Message of Autism Positivity for #IWishIDidntHaveAspergers

A couple of weeks ago, someone somewhere googled “I Wish I Didn’t Have Aspergers”.  The phrase popped up in a blogging dashboard and struck the blogger as being particularly sad.  And so the Autism Positivity Flash Blog was born. 
Wouldn't it be great if EVERYONE with an Autism blog took part in this flash blog today. It could help one person, it could help 100.  It doesn't matter. I think what matters is, that the autism community as a whole is the most supportive group of people I have never met! So as far as a positive look on autism, that my friends, is at the top of my list. I have "met" so many great people online since my son was officially diagnosed, and the support has been overwhelming. Its almost as if we are all one big autistic family <3.
One thing that stands out in my mind, is that #IWishIDidntHaveAspergers needs to know, he/she is NOT alone. Though never meeting any one of us, we are all going through  similar trials, and if another in the community needs a shoulder to cry on, or a boost up, any one of us is there to help. 
I have to admit though, not every day am I always so upbeat and positive. I too have my moments where I think, "God, why us? Why him?" Its not long before the voice inside my head tells me LJ was chosen for this "struggle" for a reason, and we, his parents, were also chosen to guide him through it for a reason.
I can say that my son's autism has already taught me so much. I am more patient, more compassionate, more understanding. I look at all children differently now. I have always seen them as gifts from God, but now when I see one in public giving mom and dad a super hard time, I DO NOT think "brat" I think, " I wonder????" 
Another great thing autism has done for us is bring us closer together. Before the diagnosis, hubs and I argued quite a bit. He would tell me I was spoiling our son, and making him bratty. I would tell him he was too hard on him. (This momma knew there was something more going on with LJ!) After Lj's official dx it was like a proverbial weight had been lifted off our shoulders. I won't lie, I did cry, a lot at first. In no time at all however, I dove into researching Autism head first, and one of the first things I learned is, WE WEREN'T ALONE!!!! For me, that was a HUGE relief. 
My son LJ calls Autism his Super Powers, and I tend to agree. Its a great way to look at life!
If I could suggest anything to #IWishIDidntHaveAspergers, it would be to get online. Whether it be facebook, twitter, google plus, ANY social networking site, and find others like you. The Aspergers/ASD community is large, and will make you feel not so alone, because you aren't alone :)!

I am so sorry that you feel this way #I Wish I Didn’t Have Aspergers. For whatever reason, maybe someone was hurtful to you? If so, know that not everyone is like that. There are many of us who would be there to support you, and not judge you!
Also, I would love to hug you, because for me, a hug always makes me feel better :)


Please join with us on the last day of Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month – April 30^th – in a flash blog of autism positivity.
To Participate CLICK HERE!!

This Autism Positivity Flash Blog Event is the brainchild of Thinking About Perspectives, a group of bloggers committed to increasing autism awareness and acceptance via open and respectful dialogue.  We are:  30 Days of Autism, Outrunning the Storm, The Third Glance, Aspie Kid,Flappiness Is, Quirky and Laughing, Life on the Spectrum, Fairy Tale Forgotten, The Aspie Side of Life, and Inner Aspie.

Thank God for Ryan :)

Whew! What a week it has been. I am glad its almost over. LJ is scheduled for a tonsillectomy next Wednesday and the following Tues hubby goes in for major back surgery, so its only going to get more hectic. I guess that's why I love Ryan Friday's so much. When I sit down to make my pics, for that amount of time, my mind is thinking of something other than: the house being a wreck, which appointment/therapy is on the agenda, will LJ have a meltdown free day, will he eat today, oh the list goes on! So here, are my Ryan's for the week. I hope he takes your mind to a better place for a little bit as well....

I sure hope so Ryan!!!

Woo hoo! Ryan to the rescue!!!

Mmmm, looks good, can play guitar, can sing. The PERFECT trifecta :)

Don't forget to head on over the Adventures in Extreme Parenthood  and check out Sunday's blog to see her Ryan's and all the others that link up :)

Happy Friday to you all, and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Shoelace issues solved!!!!!

