It was a beautiful summer day at Seward Park for Morgan Jr and I to make good on his reward for 5 days in a row of following his morning schedule to go to school. Who knew that Water 1st was holding an event to raise money and awareness for developing countries which don't have easy access to clean drinking water. You can read more about today's event, which raised more than $35,000, at http://www.water1st.org/events/CARRY5.html.
Apparently the event required participants to carry 5 gallons of water for 5 miles along Lake Washington Blvd, representing the distance that most families from poorer countries have to travel to get water. As you can see by this video, my son was not concerned in the least.
As others filled their milk jugs, gas cans and buckets in preparation for the trek, Morgan luxuriated in the coolness of Lake Washington. I don't know if other moms feel like me or if the accumulated effect of too little sleep colored my response to today's events, but it does seem that no matter what is going on, autism is not too far behind.
My first reaction was - why are they raising money for people half way around the world when their are millions that need help right here. I quickly reminded myself that diversity also means that we all get to choose the issues that move us off the couch to march, give and support.
I watched my son lounging on his inflatable whale, oblivious to all the commotion, and felt a twang of sadness mixed with jealousy. How I wished that I could take part in an effort that I could leave with the organizers when I was done. If only my son could walk beside me in an effort to eradicate poverty, or in support of gay rights or, like today, to provide clean water.
I have walked in the Walk for the Cure sponsored by Autism Speaks & Defeat Autism Now for 2 years and the end of each, I took the cause home with me. Autism awareness month is in April, but for me and thousands upon thousands more, it's every day.
I still have high hopes for my son that one day he will have the awareness to care about people far away or who are very different from ourselves. We will then walk and carry signs, join like minded families and friends, donate money and encourage others to do the same. Then when the event has concluded, we will pack away our signs and T shirts, go home and probably not give that cause another thought until the next year. Blissful ignorance but still satisfied that we have contributed and made a difference.
Showing posts with label autism awareness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autism awareness. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Not first but also not last - that's progress.
After more than 2 years on the school sponsored track team, my son finally figured out what it means to 'run fast'. Though he didn't win the 6th grade open 75 yard dash, he crossed the finish line not long after the runner in front of him and he kept a pretty fast clip for the duration.
If this doesn't sound impressive to you, consider that my son has autism and has significant issues with motor planning. Motor planning is what the rest of us do automatically and it tells us where our bodies are and helps us coordinate movement, keep our balance and plan the steps that are necessary for those movements. For example, running and moving your arms to propel our bodies forward and increase thrust comes natural to most people, but is a task that is very difficult for my son. After over 2 years on the school track team you will see that he is beginning to move his arms and legs in concert for faster movement. My son is on the far right of the screen in the second to last lane.
If this doesn't sound impressive to you, consider that my son has autism and has significant issues with motor planning. Motor planning is what the rest of us do automatically and it tells us where our bodies are and helps us coordinate movement, keep our balance and plan the steps that are necessary for those movements. For example, running and moving your arms to propel our bodies forward and increase thrust comes natural to most people, but is a task that is very difficult for my son. After over 2 years on the school track team you will see that he is beginning to move his arms and legs in concert for faster movement. My son is on the far right of the screen in the second to last lane.
He performed equally as well in the 4 x 75 yard relay team making a near perfect transfer of the baton resulting in his open relay team coming in second to last. My son is running the second leg of the relay in the second row from the left.
Once again, this demonstrates the progress he has made since his first season in the 4th. grade. I am so proud of my son and he continually amazes me with how hard he works at things that he doesn't have a natural interest in.Thursday, April 02, 2009
World Autism Day in Olympia, WA
World Autism Day at the capitol in Olympia, WA was a complete success for me personally and I’m pretty sure for the other attendees of our Autism Day rally. The United Nations declared April 2nd as Autism Awareness Day in 2007 in order to bring the world’s attention to autism and to encourage early diagnosis and intervention.
The day for us began well enough even though the weather did not appear to be cooperating. I was more than adequately prepared for the day with bagels for breakfast on the trip down, Morgan’s fully charged iPod, my fully charged video iPod with a brand newly downloaded action/adventure movie for Morgan to watch during the boring parts, earplugs in case both iPods malfunctioned, GPS for the trip down and video camera to record the event for posterity. First rule of autism - be prepared/over prepared for all possibilities. It's better to be over prepared and early than underprepared and late.
