Autism Awareness Month - Respite Care for Families

Autism Awareness Month, Day 9

Today, I want to talk about something that is an issue in almost every marriage, and that's the demands of being a parent of a special needs child. 

Marriages are tough in the best of circumstances, but consider the demands of trying to work, go to IEP meetings, deal with letters from the school about your child's behavior, meltdowns, cleaning up bits of string because your child has decided he's now going to slowly unravel every pair of socks he owns......

The one thing that parents need is down-time.  And it's usually the thing that gets overlooked or sacrificed the most.  After all, who is going to care for your child? You can't leave them with someone who is unaccustomed to dealing with aggressive outbursts and meltdowns. You don't want to ask your friends to deal with it.

The thing parents need most is respite care.  To have someone come for a few hours once or twice a month, to let you and your spouse get out of the house, have some quiet time, not have to deal with tantrums and fusses, to spend some time alone.

In a recent article at disabilityscoop.com, they talked about the need for respite care and how having that care available can lead to higher marital quality of life.   You can read more of the article here -
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/04/08/respite-care-autism-parents/17659/

Remember the Autism Awareness Party is still going on!

Place orders via that link - http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1745. Right now, this party has no hostess :) For every purchase of a "something blue" item, you will receive one ticket for the Mystery Host Raffle at the end of the party. The more "something blue" purchases, the more chances to win being Mystery Host.

Today's "something blue" is sort of cheating, but oh well. :)  It's the Princess Tiara Aurora Borealis!

Autism Explained For Kids

Autism Day 5

With so much attention being paid to Autism this month, you might have children who are newly exposed to the concept and unsure of how to explain Autism in a way they can understand.  

Kidshealth.Org has a great article on Autism that explains some of the complexities of Autism, but in a way your child can understand.    



There is a special "Autism Awareness Party" set up.  Place orders via that link -  http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1745.  Right now, this party has no hostess :)  For every purchase of a "something blue" item, you will receive one ticket for the Mystery Host Raffle at the end of the party.  The more "something blue" purchases, the more chances to win being Mystery Host.

Every day I'll be posting information on Autism, as well as a picture of the day of one of the "something blue" items.

Today's item is the Parade of Color Hair Band!

Autism, in Plain English

Many of us in the Autism Community, know the buzzwords, know the frustrations, know the perceptions vs. the realities, know that not all autistic children are the same.  But for someone who doesn't have a friend or family member affected by autism, sometimes the flurry of words can be confusing.

Stuart Duncan, another friend in the autism community, has posted on his blog a sort of "crash course" for autism. This is Autism, in plain English.


Please take a moment to read about what autism is and isn't, the varying degrees and manifestations of autism, and hopefully understand what our children are going through.


There is a special "Autism Awareness Party" set up.  Place orders via that link -  http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1745.  Right now, this party has no hostess :)  For every purchase of a "something blue" item, you will receive one ticket for the Mystery Host Raffle at the end of the party.  The more "something blue" purchases, the more chances to win being Mystery Host.
Every day I'll be posting information on Autism, as well as a picture of the day of one of the "something blue" items.

Today's item is the Cobalt Aurora Borealis Hair Sticks.

What is Autism?

Today is day 3 of Autism Awareness Month. 

Because both my sons have autism, I am well aware of the challenges of autism and parenting autism children.  The goal of Hair Made Beautiful this month is to educate readers on various aspects of autism and the challenges that autistic people, families, and communities face.

The number of people being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder grow every day, and I can guarantee you that even if your family hasn't been affected by autism, you know people whose lives have.

Throughout the month, I'll be continuing you post all types of information about Autism and family dynamics. I encourage you to take the time to read them all. My sincere hope is that you may learn something you didn't know before, or understand where families affected by autism come from, and to increase acceptance of our families.

To make this a bit fun, I'm also doing a contest with my company, Lilla Rose.  There is a special "Autism Awareness Party" set up.  Place orders via that link -  http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1745.  Right now, this party has no hostess :)  For every purchase of a "something blue" item, you will receive one ticket for the Mystery Host Raffle at the end of the party.  The more "something blue" purchases, the more chances to win being Mystery Host.

Every day I'll be posting information on Autism, as well as a picture of the day of one of the "something blue" items.

 

Today's item is the Sea Inspired Dolphin. 

World Autism Acceptance Day

April 2

Today is World Autism Acceptance Day!  In honor of today, I'd like to share with you a post by an outspoken friend in our community, Rob Gorski at Lost and Tired.  Rob is the step-father of three children on the spectrum, all at various places on the spectrum. 

Rob wrote a very important article, I think that everyone (whether touched by autism or not) should read.   10 Things My Autistic Kids Wished You Knew.

The Lilla Rose Autism Awareness Party Link - http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1745
Remember that any purchases of "something blue" made during the Party will give you one ticket for the mystery Host.  The more blue items you purchase, the more tickets you earn.


Today's "something blue" is the Starfish Flexi.

Autism Awareness Month

Hair Made Beautiful is working a autism  awareness campaign.  The first National Autism Awareness Month was declared by the Autism Society in April 1970.  World Autism Awareness Day is April 2, 2013.

In 1990 the autism rate was 1 in 10,000 school age children.  After an updated report released from the CDC, the number is now 1 in 54 students. 

Autism awareness is something I am very passionate about.  I have twin sons who are on different ends of spectrum.  I spend a majority of my time battling with school systems, medical companies, and taking care of my boys.

I've seen the stares directed at me by mothers of "neurotypical" children when my children whine, climb under chairs, and yip.  I've felt the judgement.  With the numbers of autistic children rising, I want to educate people on autism.

Here's some very basic information on Autism from Autism Speaks.

Throughout the month of April, I will be holding a Lilla Rose Party at my Facebook site.  This will be a mystery hostess party, where anyone can win the hostess rewards at the end of the party.  How do you become eligible for the Mystery Hostess?  You get 1 ticket for each Blue Item you purchase during the party.  

To show you the blue items and keep spreading information about Autism Awareness, every day during the party, I will be posting a picture of an item from Lilla Rose that has blue in it and qualifies for tickets to be the mystery hostess.  I will also be posting information about Autism and attempting to increase Autism Awareness.

Important Info to help you during the campaign:

• My FaceBook Page - http://www.facebook.com/JenniferIrvingLillaRose
• The Lilla Rose Autism Awareness Party Link - http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1745

How you can help?  

• Forward to everyone you know!  Encourage them to participate!  
• If you're a blogger and want to take part, please email me so you and your readers can take part as well.!

Autism Awareness Month

As you may or may not know, I now have my own company, where I am an Independent Consultant for Lilla Rose.

Because I have two special needs children, and this is a topic very near and dear to my heart, I am on the look out for Blogs, Websites, FaceBook Pages, and FRIENDS to host a Lilla Rose Party in April.

During the month of April, any "blue" items purchased during your party (can run up to three weeks), customers will receive 10% off paid via paypal.

Party Ideas

• A Facebook or Twitter party to talk about Autism and ways we can help, as part of your month-long campaign.
• An in-home party, if you're local to my area.
• A catalog party and/or online party for you to share at work and with friends and family.

 Hostess Rewards

• You could use the hostess rewards to purchase "blue" pieces the website, to use for awareness campaigns or raffles throughout the year.
• You could offer the person who makes the biggest purchase during your party, the opportunity to be the mystery hostess and receive the rewards. 

 Contact me now at jennirv4967@yahoo.com to book your party today!