If you havn't been reading your Bible lately a good place to jump back in is Exodus 4. At this point in the recount Pharoh has been convinced to release the Israelites from slavery and they were heading out of Egypt as fast as their feet would take them. They were overjoyed in the freedom the good Lord had provided for them through a series of persusive measures that included a rampage by the Angel of death and all Egypt's water supply turning to blood: God won, Pharoh lost.
Pharoh wanted another shot at the title.
He sent his army to crush Israel. That must have been scary. Imagine that you are part of this collection of slaves on the run and the army of the worlds greatest superpower is bearing down on you. Your basically toast. People must have been a bit freaked out because they were calling for surrender. Moses set them straight when he said "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverence the Lord will bring you today..." Exodus 4:13 Moses also said "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" Exodus 4:14 At that point the Angel of God worked a defensive manuver, the sea was parted and Israel escaped. Pharoh's army was destroyed when the sea came back together. God 2 pharoh 0 .Game over.
Most Christians can recall parts of this account but all to many do not understand it's meaning. Don't panic. When the diagnosis comes you will have your back to the sea with an army of fear, dispair, and sorrow bearing down on you. Don't panic. "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverence the Lord will bring you today..." Don't panic. I have been through what your going through and what you will go through. You don't have to go through it alone. It's OK to be afraid of what is coming your way as long as you remember what God did and what he does in our lives. Don't panic."The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still."
That's part one. Stand by for part 2.
Peace and Love,
Andrew
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday Meeting
We had an excellent first meeting at Longwood Baptist! Thank you Chris and Christina! We are looking at dates for Novembers meeting and we will keep you informed.
Peace and Love,
Andrew
Romans 8:28
Peace and Love,
Andrew
Romans 8:28
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Autism support group meeting on Monday night,
We are having an autism family support meeting on Monday night Oct. 18th at Longwood Baptist Church. Child care will be available. Please RSVP with me asap and tell me if you need child care.
Peace and love,
Andrew
Peace and love,
Andrew
Part One: Advice to Parents of a Newly Diagnosed Child with Autism.
This blog can be used as a tool for a variety of purposes. The one I have envisioned as a top priority is giving advice to parents of a newly diagnosed child with autism. My son has autism and I have made mistakes. I did a lot that was right for him and a great deal of the credit can go to my network of friends, family, and trusted experts.
Churches must understand that they can do so much for these families. Churches must abandon reactive patchwork responses and adopt a proactive response useing best practices. The number one best practice is to help the new parents. Offering advice and support early is the single most important thing you can do to help.
I have been part of the autism community for the past 15 years. I have had many roles such as teacher, facilitator, fitness instructor, ministry worker, mentor, residential worker, and inclusion specialist. This has given me perspective. Watching my friends suffer and struggle through these initial months, making the same mistakes and finding ways to success burned these lessons into me. Helping my own son struggle to overcome his disability has made this a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week mission.
If you know any of these parents feel free to use this to help them.
Important Points
1. Don't panic: Yes, you have just entered a world of great stress, pain, and confusion. Welcome to autism world. Don't panic. It is not hopeless. If you keep a cool head, hold on to those close to you, Pray often, and think clearly: you can have great success. Your enemies are delay, denial, and time. It is normal to freeze when this crisis hits you but you must move as quickly as possible.
2. Plan: Plan for your short game, middle game, and long game. Start with your short term strategy. There will be those who say there is nothing you can do. Ignore them, push them aside and shake the dust off your feet. Research and find out what you need to do. Then do it. Find out who you need to help you, then bring them on your team. Find out what money you need, then figure out how to budget for it. Ask those who have been through it already for advice. You should not have to re invent the wheel alone. Hurry up, this needs to be done yesterday.
