Heavy Lifting – an inspiring story

We all have a lot of time & energy invested in our kids, especially our kids on the ASD spectrum. And I'm sure that anyone reading this, myself included, would do/buy/give anything to gain a cure for their child. I also believe that many parents out there have put aside their own hobbies, interests, and even dreams, in order to provide a better life for their "baby."

Enter Melanie Roach.

Here's the story of an Olympic athlete who will be competing this summer in Beijing, who is also a mom to 3 kids - one who has autism. There's no doubt who I'll be rooting for!

Take a few minutes to watch this heartwarming (and powerful) story.  (http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=FRdamp271826)   Then get ready to take on the world!

Thanks to my friend and colleague, Dru Bloomfield, for sending me this story. (Dru has more drive and energy than most of us - I'm a little bit surprised she's never shown me a gold medal of her own!)



Non-verbal is NOT non-intelligent

I just saw the most powerful video I've seen in a long time.

Amanda Baggs is 27-years old. She is autistic, and is non-verbal. She performs many of the odd, repetitive tasks that we've all grown accustomed to. And she needs help with simple daily tasks (cooking, cleaning, etc).

But Amanda Baggs is NOT unintelligent. Armed with a Dynavox, a Dell Computer (she types 120 words per minute), and a Sony digital camera that can record video, she shot, edited, and uploaded this amazing video.
 
 

8:36 video. The first 3 minutes or so show Amanda and some of her "stims". The remaining 5 minutes show her discussing what she's doing and why.

I saw this video on an article at wired.com. The article talks about the video, and Amanda, in much greater detail.



Ad: Many of today's Digital Cameras can record video.


Starbucks raising autism awareness

I know a lot of people who like to complain about Starbucks (or any big company) taking over the world, but I also know a lot of people who drink Starbucks coffee!

A couple of days ago our friend paused to read "The Way I See It" quoted on her cup, and was pleasantly surprised to see they were quoting Bob Wright (former CEO of NBC) promoting autism awareness and early intervention.

The Way I See It #264: Every 20 mintues – less time than it will take you to drink your coffee – another child is diagnosed with autism. It's much more common than people think, with one out of every 150 children diagnosed. Learn the early warning signs of autism, and if you're concerned about your child's development, talk to your doctor. Early intervention could make a big difference in your child's future.
 

 

We talk about awareness a lot, and as much as we like to think that every individual counts – some people count more than others. People with high profile lives or influential positions have the ability to generate more awareness than the average person or family. Bob Wright probably didn't know much about autism before his grandchild was diagnosed (just my guess), but shortly thereafter we saw Autism Awareness Week on NBC! Then he founded Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org), which has become one of the major players in the autism world and funds millions of dollars worth of research and other charities.

It's nice to see support where you didn't expect it, so Kudos to Starbucks. Could they do more? Of course – we all could. But they're doing something, and not every company out there can say that.



Ad: Here are some other great Coffee ideas.