on February 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room. The free program is presented by the South Pasadena Public Library, the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library, Kiwanis Club of South Pasadena, and The Institute for the Redesign of Learning, popularly known in the community as the Almansor Center . The event is also sponsored by Poets & Writers, Inc. with financial support from the James Irvine Foundation.

The event will open with “Inside Looking Out,” a fascinating 8-minute documentary about Asperger Syndrome by 23 year-old South Pasadena resident Nick Simone. It was winner of the “Audience Pick” award at the Pasadena City College Film Festival in 2008.

Amalia Starr is a motivational speaker and family consultant who conducts workshops and seminars. Her primary focus is providing successful resolutions for parents with children with limitations. First and foremost she is a mother who has devoted more than 34 years developing the skills to empower her son who has been successfully living on his own and enjoying his independence for more than 11 years.

The South Pasadena Public Library Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street . Doors open at 6:30 p.m. No tickets or reservations are necessary. Refreshments will be provided and copies of Raising Brandon will be available for purchase.

The Amalia Starr Author Night is only the beginning of a new project called Raising Abilities, a partnership of the Library, the Friends, Kiwanis, and the Institute, a nonprofit organization. Last fall the Institute (www.redesignlearning.org) opened a new school in South Pasadena for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The Raising Abilities project will improve the South Pasadena Library’s collection of checkout books on autism and other developmental disabilities disorders. The collection consists of a broad assortment of titles for all ages. Each book is affixed with a special project bookplate and listed in the descriptive Raising Abilities brochure. During February the South Pasadena Public Library will feature a special project display in the case just inside the Oxley Street entrance.

The Kiwanis Club of South Pasadena meets on Wednesdays at noon in the Calvary Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall at 1050 Fremont Avenue . Their lunch meetings, open to the community, feature a guest speaker at 1:00 p.m. During their February meetings, the Kiwanis Club will present a speaker series focusing on Autism. For further information call Jeff Graham at 626 403-9500.