Extraordinary Lives Foundation

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Mission Viejo, CA
Extraordinary Lives Foundation

www.elfempowers.org

10/30/2026

How can you improve children’s mental health? 💙 💜

Parents can nurture a child’s mental health by building a close relationship with them, providing structure and boundaries, fostering independence, encouraging social connections, teaching healthy habits and modeling positive behavior.

Check out these 9 Ways You Can Improve Your Child’s Mental Health:

1. Be intentional and attuned
2. Balance closeness and compliance
3. Allow your child to experience distress and failure
4. Let children be bored
5. Provide structure
6. Encourage connections
7. Model good behavior
8. Make healthy choices
9 Share Piggie Bear books, plush and power cards

Hope you all form strong bonds with the children in your life & improve their mental health! 💜💚💜💚

10/29/2026

Check out Piggie Bear’s “How to be Kind” Tips 💕

* Think of kind words
* Notice how others are feeling
* Practice Piggie Bear self-hugs
* Listen to others
* Offer a helping hand
* Take a walk together
* Share a smile
* Take a big calming Piggie Bear breath

Be kind to someone today! 🙏🏼 😄💕

10/28/2026

Many children on the autism spectrum may show developmental differences during their infant and toddlers years, especially in social and language skills.

There may be some delays in spoken language or differences in how they interact with peers.

However, children on the autism spectrum usually sit, crawl, and walk on time.

So, the subtler differences in the development of gestures (pointing), pretend play and social language often go unnoticed by families and doctors.

Here are 3 Early Signs of Autism in Children:

1 Delay in or lack of joint attention

Joint attention is looking back and forth between an object or event and another person and connecting with that person. It is a building block for later social and communication skills.

2 Language delays

Almost all children on the autism spectrum show delays in nonverbal communication and spoken language.

3 Regression in developmental milestones & skills

About 25% of children later diagnosed with autism may develop some language that they suddenly or gradually stop using.

Typically, this may happen between the ages of 15 and 24 months.

They might also become more socially withdrawn. This change is called a regression in skills.

If you have concerns about how your child plays, learns, speaks, acts or moves, talk with your pediatrician.

Remember, you know your child best and your concerns are important.

Together, you and your pediatrician will find the best way to help your child. Don’t wait.
Acting early can make a big difference in your child’s development. 💜

Mara J James, Author OC Autism Foundation The Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders Autism Mothers Autism Speaks

10/27/2026

💜 Mental Health Advocate Alert 💜

“ I take medication every day for mental illness and depression, and don’t feel bad about it.”
~ Lady Gaga ~

Thank you, Lady Gaga, for speaking out and helping to end the stigma of mental illness and depression. 🙏🏼

You are right! There is nothing to feel bad about! Absolutely not.

It’s always good to help yourself and take care of yourself.

Lady Gaga is a mental health advocate through her work with her nonprofit called Born This Way Foundation ⭐️ 💫 Check them out at Born This Way Foundation

Together, we can create a kinder, braver and gentler world! 🙏🏼💜💚💜

Mara J James, Author Anxiety Support Group Anxiety Awareness Crippling Depression and Anxiety Go Better With A Smile

10/26/2026

Happy National Make A Difference Day! 🙏🏼❤️🫶

Make a Difference Day encourages people to volunteer and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways.

We encourage children and families to volunteer and serve their local communities to improve the lives of others. 🫶

Volunteer Activities Ideas:

~ Organize a family beach clean-up or clean-up of your favorite park.

~ Help an elderly neighbor with a chore

~ Prepare a meal together and deliver it to a family with a newborn

~ Make cards for first responders and deliver them to fire or police stations

~ Donate toys and clothing to local donation centers

When you volunteer with your child, you’re teaching them:

1 Appreciation for what they have that others might not

2 Social skills as they interact with those they’re helping and other volunteers

3 Giving and loving is a natural part of being a human

4 How doing things for others can foster a sense of purpose

5 How to be part of a community

Let’s make a positive impact on our community (and our children!) through volunteer work and acts of kindness. 🩷

10/23/2026

To wrap up our ELF 2026 Gala Season, wanted to share the 1/2 pg Ad that was published in the Orange County Register thanking our Sponsors below:

