Work at Home Opportunity

I found a really great work at home opportunity. It all depends on what you do with it. Step by step instructions and tutorial videos are free with this system. See for yourself at
http://candicecozart.ws

Let me know if you like it! It's great for ASD moms that need a little more income in their lives!

Potty Training with PECS

My son is 2 going on 3 and one of the hardest things I've ever had to do is potty train him. After numerous attempts with musical potty's, potty seats on the toilet and food encouragement we finally found a system that helps him ...... PECS.

The PECS system is actually working along with a daily schedule of events so that he knows when I will request for him to go to the potty. Let me spell it out.

We have a PECS chart of a daily schedule and inbetween every event I have a potty on the schedule so that he knows after this then we potty (just to get him started). But let me back up a moment on my method...

First days - tried to chart how many times he did #1 and #2 in his diaper. We devised the picture schedule and stuck to scheduled eating times so that I could time when I checked his diaper.

This took about 2 days or so to get a good chart; took a couple more days just to get him used to the schedule.

Next - I started to incorporate the potty at these times that I charted and added it to the Picture schedule. My son already knew what the potty was so I thought this would be no problem. Boy was I wrong. Everytime he went to the potty he would HOLD it. He then held it until he got his pull-up on and did everything in the Pull-up. How frustrating was this for me! I couldn't let that stop me though so I thought of Plan B. How about we eliminate the Pull-ups and leave his bottom naked all day. You know where this is going right? Well he held it and held it until he just had to go and this was not on the scheduled chart when this occured! Ugh! what to do right?

Then I found this ingenious invention.....
Tinkle Toonz sensor Saved the Day! This is the sensor that goes into the Tinkle Toonz potty. You can acutally just purchase the sensor and place it in their underware so at the moment they decided to do #1 it starts to sing and then you can train them to sit on the potty.
Since my son insisted on going in the pull-up I had to really train him to go to the potty so ...
Step 1 - Back to the schedule for meals
Step2 - No more pull-ups @ home - only training pants.. we use the all in one kind
Step 3 - sensor in and we go according to the schedule. If he decides to hold it, it's ok cause the sensor will tell me when he starts
Step 4 - Make sure the TV and anything else is turned down to a reasonable volume so you can hear the sensor
Step 5 - Have a potty close by- where you are and have the bathroom door open and ready. Make sure nothing is in your way so you can run like the wind when they start to go. My son can start and stop so I run like the wind and I also take him to the potty when I have to go, just in case this motivates him as well.
Have your PECS potty card and PECS potty schedule in the bathroom and go through the steps while on the schedule and while off - in a hurry - this will ensure that your child understands thoroughly. Make sure your schedule has the times marked when your child will go #2. They usually go at the same time every day, the sensor will not detect this. After a while, my son thought it was fun to be whisked away to the bathroom or the potty. Since he thinks it's a game, he now tells me ( in his own way) It's time to run and then comes to get me to run to the potty. Because I am happy and excited and we cheer afterwards he loves it. We still have accidents but this is helping us tremendously.
If you are interested in the Tinkle Toonz potty or sensor you can find this at http://www.tinkletoonz.com/. They also have a really good article about autism and potty training at http://www.tinkletoonz.com/special_needs.html.
I found the PECS system for potty training at http://www.do2learn.com/picturecards/printcards/2inch/imagegridswords/bathroomword.htm
Let me know how it's going! :)

Philadelphia Walk Now for Autism Update

We’re getting close…
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Citizens Bank Park
Registration and Resource Fair: 8:00 AM
Stage Show: 9:30 AM
Walk Start: 10:00 AM

