hello. welcome to "comunidad del valle." today the organizers of commencement are here and siren honors heroes. this is your "comunidad del valle." ♪ we begin with the fight against autism. lydia fernandez is here to talk about her son's case and the upcoming autism speaks walk happening in san jose. welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> your child was diagnosed about five years ago. >> correct. >> at 4 years old. >> right.

>> did you see symptoms leading up to the age of 4, things your child was doing that you said, that doesn't seem normal? >> he was delayed in speech, motor skills, those sorts of areas. he didn't have the typical autism symptoms. he did make eye contact. he didn't mind being touched. as a matter of fact, he enjoyed being hugged. so he was a little bit harder to diagnose which is why it took until almost 4 years old. >> how difficult was the diagnosis for you as a family? >> it was pretty difficult. but i think as a mom you kind of pretty much know and even prior to the diagnosis you already start to accept it. you already know there is an issue. you just want a name for it. so you can start to move forward in getting him the help he needed. that's how we approached it.

>> what's the outlook for your son? he's going through therapy, treatment. i'm not sure what all is entailed. but what's the long-term outlook? >> it depends on where they are on the autism spectrum. >> okay. >> for my son it's still unknown in regards to whether he'll be independent to live on his own. at this point in time, i try not to look that far but he'll probably live with you for the rest of his life. there are therapies to help him behave better in a school, restaurant or with sfam. >> you have a network to help. >> most definitely.

there are support groups out there. mostly in community where is hispanic families aren't always comfortable being around. for cultural reasons they don't want to come forward. a lot of communities ready to come out and help you. >> closing the doors to the situation at home. do you think that might make things worse? >> oh, yes. then you're holding the child back from what he or she needs to move forward. if you don't get the child the therapies or psychological therapies they need it's only going to make it harder, not only on yours and your family but also on the child.

it's important that you come forward which is why we have the autism walk every year so families can come out and see resources that are available to help them. >> tell us about the walk. >> this is our 10th year. we're gearing up for it. we're really excited about it. it's here in san jose. there are all sorts of resources out there for all the families to come. you know, make connections. make connections with other families so they don't feel alone and to go out there. it's a big fund-raiser also. autism speaks is the largest advocacy group that helps with research and all sorts of information for families so that

we can find out more about autism, what's causing it. hopefully even a cure someday. so it's really important that the walks are happening. >> we have the information for you. it's called autism speaks happening may 19 here in san jose at history park. there is the web address for more information. put your walking shoes on and support a worthy cause. latino families can come out and observe and help with coping with the situation at home. >> nextenurryibra.upat yo library. ♪

so, this is delicious okay... is this where we're at now, we don't care anymore? we just eat whatever tastes good? excuse me? [ man ] like these sweet honey clusters, they're awesome so no way they're good for you. but i guess that's okay right? actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? ya know? cancel the gym membership. bring on the pork chops and thinhot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. some great things are happening at your local library. don perry is with the early care and education. welcome to the show. this is the ideal time. kids are now getting out of

school. they are going to be out of school two or three months. we'll start with you. how vital is it to keep up if they can, daily reading habits? >> it's critical to them being successful in school. the county office of education has estimated 40% of children are not at grade level. not only sit a time to build the skills but to maintain. so they don't go back further. >> i take the kids to the library not long ago. we had to wait for the doors to open. that tells us it's being used. >> whether it is about vampires, fairies, pirates or whatever,

that encourages reading. >> so june 3 you have a kick-off of a special summer reading program. >> june 3 we want to invite everybody to come to the dr. martin luther king, jr., library. this is the first kick-off celebration for the whole system. as you saw in the video that you just show ed. and do a treasure hunt. we'll have live entertainment, performances as well as a community resource fair so people can find out what's going on in the community as well. >> this is a no-brainer to keep kids going. >> for sure. it's on a sunday. parking is free. families could park across the street, walk over and enjoy a nice sunday afternoon at the

king library from 1:00 to 4:00. they could always -- also if they haven't already start signing up for the summer reading program they could sign up there. >> how much of a head start do you think they are getting when they start school in the fall if they do attend programs and sessions and teaching them. >> oh, they actually did an incredible head start on the following year. a study found if children don't participate they tested lower in the fall than they ended the school year previous. being able to read for fun keeps those skills. the public library is a great resource to open up all the materials and resources to children. >> as children, all of the branches are children friendly, i saw. >> absolutely. there are special places in each of the branches specifically set aside for young children and teens as well. >> is it a regimented program where you go in once or twice a

