October in Canada

October is a beautiful month in Canada. All of the trees don their beautiful autumn gowns and bright splashes of red, orange, yellow and brown look marvelous on a backdrop of evergreens.

A lot goes on in Canada during October. It is Autism Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Women's History Month. I will be touching on all of these subjects during October.

Best of all, Thanksgiving is celebrated in Canada during the month of October. It is a time to give thanks for the harvest, for the love of family and friends and for all other blessings received during the year. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday after Christmas. This year it will be celebrated on October 13th, which is my friend Pea's birthday.

The above graphic is public domain. Feel free to take a copy if you wish.

Have a great day and enjoy the sights, sounds and fragrances of the season. ~Blessings, Mary~

As my regular readers will know, my grandson, Brandon is on the autistic spectrum. He wasn't diagnosed until he was six years old and that is the age when the Ontario government cuts off all funding for autistic children.

Something in the news today made me madder than a mad hatter. Five year old Adam Mels has severe autism. He is not potty trained and his motor skills, both gross and fine are extremely delayed. However, the Ontario government denied Adam eligibility to Intensive Behavior Intervention, (IBI) which is a program funded by the government. IBI aids children in learning skills by using repetition in a one-on-one setting.

Adams father, David, has appealed the decision that was made by a panel of doctors, clinical directors and psychologists at the Hamilton Niagara Regional Autism Intervention Program. These professionals state that Adam's autism is too severe for him to benefit from the therapy.

What is making David Mels upset is that he and his family have not been given a reason why Adam is ineligible. He wants answers that are clinical and objective, not just someone saying that his child is incapable of learning.

The Autism Intervention Program Guidelines states that the program and services are for children with autistic disorder considered to be more towards the severe end of the autism spectrum. This means that Adam should be eligible.

Why is Adam not eligible if he fits the criteria. There has been no attempt made to teach this child and now the professionals at IBI are saying he cannot learn. How can they know this if they have not taken him into the program and allowed him to take part in the therapy. Why does one child get funding while the next does not? Because eligibility criteria is not objectively stated. Parents don't know or ever find out why their children are not accepted into the program.

David Mels has tried to get his son help at privately operated clinics, but cannot afford the fees. Is it not up to the Ontario government and programs such as IBI to take care and help to teach our disabled children?

My heart aches for Adam and his parents. I know what it's like to advocate for a child with autism and keep running into one brick wall after another. Our children are our future and we need to start caring for each and every one of them - yes, even those with autism.

Programs such as IBI need to be accountable for the decisions they make because children like Adam are falling through the cracks. If you are Canadian, please write to our Premier and voice your opinion. Let the provincial government know that this is not acceptable.

To see a photo of Adam and his family, please click HERE. Does this adorable boy not deserve help from IBI?
And now off my soapbox and wishing you all a safe and enjoyable weekend. ~Blessings, Mary~

Thankful Thursday and a Fun Country Show

Today is Thankful Thursday. It is a day when we list the things we are thankful for. If you would like to participate, be sure to stop by Sting My Heart and pay Iris a visit. You can find out all the information there.

As always I have much to be thankful for this week.

1. That Barry, Michelle and the boys will be staying nearby. I love being able to take the boys out and do things with them. Things as simple as taking a walk in the woods, going to the park, playing a game of baseball, riding bikes, watching a movie and of course, visiting the farm.

2. I'm thankful that Mom is in fairly good health and is still able to do things with us. We are so lucky to have her with us.

3. That we have food on the table and a roof over our heads. Some are not so lucky. We may not always have what we want, but God provides our needs.

4. For friends that touch my heart every day. One such lady did so today and she knows who she is. Thank you, my dearest friend for making my day.

5. For babies, robins, red-winged blackbird, hawks soaring overhead on the wind currents, flowers, signs of spring, sunrises and sunsets and other beauties of the Earth. I am a nature girl and all of these things bring me joy.

6. For Meeko who brightens our life with his antics and he takes us outside in all kinds of weather with his walk. He tries his best to keep us in shape.

7. I'm thankful for the little girl at the grocery store who held the door and started up a conversation when I thanked her. We had quite a talk and her mother was so kind to allow me to have that conversation. A random act of kindness that touched my heart. That little princess made my day.