Our Kick Off was a Great Success
On Thursday, July 10th, the 2008 walk Kick Off was held at the state of the art CBS 3/The CW Philly 57 studio, with 150 team captains, and their families and friends in attendance.
CBS 3 evening news anchors, Susan Barnett and Chris May graciously hosted the event, while Michael Colleran, President and General Manager of CBS 3 and the CW Philly 57, and Marciarose Shestack, pioneering broadcast journalist shared their personal connections to autism, and the importance of supporting autism research through the walk program. Our Walk Chair, Stacey Fliegelman, joined this group on stage, and led us through the evening’s main program with humor and enthusiasm.
The evening was an opportunity for many of our returning teams to share successful tips and stories with so many of the new teams in attendance…can you believe that we have 200 new teams registered this year? We were grateful to have the opportunity to catch up with old friends, and to celebrate with our new ones!
Everyone that attended received a team captain’s folder with a multitude of fundraising and awareness-related tools. If you would like to receive a packet, please email philadelphia@autismspeaks.org.
We would like to thank our 2008 Walk Committee for making the event a success from the planning stages through to clean-up! Thank you for your tireless hours of dedication, and hard work.
The Walk is Shaping Up
Thanks to all of you, our walk totals are growing each day…here’s where we are today:
We have 374 teams, and 95 individual walkers signed up. To register now, visit www.walknowforautism.org/philadelphia. It just takes 2 minutes to get signed up! If you need assistance, please call (856) 858-5400.
We have raised $172,214. Our goal is to surpass the $1 million mark this year. Remember, you can use the walk website as a fundraising tool. Send an email to everyone you know from your personal headquarters, and ask them to support you with a $5, $10, $25, or $100 donation. If you ask 20 people for a $25 donation, you’ll raise $500 in no time! Remember to personalize your page…let them know why you support the walk, and help to spread autism awareness.
The Walk Route Has Changed
Look out for a new and improved event set-up this year! We have changed the direction of the walk route slightly to make it more enjoyable and efficient and have moved registration and tee-shirts closer to the main stage and walk start area for convenience.
The walk route is 1 mile, and in addition to the usual parking lot route, it will partially wrap around the stadium, and will finish inside the stadium at the 1st base gate. This will directly lead you to all of our Resource Fair Vendors, children’s entertainers, and moon bounces on the concourse level. We will include further event instructions, and a map of the stadium/walk route in our next email blast. Please call (856) 858-5400, or email philadelphia@autismspeaks.org for more details.
Calling All Service Providers
We’re looking for local autism service providers to participate in our Community Resource Fair at the walk. This is an amazing opportunity for you to share your services with the thousands of families in attendance. For more information or a registration form, please email philadelphia@autismspeaks.org, or call (856) 858-5400.
Do You Have an Uplifting and Interesting Story to Share?
We are looking for new stories to share with the media as we draw closer to our walk. If you have an interesting experience to share, or have a great walk-related success story, please contact us. Email Philadelphia@autismspeaks.org, or call (856) 858-5400.
Team Wrap-Around Corner
As many of you know, team wrap-around events are a successful and fun way for you to fundraise for your team. Here’s what some of our teams have done successfully:
Eleni’s Entourage held a reception and silent auction at the Concordville Inn to fundraise for their walk team, as well as the Timothy School. The event was attended by hundreds!
Kidz for a Kure held a lemonade stand in Chestnut Hill this past weekend, and raised nearly $300 in just a couple of hours!
JEVS-CLHS has been quite successful in its bake sale and iced tea stand sales. The team has raised nearly $200 from these efforts alone! They’re also selling soft pretzels and puzzle pieces!
Walking for Genavieve continues their successful fundraising events. After completing a wonderful jazz festival at the Stockton Inn, they held a birthday party at their home and instead of gifts for their daughter, asked for donations, and now they’re planning a community coin drop and Tastefully Simple event. They’ve raised nearly $3,600!
All 4 Luca recently held an event at their salon, Shaving Grace, where men were encouraged to shave their heads! Proceeds from each hair cut benefited their team. The event was broadcast live on The Big Talker 1210 AM with Michael Smerconish. They raised $2,450!
Dever’s Diamonds brought puzzle pieces to their local bank, and asked them to sell them to customers for $1. The bank agreed, and even started them off with a generous donation!
Community Grants Cycle
We are once again seeking proposals to fund projects to enhance the lives of those affected by autism spectrum disorders. Proposals for these Family Services grants are sought in the following areas: recreation/community activities, education, equipment/support technology, or young adult/adult services, educators, trainers, and service providers who work with individuals with autism are invited to apply. Applications are due by September 26, 2008 at 11:59 pm. Since the inception of Autism Speaks’ Family Services Community Grant Program in December 2007, over $1 million has been awarded to 50 community programs across the nation. For more information, please visit www.autismspeaks.org/press/community_grants.
Upcoming Community Events
Monday, August 4, 2008
Join the Wilmington Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium to Strike Out Autism. Bring your family and friends out to the ballpark for an action packed baseball game and enjoy the fun, family atmosphere of Blue Rocks baseball while helping our cause.
$2 of every ticket sold will be donated back to Autism Speaks, provided you use the attached form to order tickets. The ceremonial 1st pitch will be thrown by an Autism Speaks Foundation representative/guest! There will be a Silent Auction during the game featuring autographed items, ticket, luxury suites and much more. Blue Rocks T-shirts will be given to the first 1,000 fans (Courtesy of AT&T Mobility). Visit this link for the order form that can be faxed or mailed to the Blue Rocks.
Thanks for your support! Please let us know if you need anything, and remember to check www.autismspeaks.org/philadelphia for more details.

