My Brother Hyrum

I thought this was the perfect clip for the last day of Autism Awareness Month.  I was super excited to find on lds.org tonight.

I am so grateful for my life.
 I am so grateful for my family.
Through all the challenges,
I wouldn't change any of it.

Happy Autism Awareness Month. :)

And the Winner of Week 4 is...

Using random.org,

the lucky winner for The Best Kind of Different is:

Janice

I'll be contacting you shortly by email.

Thanks to all who left comments. Please hop back to Team-Armstrong any time to read about the world from our perspective...  

Happy Autism Awareness Month!!

Autism Awareness Giveaway, Week 4!!

I cannot believe we are already winding down to the end of the month! Thanks to all who signed up for the giveaways. And here is one more for you!

I walked into our local Dollar General the other evening and while I was waiting in line to pay, I saw the wall behind the register decorated in blue ribbons for autism. I smiled to myself and shook my head in disbelief. And in that moment, I was taken back five years ago...


I had just put Race to sleep and was peeking in on baby Witten when the phone rang. I quietly ran to the phone so the noise wouldn't wake the baby. It was John on the other end of the line. He was driving home from reffing a football game and was calling to let me know he was on his way. And then he said, "Teddy, I just heard something on the radio." John is an avid listener to AM radio.
"Oh yeah?"
"It was about autism. Have you ever heard of that?"
"Yes, John." I said, and a few kids from the school I was teaching at popped in my head.
"Well, a lot of the things they were talking about..."
"You think Race has autism?"
"Well...it was just sounding a lot like Race."
"John, he doesn't have autism."
"But, what if he did? What do we do?"
Tears came to my eyes because if you know John, he isn't a worrier. But he was worried about this. And also, I think deep down in my heart, I knew he was right. "If he does, then we'll figure it out as we go. We'll love him. We'll help him. But you don't need to worry, ok?"

That was the first conversation we ever had about the word autism. And it was the first time we associated Race's little tendencies with a defined word. And even now, when things get a little muddy, and stressful, and we're feeling a little crazy, John and I return to that conversation, and all it's ignorant wisdom. :)

"We'll figure it out as we go. We'll love him. We'll help him."


So when it was time for me to check out at Dollar General and I started placing my few items on the counter, I said to the cashier, "That is so cool," referring to the wall of blue ribbons.
"Oh yeah. That's for autism," he said. "It's Autism Awareness month. Do you know anything about autism?"
"Just a little bit," I said with a smile.
"Well, here take this. And get on-line and learn more about it," he handed me some light it up blue info. "It's pretty interesting. And you can donate if you like as well..."

I am so grateful for the awareness that is out there now. More so than there was five years ago when autism, to me was something I knew little about. It was something scary. To me it was uncharted waters I wanted to avoid.


John and I were sitting in Tae Kwon Do last week, watching our boys interact with all their friends. And all the little kids were running around with autism stickers because Ms. Kathy had just read them a story for Autism Awareness Month. And Race was among them. And John leans over to me and says, "You know Teddy, I think autism might be the next cool thing. I mean look at him." He nods over in Race's direction and I hear my husband sigh. It was one of those good sighs.

"That's 'cuz autism is cool," is all I can say through the lump in my throat. Because I know we were both thinking about a phone conversation five years ago.

---

So, for the last giveaway of the month, the book choice of Mr. Armstrong himself,

 drum roll please...

*You do NOT have to be a follower to enter.

*I have one copy of this book to give away.

 *One winner will be announced on Friday.

*To be entered in the drawings, please leave your name and a way to contact you in the comment area of this post.  Also, we are all effected by autism in one way or another: tell us about it in your comment if you like.

Once again, thanks for stopping by, and Happy Autism Awareness Month!

And the Winner of Week 3 is...

Using random.org,

the lucky winner for Look Me in the Eye is:

A.J.

I'll be contacting you shortly by email.

Thanks to all who left comments. Please hop back to Team-Armstrong any time to read about the world from our perspective...  And please return on Monday to enter another drawing!

Happy Autism Awareness Month!!

Autism Awareness Giveaway Week 3!!

The word is snarfly.

And the definition of snarfly is:

• an autistic specific emotion, meaning the joy of feeling comfortable.

