April Is Autism Awareness Month!

Autism is worldwide, this is one Mother's story from Australia.

This story tells how your life can change overnight when your child is diagnosed with Autism, told by Karen, a blogger from Australia, see her profile here KAZ  . To read more about Autism and for beautiful awareness graphics please visit her blog at AUTISM TAGS .

April is Autism Awareness month in America. I'm in Australia. We don't have the month long awareness but the 1st of April is World Autism Awareness day. I don't usually post much about my son but today i will share some info.

My son is 19 and was diagnosed with 'classic autism' when he was 2 and a half. He was developing normally up until around the age of two. 

He laughed, played, even said two word sentences and then suddenly he didn't speak, didn't laugh, played in a corner or behind our couch. He lost eye contact and started twisting his hands in front of his face and rocking (this is called stimming and many autistics have some form of it.) He didn't respond when you called him or spoke to him. At first they thought he was deaf, but i knew he wasn't. He did have ear problems and ended up having 3 sets of grommets, but this didn't change how he was. It just stopped his ear infections.

We ended up with Early Intervention for him. He had this for 3 years. The third year he was still hiding under the table when the therapist came. But hey... she just got under there with him. lol.

We used Macaton sign language with him until he was around 6. We had pictures of everything and signs of words on everything. My son, as many autistics, only learns visually. He gets lost on verbal prompts alone. He still does and you have to repeat things over and over sometimes.

He went to a normal school with an aide. He really didn't cope well in that situation, but because his IQ was 72 (70 and under here is an intellectual disability) he was not allowed to go to a special needs school... all because of a stupid 2 points! The first few years were ok, but he just got more and more behind because he just didn't understand what they wanted from him. Plus as the school years go on the teachers use more verbal prompts that visual. This was a huge problem for him. He ended up being very violent. I had so much trouble getting him to school. It ended up he had me in a headlock on the ground (he was bigger than me by then). Sometimes i couldn't breathe and was scared it was the end. He was refusing to go and i couldn't put up with this violence any longer. No one would help me from the school - even though i told them what was happening. So i decided to home school him. The best decision i have ever made! Though it's not for everyone.

I home schooled my son until he was nearly 15. The work was getting way beyond him by then. He was good at maths but only at a primary level. He had a huge problem with English as he responds to the here and now. He has no imagination. He never speaks about the past. But the good thing was that he was starting to smile, he was starting to speak in sentences. Factual, but at least he was speaking.

I had him retested at 15 and they found he does have an intellectual disability with the autism. He now has a Yorallah (a company that help disabled people cope with world) worker.He is very happy now. He is not violent at all... well not unless someone really upsets him. I know what to avoid and now have no problems. Well other than not leaving the house much. He has a phobia of the outdoors. If i'm in the back yard he won't come out. He will bang on the back door to get my attention before he would come out and get me. This is why i got into making graphics. My son is home 24/7 and I have to be here. At least making graphics takes my mind off the boredom of being home looking at the walls. Plus i fell from a window and hurt my back (i have severe nerve damage), so can't do much even if i wanted to, or had the freedom to.

But moving on... My son is now 19, as i said. He has a worker and he's happy. He is on a disability pension as he is far from being able to cope in the work force. He will live with us the rest of his life.. well our life. And i'm happy with that. He is a lovely young man now and i wouldn't change him for the world.

I have some April Awareness tags on my Autism Graphic site. Here is a sample. Just click this link to go to the page.  More Tags Here 

Have you ever wondered what the color yellow means?

Yellow is the color of the mind & intellect.

The color yellow relates to acquired knowledge. It is the color which resonates with the left or logic side of the brain stimulating our mental faculties and creating mental agility and perception. Being the lightest hue of the spectrum, the color psychology of yellow is uplifting and illuminating, offering hope, happiness, cheerfulness and fun.

In the meaning of colors, yellow inspires original thought and inquisitiveness.

Yellow is creative from a mental aspect, the color of new ideas, helping us to find new ways of doing things. It is the practical thinker, not the dreamer. Yellow is the best color to create enthusiasm for life and can awaken greater confidence and optimism.

The color yellow loves a challenge, particularly a mental challenge.

