Autism Treasury in Treasury West

I have just been made aware that there is a new treasury in treasury west that is centered on autism awareness. It was so thoughtful of Cape Cod Consignments to create this treasury!

If you are unfamiliar with etsy.com let me explain. Treasury West is an alternate treasury to the one on the etsy site, although just as popular. Treasuries last afew days, and when they expire, users can claim a spot and create a new one. It is not an easy thing to claim a treasury spot, and once claimed the creator fills it with creations found on etsy. I personally find it to be a great honor when someone chooses one of my items to fill a spot in a treasury they create.

Many of the etsy sellers in this treasury are autism parents and/or supporters of the cause. Many belong to the street team Etsy For Autism. Use the search "Etsy For Autism" in the etsy.com search bar to see other handmade items by these team members.

CHECK IT OUT! It lasts until Saturday:Autism Treasury

Merry Christmas!

Eli came home from school one day dressed like Rudolph with his lunch on his face and a big smile! Too cute.

Vaccines

I have blogged on this topic before back in July, but I didn't feel like I had good resources for new parents who had concerns about vaccinations.

I have a new niece and my sister has asked me for an alternative vaccine schedule. My first response was, "There is no alternative schedule, because the American Pediatrics Association does not recognize that there is a connection between vaccines and autism because the CDC denies that there is a relationship!" Ok, so I am alittle bit passionate about this.

After deciding to take a look anyway and see what I could find, I DID find some resources for my sister. Here they are.

This one was given to me by my son's DAN! doctor: A User-Friendly Vaccine Schedule

This one I found on Ginger's blog: Generation Rescue's Vaccine Page

And lastly I'd like to share Ginger's blog. She is not a medical professional, but an autism mom who writes about the current controversy surrounding this subject as it relates to autism: Adventures in Autism

Conventional Cotton

My journey with autism in my family has taught me to look at earth conservation in a new light. I believe that many diseases, including autism, are brought upon us in part by our environment, or rather, our lack of care for it.

I was playing with google one day and I came up with the stats that only 5% of all crops are cotton, yet 25% of all pesticides/fertilizers are used to produce commercial cotton. Also that the production of three conventional cotton t shirts require the use of one whole pound of pesticides and fertilizers. I am not bothering to cite sources on this one because I found these same stats on MULTIPLE sites.

In my little family we are doing some small things to try to combat this issue. First of all, we shop thrift stores first. Thrift stores have more variety and they are easier on our budget. More importantly, buying second hand prevents use of more harmful chemicals for the creation of a new outfit, and that fact alone gives us so much pride in our thrift store purchases! We do not have any sources of organic clothing in our area as far as our knowledge goes, which is really very sad. If anyone knows of one, or of a good online source, do tell.

Recycling pre loved fabrics is something that I do in my studio and I am very grateful for my family's support in this. I make clothing items out of old worn out fabrics. Recently I made myself a long sleeved t shirt out of afew of my husband's old t shirts that would have gone in the trash. I find using preexisting fabrics to create new fashions very exciting because, once again, reusing fabric prevents the use of harmful chemicals. Some of my creations I post in my etsy shop.

Speech Progress!

Autism causes caused developmental delay that often severely tampers with speech development. Our son not only has autism, (inherited from the family,) he also has additional issues with speech. (Also inherited from the family.) He has had many "Eli" words for many of his favorite things for a long time. For example, "Go-Go" was Gordon the train from Thomas and Friends for quite a while. I just had to write a little post to say that we have had some things going for us in the speech department lately.

Eli's doctor has put him on a pretty high dosage of vitamin E, which of course he monitors. He said that it helped with speech development. Also, at Eli's new autism preschool he receives significantly more speech therapy than he used to. (Next week the speech therapist is even meeting with me to teach me things we can to at home with him. Exciting!) The result of these changes has been just pure awesomeness. Yesterday after some coaching Eli learned how to say "Thomas" correctly. He has always loved Thomas the Tank Engine, but for the longest time he has called him "Boo-Ess," then he was "Mum-Ess." Now at age 4 and 1/2 he can finally call him Thomas! We could not be prouder. Now if I can just get him to stop saying "Bups" for "Grapes."

The Neighbor Boy

My son has a little friend in our duplex who is just his age. For being only 4, his little friend has been pretty understanding and patient with Eli. They run around together in the yard we share and ride their bikes up and down the driveway together. Sometimes his friend comes over and they watch TV or watercolor together.

Just recently though I have been noticing that his friend has been starting to take advantage of the fact that Eli has a hard time communicating. On acouple of occasions very recently Eli's friend has done little naughty things to him, like taking things from him, when I am not looking. Once I noticed a little smirk on his face when Eli couldn't tell me what was wrong.

Now of course I am not mad at the little neighbor boy. He is probably behaving age appropriately for whatever typical 4 year old phase he is going through. Most little boys probably would have started this type of behavior long before now. I should probably explain to his mother because I happen to know it is very important to her that her son learn how to interact and have patience with people who have special challenges. I know she will be able to gently explain to him why his behavior is not appropriate in a way that he can relate and understand.

I am finding myself upset about this today because it's alittle bit traumatizing to me. It makes me scared for my son and how people may treat him in the future. If you are familiar with the play, "Flowers for Algernon," you'll remember that Charlie, the man with special challenges in the play has coworkers who he says are his friends. All these men do all day is poke fun at Charlie and laugh at him. Although Eli is very bright and I hope for much recovery for him, I do not know what level he will be at socially when he is, say, a teen. Or when he enters the work force. It makes me afraid of people taking advantage of him because of his challenges.

Dear God, protect him. Even from his friends.