Just stumbled across something so cool. Do any of you have problems keeping your kiddos shoes tied? Or do your kiddos have a hard time tying them? I know my son doesn't know how yet, and I really don't like velcro shoes. Well I found a great product called U-Lace. They turn any laced shoes into slip ons. How cool is that? They also look really cool and come in so many colors. I emailed the CEO Tim Talley about how great these are. He said he originally made them because they looked cool, but then received feedback by special needs parents about how these laces helped their kiddos. So I signed up to be a U-Lace ambassador because I think many parents and kiddos would benefit from U-Laces. So go to the website, and if you agree that these are the bomb, and you want to place an order, make sure you use the promo code ausomemomma. That will get you 15% off you order :) Also, if you do order, I would love to hear what you think :)

U-Lace website

LJ was stoked and said, "momma! I can do it all by myself, yay!!!!"

Don't forget to use ausomemomma as your promo code for 15% off your order!

Thank you Ryan!!!

Oh am I glad its Friday!!!!! Tomorrow we are off to Langhorne Pa to take Liam to Variety's Autism day at Sesame Place. We all need this break something fierce as this week has been another week from hell! I suspect there will be many more to come as we are now fighting with the school. I should say I have declared war on this school, because I am tired of their lies. They can't even keep them straight, and when I call them out on it, they tell me, "I don't know where you got that info." Why from your mouth, thats where!!! Wish it were legal to record their conversations with me!!!!! ANYWAY, I was so glad to make my Ryan's for today. It was great therapy for me :) So without further ado, here they are, ENJOY!!!

This one is by far my favorite :D

Oh how I wish Ryan would come to the school and kick some butt!!!

I would love some help in the kitchen from him, lol

Hope you all have a great Friday, and don't forget to head over to Sunday's blog and check out her Ryan's and all the other link ups!

Oh I'm sorry, did I offend you????

So, yesterday I blogged the Some Ecards pics I had made. I had also posted them to Pinterest they day before yesterday. I noticed last night while I was on Pinterest that someone had commented on this one.... 

This was her comment, " I teach student with Autism. I genuinely appreciate parents who advocate for their children. But I must say, this kind of hurt my feelings."  Now, I am  the type of person that hates to hurt other people, but its like this, I have talked to so many parents that have the same complaint, IEP meetings are hell! Also, let me not fail to mention, that everyone has their story, and unless you know, it don't be too quick to judge. I understand she may be a teacher, so she sees it from the educational stand point, well see it from a mother's stand point. Have an autistic child that tried to attend kindergarten for the LRE, then watch as that child shuts down completely. Then sit and listen to your child tell you he was placed in a hallway for 4 days due to sensory overload and crying. Have meetings with the school and be told, "a clinical dx is NOT the same as an educational dx. Your son doesn't qualify for an IEP or 504 because he is NOT in need of special ed. The Autistic support class is full, you'll never get in." My list goes on. My point is, if she were in my shoes, I think she would feel this picture was actually humorous. I will not apologize for my stab at making this hectic and terrible ordeal funny in order for me to cope better. Bottom line, put your big girl panties on and suck it up. If you don't like what someone posts, mind your business and move on.....

I am going to link the Pinterest photo this post regards, feel free to leave your own comments. :)

CLICK HERE

Fun with Some Ecards...

So now I am addicted to making those ecards that float around facebook. Its much more fun when u can make your own. Of course mine are autism based, because lets face it, thats our lives now, lol. What's really cool is one in particular I posted on my community page, and now I see it popping up everywhere! I figured many other parents would be able to relate to it. It kind of sucks that so many of us can relate to it because in my opinion, we should not have to fight so hard to get our special kiddos the proper education in a proper environment. I really thought one of the perks of living in the US was the right to an education, but for our kids that doesn't seem so :( 
On a happier note, here are my pics, with the most popular first...

I forgot this one....

I really enjoyed making these, and when I make some more I will post them. Maybe I should start my own meme?? :)

For those interested, I have started a community facebook page to create awareness and share. You can check it out at  https://www.facebook.com/ALegionForLiam

Friday the 13th.....