3. Support System: If you are married your spouse is the number one member of your team. 85% percent of parents with kids with autism get divorced. Figure out how to stay among the married 15%. You need a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) doctor to achieve recovery and an Aplied Behavorial Analisis (ABA) therapist for optimal results. Make the right educational choices. Some schools will help your child and some will hurt your child. Very few public and private schools will be honest about their performance. Go to other parents to find out about the schools, doctors, therapists, and churches. Figure out what you need to do yourself in the areas that can't be addressed by others.
4. Lies and Deception: Understand that people will lie to you because the disability of your child represents gains in money, influence, and other incentives. Professionals and Institutions will lie to you to hide their own shortcomings. Don't waste time with your anger. Don't let this slow you down. It's part of the landscape. Find out who you can trust and/ or work with and move forward.
5. Geography: In short: Do your research and find the best place with the best support. It is important to understand that some states and localities offer lots of support and some offer little or nothing. If you are in Florida and can move, leave now. Kids with autism in Connecticut get most of their therapy and education at little or no cost to the parent. The quality of the product is much better. Minnesota, California, Arizona, and most other states are also known for good support. If you must stay in Florida there are ways to get what your child needs but prepare to be broke all the time. The poor and wealthy tend get or buy more services. Middle class people tend to go broke fast. Resourceful people can always find ways but it takes a lot of time and effort. In short: Do your research and find the best place with the best support.
6. Fight: Successful parents with kids with autism all share one dynamic. They fight. Stand up to any person, institution, or profession that stands in the way of helping your child. This is hard. Some of the professionals and institutions available to help don't like to be questioned or challenged. What ever happens you must show courage and fight for your child no matter what.
7. Pray: I have experienced miracles. There will be times when you can't continue to fight, research, network, learn, or whatever you need to do. There will be nothing left of you once you have given all. At that point pray to the Lord for the strength to stand up and do more. I ran out of me years ago. All I give now is through the grace of God. Pray early, pray often. Go to Him each time everything falls apart. Pray for miracles.
This is a sinopsis of many important things a parent of child newly diagnosed with autism must deal with. Feel free to ask about any of the aspects written about.
Peace and Love,
Andrew
john 14:27
Churches must understand that they can do so much for these families. Churches must abandon reactive patchwork responses and adopt a proactive response useing best practices. The number one best practice is to help the new parents. Offering advice and support early is the single most important thing you can do to help.
I have been part of the autism community for the past 15 years. I have had many roles such as teacher, facilitator, fitness instructor, ministry worker, mentor, residential worker, and inclusion specialist. This has given me perspective. Watching my friends suffer and struggle through these initial months, making the same mistakes and finding ways to success burned these lessons into me. Helping my own son struggle to overcome his disability has made this a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week mission.
If you know any of these parents feel free to use this to help them.
Important Points
1. Don't panic: Yes, you have just entered a world of great stress, pain, and confusion. Welcome to autism world. Don't panic. It is not hopeless. If you keep a cool head, hold on to those close to you, Pray often, and think clearly: you can have great success. Your enemies are delay, denial, and time. It is normal to freeze when this crisis hits you but you must move as quickly as possible.
2. Plan: Plan for your short game, middle game, and long game. Start with your short term strategy. There will be those who say there is nothing you can do. Ignore them, push them aside and shake the dust off your feet. Research and find out what you need to do. Then do it. Find out who you need to help you, then bring them on your team. Find out what money you need, then figure out how to budget for it. Ask those who have been through it already for advice. You should not have to re invent the wheel alone. Hurry up, this needs to be done yesterday.
3. Support System: If you are married your spouse is the number one member of your team. 85% percent of parents with kids with autism get divorced. Figure out how to stay among the married 15%. You need a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) doctor to achieve recovery and an Aplied Behavorial Analisis (ABA) therapist for optimal results. Make the right educational choices. Some schools will help your child and some will hurt your child. Very few public and private schools will be honest about their performance. Go to other parents to find out about the schools, doctors, therapists, and churches. Figure out what you need to do yourself in the areas that can't be addressed by others.