Within the meaning of colors, yellow is the great communicator and loves to talk. Yellow is the color of the networker and the journalist, all working and communicating on a mental level. Yellow is the scientist, constantly analyzing, looking at both sides before making a decision; methodical and decisive. Yellow is the entertainer, the comic, the clown.

Yellow helps with decision making as it relates to clarity of thought and ideas, although it can often be impulsive. Yellow helps us focus, study and recall information, useful during exam time. The color yellow can be anxiety producing as it is fast moving and can cause us to feel agitated. Yellow has a tendency to make you more mentally analytical and critical - this includes being self critical as well as critical of others.

Yellow is non-emotional, coming from the head rather than the heart. Yellow depends on itself, preferring to not get emotionally involved. Yellow is related to the ego and our sense of self worth, to how we feel about ourselves and how we are perceived by others. Yellow is the most highly visible of all colors which is why it is used for pedestrian crossings. Take note of the crossings which are marked in white - they are less easy to see than those marked yellow, particularly on wet and cloudy days.

If you are going through a lot of change in your life you may find you can't tolerate the color yellow very well  this will usually pass. It just means that you are having trouble coping with all the changes at the moment and yellow vibrates too fast for you, making you feel stressed. Introduce green or a soft orange into your life for a while to balance and restore your energies. Many older people don't respond well to large amounts of yellow because it vibrates too fast for them.

Positive Traits of the Color Yellow:

Positive keywords include: optimism, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, fun, good-humored, confidence, originality, creativity, challenging, academic and analytical, wisdom and logic.

Negative Traits of the Color Yellow:

Negative keywords include: being critical and judgmental, being overly analytical, being impatient and impulsive, being egotistical, pessimistic, an inferiority complex, spiteful, cowardly, deceitful, non-emotional and lacking compassion.

Yellow Represents: Mind and intellect: From a color psychology perspective, yellow stimulates our mental faculties; it activates the left or analytical brain. Happiness and fun: Yellow is uplifting to the spirits; yellow helps create enthusiasm for life and can awaken greater confidence and optimism.

Communication of New Ideas: Yellow is related to the expression and integration of new ideas and thoughts.

Creative: The color of new ideas, yellow helps us find new ways of doing things.

Quick decisions: Yellow helps with clear thinking and quick decision-making but it can also be impulsive.

Anxiety producing: Yellow is fast moving so too much time in its presence can agitate and lead to nervousness and emotional instability.

Critical: Yellow makes people more mentally analytical and self critical of both themselves and others.

Non-emotional: Yellow relates to the head not the heart.

To read more about the meaning, symbolism & properties of the color yellow see this link:

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-yellow.html

Brooke's Blossoming Birthday Wish!

Blossoming Hope ~ Birthday Wish!

On April 27th, Brooke will be 5! After over a year of battling cancer, she has one wish for her birthday... to GIVE. Instead of asking for presents, Brooke wants her friends and family to give to her project, Brooke's Blossoms & Buddies, which is in the process of becoming a full fledged 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation with goals of empowering others, especially kids, to help find cures for all pediatric cancers. If you are unable to donate online, please send a birthday note to Brooke letting her know how you want to make her birthday wishes come true. Brooke's cancer has recenlty been discovered to be progressing so she is in and out of the hospital and care often right now, but her current address will be posted on her special page at:   http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/BrookeHester 

By: Jessica Moore Hester

Brooke is our special little girl so please help us spread the word so she can watch her birthday wish come true to keep sending smiles all over the world to children who so desperately need them! 

"Planting Seeds of FAITH, LOVE, and HOPE for CURES... One SMILE at a time!"

"Thank you for helping to make Brooke's Birthday wish come true!"

-Jessica Moore Hester

To make a donation to Brooke's Blossoming Birthday Wish, simply click on the link below
http://fundrazr.com/campaigns/4IBo7?psid=f467cfdf120f406b8a325b2b75329c81 

Donation amount reflects total at time of this publication.

$2,425 raised

$10,000 goal

Mattel, Inc.: Sell us the bald "friend of Barbie"

Petition for the public sale of the "friend of Barbie"!

