2012 Olympics = Segregation??

Everyone loves the Olympics, right?? Everyone, regardless where you are from, has at least heard of the Olympics, right? And now, each of us need to stand up and do what is right regarding the Olympics. The Olympics in 2012 will be held in London. As a result, lawmakers are attempting to pass new laws in an attempt to give a false image of the area. For example, some of the laws state:

"No person shall lie down or sleep in or on any public place."

"No person shall distribute any free refreshment in or on any public place."

"No person shall knowingly permit any person to distribute any free refreshment in or on any public place."

The legislatures responsible for these laws are passing them under the pretenses of helping the homeless. At this point in time, homeless people in the area benefit from "soup runs" where they have much needed nourishment provided to them for free. The concept is, if you stop providing much needed nourishment to homeless people in one area, they'll all leave and move to another area. (segregation???) I mean seriously, who wants to see a bunch of homeless people laying around when you're there to watch the Olympics?

Yet, lets look at everyone this affects. Let's say you are walking down the street in the area where this is to be banned. You see a single mother with three children. She looks tired and worn, yet still manages to smile when she speaks to others and her children. You can tell that she hasn't much money and you decide to go get each of the children an ice cream cone and give it to them. Oh, but wait.....you can't do that. The laws clearly state:

“refreshments” includes food or drink"

"refreshments are “free” if they are distributed without charge to the persons to whom they are distributed."

Maybe a nice gentleman holds the door for you and then has a seat nearby. You decide to give him a cup of coffee.....but wait, can't do that either.

Maybe you, like me, have health problems. Walking puts you in pain, sometimes so much pain that you need to lie down a few moments before proceeding. You find a bench that is empty, and proceed to stretch out, getting a few minutes of relief from the pain throbbing in your back. Oh wait....you can't do that either, it's illegal!!!

How about you men? Here you are, and your wife is shopping. We all know how long some women can take shopping!! You sit down, stretch out your legs, pull your hat down over your eyes, and decide to nap until she finishes. Ohhhhh....you can't do that either!!! It's illegal!!

Let's put yourself in someone else's shoes now. You've worked hard your entire life. You have always been self sufficient and paid for everything yourself. You never got anything on credit, likeing the feeling you got when making your purchases in cash. You had a secure, happy, confident life. Then your company went under. Through no fault of your own, you ended up unemployed in an economy that has no jobs available. You did fine until your savings ran out. Then you started to sell your belongings. When all was gone, you had no choice but to sleep on the streets. Your friends were all from the same company and ended up in similar circumstances. Though some had family to move in with and help, others were like you.....with no family nearby. The first night you ended up with nowhere to sleep, you walked for hours in disbelief. How did you end up here? What were you going to do? Sleep finally overcame you after the 2nd night you walked for hours. You sat down in an alcove to be protected from the rain. You only planned to stop a few minutes and rest, but sleep overcame you and you fell asleep. Just a few hours and you could be back up and on your way.....looking for work.....looking for ways just to survive......trying to figure out how to feed your stomach that rumbled and hurt with hunger. But wait.......you can stop and rest here, it's illegal. And the people who used to come and reach out to the homeless by offering them a meal are no longer allowed to. You'll remain hungry. Chances are you'll get fined before someone comes to let you know where you can go for food..........if you can walk that far as hungry and weak as you are. You see, homeless people aren't allowed in this part of town. They've been segregated to other places. Homeless people can't get help here...........the Olympics are coming and we don't want people to see the likes of you.

The Olympics are coming to London. Tons of people and businesses will flood the area, bringing in money and resources to the area. How easy it would be for the legislatures to use the Olympics to heighten awareness of homelessness. How easy it would be for the legislatures to use this as an opportunity to encourage others to reach out to help the homeless. Yet, instead, Westminster wants to run all the homeless people out and pretend that there are no homeless in Westminster.

Yet, you know the truth now. When you purchase that Tshirt that says "Olympics 2012" on it, will you think about the homeless that are being run out? Will you think about how if you were there, you couldn't offer a hungry man a meal....or children of lesser means ice cream? When you pick up that "Olympic 2012" ball cap, will you think about how ludicrous it is that a man waiting on his husband to finish shopping will be fined if he naps while waiting?