I am so glad its Friday!!! Though yesterday was hell, I now realize today is Friday the 13th and I really hope today is better than yesterday because I fear for the safety of others if it's not, JK, but seriously, it better be better! We had a meeting with LJ's intended school district yesterday.(the one he attended for 4 days, and because of his crying due to over stimulation, they made sit in the hallway for 4 days, and at no point told me anything was wrong.) Long story short his Dr. of psych wants him to attend a classroom in the next district over for ASD kiddos. NEB tells me, its full, theres a waiting list, he first has to have a hard time in their school before they can consider it, oh and the kicker....wait for it......."a clinical diagnosis of autism is not the same as an educational diagnosis." They want to re do his psycho educational testing?!?!?! What is that gonna do other than piss him off because he already went through that once! Oh, and lets not forget, according to them, "he doesn't qualify for an IEP because he doesn't need special education services." Apparently they think I am below average intelligence to actually believe this crap! I have been making phone calls, and will make more today. Our case worker has suggested an advocate from Harrisburg :) Take care that NEB school district!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANYWAY, now that my venting is out of the way, here is my Ryan for the week <3

Don't forget to head over to Sunday's blog to see her Ryan's and all the others that linked up this week. Its sure to put a smile on your face :)

Mean time, I will be steering clear of ladders, black cats, and anything else that may make this day as bad as yesterday, lol.

Liam's Bully Project

Today we made another video. This time LJ wanted to make a video about bullying. He LOVES the new Taylor Swift song Mean, and wanted to use that to tell others about bullying. Its becoming so media worthy, (as it should) and Liam wanted to do his part in making others aware. He also has been "picked on and it makes me sad." (his own words)  I wrote up 6 questions, and "interviewed" him this morning. While he was in therapy, I wrote his answers on cue cards. He doesn't like to talk on camera, so we just took pics like we did for his last video. This morning he and I looked up some statistics on bullying and made some pics using the info, and so his bullying video was born :) PLEASE watch it, watch it with your kids, and SHARE it. Spread the word that BULLYING HURTS!!!!! 

HERE IS THE LINK, (FOR SOME REASON I CAN'T UPLOAD IT RIGHT TO THIS ENTRY)    LIAM'S BULLY PROJECT

Hoppy Easter!!!

Gearing up for another Easter! I love this time of year. Spring brings a feeling of being renewed! LJ is excited about a visit from EB and his egg hunt at nana and papa's. We have colored our eggs (all 3 1/2 dozen) and deviled some eggs. We have our FRESH polish kielbasa thawing, no Hillshire Farms crap, REAL polish kielbasa. My mom makes it well, but I have to admit I miss the way gramma makes it... All we have left to do is to make our Easter cupcakes for dessert tomorrow. My parents and sis give up sweets for Lent, so what a better way to enjoy the end of lent than with some yummy cupcakes. I gave up wine (yes, I am aware now that that was CRAZY!!!!!) So I plan on indulging a bit tomorrow evening :) 
I want to post a few pics of our eggs, the ones we dyed for the deviled eggs came out really neat. I suggest it to everyone and plan on doing them like this from now on. I'm also gonna share some pics of a game I made up yesterday for Lj and his cousin....


                                EGG COLORING~ NOTE: a whisk works great to hold the eggs for                                   dyeing, especially for clumsy little hands :)

LJ's eggs..

In these mugs are the eggs for the swirled devil eggs, I simply cracked the eggs, and let them soak in egg dye (without vinegar) for a few hours.

This is how they looked when they were ready to be peeled.

Ready to be deviled. They turned out so cool!

Can't wait to eat these :)

Now, the following pics are of our new game. Its a variation of the game Recycled Jug Catcher from OT Plan. It works on eye-hand coordination skills in addition to developing fine motor skills.

All we did was use eggs instead of balls of paper. LJ loved it, as did his cousin and a few of the neighborhood kiddos.

