random rambling...my autism story

april is autism awareness month! each year i do something a little different to celebrate the month. i've worn blue everyday of the month, gotten my co-workers to wear blue tutus, hosted blue polish nail swaps among other things. this year i am wearing my puzzle piece alex and ani bracelet everyday to remind me and everyone else that autism is everyday.

autism is more prevalent than many other childhood disorders. in the past 10 years the rate of incidence has gone from 1/166 to 1/68. almost everyone either know someone with autism or knows someone who knows someone. there is a lot of promising research in the autism world but there is so much more to be done. autism speaks has a lot of great information. some common characteristics or red flags of autism are

limited eye contact

hand flapping or other sensory behaviors

language delay

poor social skills

difficult behaviors

repetitive behaviors

potential physical and medical issues

sensitivity to light, sound, touch, etc.

the things about autism is everyone is different. it is called a spectrum disorder because that is exactly what it is. everyone has their story with autism, and every story is a little different.

my story about autism started when i was a kid. my cousin was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. we lived clear across the country from them so i did not actually see much of it or know much about it. all i knew was that he didn't talk as well as other kids his age. 

fast forward a lot of years until i was almost done with college. i worked at the library part time. i wasn't looking for another job, but for some reason i looked at the job ads in the paper. yes newspaper-i'm older than i look. there was a post for an in home therapist for a child with autism. for some reason i called, had an interview, accepted the job, started working with children with autism, and my life changed forever.

i ended up working with several kids with autism during and the year after college. i loved it so much, and it led me to my current job. my story with autism doesn't end there. that's really only the beginning.

i have the opportunity to work with many children with autism and their families. i see the challenges and the accomplishments, the tears and the laughs and most of all the love. my life has been so richly blessed by all the people i have worked with and continue to work with.

if you have concerns for your child or someone you know, go to autism speaks for more information.

everyone has a story with autism. tell me yours.

spring 30x30...days 25-30

i did it! i wore blue the whole month of april without repeating any outfits. even though it's such a small thing, it's something i can do to be more mindful of autism. i hope you've learned a few things this month. instead of sharing more facts about autism, make sure to check out tuesday's post with a touching personal story about extraordinary normal moments.
day 25...gap cardi, target v, jcpenney jeggings, target flip flops travel from missouri to nashville

 day 26...shade cardi, old navy top featuring blue circles i promise, gap skinnies, target sandals

i ran a marathon in the blazing hot sun hence the color change from day 25-->day 26

 day 27...target cardi, j crew top, walmart bella bird skirt, target sandals, jessica simpson wedges

my feet were in bad shape after the marathon. i ended up wearing the wedges later and they felt better than the flat sandals. jessica simpson shoes are my fave.

 day 28...bella bird walmart cardi, target v, gap skinnies, target flip flops

severe weather/tornado warnings in nashville made for a low key day

 day 29...old navy hoodie, old navy v, gap skinnies, target flip flops

i had to get ready at 3:30am to catch my flight home which explains everything about this.

 day 30...h&m cardi and t shirt, gap jeans, toms flats

make sure to check out what everyone else wore this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

blue polish swap

i've been waiting for months to set up the blue polish swap for autism awareness. the swap was a total success. an even number of people signed up, and everyone seems really happy with their polishes. i was so excited to get my blue package in the mail from ann. she even packaged everything in blue with a blue card.

i totally got hooked up. love these fun blue polishes. i have seen so many cute nail designs, and i can't wait to combine these fun blues with other springy colors. i especially can't wait to try the texture polish.

spending the month of april wearing blue everyday, doing the polish swap, and generally being more aware of autism makes me feel like autism awareness month was a success.

have you ever tried the texture polish? or any other fun polish like magnetic?

An InLinkz Link-up

extraordinary normal moments...toast with cheese

i can't even believe april is almost over. i'm almost done wearing blue, and i'm almost done talking about autism with every outfit post. i wish that meant autism was ending, but it doesn't. autism is everywhere, and the rate of incidence is growing like crazy. throughout this month i've shared a lot of facts about autism, but today i am so excited to bring you a personal story.

 i had the privilege of working with luke and his family when he was in early intervention. talking to families about autism is one of my least favorite parts of my job. no one ever wants to hear that their child is showing signs of autism, but i feel very professionally responsible to share that information.  to learn a little more about luke and his story, check out toast with cheese .

luke's mom, keisha, generously offered to give us a glimpse into everyday life with autism.

I found this entry from my personal blog from last summer. I have what I call “extraordinary normal moments” in my life where I feel almost every other mom wouldn’t blink an eye to what their child is doing at that moment, but if you have a child with special needs- even a moment where your child can handle himself in a group with other kids is worth a huge celebration.