What if it were you? Show your compassion. Speak your thoughts on the matter b:

Print and fill out the consultation letter at the link below and mail it to: Alastiar Reeves: Rough Sleeping Team, Westminster City Council, Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6PQ
                                      OR
You can send an email to Alastiar Reeves stating that you disagree and why at areeves1@westminster.gov.uk
                                      OR
You can call and voice your opinion by phone at   020 7641 2254

Link to letter to print and mail: 
http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Draft%20Rough%20Sleeping%20and%20Soup%20Run%20Byelaw_Consultation%20Letter.pdf

Link to the Law:
http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Draft%20Rough%20Sleeping%20and%20Soup%20Run%20Byelaw.pdf

I please with each of you, contact regarding this matter. People can make a difference. Don't tell me that it doesn't affect you because you live elsewhere. This happens everywhere, every day!! It happens here in America. Just ask anyone whose been homeless......ask me!! Christ came here to let us know it's not our place to judge......it's our place to love.

The Beacon

The February 2011 edition of The Beacon is now available to view.

This monthly electronic newsletter is designed to provide parents with links, resources, information and activities of particular interest to the issues of children with special health care needs.

Dental Health Guidelines for Children on the Autistic Spectrum

The Dental Health Guidelines document is a printable pdf file, you can view Dental Health Guidelines regarding children on the Autistic Spectrum. This is from the United States Department of Health and Human Resources and provides a lot of good information!


Click HERE

We're Not Alone

"We" are not alone. 

Who are "we". 

"We" is the mother that wonders how she'll ever be able to raise her child with the skills he needs in this world when his brain and body won't aide in this demand. 

"We" is the child whose sibling can go from hugging to hitting in less time then it takes to blink an eye. "We" is the same child that understands this behavior is beyond their siblings control, but at the same time can't help but feel that their sibling "never gets in trouble for doing bad things". 

"We" is the newly married into family member that really doesn't understand what is going on and feels totally inept when it comes to actively participating in the life of the family member with special needs. 

I could go on and on about who all "we" is. Instead, I want to direct you to a blog presented by the Sibling Support Network. Here, you will be able to have a small glimpse of the world through people who have siblings with special needs. 

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read the stories posted on this page. To often the siblings of a child with special needs are forgotten. Although parents are offered assistance and support, most people don't realize the struggles and sense of responsibility faced by the siblings of the same child. 

I watch each day as my two older children face a greater sense of responsibility then any child should face. I see the struggle within them. Their longing for the freedom most children their age get, while feeling guilty that they'd want anything that would take away from meeting the needs of their younger brother. I see their love and compassion for their younger brother, even as they are tired from their day of helping avoid meltdowns and uncontrollable fits. I see their working each day to provide their younger brother with a calm environment, and their despair when despite their best efforts, he still "loses it". 

Please, take a moment to go to the following website and peer through the eyes of someone that has a sibling with special needs. 

Sibling Stories

5th Birthday

Well, in 5 more minutes it will by my "baby's" 5th birthday. 

I remember when my first child (now a teenager) turned 5 years old. It was such a huge feeling. I was the mother of a 5 year old. 5 indicates so much....the starting of school, the transformation from toddler to child, the first marker of a separation from mom. 

And now, my baby is turning 5. This is the third and last time this event will happen in my life. He is the last child I will have carried within the womb I no longer have. He is, and forever will be, my "baby". 

Pookie has come a long way. He still does not have a precise diagnosis, something we hope to change this year. He still gets frustrated when people don't "hear" him (his explanation of others not understanding). He has never been able to quit moving, even in sleep. He is obsessed with ropes and often reminds me of Linus with his blanket. 

Pookie has taught me that life doesn't have to be scheduled. That sometimes a child really can not control their actions. 

I've listened to him recently beg me to tell him why he does "bad" things when he doesn't want to. He looses total control when he's in an emotionally charged, or his senses are overloaded. Although I hope that his realizing he is losing control will help us in the path to be able to find alternative behaviors, my heart breaks at his agony. 

I'm flooded with emotions thinking of all that his 5 years has brought him. I am heartbroken that for so long he's been unable to articulate any of his emotions, and now that he can it's clear he is fighting a battle within himself that I don't know how to help. 

I want each of you to stop a moment and reflect on the judgment calls you've made in your life. I want you to think of the mother you saw shopping in the grocery store while her infant screamed. How you thought she should leave and come back later when her infant was calmed. Realize that it could have been me you saw......a mother who had no choice but to shop with her screaming infant........an infant who did not stop screaming until he was 16 months old. 

