We got Michael Kung Fu Panda for Christmas. Michael now runs around doing karate chops and yelling Hiii-ya.

This got me and Grandma thinking. It is too bad there is not a special needs classes like Karate. He would never be able to participate in a typical class with kids his own age. But the whole idea would teach him discipline and such, perhaps when he is slightly older. I could not imagine putting a typical 4 year old in a karate class because they have a harder time not knowing when it is ok NOT to use what they have been taught on other kids. Or on their mother.

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season. Enjoy the time you have with your family's. 

Hope Santa brings you everything you want!!

Hello,

wow it's been a long time. I have been applying for soo many scholarships and I just finished finals so I haven't had anytime to work on the project and I really wanted to have the building rented and the kids set in stone by now so that's bad that I don't have either. I finished my 10 page research paper on Autism though and it turned out pretty good, for being my first 10 page paper and all. Do you guys think that to get places to donate I have to be with a actual charity and raise money or will they donate if I'm just doing it for the kids and I'm not with a charity?because Im not raising any money at the actual event. not much else to update on. oh except I read the book: Look me in the eyes. Which is about this man who had asperger syndrome his whole life and they didn't have a name for it then. It was really interesting because he's a man now but he didn't find out until now.

My 3 1/2 yr old son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS a month ago and as a lucky Kaiser member I am having trouble getting them to do all of the necessary blood work that my DAN Doctor is recommending. Is there anyone out there that has battled Kaiser about this?? I'm on my 3rd doctor there. They've shoved me off the the Geneticist now. I just want the tests so I that I'll know if I should try any biomedical or dietary interventions. I've already had to dig into my savings to get some tests done. This is only the beginning!

Police in south Texas say a 9-year-old girl's letter to Santa may have finally stopped a nightmare of sexual abuse for her and her 10-year-old sister.

(AP Photo )
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Police allege that for as long as four years, Andres Enrique Cantu sexually abused the girls in their bedrooms while they slept or did their homework. Cantu is a computer lab aide at an alternative high school but has not been accused of crimes against students there.

The white-haired Cantu, 55, shuffled into court in leg irons and handcuffs for the second time in less than a week Tuesday to face a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child. He did not have an attorney present.

The 9-year-old's plea to Santa, written as a school assignment, launched the investigation and led to the first charge of continuous sexual abuse last week. On Tuesday, Cantu was accused of abusing the girl's older sister, who was also mentioned in the letter.

I read this today and shivered. It is so sad this little girl had nobody else she trusted to turn to in those four years except Santa.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=6476105

Just a day in the life...LOL

So we finally have our appointment with Dr Swingle...aka "The Autismn Doctor"...sure it's odd that I am so excited about getting an appointment that's not going to take place until March...but the way I see it is- it's a start, right?

And it's only 3 short months before I am able to get some answers about Wyatt's behavior!

Ok very odd title, but hear me out, when you really think about this, and I mean sit down and ponder, scratching your head, mindlessly eating a bag of potato chips, totally blocking out the world thought, you willl see that I am correct.

I have been looking for tattoo ideas. After Christmas my heating assistance should kick in and that saves me a bill for several months. So my budget allows for a few extra savings and such. Plus I am getting a 30 dollar check from Inbox Dollars late January, so February I can splurge on myself a little. Well I want something that captures who I am. Only Eeyore, penguins, and such are cheesy. I love stars but they are over done and cannot find something unique to capture ME. Well I was thinking about a phoenix.  They endure something terrible (a fiery death) and imerge something beautiful. I thought about my childhood and such and the judgements of others (ok mainly my baby daddy family drama) and thinking I am coming out ok. Well then I saw a flame design. Just the fire and thought of the song by Garth Brooks Standing Outside the Fire (if you do not know the meaning of the song, I posted it here in Videos or you can You-Tube it). Well I am inside the fire, I know what all this is about. My eyes have been opened to so much with the journey Michael has taken me down. Not only for Autism, but the thoughts about other special needs labels that can be placed on our children. Down Syndrome, Autism, everything takes a parent willing to walk on coals for their kids. 

