The International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger's Syndrome

♥Happy Valentine's Day to all!♥

Today is Valentines Day but it's also The International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger's Syndrome.  Friends from my facebook and older followers know this, but for the newer followers,  I recently got back to work.  I'm a Respite Care Provider for children with disabilities.  What that means is I go into peoples homes and give mainly the Moms a much needed break.  Sort of like daycare, but one on one.  Sometimes there's more than one in the household with a disability.  I home school them, help with home work, do limited therapy,  play games, work on what ever the parent needs.  Some of the kiddos are Autistic.  Because of my deep respect and love for these children and families, I will not discuss them, only what I know generally speaking.

   Autism is defined as "a severe developmental disorder" it shows at about birth or shortly thereafter. Most autistic children look "normal". It's in their actions you see an autistic person. They may spend their time zoning out on something like intricate toys, video games, books, TV,  or puzzles.  It affects their social skills, their imagination, the order of things (has to be just so).  Their senses are deeply affected.  Just the sound of vacuuming can send an autistic child screaming.  Uncontrollable, inconsolable....  A fluffy stuffed animal can be too much to bear.  An infant with autism may resist even their mothers cuddle.  Some can live absolute normal lives while others will need assistance the rest of their lives.  Asperger's syndrome is one of the forms of autism.

"Autism Sunday, which was established in 2002 by Ivan and Charika Corea, who have a son with the condition, is now a platform used by parents, carers and people living with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome to encourage awareness and action on the issues.  The event, which now takes place globally, is also known as the International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome."

There are over 60 million people living with autism around the world.

To find out what you can do to help visit Autism Parents

Happy 2010!!

Wow is it really 2010!! Well I sure hope you all had great holidays and made some more amazing memories with your loved ones.

2010, I can remember thinking we'd have flying cars by now. Living like the Jetsons high in the sky or something from one of those sci-fi movies with robots. But I woke up and it was just another regular day.

Get this, I had 2 weeks off straight no work, no home school ahhh it was so nice. We were able to do so many projects and get so much done. We had a lot of good, quality family time together. But this week we got back into things. I went back to work and the kids went back to school. I must say this was the break we all needed so bad. Hubby's vacation time won't come til next month or so. He was the only one that had responsibilities, lol. The kids and I slept in and went to bed late. But, we'll all be jealous of him when its his turn I'm sure.

Christmas was great the kids gifts were a hit! Nana loved her tree and everyone loved their decorations! We went a little overboard with the sweets of course but yummy! We had but one glitch in our plans. I had spent so much time on baking and making gifts I left myself very little time for making tamales. We went grocery shopping for everything a couple of days before Christmas. I started the meat the 23rd. On Christmas Eve I started the masa....... and the darn masa was bad! Yuck! So we didn't get to make the tamales we ended up having just burritos and beans. Luckily my Mom sent us home with a dozen of hers. They were tasty as always. We fought over the last couple, lol.

Our New Year has begun and my resolution to my kids was to be more patient and creative with home school. To Hubby it was to set aside more time for just us. For myself it was to become a more healthy me and tackle this anxiety, when I feel burdened and overwhelmed, give it to God and find relief. For my family it's to have more fun as a family. ♥♥♥

Peace and Love in Your New Year!