My Family is doing a community event in our area for kids with autism. The whole things started with my son, who has autism. The event was his idea and I just decided to follow it through. We are encouraging kids with autism to come do a 1k fun run. Each kid that signs up gets to run for free and get a free shirt and a free medal. We are encouraging them to show just how strong and special they are. We are doing everything we can to make this a fun and positive event for kids that don’t always experience that in group settings. There is a fundraiser to help more kids participate and make the event a success. If you can donate, please do and help what we are trying to achieve. Donate Here.
I never really had that much experience with autism. I knew of it, and I knew that there was a lot of people that struggled with it. I just never personally had experience with it. My oldest son was a curveball for me. As a baby he would struggle with certain things that became very confusing and frustrating. One example would be nursing. He seemed to like nursing but couldn’t seem to handle the act of sucking and swallowing. He would guzzle till he choked and then he would get mad about it. I thought maybe my milk flow was just too strong for him to handle. We both spent a lot of time for months and months crying through breastfeeding. He never really seemed to get the hang of it. When he started eating solids it was the most amazing thing that ever happened. There are quite a few examples like this that have made so much sense after getting a diagnosis.
We knew for sure that something was off when he was very delayed with speaking. He was four years old when our family doctor suggested early intervention with our school district, we ended up getting him qualified for early preschool. It took another year till more official testing happened and he was diagnoses with autism with an accompanying speech delay. He went into head start that year and kindergarten the following year. He really struggled with school and seemed to be falling further and further behind. That is when we decided to homeschool, I’m so grateful that this was a possibility for us. The support I was able to give him has brought him so far.
Anyway, coming to a close on our first homeschool year, we talked about possibly doing a service project. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything big. However, without hesitation he said that he wanted to do something for kids like him to make them feel “strong and special, like me”. I asked how we would do that and that is how the whole race with medals and shirts came into play. I have been running a lot more races lately and coming home with shirts and medals.
It was a lot more planning and organizing and people than I really thought would be involved but as we have gotten closer, he has become so much more excited about the whole thing. He has asked me over and over how many kids are coming and what their names are. He has told me he wants to be the one to give them their medals. I appreciate if you’ve stayed with me through this whole story and if you are moved at all by what we are trying to do, I encourage you again to DONATE
Mel's Health and Fitness 