To join my team, please go to my personal page at http://www.walknowforautism.org/philadelphia/personal/ccharrisse and join! I'll see you there :)

Is it me? Am I Wrong?

I feel like everytime I get ready to go to one of these Dr's appoitments that I am gearing up for a prize fight. Does anyone else feel this way too. It's like I have to be on my toes, come with a book of research methods and ask the best and most specific questions in order to get what my son needs as far as treatment. It's like noone wants to come out and say "This is what he needs"; Everything is just in general. Like other Moms of ASD kid know - each child is different and needs a different treatment plan.
So why can't Docs be specific about our kids needs? Do we have to visit them more, do they need to run more tests, or is it because they really don't know and since we know our kids, we should figure out(by trial and error) what supposed to work and what doesn't. Does anyone else think this is horrifying? I haven't gone to college for 10+ years to be a Dr. What the hell do I know. All I know is that I am basically in the dark about big medical words and I am just like a kid in a candy store with all these types of treatments. He responds to this, he didn't like that, this seems to extreme, this doesn't seem extreme enough... this is like torture!! Is it me or is "recommendations" just not good enough. Is it my Docs, cause I have to be honest here.. I thought I was getting some of the best treatment I could find, but I guess that all depends on your wallet these days.
I cannot afford to be a Work at Home mom, atleast not yet. I am trying to be, but finding trustworthy Work at home jobs is an entirely different monster that I just don't have time for. Has anyone else had to cope with these huge issues?

What are The Signs of Autism

Watch out for the signs of autism. Sad as it is, but experts are now saying that the signs of autism are on the rise. And this is becoming a major concern not only for the parents but for the state as well. Because children are the future of our society, and so we want them to be in the best of health. So what are the signs of autism, at what stages in life do they appear, and what can you do when they come up? These are the issues we are discussing here.

Children have special characteristics, and this is true worldwide and across societies. A child who is a bit of a loner is a bit odd and unnatural. This is cause for concern because he may be suffering from autism. When a child cannot mix with others of his age and prefers to stay by his own, and does not even like his toys, it might be autism that is causing this. Other signs of autism include a general indifference to everything around him, hates it when someone cuddles him, and does not even respond when his name is called. However the signs of autism may also include a sudden increase in activity. Such a child may avoid eye contact and may also be either too fearful, or extremely daring, depending from case to case. He may also experience a physical pain when touched. But at what stage in life are the signs of autism first seen?

Autism is an illness that affects children. And so the signs of autism are seen when the person is very young. Usually the first signs of autism are seen when the kid is about 3 years of age. But interestingly, when he is about 2 or two and a half, there are no sings at all. And then the signs of autism start to appear, but the parents initially fail to understand that it is autism. Sometimes there is mild autism and this makes it even more difficult to identify. Making an autism checklist is a good idea to identify the signs of autism. But when the signs are visible, what can you do?

Whatever you do, never let your child understand that you are worried. Because that can make the situation worse. Keep loving him and show him that you care so much. But taking him to the autism treatment center is a good idea. When the signs of autism appear, you will need help.

Of course you love your child, and so when autism strikes, you are worried sick. This is very natural! What are the medicines you can administer? Do not self administer. When you see the signs of autism, always seek professional help.

What Causes Autism

What causes autism? Here is an area that has seen a lot of studying and research in the recent times. And the jury is as yet undecided. That is because though we are all seeing an obvious in the reported cases of autism in recent times, but no one is sure, what are the reasons. What causes autism is till today an unanswered question, and the people asking them are many. A lot of newsprint (newspapers and magazines) have been spent on the subject. And a lot of prime time slots have been allotted with discussions, chat shows and features. A lot of Internet space has also been extinguished. But the answer on what causes autism is Â'not out thereÂ'. Here, we too are trying to find an answer to the question Â- what causes autism?