8. For grandsons who want me to buy my fishing license so we can go fishing together.

9. For a husband who is diligent, hardworking and puts up with me even when I'm not having a good day. Sometimes he should have a medal. Of course sometimes I should too. LOL

10. For all the blessings that God bestows upon me each day. For all this I am truly thankful.


My husband is crazy for Patsy Cline. Mom loves all of the music that the great old entertainers brought to us via the radio when I was a kid. Sooo, a couple of weeks ago Mom phoned and asked us if we would like to go with her to see Connie Burton as Patsy Cline.

I was a little leary because I've found that many impersonators don't do a good job. I must tell you, I'm glad I went. This little lady is good. There was a few times I noticed that she didn't sing a note just as Patsy would have, but they were very few. She did a smash-up job of impersonating one of the greatest country and western singers of all time.

Hubby and I don't get out often and this was a wonderful outing. Thanks, Mom. We sure appreciate it.


Yesterday when I posted about Asperger's Syndrome, Edge of Design asked this question:

Would you mind refreshing my memory Mary? While reading more about AS, I was wondering what it again that alerted you to the possibility it might be something like AS and not just a personality thing? I'm just waking up so some of the details are sketchy to me. I think what it is I really would like to know is if someone's children were diagnosed with Autism, could they actually be suffering from AS and not know it?

When Brandon was young, he used to line things up rigidly. If they were moved out of place, he would instantly align them again. I mean perfect alignment. He would spent hours doing this. Another thing we noticed was that he was obsessed with trains - all kinds of trains and by the time he was about four years old, he could identify a cross-section of a steam engine. By this I mean all of the parts. Besides this, he did have meltdowns from the time he was about 3 or 4 months old - usually because he was too hot. I mean he would scream until we realized that he was too warm. As he grew older, he had meltdowns about other things and as he got older, the meltdowns became worse, especially if there was a change in his routine. He had a lot of problems at clock change. He still has some issues with this, but not near as bad as he used to.

One of the specific indicators that he was on the autism spectrum was what we called, Brandon's little dance. When he became excited he would flap his hands and do a little dance. He would bring his right elbow down and his right knee up until they almost touched - very similar to the dance that football players do when they score. We thought the hand flapping and the dance were cute. Little did we know at that time that these were specific signs of autism.

Brandon started Junior Kindergarten when he was four and he had a very good teacher. This same teacher taught him in Senior Kindergarten and it was then that she told us that Brandon had problems socializing with the other children. We thought that odd because he usually got along well with kids his age. However, matters continued to get worse at school and we had no idea why.

Brandon was very smart and went on to grade one. That year he had a teacher who had just graduated from Teacher's College. She knew nothing about working with special ed children and at this point we still didn't know that Brandon had Asperger's Syndrome. We had many problems that year. Brandon was very curious about certain things. One boy in his class had really curly hair. Brandon would stand behind him in line and touch his hair. He was asked over and over not to do this, but continued. The teacher and principal labeled him as bad. We knew this wasn't true and couldn't figure out what was going on. Usually about four days out of five when I went to pick him up from school he was in the principal's office for some small infraction of the rules. Brandon touched someone. Brandon wouldn't sit in circle. Brandon wouldn't join in a group. Well, children that have Asperger's do not like to be in a group. So, finally we took Brandon to a behavior specialist and he tested Brandon. Several appointments later and after a trip to a child psychologist at Chedoke Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, Brandon was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

Before the beginning of the next school year, Barry & Michelle moved so Brandon would no longer have to attend that school. That is the year that he got Mrs. V for a Vice Principal. Mrs. V had been a special education teacher before she became a VP. She saw right away the tendencies that Brandon had and went to work to have him formally identified as PDD-NOS (Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Defined.) She wanted this identification so he could have an Individual Educational Profile. This allowed him to have a educational assistant to help him in the classroom and also allowed him special privledges in areas in which he had problems. Over the next two years, with Mrs. V working on his behalf, he learned a lot and improved greatly. He is doing great at this time and is learning to cope with daily life with far less problems.

Now to answer your other question Edge.

I think what it is I really would like to know is if someone's children were diagnosed with Autism, could they actually be suffering from AS and not know it?

Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism. So, if the child has been diagnosed with autism, it depends if he is at the high or low functioning end of the Autism Spectrum. Asperger's and PDD-NOS are much the same. The reason that Brandon was formally identified with PDD-NOS is because if he had been formally identified with Asperger's Syndrome, he would not have been eligible for an educational assistant. Brandon's only physical attributes that show are somewhat of a large head, a bit of awkwardness in his motor skills and an odd gait. People who are not familiar with AS would not know that he has issues.

