October 8th, 2001

Hi friends.

Matt and I just returned from San Diego, CA where Matt performed a jazz concert with California-based sidemen Gunnar Biggs on bass and Tim Shea on drums.  Gunnar and Tim are music professors at San Diego State University and are excellent musicians!!  After a quick run through of Matt’s original compositions and then agreeing on a play list for the evening, they were ready for the show.  They sounded like they performed together all the time.  There were approximately 550 people in the audience, all of whom were amazed and excited and showed their appreciation for the music.

The trio performed at the Autism Research Institute’s annual D.A.N.! (Defeat Autism Now!) Conference.  The meeting is attended by all the leading researchers and specialists on autism and provides a unique resource for doctors and parents to learn the latest information and treatments.   It is a wonderful, wonderful means by which information from so many areas of autism research and treatment can be dispersed.  It encourages debate, and even provides information about legal issues currently pending.  There are booths hosted by many different groups involved in the treatment of autism... booths giving information and samples of recommended vitamins and supplements such as B6/Magnesium, Wheat free/Gluten free/Casein free foods, special snacks, learning therapy techniques, occupational therapy toys, Auditory Integration Therapy, the list goes on and on.

Just about every aspect of autism and its treatment was represented at this year’s conference.  In addition to all the booths and information, the conference was jam-packed with top-notch speakers and re-known experts.  There were over 900 attendees...and that was in spite of everything going on in the world right now.  Last year there were over 1500 attendees.  I think that all the special people involved with the war on autism are completely dedicated and will continue their daily battles despite the added burdens of current events.

Matthew with Dr. Bernard Rimland of the Autism Research Institute

Matt’s part in the conference was being the entertainment for a special dinner held on the Saturday night of the conference.  Matt is not just an unbelievable jazz pianist, but he is also an example of a child who has benefited from all of the recommendations of the annually printed D.A.N. Protocol.  He has undergone most of the medical tests and treatments currently described in the protocol. Matt has derived obvious gains from these treatments.  As we provided to him each new treatment, we observed immediate and remarkable results.  This encouraged us to continue on the D.A.N. path.  And Matt has continued to thrive and reach new heights, heights that were unimaginable to us when he was first diagnosed with P.D.D. at age 3 years, 4 months.

The jazz trio obviously had as much fun jamming that evening as the audience did listening.  I had people coming up to me the entire night asking questions about Matt, telling me their own stories of autism, showing their amazement and delight in Matt’s musical ability, sharing their hopes that their own children will reap some positive results from the D.A.N. protocol.

Meanwhile, the musicians played! And they were great!  We had lots of people sign up for our e-mail list and indicate that they wanted to order The Matt Savage Trio’s new CD.

Matt and I both had a wonderful time and loved meeting all the terrific people who work so hard to help others on a daily basis.  We even got to meet Jerry Newman, an adult mathematical savant, who asked Matt when he was born and then informed him of his equivalent age in seconds.  He actually calculated in his head Matt’s age in terms of seconds, taking into account leap years, the time of day when Matt was born and the time at which the question was asked.

Matt handled even the long flights and the time zone changes like a pro.  It was a great experience and an honor to perform for the people whose tireless work is helping Matt reach his own potential.