Thank you to everyone who stopped by to leave Happy Birthday wishes for me yesterday. Your thoughtfulness made the day so much brighter.

Today is my friend Pea's birthday and she has invited everyone to her Birthday Tea Party. Let's join in the fun.

Pea, I hope you don't mind but I decided to wear a vintage dress to your lovely tea. This color is one of my favorites.

I found a matching hat and it is perfect. Once again in the vintage style.
And my boa, as instructed. hehe. I'm so glad you invited me to attend your lovely tea party.

Pea has everything ready. Look at the lovely cakes that she's made just for the occasion. Mmm! They are delicious. Try one.


And I brought along a vintage tea pot and some cups just in case you needed extras, Pea.

Wishing you a wonderful birthday, my friend. I hope your day is filled with love and laughter and that you have many, many more.

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and I have much to be thankful for this year, as always. I would like to wish all of my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy time with family and friends. Have a wonderful day!

Peggy, from Mission4Monday, invited me to join in her meme and to tell my readers about my Mission4Monday.

Twice a year, once in April, which is Autism Awareness Month in the US and in October, which is Autism Awareness Month in Canada, my mission is to promote knowledge of autism. As my regular readers will know, this is an issue close to my heart. My grandson, Brandon, is high functioning autistic.

Shutdowns and Autistic Children

Children who have been diagnossed with high functioning autism can experience what is known as shutdowns. These occur when the child is pressed to take part in social situation which make them feel uncomfortable. The high level of stress caused in such situations can cause the child to literally shutdown. Shutdowns can range in severity from mild unresponsiveness to sleep immobility, which signals a mediocre shutdown. A severe shutdown causes the child to become limp and possibly fall into a deep sleep for a period as short as ten minutes and as long as two hours or more. These shutdowns are always preceded by social stress and can become worse over time.

Shutdowns can cause high funtioning autistic children to regress in both academics and behavior. They may refuse to do tasks they formally accomplished with ease and behaviors that have disappeared may return. The child may also seem disoriented and have trouble remembering the task they were trying to master.

Research has shown that shutdowns are driven more by physiology than by learning. Shutdowns are not a behavior that the high functioning autistic child can control. The child may be highly motivated to complete a difficult task but when pressured, may refuse to continue and then go into shutdown mode.

Shutdowns are triggered by abnormal stress response, which only occurs when interacting with humans. There has been no evidence of shutdown when children are interacting with animals or playing with toys.

It is believed that high functioning autistic children have social phobia. Once indication of this is that they have difficulty making eye contact. These children are reluctant to engage in social activities and will avoid social situations at all costs.

Our family has first-hand knowledge of this with Brandon. We have taught him to make eye contact and he has improved in his ability to do so. However, there are times when he has extreme difficulty looking people in the eye.

Another thing Brandon doesn't feel comfortable with is being the center of attention. When we were at the Huntsville Railway last week, he was invited to be Assistant Conductor. Though he enjoyed wearing the hat, he told the man that he appreciated the offer, but he preferred not to take on the task. When, privately, I urged him to do so he said, "Grandma, you know I don't like being the center of attention." That said, I let the subject drop. I will not force him to participate in anything where he is not at ease.

Another example is when Brandon had to write his autobiography for a school project. He did so with enthusiasm, but when asked to read it in front of the class he absolutely refused. His teacher, who asked to have Brandon is his class this year, took Brandon into the hall and asked him why he refused. Brandon explained that his Asperger's Syndrome caused him to be very uncomfortable when he was the center of attention. This is where Brandon's Independent Educational Profile comes in. He was excused from reading his paper to the class.

Shutdowns are something that Brandon, as a high functioning autistic child, has never experienced. This is a blessing. Research has shown that shutdowns in developing children can cause pathological changes in the brain. In turn, these changes can cause developmental delays. Symptoms include learning disabilities, difficulty with language, rhythmic motor activity, such as rocking, extreme anxiety, further social withdrawl, fearfulness and extreme emotionality.

If you or someone you know has a high functioning autistic child, be sure they are aware that these children should not be pressured into social situations they are not comfortable with . The child should be allowed to progress at their own pace in order to avoid shutdowns caused by extreme emotional stress. Shutdowns cause regression and these children fight everyday to accomplish things that we do with ease.

And that is my Mission4Monday this week. Please spread the word about Autism Awareness and donate to Autism Research.

For more information on Autism, please visit these websites:

Autism Society of America

Autism Society Canada

Have a great week and please do a random act of kindness. A smile can mean a lot to a lonely person. Take an elderly person or child for a walk to the park, help someone put their groceries into the car trunk or smile at someone who looks down. Kindess means so much and oftimes a smile can brighten someone's day.

~Blessings, Mary~