Low functioning autistic children often do not talk until almost two years old and sometimes never learn to talk in the way we call normal. That is a word that I hate. What is normal for one is not normal for another. We are all different. Low functioning autistic often have to be put into group homes as they age. Brandon, if we teach him all he needs to know, will live on his own and do just fine. Low functioning autistic children will have severe mental and physical challenges. I count my blessings every day that Brandon is high functioning autistic.

Brandon was actually a blessing to our family. We have learned so much from this young lad. He has taught me to look at the world through his eyes and it is a much different world when I see it from his point of view. Liken it to a tapestry. We see the entire thing while kids with Asperger's Syndrome see every thread. It is a complicated world for them.

Edge, if you are still with me, I hope that I have answered your question. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask. If I don't know, I will research it and find out. The more educated we become on the subject of Autism, the better it is for all concerned.

Take care and have a wonderful Thursday. Sorry the post was so long. ~Blessings, Mary~

I received an email today from a lady who was directed to my blog by a friend. It seems this lady has a granddaughter who was just recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. She explained to me that after reading yesterday's post that she understood a little more about why her granddaughter "acts out."

Remember that each autistic child is different. We cannot just say, "the child has autism" and lump all of those kids into the same group and expect them to react the same way to different circumstances. As with all other children, each autistic child has his/her own personality. Many children that suffer from autism are highly intelligent. It seems that their brains work overtime, yet they don't understand how to communicate what they are thinking. They have a hard time making friends because they don't understand the rules of socializing. Some may be shy, while others are aggressive.

The autism spectrum includes a wide variety of disorders. Some children are "high functioning autistic," as Brandon is. Others are at the low end of the spectrum.


Above is a diagram of the autism spectrum. From what I understand from the research I've done, is that children at the severe end of the spectrum are very easy to identify. Then we come to midsection where autistic traits are more varied. This includes PDD -NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified.) The less severe or high functioning end of the spectrum, which includes Asperger's Syndrome has the largest number of shapes because of the variation in presentation. This is also the end of the spectrum that has the highest density of population that is affected. The area to the extreme right shows where people on the autism spectrum blend into the general population. Since the autism spectrum is so varied, it is impossible to say that a person who has been diagnosed as autistic will have a particular trait or even that he cannot possess other traits.

When Brandon belonged to the bowling league, there was a girl on his team that had Asperger's Syndrome. Yet the difference between her and Brandon was like day and night. She didn't have the meltdowns like Brandon experienced, but she did have the large head. She possessed much different traits than he did. So every individual case of Asperger's Syndrome or autism, for that matter, can be very different.

It is important for us to teach children that are high functioning autistic all of the things that they will need to know to make it on their own in the world. At one time Brandon had no concept of facial expressions or body language. He wouldn't look you directly in the eye. The Vice Principal that I spoke of the other day made him look her in the eye when she talked to him. She encouraged us to do the same. Today we sometimes still have to remind Brandon to look us in the eye when we are talking to him. However, he has made great progress.

My daughter, Michelle, and I played games with Brandon to learn him about facial expressions. We would exaggerate a face, say a smile, and ask him what it meant. We would exaggerate frowns, glares, make sad faces and knit our eyebrows. Then we would ask him what he thought that particular face meant. I would place my hands on my hips and give him a "look." He was eager to learn and today he does understand most body language.

There has been a recent study done and the results are astounding. While there may never be a cure for autism, researchers are working diligently to try to identify why it is becoming more prevelant in today's society. Post mortems of people who suffered from autism have certainly helped and now five genes have been identified as being contributing factors in some cases. To read more, please follow the link to The Brain & Autism. There is also a diagram posted on the site that will give you a better idea of how the brain is affected when autism is present.

Mary asked me today if I knew where she could buy an autism ribbon. There are items for sale that promotes autism awareness.

CafePress - Look near the top of the screen and you will see a search engine. Set it to "all departments" and then type in the word "autism." There are t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, sweatshirts, magnets and so much more for sale here. Be sure to click on "more products" under the items and explore the site thoroughly. Brandon's teacher that he had last year in grade six and has again this year for grade seven loved his "I Teach Someone with Autism and I Learn from Him Everyday," coffee mug. Mr. M is a great teacher for Brandon and we have been truly blessed.

I saw a t-shirt there that I told my hubby I just have to get. It says, "I asked God for a blessing and He gave me my autistic grandson." Truer words have never been spoken. When I get it, which won't be for a while, I will post a photo.

Have a great Saturday and remember not to judge those who are different. After all, wouldn't the world be a boring place if we were all the same? ~Blessings, Mary~