Wellness series will present autism lecture

The Friends' Health Connection (FHC) and Whole Foods Market in Middletown will co-sponsor a series of wellness lectures with leading health experts. First in the series is "Voices From the Spectrum," a lecture focusing on autism. Parents, grandparents, siblings, people with autism and professionals will share their perspectives.

Dr. Robert Naseef will speak about the relationships between persons with autism and their caregivers, school and childhood experiences, as well as the reactions of parents and grandparents to the diagnosis of autism. Naseef will describe experiences of autism from the mildest to the most severe cases, and will share methods of adapting. He will address both the positive and negative effects of autism on individuals and families, and pose the question, Is a diagnosis on the autism spectrum a puzzle to be solved, or something to be embraced and accepted?

The event will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at Whole Foods Market, Route 35 north. Tickets are $15. To register by phone, call (800) 483-7436; or, register online at www.friendshealth-connection.org.