I wanted to give credit to those friends and family that are giving up a Saturday to support Brycen and all others affected by Autism by walking this Saturday in the Iowa Walk Now for Autism Speaks!
Below are the walkers and how they know/are related to Brycen:
Me, Mike, & Aubree- if you don't know who we are, you might want to read the info on the side of the blog!
Kyle & Katie Baker- Kyle works with Mike at Fareway in Storm Lake since we moved here three years ago. Katie is Kyle's wife! Their generosity to take time off from work and drive down to Des Moines for the walk is amazing!
Mallory Hinkeldey- Mallory has been babysitting for us since shortly after Aubree was born. She has been there through Brycen's regression, and is the most mature babysitter we have ever had! She is dependable, loves our children, and even created a presentation about Autism for a class at school! We trust her with our kids...and that says a lot considering there are very few people in this world that we can walk out that door and know that our children are in the best hands!
Dan & Shirley O'Connell- These are my parents that live back in Evansdale. Despite being 3 hours away, they drop everything to help us out with the kids knowing our dilemna with daycare and our job duties. My mom is our only respite provider for Brycen, as just like Mallory, she is one I know we can count on for a break overnight or even for just a few hours when they are here or we are back in Evansdale. My dad retired last year, so we make sure to give him plenty of jobs (like fixing the hose, snowblowing, etc) when he is here to make him feel like he is still employed...and he NEVER complains about helping us out!
Lori Reynolds- Lori is a dear friend of mine since I was born (that's 30 years people). Our parents/families have always been close and though Lori and I lost touch for a few years, we have since been back on track. We share everything about our children and she is the one I know I can call/email with anything and know she will NEVER judge me for what I say or complain about! Here's to another 30 years of a great friendship!
Brenda & John Roushkolb- Brenda is my older sister and her husband is John. They live in Kansas City, and Brenda is great about making sure to travel to see the kids about twice a year. I know if I ever needed anything, she would drop everything to get here! Just like Lori, I know I can call her to vent about something...and she is the godmother of both Brycen and Aubree, so I think that speaks for itself!
Brent, Megan, Taylor, & Sawyer Sanders- Megan worked with me at EPI in Waterloo for about 9 months before we both moved away the same month; she to Des Moines to be closer to family, and our family to SL for Mike's job. We have stayed in touch for the last three years and have children very close in age! Megan and I now work together at the agency in Urbandale (she pretty much got me the job). I can count on Megan and Brent for anything! They both work with children/adults with disabilities and though our schedules don't allow for our families to get together, I would trust them in a heartbeat with Brycen! They are the ones that didn't hesitate to let us use their home and yard for the grill out following the walk, as well as housing the 4 of us on Friday night. They make me feel so comfortable when I stay at their house and I have loved seeing both Taylor and Sawyer get so big!
Ann Spaine- Ann works with Megan and I. Though I don't know her very well (yet!), her support of wanting to walk for Brycen's team is fabulous! Ann is the sweetest, least judgemental person I have met through my job and I appreciate her and her daughter giving up family time on a Saturday to join us!
Craig Timmer- Craig is Mike's older brother, as well as our nieces, Samantha & Emma are walking. Craig does a great job of interacting with Brycen and asks so many good questions about Autism and how it affects us. Samantha and Emma are going to be the best babysitters some day and we love when we can see them when we go back home! They are very sensitive to Brycen's needs which we appreciate, especially with how young they are!
Mark & Carol Timmer- These are Mike's parents and they live in Vinton, so they also have over a 3 hr drive to come and visit us. Aubree and Brycen love their grandma & grandpa as they will take them on walks and read books with them non-stop when they visit. Mark & Carol have been very supportive through this entire last year and have also come to help us out with the kids when we both need to work. We appreciate any time we can spend with them! Since Mark is a retired Fareway manager, he and Mike always have things to talk about and I know that Mark and Carol will always be very supportive and understanding of the many moves we will have to make over the years since they went through the same thing before and after Mike was born.
Heather Wheeler- Heather and I worked together at EPI many years ago! Heather has two little girls, Hannah & Hailey, that will be walking/riding along with us at the walk. Heather now lives in Waukee with her husband and the girls and we lost touch for many years after we both left Waterloo...and recently found each other through Facebook! I am so excited to see her again as so much of our lives have changed since we last visited...and words are not enough to thank her for her amazing support for Brycen (someone she has never even met)!
So, there they are! Our wonderful group of walkers for Saturday that are fully supportive of Brycen and this disorder that affects so many people around us. These walkers have raised over $2700 at this point, with another almost $200 in transit to the Autism Speaks office in California. We are forever grateful to all of those who are walking and who donated to this wonderful cause...many of them who do not even know Brycen! With Brycen's diagnosis and the ups and downs we have encountered over this last year, we have realized who our family and friends really are and truly can never put into words how much they all mean to us!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
"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
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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.
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.
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