"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

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Team Brycen 2011 was a SUCCESS!

Wonderful weather accompanied the Iowa Walk Now for Autism Speaks yesterday!  After donations were submitted yesterday, Team Brycen's total raised for 2011 was $5006 with 36 walkers participating!  2011 was definitely a success!
Team Brycen 2011
Iowa Walk Now for Autism Speaks, June 11 in West Des Moines

Thank you to everybody who donated to the team and a huge thank you to everybody who came out to show support through walking yesterday! 

Below is a list of those who could walk and how they know Brycen:
Grandma & Grandpa O'Connell
Grandma & Grandpa Timmer
Uncle Craig, cousins Samantha & Emma
Uncle Pat, Aunt Erin, and cousin Abigail
Aunt Brenda, Uncle John, and cousin Jocelyn
Great-Uncle Dean, Great-Aunt Norma, and second cousin Tom
Family friends Lori, Josh, Kurt, Anna, and Aiden
Family friends Megan, Taylor, and Sawyer
Second cousin Ariel and boyfriend Austin
Babysitter Mallory and boyfriend Austin
Family friends Ryan, Lisa, Hannah, Elijah

While the 2011 walk is over, it doesn't mean the fight is even close to being won!  The kids and adults diagnosed with Autism is increasing at an alarming rate and research is constantly needed to determine the best therapies, provide the best home and educational services, and give opportunities to these people to succeed in the world.  Support is not just needed in monetary donations each year during our fundraising for Team Brycen, but support and understanding is needed every single day when you see someone that needs a little extra help with accomplishing a task or a parent that needs an extra smile while enduring a rough day.  Autism is all around us and though awareness is there, we still have a long way to go to understanding just how hard it can be for families to go through this every day.  Thank you again for a wonderful year for Team Brycen...and we will see you in about 6 months to start planning the 2012 Team Brycen!  
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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.