It is a word invented by Laura Nagle; I attended a screening of a documentary based on her life, called Vectors of Autism. She is an adult with autism who I've met several times through the support group I attended in Flagstaff. She is an amazing person with an amazing story to tell.  It is a MUST see.

The film is beautiful, amazing, and true.

 Thank you Laura, Susan and everyone else who helped in making this incredible film that's touching the lives of so many.

Check Laura out on her website. 

---

Throughout my craziness this past week, I thought of many great things to write about for tonight. But, life got the best of me, and I haven't had a moment to sit down and organize my thoughts. So forgive me while I go recharge my batteries and curl up on the couch and escape into my fantastic book.  

But please take some time to sign up for this, yet another awesome giveaway! 

This week's giveaway is:

Another great read that won't disappoint.

*You do NOT have to be a follower to enter.

*I will have one copy of a different book every week, so be sure to check back weekly.

 *One winner will be announced every Friday, and a new book drawing up on Mondays.

*To be entered in the drawings, please leave your name and a way to contact you in the comment area of this post.  Also, we are all effected by autism in one way or another: tell us about it in your comment if you like.


ALSO:

My fabulous friend Jenn has made a bunch of these cute bows!

We are selling them for $10 a piece and all proceeds go to supporting the Disability Awareness Scholarship at KC's Family Tae Kwon Do.

For Race, being a part of martial arts and being a member of KC's has strengthened his confidence, friendships, social awareness, core strength and body awareness dramatically. It has been the best therapy program out there for him in so many ways. There are tons of research articles that discuss the benefits of martial arts for kids with Aspergers and high functioning autism. We are so blessed to have such a great studio in the Verde Valley. Thank you KC's!!

You can purchase a bow on the side bar of my blog, and support autism and other disabilities on a local level.

Race and his buddy Dathan...

Race and the fabulous Ms. Kathy.

Thanks so much for your support, and thanks for stopping by :)

And the Winner of Week 2 is...

Using random.org,

the lucky winner for Thinking in Pictures is:

Sarah

I'll be contacting you shortly by email.

Thanks to all who left comments. Please hop back to Team-Armstrong any time to read about the world from our perspective...  And please return on Monday to enter another drawing!

Happy Autism Awareness Month!!

Autism Awareness Giveaway, Week 2!!

This last week we had a break through. I call it a small miracle.

Race and I walked into Bobby's office last Friday. Bobby is our new Speech Therapist through DDD and her office is a new place to us.

When Race first gets to a new environment that we have to commit to (a place where he knows he will be spending time, and it's not just a one time thing), he needs time to get to know the place. He needs to look in the different rooms, around corners, turn on the light switches, look out the windows, etc. Even if he's never going to be in those other parts of the environment, he needs to know they are there. And he walks around, almost fidgety, and anxiously inspecting the new place. It is a time when one can clearly see his autism. However, it usually never occurs to other people that he is nervous. But I've always known that's why he does it.

So on our first visit to Bobby's office, Race went through the routine of getting to know his new environment. And Bobby was so good to take him on a grand tour of the place. Once he and Bobby finally sat down at the table to get started on exercises, I found a place out in the lobby with my book. I could hear the discussion between the two of them because we were the only ones in the building that morning and Lane was at the library with Jo Birch.

Bobby wanted to start off with a game because she could tell Race was having a hard time settling in. She asked him a question, and honestly I don't even remember the question because I was in and out of the pages in my book. But he didn't respond. So then she asked, "Race, do you understand what I'm asking?"

And then the answer came. And I heard it as clear as a bell.

"Yes, I understand. But I'm just feeling nervous."

He said it.

A milestone.

He recognized, and then took ownership of his feelings. And then he expressed them. On his own.

A milestone.

Bobby and Race slowly settled into their lesson, and I sat out in the lobby and cried a few quiet tears of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the small miracles in our lives...

Because, five years ago, at the age of four, Race was pretty much non-verbal. We weren't sure if he would ever talk. And it was something nobody could ever answer for us because the spectrum is so broad and every case is different.

But then, the one and two word phrases came. And then he started reading. And I think the learning to read helped him start to formulate his broken sentences.

And then with time, the two way exchanging of conversation replaced the reciting of movie scenes.

