Monday, October 31, 2011
Halloween Tricks and Treats.
A good example of how different it is to be a child with Autism or Asperger's would be the beginning of the Holiday Season. When you were a child don't you remember being so excited about the holidays and looking forward to picking out your costume for Halloween and all the candy you can get? For Austin it means too much noise, people, change in routine. For example this morning Austin did not want to go to school, it was a very difficult morning but thankfully he did go and had an okay day while there. He came home and had a decent afternoon, of course he didn't go trick or treating but he did hand out some candy, yea. Then as soon as the evening winded down we went into meltdown from the change of routine and it took 30 minutes to calm him down and then 15 to get him to bed. All of this of course is happening while our daughter Grace is trying to finish out her Happy Halloween with a smile. Sometimes I wish I were able to split myself in two to be able to be there to comfort her when Austin is in the middle of a meltdown and of course be able to give him his deep pressure at the same time. My heart hurts for both of them at times like those. It is now almost 10pm and I am happy to say both are asleep and I am sipping my tea, waiting for sleep too. Maybe next Holiday Season will be different and there will be someone by Austin's side at all times making it just a bit easier to deal with all the changes and challenges that they bring for him. Thank you to everyone that is helping to make that a possibility.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Had a fun family night tonight. Carved our pumpkins and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas. Austin even joined, which was a gift. Normally these are the kind of things that he wouldn't choose to do with us. Made us smile. I will try to post some picture later. Right now on Makeover Home Edition they are giving a family with 2 high functioning Autism boys a new house. It is so fun to watch this families dream coming true. Hope you all are having a great Friday night.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Our Address
Wanted to post our address as it has been brought to our attention that some people would like to mail their donations instead on donating online.
c/o Holly Andrew
29859 113th Way SE
Auburn WA, 98092
Thank you so much for your support.
c/o Holly Andrew
29859 113th Way SE
Auburn WA, 98092
Thank you so much for your support.
Feeling very blessed tonight! It's only been 1 day and we have raised over $600 and had a donation of a collection of comic books to sell towards Austin's Service Dog. We have amazing friends and family that God has blessed us with...we like to call you all Austin's Autism Angels! Thank you so much and we will keep posting and keep you informed please keep sharing our link!
Holly
Holly
Hi Everyone,
This a blog about our journey with our son Austin. He was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome back in 2006 at the age of 7. Asperger's Syndrome is a form of Autism. Not knowing what Asperger's was we bought many books and researched online and were stunned to learn that in the beginning the resources for us were limited. We had no idea at the time how much this would impact our lives. If I could wish for anything back then it would have been a how to manual for parents on what to do for him and our family. We also did not realize or understand why insurance companies do not cover many of the recommended therapies for Austin ie. Occupational Therapy or Psychiatrist that specialize in this field.
Austin continually struggles with sensory issues, social cues, ADD, Anxiety and now we know he has a learning disorder. All of these combined make for a very difficult time for Austin in school and other activities. I pulled Austin from the public school system when he was in 3rd grade and home schooled him until he entered 6th grade last year. He is now back in public school and struggling yet again.
Last year I discovered an awesome opportunity. Did you know that there are service dogs specifically trained to help kids with Autism? Well there are. At Autism Service Dogs of America in Oregon they train these loving dogs to help keep kids safe, secure and help them calm down if they are upset. We applied this last summer and were approved!!! Yes! While this is very exciting this journey is just beginning. In order to pay for the training of the dog, travel fees, costs for me to go get trained as a handler for a week, and for the trainer to come to our home and work with our whole family for a week we need to raise a minimum of $15,500. This sounds overwhelming but there are over 70,000 people in the city we live in Auburn WA alone, if one quarter of those would donate just a dollar we would already be at our goal! Every dollar helps. So we are holding a Dollar Drive. You can donate easily by clicking on the donate button. Also please stop by and "like" our page on facebook Austin's Autism Service Dog Dollar Drive.
Please help us give our son a miracle, the ability for security and Independence. Thank you.
Holly
This a blog about our journey with our son Austin. He was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome back in 2006 at the age of 7. Asperger's Syndrome is a form of Autism. Not knowing what Asperger's was we bought many books and researched online and were stunned to learn that in the beginning the resources for us were limited. We had no idea at the time how much this would impact our lives. If I could wish for anything back then it would have been a how to manual for parents on what to do for him and our family. We also did not realize or understand why insurance companies do not cover many of the recommended therapies for Austin ie. Occupational Therapy or Psychiatrist that specialize in this field.
Austin continually struggles with sensory issues, social cues, ADD, Anxiety and now we know he has a learning disorder. All of these combined make for a very difficult time for Austin in school and other activities. I pulled Austin from the public school system when he was in 3rd grade and home schooled him until he entered 6th grade last year. He is now back in public school and struggling yet again.
Last year I discovered an awesome opportunity. Did you know that there are service dogs specifically trained to help kids with Autism? Well there are. At Autism Service Dogs of America in Oregon they train these loving dogs to help keep kids safe, secure and help them calm down if they are upset. We applied this last summer and were approved!!! Yes! While this is very exciting this journey is just beginning. In order to pay for the training of the dog, travel fees, costs for me to go get trained as a handler for a week, and for the trainer to come to our home and work with our whole family for a week we need to raise a minimum of $15,500. This sounds overwhelming but there are over 70,000 people in the city we live in Auburn WA alone, if one quarter of those would donate just a dollar we would already be at our goal! Every dollar helps. So we are holding a Dollar Drive. You can donate easily by clicking on the donate button. Also please stop by and "like" our page on facebook Austin's Autism Service Dog Dollar Drive.
Please help us give our son a miracle, the ability for security and Independence. Thank you.
Holly
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