ashlei.mrnak
Dear Ashlei,
I wanted to welcome you to the Autism One.
By becoming an active participant you can support and inspire others. Your sharing experience can lift other parents to help them move forward on this path. Autism can be challenging and puzzling. You can make a difference; together we can effectively resolve issues in a collaborative manner by addressing questions and providing feedback.
My son Jordan has made remarkable progress so please don’t ever give up hope!
Feel free to share your thoughts, stories and wisdom for we are all in this together.
To quote, Brandi Snyder: “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
Should you need any further assistance or information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
rbrunett@autismone.org
Sincerely,
Rhonda Brunett
Autism One International Inc. Chicago Liaison
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About Me
Growing up in the early nineties and seeing a person with a disability was not unusual for me. In fact, it was reasonably normal, and I never thought anything different. I have two younger cousins, Erica and Jacob, who have serve Autism. As a child, I never understood their disability; I only knew that they were different from me and my other cousins. Due to the fact that I did grow up with people who had a disability, I never judged or discriminated against anyone who I did come across that was physical or mentally disabled. They are like any other person. They have feelings, goals, and hobbies. As I became older, I began to realize that people did not have the same opinions as I did.
Growing up with my with my cousins who have Autism, I did realize they were different from everyone else. I did not know the severity of their disability, only they could not talk and were very distant from us. They occasionally made weird noise and hand gestures when they were excited. We called it their “happy dance”. They expressed feelings in a different way than my cousins and I did. When I was younger we would try to bring them along to play house and games, but they had no interest in those activities. Instead, they liked to line their toys up in a certain order and if you touched their toys they would become upset. However, the one thing we all loved to do to was to go to the park. I recall a moment when Erica was sitting on the top of the slide and she was really excited and began to do her “happy dance”. The child behind her called her a freak, pulled her backwards and went done the slide. I ran after the boy and made him apologize to Erica because I felt it was uncalled for. It was that day that I realized, not everyone sees and treats people who have a disability with the respect they deserve. They may act and look different and do unusual things, but they are like any other person in this world.
From that day on, I became an advocate for my cousins and all the families I have worked with, who have children with Autism. I want to make sure that these children are given the same opportunities as any other person! I am currently a student in college, majoring in recreational therapy. I hope to go on to medical school and one day become a DAN doctor!
Growing up with two cousins with Autism, I view Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), not as a disorder, but as a person born into a different society and having difficulty trying to conform to our society. In general, no one in society is the same. Each person is different from one another. Through working with children on the Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have found that each child’s treatment plan various from one another! Each child reacts to things differently! Society was never made to be a, “One size fits all”.
If someone was to look up the definition of Autism, they might come across a textbook definition that states, Autism is a neurological disorder that often displays characteristics such as: difficulties interacting with others, repetitive behaviors, sensory defects, transition problems, echolalia, communication barriers, etc. However, I think Autism has more to do with the interactions of all the systems in the body, than just the brain. After reading various books, and witnessing stories from different families with children on the Autism Spectrum Disorder, I believe that ASD is the effect of a child with a weak immune system, who was exposed to vaccinations. I believe an infant’s immune system should be checked before receiving any vaccinations.
I am currently interning at my local Autism Society, program their basketball program. For the past four summers I have worked at a summer camp for children with Autism.
As child, I remember playing with my cousin Erica. I remember laughing with her, playing games, and interacting with her! I remember her going to the doctor and my aunt telling me she was going to get a shot to make sure would not get sick. I remember thinking, " Erica is not sick? Why does she need a shot?" After that day, the Erica I had grew up with never came back. Erica stopped talking, and playing with us. She just sat in the corner and played on her own. Every morning I wake up, I hope that today will lead me one step closer in getting my cousin back and helping others who have lost their loved ones to this!
Hello Ashlie,
Let me extend to you my personal welcome to our AutismOne Social Network. AutismOne is now the “one-stop-shopping center” for information about autism. I encourage you to blog, you have so much autism wisdom. We have the annual conference in Chicago, AutismOne radio, the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy and now the AutismOne Social Network (and more to come).
Thank you for filling in your profile entries as these help people with common interests find you.
Helping you interact with others is one of the many things we can do for you. Now here’s something you can do for us. Log in on a regular basis and read the blogs and articles then write a blog yourself. It can be on any subject of interest to you, preferably with some relevance to autism but not necessarily. It can be short or long, whatever it takes for you to express your thoughts. If you have a question then ask it in a blog--people read then they respond. If you see something with which you agree or disagree then please add a comment with your thoughts. This is an open community designed to help and support. We like to hear all sides.
I am looking forward to reading your opinions in future blogs and/or articles.
With my best regards
Will Price, CFO
AutismOne