And now, he is expressing his feelings on his own. Without being coached through it.

A miracle, when you think about where he was five years ago and all the catching up he has had to do.

And we are still playing catch up, and probably will be for a while. Race currently does three hours a week of intense speech therapy. Two of those hours are done through Connections Academy where he works with the fabulous Alison Graham of Pennsylvania via web cam. And the other hour is done now with Bobby through our DDD services.

Many people with high functioning autism struggle with speech throughout their lives. It is the single item that often separates what is labeled as high functioning autism and aspergers. Race may struggle with speech his entire life. Especially in emotional situations where he is upset or excited. It is in those moments that his speech delay is very noticeable.

It is hard work on his part, and sometimes I can see his frustration when he has something important to say and it just doesn't come out the way he wants it to.  He has to work so hard, to clear his mind of all the distractions so he can focus on getting his sentence said correctly.  And on busy days, days with lots of social interaction and lots of talking, he rests his head on his pillow and tells me he needs to rest his brain. Or that his brain hurts.

---

So this week's giveaway is for another one of my favorite books. Because this book really helped me have a better understanding of the way Race thinks. Because like Temple, Race thinks in pictures. And if you haven't seen the movie, it's a good one. Very well done.

This week's giveaway is:

*You do NOT have to be a follower to enter.

*I will have one copy of a different book every week, so be sure to check back weekly.
 *One winner will be announced every Friday, and a new book drawing up on Mondays.

*To be entered in the drawings, please leave your name and a way to contact you in the comment area of this post.  Also, we are all effected by autism in one way or another: tell us about it in your comment if you like.

Thanks for stopping by. :)

And the Winner of Week 1 is...

Using random.org,

the lucky winner for Mockingbird is:

Susan

I'll be contacting you shortly by email.

Thanks to all who left comments. Please hop back to Team-Armstrong any time to read about the world from our perspective...  And please return on Monday to enter another drawing!

Happy Autism Awareness Month!!

April Autism Awareness Giveaways!!!

I'm feeling the Awareness Blues... I didn't know there was such a thing until I had it this weekend. And then I diagnosed myself with it... this is how I caught it:

• This weekend, I contacted the gals I've joined in the past to do the big Autism Blog Hop every April and found out they weren't doing it this year. 

• Just this weekend, I found out our Northern AZ chapter of the Autism Society of America was closing because numbers have been down at meetings. Yes, I have been one of those numbers who haven't been in a while, but just the fact that these were the people who helped me so much in the beginning of Race's diagnosis. They have always been an anchor for me... even though I haven't been in a while.

• Just this weekend, one of my favorite autism blogs I follow had to say goodbye to her readers. 

I'm having the awareness blues. I'm feeling the winds of change within our little bubble of support, and it makes me sad, though I understand where they're coming from. In the midst of my sadness, I couldn't help but think of a talk I had read by President Uchtdorf titled, Lift Where You Stand. I went back and reread it this Easter weekend and was uplifted. Sometimes the fight is exhausting. It seems the people who need the support often end up being the ones who give the support. And sometimes the burden is too much. 

So, Thank You from the Armstrong's to all the people who have given us support when we needed it. Who lifted me in the moments I felt helpless and at a dead end. Our cups runneth over. Thank you.

And in honor of the huge support my family (especially Race) has been given in the past four years, I will be hosting my own Autism Awareness Giveaway where every week during the month of April, some of my favorite books will be given away. 

*You do NOT have to be a follower to enter.  

*I will have one copy of a different book every week, so be sure to check back weekly.
 *One winner will be announced every Friday, and a new book drawing up on Mondays.

*To be entered in the drawings, please leave your name and a way to contact you in the comment area of this post.  Also, we are all effected by autism in one way or another: tell us about it in your comment if you like.

So, this week's book is one of my favorites:
Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine

New Research is showing now 1 in 88 kids is diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).  It effects all of us and awareness is so very important. Talk to your kids about autism.  As a parent of a child with autism, one of the big struggles we deal with is social interaction.  Again, please talk to your kids about autism, we need more awareness and understanding from the younger generation, from the peers of these amazing kids. Especially since the numbers are only rising.

Thanks for stopping by. :)