week and this is how -- >> the summer reading celebration, you do it at your own pace. people sign up at the local branch library or online. log in the process. once they read a certain amount of books they win prizes. one of the prizes this year is a kindle fire. >> oh, wow. >> there are prize levels for teens, children and adults. it's not something people need to check in. it's something they can do from home or make time to visit their local library to read for pleasure and we also have a lot of events at the library. we have over a hundred events in june and july. there will be plenty of fun activities going on at the public libraries. >> and i imagine we can't over

sell the importance of reading to your child every night. >> absolutely. we try to encourage parents from the beginning to read with them every day. it gets them exposed to the book and shows the value of reading. >> there is the information on your screen. it kicks off june 3 at the mlk library. >> the kick-off is june 3. they can start signing up june 1. >> any final thoughts, elizabeth? >> just want to invite your viewers to the celebration. there are plenty of benefits, like dawn mentioned. it's something we definitely encourage people to look into

you can get your prizes. >> thank you very much for what you are doing for the kids. >> thank you so much. >> up next siren honors heroes. [ man ] did we get anything good?

sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet. fiber makes me sad. oh common. i dare you to taste one hint of fiber in fiber one. oh, i'd be able to tell. why don't i just eat this bag? and how can you talk to me about fiber when you are eating a candybar. you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one.

siren is services immigrant rights and education network. with me today are the executive director and an honoree considered one of the local heroes when it comes to the siren services. correct? >> that's correct. tell us about your anniversary celebration and why you chose jesse for this. >> siren will be celebrating 14 years of advocacy and leadership building. we want to honor communities. jesse is someone who's volunteered his free time to advance and promote immigrant rights in santa clara county.

he'll receive our immigrant rights award. >> i have seen you working out there, jesse. what is it about the passion? it's kind of you're under paid wherever you work for what you do. but it sounds like it's a work of passion for you. >> it is a work of passion. this is all volunteer. i work for the county and i work in health care. i don't work in immigration. my parents are immigrants. my dad came to the united states in 1959 and has always told us about hard work, helping the community. never forgetting where you are from. i also luckily only sleep four or five hours a night. it is a passion. i can't say no. i'm out there helping the community and siren has been a big supporter of me when i needed equipment, venue or volunteers. i have always been involved with siren. >> in fact, jesse did a quick radio interview before coming on our show. why sit important to recognize?

whatever jesse does, he doesn't do it for the recognition. some folks deserve the recognition. tell us about why you do that for the community. >> we do it because we want to definitely acknowledge and recognize those individuals who have been doing this kind of work. as you mentioned, some of them do it on their own time. we also want to send the message that siren is a network. we can't do the work alone. in order for us to really make changes in the community and build leaders in the community -- immigrant leaders we need to do this with other organizations. we need to do it with other community leaders. the only way we'll do it is if we work together. >> you have a staff of eight people and they all seem as passionate as you are about fighting for immigrant rights. >> everybody is committed and passionate to the mission. we are about building the power of the immigrant community. we have staff who helps immigrants become citizens. we have staff who work with

immigrant and community members to help them be leaders in the community. they are tracking, monitoring the legislation and making sure there is a voice of the immigrant community in the process. >> what does this award do. does it reinvigorate you. i know the light, you bring up the level a little bit. >> like you mentioned, i do this to help the community, not for awards. it keeps me focused. this is an area i want to continue helping in. like i say, i feel honored because i don't feel i am doing anything other than what people in the community should be doing, helping out to get the vote out, doing collaborations with other groups, forums on immigrant rights or know your rights. going to or calling washington or members of congress saying we

need immigration reform. just getting the word out because my parents never had the opportunity. they worked in the fields and traveled around. i have air conditioning, four walls around me and stuff. i can't complain. i get stressed out but i have good multi tasking skills and i can organize the events. without siren's help it would be difficult. i need a room for this and stuff. >> has your fight for immigrant rights is it the same or has it gotten harder in the last five years or so. >> i would say there have been some successes and some challenges. >> sure. >> for us it's rewarding to see the immigrants we see become citizens that go out and vote. it's rewarding to see us rebuilding the community.

they're out there organizing the community. it is challenging when we do have a lot of anti-immigrant policies or proposed legislation. it does make us more challenging for us to do our work. like i mentioned we're very committed with the mission. we also see in the community that they are committed to making a change. we are still fighting. we're happy to be turning 14. we're happy to see the next years to come. >> any final thoughts while we show the information on the upcoming recognition here happening on may 19. >> i want to invite everyone to come out and help support siren, one of the agencies in santa clara county. immigrant rights. they know they are very involved to come can out and support. >> the event is on may 17.