Autism is a debilitating condition that affects the young people Â- when they are about 3 years of age. It is very frustrating because quite suddenly it seems that the child has lost all interest in life. He does not play, does not mix with others, does not respond to affection and does not even respond when loved. He actually hates to be cuddled and goes away to sit in a corner, all by himself, alone. Parents naturally want to know what happened. They feel bothered and want an answer, what causes autism? But when no answer is coming, it adds to the concern. What do the experts have to say?



Though the experts are far from certain, but they already have a few early starts. And that is the good news. They are beginning to get positive answers to the questions on the causes of autism. They now believe that the disease can be attributed to the environment all around the child, and there are also genetic connections. It has been seen that there is a chance of autism if there has been a history of the disease in the family. Further, if one child has it, then the chance of the other getting it also increases. Are these answers to the question Â- what causes autism? May be not, but they are indicators indeed.

So do not be frustrated with the question what causes autism. Better, join the hunt and try to find an answer to it. The levels of autism can also differ. Meaning that not all children will have the same degree of the illness. Some will have more, and in the others, the symptoms will be mild.

So many people are asking these days what causes autism. Can diet also play a role? There is no final answer on this one too. It seems that it will take a while before we all know what causes autism.

Toy for Motor Skills, Colors, Counting and talking

One of the best toys on the market that really helped my child is this Cutting fruit by Melissa and Doug. can use this over and over again and I guarantee that this toy will grow with your child in different ways in order to promote Math and Speech.
First, you can use this for motor skills and your child can practice cutting the fruit which really helps with my sons fidgety hands.
Second, you can count the pieces, to promote speech and teach counting concepts
Third, you can name the fruit and see if your child will repeat you to promote speech and enhance requests of their favorite foods
Fourth, when they get older, you can even teach fractions by using the cutting and teaching halfs' and quarters' .

I'm sure there are other uses as well, but these are the ones I used personally to promote speech and math and it's worked great. They are wooden and durable and clean up in a snap. They are very safe and I am confident in this product because I've had it forever and still looks new. If it really keeps, you might even be able to resell it on Ebay. It's awesome.

Trying out the Vegan lifestyle

In order to try to decrease some of my son's behaviors, we are in the process of going vegetarian and switching to vegan. I used to be a vegetarian before I got married and pregnant, but as I began the pregnancy, my OB stressed that I needed meat to sustain energy and protein. Now that I look back, I think the only thing I was doing was eating lots of starches and not enough sustainable protein. At any rate, I've been eating meat ever since and my weight has ballooned tremendously. In researching the Gluten free Casein free diet, I see that most of the vegan lifestyle is very similar. Right now I'm strictly trying this for my autistic son. I've replaced chicken nuggets with the "not meat" nuggets and replaced lunch meat with the veggie deli meats (just for lunch time at school). He already loves lots of fruits, but I am working on the hiding of the vegetables in his overall meals. He only drinks water - to reduce his sugar intake. He gets no dairy - cause dairy makes him extra hyper, and very little bread - cause he likes bread toooo much. I'd like to know if anyone has tried to switch their ASD child to vegan, and has it made a difference in their behavior and/ or well-being?

To Michael Savage

Did you hear this idiot's comments? A "fraud" a "racket"? So my child has a father and a mother. I wonder what kind of fool this guy acted like without an excuse. Let some of his sponsorship pay for ABA therapy for our kids since the want to support this guy so much. I wish these idiots would put their money where their mouth is. Let them experience the joy of Drs., pyschologists, therapists, pediatricians, and a host of other professionals and then tell me if this is some made up crap! I want this guy fired, forget the sponsorship, because this idiot still gets paid. These types of people stop others from funding and getting behind legislation to help ASD moms to fund therapy. I wish someone would really take some action and instead of bringing more attention to their show (to pay them more), why don't they get rid of him and give us the money to do what we need to do for our kids. How bout that!

