Daina
Noah is my 10 year old son who was diagnosed with autism at age 2. He is mostly nonverbal although his language continues to develop and we are fortunate to see spurts of new words and longer sentences. Noah has been receiving biomedical treatments (DAN!) for the past 6 years and we believe that is a main reason we are seeing progress. Currently, we are following the protocol of nutrigenomics put out by Dr. Amy Yasko.
Alaina is Noah's neurotypical big sister; she is 12. Alaina is a very intelligent young lady with test scores that place her in the top 1% of kids in her age group. She is a wonderful sister to Noah and keeps Noah on his toes! Alaina is very musically inclined and loves to read and write. She has an innate ability for language and is quite the negotiator at times. Alaina is an absolute joy!
My husband Dwayne is probably one of the best dads ever. He is so into his kids and always puts them first. He truly enjoys their company and has a lot of fun with them. Not a whole lot embarasses him; you might find him climbing in the tubes at McDonald's or trying to fit down the slide at the park. At 6'4" that is quite a sight! Dwayne put his career on hold when our daughter Alaina was born and once Noah was born then diagnosed 2 years later, Dwayne continued to work nights and weekends in order to be at home with Noah.
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About Me
Hi! I am a 45 year old mom of two beautiful children, the younger of whom has autism. I've been married for 15 years and would be lost without my husband who is my rock. I have been a teacher for 23 years and with the exception of only a couple of those years, I have team taught a class with a special ed teacher whose students were included within my regular classroom. I enjoy quilting, hiking, bike riding, playing the piano, and sitting outside enjoying nature. I find meditation and exercise to both be great stress busters in my stressful life of juggling working and home life.
I've heard about, but have not been able to attend, the Autism One conference. I don't live that far away from Chicago so my goal to to attend the conference this next year. I decided to join this community because there isn't a whole lot out there, as far as support, for families dealing with autism. I think we all have something to share, can help each other in ways we don't even realize, which is why I decided to join. Our children are all unique, we have all travelled a different path in handling our wonderful children, but maybe what works for one will work for another. As parents, friends, and care givers of someone with autism, we need to stand together to support each other on what is often a stressful, confusing, depleting, yet joyful journey.
We have been using biomedical treatments (DAN!) for almost 7 years. We have a list of things that we've tried over the years, what worked, what did not, what showed some progress. We have also been receiving in-home therapy for the past 7 years; Applied Behavior Analysis has been a huge part in my son's success and progress. I feel I have a lot to share in both these areas.
My daily motivation is to stay positive, keep the faith, and never, never, give up. There are days when this is hard to do but I am a firm believer in keeping the faith and I know that perseverance is what it will take to reach our goals.
My family, friends, and colleagues are great support. Teaching is my passion, so work is often a great escape from the daily trials of autism. Exercising, meditating, are all key in keeping me motivated to move on; they help get out the stress and center myself so that I can focus on what is really important.
My strengths when it comes to what I know a lot about in the area of autism would be the biomedical treatments available, ABA, working with the schools, curriculum, and my experiences as a parent of a child with autism.
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. 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).
I wanted to comment on what a lovely family you have thank you very much for including those entries.
I notice that you’ve not made any entries into your profile. Remember, this is a social network. Part of the function of a social network is to meet and interact with others who have common interests. Of course autism is a common interest. But there is more than that. Individuals like to know about a person before becoming a “friend.” That’s where the profile comes in. So whenever you can find the time, please fill in some of the entries of your profile. To do that just click on “My User Menu” next to the Welcome area on the right. From the resulting menu click on “Edit My Profile” and you will be in business.
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. Every new community requires a good hard kick start to get going. We need you to help us with that. 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