Welcome to campaign connections!
 

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Campaign Connections! This e-newsletter will be distributed to “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign partners and champions across the country, and will highlight initiatives at the national and grassroots levels. The newsletter will focus on upcoming projects, recent successes, kudos from the field as well as what people are saying about the campaign. We hope you find these updates helpful and inspiring - thank you for your dedication to this important cause of helping every child reach his or her full potential!

The beginning of 2005 was exciting with the official launch of “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign. Thanks to the help of dedicated partners and champions like yourselves, we’ve had great success in just a few months. Below you will find some notable accomplishments in our outreach to consumers, healthcare professionals, and partners.

Ready, Set, Go! Consumer Launch Takes Off
A satellite media tour (SMT) with Drs. Gerberding and Cordero reached more than 4 million viewers in over 15 markets, including NBC’s “Today Show” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”  Our targeted media outreach resulted in 102 print and online placements, 187 broadcast placements, and three national radios spots. In addition, the campaign public service announcement (PSA) resulted in 195 television placements including the NBC Panasonic Astrovision screen in New York City’s Times Square.

Calling All Moms: Celebrity Mother’s Day Event
Thanks to the help of celebrity mom Eva La Rue (formerly of ABC’s “All My Children”), the U.S. Surgeon General’s office, and the New York Families of Autistic Children (NYFAC), we held a Mother’s Day event at the New York Hall of Science with attendance by parents, children and campaign supporters. Ms. La Rue, Deputy Surgeon General Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu and CDC’s Dr. José Cordero spoke to attendees about the importance of learning the signs and patterns of child development and taking action if parents notice any discrepancies. Special thank you to NYFAC President Andrew Baumann for helping secure the venue, spreading the word among New Yorkers, and ensuring this event was a success!

Kit Distribution Week a Success
April 18 – 22, 2005 was designated as "Health Care Professional Kit Distribution Week." Partners and champions across the country distributed educational materials to local health care professionals, informing them of free campaign resources for parents on developmental milestones. With 1,982 kits and 9,800 flyers distributed covering 40 states and Puerto Rico, the week was a great success. Thanks to all who participated!

Health Care Professional E-card and Newsletter Article
A campaign e-card and newsletter article were developed and distributed encouraging health professionals to visit the campaign website or call the toll-free number to learn more about the campaign. The e-card was sent to more than 40 health organizations representing 1.5 million members, and the newsletter article was sent to 140 health care professional publications. Combined with the nearly 17,000 health care professionals reached at conferences throughout the spring and summer, there have been close to 10,000 health care professional kits distributed and 19,000 health care professional materials downloaded from the campaign website.

ASA Supports Campaign at
Annual Meeting

Holding its annual meeting in Nashville from July 13 – 16, 2005, national partner, the Autism Society of America (ASA), continued its support of the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign by inviting both National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) Center Director Dr. José Cordero and NCBDDD Communications Director Katherine Lyon Daniel to speak at the meeting. Dr. Cordero gave a keynote speech and Daniel spoke to ASA chapter presidents on the background and implementation of the campaign itself. Many thanks to the dedicated ASA staff nationwide for their involvement in campaign efforts!

Margaret Jordan, CARE Alliance
It Only Takes One…

As a business woman, Margaret Jordan tackled challenges with a solid approach and a team of dedicated people.  So, when her 2½-year-old son was diagnosed with autism she immediately swung into action to give him the best therapy and intervention possible. 

“We knew that something was wrong. Garrett wasn’t speaking or interacting like other children his age,” says Jordan. “When we got the diagnosis, my husband and I were scared. We decided to do everything we possibly could to help Garrett overcome this disability and live a normal life.”

When the Jordans began educating themselves on autism, a lot of the information they found was outdated and did not apply to the needs of today’s children.
 

“We felt like we were on our own,” says Jordan. “There was no place to find updated and accurate information on early intervention programs.”

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Read Margaret’s complete story to find out how she and her family got involved in the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign and are making a difference in their community.

For more inspiring stories from partners and champions, please visit the Partner Spotlight section.

Do You Have an Inspiring Story?

If you or someone you know has an inspiring story to tell as a result of being involved in the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign, please send them to actearly@cdc.gov. We’re always looking for partner success stories to share with people throughout the country. We want to hear from you!

Based on the great interest from partners around the country, we have created an outreach kit that includes 50 campaign flyers. This kit can be used for mass distribution at events and other opportunities.

Need campaign materials? To order kits or download materials, visit www.cdc.gov/actearly.
 

Kudos to all our campaign partners and champions across the country for all your hard work and dedication in helping to raise awareness for childhood development. Each of you plays a vital role in educating parents, health care professionals, and child care providers to ensure that today’s children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
 

Eva La Rue Continues Campaign Involvement

In the coming months, you will get to see Eva’s continued commitment to the campaign. We are currently working to solidify a host of activities reaching out to mothers and consumers across the country in which Ms. La Rue will participate. Some of those activities may include:

• Distributing an e-card featuring her promotion of the importance of the campaign;
   

• Delivery of campaign messages on network television talk show appearances.

Be sure to watch for Eva in her new role on the CBS hit show “CSI Miami.”

PSA Distribution Week Wraps Up

Reaching out to grassroots campaign champions similar to our Kit Distribution Week initiative, we asked for your help again with “PSA Distribution Week” from September 26 – 30, 2005. Champions across the country were encouraged to reach out to local television and radio stations pitching the campaign PSAs in an effort to secure airtime. Champions were trained and received PSA Distribution Kits with tips to help them in their efforts. Watch for more information on the results of this project in the coming weeks. Thank you for your continued involvement!

If you are looking for ways to get more involved with the campaign, be sure to visit the Partner section of the website (www.cdc.gov/actearly) and check out our “How to Get Involved” page for ideas. You’ll find ideas and tools to help you reach out to your communities, friends, and family to help them learn the signs and act early.