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Early Intervention is Key with Autism

Posted on October 20, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a parent, we quickly learn that we are the best advocates for our children. Of course, sometimes doing this is easier than other times. Some days, it can be grueling, leaving you in tears, and making you wonder if you are all alone. Those days are hard on the spirit and can definitely knock the wind out of you. On days like that, you learn who your true friends are and who is on your side. Then you make yourself take a deep breath to figure out a plan B, C, D, and maybe even E.

As a parent of a child with special needs, I understand this feeling all too well. Years of struggles, countless different answers, and lots of time, energy, and money spent. Watching a child blossom and grow because of early intervention is one of the most amazing items to experience. Your work as an advocate, your child’s grueling hours spent in therapy, and their therapists’ expertise make it worth it when you reach goals that you never believed could happen at one time or another.

Countless people are battling these items each and every day while trying to understand why their child is a statistic. Why is their son, daughter, niece, nephew, granddaughter, grandson, husband, wife, mother, father, cousin, or other person that they love part of the 1 in 88 living with Autism?

On Sunday, October 21, Comedy Central will be airing a special called Night of Too Many Stars. For the fourth year in a row, celebrities will be working together to raise money for Autism charities that support the educational needs of children and families. They not only help to provide programs for the children, but also education for teachers that will be working with the kids in their classrooms. Here is a sneak peek of Jodi DiPiazza:

Jodi and her family are a true inspiration to watch and see that with the right educational tools, kids with special needs can reach goals. With assistance, support, love, and understanding – they can seek new heights and go after their dreams.

There is no cure for Autism, but together we can make a difference to allow people to reach their potential. Remember never to judge a child, parent, or anyone because often you do not know what is happening behind the scenes. Be supportive, help if you can, or just move along and try not to stare. To those amazing individuals out there that work with families like mine, a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Categories:
Educational health awareness me moments PSA real world news school television

Together Counts for Fall Activities

Posted on October 11, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

We live in a part of the country that is lucky enough to experience all four of the seasons. My favorite really is the fall. The weather is not too cold, hot, or humid like other times of the year. Typically, there is not a lot of snow, we do not need to wear heavy jackets, and usually we can do a lot outside. This year, the weather has not allowed us to get to our favorite family activity for the fall. We love to go apple picking. We are able to explore the orchards together. It is fun to watch the kids running around and picking apples that they proudly snack on. Then, when we get home TechyDad, the kids, and I think about items the make. One of our favorites is to get the apples ready for our own fresh applesauce. Eating it warm out of the crock makes it seem like a special treat.

Since the weather is not cooperating, we probably will skip the apple picking and possibly go to get a pumpkin at a local farm. Then we can bake up the pumpkin seeds to have a tasty snack. Until that time, the kids love to explore the blocks around the house on their scooters. They enjoy collecting colorful leaves, pine cones, and other items that nature has left on the ground. Just the other day, my youngest hopped off of his scooter to save a caterpillar that was in the middle of the sidewalk.

Together Counts is a program for all of us. Their goal is to inspire families to lead healthy and active lives. Energy Balance is key and the main principle with their pledge. This means that the calories that we eat are the ones that we burn. Together Counts brings together more than 200 retailers, food/beverage manufacturers, restaurants, sporting goods stores, insurance companies, non-governmental organizations, and professional sports organizations to get the message across. For additional information, head to the Together Counts website learn more and take their pledge on finding balance and moderation. Families need to get eating and active together while practicing moderation.

For more information and ideas, you can head to the Together Counts Facebook page, look for them on Twitter, and also on Pinterest.

Please be sure to join Together Counts for their Twitter party on 10/17 from 8-9 PM EST using hashtag #TogetherCounts. More information on Resourceful Mommy with details about the prizes.

So have you made the Together Counts pledge yet? If not, what are you waiting for?

It's Me

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a compensated Global Influence campaign. As someone who strives to find balance, I love the principles behind Together Counts and am happy to share this with my readers.

Global Influence Network

Categories:
exercise family fun health awareness jsl photos PSA sponsored post

Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2012

Posted on October 8, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Breast cancer is something that has hit close to home for me. I have watched friends and family members fight this disease. In addition to this, I have watched as a friend has turned the loss of her mother from breast cancer into a crusade to teach others about the importance of early detection.

This year, I experienced my first mammogram. Although I am “only” 35, my doctor felt that with a family history it was a good time to get a baseline to use for the future. I wrote The Importance of a First Mammogram to share my experience with others. To remind people that the temporary discomfort (if you have any) is well worth it.

If you are not familiar one of the first lines of defense (beside self breast exams), this is the machine that people often talk about. It seems a lot less daunting than I expected. It really is hard to believe that that has saved so many women and men (they have breasts and can get cancer there too).