4. Lies and Deception: Understand that people will lie to you because the disability of your child represents gains in money, influence, and other incentives. Professionals and Institutions will lie to you to hide their own shortcomings. Don't waste time with your anger. Don't let this slow you down. It's part of the landscape. Find out who you can trust and/ or work with and move forward.
5. Geography: In short: Do your research and find the best place with the best support. It is important to understand that some states and localities offer lots of support and some offer little or nothing. If you are in Florida and can move, leave now. Kids with autism in Connecticut get most of their therapy and education at little or no cost to the parent. The quality of the product is much better. Minnesota, California, Arizona, and most other states are also known for good support. If you must stay in Florida there are ways to get what your child needs but prepare to be broke all the time. The poor and wealthy tend get or buy more services. Middle class people tend to go broke fast. Resourceful people can always find ways but it takes a lot of time and effort. In short: Do your research and find the best place with the best support.
6. Fight: Successful parents with kids with autism all share one dynamic. They fight. Stand up to any person, institution, or profession that stands in the way of helping your child. This is hard. Some of the professionals and institutions available to help don't like to be questioned or challenged. What ever happens you must show courage and fight for your child no matter what.
7. Pray: I have experienced miracles. There will be times when you can't continue to fight, research, network, learn, or whatever you need to do. There will be nothing left of you once you have given all. At that point pray to the Lord for the strength to stand up and do more. I ran out of me years ago. All I give now is through the grace of God. Pray early, pray often. Go to Him each time everything falls apart. Pray for miracles.
This is a sinopsis of many important things a parent of child newly diagnosed with autism must deal with. Feel free to ask about any of the aspects written about.
Peace and Love,
Andrew
john 14:27
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
I have recieved many questions about vaccines in the past few weeks.
I don't want to get bogged down in the whole vaccine debate. I have studied it extensivly and I have come to my own conclusions. Please educate before you vaccinate. I wish I learned more about it before Andrew Jr's vaccine injury that led to his autism.
In 1982 the autism rate in the U.S was 1 in 10,000. In 2007 it was 1 in 150. The latest estimate is 1 in 75. Compare that to vaccine rates.
"In 1982, children were given only three vaccines: live oral polio vaccine (Lederle, sole source); MMR vaccine (Merck, sole source); and DPT vaccine (Wyeth, owned by American Home Products; Lederle, owned by American Cyanamid and the Canadian corporation, Connaught shared the DPT market)."
"By 2007 American children were being told by government health officials and pediatricians to get 48 doses of 14 vaccines by age six and 53-56 doses of 15 or 16 vaccines by age 12. In May 2007, CNN Money reported predictions that vaccine industry sales will more than double by 2010."
When I read the below listed source I thought it crystalised the issue.
http://www.nvic.org/Myths-and-Facts.aspx;
I hope this is helpful.
In his Name,
Andrew
I don't want to get bogged down in the whole vaccine debate. I have studied it extensivly and I have come to my own conclusions. Please educate before you vaccinate. I wish I learned more about it before Andrew Jr's vaccine injury that led to his autism.
In 1982 the autism rate in the U.S was 1 in 10,000. In 2007 it was 1 in 150. The latest estimate is 1 in 75. Compare that to vaccine rates.
"In 1982, children were given only three vaccines: live oral polio vaccine (Lederle, sole source); MMR vaccine (Merck, sole source); and DPT vaccine (Wyeth, owned by American Home Products; Lederle, owned by American Cyanamid and the Canadian corporation, Connaught shared the DPT market)."
"By 2007 American children were being told by government health officials and pediatricians to get 48 doses of 14 vaccines by age six and 53-56 doses of 15 or 16 vaccines by age 12. In May 2007, CNN Money reported predictions that vaccine industry sales will more than double by 2010."
When I read the below listed source I thought it crystalised the issue.
http://www.nvic.org/Myths-and-Facts.aspx;
I hope this is helpful.
In his Name,
Andrew
Friday, October 1, 2010
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