It's time to start walking! WOOT!

Did you know that it's Autism Awareness Month? What better time to kick off our fund raising and team recruiting efforts for the Tacoma Walk Now for Autism 2008 Walk!

I've set up my personal page and our team page! As you can see THE WALKROUNDIGANS won! WOO HOO!

My main goal in this walk? Is to raise awareness. Let people know what autism REALLY is. It's not rainman. It's not unaffectionate shells of children. It's not something evil and bad. Mostly? It's not something to be afraid of! It's not contagious. It's not caused by bad parenting. It's definitely not the end of the world! So many people are so afraid of their child 'getting' autism! Yet without autism I wouldn't have Liam! Without Liam my world wouldn't be complete.

Autism isn't a fad. It's on the rise though. Research shows varying statistics...the least being 1 in 166 children being affected. That is a LOT of children. I have no doubt that things like better screening tools, less fear, and more aware parents are part of the reason for the increase. There may be other increases too. And this is why we walk. To figure out WHY and to figure out how to help mesh autism and traditional life together.

What can you do? Well...you can sign up to walk with us! the walk is July 19th in Tacoma, WA. I don't care if you don't know us! Come out and walk with us anyways. Obviously you know SOMETHING if you're here! Sign up is easy to do. Or hey! Start your own team! The goal is all the same! Sign up for a walk in your own town! There are walks all over the place all year long!

You can also go to My Page and make a donation. I've set a darn easy to achieve goal. Hell! If everyone who visits daily gave just $1 I'd have my goal instantly!

Things you can do that take no money and no walking?

* Learn the Signs of Autism there are many more than you think.

* Pass on this info! Cut and paste whatever you want! Link to the walk pages! Whatever you want!

* Are you local? Go to the Seattle Mariner's game that supports autism Autism Awareness Night is Wednesday, May 7th. Tickets are discounted through that site! Plus? $7 of each ticket goes towards autism research!

* If you suspect something is even the SLIGHTEST bit off about a child you know? Be it autism, speech delay, motor delay, etc? Do EVERYONE a favor and don't be afraid to bring it up! I know it can be frightening to tell something something may be less than typical in their child but sometimes parents just don't see! And early intervention is so important! Screening is free! Every state has an early intervention program. Contact your local school district for more information on the birth to three programs available in your area (I also know other public health facilities have the contact info as well such as WIC, DSHS, etc)

Just listening to my long winded ramble means so much! Just knowing you now know WHO and WHAT autism is really all about makes me smile. I encourage you to look at this monkey:



And realize that he has autism but that's not all of who he is. He's loving. And funny. And goofy. He loves tickles and wrestling with his sister. He still drinks from a bottle and has a ridiculous limited food intake. He works his butt off every single day in therapy pushing himself harder than any 2 1/2 year old should have to do and every day amazing me with his ability to recover even when it's too much. He likes to 'read' books and loves to do puzzles! He hates wearing socks and loves to put hats on people. His number knowledge is astounding. Counting as high as 14, putting the number 1-9 (plus 0 at the end) in order. Then backwards. Counting up. And down. Everything he sees. Screaming out numbers as we pass by signs. He loves cars and backyardigans and pigs and elephants. He snuggles better than anyone ever (don't tell his sister). He's huge for his age with a heart to match. He loves to feed his parents (while refusing to feed himself!) French fries make his world go round. His language is slow going but his determination unbelievable. His use of PECS system is getting better daily. His word use constantly growing. He likes playing on slides, climbing on everything, and making big messes. He is every bit a 2 1/2 year old...just with additional lessons to learn and to teach.

Liam is what autism is really about. There are people with severe autism. Who resemble the cases people 'fear'. The majority of people with autism lay more on the other side of the spectrum. You'd never know unless you were told or spent extensive time with him. They fit none of the stereotypes and constantly surprise people.

If nothing else? I hope my participation in this walk teaches people that no two autistic people are alike. They aren't hopeless or helpless. We can all learn from them by taking the time to view the world a little differently.

After all differences make the world go round.

~M