The Autism Community in Action

The Autism Community in Action (TACA) (formerly known as Talk About Curing Autism) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 by Lisa Ackerman[3] and based in Irvine, California. The mission statement is "TACA provides education, support and hope to families living with autism."[4]

The Autism Community in Action
AbbreviationTACA
FoundedFebruary 13, 2000 (2000-02-13)
FounderLisa Ackerman
27-0048002
Legal status501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
HeadquartersIrvine, California, United States[1]
LeaderGlen Ackerman
Volunteers
498
Websitewww.tacanow.org
Formerly called
Talk About Curing Autism
(until February 2019[2])

TACA Programming includes Parent Education and Support through Chapter Meetings & Coffee Talks Education Events, Autism Journey Guides Website & Support Hotline Community Events Parent Mentoring National Conferences in California and Georgia Webinars and online parent education.[5]

TACA is frequently at odds with the scientific consensus about autism's causes and treatments, with various spokespeople for the group having publicly indicated support for Andrew Wakefield, author of a fraudulent research paper linking vaccines and autism.

Group founder Lisa Ackerman used to attribute autism to a wide range of causes, urging parents to get rid of flame-retardant clothing or mattresses and new carpeting. She advocated for vitamin shots and hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments.[6]

Relationship with the anti-vaccine movement

Among other critics, David Gorski identified TACA as "a group that promotes the idea that vaccines cause autism, as well as advocates dubious 'biomedical' treatments to 'cure' autism".[7]

TACA was one of the sponsor groups of the Green our Vaccines march in Washington D.C on June 4, 2008, along with Generation Rescue. Actress and noted anti-vaccine activist Jenny McCarthy and then-boyfriend Jim Carrey were prominently featured at the rally, along with several speakers making specific links between vaccines and autism.

In 2010, when the medical journal The Lancet issued a full retraction of Andrew Wakefield's research paper linking vaccines and autism, Rebecca Estepp, speaking for TACA, insisted she still trusted Wakefield's research.[8][9]

In 2015, the co-coordinator of TACA's Maryland chapter indicated that even though they question vaccines, her group was not a follower of McCarthy.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Return from organization exempt from income tax" (PDF). Guidestar.org. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  2. The Autism Community in Action (TACA) (February 5, 2019). "Talk About Curing Autism Announces Name Change to The Autism Community in Action". PR Newswire.
  3. "Accomplishments & History - The Autism Community in Action (TACA)". tacanow.org. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  4. "Who We Are - The Autism Community in Action". The Autism Community in Action (TACA). Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  5. "The Autism Community in Action (TACA)". greatnonprofits.org. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  6. "As The Facts Win Out, Vaccinations May, Too". NPR. January 9, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  7. Gorski, David (April 30, 2018). "Autism prevalence increases to 1 in 59, and antivaxers lose it…yet again". Science-Based medicine. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  8. Park, Madison (February 2, 2010). "Medical journal retracts study linking autism to vaccine". CNN. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. Cox, Lauren (February 1, 2010). "Doctor Who Started Vaccine, Autism Debate in Ethics Row". ABC News. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  10. "Parents with doubts about vaccinations face backlash". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. February 7, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
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