Best ASD DVD - promotes speech

I had a hard time trying to find the right developmental toys for William. Through this blog, I will show some great picks that have helped my son to talk and develop thus far. i hope this helps other parents as we navigate through the endless toy stores and saving a few bucks ain't bad either.
The first toy that ever got my son talking (He was 15 months old and didn't point, talk or anything. Not a sound would come out of him; it's like he was a ghost just following you around the room) was a DVD called Baby Babbles.
After he watched it a couple of times, he started to repeat and wanted to do some of the things shown in the video. They also have a great Parent Tutorial that teaches you and your child sign language. This got me started in signing to him and from this tape, he had a reference point.

I still put this tape on sometimes just to see how he reacts to it. My husband even found one of the toys they had on the tape and bought it for my son for Christmas.

Our History with Pervasive Developmental Disorder

I guess my post should be about my inspiration... William. He is my 2 year old son who is living with autism. He is a constant joy and has truly changed my life.
We first started to see something different in him at about 14 months.


He was babbling just fine, and then one day, he just stopped talking. We thought he was just a thinker and that he was quiet. He never complained, ate everything (didn't know when he was full) and did a lot of things we thought were "boy like". He enjoyed a lot of ruff play, climbing and tumbling and the feedback I got from family and friends is that he may be a late talker.
I finally got fed-up with the not talking thing around 16 months. I made an appointment with his Pediatrician and wanted to know why my child could not call me mama. She suggested that I call Early Intervention and get him evaluated. His health and growth was normal and I was looking forward to some help in the talking realm. When they evaluated my son, they told me he had a speech delay and that he should see an Occupational Therapist and Special Instructor to help foster communication and steady his balance. I agreed and these specialists came every week.
My work schedule was getting too hectic to be home once a week and I had to move William to another daycare.

Let me backtrack before I go any further. While going through these evaluations, I had another child - my lovely daughter, Danielle. I am married, but most of the children's stuff falls on mommy, but my husband is very supportive of everything that I do for Will.

And the saga continues....
We decided to research a daycare where the therapists could see him and said that they do accept special needs children. After about 3 months, the daycare decided to meet with us and let us know that William needed a TSS (Therapeutic Support) or he needed to go. This would be my first indication that William had a split personality; One personality with others and one with his mommy. With me he was a good boy. Liked to play and get attention, but because he was pretty much the only walking child, he had full range to get up and go as he pleased. These skills did not translate well to a structured daycare setting and rather than conforming to a child, the daycare decided that he needed to conform to them.
After I picked myself up off the floor from the thoughts of having my son be a daycare dropout, I researched an agency that could evaluate my son and let me know if he can get TSS. This is where I first heard of the Autism Spectrum and how he may need to see a Developmental Pediatrician to get diagnosed.
I thought that the bad news just kept getting worse and worse. I had all kinds of thoughts and worries and didn't know what to think. I think I cried for days but I knew I had to do something about this.
While still participating in Early Intervention, I decided to ask his specialists about this. They informed me that this was a good idea but that William was making progress in trying to babble, but just to be sure, go make the appointment. This took FOREVER to get an appointment, but we did finally see a DP and that's when we got the diagnosis, Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
In one way, I was sort of relieved to be able to call it something. In another way, I was not relieved for others to have a label to put on my son. I am totally against labeling people because I think others tend to lean on that label to limit ones abilities, and I knew William could achieve so much more than anyone could imagine.
So with this diagnosis, we ventured on to get him more services like Speech Therapy added on to the other specialists from Early Intervention. We also left that daycare and decided to take a vacation while researching another program best suited for HIS talents.
We decided on the YMCA because William liked art and music so much. They were experienced with kids on the spectrum and even his therapists were happy with the change. We still decided to pursue a TSS, but instead we were awarded a Behavior Specialist.
Now William sees aSpecial Instructor, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist and Behavior Specialist once a week, every week. He also gets Private Speech and OT twice a week. He picks up his social behavior from being with children his own age at the Y, and he is doing so much better through Sign Language and the PECS system.
Through it all, I thought my marriage was going to fall apart, we were going to be penniless trying to pay for therapy, and that I was going to lose my job over all the days I had to take him to the Dr.
This is a story of hope because we have survived as a couple (with bumps and bruises along the way) and we are struggling to spend time and money with him but we see the results and he's getting better and better.
We've changed his diet, well actually he's changed our diet, and we've become better parents to our daughter by taking time to celebrate the good things instead of the bad. This has inspired me to write a book (which I am working on as I blog) and maybe even start a business.
He has challenged me in ways that I could never dream of without him and as days pass, worries I carry keep falling away.