The Golden Hat
Why did Kate Winslet ask over 100 celebrity friends including Oprah, George Clooney, Rosie O’Donnell, Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant and Leonardo DiCaprio, be photographed wearing a Golden Hat for a book that includes photos of eleven non-verbal youngsters with autism wearing the same hat?
What are the long term goals of the Golden Hat Foundation? What goals do you have for your youth’s future? What are your child’s long term goals?
Join the conversation on May 14 about creating A Full Life with Autism when Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir, President & CEO of the Golden Hat Foundation joins Moderator Chantal Sicile-Kira to discuss these topics. The one hour Q & A on Monday May 14, 2012 will take place from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PST (9:00 pm to 10:00 pm EST). Sign up for the Autism College newsletter to receive instructions on how to participate and send in your questions. Instructions will be sent via newsletter before the Q & A takes place. (Already registered? Hold tight, the participation link will arrive soon).
The Golden Hat Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers for people with autism around the world, and creating an environment that holds these individuals as intellectually capable.
Kate Winslet and Margret D. Ericsdottir
Guest: Margret D. Ericsdottir is the President & CEO of the The Golden Hat Foundation; Founder Frontier Filmworks; Co-Author, The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism; Advocate for Individuals with Autism; Mother of Keli, 14-year-old with nonverbal autism. Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir, MBA, had a successful career in business and held various executive positions in Icelandic companies. Then, in 1997 Margret’s youngest son Keli was born and diagnosed as having severe autism at the age of four. The sudden and profound changes in her family prompted Margret to shift her focus from career-related pursuits to caring for Keli. In 2006 Margret founded Frontier Filmworks, and made the documentary, A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism, which describes her family’s journey.
The award-winning actress, Kate Winslet, narrated the documentary, and subsequently co-authored The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism, in which celebrities and some non-verbal individuals with autism are photographed wearing a “golden” hat.
Moderator: Chantal Sicile-Kira is the founder of Autism College, author of five books on autism. Her latest book A Full Life with Autism, was co-authored with her son, Jeremy Sicile-Kira whose photograph appears in The Golden Hat.