I absolutely love this poem!! I hope everyone like it to. I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
“Holland?!” you say. “What do you mean, Holland?” I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.
But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.
So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It’s just a different place. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”
The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.
But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

Written by Emily Perl Kingsley
 Kimberly Wragge    http://www.kimsautismawareness.com

There is an old psychology phrase that goes “Reward the Good Ignore the Bad”. As difficult as this can be, it works. Children are more likely to repeat a behavior if there is a positive reinforcer or reward after wards. Now that doesn’t mean that everything your child follows your direction, you should go to the toy store. But giving them verbal praise, a high five, a hug, or other forms of positive attention will make them want to behave appropriately again. Ignoring an undesired behavior is hard but can work if they are doing it just to get your attention. A common scene is when a child will look directly at an adult and then misbehave. As long as he is not hurting anyone, ignore it and he will not get the satisfaction of watching you get mad. This method is the basis for most behavioral approachs to treating children with autism.

Kimberly Wragge  http://www.kimsautismawareness.com

Just a reminder:  Saturday, April 24, 2010 is Autism Awareness Day in Sullivan County, NY. Sullivan County BOCES is hosting a conference that will explore the impact of autism on families as well as an overview of parent’s rights and responsibilities. Parents of children with autism educated in Sullivan County are admitted free (Registration fee for others is $25). Refreshments will be served. Child care will also be provided. There will be local agencies with informational tables on available resources in the area. The workshop will be from 8am -1pm at the Sullivan County Community College. Please email fdymond@boces.org for more info.

Kimberly Wragge  http://www.kimsautismawareness.com

Saturday, April 24, 2010 is Autism Awareness Day in Sullivan County, NY. Sullivan County BOCES is hosting a conference that will explore the impact of autism on families as well as an overview of parent’s rights and responsibilities. Parents of children with autism educated in Sullivan County are admitted free (Registration fee for others is $25). Refreshments will be served. Child care will also be provided. There will be local agencies with informational tables on available resources in the area. The workshop will be from 8am -1pm at the Sullivan County Community College. Please email fdymond@boces.org for more info.

We will also be there selling our uniquely designed embroidered sweatshirts, tshirts, hats, and other “gear” to help promote autism awareness in our community. So come on out and learn more about autism in our community and enjoy the opportunity to network with other parents.

Kimberly Wragge    http://www.kimsautismawareness.com

Well, we have started the tradition of Happy Friday. Happy Friday is a celebration of making it through the long school week. During the week, the kids are not allowed to have “electronics”. Electronics includes TV, computer, video games, hand held games, etc. So on Friday, they are allowed to enjoy their electronics and stay up later than usual. We also order pizza as a special treat for dinner. Everyone counts down the days until Friday even us parents. We all love Happy Friday!!!!

Kimberly Wragge     http://www.kimsautismawareness.com

I found this excerpt from Time magazine’s website.  This is fantastic!!!!!
On April 10, thousands of children with autism will be able to do something that for many of them was impossible until recently: go to the movies. They’ll see How to Train Your Dragon at one of 93 “sensory-friendly” screenings in 47 cities across 30 states. The lights will dim but remain on, the volume will be lowered, the movie will start promptly at 10 a.m. with no previews, families with special dietary needs will be allowed to bring snacks from home, and if the kids yell or even stroll around the theater, no one will complain.

April Autism Awareness Month marks the first anniversary of the Sensory Friendly Films program, a joint venture of Autism Society. Screenings of the G- or PG-rated movies, all newly released, are held once a month on a Saturday morning. Expansion to other cities is planned.

Kimberly Wragge

http:www.kimsautismawareness.com