I think that is one of the secret benefits hidden within special needs, you start to celebrate every little victory…every little triumph… because they are huge to you! You celebrate that power wheel car ride like it was a high school graduation.

Luke enjoying a ride with his friends and their dad last summer.

   8/9/2013 Earlier this week, we were hanging out in the Rick's front yard, a normal activity, and something magical happened. But you see, no one else would have known it was magical, probably not even Darren at the time. Let me set this up... The boys were doing their normal thing. Riding bikes, kicking soccer balls to the dads, and just running around to get the wiggles out before bed. All of the sudden more neighbor kids joined. And one of them had a power wheel... As I was casually talking to the moms, I quickly became enthralled with all the kids surrounding this barbie power wheel. I was nervous. Darren was playing street tennis with Sean and the moms kept chatting, but my eyes were glued on Luke. How would he handle this social situation? Would I need to go over and help him self regulate when he didn't get to drive or ride in the car every second? Would another kid become annoyed with him? All these thoughts and more running through my head. But what happened next was magical. I watched my Luke light up with excitement every time someone got a turn. He was calm, cool, and collected. He was a member of the "neighborhood gang" and I wanted to do a happy dance right then. Ahhh, this ordinary moment of being in a neighborhood surrounded by lots of people, and we were a "normal" family for that moment. Autism wasn't controlling what we were doing. Luke was in control!! Luke was happy. I was happy. This little boy who struggled with anyone a year ago, now welcomes more to the crowd and loves seeing people happy. This night was a moment where I felt like I got a little pat on the shoulder that said "Keisha, everything is more than ok, its great!"

big thanks to keisha for giving us a little glimpse into life with autism. i totally agree with keisha. those extraordinary normal moments mean the world and give us all a reason to keep moving forward. i feel so lucky to be a small part of helping kids like luke have more extraordinary normal moments.

***all information about luke and his family are shared with permission

spring 30x30...days 19-24

usually by the time this weeks comes in 30x30, it's getting a little harder to come up with outfits. since i didn't pick 30 pieces this time, it is a little easier. i am going to be excited to wear something other than blue once april is over.

autism is such an interesting disorder. diagnosing is done through developmental and psychological testing. there is no blood test or other medical test to diagnose autism although medical providers are qualified to give a diagnosis. concerns with autism are often addressed through a mental health professional. there are a few screeners that can completed by parents or other professionals. the M-CHAT is one of those screeners. more info can be found here.

day 19...i met up with a few girls for major blog talk. we failed at taking pictures, but i did have amberly take my outfit picture. her dog tried to sneak in also.

gap cardi, target v, gap boyfriend jeans, jessica simpson wedges

i see a lot of boyfriend jeans and natually thought i had to have some when gap outlet sold them for less than $20. i don't know that i love them. the fit is really weird.

huge shout out to mint arrow for posting about the jessica simpson shoes.

day 20...easter sunday

nordstrom cardi, banana republic top, walmart bella bird skirt, toms wedges

day 21

target boyfriend cardi, target boyfriend cardi, forever 21 leggings, target sandals

 day 22...travel to St. Louis all day

target boyfriend cardi. target V, gap skinnies, target sandals

 day 23...started the day with mom at the temple and then met curly crafty mom for lunch. so fun to finally meet in real life. 

shade cardi, target cardi, walmart skirt, ross shoes

 day 24...final day in st. louis

gap cardi, old navy top, gap boyfriend jeans, jessica simpson wedges

meeting carrie in real life was definitely the major highlight of the week.

An InLinkz Link-up

spring 30x30...days 7-12

it's already time for week 2 of spring 30x30 or in my case bluex30. blue isn't really my favorite color so it always surprises me how much blue i actually have in my closet. before we get to what i wore for the week, here's the autism info for the week.

• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
• Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism

autism speaks
and now for my clothes...

day 7...target boyfriend cardi, random top, gap jeans

 day 8...h&m cardi, shine project shirt, gap jeans, target sandals

 day 9...target cardi, old navy top that really is blue i promise, gap boyfriend jeans, target sandals

 day 10...gap cardi, old navy v neck, modbe skirt, ross wedges

i was home on spring break with no one to take my picture. i have a tripod and a remote, but it's such a hassle to use. i set my camera up in a glass and got mostly blooper shots. the remote is impossible.

 day 11...old navy hoodie, target v neck, gap jeans, target flip flops

my friend laurann and i decided to take a last minute trip to las vegas to get a tan. we spent most of day 11 in the car.