I am less into buying pink products that promise to give money to foundation to help breast cancer. I prefer to donate to the American Cancer Society which helps breast cancer and other cancers that friends and members of my family have been faced with. Since it is breast cancer awareness month, I wanted to share their campaign for their Making Strides Walk.

Please take this time to think about yourself. Remember to do breast self exams. Schedule it on your calendar or in your smart phone. Talk to your doctor if something is not right. Go for your baseline or routine mammogram and stop making excuses. Early detection is key not only with breast cancer, but all cancer so be selfish and take care of YOU.

It's Me

Categories:
health awareness looking back me moments PSA real world news

More Than a Number on a Scale – National Bullying Prevention Month

Posted on October 4, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Do you see those amazing words above this? They are the title of my post for a reason. They are the fighting words of WKBT News Anchor Jennifer Livingston. Recently Livingston received a horrid letter from a so-called viewer of her news show. The letter basically attacked her for being in front of the camera because of her size. Rather than run from this nasty attack, Livingston stood in front of the camera to face her bully and others.

Her message is absolutely beautiful and one that more people should listen to. It isn’t simply about weight either. It’s about what we are teaching our children. How do we want them to treat others, how will they handle the stinging words of a bully, and how will we do the same? If you have not seen Jennifer Livingston’s segment, please take a moment to do this now. I promise you the four minutes is well worth your time and will definitely make you think in another manner.

I think the bigger message here is not simply about weight (says the girl who can completely relate to this piece), it is about being kind to everyone around you. Thinking things through before you say or write something hurtful. In this digital age, it is far too easy to do something stupid and not be able to take it back.

In a society that is filled with people that judge based on visual appearance, we MUST stop this. Sure you may think you know the problems a person is facing, but do you? The smile on that mother’s face may be hiding a deeper pain or concern. Something that you can not see just by looking at her, or her family. When you see a child throwing a tantrum in a store, do you automatically judge the parenting skills of that individual. STOP!

Remember during National Bullying Prevention Month, and beyond, that if you do not know someone you can not judge them. There truly are so many factors that are invisible that people can not be aware.

Categories:
PSA real world news vent

Stolen Words, Photos, and the NickMom Fiasco

Posted on September 21, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Children learn early that is is not acceptable to steal written words from other people. Of course, that does not mean that everyone follows these copyright laws. As a teacher, I had ways to check to see if my students were plagiarizing their book reports, essays, and other items. It’s sad to say that tools exist for teachers. This was probably part of the reason why I made book reports into projects that were more creative and outside of the box. They were more fun to correct and share. Plus, they were harder to copy from a source.

As a parent, I have had to explain to my nine year old that when he needs a photos for a project we have to go to sources that are acceptable. Simply using Google images to hunt something down is not allowed. This is something that many schools are starting to explain to students, but with budget cuts many technology education curriculums are being slashed. This often means internet usage and copyright laws are not being covered properly. We need to make sure that our children are following these.

Now, you would think that grown adults would know better than to copy something that was not their work. This is not the case. Several months ago, I had a content scrapper pull an entire blog post about my anniversary. Every word, photo, link, and item was pasted onto their for-profit website. No permission was asked, it was simply taken. I caught it because of a ping-back on a link within my stolen post. I submitted a comment requesting the item be removed immediately and mentioned DMCA laws. After a week of nothing being removed and noting more and more stolen item on their website, TechyDad stepped into use his webmaster ways. Since they were pointing to MY photos hosted on my server, we replaced their call to them with this:

This remained on their website for a few days, then the website vanished. Of course, not all content thieves leave a trail. Case in point – the NickMom website (that I refuse to direct you to). If you have not heard about their massive blunder, you must head over to read Amy Lupold Bair’s post where she introduced the blogging community about the tactics of NickMom. Kelby Carr, Type-A Mom, continues to update her post about how NickMom is sliming parent bloggers. More and more bloggers have written about how to protect your photos after they realized their items were stolen. The reality is that NickMom continues to publish content that is not theirs and will not remove it unless the owner notifies them. I love the way Emily, ColoradoMoms, puts it. The picture of her adorable son and the caption are spot on. Nichole Smith, The Guilty Parent, compares this tactic to stranger danger. These wonderful women, and so many others, have now written about this topic, but one post really hit home. It was from Sarah, Nerdy Apple, on why she left NickMom. As someone who once left a writing job because I was worried about my reputation, I applaud Sarah for standing up and protecting herself. As a community, we must unite to protect each other and stop people from thinking that it is acceptable to take content without permission.

So my question to you this week:

Had you heard about the NickMom drama and have you ever had someone take your writing, photos, or other work without your permission? Would love to know your take on this ever growing issue in the blogging world.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.