Lynda Gary may soon become a common household name – but why do we care?  Because Lynda Gary – attorney, life coach, author, and potential talk-show host – is first and foremost a mother.

Long before autism was the epidemic is has become, Lynda Gary tackled the daily challenge of raising her autistic son, Bo, now age 19.  She was once advised that Bo would have no choice but to be institutionalized.  Her response? “Over my dead body!”   She then retired from her practice of law and dedicated every ounce of her time and energy to successfully parenting not only Bo, but her daughter, now age 21, who is challenged by bi-polar disorder.

But there are many parents who have and who are facing this challenge.  What makes Lynda unique?  Well, aside from the fact that she’s done this all on her own, she is disabled herself.  Diagnosed with a life-threatening and rare blood disorder, Lynda has had two strokes and multiple mini-strokes (called TIAs).  The blood disorder causes permanent and progressive damage to all of her organs, and that, in turn, is painful.  To make matters worse, she was involved in a serious car wreck several years ago, leaving her with a permanent back injury.  A subsequent spinal surgery gave her the ability to walk again, but she still struggles with chronic pain.  read more »

     I would like to share with you a truly amazing thing that happened the other day. My beautiful son Kyle was diagnosed with having Autism and ADHD a few years back. I say it in this manner because Kyle is Kyle and his Autism is a piece of who he is but its not what makes him. Throughout Kyle's life he has been faced with many difficulties, but I believe that as his mother, his protector, and his strongest advocate it is my honor to love him unconditionally even through the difficulties.  read more »

This story is the follow-up on Matt taking his first unaccompanied stroll.  Matt is in North Carolina with my husband Tom (where Tom works) and I am at home in Virginia. Yesterday was the practice walk.  Tom gave Matt his own key and identification card and a key to the mailbox.  He also gave Matt a note for his wallet which provided all the emergency information.  Matt put it in his wallet without question.  Tom and Matt took a practice stroll together earlier in the day, turning left out of the apartment and walking to the mailbox.  From the mailbox they took a path that passed one of the swimming pools and circled around toward the front of the massive complex of apartments and straight toward the weight-room.  Matt practiced using his new identification pass to unlock the door and they scoped out the various equipment.  Shortly after, they strode back to their apartment and Matt got to use his entry key.  No problems. 

Later that afternoon Matt decided it was time for his own walk.  He left the building and unexpectedly turned right.  Matt is a creature a habit.  Each time he has been out so far has been with Tom and they have always taken the exact same route.  Both Tom and I expected Matt would continue this same routine.  Tom watched from a safe distance as Matt disappeared around the next corner.  He never looked back.  read more »

Story 74

Tom got a new assignment in Durham – close to home.  As part of his job package he gets a fancy-dancy apartment.  Matt was ready for the new adventure and happily packed for his new destination.

 After a week, Tom and Matt returned home for the weekend and all was normal again – but just for the weekend.  They left again and this time I returned with them for a short vacation between semesters. 

 I got the grand tour of their new bachelor pad.  No, Tom is not the bachelor - Matt is.  The apartment had its own washer-dryer, dishwasher, internet, cable, and furnished with all new pieces; couch, chair, table, bed, dresser and even linens.  It had a weight room, 2 pools and 2 tennis courts.  For all its amenities it lacked a touch of home.  So, after Tom left for work Matt and I decorated.  We hung pictures, organized closets and moved the furniture.  Matt put in the wall hangers, decided which pictures to hang where and organized all his stuff.  I showed him how to use the dishwasher and gave him this chore.  We all explored the apartment complex and the shopping district and Matt was excited to find all his regular hangouts.

 Now comes the hard part – giving him independence.   read more »

My 10 year old son with autism comes alive on the stage.  It was a phenomenal experience for all of us involved and it was truly magical to watch him to do this.  It is my wish that other parents can see with their own eyes what can be accomplished if you can find what is in your child's heart and give it to them unconditionally.  Never be afraid to let them try...you might be surprised.

GoHuman.com is an online marketplace connecting consumers with small, local businesses. They believe the strength of America lies with individuals who use their diverse talents to provide localized services and aim to provide a low-cost platform for local online marketing and business growth.

Easy to use, GoHuman.com allows individuals and small businesses to create their own customizable ‘pages.’ You can search for these local services by zip code and category. GoHuman.com also provides advanced reputation features that represent the quality of service offered over time so you can make educated decisions.

