When Cindy Waeltermann got the diagnosis for her nearly 3-year-old son, she recalled, "All I heard was 'autism,' and I think my ears started ringing. I heard nothing after that."

To compound her distress, her younger son later was also diagnosed with autism.

"That truck didn't kill me when it ran over me, so it backed up to make sure I was completely dead," she said.

Such reactions are common among parents in her position and that's one of the reasons for the group she directs, the Autism Center of Pittsburgh/AutismLink.

The agency has been conducting physical, occupational and speech therapy for more than a year from its facility on Lorish Road in Kennedy, where it also serves children with other disabilities.

The autism center opened a second facility in November on Cumberland Road in McCandless. The centers in Robinson and McCandless help connect parents with each other and with therapists who can help their children with speech, movement and other therapies.

The group takes pride in the fact that it has no waiting list for diagnosis or treatment, a sad reality that faces many people who seek services in Pittsburgh. Compounding the problem is the rise in autism diagnosis. The disorder has a spectrum of symptoms ranging from mild problems with social skills to complete withdrawal.

The center now needs a South Hills location, which could cost $15,000. That's where the ULTRAparty comes in. The ULTRAparty, a street jam in Mt. Lebanon tomorrow, will offer music, food and drinks, with proceeds benefiting the Autism Center of Pittsburgh/AutismLink.

The ULTRAparty is being organized by LEBO, or Lifestyles Enriched by Opportunity, which has an online community of about 500 and helps to spotlight social and business opportunities in Mt. Lebanon for people ages 21 to 35. It hopes to make ULTRAparty an annual event.

The opening act is Maddie Georgi, who wrote a song about her brother, who has autism. The headline act will be '80s cover band, Velveeta. The Pump Fakes also will play, and a ticket auction will include signed Steelers footballs, game tickets and restaurant certificates.

The autism center provides services for children with autism, including speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, evaluations, parental support and the newly added equestrian therapy.

The center operates on a $70,000 budget and is barely making ends meet through donations, grants and proceeds from an online store.

Private health insurers rarely pay for autism treatments, and if they do, "they pay so little that a lot of providers won't accept those assignments," said Dorene Ciletti, of Mt. Lebanon, who has a child with autism and is on the planning committee for ULTRAparty.

Also, she said, a lot of autism fund-raising organizations send the money they raise to national groups with little of it returning to directly benefit Pittsburgh families.

In McCandless, the autism center opened in November on Cumberland Road.

Mrs. Waeltermann vows to keep it going and raise more money to help families who need it.

"We provide the road map and help you through it" she said.

ULTRAparty starts at 6 p.m. tomorrow with Mt. Lebanon's First Friday, a monthly series of concerts and street festivals on the main street, Washington Road. ULTRAparty events run from 8 p.m. to midnight. Admission is a $5 donation to the Autism Center. For information about the agency, call 412-377-8778.