Mattel has agreed to produce a "friend of Barbie" fashion doll but they are not going to be available for purchase by the public in retail stores. Here is some of the past updates as the campaign has been ongoing for months between the Facebook group "Beautiful & Bald Barbie! Let's see if we can get it made" and Mattel.  

http://www.facebook.com/BeautifulandBaldBarbie

Mattel's announcement of the production of the "friend of Barbie" fashion doll:

“Play is vital for children, especially during difficult times. We are pleased to share with our community that next year we will be producing a fashion doll, that will be a friend of Barbie, which will include wigs, hats, scarves and other fashion accessories to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience. For those girls who choose, the wigs and head coverings can be interchanged or ...completely removed. We will work with our longstanding partner, the Children’s Hospital Association, to donate and distribute the dolls exclusively to children’s hospitals directly reaching girls who are most affected by hair loss. A limited number of dolls and monetary donations will also be made to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.  http://www.facebook.com/Mattel

Thank you to Mattel for agreeing to produce the "friend of Barbie" fashion doll.

Of course, the supporters of the doll are very excited about Mattel's announcement and would be extremely happy to see if available on retail store shelves available to anyone who would like to own it. The Facebook group "Beautiful & Bald Barbie" have asked Mattel to consider this and have created a petition on Change.org in the hopes that the public will sign the petition and be heard. The goal is 15,000 signatures and as of today there are just over 1500. Below is the wording of the petition:

Why This Is Important:

Mattel has made the decision to make a one time production of a bald "friend of Barbie" doll which will be donated exclusively to children’s hospitals and a smaller amount going to CureSearch and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. Mattel has made the decision not to sell these dolls at retail stores.

Why this doll should be made available for purchase By Mattel beyond the donated ones...

Head Hunters - There will be a high price on her head for recipients to sell her. By donating a limited one time production, while honorable, this will create a high demand for collectors. This leads to other concerns...

Many children who do receive one will not be allowed to even open the box because of the high worth of such a rare Barbie brand doll. This will defeat the whole purpose of donating them to the “sickest children who could benefit from them the most”.

Trichotillomania kids will not qualify for one through this donation process.

Adults with Cancer, Alopecia and Trichotillomania want these dolls too. I have even heard from many men who want one as well. None of which will be able to purchase one as of right now.

A child like my daughter, whose mother loses her hair to cancer treamtments will not qualify for one through this donation process.

Children of a relative, aunt, mother, grandmother, sister, friend with hair loss due to chemo, alopecia, trichotillomania or any other cause, will not be able to have one.

Raising awareness and tolerance for children and women with hair loss will be lost in this effort as it will still be "hidden" by not allowing the sale of them, not allowing them on the shelves of stores.

Supporters of seeing this doll made from all over the world will not be able to purchase one, although Mattel did tell me that a very small amount will be sent to their offices overseas to be donated, it will not be nearly enough for all the children and people effected by hair loss in the many countries who want to see this doll in their country.

So much money could be raised if they were sold beyond the donated dolls with a portion of proceeds going to cancer research or another worthy cause. As a mother with cancer, I would buy one for my daughter to play with, one for me to remember my victory through chemo, one for my daughter’s friends to play with with her when they come over, birthday presents for my daughter’s friends, a few to donate at the cancer center, etc That would be a minimum of 6 dolls that I would purchase as a mother with cancer. Multiply that by mothers, aunts, grandmothers, friends all over the world and that feel the same way...that’s a lot of dolls! and potential money raised that will be missed out.

In summary, while I love that Mattel has agreed to make this doll and I am very appreciative and think it is honorable that they want to donate them to Children's Hospitals and The national Alopecia Areata Foundation, I fear many of them will end up on Ebay or at other auctions. I fear that many of the children they were intended to benefit will not get to play with them because of their rarity, that children of a relative with hair loss will not be able to have one, that countries besides in North America will not have access to them like they could, that there is a missed chance for raising awareness and funds by Mattel. Yes, I love what they have agreed to and I am encouraging them to do more...to continue to listen us and respond appropriately to these concerns.

Mattel at first responded to us that "they don't take suggestions from outside sources." They changed their mind and listened to the outcry for these dolls. I am encouraging them to continue listening to our suggestions. Will you join me?

Please go to this link to sign the petition and show your support:

http://www.change.org/petitions/mattel-inc-sell-us-the-bald-friend-of-barbie