>> right. >> from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the roosevelt community center. >> i have all the information. may 17 at the roosevelt community center to support the immigrant rights group siren and the honorees they are hosting. i have only one rule on my show and you broke it. you can't outdress the host. we'll talk about it next time. >> sorry. >> thank you for the work you're doing in the community. up next on "comunidad del valle," the c, hicano commencement organizers. ♪ i don't wanna be right ♪ ♪ if being right means being without you ♪ [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, 100% whole grain oats... and that sweet honey taste. you can't go wrong loving it. bee happy. bee healthy.

we are gearing up for another chicano commencement. my guests here on "comunidad del valle," part of the organizing committee for commencement. we do have video of last year's main commencement. that's something i went through i won't tell you how long ago. it was nice. you know, it is a big ceremony. you always want to see what a college ceremony is like. there is nothing like chicano

commencement. the 60 of you and you get to individually thank your parents. talk if you will about why you decided to go through commencement as well. >> my first time doing it was as an undergrad in 2009. as part of the executive board there was an opportunity for me to bring my family to san jose because i'm from honoree county to share my traditions and everything and give them the opportunity to share my graduation ceremony and also continue the traditions of what chicano commencement is. it started in 1968. >> what about you? >> my journey started last year. i was a junior for the graduating class of 2011. i loved what the movement stood for following the civil rights movement. i loved the experience. just having an organization that

raised money to build a ceremony to give back. just to show the latinos are graduating that's the reason why i joined. being part of the e-board helps us be leaders in the community as well. >> absolutely. for those who may not be aware, back when this program started there were more than a dozen chicanos who stood up. they said the university was not doing enough to retain and recruit latinos so they had their own graduation ceremony. you are all a continuing the annual tradition? >> 42nd annual. >> tell us what's happening this year. you got a full program with dancers. >> the chicano commencement will

be sunday. we'll have a keynote speaker coming in. it will be a nice program. it will be an opportunity to share with our family our traditions. we are looking forward to everyone being there to celebrate our graduation ceremony. >> a lot of the graduates are first generation. does that add to the emotion maybe when you're up there receiving your certificate and thanking your family and friends up on the stage? >> the family came to give them a better education. so receiving the diploma is a big opportunity for them to share it with the graduating class of 2012. >> tell us about the little kids that will be there. grammar school, junior high school. maybe little brothers, sisters,

nephew or so nieces. what's the message to them? you have done it once and you will do it again. what do you think the message they are getting when you see them up there doing it. >> the message is latinas get the message they can do it and get an education, be part of commencement and be professionals in the community as well. >> this is a year-long process. i start fund-raising the day after the last commencement. make sure to tell us about the year in fund-raising and maybe where you're at. >> it's me from last year. we started fund-raising the day of. we got presales. we invite the community, not just the family to be part of the ceremony. they would like to be part of our ceremony as well. they can come by in presales. then we fund-raise from the fall semester all the way to the day before the ceremony as well.

with we get a lot of sponsorships and donations. a lot of help from the university. the president helps us out. whatever we can get. we raise $40,000 for the ceremony. >> it's inclusive. you have the president of the university involved for several years now. back when it first started it was not an affront to the university but it was in protest to the university policies. do you think you are continuing the legacy? >> i believe so. back then it was san jose college. just to walk out as a protest. there is a big fight to go. i feel like we're welcomed and accepted. we are representing a big body of students.

it's a big help to encourage us as well. >> thank you for continuing the tradition. chicano commencement is happening on may 27 at the event center. final thoughts? anything you would like to say to the viewers? >> you can join the ceremony, help us for next year. we'll keep it going. we are more than happy to take your donations as well. thank you. >> now here's what's happening in your comunidad.

and our salute to those celebrating a special day. here is our address for next week. pick up a copy of the newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies. we thank you for sharing your sunday with us. we'll see you again next week. ♪

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