day 12...old navy top, gap boyfriend jeans, target flip flops
go check out what my other 30x30 people wore this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

spring 30x30...days 1-6

i can't believe we are already done with the first week of 30x30. it seriously flies by so fast. i'm posting a day early to make room for WWYD...with a dozen eggs? tomorrow. i'm doing 30x30 a little differently this time. instead of picking 30 items for 30 days i am wearing blue for 30 days for autism awareness month. since the whole point is to spread awareness, i want to share a little about autism each week. here are some of the common "red flags" for autism from autismspeaks.org

• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions by nine months
• No babbling by 12 months
• No back-and-forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months
• No words by 16 months
• No meaningful, two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months
• Any loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age

if your child demonstrates these symptoms, talk to your doctor about your concerns. and now for my outfits...
day 1 modbe cardi, old navy chambray, homemade maxi i had to wear a skirt and also be able to sit on the floor.

 day 2

world autism awareness day

h&m scarf, target cardi, gap outlet stripe t, jcpenney jeggings, toms ballet flats

 day 3

target cardi, gap stripe t, gap pants, toms ballet flats

 day 4

presentation at a doctor's office required dress pants

h&m cardi, streets of NYC scarf, old navy top, banana republic pants, jessica simpson hidden peep toe 

 day 5

day of easter candy making=casual attire

target cardi, target stripe v, gap jeans, toms

 day 6

didn't leave the house

urban outfitters sweater, old navy v, agnes and dora leggings, target flip flops

all the rest of my 30x30 crew starts posting tomorrow. check out the link up to see what they are wearing. 30 pieces reveal

An InLinkz Link-up

life with autism

you're going to see a lot of talk about autism around here this month. one of the big parts of autism awareness month is to increase awareness so i'm using this little space to do that.

i don't really know why, but i don't talk about my job a lot. maybe it's because my job is hard to explain and even harder to understand. i'm a child development specialist in early intervention. that means i work with kids from birth-age 3 with developmental delays and disabilities. autism is one of those. 
another day i will talk about autism and the classic characteristics and the fact that it's a spectrum disorder meaning there's a huge range. today i want to give a little glimpse into life with autism.
autism doesn't sleep (often literally. children with autism often have disordered sleep=frequent and lengthy night wakings) autism is frustrating (kids and parents are both frustrated with lack of communication) autism is literal and logical autism is avoidance (of people, of food, of places, etc.) autism is progress autism is hope autism is patience autism is love
people often tell me my job must be challenging but very rewarding. autism is challenging but so very rewarding. my heart breaks and melts all at the same time. i love my job! i love the children with autism i get to work with. i love their families. they are such a shining example of strength. so for these and so many reasons, i am wearing blue all month, hosting a blue nail polish swap (sign up on instagram), and lighting it up blue.
if you have any questions about autism, feel free to ask.

spring 30x30...30 pieces reveal except not really

modern camelot is hosting another round of 30x30. before i did my first 30x30 challenge, i thought the idea sounded pretty impossible. take 30 pieces of clothing (including shoes if you want) and wear only those 30 pieces for 30 days without repeating an outfit. sounds kind of hard right? wrong! it is so much easier than it sounds. it makes getting dressed and packing for trips so much easier. i find myself sticking with those 30 pieces even after the month is over. #spring30x30 starts today, but it's not too late to jump in. email, tweet, FB, or whatever and let me know you want in. i'll get you all the info. as much as i love traditional 30x30, i am changing things up a little this time around. april is autism awareness month. for the past couple of years i decided to wear blue every day all month in support and to spread awareness of autism. so instead of 30x30, i'm really doing bluex30.  a few of my blue outfits from last year
maybe you're wondering why blue and why autism.  autism speaks uses the month of april to increase awareness about autism with the campaign to light it up blue. visit their website for more info.
autism has been a part of my life for as long as i can remember. i have a cousin with autism. because of him i started doing private in home therapy for children with autism in college. that therapy led me to my current job as a child development specialist. i work with many children on the autism spectrum. autism is part of my life nearly every single day. the rate of incidence (currently 1/68 as released last week) continues to rise dramatically. although no one ever wants to hear that their child is showing signs of autism, there is so much hope. there are so many treatment options. although they are very expensive and often funded out of pocket, there are things that can be done. i see that hope, and that is why i'll be wearing blue all month. i would love it if you would join me for at least one day this month. make sure to let me know if you're wearing blue, and i'll give you a shout out on social media. along with wearing blue all month, i have a few other things planned to light it up blue. back in october, alacia hosted a pink polish swap for breast cancer awareness. i loved the idea so much i decided to do the same for autism awareness month this month. it's mostly on instagram so head on over for details.

all of my 30x30 friends are revealing their 30 pieces today. i can't wait to see their picks.

An InLinkz Link-up