GoHuman.com is committed not only to change the way the world works for local business owners, but to reach out to help members of their community as well.  CEO Wade Fransson started the first of a series of Micro Causes in February this year to help raise funds for a family living in his community.  In honor of April's Autism Awareness Month, the company will be donating $1 for every new registration that mentions "Sunshine".  read more »

There are stories of courage and faith all around us. This one is about a Catholic family with a special needs child. Recently, now age 18, I had the opportunity to assess their son.

This young person has substantial, multiple difficulties. To protect the family’s privacy, some information has been changed.

I will call their son Thomas. Not Thomas the Doubter but Thomas the Tenacious.

Early on, Thomas’ family knew that their middle child was very different. Though not a problem at home, he got kicked out of a private pre-school for behavior issues. By age four, assessment suggested that he had substantial communication and social delays. Other assessment suggested an array of delays.

In Kindergarten, Thomas’ parents turned down an SDC placement (more than 50% in special ed setting) and insisted on mainstreaming him. His family wanted and got a regular ed placement. He had an aide.

Assessment in second grade showed that Thomas had normal, average cognitive IQ abilities and quite low other abilities. However, thereafter when Thomas’ cognitive IQ abilities were tested his scores were in the bottom 5 out of 100.

“No, we are not going to use the mental retardation label,” the parents said to themselves and to professionals. To Thomas they said, “You can and will graduate from high school”.

The parents set the bar high for Thomas. The parents helped him every night at home and negotiated with the schools for support services to assist Thomas. At times he had an aide. He had Occupational Therapy and Speech services. Throughout high school he had RSP support.  read more »

 It was a warm fall day, I sat with Evan on the porch and drew with chaulk. He would make upside down "e" doodles, and make little lines, evenly spaced, across the rail. He haddn't tried to speak in a few months, but I talked to him like normal anyway. The way he wouldn't look at me, or anyone for that matter, made me wonder if the words were getting through. I said "I like that picture!", "that's a good color!", to his little doodles, and gave him another color. "TING-TING-TING", went the chaulk, as he threw it angrily. He only would have one thing at a time, and me giving him the extra chaulk had upset the balance. "WWAAAAAaaa!!!" he wailed, as he spun in circles. "Come tell Daddy what's wrong", "it's OK", I said as I knelt down to comfort him. "Talk to Daddy buddy, why don't you talk to Daddy?". "I DON'T WANNA TALK!" The words fell from his mouth so matter-of-factly. I was stunned! As the tears welled up in my eyes, he walked up to me, gave me a big hug, and looked at me like he didn't understand either.

 Since this day we have made much progress. We've reached almost 180 from where he was. Do your research, be persistant, their in there.

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she as wings."

                                                                                                                                                          Victor Hugo

Let us be that bird for our children, knowing that if we fall our community will gather around us and give us flight once again.

                                                                                                                                                           Elizabeth Obrey

My son is a wonderful young adult at the age of 21. Growing up has been hard for him. When he was age five, we (his father and I) decided to wait a year before we put him in kindergarten. Educationally he was very prepared to go but not emotionally. So when his first day of school did come around, at the end of the day, I received a note from a wet behind the ears, first time ever parochial school teacher that my son was not ready. I was really angry that this women, who had known my son for six hours was telling me that he had ADHD. I knew she was wrong. Throughout his life he was normal around us, but yet I noticed that on playdates, he'd stay by himself or with me. He wouldn't meet new friends. He was very withdrawn around stangers. There'd be no eye contact. No hellos to family or friends. And there was other signals that I noticed. Certain textures bothered him. He would not color with crayons, fingerpaints or use molding clay or Play-Doh. Everytime he had check-ups I'd mention to the pediatrician that James could not see "cause and effect". He didn't get the "big picture". The doctor wasn't concerned because all the growing milestones were being met. I kept telling the doctor that something was wrong , but he would not believe me. So we went through the evaluations for ADHD and tried a trial of Ritalin, but nothing changed. It was when I forced him to listen to me because I wouldn't let him out of the exam room, that he finally agreed to proceed further. And after a lot of testing at the Genetic Counseling Center at UT did we finally get an answer. Confirmation of ASperger's Syndrome... when I sent the report to Dr. Jim he apologized and told me that when he went to medical school, the more obscure behaviors were not talked about. In fact, he told me he had never heard of AS. So throughout all the years, my husband and I found ways to teach our son manners, how to be courteous to others, etc.. Does he still struggle ?  read more »