We arrived an hour early as I seriously over estimated how long it would take to drive down and find the capitol. This was perfect as it gave us more than enough time to take a stroll down to the water front at Olympia Park. Morgan was thrilled as he is he always is involving with anything involving parks and water. He skipped ahead, following my directions and kept his promises the whole way. The Gods were indeed smiling upon us.
The days events were actually 15 - 20 minutes late starting, which appears to be par for the course, even for events serving or concerning autism. I'm perplexed why this occurs as often as it does, as the organizers are usually people who themselves have children with autism. It's hard enough to maintain composure while strategizing around your child's particular sensitivities, be it sound, light, crowds or boredom, without also having to force him to endure for what surely appears to be an endless amount of inactivity. Note to organizers - remember who you are working so hard for and to accomodate them, the beneficiaries - not the speech makers and organizers.
The event was hosted by Miss Lewis County - Hannah Ash - who chose 'Embracing Autism ' as her platform and has worked with our kids and did a graceful job as emcee. Arzu Forough - my comrade, hero and founder of Washington Autism Advocacy was honored for her tireless work on insurance coverage for ASD in our state. Legislators were honored for their work on behalf of our kids as well, but none were as moving as the kids that were chosen to speak for themselves. I can only hope that if I continue to work and advocate for my own son that he too will be able to stand and speak for himself with the same level of passion and eloquence.
Overall, I was pleased with the rally and humbled by the tireless work of the children present in the audience and at the podium. I was also inspired and proud of mom, Olympic power lifter and resident of the Pacific NW, Melanie Roach who spoke of her toughest challenge yet - raising a child with autism. Truly puts it into perspective - she stated that training for the Olympics was no comparison.
Even though we had to leave early - 1 1/2 hours was just about my son's limit on speeches - I did video a portion of the day. Please excuse the quality as I am not a cinematographer and we were in the rotunda of the capital which distorted the sound quality and while many school tours were going on at the same time.
The day for us began well enough even though the weather did not appear to be cooperating. I was more than adequately prepared for the day with bagels for breakfast on the trip down, Morgan’s fully charged iPod, my fully charged video iPod with a brand newly downloaded action/adventure movie for Morgan to watch during the boring parts, earplugs in case both iPods malfunctioned, GPS for the trip down and video camera to record the event for posterity. First rule of autism - be prepared/over prepared for all possibilities. It's better to be over prepared and early than underprepared and late.
We arrived an hour early as I seriously over estimated how long it would take to drive down and find the capitol. This was perfect as it gave us more than enough time to take a stroll down to the water front at Olympia Park. Morgan was thrilled as he is he always is involving with anything involving parks and water. He skipped ahead, following my directions and kept his promises the whole way. The Gods were indeed smiling upon us.
The days events were actually 15 - 20 minutes late starting, which appears to be par for the course, even for events serving or concerning autism. I'm perplexed why this occurs as often as it does, as the organizers are usually people who themselves have children with autism. It's hard enough to maintain composure while strategizing around your child's particular sensitivities, be it sound, light, crowds or boredom, without also having to force him to endure for what surely appears to be an endless amount of inactivity. Note to organizers - remember who you are working so hard for and to accomodate them, the beneficiaries - not the speech makers and organizers.
The event was hosted by Miss Lewis County - Hannah Ash - who chose 'Embracing Autism ' as her platform and has worked with our kids and did a graceful job as emcee. Arzu Forough - my comrade, hero and founder of Washington Autism Advocacy was honored for her tireless work on insurance coverage for ASD in our state. Legislators were honored for their work on behalf of our kids as well, but none were as moving as the kids that were chosen to speak for themselves. I can only hope that if I continue to work and advocate for my own son that he too will be able to stand and speak for himself with the same level of passion and eloquence.
Overall, I was pleased with the rally and humbled by the tireless work of the children present in the audience and at the podium. I was also inspired and proud of mom, Olympic power lifter and resident of the Pacific NW, Melanie Roach who spoke of her toughest challenge yet - raising a child with autism. Truly puts it into perspective - she stated that training for the Olympics was no comparison.
Even though we had to leave early - 1 1/2 hours was just about my son's limit on speeches - I did video a portion of the day. Please excuse the quality as I am not a cinematographer and we were in the rotunda of the capital which distorted the sound quality and while many school tours were going on at the same time.
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