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. :)