Think about the child you saw lying in the floor thrashing and screaming. You said to yourself that if it were your child you would know what to do. Yet, that to could have been Pookie. A child who feels pain at light and sounds when others don't even notice. 

How about the two parents who were holding their child down and fighting to get the straps fastened in his carseat? What did you think when you saw them? That could have been us........our hearts breaking when holding him down knowing that the straps were causing him agony, yet knowing we couldn't sit in the parking lot for hours, or days, until it wasn't so bad for him. 

Maybe you saw the child who starting hitting everyone when they spoke, only to have the mother hold him close, whisper in his ear while rubbing his arms and back. Maybe you thought that she was encouraging his behavior,when in reality she was offering feedback stimulation in an effort to help his brain process the information it was stuttering on. 

I was that person before Pookie came into my life. I was the mother who had raised two very well behaved children. I was the mother who was stopped in the store by strangers to be told what "well-behaved" children I had. I was the one stopped and told how "impressed" people were with my little angels. 

I was the person who looked at the screaming child and words like "spoiled" would come into my mind. I was the person who thought the child who slapped their parents deserved swift and harsh discipline and looked down upon the parent that seemingly condoned it. I was the person who looked upon seemingly ill behaved and ill mannered children and blamed the parents. I was the person who, if the child looked "normal", then the child should behave "normal". 

I am now the parent with the child that is sometimes judged as "spoiled". I'm am now the parent that is sometimes hit, kicked or bitten and judged as not offering strict enough discipline. I am the one blamed for not being an effective parent due to my child seemingly being ill behaved. 

Yet, I am also the parent that understands that my child begins each and every single prayer he says with, "God, please help me be nice."  I am the parent that knows that my sons heart aches when he causes others pain and that he cried out to understand why he does these things without being able to control it. I am the parent that knows that seams in socks, tags in clothes, a soft wind, light, sound, or even the hum of a car engine causes my son pain in a way we can never understand. I am the parent who longs for others to understand. 

I am the parent that is pleading with you to stop and rethink the judgments you've made in your life. 

This week is "Make A Difference Week". I challenge you to change your thought patterns. The next time you see a parent shopping in the store with a screaming child, offer assistance. Can you help her load her cart with items while she holds her child? Can you help her through the checkout line or to load the groceries in her car? The next time you see a parent trying to strap a thrashing child into a carseat, again offer your assistance. Maybe you can get the child's attention for that split second it takes for the buckle to go "snap". When you see the child who strikes out at their sibling or parent and see the parents attempt to calm the child, walk up to the parent and tell him/her what a great job they are doing.

I challenge you, in honor of Pookie's 5th birthday to make a difference in the family of a child with special needs. Remember, not all special needs are visible. You can make a difference.

Upcoming 5th Birthday

Wow! Pook will be 5 years old. It's amazing when I think of how far he's come. Only through God's strength and grace could Pook have ever accomplished all that he has. 

We've had a lot going on lately and didn't get around to planning his party yet. So, tonight I asked him what he wanted on his cake. I'm not sure why I was surprised at his answer. He wanted a monkey cake, same as last year. He even wanted to same number on it, but I talked him into getting a 5. 

His gifts are quite simple. He wants the same "vroom vroom" bicycle (Hot Wheels Bike at Walmart) that he's wanted since last summer. He wants a yoyo that lights up, simply because his sister just got one. He wants more playdough and accessories (I doubt he'll ever have enough). Oddly enough, the only other thing he wants is a whistle with a pull out magnifying glass. 

I realized, once again, that having a child on the Autistic spectrum can simplify life at times. More then likely, I'll be making that monkey cake for years to come. I'm sure each present during the years events will include playdough. Overall, makes for a pretty simple birthday party. 

And, as I do with each of my children's birthdays, I'll think back to the glorious day they were born. I'll look at all their accomplishments, all their special traits and uniqueness and I'll realize that my life would be utterly void with out him. 

Thank you God for bringing Pook into my life and allowing me to learn more about life through him then I ever dreamed possible. 

Sensory Accomodation Suggestions

I ran across this Sensory Accommodation Suggestion page online today that I thought some of my readers might be interested in. Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate the website I got it from. I'll post the link to that site as soon as I run across it again. Click here to see the suggestion page.