This was a great game, as they were having fun while working on the following skills: 

Bilateral Hand Use, Cutting, Eye-Hand Coordination, Hand Arches/Separation, Motor Planning, Pincer Grasp, Visual Perception

                                                  The OT Plan sight is awesome, and since my son isn't currently working with an OT I use it alot to help him myself at home.


I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. From my family to yours.....

Yay! Its Ryan Friday!!!

Another week, and I made it to Friday, with only a few extra gray hairs :) This has been a busy week for us, well then again, our weeks are always busy! BUT....LJ was on tv, and we are all so very proud of the little advocate he is becoming! He made two videos with me for awareness, and did a great job! Also the Greater Good Network Austim Site has shared our story a few times, with likes totaling over 8,000, woo hoo!!!!! 
Without any further ado, here is my lovely Ryan for the week.....

Spring means more bike riding here, and I am trying to get my son off the training wheels, thus the inspiration for my Ryan this week.

Speaking of Ryan Gosling, while I was on the HLN site watching LJ's story, I found this one on Ryan, head over to check it out.

Click here....

Don't forget to head over to Sunday's blog to check out her Ryan meme and all the others than participate this week...

Happy Friday and Happy Easter to you all <3

LJ on TV...

I am so proud of my lil man. The story we submitted to CNN iReport was aired yesterday and today on HLN. Liam is at the very end, with his very powerful, "Don't judge me before you know me!!!!"  We have already gotten two phone calls from people saying they saw him :) He thinks he is "famous" now, lol.  Click here to see the story. Way to go Liam, we are all so proud of you buddy!!!

Giant Sensory Bag

Yesterday I was burning time while LJ was in therapy, so I was on Pinterest. Found an 'au'some idea for a giant sensory bag from the Mommies Made Me Do It blog.  She gives credit to her inspiration from the Play at Home blog. I was so excited to try it, not long after we got home, I had hubby dig out some bin liners that my daddy brings me from his work. Not as big as the ones in the blogs, but I wanted to try it, before we bought stuff to make one and it didn't turn out right :). I am happy to say, it worked great!!!! Lj had a blast on this thing. As did all the other kids in the neighborhood who stopped by.


I wish I had taken pics of the before and after process for this post, but again, I was too excited to think about that. So here's what I did.... 
                     I took the bag, and since only one end was open, I Duct taped MOST of that end closed, leaving room to fill it. I taped it closed, then folded it over and reinforced it with more tape. LJ picked neon blue for his water, so I let him squeeze in a whole tube of food coloring, and then we started to fill. This took a bit, and LJ lost interest. When it was about 2/3 full I then finished taping the end closed, again folding it over to reinforce the duct tape seam. Here is what it looked like when we finished.

Couldn't hold lil man back any more! Time to let him enjoy it!!

First he laid on it....

Then he explored how it felt to his hands. In doing so, he found a lady bug. *NO LADYBUGS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS SENSORY BAG* It must have been a shell of a ladybug that was on or in the end of the hose.

It made a great landing platform for somersaults and cartwheels...

Now we're back to slapping it to see how the water moves...

LJ enjoyed moving the water around almost as much as he enjoyed jumping and flopping all over it!

He actually started to get tired from it....

All in all, it was a success!! I can't wait to get some bigger plastic, or even cut and tape together some more bin liners. Bigger is better :) As a momma, I loved that this provided LJ with Tactile, Vestibular, and Proprioceptive input, all at the same time. LJ thought he was playing, in reality he was getting some much needed sensory therapy :)

NOTE: This held up great!!!! Only a tiny bit of water leaked from my Duct Tape seam. We left it up last nite, and right now its 23 degrees, so we shall see how it held up to freezing temps in a bit :)

We Are BLUE, Are You?

The Following is a collection of pics of Lj's family and friends that have gone blue in honor of him, and all others living with Autism. You too can Go Blue and raise some awareness!   

 

                                        

Thank you all for your love and support of my son!!!!! To have so many people standing behind him is the greatest feeling in the world!

<3, Courtney

Also, if you haven't yet, please check out Liam's video :)

Also, LJ and some other great kiddos are featured in Autism Moms video. Please check it out, its AUSOME! Click the link below :)

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???