So that got me thinking more. Especially with another design I found. ASD parents are the phoenix. The diagnosis (or even the pre-everything) is the fiery death we endure. And then we slowly rise up beyond that pain, accepting it as we must and go on to try to make our lives as beautiful as possible.  read more »

When I was younger (around eight) I lived with my uncle and grandmother. One memory I have was making homemade candy with my uncle. He was really good at doing the different colors in molds and such. I am not sure how he put up with me helping, but it was something that stuck with me. I was really close to my uncle, and in the years since I have seen him, I guess my heart is clinging to several memories.

So I bought up some stuff to make me my own batch of candy. I could only find one set of Christmas molds in the store, and they were the last set. I am going to look for some fun molds on Amazon after I am set up a little better financially so basically after Christmas. 

Today sitting here pouring the vanilla mix (and later chocolate) Michael sat down beside me with a stuffed dinosaur watching. He told his dinosaur that we were making candy and not to touch because it was hot. When the molds were full he would run over to the fridge and open it for me.

An hour later he would help me tap out the candies from the molds. I have to say it was wonderful being able to do something with him like this. He gets to look at the finished product and know he helped. I just need to find something like a frosting bag or something that will keep the chocolate warm enough to pour out so he can do even more.

I forgot a set of quotations and did not notice until after we ordered it to be printed :(

Today Michael got to meet Santa at Wal-Mart. He was more interested in the idea of getting a piece of candy though. I was a little disappointed when I realized Santa was actually a woman, but Michael did not see through the beard.

I happened to write this on my Tip of the Day this monring on my website.  I thought it would be good to share here too.  I hope its helpful.

Help your child or children with autism prepare for  large gatherings by using a few tricks:

1.  Write a quick social story about what to expect at a large gathering (7-9 sentences should do.)

2.  Ahead of time, show pictures of the people who will be at the gathering.

3.  Maybe Bring a DVD or video that you child likes and ask for it to be played while dinner is being prepared.

4.  Pre-plan a quiet space for you child to go to if he or she needs to get away from the crowd and noise.  Ask the host ahead of time if a place like this exists in their home.

5.  For the verbal child, give your child some words or phrases to use that day and write them on an index cue card for their pocket.  (ex. Happy thanksgiving. Good to see you.This food tases great. ETC.)

I have been the parent of an Asbergers child for 4 years, and i knew from the day my daughter was born that there was something differnt about her.  It just seemed that as she got older the more blatent it became.  So i don't understand why people want to say that their immunizations are to blame.  People have been getting these shots for years why now all of a sudden are they causeing this. The mercury preservant has been replaced my a protein based albumin (the whites of eggs) so i'm not sure i understand the correlation.  Can anyone shed light on this subject for me, i am quite confused.  My husband and are both in the medical field and have seen more harm then good coming from un-immunized children. 

This is my first time making a blog.. So I'm not sure what to say. Or TYPE, rather.

I'm 19.5 years old and still unemployed and single. I've spent the past year and a half trying to "discover myself," but its not really turning out the way I hoped. Mostly I joined this Blogger so I could type out all my thoughts in hope of someone actually listening to my drivels. I'll update all the things that have happened, as well as all the things I have discovered and realized about myself withing the 2 existing worlds (The real world and the world inside my head) and whatever philosophies and life anecdotes worth dumping on. :laugh:

I dont want to rant or vent about my autism or about my loneliness or anything.. I just want to know someone out there is listening.

All my old ex-friends were really close, and I was sort of the party clown of the group. I'd do goofy funny things to make everyone laugh and feel better and not hate anyone else. I thought it was WORTH it to do such things to make friends. I wanted so BAD to confide in others and to let them confide in me.

Eventually, after we all graduated, the self-titled Group of Inseparable Friends started to separate, and I became sick of trying to pretend I was okay in front of them. I started on a downward spiral thats STILL going on now. All they would do is whine about their problems and assume that I was perfectly FINE, simply because I was the funny, happy-go-lucky one. Then later on when I became really depressed, they started hanging out with me less and they began mocking my virginity and lack of 'experience' with the opposite sex. So I told them to forget about the fact that I ever existed, and to leave me alone.

That pretty much sums up my whole life. I have made a CAREER out of trying to not exist in other people's lives.  read more »