~ Hoag Hospital
~ PCH One Restaurant
~ Rady Children's Health - Orange County
~ DCOR
~ Adrienne & Rick Matros
~ Santa Ana Elks Lodge 794 - MEMBERS PAGE
~ Janis Black Warner & Douglas Warner
~ Julia Post Jewelry Studio
~ loc nguyen
~ Mara & Kenneth James
~ Fiona Ma
~ LifeSpring Home Nutrition
~ Natera
~ Doing Good Works
~ Orange County Register

It was a truly Extraordinary Night Under the Stars at our Annual Gala, benefiting children’s mental health and emotional wellness.

We are so grateful to our generous volunteers and supporters - and especially to our event sponsors - we couldn’t have done it without you!

Thank you ALL & already looking forward to next year!

Let’s all continue helping children live better lives! 💜

Mara J James, Author Julia Post Guenther Massiel Perez-Calhoon Keisha Clark Amy Betonte Janice Frechette-Artinger Darrin Guttman Damion Young

10/22/2026

A huge Thank You to Modern Luxury Media Riviera Magazine for covering our ELF 2026 Gala in your upcoming November issue!

We appreciate it so much!

Together, we can improve children’s mental health & emotional wellness! 💜

Mara Jane Shapiro James Massiel Perez-Calhoon Darrin Guttman Damion Young Amy Betonte Kim Brown Gubner Janice Frechette-Artinger Rady Children's Health - Orange County

10/21/2026

What is a Parent of an Autistic Child’s Top Concern?

Parents of autistic children most commonly cite speech and communication delays (affecting up to 78.6% of parents in developmental screening studies) as their primary immediate concern.

Speech and communication issues will look different from one child to another. However, all children with autism struggle in this area in some way or another.

Some children with ASD may not be able to speak at all while others can speak but they struggle with other areas of communication, such as having conversations or expressing their thoughts and feelings clearly and appropriately.

Some children with autism can talk at great lengths about the topics that they are most interested in, sometimes referred to as their special interests.

The main approach you can take for helping your child with speech and communication is to provide them with functional communication training.

This is an intervention strategy that not only helps your child develop effective communication skills, but it also has the added benefit of reducing challenging behaviors (Tiger, Hanley, & Bruzek, 2008).

This is the ideal approach to help your child live a better quality of life, a life that is more enjoyable, less stressful, and one that allows them to gain skills that will help them throughout their life.

When working on functional communication training at home with your child, identify the communication skills you want your child to use and then encourage and reinforce those skills.

Our Piggie Bear therapeutic happy packs can help too.

We also encourage you to reach out to your child’s pediatrician about seeking autism evaluations and diagnostic assistance.

Let’s all work together to improve children’s lives. 💜

10/20/2026

We wanted to share the Orange County Register Ad that ran a few weeks ago congratulating our first ever ELF Impact Award recipient - Janice Frechette-Artinger of the Parentis Foundation!

She was recognized at our September 26h Gala for her extraordinary leadership and unwavering dedication to children’s literacy through the Parentis Foundation

Janice’s vision, compassion, and tireless advocacy have opened doors of opportunity for children who otherwise may never have discovered the joy, confidence, and empowerment that literacy provides.

Congratulations again Janice and Parentis Foundation! 👏 🏆 💜

Thank you for your commitment to children and making their future brighter! 🫶

Let’s all continue working together to help children improve their mental health and emotional wellness! 💜

Mara J James, Author

10/19/2026

Thank you to everyone who visited us at our booth and attend the Family Fun Fest in City of Newport Beach - City Hall this last Saturday!

All proceeds supported Studio D: Arts School for All Abilities at Segerstrom Center for the Arts

A huge Thank You to NCL, Inc. Monarch (National Charity League Monarch Beach chapter) for volunteering at our booth. We appreciate you all so much for your kindness and support!

Hope everyone has a great week! 😄💜

Mara J James, Author

Address

Mission Viejo, CA

Telephone

+19494849366

Website

http://www.elfempowers.org/, https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/TylSaw?vid=1bm9ow

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