"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Autism Speaks walk 2010


Please join us in supporting Brycen with the 2010 Autism Speaks walk in West Des Moines on the morning of Saturday, June 19! Mike and I will be forming a team in honor and support of Brycen (and of course all the other children affected by Autism). If you would like more details about the location of the walk, time, etc...please follow the link below to the Autism Speaks website. We will be starting a team page through the site that will provide information for walkers and for those who would like to donate to the team! I know it is still 6 months away, but Autism doesn't wait for anybody! We need to plan ahead and show as much support as possible for this wonderful organization that focuses on research and education about Autism.

If you have a business or if you work for a business that would like to donate, we will be including any business names on the t-shirt my cousin will be designing for us to wear that day also! More details to follow soon once we get our page up and running!

Thanks again for all the support you have given us and for all the support/donations that will be given as we prepare for the walk!

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  1. Mrs RoushDecember 17, 2009 at 11:43 AM

    This has got to be one of my most favorite pictures of him ever. I love it!

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Autism and Our Family

"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.

Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!

Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.

Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.